RTHK: North Korea fires 'multiple rocket launchers': Seoul

North Korea fired multiple rocket launchers on Sunday, Seoul said, the latest in a series of provocations by the nuclear-armed nation to heighten tensions in the region.

Pyongyang launched a string of banned weaponry this year and tested what it claimed were components of a "reconnaissance satellite"  although Seoul and Washington have described them as a new ICBM system.

"There were shots suspected to be from North Korea's multiple rocket launchers this morning," said the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a text message to reporters.

"Our military is maintaining our defence readiness while closely following related developments," it added, without further detail.

Four shots were fired into the western waters during a span of an hour from 7.20am from an unspecified location in South Pyongan province, Yonhap news agency reported citing unnamed officials. The intention of the firing was being evaluated, the report added.

South Korea's National Security Council held an emergency meeting and called for a tight readiness posture to "prevent security vacuum during the government transition period", according to a statement from the presidential Blue House.

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will be inaugurated on May 10 after winning the March 9 polls.

Pyongyang has long possessed the ability to devastate Seoul  which is only around 60 kilometres from the border  with artillery fire.

The US stations 28,500 troops in South Korea, a security ally, to protect it against its nuclear-armed neighbour, many of them based south of Seoul at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek  its biggest overseas military facility.

Sunday's firings come just days after Pyongyang carried out a suspected failed ballistic missile test, in what analysts say could be the country's new intercontinental ballistic missile. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2022-03-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Risks posed by worldwide U.S.-funded biolabs cause jitters around globe

Xinhua) 09:12, March 20, 2022

Poster: US has 336 Biolabs in 30 countries. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Russia's recent disclosure about the U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine has sent jitters around the globe.

Besides Ukraine, the United States has been funding secret biolabs in many countries around the world. The truth behind these biolabs and the risks of leakage of some dangerous pathogens have sparked serious concern in the international community.

SECRETIVE BIOLABS

The Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) is part of the U.S. Department of Defense's Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, according to a fact sheet of the defense ministry published on March 11.

Since 2005, when the BTRP has partnered with the government of Ukraine, the United States has invested approximately 200 million U.S. dollars in Ukraine, supporting 46 Ukrainian laboratories, health facilities and diagnostic sites.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that in addition to over 30 biolabs in Ukraine, the United States has created "hundreds of such laboratories" in other countries.

According to publicly available data, 336 laboratories in about 30 countries receive funding from the BTRP.

Photo taken on Feb. 19, 2020 shows the Pentagon seen from an airplane over Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The research work conducted by these defense ministry-funded biolabs is highly classified.

Although U.S. officials have dismissed the questions about these biolabs as "disinformation" and "conspiracy theories," there have been calls for Washington to comply with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and make clarifications on related issues.

In face of the documents, pictures and objects discovered by Russia in Ukraine, the United States should make related information public, fully explain its biological research at home and abroad, and accept multilateral verification.

Alastair Hay, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Toxicology at the University of Leeds in Britain, said: "the United States has been supporting various laboratories in the Ukraine through a post-Cold War program. As I understand it, these labs are generally involved in disease surveillance."

"It is unclear why the United States needs to support this work and why, for example, it is not happening under WHO guidance," said the professor.

Photo taken on Feb. 27, 2022 shows smoke rising in the sky in Kiev, Ukraine. (Xinhua/Lu Jinbo)

POTENTIAL DANGERS

The United States claimed that it has funded biolabs in other countries to "contain biological threats." And yet these labs turn out to be have been designed to store and deal with dangerous pathogens and toxins.

Take Ukraine. A 2012 report by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences said that some Ukrainian labs have been upgraded to the level needed to handle some of the more dangerous pathogens such as anthrax.

Some media reports noted that the U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine were set up to create a mechanism for the covert spread of lethal pathogens, which has raised fresh disquietude about potential pathogen leakage.

Why did the United States choose to fund biolabs in Ukraine, which is not a rich country in Europe and does not excel in biomedical research?

While explaining the history of the U.S. biolab program in Ukraine to The American Conservative, Jonathan Askonas, an assistant professor of politics at the Catholic University of America, said the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) increased its activities in peripheral countries of the former Soviet Union. Ukraine was particularly attractive as it has a lot of skilled STEM workers and had a U.S.-friendly government.

The U.S.-linked labs in Ukraine are not bioweapons facilities, Robert Pope, director of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, also known as the updated Nunn-Lugar program, was quoted by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists as saying. The current Ukraine-Russia conflict may put at risk a network of the labs that work with dangerous pathogens.

Former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard has been condemned as a "traitor" for tweeting that more than 25 "U.S.-funded bio labs" in Ukraine which, if breached, would release and spread "deadly pathogens". She called for a ceasefire "now around these labs until they're secured and pathogens destroyed."

On Thursday, the World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens stored in the country's labs to prevent "any potential spills."

Photo taken on Sept. 17, 2021 shows the U.S. Capitol building, seen through a barrier fence, in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

HALF-HEARTED U.S. MEDIA

In disregard of the worldwide concern over the U.S.-funded overseas biological laboratories, the U.S. mainstream news outlets, which always flaunt the so-called "freedom of the press," have kept silent and just parroted what the U.S. government has said without any verification.

"What is in those Ukrainian biological labs that make them so worrisome and dangerous?" independent journalist Glenn Greenwald queried in an article published on March 9, one day after U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland admitted that "Ukraine has biological research facilities" when testifying before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

"If these labs are merely designed to find a cure for cancer or create safety measures against pathogens, why, in Nuland's mind, would it have anything to do with a biological and chemical weapons program in Ukraine?" he asked.

The United States has been working with Ukraine to "eliminate biological weapons" left behind by the Soviet Union since 2005, but over the past 17 years, "the Pentagon has not finished removing test tubes from Soviet era freezers," said FOX news anchor Tucker Carlson.

"How does that work exactly? How heavy are these bio weapons? When was the Pentagon planning to finish this important job?" Carlson asked. "Those all seem like very obvious questions, but not a single (U.S.) reporter asked any of those questions."

"Instead of government and media actors leveling with the American people about a complex reality, they engaged in a shameful and self-defeating coverup under the guise of 'fighting misinformation.'" noted Askonas.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
It seems timely that the remains of the Endurance, a ship symbolic of humans ability to persevere in the harshest environments, was just found where it sunk 106 years ago, off Antarctica. The 28 men who had boarded it in London wandered the frozen wilderness for nearly two years. Miraculously, all survived.

It may be indecent to make too much of a parallel between that tale of bravery and the story of Ukrainians fighting week after week against vicious Russian attack. The Endurance crew were explorers and scientists who volunteered for an exciting mission to explore the ice cap at the South Pole. Ukraines people never asked to undertake the suffering under Russian President Vladimir Putins cruel and insane campaign. But as Ukrainians die in the thousands, they show no signs of ending their resistance.

What both narratives have in common  in addition to the blessing of personal courage and determination to carry on  is extraordinary leadership. There are books written about Captain Ernest Shackletons skill at shepherding the Endurances passengers through many months exposed in the coldest, windiest region on earth. They were forced to eat mostly penguins, as well as their beloved sled dogs.

For several months after the Endurance got stuck in ice, the crew could return to the ship for supplies and shelter. But then the ship went down, virtually forcing the men onto a drifting ice floe. They eventually took life boats to Elephant Island, an outcropping of desolate rock. A handful then sailed for help on a tiny wooden open boat. With the most primitive equipment they navigated 800 nautical miles through famously treacherous waters to an outpost in South Georgia, a lonely island in the South Atlantic.

Books are surely being written about the leadership skills of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He has roused his people to battle the invaders until the end, while putting himself in grave personal danger.

His most famous quote was that directed to the U.S. government after it offered him safe escape from the capital, Kyiv. The fight is here, he said. I need ammunition, not a ride.

This show of steely resolve by Zelensky and his compatriots drew other countries into the mission of saving Ukraine. And that nearly global support may have changed the course of the war.

Early on, some marveled that a former comedian could transform himself into a Churchillian war president. Perhaps, though, thats part of Zelenskys strength. Shackleton was also a performer  a savvy fundraiser who sold the rights to his story before the ship set off.

Of course, there was an immense difference in the two leaders ability to communicate with the outside world. Every minute, scenes of the horror in Ukraine can reach most of the worlds TV screens. Antarctica was totally cut off from civilization. Though twice the size of Australia, no human had reportedly set eyes on the continent until 1820.

In addition, the explosion set off by World War I extinguished most interest in the fate of the Imperial Trans-Antarctica Expedition.

I send Alfred Lansings book, Endurance: Shackletons Incredible Voyage, to friends undergoing medical trauma. It offers an inspirational reminder that people can ride out terrible odds.

As the Endurance went down, there was no sign of fear or even apprehension among its former passengers, Lansing wrote. Interviews with the valiant Ukrainians fighting the Russian assault likewise include reports of their fear going away. Perhaps the dimming of terror reflects glimmers of hope amid the nobility of enduring such hardship.

This month, another team of explorers located Shackletons three-masted ship at the bottom of the Weddell Sea. Its name in brass letters, Endurance, shined in the glow of their searchlights.

Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com.

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Ive often wondered why there are so many polls. I understand polls that ask which flavor of ice cream is our favorite. It helps stores and manufacturers determine the best inventory ratios. I understand polls regarding customer service and what people find to be the most reliable cars, refrigerators and toasters. Those polls can be used to improve each. But why on earth are there polls asking regular folks what military strategy is best in Ukraine?

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll determined that 74% of Americans support a no-fly zone over Ukraine. What purpose is served to ask civilians about tactical war maneuvers, except to create arguments over topics where we dont have a clue? At least not enough to determine military policy in the nuclear age.

A no-fly zone is a designated area over which aircraft cannot fly without risk of interception. That sounds like a good idea, and obviously most Americans see the logic of prohibiting aircraft armed with rockets flying into Ukraine. Richard Kohn, former chief historian for the U.S. Air Force, however, cautions against such action.

Kohn states: A no-fly zone would be the equivalent of luring NATO or the U.S. into a war with Russia.

It would probably lead Russia into missile attacks from outside of the borders and increase armed combat. The result can be a greater loss of life. Kohn imagines that it could allow Putin to say: Look, NATO is killing our boys.

Russian media is state-controlled, and the message being fed to its population is that this is not an attack on Ukraine but a humanitarian mission to rid the country of Nazis in power. And, also, a nationalist quest to bring the people of Ukraine back into the fold of Russia. Russian news does not show Ukrainian civilians being killed, and instead manipulates images to look as if Ukrainians are running to Russian soldiers with open arms.

David French, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, asks, regarding the Reuters/Ipsos poll, if respondents understood that imposing a no-fly zone would require direct military confrontation with Russian forces.

French offers that a no-fly zone increases the possibility of a nuclear strike. Under a no-fly zone, Putin could choose to deploy tactical nuclear weapons of which Russia has 2,000 compared with NATOs 100. Tactical nuclear weapons are low-yield, short range weapons designed for use against military targets, but make no mistake, they are nuclear and powerful.

If NATO used its limited arsenal, it would do great damage to Russian bases, but how would Putin respond to any nuclear attack, even if only tactical?

The escalation to a nuclear war is unfathomable. Todays nuclear bomb is 3,300 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima. The world now possesses over 13,000 nuclear warheads.

Very few people are military strategists, world historians, foreign policy scholars or atomic physicists qualified to answer the question of whether a no-fly zone is the answer.

Lets leave our expertise where it belongs: making the personal sacrifices necessary to stand with Ukraine and for sovereignty. And for our childrens future by supporting the logic of nuclear de-escalation.

What are the poll numbers on that?

Gary Kroeger is a former local business owner and advertising executive in Cedar Falls.
Most citizens dont know that Republican leaders in Iowa, Utah, Kansas and Florida are limiting journalists access to open-to-the-public legislature and gubernatorial sessions. This begs the question, what issues and policies are GOP elected officials trying to hide?

Furthermore, what is there about the First Amendment to the Constitution  specifically freedom of the press  Republicans dont understand? Maybe GOPers are demonstrating their anti-democracy intentions, giving favor to control the media as witnessed in authoritarian countries such as Russia, China, North Korea and Venezuela.

According to information published by Freedom of the Press Foundation, 72 media access denial incidents occurred in the last four years. Republicans denying or limiting journalists access to government events appears to be retaliatory or done without meaningful justification (U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Feb. 2).

In Florida, the GOP governor blocked multiple journalists from covering the signing of a controversial election bill. Journalists in Iowa, Utah and Kansas were kicked out  by Republican leaders  of their historic press benches on the Senate floor and moved into a gallery. The press bench permitted reporters to observe debate, have immediate access to legislators and report the facts. The new rules allow legislators to duck out and run away from journalists, avoiding being held accountable by their constituents.

Steve Morris, who led the Kansas GOP from 2005 to 2013, wrote in a Kansas Reflector editorial, Placing restrictions on journalists in the Senate chambers suggests there is something to hide or that leadership is taking unwarranted and unnecessary retaliation against reporters.

Parker Higgins of the Freedom of the Press Foundation spoke with Iowa and Kansas reporters about the restrictions and said, in terms of doing your job quickly and effectively, you cant get that from the public gallery.

Richard Gilbert, press secretary for Iowa Gov. Robert D. Ray (Republican, 1969-1983) wrote an op-ed for Julie Gammacks Potluck (OkobojiWriters, Jan. 9). Reflecting on Republicans restricting access to the media, he stated it is enough to set off alarm bells for anyone who cares about clean and open government at all levels.

Gilbert continues as Rays press secretary ... my job was not to control access to what went on in state government. It was to make the information accessible. Gilbert lays it on the line for voters who are witnessing freedom of the press restrictions: which brings me to the obvious question  whats the objective of stonewalling or making it more difficult for the reporters covering deliberations of the Iowa (and other states) Senate? What dont these elected officials want the people ... to know or see?

Gilberts candor is refreshing: If legislators want to extract petulant payback on the press corps because the coverage of their august body is often embarrassing, then perhaps they should quit doing and or saying so many stupid things.

Iowa, Utah, Kansas and Floridas elected GOP officials media access restrictions blatantly counter free press, a cornerstone of democracy. Voters need to confront Republicans as well as Democrats seeking election or reelection and ask about their deep-seeded beliefs on freedom of the press.

Whenever Republican leaders restrict press access, it appears their goal is to abandon democracy and adopt dictatorial and totalitarian rule. If GOPs anti-First Amendment actions are permitted to continue, who knows whats next. Maybe well see something like neo-Nazi banning of books, disinformation about critical race theory, anti-LGBTQ legislation, using public taxpayer funds to support private education and invoking voter suppression.

Oh, wait! Were already witnessing those draconian measures in GOP-controlled states. The next authoritarian action by Republicans should be of no surprise.

Steve Corbin is an emeritus professor of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa and former Denver Board of Education member. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not reflect those of the University of Northern Iowa.
CORVALLIS, Ore. With multiple student-athletes in action, the Western Oregon University track and field men's and women's programs officially turned the page to the outdoor season on Saturday at the Oregon State/PNW Invite. With the wind heavy throughout the day, many of the marks are wind-aided times.

There were strong results throughout with Maliyah Thompson moving into the top-10 all-time in the 100 posting a time of 12.14 to place third. Her time ties her for sixth on the all-time list. Maya Hopwood wasn't far behind in the event coming in fifth with a time of 12.23. Josie Lavato added a time of 12.79 to come in 10th.

In the men's 100, Amari Hendrix and James Mazzeo nearly came in with identical times. Hendrix crossed with a time of 11.16 to come in 11th, while Mazzeo came in with a time of 11.19 to come in 14th.

Jenelle Hurley set new outdoor PR marks in the 200 and 100 hurdles. She ran a time of 14.88 to come in second in the 100 hurdles and then posted a time of 26.34 in the 200 to come in 11th. She also competed in the high jump hitting a height of 5-1 to come in seventh.

Thompson was the next one to come across in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.11 to come in fifth which is also a PR mark. Deters came in ninth with a PR mark of 16.02. Macy Clemens also crossed at 16.02 to come in 10th. Hailey Blue was the next one in for the Wolves in tenth with a time of 16.14.

James Duane , Aaron Hanible and JJ Walker all had strong results in the 110 hurdles. Duane led the way competing in his first outdoor meet with the Wolves coming in second with a time of 15.75. Hanible came in third with a time of 16.09, followed by Walker in fourth with a time of 16.46.

Hendrix led the Wolves in the men's 200 coming in fifth with a time of 22.60. Mazzeo came in with a time of 23.02 to place ninth, while Carson Austin came in 17th.

Hart led the Wolves in the women's 200 coming in 10th with a time of 26.20. After Hurley placed 11th, Taryn Wilson came in 11th with a time of 26.34. Lavato rounded out the results for the Wolves in 18th.

Hart was near her PR mark from last outdoor season in the women's 400 coming in fifth with a time of 59.49.

Gabe Arce Torres came in runner-up in the men's 400 with a time of 50.18. Austin also competed in the event coming in eighth.

Rilee Carstensen won the women's 400 hurdles with a time of 1:10.72.

Justin Crosswhite won the men's 800 with a time of 1:56.18.

Lindie Larson led the way for WOU in the women's 800 with a time of 2:31.05 for a new PR coming in sixth.

Dustyn Mckenney paced WOU in the men's 1,500 coming in eighth.

Katie Chapman ran her first 1,500 coming in with a time of 5:03.29 to place 15th.

In the men's hammer throw, Owen Collins led three Wolves in the event coming in fourth hitting a mark of 154-6. Samuel Cole came in fifth hitting a distance of 150-7. Mark Warren was right behind in sixth with a throw of 150-1.

Moana Gianotti led the Wolves in the women's hammer throw coming in eighth hitting a mark of 143-0. Liliana Lyness-Morales came in 10th with a distance of 131-11.

Devin Hasher hit the same height he finished the indoor season at in the high jump coming in third with a mark of 6-2.75. Brennen Sorah came in fifth with a mark of 5-7.0.

Deters was right near her top mark in the women's high jump coming in fourth with a height of 5-3.0. After Hurley placed seventh, Kalulusno Ngaida came in ninth with a mark of 4-11.

Kaylee Wright continued to improve her throw and provisional mark in the women's javelin hitting a distance of 143-0 to come in fourth. Lyndee McLauchlin came in eighth with a mark of 119-3 for a new season-best. Emillia Carpenter also had a throw over 110 feet landing at 111-9 to come in 10th.

Eli Nafziger was the only WOU participant in the men's javelin, coming in fifth with a throw of 163-10.

Clemens came in fourth in the women's long jump with a distance of 15-9.

Marlon Harrison hit a new PR mark in the men's long jump coming in runner-up with a distance of 21-4. Walker also competed in the event coming in fourth with a distance of 20-10.5.

Cole led the Wolves in the men's shot put coming in third with a distance of 46-3.5. Collins was right behind in fourth with a distance of 45-11.75. Warren came in 10th with a throw of 40-7.

Gianotti led the Wolves in the women's shot put with a distance of 41-8 to come in fourth. Halle Hargett came in eighth in the event with a throw of 34-5.

Ngaida competed in the women's triple jump finishing runner-up with a distance of 36-2.75.

Harrison came in fourth in the men's triple jump with a distance of 44-1.25.

WOU will return to action this coming week competing in both the Adams/Klein Combined Event in California on Thursday and Friday, along with also competing in the Willamette Invitational on Saturday.
Weather Alert

...MORE WINDY DAYS ON THE WAY, WITH COLDER TEMPERATURES AND RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS FOR MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND... --Thursday and Friday-- * A pair of systems brushing through the region will bring gusty winds both days, with even stronger winds possible on Friday. Winds will bring travel difficulties both in the air and on the ground. Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with CalTrans/NDOT for the current road information. Please see the latest hazard text products for the latest information on anticipated wind speeds. * Area of blowing dust are possible both afternoons downwind of the Carson Sink, possibly affecting portions of I-80, US 50, and Highway 95. In addition, backcountry and ski recreation could be impacted along with choppy conditions on area lakes. * A few light showers with minimal liquid totals are possible in far northern Nevada and northeast California. --Mother's Day Weekend into Early Next Week-- * It will remain breezy throughout the weekend, with a secondary max in wind speeds on Sunday due to a strong cold front. This front will usher in a much colder air mass and high temperatures on Mother's Day will be 15-20 degrees below normal. * There will be rain and snow showers with the front, but again, liquid amounts will be minimal. There are solid chances for snow levels to fall to all valley floors by Sunday evening, which may catch many off guard, though it is hard to get snow to stick to roadways in lower elevation valleys this late in the spring. * Well below normal temperatures and chances for light showers will continue into Monday and Tuesday next week. While still some uncertainty due to winds and cloud cover, it's possible we could have frost and freeze concerns Sunday and Monday nights.

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 9 PM PDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Southwest winds 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph expected. Wind prone areas may experience gusts in excess of 60 mph. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 45 mph and waves of 2 to 4 feet expected on Pyramid Lake. * WHERE...Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Western Nevada Basin and Range including Pyramid Lake. * WHEN...From 11 AM to 9 PM PDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects and high profile vehicles will be prone to tip over. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Blowing dust may locally reduce visibility downwind of dry lake beds and sinks. Small boats, kayaks and paddle boards will be prone to capsizing. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with NDOT for the latest on road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Now is the time to secure loose outdoor items such as patio furniture, holiday decorations, and trash cans before winds increase which could blow these items away. The best thing to do is prepare ahead of time by making sure you have extra food and water on hand, flashlights with spare batteries and/or candles in the event of a power outage. Check lake conditions before heading out on the water and be prepared for a sudden increase in winds and wave heights. Consider postponing boating activities on the lake until a day with less wind. &&


Gold Results Uncover New Prospect at Mt Monger North

Perth, Mar 21, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Monger Gold Limited ( ASX:MMG ) is pleased to announce the success of one recent RC drill hole that tested the Hoffmann North prospect. This drill hole is 200m NW of the Hoffmann Prospect and structures in the area are interpreted to strike in a NW direction which is antithetic to the Hoffmann Prospect that strikes NE.Highlights:- RC drilling at the Hoffmann North prospect, Mt Monger North returns significant gold results, including;- 7m at 1.92 g/t from 52m; including1m at 2.97 g/t from 54m1m at 3.27 g/t from 57m- Only 1 RC hole was drilled for 100m with the program designed to follow up on vacuum drill assay results from MMG's 2021 program which included:o 1m @ 6.26 g/t from 39m- Follow up drilling is being planned to target the mineralized quartz veins which are open at both depth and along strike- Planning is underway for a diamond drilling campaign at the Providence prospect where assays have returned results of up to 8m @ 31.84 g/t Au from 66m including 1m@ 190.08 g/t Au from 70mCommenting on the drilling campaign, Monger Gold's Chairman Mr Peretz Schapiro said "The discovery of the Hoffman North prospect, continues to bolster our portfolio of prospective targets across our tenements.The drill results for this new area illustrate the potential for generating new prospects with significant gold mineralisation at Monger North. This first RC drill hole into the Hoffmann North Prospect requires more drilling to test the quartz vein gold in fresh rock where depletion of has not occurred.In addition to following up the Hoffman North Prospect we are also looking forward to drilling some diamond holes at the Providence prospect as we seek to gain a greater structural understanding of the exceptionally high-grade gold system that appears to be present.We look forward to keeping the market updated with our exploration progress across our projects".Hoffmann North comprises subvertical quartz veins in a felsic volcanic host rock with little transported cover but very deep weathering in an upper saprolite profile. A few very shallow old workings are found targeting quartz veins from surface, but potentially because of the deep weathering of the felsic volcanic host rock, gold was leached from the quartz veins.An adjacent vacuum drill hole, to the northeast, has anomalous support of 1.39g/t Au at endof-hole. Elevated arsenic with a NW strike in vacuum holes suggests an associated structure.Other notable above background trace elements associations found from MMG vacuum drilling across the prospect are bismuth, molybdenum, tellurium and tungsten. The molybdenum associated with porphyry in the NW also has elevated chromium as is a mix of porphyry and ultramafic with fuchite alteration which is very prospective geology for gold mineralisation and therefore extensions along strike for this gold mineralisation.The Hoffmann Prospect is around 3.5km NE from the Providence Prospect where diamond drill holes are currently being planned to intersect and characterise the significant high-grade gold mineralisation announced there from a recent RC drill program.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Monger Gold Ltd

With an enterprise value AUD $1m and AUD $5m in funding, Monger Gold Limited's (ASX:MMG) intention is to generate value for shareholders by directing funds raised by the Offer into targeted and systematic exploration of our Projects, resulting in the definition of one or more JORC compliant gold and nickel resources.
With all that is currently happening in the world, there is always someone that could use a hand.

For Santa Fe-based The Food Depot, its Kids Kitchen program is their answer to combating food insecurity.

In a 2019 report from Feeding America, New Mexico ranked worst in the nation for childhood hunger in 2019 at 24.1%.

In the same report, four counties in New Mexico reported a child hunger rate of above 30%: McKinley, Luna, Cibola and Catron.

Kids Kitchen was created less than five years ago and came out of necessity, said Jill Dixon, The Food Depot deputy director. We were operating several programs as a food bank so that kids in this area could enjoy fresh and free meals after school.

Kids Kitchen is a collaboration between the United Way of Santa Fe County and of The Food Depot to provide meals to multiple locations in the Santa Fe area.

Located at 1222 Siler Road, Suite A, in Santa Fe, The Food Depot provides meals to nine counties and has helped over 39,000 people combat food insecurity.

Areas impacted by The Food Depot are Harding, Rio Arriba, Taos, Mora, Colfax, Union, San Miguel, Los Alamos and Santa Fe counties.

There are food deserts throughout northern New Mexico in our service area, and we are trying to identify those food deserts and make sure we supply to those communities, said Sherry Hooper, The Food Depot executive director.

Throughout the first semester of the 2021-22 school year, Kids Kitchen provided 65,427 meals to a total of 18 locations.

Kids Kitchen started out small, as we were only serving four schools at first, Dixon said. It still mattered when we were only serving 40 or 50 kids at a time.

During the summer when kids are on break, Kids Kitchen steps up to the plate and provides meals as part of the Summer Feeding Program at sites in and around Santa Fe.

It was a real challenge getting a third-party vendor that could meet the federal reimbursement requirements and provide food in a safe and timely manner, Dixon said.

The Food Depot faced challenges while searching for a vendor and tried using a vendor in Albuquerque as there were not many options to begin with.

Around the same time, we chatted with folks who ran a kitchen program and they gave us the great idea of having our own kitchen, Dixon said. It was a difficult year of planning, but here we are with a nice kitchen several years later.

Most of the meals come through the Santa Fe Public Schools 21st Century Grant program, which is federally funded through the Child and Adult Care Program.

Currently, Kids Kitchen serves only Santa Fe County.

It is important to note that a lot of children rely on school breakfast and lunch for their only meals of the day, Hooper said. So we are excited to feed kids after school so they do not have to (wait) until the next day to eat.

Hooper is one of many professionals at The Food Depot, looking for new ways to help the community.

My role with Kids Kitchen is mostly oversight; I try to leave the menu planning to the experts, Hooper said. I think it is important because we are feeding hundreds of kids the nutritious and tasty meals they need.

In 2021, Kids Kitchen distributed over 10.6 million pounds of food, which breaks down to more than 8 million meals.

Now we have surpassed our goal of over 1,000 meals a day so now we are considering a larger kitchen, Hooper said. My favorite aspect of working with Kids Kitchen is knowing each day that kids in this area are getting fed.

With Kids Kitchen achieving so much success, The Food Depot is looking to branch out in the near future.

Part of The Food Depots new strategic plan involves expanding Kids Kitchen so that we can not only reach more children but handle other challenges, Hooper said. We would like to provide frozen meals for senior citizens to be prepared later.

Frozen meals will help guide senior citizens into a quicker and more efficient way to prepare food.

Often seniors tell us that they have difficulties eating fresher foods because they do not have teeth, Hooper said. Many of them have also said they stopped cooking due to fear of starting a fire so we are trying to pay attention to the challenges seniors experiencing hunger are facing.

Along with frozen meals, Kids Kitchen looks to provide groceries as well for families in need.

We think this will provide a viable option for families who are really busing trying to make ends meet, Dixon stated. This way, they do not have to rely on dollar menus when time and money are both short.

A 2014 Hunger in America report found that more than 80% of families suffering from food scarcity earn less than $20,000 per year.

Last week, Dixon worked a shift at Kids Kitchen in hopes of having a greater understanding of all facets of The Food Depot.

We start early, with six to eight people each day plus a few volunteers, Dixon said. I was opening and stuffing paper bags with meals to be distributed to three schools that day.

Volunteers also enjoy adding notes in the lunch bags for the students.

After that, I moved to peeling cucumbers and I believe we went through six produce boxes that day alone, Dixon said. One of the chefs made multiple vats of elbow macaroni along with a number of people that were cleaning dishes and cutting other vegetables.

For those that would like to get involved, you can volunteer or donate at thefooddepot.org.
JUNEAU, Alaska  Simmering public anger in Alaska over the legislatures failure to settle the states most radioactive issue  how big a check residents should receive from the states oil wealth fund  is colliding with a once-a-decade opportunity for political activists: The chance for voters to call a convention to amend the states constitution.

The frustration over the long-festering oil check question is providing a tail wind for groups seeking to change the constitution to address a range of hot button topics, such as restricting abortion and altering the process for selecting judges in a way that opponents say could make the process more partisan.

This years political turbulence could turn what is usually an overlooked ballot question into a high-stakes fight over the direction of the state. A convention would open Alaskas foundational document to any type of revision, something opponents consider dangerous in an era of deep partisan divides, culture wars and campaigns fueled by deep-pocketed donors from out of state.

Talking about changing the constitution is like walking around in a dynamite storage room with a lighter. You better know what youre doing, said John Coghill, a conservative former state lawmaker whose father was one of the delegates to Alaskas original constitutional convention.

Alaska is one of three states where voters will decide this fall whether to call a convention to consider amendments to their constitution. The question has gained little attention in Missouri and has generated only mild interest so far in New Hampshire, where a group opposed to COVID-19 mandates and restrictions has discussed starting a campaign to advocate for a convention. That group, Rebuild NH, hasnt yet said what amendments it might favor.

In all, 14 states are required to hold periodic elections asking voters whether to convene a constitutional convention. Delegates typically have free reign to propose revisions  or even entirely new constitutions  that would then go back to voters for ratification.

State constitutional conventions called by voters have become increasingly rare. More than 30 such ballot questions have failed since Rhode Island voters last authorized one in 1984.

Voters in New Hampshire havent authorized one since 1982. Delegates at that gathering debated more than 100 amendments, with 10 making it to the ballot. Voters approved six, including measures that required the legislature to meet annually instead of every other year and ensuring polling places would be accessible to disabled voters.

The country is more divided today.

Whereas at one point a constitutional convention was seen as a way to empower the people and overcome challenges that they saw with the operation of government, the people now no longer have trust that constitutional conventions will work out, said John Dinan, a political science professor at Wake Forest University who studies the topic. Theres significant fear of runaway conventions or opening the Pandoras box of issues.

Thats what is emerging in Alaska, where some groups are taking sides on the question that will be on the November ballot.

This years vote will follow an expected mid-year decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could severely erode abortion rights across the country. The Alaska Supreme Court has interpreted the state constitutions right to privacy as encompassing abortion rights, but many conservatives want to do away with that interpretation.

The conservative Alaska Family Council says it considers calling for a convention one of its top priorities. It supports an amendment saying nothing in the constitution may be construed as protecting a right to abortion. The group also is supporting issues related to school choice and changes to the judicial selection process.

Existing precedent in the state provides pretty significant insulation for Alaska women to continue to have reproductive choice, said Susan Orlansky, interim executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska. But she said her group is concerned about the potential for a convention. A convention carries the risk of possible changes to the constitution that could undermine those protections, she said.

A prominent advocate for a convention is Bob Bird, chair of the Alaskan Independence Party, which is one of the three recognized political parties in the state and considers itself a blend of conservative Republicanism, populism and libertarianism. Among other things, Bird has urged changes to the judiciary.

Critics of a convention say the heated political environment makes this a bad time to open the state constitution, but Bird disagrees: If we didnt have this environment, it wouldnt even be considered. It would be brushed off like it has (been) in the past.

The last time the question was on the ballot in Alaska, in 2012, voters rejected calling for a convention by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.

Republican former lawmakers, including Coghill, Democratic former mayors and a union leader have joined as part of a group called Defend Our Constitution to oppose a convention. They worry that deep-pocketed outside interests will try to influence the process and that business interests might delay investments in Alaska while it plays out.

Bruce Botelho, a Democrat involved with the convention opposition group, said there are a lot of people who are just generally angry at government and this may be their opportunity to cast a vote to express their frustrations at government.

Supporters say the fears are overblown and that if voters do approve a convention, sharply divisive issues are unlikely to go far.

Similar concerns have prevented a constitutional convention at the federal level, which several Republican-led states have proposed in recent years as a way to pass a balanced budget amendment. Those wary of constitutional conventions generally say they worry about the possibility of the gatherings turning into free-for-alls  Democrats seeking to mandate spending for social welfare programs, for example, and Republicans trying to outlaw abortion or prohibit any type gun control.

Successful constitutional conventions during the last century were aided by bipartisan cooperation, said Justin Dyer, director of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri.

We have a very tense partisan time right now, he said. The idea of having good will from both parties  its hard to know if we would be able to do that or not.

___

Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. Associated Press writer Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
PHOENIX  The names of two men found dead inside a car with gunshot wounds have been released by Phoenix police.

They said the men have been identified as 20-year-old Gage Neal-Belunas and 23-year-old Kyle Ford.

Officers were dispatched to the Metro Center Mall area early Friday morning, according to police.

They said detectives are trying to determine what led to shootings, but it remains unclear if its a homicide case.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

The man arrested on suspicion of stabbing three people on the Rail Runner commuter train Saturday afternoon had a gun in his backpack when he was taken into custody, according to New Mexico State Police.

Luis Sanchez, 32, was charged with three counts of aggravated battery, possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, according to State Police.

At about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sanchez got into a fight with another passenger on the train and stabbed a man in the back and lower abdomen. A security guard who tried to stop the fight was stabbed in her neck.

An elderly woman on the train was also stabbed in the shoulder, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. All three victims were taken to a local hospital and two of them underwent surgery, according to the complaint.

The train was brought to a stop at the Montano Transit Center and Sanchez fled southbound on the tracks before being taken into custody by Albuquerque police.

The complaint said that a gun was found in a backpack that Sanchez dropped while fleeing from the train.

Sanchez, after his arrest, was treated at Lovelace hospital for lacerations to his hands. He was then taken to the State Police office in Albuquerque, where he twice tried to grab officers weapons when they attempted to interview him, according to the complaint.
Police identified the man shot and killed by officers in Albuquerque on Saturday evening as Collin Neztsosie, 33.

Neztsosie had pointed a gun at multiple people on East Central before being shot by at least one officer during an altercation, according to police.

Neztsosie had a minor criminal history in the Albuquerque area. He was arrested for drinking in public in 2014. In 2015, officers were called near Broadway and Interstate 40 on a report that Neztsosie was threatening to harm himself.

An officer wrote in a complaint Neztsosie had a history of calling for help and then being aggressive with medical workers who responded to the call.

On Saturday, police at around 6 p.m. went to the area of Central and Tramway after there were numerous 911 calls reporting a man with a gun in the area. Neztsosie also called police himself prior to the shooting, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said Saturday.

Medina didnt release additional details about the shooting.

Gilbert Gallegos, a police spokesman said that detectives are hoping to speak with additional witnesses and asked that anyone who was in the area leading up to the shooting to call 242-COPS.

There were two police shootings last week. Officers shot and killed a suspect in an active shooting spree near Montgomery and Tramway on Monday.
Instagram Celebrity

The 'Real Housewives of New York City' star gets support from her famous friends like Lisa Rinna and Kyle Richards after owning up to her mistake in a new Instagram post.

Mar 20, 2022

AceShowbiz - Luann de Lesseps has issued an apology for her recent drunken night at a New York City gay bar. Noting that she regretted the incident, "The Real Housewives of New York City" star blamed alcohol for her behavior.

The 56-year-old expressed her remorse in an Instagram post shared on Saturday morning, March 19. "This week, after a regrettable incident, I was faced with the truth. I want to apologize to the staff at Townhouse and anyone else I may have offended with my behavior. Clearly my struggles with alcohol are real!" she penned.

"While I've made great strides over the years, there's been times where I've fallen. It's one day at a time. I'm in recovery and taking steps to ensure this doesn't happen again," the TV personality went on noting. "I'm grateful to my family and my friends for their constant support."

The post has since been flooded with supportive comments from Luann's famous friends. One in particular was "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" regular Lisa Rinna, who replied, "Sending you love." Fellow Housewife Kyle Richards added, "Sending you so much love and support." Cynthia Bailey then chimed in, "I love you & support you always!"

Page Six previously reported that Luann, who was arrested for disorderly intoxication in Palm Beach, Florida back in 2017, was kicked out of Townhouse on Wednesday after causing a disturbance as she "monopolized the piano" at the bar. She allegedly "belted out jumbled versions of songs" that prompted the crowd to boo her.

Luann, however, denied she was booted from the venue. In an email sent to Daily Mail, she explained, "I went out and I was feeling all Jovani but clearly money can't buy you class, especially with an audience who doesn't appreciate my music." She additionally said that there is "certainly no girl code anymore."

"But I live to see another day - chic cest la vie!" the reality star continued, referring to the title of her own song "Chic C'est la Vie". She further elaborated, "Long live fun nights out in New York City."
Movie

Meanwhile, 'Succession' takes home the top prize in the TV category as it wins the Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television - Drama.

Mar 20, 2022

AceShowbiz - Winners of the 2022 Producers Guild of America Awards were celebrated at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 19. Among those to grab prizes in the movie category were "CODA" and "Encanto".

"CODA" won the coveted Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures. It beat up the likes of "Being the Ricardos", "Belfast", "Don't Look Up", "Dune", "King Richard", "Licorice Pizza", "The Power of the Dog", "tick, tick  Boom!" and "West Side Story".

"Encanto", on the other hand, took home the Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures. The Disney Oscar frontrunner pushed aside "Luca", "The Mitchells vs. The Machines", "Raya and the Last Dragon" and "Sing 2".

As for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures, it went to "Summer of Soul". It won the battle against "Ascension", "The First Wave", "Flee", "In the Same Breath" as well as "Simple as Water".

On the TV side, "Succession" took home the Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television - Drama. Apple TV+'s "Ted Lasso", meanwhile, bagged the trophy of Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television - Comedy. HBO's "Mare of Easttown" also had something to celebrate that night since it picked up the David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Series Television.

Special honorees included "Insecure" star/creator Issa Rae (Visionary Award), EGOT-winning actress Rita Moreno (Stanley Kramer Award), "Star Wars" patriarch George Lucas (Milestone Award), and "Dune" co-producer Mary Parent (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Motion Pictures).

The full list of winners is:
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Although durum prices remain in double figures, the market itself has been less than stellar.

Durum continues to be a lackluster market. It's stayed very tranquil over the last couple weeks when we've seen pretty extreme volatility in the other wheat markets and corn and soybeans, said Jim Peterson, market director for the North Dakota Wheat Commission. Time will tell whether that's a positive or whether it works against durum, and it kind of loses its luster to pull acres in 2022 if it doesn't keep pace with the strength, albeit with volatility, that weve seen in the other markets.

Current bids for old crop durum range around $13 locally and seems to catch most bids for nearby durum. New crop durum is at $10 a bushel. Although there may be some higher bids being offered, Peterson noted theyre just not posted or theyre not as transparent.

Looking at nearby durum bids, he pointed out that spring wheat was $9.50 to close to $10 as of March 14.

(Thats) certainly not equal to durum, but when we look at new crop position  the harvest 2022 period  there are some $9.50 bids for spring wheat cash. So when you compare that to $10 durum, I think spring wheat wins out, he said. Well see if we get more market action from the durum industry to try to incentivize acres for 2022.

As for why the market is being a bit lackluster, its because most mills and end-users appear to be covered for the near-term. How deep that is and how long it lasts, time will tell. Peterson suspects there will have to be some kind of push to come in and cover prior to the June timeframe.

One thing thats worked against durum on the demand side, he noted, is that pasta plants in the U.S. and domestic mills have run into significant supply chain issues, including difficulty getting packaging materials, some worker shortages, and difficulty getting trucks to move the product. Also, on the rail end, there have been some periodic shortfalls.

So thats all kind of throttled back production at the pasta plants which, in turn, means less demand from the mills, which leads to less pull from the country level. So hopefully that will straighten itself out, he said.

Looking at USDAs March supply and demand report, domestic use was pegged at 77 million bushels (MB), which would be the second-lowest in the last 10 years. Compared to last year when domestic food use was 88 MB, which was an all-time record, this year is a pretty dramatic decline in durum food use. Peterson said that part of that is mills substituting some spring wheat in products in where they can, and the other is just not being able to keep product moving out to the store shelves.

They realize theyve missed some demand, but hopefully we can get these supply chain issues cleared up and see some better pasta pull going forward, he said.

Other factors included in the supply and demand report, USDA kept imports at 40 MB, half of which is pasta imports coming in and the other half is projected durum from Canada for grinding. Thats near the five-year average, but up from 37 MB a year ago.

Well see if that holds. Regarding the imports from Canada, while higher than a year ago, its a little suspect whether they reach that level, he said.

The next big report for the market is the upcoming Planting Intentions Report, which will come out March 31. The survey of producers was taken the first part of March.

Every year there are some variables that come into play that make the report something more to react to rather than to hold firm going into the year, he said. But, obviously with the volatility weve seen in corn and especially the bread wheat markets in early March, it will be interesting to see what those numbers show. Are durum acres going to be higher? If so, to what level?

He added that there are still some early estimates that point to lower durum acres even though weve seen some very strong prices through the winter.

Its all tied to what's happening with other crops. Other crops have made a more aggressive bid for 2022 acres, he said. Spring wheat has had a pretty good rally since the first part of March.

Another report due out March 31 is the updated stocks on hand as of March 1. USDA is projecting almost no change in ending inventories for June of 2022 vs. June of 2021, even with the smallest crop since 1961. If USDA comes in with numbers that are less than expected, that could be a factor that could help bring more life back into the durum market.

So far, U.S. domestic demand has been disappointing, he said.

Looking at export sales, Peterson explained the price premium for U.S. and Canadian durum has really limited sales into Europe and also North Africa. The U.S. has 7 MB of shipments and sales on the books vs. 25 MB a year ago.

A concerning factor going forward, is we only have 700,000 bushels on the books remaining left to be shipped this marketing year. A year ago we had nearly 6 million, so were definitely going to need to see some new demand come in during the April/May time frame, he said.

Recent tenders that have come from Algeria and Tunisia were at $17 per bushel (U.S.) delivered.

The U.S. does have sales on the books to some key buyers, including Italy, Algeria, Spain, Guatemala, Panama, Mexico and Japan, its just that those volumes are all lower than typical.

Canadas market has also been weaker during February. Their cash prices to producers are down to $15-$15.50 (Canadian). New crop bids are down around $12, so not much different than the U.S. market.

Canadian exports in the August/January period totaled 48 MB. That compares to 110 MB a year ago, a decline of 56 percent. By region, their exports to the U.S. are only 6.5 MB to date, but thats double what they were a year ago, which was a fairly small number. Peterson expects that Canada will probably need to get close to 20 MB in sales to the U.S. to meet USDAs projection.

Canada, he noted, has had good demand from Japan and Venezuela, but similar to the U.S., theyre seeing about a 70 percent decline into Italy and about a 50 percent decline into Morocco.

Looking ahead to the 2022 crop, early speculation out of Canada is indicating a 9 percent increase in durum acres, which would take them back up to about 6 million acres. The early estimates were prior to the bread wheat rally in early March. There are other estimates that call for an increase of just 3 percent. Canadas planting survey results wont come out until the end of April.

Looking at the world durum crop, Peterson said the European Union crop is expected to be about 5 percent larger and the French crop, right now, is in very good shape. But where a lot of the world focus is going to be in North Africa, in particular Morocco, which had its driest period in 30 years.

Any further rains will likely be too late to benefit the crops, so Morocco is going to need more durum imports this year, he said. Algeria has been catching some spotty rains, so well see what happens.

For the U.S., the market will get a first glance at potential durum acreage when the Planting Intentions Report comes out the end of March. Back in December/January, a 10 percent increase seemed reasonable, but thats been pared back of late.

Well see whether acres show that producers do intend to plant more durum acres this spring or not, he said.

The big thing for both the world and U.S. and Canadian producers, is what type of demand recovery we are going to see going into this next year. The shortage of supply, the high prices, supply chain issues all have worked to probably cut demand more than expected. Hopefully well see a recovery in both international and U.S. domestic demand as we go into the 2022 crop year, he added.

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DONETSK, Ukraine  Workers on a farm near Donetsk in the east of Ukraine were forced to run to the bomb shelter March 15 as missiles fired by 
If farmers are adding strip tillage, cover crops, or perennial crops to their operation, there could be the potential to receive a carbon credit payment per acre, too.

The carbon market is still new, though, so early adapter farmers will need to study and prepare.

The subject of carbon markets was recently discussed at the Strategic Farming: Lets Talk Crops! webinar on March 16.

Im always the person who says, Just put your toe in  dont jump in. Start with your worst field, the sandiest with the lowest organic matter content, said Jodi DeJong-Hughes, University of Minnesota Regional Extension educator.

Even if the carbon markets dont pay out, youll see other benefits in crop yield and water management.

DeJong-Hughes reminds farmers to check with their lawyer before signing any contracts for providing carbon credits.

Many contracts are 5-10 years, so farmers need to know what will happen if they cant store as much carbon as they said they could. Contracts should also have a clause that allows for higher carbon payments as the market matures.

Practices that qualify for carbon credits should be practices that help your farmland.

Its supposed to be practices you want to do, and then you get an extra $5 per acre, said Anna Cates, Ph.D., Minnesota soil health specialist.

Carbon info

DeJong-Hughes and Cates are working with the Minnesota Corn Growers to help farmers understand the carbon credit market better.

Farmers always strive to improve farmland through good production practices. Now, some of these practices may provide an extra payment through carbon credits  but mostly likely only if they are newly-added practices.

The three most important elements are hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. Most soil organic matter is carbon, and it serves to build resiliency in farm fields.

Carbon is the glue that holds life together.

When you incorporate practices that leave more carbon in your field, and good organic matter, your field can better capture the rainfall, be able to move the water into the soil, that helps the farmer to be able to get into the field quickly after a rainfall event. Also, you can bang up the soil a little bit and it bounces back, DeJong-Hughes said.

Carbon  as carbon dioxide  is a greenhouse gas. It keeps heat in the atmosphere. We need carbon dioxide, but the numbers are too high, so we want to reduce carbon dioxide levels through storing carbon.

As a visual, DeJong-Hughes suggests farmers think of an inflated hot air balloon. The amount of space inside that hot air balloon is comparable to the size of a ton of carbon dioxide.

You might hear the term carbon dioxide equivalent. This is because there are multiple greenhouse gases  methane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and more.

They put it all on the scale of How does it compare to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for holding down heat? Carbon dioxide is 1, and if you look at methane it is about 25 carbon dioxide equivalents. It is more potent than carbon dioxide by 25-30 times. Nitrous oxide is about 265 times more potent, she said.

Using nitrogen fertilizer efficiently, helps nitrogen to stay in the field to be used by the crop and keeps nitrous oxide out of the atmosphere, she added.

According to the EPAs Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 29 percent of U.S. emitted greenhouse gas comes from transportation. Electricity is 25 percent, industry is 23 percent, commercial and residential is 13 percent, and agriculture is about 10.5 percent.

Breaking down agricultures greenhouse gas emissions, 55 percent is created from ag soil management, with another 28 percent from cow burps. Manure management and other practices make up the remaining portion of ag greenhouse gas emissions.

Cates and DeJong-Hughes are focused on ag soil management. Its common to think of soil organic carbon as interchangeable with soil organic matter, as organic matter is about 58 percent carbon. One percent of organic matter has about 11,600 pounds of carbon in the top 6 inches of soil per acre.

The neat thing about carbon is it is dark in color  black  so you can actually see it in your soil if you have more carbon or less carbon, DeJong-Hughes said. In Minnesota, soils that are tan in color are generally less than 1 percent organic matter.

When it comes to carbon credits  the more carbon in your soil, the more difficult it is to see a significant change.

If getting a carbon credit contract is something a farmer wants to try, signing up a poor quality, light-colored field with soil health problems is likely the field to start with.

Increasing carbon in the soil include practices like leaving more crop residue, growing long roots, adding manure to the soil, or growing cover crops.

Practices that take carbon away include tillage, baling/burning, or harvesting crops. Removing carbon is sometimes a good thing, as in harvesting crops. On the negatives side, erosion removes carbon from the field.

When companies pledge to reduce their carbon footprint, they have two ways to do so.

They can remove carbon through various practices, and these are called insets. A company reduces its emissions within its own value chain.

A company can also purchase offsets  carbon and/or greenhouse gases are removed from the atmosphere or kept from being released  from other places. Purchasing offsets could include paying someone to restore a forest or paying a farmer to adopt certain production practices that increase carbon in the soil.

You really have to check into the company that is buying the credit, she said. Companies that refine fossil fuels, for example, will most likely need to purchase carbon credits to meet their pledges for reduced carbon.

If you want to sell your credits, make sure its to a company that you think shares your ideals, she said. This is one of the reasons that its not going to be one size fits all.

For most farmers and landowners, the primary goal of adopting new farming techniques is to improve the farmland and soil health. Obtaining a carbon credit payment of a few dollars per acre may be a nice perk for some farmers, but the greater benefit comes from a more productive soil and a healthier environment  such as reduced erosion and better water quality.

There are many benefits, Cates said. Cover crops and good soil structure can help mitigate the effects of very wet years. Cover crops and good soil structure can help mitigate the effects of very dry years. Thats where you get the intersection of the environmental issues that society is interested in and on-farm logistical help.

For more information, please contact Anna Cates at catesa@umn.edu or Jodi DeJong-Hughes at dejon003@umn.edu.

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Stacey Abrams returns to Albany in first week of 2022 campaign for governor

Alan Mauldin / Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams made a Friday stop in Albany as part of her One Georgia campaign tour of the state. Alan Mauldin / Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin The audience reacts during gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams appearance in Albany Friday. Alan Mauldin / Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin A.J. Parker asks a question during a campaign stop by Stacey Abrams in Albany.

ALBANY  Stacey Abrams returned to Albany, the city where she announced her 2018 bid for the governors office, to again hammer on her message promoting Medicaid expansion.

The gubernatorial candidate started her One Georgia tour in Cuthbert on Monday, where the community hospital closed in 2020, and officially announced her campaign to seek the Democratic nomination.

Sixty-four counties in the state have no pediatrician, 79 counties have no OB-GYN, she told the audience of about 200 gathered for the campaign event held at the Albany Museum of Art. In Dougherty County, 7,100 people would suddenly have health insurance if Medicaid was expanded in the state.

Cuthbert would still have a hospital if Georgia had expanded Medicaid. Cuthbert doesnt have a hospital because the governor is too mean to take the money. We know it would put money into health care facilities like our hospitals.

If the state decided to participate in the federal program, it would incur costs of about $2.7 billion, but would receive some $3.5 billion, the candidate said. That money would go to improve facilities and provide health care professionals in underserved areas and provide a huge economic boost across the state by creating thousands of jobs.

Thats why weve got to expand Medicaid, to save lives, create jobs and grow our economy, she said.

Abrams addressed questions from a four-member panel of college students, the audience and media during her appearance, with the questions ranging from the high debts students incur in college to a proposed dont say gay bill to changes in the states election laws.

The candidate reminded the crowd that it was the Republicans who initiated no-excuse absentee voting in the state that has been pared back.

They liked it when they were the only ones using it, she said.

To counter the negative impact of the new laws, eligible voters need to turn out in the fall, said the candidate who faces no opponent in the May 24 primary and will face the winner of the bruising race between incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp. and former U.S. Sen. David Perdue.

What I need you to do is youve got to start having conversations in March so were ready for November, she said. We have to show up in record numbers, because thats the only way.

Historically black colleges and universities like Albany State University should take their place as not just outstanding black institutions but as premier places of learning for the state, but that will take a boost in investment, Abrams said. As governor, she said she would expand technical college scholarships to get more people trained in work skills.

As a child, she recalled, she saw her deeply religious parents organize a group to support gay people by holding signs saying that God loves everyone.

As governor, I will veto every anti-gay bill, she said to a round of applause. Until we have a governor who works for every Georgian, we are going to continue to see these bills move. Can you imagine what it feels like to be told the people who are (educating) you dont like you?

Abrams also criticized a bill that would eliminate the training and background check requirements for the concealed carry of firearms.

While the state has seen economic success, it has not translated into a better economic outlook for everyone, the candidate said. Medicaid expansion would provide a broad, across-the-state boost that a factory opening does not.

Were in a state where 40 percent of the children live in poverty, Abrams said. We cant be a state thats good for business if there are people (left behind).

Im running for governor of all of Georgia. Im running to be a governor who believes your zip code or your access to power doesnt decide your future, where people arent dying in small towns because they dont have access to health care.
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In 1996, the late Samuel Huntington (1927-2008), a respected Harvard professor, published The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. It was his rejoinder to Francis Fukuyamas 1992 bestseller, The End of History and the Last Man. Both were engaged in imagining the future of the post-Cold War world.

The outbreak of the war in Ukraine reminded us of the debate that had unfolded over Fukuyamas and Huntingtons differing visions.

For Fukuyama, the Cold Wars end was also an end of History with a capital H, meaning the notion of history driven by ideological conflicts. In his view, though troublesome events would still arise, these would not up-end the global spread of the neo-liberal, rule-based world order in terms of freedom, democracy, a market economy, and secularization of cultures, all as summed up in the American experience.

Huntingtons view was less optimistic. He saw the Cold Wars end as a transition into a world in which the divisions among the great powers once based on political ideologies would be replaced by the more enduring divisions in history grounded in cultures and religious traditions. Huntington defined civilization as the broadest cultural identity in history.

Hence, Huntington predicted a clash of civilizationsa phrase borrowed from Bernard Lewis, historian of the Middle East and the Islamic civilizationdarkening the future of the new century and millennium ahead.

Huntington cautioned fellow Americans, especially the Fukuyama-like optimists: In the emerging world of ethnic conflict and civilizational clash, Western belief in the universality of Western culture suffers three problems: it is false; it is immoral; and it is dangerous. He added, The belief that non-Western peoples should adopt Western values, institutions, and culture is immoral because of what would be necessary to bring it about Imperialism is the necessary logical consequence of universalism.

Events showed Huntington was prophetic and erased Fukuyamas rosy outlook.

The global war on terrorism was a response to the Islamic extremist terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, coupled with the neoconservatives argument that we must spread democracy and American values abroad. This morphed into an endless war across blood-drenched boundaries of civilizations, just as Huntington foresaw. The same global war on terrorism vaporized the anticipated peace dividend from the Cold Wars end. Lastly, the rebooted confrontations with Russia have ignited a lethal war in Ukraine, through which runs the fractured civilizational East-West frontier in Europe, bringing back with a vengeance the heightened tensions of a Cold War that seemingly never ended.

With specific regard to the conflict, the Soviet Unions collapse resurrected pre-communist Russias past as the civilizational center of Orthodox Christianity and Moscow as the third Rome. Independent Ukraine, however, is a torn country. Half the population is ethnically Russian and, as Orthodox Christians, linked to Russia; the other half is of mixed ethnicities and its cultural and historic affinity rests in Europe to the West of Russia.

Its not ironic to see in this war a civilizational conflict. On the one side are those Ukrainians seeking support from the West (EU and NATO) to defend their perceived cultural identity in terms of western Enlightenment. On the other side are the Russians who resist Western values because they subvert their cultural identity and their revived Orthodox Christianity.

With an eye to events in Ukraine and their functioning as a microcosm of a schism playing out around the globe, Huntingtons thesis is somewhat limited because he left unexamined the effects of civilizations internal decay. For example, he did not consider the degrading effects on American culture that Allan Bloom, in 1987, examined in The Closing of the American Mind. Nor did he take into account books, such as Neil Postmans Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (1984) or Christopher Laschs The Culture of Narcissism (1979), or Laschs later book The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy (published posthumously in 1997).

Bloom, Postman, and Lasch were describing what happens when a culture begins dismantling its foundational values and, consequently, loses its spiritual vitality. In such a culture, where people increasingly seek only pleasure, the citizens live for the moment, cut adrift from the past, and uncaring of their future. Lasch was almost Burkean in writing, The narcissist has no interest in the future because, in part, he has so little interest in the past.

Image: A clash of civilizations map based on Huntingtons book by Kyle Cronan. CC BY-SA 3.0.

Huntington simply could not imagine that an increasingly faithless, feckless, radically secularized, and libertarian West (and America) might be a greater danger than other cultures in widening the post-Cold War worlds civilizational divisions. In other words, he did not perceive that the contemporary West, culturally in disrepair and spiritually broken, can provide neither leadership nor moral guidance to others when needed in preventing the clash of civilizations.

Huntington was also not entirely right about Americas foundational culture based on Enlightenment values being unique because it has universal appeal. But he was right that America, by spreading her culture (however degraded), when backed by force (defensive or otherwise) to non-Western peoples, would corrupt her American exceptionalism into American imperialism.

For the last twenty years at least, American would have done well to recall John Quincy Adamss words:

Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her [Americas] heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.

For the United States to invite, or entice, Ukraine into NATO was recklessly widening the internal divide of a torn country, while appallingly baiting Russia to invade pre-emptively to cancel that invitation. Consequently, the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine has as much to do with Russian revanchism, as it is with American hubris that has made the people, especially their leaders, heedless not only to Huntingtons apprehension but also to the warnings of George Washington in his farewell addressan address that is even more relevant in the post-Cold War world than when given in 1796.

Washington warned, Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Furthermore, Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice? It is our policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world.

The lesson, therefore, for Americans to draw from Ukraines tragedy is that, when distant clashes occur along civilizational boundaries for reasons that are foreign to America, then American involvement may do more harm than good. If Americans wish others to pay heed to them, they need to be true in words and deeds to the foundational values of their culture and then, deservingly, others may listen.

Geoffrey Clarfield is an anthropologist and consultant with NGOs in developing countries.

Salim Mansur is professor emeritus in political science, Western University, in London, Ontario.
In October 2020, prior to the election, Hunter Bidens laptop was left unclaimed at a repair shop and turned over to the FBI. Yaacov Apelbaum has covered at length the Biden family corruption, their crooked international dealings, pornographic images of Hunter and others, evidence of Hunters drug use, and the coverup of his and the Biden familys corruption which he found on the laptop and elsewhere on the internet. (Warning, images in these reports are not for the faint-hearted.)

The New York Post, without all these sordid details and photographs, reported the story in that same month before the election. But in the face of widespread denial, the story got little coverage. It is only now almost two years later, that the New York Times confirms that the Posts reporting on the laptop was accurate.

A comprehensive report about the ongoing federal probe into Hunter Bidens tax filings published by the New York Times on Wednesday night confirmed the existence of the first sons infamous laptop. In October 2020, The Post exclusively reported on the contents of Hunter Bidens laptop that he ditched at a Delaware repair shop in April 2019. The laptops hard drive contained a trove of emails, text messages, photos and financial documents between Hunter Biden, his family and business associates  detailing how the presidents son used his political leverage in his overseas business dealings. The repair shop owner reported the laptop to the FBI, which seized the device and its hard drive. As part of their investigation into Hunter Biden, the Times reports, federal prosecutors have looked into emails between the first son and his former business associates that were recovered from the laptop.

Emma-Jo Morris the author of the Post report tweeted:

Just to clarify: the New York Times did not confirm my reporting on the laptop from hell. They did not add any new information speaking to its authenticity. All they did was ADMIT that it was legit. That is not a minor distinction.

No, it isnt minor. There was ample evidence the report was accurate, as Apelbaums reporting all that month demonstrated.

It is hard to imagine how the Times justifies hiding from its readers news this important which clearly would have affected the election.

Its refusal to cover this allowed Joe Biden to get away with brushing off the story without dealing with its serious evidence of incredible family corruption of every sort imaginable.

Brush offs like this when a brave reporter asked about the laptop:

Joe Biden looked away and laughed. God love ya man, youre a one horse pony, he told the reporter while walking away. I promise my Justice Department will be totally on its own making these judgments about how they should proceed, he added. Joe Biden oversees the Justice Department, the agency in charge of rooting out corruption  even at the highest levels.

It was not only the NYT, and media figures like Leslie Stahl and Brian Stelter who discounted the report about Hunter's laptop. Fifty former senior intelligence officials suggested the report was Russian disinformation

On Wednesday, when the New York Times acknowledged the authenticity of Hunters laptop, it struck a blow to Biden and his Democrat lieutenants who have claimed for years the laptop is Russian disinformation.

Bidens spokesperson, Jen Psaki, is still clinging to Bidens baseless defense:

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday dodged two questions about Hunter Bidens laptop after the New York Times confirmed the laptop from hell is in fact real. The New York Times finally admitted that Hunter Bidens laptop is real. Two White House reporters confronted Psaki about Hunter Bidens laptop on Thursday and her previous claims it was Russian disinformation. Psaki looked visibly irritated and refused to answer any questions. The president previously said that the [Hunter Biden laptop scandal] was a bunch of garbage and that it was a Russian plant. Does he stand by that assessment?

Cmon man. They gotcha. Almost two years too late, but you cant continue to hide this. Games up.

I cant disagree with wretchardthecat who apropos tweeted: The difference between a conspiracy theory and so it happened, get over it is about six months.

The difference between a conspiracy theory and "so it happened, get over it" is about six months. https://t.co/lhUqQu4966  wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) March 17, 2022

Well, that seems to be the Clinton-Obama-Biden playbook for what you do when the evidence of your wrongdoing has finally made its way through the layers of disinformation and media coverup.

I dont think that will work this time. For one thing, there does seem to be some kind of ongoing federal investigation in which at least Devon Archer, Hunters close business associate, was sentenced for defrauding an Indian tribe. And that investigation seems to involve Hunters dealings:

WASHINGTON  In the year after he disclosed a federal investigation into his tax affairs in late 2020, President Bidens son, Hunter Biden, paid off a significant tax liability, even as a grand jury continued to gather evidence in a wide-ranging examination of his international business dealings, according to people familiar with the case.[snip] But Mr. Bidens taxes are just one element of the broader investigation stemming from work he did around the world. Hunter Biden is a Yale-educated lawyer; his professional life has intersected with his fathers public service, including working as a registered lobbyist for domestic interests and, while his father was vice president, pursuing deals and clients in Asia and Europe. As recently as last month, the federal grand jury heard testimony in Wilmington, Del., from two witnesses, one of whom was a former employee of Hunter Biden whose lawyer was later subpoenaed for financial records that reflected money Mr. Biden received from a Ukrainian energy company. Investigators have examined Mr. Bidens relationships with interests in Kazakhstan, a Chinese energy conglomerate and Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company, according to people familiar with the investigation. They said prosecutors had investigated payments and gifts Mr. Biden or his associates had received from foreign interests, including a vehicle paid for using funds from a company associated with a Kazakh oligarch and a diamond from a Chinese energy tycoon. Prosecutors also sought documents related to corporate entities through which Mr. Biden and his associates conducted business with interests around the world.

Im inclined to endorse this Facebook post of Michael Walsh:

It's important for you civilians to know how to read the secret messages encoded in Pravda's "news" stories. Its admission that -- surprise!! -- the Hunter Biden laptop stories were all, of course, true is a signal to Dems that the Big Guy is now expendable.

This certainly would be a convenient time to give Joe Biden the hook, as hes so far underwater hes dragging the whole party down with him, and a predicted dire assessment of his partys chances in the midterms seems widespread. If the charges against Hunter are filed, his father is inextricably involved in the foreign payoffs, and a majority Republican Congress in the coming term could well institute impeachment proceedings. So why not have his own party usher him out the door first to signal their togas are clean?
If you were a time-traveling supervillain intent on world domination, how might you change the past in order to seize total control of the present? I'd get rid of the personal automobile, unsupervised cash transactions, and uncontrolled mass communication. If you take away freedom of movement, freedom of commerce, and freedom of speech, then you can keep people isolated, dependent on government welfare, and ignorant of any ideas that might threaten the power of the State. Cars, cash, and communication are tools for promoting and protecting freedom, so if your goal is total State control over the individual, the three big Cs must go.

Is it a coincidence, then, that Western governments today seem committed to following that very playbook? They can't go back in time and un-invent the automobile, but they can make cars so prohibitively expensive through endless regulation that only the wealthiest among us eventually own them. They can't surveil every market transaction, but they can make it increasingly difficult to exchange goods or services without using traceable electronic platforms. They can't completely shut down email, social media, or the Internet without shutting down power grids, but they can partner with ideologically-aligned tech monopolists to censor information and viewpoints, limit anonymity, and track users. Who needs time travel when it is possible to transform freedom-enhancing technologies into systems of State control?

I know we're all supposed to believe that carbon dioxide plant food is evil, and the only way to "save the planet" is to ban everyone (except the "elites") from using energy, but it sure is convenient that a century after the automobile revolutionized the world, the "ruling class" wants to de-revolutionize mass mobility. In the late nineteenth century, most people lived and died in the towns where they were born. With highway systems and the internal combustion engine, personal freedom jumped by leaps and bounds. Not only did people find a relatively inexpensive way to interact with the world beyond their homes, but they also discovered ideas and economic opportunities that never would have reached them otherwise. If part of freedom's allure is the ability to choose one's path and destination, then the car is freedom.

Yet isn't it strange that personal transportation has only gotten more expensive over the decades? Gone are the days when teenagers could afford to buy cheap wheels with summer earnings. Gone are the models so basic that learning automotive mechanics was a part of growing up. Safety and fuel regulations and increasingly complex computer systems have pushed car prices higher and higher. Building cars from scratch has been replaced with taking out car loans for life. And now the "green police" want to replace the affordability of the internal combustion engine and gasoline pumps with expensive batteries made from Chinese and African rare earth metals (usually mined by slaves) and requiring hour-long recharges from electrical power stations running on coal energy. What's more likely  that cars are a threat to the planet or that the freedom cars represent is a threat to state control?

If the car is freedom, cash is privacy. You can buy and sell without every transaction being recorded or scrutinized. You can hide it, store it, or give it away at will. So what does it say to you that Western governments are already planning for the collapse of their depreciating currencies by preparing for the day when their physical currencies can be replaced with purely digital forms? It tells me that running the U.S. debt up a few hundred trillion dollars wasn't just the normal work product of criminal politicians and bureaucratic spendthrifts but an intentional plan to transfer wealth from the poorest to the richest before forcing everyone onto an easily surveilled digital system. If only government-sanctioned digital currencies are allowed, then no purchase, donation, or transfer is private.

Governments wouldn't abuse that kind of power, would they? Canada already answered that question by freezing the assets and bank accounts of freedom convoy protesters it deemed hostile to the State. Then the West spoke with one voice by cutting off Russian citizens from international electronic transfer systems for the actions of their president. Does anybody doubt that the socialists who have taken over the West are just itching to deny salaries to "politically incorrect" citizens as punishment? Or to prevent future purchases of ammunition, donations to freedom-minded organizations, or personal expenditures on unapproved books or education? Does anybody doubt that replacing physical currencies with only government-issued digital monies will end private property and institutionalize Marxist redistribution of wealth? Then you know why decentralized cryptocurrencies free from government control are such a threat to governments' power.

But if you've figured out by now that the State is limiting your freedom and privacy, then you must also know that it will do everything in its power to keep you from telling others  which is why Western governments have made free speech their enemy. The "golden age" of mass communication for governments was when only they could speak to millions of their citizens at a time through subtle propaganda broadcast on radio and television programs. With the rise of the Internet, social media, and cheap cameras, though, citizens can engage in mass communication. If the State cannot control the message or the messenger, then the State's power is transferred to the people. See why free speech has now become unacceptable in the West? See why everything the State doesn't like must be criminalized as "hate"? See why President Trump had to be de-platformed? Spreading ideas far and wide without State approval is dangerous to the State's control over its citizens.

Does that sound hyperbolic? Ask yourself when the last time was that government institutions reacted to any crisis in a way that could be understood as expanding personal choice. A school shooting occurs, and how does the government respond? By demanding that law-abiding citizens hand over their own means of self-defense. Does the legalization of gay marriage conflict with some Americans' religious beliefs? Those Americans must be bullied into publicly supporting something antithetical to their own consciences. People are so afraid of a virus that they insist on never leaving their homes? Then people who are unafraid of the virus must be compelled to stay in their homes, too. Do parents disagree with school curriculums promoting "white supremacy" and "transgenderism"? Then those parents must be treated as "domestic extremists" and reported to the FBI. After nearly a decade in Iraq and two decades in Afghanistan, Americans are hesitant to rush into war in Ukraine? Then their viewpoints must be labeled as "Russian propaganda" and their opinions deemed "traitorous."

Can you remember a time when disagreement was accepted as a vital part of a healthy and free society? Can you remember a time when speech was not policed and people were not fired for their personal beliefs? Can you remember a time when self-sufficiency was a virtue and government dependence was something to avoid? Can you remember a time when freedom was not something "handed out" for good behavior? If you can, then you know what's already been lost. And unless Americans demand control over their own futures once again, you know how much more there is still left to lose.

Image: adar09 via Pixabay, Pixabay License.
While watching news reports of Russias Ukraine invasion, I find myself recalling that memorable scene in the 1970 movie Patton when the general directs his chief chaplain, Msgr. James H. ONeill, to write a prayer to end the bad weather holding up the Third Armys advance. Lets see if we can get God working with us on this thing, an exasperated Patton says.

I dont know how this is going to be received, General, the astonished cleric replies. Praying for good weather so we can kill our fellow man?

Because of my intimate relations with the Almighty, Patton assures ONeill, if you write a good prayer, well have good weather.

Anyone watching Patton today would undoubtedly take from the clerics initial response to the generals request that whatever prayers God might be disposed to grant in wartime, petitions for battlefield advantage are not on the list. Believers are presumably allowed Divine assistance in treating their wounded or for some other humanitarian purpose, not to defeat the enemy.

But as the real-life ONeill well understood, the idea of a just war -- one in which it is acceptable, not only to resort to armed force but to call upon Gods support -- has long been accepted by most religious traditions. And when the chaplain realized that inaccurate versions of Pattons weather prayer command were creating a false impression of what was theologically permissible, he penned his own account of it.

In the first place, ONeill wrote, Patton never made his original request face-to-face. It was on the morning of December 8, 1944, during a phone call to the Third Armys chaplaincys office at an old military barracks in Nancy, France.

More importantly, ONeill had no hesitation to comply with the generals order. Unable to find anything related to improving the weather in his usual prayer books, he composed the petition himself and, after a meeting with Patton that same day, added it to a card with the generals signature, which went out to a quarter-million U.S. troops.

It was around six weeks later, not long after the Third Army had relieved beleaguered Bastogne and pushed back the German forces, when Chaplain ONeill again saw Patton in Luxembourg. Well, Padre, the general said, our prayers worked. I knew they would.

I find myself thinking about Pattons famous prayer because it seems to me that the current resistance to Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine -- a just armed response, if there ever were one  is being observed by noncombatants like myself in a way that was inconceivable in earlier times. Thanks to satellite photography, drones, and sophisticated broadcast equipment, those of us sympathetic to the Ukrainians cause now have twenty-four-hour access to real-time overviews of the conflict.

Indeed, it is not an exaggeration to say that people watching their cable news stations in Davenport, Iowa; Perth, Australia; or Manchester, England, often have a better overall picture of how the war is really going than those fighting or fleeing it.

All of which prompts me to wonder whether modern technology has granted believers an unprecedented spiritual power: the ability to surgically intervene in actual skirmishes between opposing forces. Or, in the case of Ukraine, the ability to lend targeted assistance to those presently engaged in specific operations against their enemy.

Not forgetting, of course, that many victims in any observed battle are likely on the bad side soldiers who have been commanded to unleash their firepower on people they have no desire to harm. Nor should one praying from a safe distance ever imagine that he or she is in the fight in any way comparable to the people who are physically there.

But even governed by such qualifiers, it is still possible to pray that those indiscriminately shelling a city miss hitting any humans. Or that the very determination of the Ukrainian defenders routs their opponents. Or that a caravan of refugees is protected from sniper fire.

General Pattons own thinking about the role of prayer in war, according to Chaplain ONeill, was that it had a critical impact on the unknown which always divides the careful strategy of military planners from its execution by well-trained troops. Indeed, Patton held that what happens in that transitional space is what spells the success or failure of any campaign. What many people would call getting the right breaks the general himself called God.

Of course, Patton was only describing the power of a soldiers prayer -- the possibility of a tactical spiritual intervention by civilians observing from faraway places was unimaginable in his time. And even if it were, he would certainly not have given the reverent petition of someone watching TV the same weight as a combat soldiers anxious plea.

But the general also believed that every individuals prayer ultimately had a worldly impact. And if he knew in the winter of 1944 that millions of freedom-loving people from around the world were also asking God to give the Third Army good weather, he undoubtedly would have smiled and thought it a great military advantage.

Dr. Andrews was executive director of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy from 1999 to 2009. He is author of the new book Living Spiritually in the Material World (Fidelis Books).

Image: RawPixel
Kamala Harris, one step from the presidency, is an unmitigated disaster on all fronts.

She's failed at everything she's tried. She's famous for being the boss from hell, unable to keep staff. She's very, very, very unpopular with voters.

So surprise, surprise, the political vultures are circling.

The latest is a name we haven't seen in a while, none other than socialist Bernie Sanders:

According to Politico:

Top figures from Bernie Sanders presidential campaign are privately encouraging Ro Khanna to run for president in 2024 if Joe Biden doesnt seek a second term, giving the California congressman an important stamp of approval from progressives as the party looks to its post-Biden future. Jeff Weaver, Sanders former presidential campaign manager, and Mark Longabaugh, a senior adviser to Sanders during his 2016 bid, have both urged Khanna to consider a campaign in the event Biden declines to run again, according to a person familiar with their discussions.

Bernie is busy plotting Kamala's demise while the rest of us are looking elsewhere. The candy-coated conditionality of "if Joe Biden doesn't seek a second term" is laughable. Of course, he's plotting. Unlike Kamala Harris, Bernie has an actual political base, one that can accomplish things.

And sure enough, Bernie and Khanna are the closest of buddies. Politically, they are two worker-ants in a socialist pod. And Khanna served as co-chair for Bernie's 2020 election campaign.

The pair of them worked together to handcuff President Trump in 2020, following his spectacular rubout of Iranian terrorist chieftain Qasem Soleimani. Neither of them liked that and together they got busy.

What's more, Khanna has been plotting such actions for years. Here's an old 2019 item I wrote about, noting their enthusiasm for primarying leftists not considered leftist enough, in a citation of a report from CNN:

Three progressive House Democrats who won their seats by challenging Democratic incumbents are rebuking a new rule by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that prohibits the organization from conducting business with "political vendors" that support primary challengers to incumbents, calling the rule a "blacklist" that weakens the party. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Ro Khanna of California have called out the DCCC for the new rule, which is included on a form for vendors looking to partner with the organization.

SFGate notes that over on the 'right' -- the Pete Buttigieg acolytes are similarly plotting against Harris with a candidate of their own.

Which means an awful lot of leftist Democrats are seeing weakness from the Kamala side of the ticket -- and a great opportunity to grab some power for themselves in the fallout. And it's indisputable that these two teams both have significant political muscle.

Kamala Harris is an easy punching bag for Republicans, given her incompetence and phoniness. But it turns out, she's probably got even more immediate threats from within her own party and they've got money and voters to back their plots up.

SFGate, citing a political operative, notes that Khanna is slightly different from Bernie in that he occasionally tries to work with Republicans and certainly the spectrum of Democrats.

Weaver told the outlet that Khanna "would have tremendous appeal among people who supported Bernie," while Longabauch said the California congressman "would be a very effective candidate" who brings a "very powerful" message about restructuring the economy for greater wealth distribution throughout the U.S. Khanna would also be able to grow the "big tent" that is the Democratic Party, according to Longabaugh.

So now Kamala is encircled, trapped in place by her own party as its bigger stars seek to take what was given to her by the Democrat establishment.

It's bound to make her mean.

Everyone out there wants Harris out of that office. She's a power void, she's a placeholder, she's there to make Joe Biden look pretty. Given what she's attracting now, maybe she should get a clue.

Photo illustration by Monica Showalter with use of images by NRKbeta and Phil Roeder, both CC BY-SA 2.0.
Yesterday, while touring an old part of town, I came across a cemetery with graves going back 240 years. The most striking thing was that, before the modern era, half the graves were for children under ten. There were no snowflakes then. I cant help contrasting that incredibly tough time with the news that Harvard students insisted on closing a police substation in one of the dorms because the police frightened them. We have reared in America a completely defective generation of young people.

The Harvard Crimson first reported the story almost a month ago but the news finally went from the campus to the nation a few days ago:

The Harvard University Police Department is set to close its Mather House substation following years of outcry from students and faculty. The Mather facility, which opened in 2005, is one of four HUPD substations on Harvards campus. Students have long complained that the outpost  the only such facility attached to an undergraduate house  is more intimidating than it is helpful.

A police department spokesman explained that both faculty and staff were opposed to the substations presence on campus. Two students, one a sophomore and one a senior, explained the horror of having the police nearby:

Mather resident Faith A. Woods 24 said she did not feel safe having the substation attached to her house.

I am well aware that the police are not there to keep me actively safe, Woods said last week, before the department said it would close the facility. Having a police car sitting outside of Mather every night  which it does  doesnt bring me any sense of safety. Instead, she said, it implies that were being watched and policed, which is not a pleasant feeling. Eleanor M. Taylor 22, a Mather resident, said the substation does not fulfill a purpose other than eliciting fear, pointing to the offices small size. The real effect that the presence of the HUPD substation has on the Mather community is simply a violent, visual intimidation tactic that students are forced to see every time they enter the house, she said.

In 1804, your three siblings would die over the course of a week from a mysterious fever, and you, all of eight years old, would go to bed at night praying, Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; and if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to takeand youd mean every one of those words. In 2022, a couple of 20-somethings consider it an act of violence if they are forced to see a police station.

Image: Police image by freepik. Mather House in the public domain.

There is, of course, a class element to all of this. Weve all seen photographs from the last two years showing our self-styled elites (politicians and movie stars) out and about, faces exposed to the air, while the servants are forced to wear masks, lest their working-class germs infect their betters. The same issue seems to have been at play on the Harvard campus:

Since campus reopened last fall, armed officers have not been permitted to eat in upperclassman dining halls, according to the faculty deans. Taylor said the new dining hall rule represents forward progress, but criticized the slow pace of reform and a lack of transparency in the departments decision-making process.

I suspect that there are students on campus who dont fear the police but see them as a helpful resource, especially those female students who believe in the canard that one out of every four women on a college campus will be sexually assaulted. Actually, the same women foolish enough to believe that statistic may well be leftist enough to fear the police. I suspect many of them will be literally mugged (or raped) by reality.

Harvard students are supposed to be Americas best and brightest. Judging by the standards set out in this article, if they really are the best and brightest, this country truly is doomed.
We say happy birthday to the Grand Old Party, the GOP, or, the Republican Party.

The birth of the party happened in Ripon, Wisconsin, on this day in 1854.

The new party was formed by former members of the Whig Party to oppose the spread of slavery into the western territories.

In my case, I became a de facto Republican after the Kennedy administration fumbled The Bay of Pigs invasion.

For many of us Cuban-Americans, the invasion was personal.

I mean that some of us had relatives in the ill-fated Brigade 2506, or else they themselves had been arrested while on the island.

After the Bay of Pigs, the Castro regime came down very hard on dissent. My father's cousin, a young doctor, was arrested and spent 14 years in a political prison without a trial. He was eventually released when the president of France negotiated the release of some men from prison. The Catholic schools were closed around that time and I can still remember my father picking us up and driving home. So I guess we became anti-JFK Republicans!

In the mid-1970s, I found an ideological home in the Reagan movement. I cheered his anti-communism but also related to his conservative message.

The small government and free-market message hit home!

And I laughed with my parents when Ronald Reagan told those great Soviet jokes.

Since 1854, the GOP has elected many of our greatest presidents:

"Lincoln (1861-1865), Grant (1869-1877), Hayes (1877-1881), Garfield (1881), Arthur (1881-1885), Harrison (1889-1893), McKinley (1897-1901), T. Roosevelt (1901-1909), Taft (1909-1913), Harding (1921-1923), Coolidge (1923-1929), Hoover (1929-1933), Eisenhower (1953-1961), Nixon (1969-1974), Ford (1974-1977), Reagan (1981-1989), Bush, GHW (1989-1993), Bush, GW (2001-2009) &Trump (2017-2021)"

We also nominated some great men who did not win, such as McCain in '08, Romney in '12, and Dole in '96. Two, at least, were talented men and war heroes.

P.S.: Click for my videos and podcasts at Canto Talk.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
After more than two years of the mainstream media dismissing and suppressing news about Hunter Bidens laptop, The New York Times finally conceded that the story was authentic.

Back in October 2020, The New York Post had carried myriad reports on the shady business dealings of Joe Biden and Hunter. The emails, text messages, and financial documents on the laptop proved that Biden, as vice president, used his influence to generate considerable profits for his family.

The laptop also had photos of drug-addled Hunter in flagrante delicto with a prostitute and even messages of Hunter using the n-word.

Following the NY Post reports, prominent personalities on MSNBC, NBC, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, CNN, and The New York Times worked in unison to discredit the story.

I wish you would interview Joe Biden like you interview me, President Trump says to Lesley Stahl. https://t.co/ZM8BR1sn39 pic.twitter.com/mSfVFqZuOm  60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 26, 2020

Politico claimed that anonymous intelligence officials had branded the news Russian disinformation. The Huff Post reported that more than 50 former intelligence officials had signed a letter to that effect.

NPR, which is funded by U.S. tax dollars, claimed there were red flags in the Posts story.

Meanwhile, Big Tech swung into action with Twitter and Facebook heavily restricting Hunter Biden's laptop news, once again calling it (you guess right) Russian propaganda. Finally, the NY Posts Twitter and Facebook accounts were locked and so were other accounts that carried the story.

It wasn't surprising. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had donated nearly $419 million to nonprofit originations that infiltrated the administration and infrastructure of key precincts to influence the 2020 election.

They had allowed a relatively free flow of factual information in 2016 which caused their candidate, Hillary Clinton, to lose. This time they were taking no chances with their man Biden. Every step of the way was tilted quite emphatically in Bidens favor.

FLASHBACK: Joe Biden LIES to your FACE, calls Hunter Biden laptop story "Russian plant"



pic.twitter.com/JoZpnsNHp4  Benny (@bennyjohnson) March 18, 2022

To claim that the media is corrupt or compromised is an understatement because it assumes that the media is an independent entity that has been influenced by an external force.

The current media is in fact a propaganda wing for the Democrats. Think of it as a department within the Democrat party and suddenly it all makes sense.

Their function is to glorify the Democrats, everything else is a nuisance that has to be destroyed. Their actions are purposeful and so is their propaganda.

They have also appointed themselves as the adjudicators of taste and even facts. All those who do not subscribe to their utterances are either branded ignoramuses or bigots or agents of Putin.

For any given story, various pundits across various organizations have similar views and use identical phrases and buzzwords. This is because the author of the talking points seems to be the same individual who sits in the quarters of the DNC.

Words such as 'insurrection' or 'collusion' did just happen, these were conceived by the Democrats who were assiduously followed by the media.

Their narratives are often contradictory but they still demand total adherence and a complete surrender of critical thinking.

If you do not believe the 2016 elections were rigged, then you are an ignoramus because elections can easily be compromised. However, if you think that the 2020 elections were rigged, you are also branded an ignoramus because elections can never be compromised.

When President Trump refers to the rigging of the 2020 election, the rigging began the very day he was elected in 2016 and continues to this day with one hit job after another.

While the overarching narrative was that of Russian collusion, there were myriad other hit jobs. On certain days Trump was bigoted, senile, ignorant, and incompetent, on others he was a bigoted, evil genius, and megalomaniacal tyrant.

The press misquoted him to the extent that many people, including his supporters, thought that he referred to Neo Nazis as very fine people and asked people to inject bleach to fight COVID-19.

They do not even attempt to conceal their bias.

After Biden was elected, CNN's Don Lemon referred to the Democrats as "we." NYTs Maureen Dowd wrote, "We can't give up on Biden because he's all that stands between us and the apocalypse at the hands of Trump." There were neither apologies nor retractions from either organization.

They have developed a small but zealous base who tune in to have their biases and hate confirmed.

They also rely on casual consumers to believe all they see or read without much consideration because they are busy with life. It is conceivable that the relentless chaos and scandals the media fabricated about Trumps White House were enough for this section to vote against Trump.

According to a Morning Consult poll, 2 in 5 Americans trust the news media, which means 40 percent of the people readily believe all Democrat propaganda.

It will be impossible to know how many Trump votes the media managed to steal with their relentless anti-Trump propaganda.

The fact that President Trump managed to receive over 74 million votes in 2020, almost 12 million more than he did in 2016, is a testament to his outstanding achievements.

Do not for any moment think that the reason the NYT authenticated Hunters laptop story is that they have seen the light and will henceforth resort to factual reporting only. It is possible that the Democrats are looking for a way to take Biden out before the 2024 elections campaign kick-off and are using this story as the first punch.

Beyond President Trump, the media relentlessly indulges in Goebbelsian propaganda.

You are ordered to stay indoors, mask up, and take the vaccine without questions. The lockdowns that isolated people from the outside world actually helped them spread paranoia and hysteria.

You are ridiculed for questioning climate change and transgenderism. You are told that BLM riots where shops were looted and burned down are protests while the Jan. 6 protest was an insurrection and Ashli Babbit, the unarmed protestor, who was killed by the Capitol police, deserved to die. You are instructed to condemn Kyle Rittenhouse as a racist or you are a racist.

You are commanded to denounce Vladimir Putin and unconditionally side with Ukraine. If you question Washington wanting to send millions of dollars worth of weaponry to Ukraine, you are accused of spreading Russian disinformation and committing treason. Treason is punishable by death.

Despite their terrible track record, their blatancy never wanes. They no longer bother to engage in debate or answer questions, they just shout orders and move on.

Any society where the powers that be are filled with certitude about their righteousness such that they almost criminalize and demonize opposition is swaying away from being a democracy.

Leftists pontificate about the need for protecting democratic values in Ukraine and denounce Russia as a totalitarian state, but their actions of running disinformation that has an impact on an election is undemocratic. But the sanctimonious seldom comprehend irony.

Do not expect any reform or remedial action for the reason that they do not see any errors in their actions.

They say the function of the media is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. The propaganda masters who are lackeys of the establishment are doing the exact opposite and feel no remorse or shame in doing so.

Citizens looking for facts must presume falsehoods until the truth is proved.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
Let me say what this is not: It is not a post supporting Putin or attacking Ukraine. Nor is it a post attacking Russia and supporting Zelensky. It is, instead, a post about trying to drive the intellectual speed limit when the Democrats and RINOS (along with a lot of Republicans) have decided to turn a residential street into the emotional response equivalent of the Indy 500. In other words, its about approaching with caution the information with which were being flooded and the information that should be there...but isnt.

This is an idea thats been in my head for several days, but I have to give credit to Sundance, at the Conservative Tree House, for articulating it. The first thing Sundance notes is that the people driving us to do anything to protect the Ukrainian people and their sovereign border arent people we should necessarily trust. After all, these are the same people who:

Were fanatically anti-War up until about ten minutes ago;

Were stridently opposed to sovereign borders up until about ten minutes ago;

Falsely insisted that Trump had colluded with Russia and continue to do so even when every bit of hard evidence points to Hillary colluding with Russia;

Insisted in October 2020 that Hunter Bidens laptop was Russian disinformation, although all the evidence pointed to its being real, a truth the New York Times acknowledges;

Insist that men and women can magically become the opposite sex just because they say so;

Are teaching our children that White people are genetically evil;

Were wrong about every single aspect of COVID, whether were speaking about its point of origin, the economy destroying lockdowns, the useless masks, the potentially dangerous vaccines that arent really vaccines, the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, and the false necessity of school closures;

Destroyed Americas fossil fuel industry in the name of environmentalism but are now desperately trying to get oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, both of which have fewer environmental protections and must ship that oil at great expense across vast waters.

Thats just the short list of everything Democrats (and NeverTrumpers and RINOS) do or say that makes them unreliable. The most recent problem with them, which Sundance points to, is the fact that 51 intelligence experts not only lied about the Hunter Biden laptop but also refuse now to apologize. (And dont forget that Biden, the one person who knew with certainty that the laptop and its contents were real, blatantly lied to the American people during a debate with Trump when he asserted it was Russian disinformation.)

Image: Off the Cliff by Andrea Widburg. (Cliff by wirestock; Car by Azerbaijan_stockers. Both under a freepik license.)

Given that these people are either wrong about everything, dishonest about everything, or delusional about everything, why, when it comes to Ukraine, are we giving them the steering wheel, letting them floor the gas pedal, and disabling the brakes? I know that they, like the proverbial stopped watch, may be right about this issue but I also know that I dont like letting them rush or bully me.

Sundance points out something else very peculiar about events in Ukraine:

Where are the social media posts, from Ukraine citizens, that would support the narrative, as it is being told by Western media, about events happening in Ukraine? Seemingly, Ukraine is the only conflict in modern human history where a pop culture society of more than 40 million technologically connected people decided not to document every moment of it on social media. Considering the scale and scope of the conflict, and considering the Ukraine population of more than 40 million is far larger than Canada, and considering that population is located in a country the size of Texas, and considering they are a western technologically connected society with tens of millions of cell phones, we should be seeing a great deal of footage, pictures and images from ordinary Ukrainian citizens. However, we dont. Why?

Further, according to Sundance (and I have no independent understanding regarding this point),

Almost everything you see is from Eastern Ukraine where a civil war has been ongoing for over a decade. Whatever is happening in the rest of Ukraine is the least documented conflict in modern social media. It just seems odd.

So, heres what we Americans actually know: We know people are dying, we know there are refugees, and we know there is fighting. But Sundance is right: Considering that Elon Musk is blanketing the nation with his Starlink system, were getting so much nothing that its like Sherlock Holmess famous dog that didnt barkthe absence of evidence is itself evidence.

Again, Im not taking a position here. Im just saying that, before our American men and women suddenly find themselves in the front lines of World War III with Joe Biden as their Commander-in-Chief, Id like to feel that rational minds, rather than Democrat and RINO minds, are on board with our suddenly drastic policies.
Kim Foxx, the Soros-supported top prosecutor in Cook County, Illinois, is taking advantage of a new law in that state that allows prosecutors to identify prisoners whose further incarceration no longer advances the interests of justice. Like other Soros prosecutors, she is a critic of mass incarceration, and has big plans, as Patrick Smith of WBEZ writes:

Three Cook County prosecutors are assigned to work on resentencing motions, but they will only be working on the initiative part time. Foxx said her goal is to expand the program so there are dedicated staffers assigned and she said she eventually wants to loosen the criteria for eligibility. She said she did not know how many prisoners might fit the current criteria, but estimated a potential pool of thousands of people.

She just announced the first convicts to be freed, and, curiously, they have relatively little time left behind bars, anyway. But they are also career criminals, as CWB Chicago reports:

Left to right: Larry Frazier, Charles Miles, and Roland Reyes | IDOC (Via CWB Chicago)

Of all the inmates who might be in line for early release, Foxxs office has settled on a convicted home invader, a convicted armed robber, and a convicted burglar. They all have lengthy criminal records, and two of them are violent records. Two men are already scheduled to be paroled next year, while the third is slated for parole in six weeks. In a strange turn of events, Foxxs office will pursue the early release of felons just one year after she ended the states attorneys traditional role of providing input on routine parole decisions, because prosecutors arent in the best position to judge inmates fitness for parole, the Sun-Times reported in 2021. Corporate media outlets have not published many details about the three men who will be up for early release next week. So, CWB went digging. (snip) Larry Frazier, 63 Frazier was convicted of a string of violent crimes stretching across 14 years. He didnt spend much time out of custody between cases, court records show: January 1978  Armed robbery and aggravated battery. 6 years each.

August 1983  Theft. 2 years.

November 1987  Robbery. 5 years.

August 1992  Robbery. 7 years.

August 1992  Another robbery. 7 years.

August 1992  A third robbery. 7 years. In September 1995, just days after his release from prison, according to a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling, Larry Frazier committed his most recent crime: armed home invasion. He received a 60-year sentence. (snip) Charles Miles, 55 Miles received a 12-year sentence for burglarizing a downtown apartment in 2011 while the victim and her child were home. The sentencing judge called him kind of a friendly burglar. (snip) Like Frazier, Miles qualified for a sentencing enhancement because he had two prior burglary convictions and a 1992 conviction for aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. (snip) Roland Reyes, 57 CWB could not locate specific information about the 2008 aggravated robbery that resulted in a 30-year sentence for Reyes. Illinois Department of Corrections records show he previously received sometimes-lengthy sentences for other crimes: 20 years for armed robbery in 1992

5 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm in 1992

6 years for armed robbery in 1989

6 years for another armed robbery in 1989

6 years for burglary in 1989

2 years for theft in 1984

Four two-year sentences for narcotics in 1984 The Sun-Times reported Friday that the victim in the robbery that Reyes is serving time for suffered an injury to his hand and arm, according to prosecutors. The paper also reported that prosecutors said aggravated robbery was a Class 1 felony with a sentencing range of 4-15 years in prison. Reyes, though, was sentenced as a Class X offender.

These are the comparatively warm and cuddly examples chosen to kick off a program targeting thousands of cons for release. With Chicago and Illinois already notorious worldwide for violent crime, things are going to get worse.

Hat tip: Peter von Buol
Those who call for Putins assassination or who label him a war criminal, implicitly threatening prosecution should he lose power in Russia, might want to think twice about cornering him. Not only is he ruthless and cold-blooded, but he also has  and is willing to use  weapons for which we have no adequate defense. Thats the message that I believe he was sending when he employed for the first time ever Russias hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missile to destroy a large armaments storage facility in Ukraine at Ivano-Frankivsk in Galicia, near the Polish border.

Air-launched Kinzhal missile being carried by a MiG 31K interceptor

Kremlin.ru CC BY 4.0 license

The BBC reports:

Russia's military has fired a hypersonic ballistic missile and destroyed a big underground arms depot in western Ukraine, the defence ministry in Moscow has said. If confirmed it would be Russia's first use in this war of the Kinzhal, or Dagger, ballistic missile launched from the air, most likely by a MiG-31 warplane. (snip) President Putin boasted last December that Russia was leading the world in hypersonic missiles, which are hard to track because they can change direction while mid-flight. Russia posted a video of what it said was its missile strike on the arms depot in Deliatyn, a village in south-western Ukraine only 100km from the border with Romania.

Destruction of a weapons depot of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by high-precision missile weapons strike. We can see the exact hit of an underground hangar with weapons and ammunition. pic.twitter.com/sKTF46Tdb0    (@mod_russia) March 19, 2022

Some dismiss the escalation on the grounds that Russia is believed not to have many of the missiles in inventory:

"It's a sign of showmanship. Even if it's used we should consider it as an isolated moment because Russia doesn't have a large number of these missiles," said Dominika Kunertova of the Center for Security Studies in Zurich.

I certainly hope thats true, because there is no effective defense against it, since it flies far faster than any missile available to intercept and destroy it. The Dagger is also nuclear capable.

Clint Ehrlich sees the use of the Kinzhal as a warning:

Russia's use of the Kinzhal in Ukraine is similar to Trump's use of the MOAB (Mother of All Bombs) in Afghanistan in 2017. In both instances, the point of the weapons deployment was not the immediate combat effect. The goal is to menace other adversaries by demoing a system. Putin's decision to use the Kinzhal is more escalatory than Trump's use of the MOAB, because the Kinzhal is nuclear capable.



Due to its extreme range, it is a "carrier killer"  capable of wiping out an entire U.S. Carrier Strike Group. It is impossible to overstate what an advanced system the Kinzhal represents.



The West acted like China's test of a hypersonic glider was a "Sputnik moment."



But the Kinzhal achieves hypersonic speed + maneuverability throughout its flight, not merely in the terminal phase.

Mark Wauck sees the escalation as a warning to others aiding Ukraine:

Poland and Romania should probably be earnestly reconsidering their service as proxies for Americas war on Russia. In particular, they may want to reconsider the stationing of US missile launchers on their territory and the transshipping of weapons and munitions through their territory to Ukraine. The use of the Kinzhal was a clear signal that Russia will see this war through to its end.

I do not have any faith in Putins restraint in using nuclear weapons if he feels backed into a corner. Rather than threaten his life should he lose the conflict, Id rather offer him an attractive path out of the war, a negotiated settlement with Ukraine.
So many people have been wrapped around the axle about "climate change," AKA "global warming." Our kids have been brainwashed in school about the perils of greenhouse gas (G.G.) adverse effects on the environment. The target G.G. of their ire is carbon dioxide.

As the "war in Ukraine" has evolved, there is a new clamor from the leaders in Washington, D.C. to accelerate the implementation of AOC's Green New Deal. But what happens if we cease using fossil fuels in the United States? I will focus on oil and gas production in this article.

When oil is produced from wells, the fluid that arrives at the surface is usually a mixture of petroleum, gas, water, and sediments. After initial treatment to remove water and sediments, petroleum is shipped to refineries to make various products such as gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel. The gas, which is predominantly methane, also has gas liquids such as ethylene, propylene, and butylene. The gas is often sour and contains hydrogen sulfide and maybe some nitrogen components that have to be "sweetened" prior to shipping the methane to market.

Gas liquids mentioned above are but a tiny fraction of the hydrocarbons from oil and gas production. However, they are the building blocks for plastics, synthetic fibers for clothing, synthetic rubber, paint, resins, glues, containers, insulation, packaging, home cleaning products, and a myriad of other products.

What does it mean if we do not have these hydrocarbon building blocks? We return to natural fibers for clothing. Containers will be made from paper products or glass. As a kid, I enjoyed searching for tossed soda bottles to get the deposit money from the local supermarket. Some states who charge an exorbitant fee for plastic bottle disposal might not appreciate the lost revenue. Maybe we will increase aluminum production for containers. Aluminum requires a sizeable amount of power per pound of production. I guess we will return to waxed paper wrapping for children's sandwiches for school lunches. Forget about all those plastic containers. How about tires for cars? Someone had better get those natural rubber tree plantations going again. What about diesel-engine-driven trains? What about airplane travel?

One of the "bottom of the barrel" products from oil is asphalt. According to the National Asphalt Pavement Association, about 350 million metric tons of asphalt are produced annually from 3,500 plants. About 94% of all roads in the U.S. are asphalt-based. This industry will be terminated and probably replaced with concrete. Have you ever watched how long it takes to construct a concrete paved road versus asphalt? What about the cost differences, let alone plant replacements?

The cost of building products will soar, or we will revert to cinderblock construction similar to what you see in former Soviet Union countries. Companies like Under Armour are likely to go out of business. We will not manufacture hosiery, but we will be able to buy silk stockings from the largest producer of silk: China.

One of the main products made from methane is urea. This is the main source of nitrogen in commercial fertilizers. How are we going to produce food in the quantities required for a nation of 330 million-plus?

The rough value for oil and gas production in the United States at $50-a-barrel oil and being self-sufficient at 20 million barrels per day is about $0.4 trillion. Granted, this is only about 2% of annual GDP but think of the negative multiplier effect to all associated service industries down to the tanker truck driver and service station attendants.

If fossil fuels were completely replaced by electric power, the increase in transportation costs would be very high. Where are all the new green energy power plants going to be built? We know the NIMBY case of the proposed wind farm in Nantucket Sound that was killed by some of the same virtue-signaling politicians who like to sail their yachts there.

To implement a Green New Deal without a viable master plan is a fool's folly. There are plenty of them in Washington, D.C. that exemplify this trait.

Is carbon dioxide really the culprit that the global climate change alarmists claim it to be? Call me a skeptic, and Washington, D.C., stop using my tax dollars to promote this foolishness.

Image via Picryl.
NORTH ELBA, N.Y. (AP)  A Connecticut hiker was found dead Friday in New Yorks Adirondack Mountains, days after he was reported missing, officials said.

Thomas Howard, of Westport, Connecticut, went hiking on Mount Colden via the treacherous Trap Dike route on March 11 and expected to return two days later.

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Howard, 63, was reported missing on Wednesday. His last known location was at the Marcy Dam lean-to, about four miles (6.4 kilometers) from the start of the trail.

Officials located Howards car at the Adirondack Mountain Clubs Adirondack Loj parking lot on Wednesday and found his body around 10:30 a.m. Friday.

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Howard had signed in at the trail register listing the 4,700-foot (1,433-meter) Mount Colden as his destination, officials said.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the area the day Howard began his hike. Nearby Lake Placid received about 15 inches (38 centimeters) of snow.

According to his LinkedIn page, Howard was an economist with a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University and a bachelors degree in applied mathematics from Dartmouth College.
The Foreign Secretary said she is appalled at the alleged abduction and deportation of Ukrainians amid reports captives are being shipped to forced-labour camps in Russia.

With Ukrainian city Mariupol under constant siege by Russian troops, there have been suggestions from Ukraine MPs that Moscow has deported some citizens to distant parts of Russia to work without payment in a move reminiscent of tactics used by the Nazis and the Soviet Union.

Liz Truss condemned the Russian atrocities in the south-east port city, pledging that President Vladimir Putin would be held to account.

I am appalled by Russian atrocities in Mariupol, including attacks on schools sheltering civilians and the abduction and deportation of Ukrainians. Putin is resorting to desperate measures as he is not achieving his objectives. Putin and his regime will be held to account.  Liz Truss (@trussliz) March 20, 2022

Elsewhere, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in a phone call with the Ukrainian president on Sunday afternoon, told Volodymyr Zelensky the UK was committed to stepping up military, economic and diplomatic support in a bid to bring about an end to the war.

Ms Truss, taking to social media, tweeted: I am appalled by Russian atrocities in Mariupol, including attacks on schools sheltering civilians and the abduction and deportation of Ukrainians.

Putin is resorting to desperate measures as he is not achieving his objectives.

Putin and his regime will be held to account.

The reports that thousands of Mariupols residents have been abducted remains unverified, but Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun said that, according to information being shared by the citys authorities, her countrymen and women were effectively being forced into slave labour.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine (PA Graphics)

She told Times Radio: The very logic of Russia right now is the logic of the Soviet Union and the logic of Nazi Germany.

It is a completely totalitarian state, and it is acting as one.

So, from what we know from the city mayor and the city council, is they are taking Ukrainian citizens.

They are sending them through what are called the filtration camps and then they are being relocated to very distant parts of Russia, where they are being forced to sign papers (saying) that they will stay in that area for two or three years and they will work for free in those areas.

Put to her that what she was describing was effectively slave labour, Ms Sovsun replied: It is, yes.

The Foreign Secretarys tweet also referred to an attack on an educational facility, with a bomb said to have hit an art school in Mariupol where 400 people had taken shelter.

Foriegn Secretary Liz Truss said she was appalled by claims of the deportation of Ukrainian citizens (James Manning/PA)

Local authorities said on Sunday that the school building was destroyed and people may be trapped under the rubble.

Mariupol is in the throes of a humanitarian emergency after being encircled by Russian troops, cut off from energy, food and water supplies and facing a relentless bombardment.

Officials in the city said nearly 40,000 people have fled over the past week, almost 10% of its 430,000 population.

Only days before Sundays school shelling, there was a separate attack on a theatre in the city where more than 1,000 people were said to have been bunkered.

Mariupol is expected to fall into Russian hands, with Mr Zelenskys aides briefing that defenders were struggling against the overwhelming force of the enemy amid regular assaults.

Its capture would mark a rare advance in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance that has dashed Russias hopes for a quick victory.

Mr Johnson used his call with Mr Zelensky to condemn the abhorrent attacks on innocent civilians seen in Mariupol.

I spoke to President @ZelenskyyUa this afternoon to set out how I will be working to advance Ukraines interests at meetings of NATO and the G7 this week. The UK will continue to step up military, economic and diplomatic support to help bring an end to this terrible conflict.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 20, 2022

The British leader asked his counterpart what his military required in the struggle against Russias incursion before vowing to advance Kyivs interests at Nato and G7 meetings planned for this week.

Mr Johnson is expected to travel to Brussels, where he will hold talks on Thursday with US President Joe Biden and other allies on the Ukraine crisis.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: The Prime Minister outlined the UKs ongoing commitment to work alongside international partners to co-ordinate support to strengthen Ukraines self-defence.

The leaders also discussed the ongoing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, according to No 10, with the Prime Minister reaffirming his staunch support for Ukraines position.

Last week, Mr Zelensky said the Kremlins demands in peace talks were becoming more realistic, with reports suggesting the conversation had become centred around whether Russian troops would remain in separatist regions in eastern Ukraine after the conflict and where the borders would lie.

But a Ukraine politician said while her country is open to further meetings with Moscow, it is not prepared to give up land to the aggressor.

Olha Stefanishyna, deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, told Sky News that re-drawing Ukraines borders is absolutely not being considered.

That is not an option for discussion, she said.
The Government is to start the process of moving Ukrainian refugees in with Irish families, Roderic OGorman said.

The Minister for Children said that vacant properties will be used first to house Ukrainians fleeing the war.

Around 20,000 offers of accommodation have been pledged by Irish people, including from Tanaiste Leo Varadkar.

Mr OGorman said that 9,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Ireland, and the vast majority are staying in hotels.

Flowers and messages of support left outside Ukraines embassy in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

He also said that EU countries are expected to receive tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees in the weeks ahead.

Its certainly those numbers that were preparing for, he added.

Were continuing to look to book hotel accommodation to deal with short-term accommodation needs and as of this weekend, weve begun to draw down accommodation from the pledges provided by the Irish people.

Over 20,000 offers have come in from Irish people across the country, a huge show of generosity, and my department are looking to start to activate some of those accommodation options now, starting initially with options of vacant housing.

Mr OGorman said the Government is looking to block-book hotels.

I think thats necessary to ensure that we have rooms for people when they arrive in the country and weve been doing that over the last two weeks, he added.

I think we have to be ready in case theres a sudden surge of people arriving at our ports and airports and in a crisis situation like this.

Mr Varadkar and his partner Matt Barrett are among those who registered through the Irish Refugee Council.

Mr Varadkar said he has a spare room in his house.

From our point of view, watching the news every night of Ukraine, its very hard to watch what were witnessing on our continent, in our neighbourhood and wanted to help out in some way, he said.

Opening your home for a few months to somebody fleeing war, its just something were able to do at the moment. Im happy to do.

He also said there has been some discussion in providing funding to those who open their homes to refugees, but is not something we are going to do.

What were really saying to people is that this is an altruistic thing, not something we would intend to pay people to do, he added.
Boris Johnson has urged China to get off the fence and join in global condemnation of Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine.

The Prime Minister said he believed some in Xi Jinpings administration were having second thoughts about the neutral stance adopted by Beijing following Russias actions against its neighbour.

Despite Mr Johnsons suggestion of a possible shift in attitude, there was fresh criticism of Nato on Saturday from China as Russian forces continued their bombardment of Ukrainian towns and cities.

Mr Johnson used a Sunday Times interview to urge China and other neutral nations to line up against Russia.

He said: As time goes on, and as the number of Russian atrocities mounts up, I think it becomes steadily more difficult and politically embarrassing for people either actively or passively to condone Putins invasion.

President Biden spoke today with President Xi Jinping of the Peoples Republic of China about Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/SnpgobFiPz  The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 18, 2022

There are considerable dilemmas now for people who thought they could sit this one out, who thought they could sit on the fence.

And, yes, I think that in Beijing you are starting to see some second thoughts.

US President Joe Biden had a two-hour video call with Chinese President Xi on Friday but there was little evidence of any shift in Beijings stance.

On Saturday Chinas vice foreign Le Yucheng blamed Nato  a Cold War vestige  for the war and criticised sanctions against Russia.

Leaders from the Nato alliance  including Mr Biden  will meet in Brussels on Thursday, with Mr Johnson suggesting it would be extremely significant, with the possibility of more pledges of support for Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky.

(PA Graphics)

People will want to do more to help the Ukrainians defend themselves, Mr Johnson said.

But Ive got to stress it is very important that we dont fall into the trap of seeming to stack up Putins argument to his own country that this is effectively a war between Russia and Nato; between Russia and the West. Thats not what is going on here.

The Prime Minister used a speech at the Tory spring conference on Saturday to claim Mr Putins invasion was not motivated by a fear of Ukraine joining an expanded Nato, but rather because he was terrified of a successful democracy in the former Soviet republic.

He said Mr Zelensky  with whom he has regular conversations despite the constant threat of attacks on Kyiv  was an absolutely charming guy but hes also proved to be an inspiration and a heroic war leader.

I have convened an extraordinary Summit on 24 March at #NATO HQ. We will address #Russias invasion of #Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATOs deterrence & defence. At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together.  Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) March 15, 2022

The possibility of offering Mr Zelensky and his family refuge in the UK had been discussed but Mr Johnson told the Sunday Times: Ive got to tell you that Volodymyr has always been clear, his duty is to the Ukrainian people; hes going to stay there, hes going to look after them. I have to say I admire him.

In his conference speech in Blackpool on Saturday, Mr Johnson said Mr Putin was in a total panic about the prospect of a popular uprising if freedom was allowed to flourish in Kyiv.

The war was a turning point for the world, forcing countries to stand up to Russia rather than making accommodations with tyranny.

He (Mr Putin) has been in a total panic about a so-called colour revolution in Moscow itself and that is why he is trying so brutally to snuff out the flame of freedom in Ukraine, and thats why it is so vital that he fails, Mr Johnson said.

A victorious Putin will not stop in Ukraine, and the end of freedom in Ukraine will mean the extinction of any hope of freedom in Georgia and then Moldova, it will mean the beginning of a new age of intimidation across eastern Europe from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Mr Johnson used his Sunday Times interview to acknowledge that sanctions and the shift away from Russian oil and gas could have a terrible impact on consumers and motorists.

But he said the West had to cut dependency on Russian hydrocarbons, suggesting it should have been done earlier following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

The West is paying something like USD 700 million (531 million) a day to Putin in oil and gas revenues. And hes using that money to finance his barbaric aggression in Ukraine.

In other developments:

 UN organisations confirmed there have been more than 847 civilian deaths since the war began, though they concede the actual toll is likely much higher.

 Former prime minister David Cameron travelled to Poland to deliver supplies to refugees fleeing the fighting.

 Transport Secretary Grant Shapps banned a Cessna jet from leaving London Biggin Hill Airport because of suspected links to Russia.
An MP who campaigned for six years for the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has told of their emotional first meeting.

Tulip Siddiq, Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn and shadow economic secretary to the Treasury, said seeing the 43-year-old mum-of-one in her constituency on Sunday was surreal.

The British-Iranian charity worker landed back on British soil from Iran in the early hours of Thursday after the UK finally agreed to settle a 400 million debt dating back to the 1970s.

We can't stop smiling!! Incredible tohave my brave constituent Nazanin back home. She's eternally grateful to allof you for campaigning so hard for her release. #NazaninIsFinallyHome pic.twitter.com/wlckUyGkNc  Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) March 20, 2022

Ms Siddiq told the PA news agency it was quite weird because she had come to know Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffes life so intimately from speaking to her as she went through her ordeal, but the pair had never previously met in person.

She said: We knew we were going to meet each other and she had called me to say that I was one of the first people she wanted to see.

So she came to West Hampstead and we hugged each other for ages and we were both quite tearful and it was quite emotional meeting her.

She knew so much about me and I knew so much about her and she did thank me profusely but I said to her it wasnt me, this was a shared victory and everyone here in this community campaigned for you and, obviously, full credit to Richard  he was the one who was relentless in his campaigning.

Nazanin with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella (Family Handout/PA)

Ms Siddiq said Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was warm and motherly, was in every way, the way I imagined, and talked of how she dreamt of doing simple things like the school run and going to the park with her daughter, Gabriella, seven, while in solitary confinement.

Surreal, completely surreal, she added.

Ms Siddiq, began campaigning for her release in April 2016 when Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffes husband, Richard, came to her to ask for help in securing his wifes return.

The MP became a prominent voice calling for more to be done to have Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe brought back and supported Mr Ratcliffe as he campaigned.

Ms Siddiq was vocal during Mr Ratcliffes hunger strike outside the Foreign Office in central London in October and November 2021 and has frequently put pressure on the Government over the issue, raising Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffes detention in the House of Commons.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori arrive at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, after they was freed from detention by Iranian authorities (Leon Neal/PA)

She said is was also the first time seeing Mr Ratcliffe reunited with his wife after years of being defined by his solitary status.

It felt surreal because there he was, he wasnt on his own, I cracked a joke with him, which was probably in poor taste but Ive known him so long, I said I see youre not Billy no mates anymore and he was laughing because he knew exactly what I meant, she said.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was jailed on security charges after being detained in 2016 at Imam Khomeini airport following a holiday visit to Iran, where she introduced her daughter to her parents.

Fellow British-Iranian Anoosheh Ashoori, 67, was returned home at the same time as Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

He was arrested in August 2017 while visiting his elderly mother in Tehran.

He was detained in Evin prison for almost five years, having been accused of spying.

Both have consistently denied the allegations.
A manhunt has been launched by detectives following the murder of a 19-year-old woman at student accommodation in central London.

Police are appealing for help to find Maher Maaroufe, 22, who they believe had been in a relationship with the woman. He is known to travel and has links across London and also travels to Cambridgeshire.

Officers were called at around 5.10am on Saturday, to reports of a woman injured at Arbour House, student accommodation in Sebastian Street, Clerkenwell.

Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and found the woman, believed to have been a student at City, University of London, who had suffered serious neck injuries.

Police are trying to find Maher Maaroufe (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Despite the efforts of the emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers said anyone who sees Mr Maaroufe should not approach him but should call 999 immediately.

Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley, who is leading the investigation, said: The womans family have been informed and will be supported by specialist officers in the days and months ahead. My thoughts and that of my team are with them at this terribly difficult time.

We believe the victim is a student who was studying at City, University of London.

Early indications so far suggest that the victim had been in a relationship with Maaroufe and that they had been together that evening.

Urgent enquiries to locate Maaroufe are ongoing and I urge him to attend a police station immediately. Anyone who has information that can help police must do the right thing and please call us now.

Information about his whereabouts can be given to police officers via 101 or @MetCC and quote CAD 1252/19MAR22, or Op Worlington.
A Pomeranian dressed as Sir Elton John and a chihuahua in a Beauty And The Beast-inspired outfit were among the dogs on display at a Hollywood-themed pageant.

The latest quarterly Furbabies UK event, which sees owners dress their pets in lavish costumes, was titled Hollywood (A Day At The Oscars) to coincide with next weekends Academy Awards ceremony.

And there was no shortage of canine glamour on display at Sundays meeting, held at Collingham Memorial Hall in Leeds.

Dexter the Pomeranian stole the show with his Sir Elton costume, complete with eye-catching sunglasses and a miniature piano.

Disneys Beauty And The Beast was the inspiration for Lindy Lous outfit (Danny Lawson/PA)

Dexter also modelled a second outfit designed to look to look like an Oscar statuette.

Rosie the chihuahua wore a blue outfit inspired by Nicole Kidman, before teaming up with another chihuahua, Minnie, for a look based on the Olsen twins.

Chihuahuas Rosie and Minnie modelled designs inspired by the Olsen Twins (Danny Lawson/PA)

Meanwhile Lindy Lou, a third chihuahua, modelled a design inspired by Belles ballroom gown from Beauty And The Beast.

The Furbabies events have been running since 2019 and see dogs coming from as far afield as Scotland and the south coast.

Dexter wore a second outfit inspired by an Oscar statuette (Danny Lawson/PA)

In December, the group held a special Christmas-themed event, while a previous pageant saw dogs dressed as characters from childrens literature.
Police have named the victim of a murder at student accommodation in central London as 19-year-old Sabita Thanwani.

Officers were called to Arbour House, in Sebastian Street, Clerkenwell, at around 5.10am on Saturday to reports that Ms Thanwani, a British national and student, was injured.

They attended along with medics to find she had suffered serious neck injuries but, despite their efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have since launched a manhunt for 22-year-old Maher Maaroufe, a Tunisian national of no fixed address, who was in a relationship with Ms Thanwani and is believed to have been with her that evening.

Officers said anyone who sees Mr Maaroufe should not approach him but should call 999 immediately.

Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley, who is leading the investigation, said: I am reiterating our urgent appeal for information to trace 22-year-old Maher Maaroufe.

He has links across London, particularly in the Marble Arch, Edgware Road, and Lewisham areas. He is also known to travel to Cambridgeshire.

Police are trying to find Maher Maaroufe (Metropolitan Police/PA)

One of the images we released shows Maaroufe with dark hair and a moustache and beard. He has now shaved his head, and has little facial hair.

Maaroufe had been in a relationship with Sabita but he was not a student. He is a Tunisian national of no fixed address.

The scene in Sebastian Street, Clerkenwell, London, where a investigation has been launched following the death of 19-year-old Sabita Thanwani (PA)

Officers are making inquiries to trace those who had contact with him, but I would ask anyone who knew him who has yet to speak with police to please get in touch.

I would again ask the public not to approach him if they see him, but call 999.

I am also appealing, once again, for Maher Maaroufe to attend a police station immediately. Maher  I am making this appeal directly to you: If you see this, please go to the nearest police station. It is important that we speak with you.

Information about his whereabouts can be given to police officers via 101 or @MetCC and quote CAD 1252/19MAR22, or Op Worlington.
There is finality about the way a Yale University spokeswoman said no Yale faculty member currently holds a Sackler chair.

A chair, in the parlance of higher education, is a coveted thing, and its no secret that individuals or families with lots of money like to endow academic positions in the name of those believed to be worthy of such an honor.

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Yale, for example, had the David A. Sackler Professorship of Pharmacology.

And even as Connecticut Attorney General William Tong this month announced that Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family will pay $6 billion in a nationwide settlement for the OxyContin makers role in the deadly opioid epidemic, Yale was making good on its decision to rid itself of the Sackler name.

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The other Sackler-related position, The Richard and Jonathan Sackler Professorship in Internal Medicine, was already empty and Yale spokeswoman Karen Peart told The Courant it would not be filled.

Peart also told The Courant that Yale reached the decision in 2019 not to accept future gifts from the Sackler family.

She also said the university made a decision in 2021 to pursue a separation from the Sackler name and has been actively working on specific plans consistent with that decision, which we expect to announce soon. Peart further noted that the university has no plan to fill the Sackler chairs.

Those are the right moves for Yale, the states only Ivy League school, and it sends a very strong message, as the Sackler family ponies up the money, sells or dissolves Stamford-based Purdue by 2024 and removes itself from involvement in the opioid business both in the United States and abroad.

The particulars of the settlement were announced by Tong on March 3 and include that the Sackler family must permit institutions with buildings or scholarships to remove their name.

Tong said Connecticut will receive about $95 million to be used for opioid treatment and prevention.

But while Yale and other institutions respond correctly by removing the name that has brought pain to so many, it remains to be seen whether the cleansing of the Sackler name and nearly $100 million for treatment and prevention here will do anything to help ease the pain of those in Connecticut or anywhere who have lost loved ones as a result of the opioid crisis.

Its a crisis Connecticut has faced for years.

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Opinion Weekly Perspective on the week's biggest stories from the Courant's Opinion page >

Speaking of all overdose deaths, not just those that included opioids, the Connecticut Department of Public Health reports that there were 1,378 confirmed drug overdose deaths in 2020  an increase of 14.3% from 2019. As of the second week of December 2021, the most recent data posted on the DPH website, there had been 1,450 confirmed drug overdose deaths for 2021.

And during a recent hearing held virtually in Federal Bankruptcy Court there was an outpouring of statements from Americans who were able to confront some members of the Sackler family they blame for fueling it, The Associated Press reported.

The agony families have faced was clear, with forgiveness likely hard to find.

I hope that every single victims face haunts your every waking moment and your sleeping ones, too, said Ryan Hampton, of Las Vegas, who AP reported has been in recovery for seven years after an addiction that began with an OxyContin.

You poisoned our lives and had the audacity to blame us for dying, Hampton said.

I hope you hear our names in your dreams. I hope you hear the screams of the families who find their loved ones dead on the bathroom floor. I hope you hear the sirens. I hope you hear the heart monitor as it beats along with a failing pulse.

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As the Purdue settlement evolves and their money is reduced by going to a just cause, we can all hope the name Sackler fades from the forefront even as it is etched in our memories.
As the words and images from Ukraine grow grimmer and more heartbreaking by the hour, its almost impossible to imagine what Ukrainians are going through. To the extent we have any idea is thanks to reporters on the ground. And Putin is waging war on those brave souls as well  in Ukraine and in Russia. Putin isnt only attacking journalists, but the very concept of journalism  and even truth itself.

Putins global war on the media is part of his M.O.: A dirty, sneaky and deadly affair served up with innuendo, lies, intimidation and ultimately murder. All this makes the work of professional reporters that much more difficult and dangerous and makes legitimate news organizations that much more valuable.

Three journalists were killed in Ukraine this week; producer Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova, Fox News cameraperson Pierre Zakrzewski and freelance journalist Brent Renaud. Fox News State Department correspondent Benjamin Hall was injured in the attack on Kuvshynova and Zakrzewski and is hospitalized. Earlier this month, Ukrainian cameraman Yevhenii Sakun was killed when Russian forces shelled a television tower in Kyiv, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. CPJ also reports that journalists have been shot, shelled and robbed covering the war, and that Ukrainian reporter Oleh Baturyn has been missing since last Saturday.

Being a journalist in Ukraine has long been a deadly business. See this list of scores of journalists murdered there over the previous three decades. To be clear, the murderers come from many quarters including organized crime, allegedly pro-Russian groups and those with links to the pre-Zelenskyy Ukrainian government.

Journalists run for cover after heavy shelling on the only escape route used by locals, while Russian troops advance towards the capital, in Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine March 6, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

In Russia however, working as a reporter is akin to a death wish. Hundreds of reporters have been killed over the past 30 years. Its why Ive always resisted sending journalists to Russia. The better the work they do, the more likely it is they will be killed. No thanks.

(CPJ tracks the number of journalists murdered worldwide. In case youre wondering, 12 journalists have been murdered in the U.S. since 1992  none, it appears at the hands of the U.S. government.)

The job has gotten more difficult and dangerous, says Barbara Benitez-Curry, professor at George Washington University who formerly worked for CNN and Al Jazeera. I don't think journalists should go to a protest even in America without support and a hostile situation training.

Paradoxically, Russia has had a vibrant media scene as The New York Times points out: For all the states control of media, people could read or watch what they wanted, including foreign newscasts like BBC and CNN. The internet was largely unfettered. This had included significant independent media like Echo of Moscow radio and TV Rain. But not anymore. They were both shut down this month.

Everything thats not propaganda is being eliminated, said journalist Dmitri A. Muratov, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Philippine journalist Maria Ressa last year. That extends to most social media too. Putin has shuttered Facebook and Instagram (the latter had 80 million users), Twitter is being throttled, TikTok limited and so on.

A woman looks at a computer screen watching a dissenting Russian Channel One employee entering Ostankino on-air TV studio during Russia's most-watched evening news broadcast, holding up a poster which reads as "No War" and condemning Moscow's military action in Ukraine in Moscow on March 15, 2022. . (Photo by AFP)

Earlier this month Putin rammed through a new law that essentially criminalizes any reporting that contradicts the government's version of events. Penalties include monetary fines and 15 years in jail. And of course hanging over the fines and jail is murder. Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the law was a response to a campaign of information terrorism by the West, according to NPR.

Ah, information terrorism. In fact, thats what Putin has been practicing against the West for years now. Hes weaponized social media: namely Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, through surreptitious posts and campaigns orchestrated by the FSB (successor to the KGB) through its troll farm, the Internet Research Agency (IRA), Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, pro- and anti-Trump and Biden, the IRA has manipulated all of these debates online  and much more too. The goal has been to sow anger and discontent and to weaken the United States. And to some degree its worked.

Theres Putins traditional media too, like RT, a Russian television network directed at audiences outside of Russia, which shut down in the U.S. this month after it was dropped by DirectTV and Roku, as documented in this excellent piece by Cecelia Kang of The New York Times. What a twisted tale!

The misinformation and disinformation foisted on us by Putins regime serves to undermine what real journalism is and what real journalists do. He wants us to question all media and for us to lump it together in a stew of uncertainty.

But of course there is real reporting and truth and it matters. Especially now. There's tremendous work being done by legacy news organizations like this incredible piece by The Wall Street Journal on Chernobyl. (Howd they get that?) Or this Reuters story syndicated by Yahoo News. Or the reporting by Clarissa Ward and Matthew Chance at CNN. Or this shocking piece from the AP. And more great coverage from the BBC and The Washington Post and on and on.

Theres a lot of sport in beating the hell out of so-called mainstream news media, says David Folkenflik, media correspondent at NPR. When the stakes are elevated, people turn to news organizations that have a track record on issues of such gravity and its up to those journalists to honor that trust and hope they can sustain it.

I thought about this when I was checking out the recent Morgan Stanley telecom, media and technology conference. There was the usual talk of crypto and NFTs, and telcos versus cable, but I was surprised to see that "institutional journalism is critical in times of global uncertainty," as a key takeaway. Its not often you hear the Wall Street crowd talk about journalism.

Im sure there are some awesome TikTok Influencers with great sourcing, insight and resources, but in times like this Ill take the established, the vetted and the verified. Now the world has to ensure these news organizations and reporters arent being compromised, shut down  or murdered  by Putin.

This article was featured in a Saturday edition of the Morning Brief on March 19, 2022. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe

By Andy Serwer, editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter: @serwer

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Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova's decision to publicly protest against her country's invasion of Ukraine didn't come easy, she recalled in an ABC News interview released Sunday.

"As soon as the war began, I could not eat. I could not sleep," Ovsyannikova said in Russian, according to ABC's translation.

Ovsyannikova, an employee of the state-run Channel One, said she contemplated going to a street protest against the war, but the prospect of spending years in jail convinced her to make a more public statement.

"The propaganda on our state channels was becoming more and more distorted."



Russian state TV editor, Marina Ovsyannikova speaks to her protest on live television: "I was hoping that my performance, in a way, would help people change their mind." https://t.co/q2P3KQgXolpic.twitter.com/xQ7uvkgq0N  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 20, 2022

The news editor ultimately decided to interrupt her own channel's live evening news broadcast, walking across the set with a sign reading no war and Russians against the war.

In Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has an iron grip on power, and his critics often wind up killed or in jail, this was a risky protest. The Russian government recently passed a law threatening up to 15 years of jail time for publishing news that runs counter to the Kremlin's war messaging, which denies that a "war" is even taking place. She has already been arrested and fined, and she is reportedly being investigated under the new draconian censorship law.

"This protest was a spontaneous decision for me to go out live on air, but dissatisfaction with the current situation has been accumulating for many years, because the propaganda on our state channels was becoming more and more distorted," Ovsyannikova said Sunday. "And the pressure that has been applied in Russian politics could not leave us indifferent. When I spoke to my friends and colleagues, everyone, until the last moment, could not believe that such a thing could happen, that this gruesome war could take place."

Marina Ovsyannikova interrupts the evening news broadcast on the main Russian news channel. (STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

She said she could "see what in reality was happening in Ukraine, and what we showed our programs was very different from what was going on in reality."

Ovsyannikova said she hoped her protest showed to the world that "not all Russian people" support the war. "Maybe half of the people in Russia are against the war," she said, adding that many of them are suffering amid the West's severe economic sanctions.

"It's Putin's war, not [the] Russian people's war," she said.

On rejecting France's offer for asylum, Russian state TV editor Marina Ovsyannikova tells @GStephanopoulos: "I am a patriot, I want to live in Russia...every person who has a civil position who wants to make that civil position known must speak up." https://t.co/MUP4tZVISwpic.twitter.com/DJa5Sc9LUd  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 20, 2022

Despite the risks she faces in Russia, Ovsyannikova also said she is staying in her home country and has rejected French President Emmanuel Macrons offer of political asylum.

"I am very worried about the safety of my children, first and foremost. And I am very grateful to Mr. Macron for his offer, but I have publicly refused to take political asylum in France, because I am a patriot. I want to live in Russia. My children want to live in Russia," she said Sunday on ABC.
Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Sunday, March 20. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Monday, March 21, as Russia's invasion continues.

Ukraine has rejected a Russian offer to allow two safe corridors out of the besieged city of Mariupol in exchange for Ukrainian fighters laying down their arms.

The Russian news agency TASS reported the offer, citing Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, and said residents of the southern port city were given until 5 a.m. Monday to respond.

Mizintsev didn't have to wait that long for an answer. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk rejected the idea outright.

There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this, she told the news outlet Ukrainian Pravda. I wrote: 'Instead of wasting time on eight pages of letters, just open the corridor.'"

The pounding of Mariupol intensified Sunday and a top U.S. official expressed concern about the prospect of Russian-organized "concentration and prisoner camps" as Russia's bloody assault on Ukraine waded deeper into its fourth week.

The Mariupol city council accused the Russian military of bombing an art school where about 400 people had taken shelter. There was no immediate word on casualties at the school, but the city council said on social media the building was destroyed and people could remain under the rubble.

"Russia continues the genocide of the Ukrainian people and civilians of Mariupol," the post said. "Every war criminal will answer for his crimes against humanity, against the people of Mariupol."

The assault on Mariupol prompted a local police officer, in a video verified by the Associated Press, to appeal for help to President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The city council also claimed Russian soldiers have forced more than 1,000 city residents to be relocated to Russia.

"The occupiers illegally took people out of the Levoberezhny district and a shelter in the building of a sports club where more than a thousand people (mostly women and children) were hiding from constant bombing," the council said.

Ukrainian passports were taken from people who were given a piece of paper that "has no legal weight and is not recognized throughout the civilized world," the city council said. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Sunday that she could not confirm those reports but expressed concern about the prospect of Russian-organized "concentration and prisoner camps."

U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," said it is "unconscionable for Russia to force Ukrainian citizens into Russia and put them in what will basically be concentration and prisoner camps."

Latest developments

 An ammonia leak at a Sumy chemical plant has been contained, according to officials. The Sumykhimprom plant has been regularly shelled by Russian troops in recent weeks, according to the Associated Press.

 Emergency services say at least four people were killed by overnight shelling near a city center in Kyiv late Sunday, according to the Associated Press.

 President Joe Biden will host a call Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss their coordinated responses to Russias unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine, the White House said.

The war has driven 10 million Ukrainians from their homes, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi tweeted. About 3.3 million have fled the country, and the rest have been "displaced inside the country," he said.

President Joe Biden's planned trip to Europe this week does not include a stop in Ukraine, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki tweeted Sunday. The trip will include a stop at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, and Biden will travel Friday to Poland.

Management of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of the worlds worst nuclear accident in 1986, said Sunday that 50 staff members who had been on the job since the plant was seized by Russian forces on Feb. 24 have been rotated out and replaced. Officials feared their exhaustion could lead to an accident.

Researchers tracking Russian equipment losses that were photographed or recorded on video say Russia has lost more than 1,500 tanks, trucks, mounted equipment and other heavy gear. Two out of three of those were captured or abandoned.

Russia said it used a hypersonic missile Friday to strike a western Ukraine target, the Interfax news agency reported. Hypersonic missiles can move at up to five times the speed of sound. The Russian military said these missiles are capable of hitting targets from 1,200 miles, or roughly the distance from New York City to Kansas City.

Britain officials: Kyiv remains Russias primary military objective

Despite a continued lack of progress, Kyiv remains Russias primary military objective, according to British military officials.

Heavy fighting continues north of the city in north-central Ukraine, but "the bulk" of Russian forces remain more than 15 miles from the center of the city, Britains Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update.

Russian forces advancing on the city from the north-east have stalled, the update reads. Forces advancing from the direction of Hostomel to the north-west have been repulsed by fierce Ukrainian resistance."

The ministry says Russia will likely prioritize attempts to encircle the city in the coming weeks.

 Bailey Schulz

New Zealand offers non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine

New Zealand plans to provide $5 million New Zealand dollars ($3.5 million) in non-lethal military assistance to support Ukraine. Funds will primarily go toward the NATO Trust Fund, which provides fuel, military rations, first aid kits and more to Ukraine.

This is the first time New Zealand has provided direct funding to a third party organisation for non-lethal military assistance of this kind, Prime Minister Jacinda said in a statement. "By contributing directly to the NATO Trust Fund, Ukrainian forces on the ground can benefit from the additional assistance immediately."

New Zealand will also make a variety of surplus defense equipment available to share with Ukraine, including body armor, helmets and vests.

 Bailey Schulz

Ammonia leak at Sumy plant

An ammonia leak at a chemical plant in eastern Ukraine has potentially contaminated a 3-mile radius, according to Sumy regional governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyy. He did not say what caused the leak.

The Sumykhimprom plant, located on the eastern outskirts of Sumy, has been regularly shelled by Russian troops in recent weeks, according to the Associated Press.

People are advised to leave the affected area or take shelter. Zhyvytskyy said the city of Novoselytsia was at risk, but Sumy was not under immediate threat due to the direction of the wind.

 Bailey Schulz

Contributing: The Associated Press

Deputy National Security Adviser: US can broaden sanctions against Russia

Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh said Sunday that the U.S. has the ability to broaden its sanctions against Russia.

(We can) take the measures, take the sanctions we've already applied, apply them in more targets. Apply them to more sectors, Singh told CBS' 60 Minutes. More banks, more sectors that we haven't touched.

It's mostly about oil and gas, but there are other sectors too, he added. I don't want to specify them, but I think Putin would know what those are.

When asked what Putin would need to do to have sanctions lifted, Singh said "we're nowhere near that point."

The first thing (Putin) has to do is to stop a reckless and barbaric attack on the civilians of Ukraine," he said. "That's not happening.

 Bailey Schulz

Zelenskyy: Russia's siege of Mariupol will be remembered for centuries

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the siege of Mariupol would go down in history for what he described as war crimes committed by Russian troops and raised the specter of a "third world war" if negotiations with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin fail.

To do this to a peaceful city, what the occupiers did, is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come, Zelenskyy said in a video address to his nation Sunday.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russia is killing citizens in Ukraine because its invasion has stalled, describing the tactic as "disgusting."

Weve seen deliberate targeting of cities and towns and civilians throughout the last several weeks, Austin said on CBS' "Face The Nation."

The United Kingdoms Defense Ministry assessment released Sunday mirrored Austin's concerns. The ministry said Russia has increased its indiscriminate shelling of urban areas, resulting in widespread destruction and large numbers of civilian casualties.

"Over the past week Russian forces have made limited progress in capturing these cities," the ministry tweeted Sunday. "It is likely Russia will continue to use its heavy firepower to support assaults on urban areas as it looks to limit its own already considerable losses  at the cost of further civilian casualties."

Zelenskyy appealed to Putin to hold talks with him directly and said ongoing negotiations with Russia were not simple or pleasant" but are necessary.

"I think that we have to use any format, any chance, in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin," Zelenskyy told CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

"But," he added, "if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War.''

 David Jackson

As civilian casualties mount in Ukraine, Russia also taking major losses, including five generals

It's impossible to get precise figures for the civilian casualties in Ukraine, but even low estimates paint a grim picture. On the other hand, Russia is paying a hefty price as well, apparently including the loss of five generals.

At least 847 civilians, including 64 children, have been killed since Russia launched its offensive Feb. 24, the U.N. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner reported Saturday. The agency acknowledged the actual figures are much higher. Agents also estimated the violence had left nearly 1,400 civilians injured, including 78 children. The Ukraine government estimates that 2,300 people have died in the ongoing siege of Mariupol alone.

Estimates of Russian deaths also vary widely. The Ukraine government puts the Russian death toll at more than 14,000. Even conservative figures are in the low thousands  a much faster pace than in previous Russian offensives, threatening support for the war among ordinary Russians. Russia had 64 deaths in five days of fighting during its 2008 war with Georgia. It lost about 15,000 in Afghanistan over 10 years, and more than 11,000 over years of fighting in Chechnya.

In this satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC, multiple civilian buildings burn on Sunday amid Russian strikes on the Livoberezhnyi District of Mariupol, Ukraine.

Less than four weeks into its invasion, Russia appears to be down five generals. Ukraine said Saturday that Lt. General Andrei Mordvichev was killed by an airstrike north of Crimea, adding that he was the fifth Russian general killed in the war.

NATO summit to bolster support of Ukraine, show unity

The U.S. and NATO are trying to straddle the line between assisting Ukraine in its efforts to fight off the Russian invasion and getting directly involved.

At a special summit this week, NATO is expected to discuss enhancements of the military, humanitarian and financial support it members are providing Ukraine, officials said, while stiffening economic sanctions on Russia and President Vladimir Putin. At the same time, the officials caution about the need to keep the conflict from increasing in scope.

In several news show interviews Sunday, U.S. and global security officials said potential topics of discussion at the summit include the prospect of deploying a peacekeeping force in Ukraine and the chances of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks. And they again warned Russia against using chemical weapons in Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on NBC's "Meet The Press" the summit will serve as a "platform to demonstrate our unity, our support to Ukraine, but also our readiness to protect and defend all NATO allies."

-- David Jackson

Zelenskyy asks Israel for help, cites similarities in Ukraine's struggle with what Jews endured

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy drew a parallel between what his besieged countrymen are enduring during the Russian invasion and the misery imposed on the Jewish people by the Nazis as he pleaded for help and a stronger stance against Russia's attack from Israel.

In a video address to the Israeli parliament Sunday, Zelenskyy urged the lawmakers to take action against Russia, accusing its President Vladimir Putin of trying to carry out a final solution against Ukraine. The term was used by Nazi Germany for its genocide of some 6 million Jews during World War II.

Our people are now wandering in the world, seeking security as you once did, Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, also pointed out a Russian missile struck Babi Yar, the spot in Kyiv where over 30,000 Jews were slaughtered in 1941 by the Nazis and now serves as Ukraines main Holocaust memorial. You know what this place means, where the victims of the Holocaust are buried, he said.

Rep. Liz Cheney: US must stop telling Russia 'what we won't do'

The United States and NATO must stop publicizing their unwillingness to get too involved in the Ukraine war, Rep. Liz Cheney said Sunday. The West must make it clear that all options are being considered  and that use of chemical weapons could alter our calculation. She said "telling the Russians what we won't do" is not helpful, adding that it's very important that Russian President Vladimir Putin not "reap any rewards" for his aggression.

"Putins actions so far have demonstrated first of all, that the Russian military is nowhere near as capable as the world perhaps thought it was," Cheney said. "Probably not as capable as Putin thought it was."

Pope denounces 'cruel and sacrilegious inhumanity' of war

Pope Francis denounced Russias repugnant war against Ukraine as cruel and sacrilegious inhumanity. In some of his strongest words yet since Russias invasion on Feb. 24, Francis on Sunday told thousands of people in St. Peters Square that every day brings more atrocities in what is a senseless massacre.

There is no justification for this, Francis said, in an apparent reference to Russia, which sought to justify its invasion as vital for its own defense. But Francis again stopped short of naming Russia as the aggressor. Pontiffs typically have decried wars and their devastating toll on civilians without citing warmongers by name.

Francis also called on all actors in the international community to work toward ending the war. Again this week, missiles, bombs, rained down on the elderly, children and pregnant mothers, the pope said. His thoughts, he said, went to the millions who flee. And I feel great pain for those who dont even have the chance to escape, Francis added.

Russia regrouping, Ukraine military says

Russian forces focused on sorting out logistics and regrouping on Saturday rather than undertaking offensive operations, Ukraine military officials reported in a Sunday morning update. The military maneuvers, or lack thereof, have experts around the world increasingly concerned that a stalemate could be on the horizon, with "enormous casualties" possible as troops focus on civilian targets.

A report from the Institute for the Study of War concluded that Ukrainian forces have defeated the initial Russian campaign of the war, but the report also highlighted activity of Russian forces, which have shown signs of "digging in around the periphery of Kyiv and elsewhere."

"Stalemate is not armistice or cease-fire. It is a condition in war in which each side conducts offensive operations that do not fundamentally alter the situation. Those operations can be very damaging and cause enormous casualties," Frederick W. Kagan, George Barros and Kateryna Stepanenko wrote in an assessment published Saturday.

The findings echo what experts told USA TODAY last week. A quagmire is the realistic 'goal, said Michael OHanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Russias number of dead and wounded in Ukraine is nearing the 10% benchmark of diminished combat effectiveness, said Dmitry Gorenburg, a researcher on Russias security at the Virginia-based CNA think tank. The reported battlefield deaths of four Russian generals  out of an estimated 20 in the fight  signal impaired command, he said. On Saturday, Ukraine said it had killed a fifth Russian general.

Russians will need massive troop numbers to hold cities they capture

When it comes to the grinding job of capturing and holding cities, conventional military metrics suggest Russia needs a 5-to-1 advantage in urban fighting, analysts say. The formula for ruling a restive territory in the face of armed opposition is 20 fighters for every 1,000 people  or 800,000 Russian troops for Ukraines more than 40 million people, said Michael Clarke, former head of the British-based Royal United Services Institute, a defense think tank.

Thats almost as many as Russias entire active-duty military of 900,000, and it means controlling substantial Ukrainian territory long term could take more resources than Russia can commit, he said.

Unless the Russians intend to be completely genocidal  they could flatten all the major cities, and Ukrainians will rise up against Russian occupation  there will be just constant guerrilla war, Clarke said.

Ukrainian refugees flee to Moldova amid harrowing Russian attacks

Of more than 3 million refugees who have fled Ukraine since Russia's Feb. 24 invasion, about two-thirds have gone to Poland. But an estimated 350,000 have entered Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries. Most are women and children, as most men of fighting age have been ordered to stay behind to defend their country.

Now, government workers and aid groups are trying to help, conducting a hurried symphony across multiple languages, from Russian and Romanian, which is spoken in Moldova, to French and English. They're fingerprinting and photographing refugees, double-checking documents and providing emergency cash to the most needy.

The Ukrainian refugees in Moldova include Kristina Paleshev, whose five kids have been waking up at night startled by any loud noises, frightened that they are again under attack.

"We want to go back. I love my country and my town," Paleshev, 38, said, as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Im crying because our people are being killed.

 Trevor Hughes

Zelenskyy restricts political parties tied to Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered the suspension of activities of 11 political parties with links to Russia. The largest of them is the Opposition Platform for Life, which has 44 out of 450 seats in the countrys parliament. The party is led by Viktor Medvedchuk, who has friendly ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the godfather of Medvedchuks daughter.

Also on the list is the Nashi (Ours) party led by Yevheniy Murayev. Before the Russian invasion, British authorities warned that Russia wanted to install Murayev as the leader of Ukraine.

Speaking in a video address early Sunday, Zelenskyy said given a large-scale war unleashed by the Russian Federation and links between it and some political structures, the activities of a number of political parties is suspended for the period of the martial law. He added that activities by politicians aimed at discord and collaboration will not succeed.

Zelenskyys announcement follows the introduction of the martial law that envisages a ban on parties associated with Russia.

20 babies from surrogate moms in bomb shelter

In peacetime, Ukraine has a thriving surrogate industry, one of the few countries where foreigners can contract women to carry their pregnancies. Now at least 20 of those babies are stuck in a makeshift bomb shelter in Ukraines capital, waiting for parents to travel into the war zone to pick them up.

Theyre well cared for at the moment. Surrogacy center nurses are stranded with them, because constant shelling makes it too dangerous for them to go home. Russian troops are trying to encircle Kyiv. As Ukrainian defenders hold them off for now, the threat comes from the air.

Nurse Lyudmilla Yashchenko says theyre staying in the bomb shelter to save their lives, and the lives of the babies, some of whom are just days old. They have enough food and baby supplies for now, and can only hope and wait for the newborns to be picked up, and the war to end.

Ukrainian refugees: Millions of refugees are fleeing Ukraine. Where are they going?

Contributing: The Associated Press

More coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine updates: No Mariupol surrender; Zelenskyy calls on Israel
Ukraine's president said Russia is trying to starve his country's cities into submission but warned Saturday that continuing the invasion would exact a toll on Russia for generations." The remarks came after Moscow held a mass rally in support of its bogged-down forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Kremlin in an overnight video address of deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe  and appealed again for Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with him to prevent more bloodshed.

Noting that the 200,000 people reported to have attended the rally was similar to the number of Russian forces deployed to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said Friday's event in Moscow illustrated the stakes of the largest ground conflict in Europe since World War II.

Picture for yourself that in that stadium in Moscow there are 14,000 dead bodies and tens of thousands more injured and maimed," the Ukrainian leader said, standing outside the presidential office in the capital, Kyiv. "Those are the Russian costs throughout the invasion.

Putin lavished praised on his country's military forces during Friday's flag-waving rally, which took place on the anniversary of Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The event included patriotic songs such as Made in the U.S.S.R., with the opening lines Ukraine and Crimea, Belarus and Moldova, its all my country.

We have not had unity like this for a long time, Putin told the cheering crowd.

Taking to the stage where a sign read For a world without Nazism, he railed against his foes in Ukraine with a baseless claim that they are neo-Nazis and insisted his actions were necessary to prevent genocide  an idea flatly rejected by leaders around the globe.

The rally took place as Russia has faced heavier-than-expected losses on the battlefield and increasingly authoritarian rule at home. Russian police have detained thousands of antiwar protesters.

Fighting raged on multiple fronts in Ukraine more than three weeks after Russia's Feb. 24 invasion.

The northwest Kyiv suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin and Moshchun were under fire on Saturday, the Kyiv regional administration reported. The city of Slavutich, located 165 kilometers (103 miles) north of the capital was completely isolated, the administration said.

In the besieged port city of Mariupol, the site of some of the war's greatest suffering, Ukrainian and Russian forces battled over the Azovstal steel plant, one of the biggest in Europe, Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraines interior minister, said Saturday.

One of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe is actually being destroyed, Denysenko said in televised remarks.

The Russian military reported Saturday that it has used its latest hypersonic missile for the first time in combat. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said Kinzhal missiles destroyed an underground warehouse storing Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine.

Russia has said the Kinzhal, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound.

A Ukrainian military official confirmed a Friday missile strike on a military warehouse in the Delyatyn settlement of the Ivano-Frankivsk region, but he told the Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper Saturday that authorities have not yet verified the type of missile used.

Konashenkov said Russian forces also used the anti-ship Bastion missile system to strike Ukrainian military facilities near the Black Sea port of Odesa. Russia first used the weapon during its military campaign in Syria in 2016.

Ukrainian and Russian officials agreed to establish 10 humanitarian corridors for bringing aid in and residents out  one from Mariupol and several around Kyiv and in the eastern Luhansk region, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday.

She also announced plans to deliver humanitarian aid to the southern city of Kherson, which was seized by Russian forces.

In a separate development, Norway said four U.S. service members died in a plane crash during NATO drills in that country's north. The annual exercise, Cold Response, is unrelated to the war in Ukraine.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said Russian forces were blockading the largest cities with the goal of creating such miserable conditions that Ukrainians will surrender. But he warned that Russia would pay the ultimate price.

The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russias costs will be so high that you will not be able to rise again for several generations, he said.

In the wake of the invasion, the Kremlin has clamped down harder on dissent and the flow of information, banning sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and instituting tough prison sentences for what is deemed to be false reporting on the war, which Moscow refers to as a special military operation.

Vladimir Medinsky, who has led Russian negotiators in several rounds of talks with Ukraine, said Friday that the two sides have moved closer to agreement on the issue of Ukraine dropping its bid to join NATO and adopting a neutral status. In remarks carried by Russian media, he said the sides are now halfway on issues regarding the demilitarization of Ukraine.

However, Mikhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, alleged that Moscow's characterization was intended to provoke tension in the media. He tweeted: Our positions are unchanged. Ceasefire, withdrawal of troops & strong security guarantees with concrete formulas.

Britains foreign minister accused Putin of using the talks as a smokescreen while his forces regroup. We dont see any serious withdrawal of Russian troops or any serious proposals on the table," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told the Times of London newspaper.

The British Department of Defense said in its latest intelligence assessment that the Kremlin has been surprised by the scale and ferocity of Ukrainian resistance and is now pursuing a strategy of attrition" that is likely to involve indiscriminate attacks.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, during a Saturday visit to NATO ally Bulgaria, said the Russian invasion had stalled on a number of fronts but the U.S. had not yet seen signs that Putin was deploying additional forces.

Around Ukraine, hospitals, schools and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked. Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliaments human rights commissioner, reported Friday that at least 130 people survived the Wednesday bombing of a Mariupol theater that was being used a shelter, but another 1,300 were believed to be still inside.

We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them," Denisova told Ukrainian television.

Satellite images on Friday from Maxar Technologies showed a long line of cars leaving Mariupol as people tried to evacuate. Zelenskyy said more than 9,000 people were able to leave the city in the past day along a route that leads 227 kilometers (141 miles) northwest to the city of Zaporizhzhia.

The governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, Oleksandr Starukh, announced a 38-hour curfew in the southeastern city after two missile strikes on its suburbs killed nine people Friday.

The Russian forces fired at eight cities and villages in the eastern Donetsk region in the past 24 hours: Mariupol, Avdiivka, Kramatorsk, Pokrovsk, Novoselydivka, Verkhnotoretske, Krymka, and Stepne, Ukraines National Police said in a statement Saturday.

The attacks with rockets and heavy artillery killed and injured dozens of civilians, and damaged at least 37 residential buildings and infrastructure facilities, the statement posted on Telegram said.

Among the civilian objects that Russia destroyed are multistory and private houses, a school, a kindergarten, a museum, a shopping center and administrative buildings, the statement said.

___

Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, and other AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.

___

Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the desperately depressing situation in Ukraine is going to change politics for a long time to come.

Sir Keir was speaking at a launch of the Labour campaign for May local elections at the Greenwood Centre in north west London, when he reflected on the war between Russia and Ukraine and how the UK should help refugees.

Belsize Park candidate in Camden, Peter Ptashko, told the crowd he has family members that are currently in the north western part of Ukraine, near Kyiv.

Sir Keir Starmer is seen speaking at a launch of the Labour campaign for May local elections at the Greenwood Centre in north west London (Karis Pearson/PA)

He then requested for a minutes silence to be held for those still in Ukraine and others who are fleeing.

Sir Keir, who is the MP for the nearby seat of Holborn and St Pancras, told the crowd: Peter, thank you for allowing us time to just stop and reflect on the position in Ukraineit is a desperately depressing situation in Ukraine.

I remember how I felt when the Berlin Wall came down, that sense of freedom, of something big changing in the world, of countries being free again to decide for themselves, how they decided their own futures, the alliances that they made with other countries, that sense that once that wall came down, nothing like that could happen again.

I did not think that in my lifetime, I would ever see again Russian tanks going into a European country.

Soldiers kissing their children goodbye as they stay to fight for their cities and for their country.

And the desperation of families fleeing across the border, I didnt think I would see that againthis is going to change our politics for a very, very long time to come and thats why its so important that we support the Ukrainians and everything that they are courageously trying to do.

He called again for the strongest possible sanctions to be put in place against Russia and to help the refugees.

Referring to the Governments Homes for Ukraine scheme which was launched on Friday, he added: I have no problem with an ad hoc scheme that allows people to take refugees into their homes.

Of course I dont, but we need much, much more than that.

People who have crossed the border point from Ukraine into Medyka, Poland, wait to board a bus (Victoria Jones/PA)

Sir Keir said a serious supportive package is required, working with local councils and housing providers, to help give the Ukrainian refugees the full support they need as they arrive in the UK.

The Government has imposed a range of sanctions against Russia since the outbreak of the war on February 24, including full asset freezes on Russian banks.

An update to the Gov.uk website on Tuesday said that 350 new listings had been made under the Russia sanctions regime.

The list of those sanctioned was expanded to include a further 51 Russian oligarchs and their families, plus a raft of politicians and propagandists.

The Homes for Ukraine scheme allows Britons to provide accommodation for someone fleeing the war zone.

Announcing the scheme last week, Communities Secretary Michael Gove said in recognition of their generosity a tax-free monthly payment of 350 will be provided to people for each family they look after.

He told MPs Ukrainians will be able to live and work in the UK for up to three years under the scheme, with full and unrestricted access to benefits, healthcare, employment and other support.

A family from Ukraine wait with their luggage at Przemysl railway station in Poland (Victoria Jones/PA)

The scheme is open to Ukrainian nationals and immediate family members who were residents prior to January 1. A total of 150,000 people have expressed their interest in becoming a sponsor to house Ukrainian refugees so far, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said.

Friday also marked the launch of the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, which allows Ukrainian refugees without family members in the UK to apply for a visa.

As of March 19, 9,500 visas have been issued under the Ukraine Family Scheme scheme out of a total of 30,300 submitted applications, according to the Governments website.

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said: We have introduced the largest and most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on Russia or indeed any major economy. The UK has designated over 1,000 individuals and entities under the Russia sanctions regime since the invasion.

We have cut off Russian banks with assets of 258 billion as well as the central bank in Moscow. Over three million Russian companies are now barred from raising money on UK capital markets.
Michigan v Tennessee

Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines are heading to the Sweet 16.

The No. 11 Wolverines stunned No. 3 Tennessee in the Second Round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening.

Michigan trailed the Volunteers 37-32 at the half, but roared back in the final 20 minutes to win 76-68.

The Wolverines have advanced to the Sweet 16 where theyll face the winner of Villanova vs. Ohio State.

It's been a rollercoaster of a season for Michigan fans  @umichbball is moving on to the Sweet Sixteen for the fifth consecutive season!  pic.twitter.com/pHeRWMA9WD  FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 19, 2022

Thats right. Theres a strong chance Michigan will play Ohio State in the Sweet 16. How fun would that be?

Its a miracle the Wolverines made the Big Dance in the first place. They were on the bubble for over a month and had a disappointing showing in the Big Ten Tournament.

Thanks to the Big Tens overall strength, however, Michigan got into the tournament and earned the No. 11 seed.

In the First Round, the Wolverines fought through adversity to take down six-seeded Colorado State. A date with Tennessee in the Second Round proved daunting, but Michigan kept battling.

The Wolverines stormed back in the second half, like they did in the First Round, to get past Tennessee and advance to the Sweet 16.

Celebrate, Michigan fans. Your Wolverines are still dancing.

The post Upset Alert: No. 11 Seed Michigan Stuns No. 3 Tennessee In The Second Round appeared first on The Spun.
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Eastern State Hospital near Williamsburg is one of the commonwealth's eight psychiatric hospitals. (Department of Behavioral Health / handout)

Virginians should be encouraged to read a recent column by Gov. Glenn Youngkin published in the Washington Times in which he outlines a broad strategy to bolster and expand mental health services in the commonwealth.

The governor is correct about the depth of need for such services, which is evident across the commonwealth  particularly among our youth and especially amid the ongoing pandemic. Now he must seize the opportunity to work with lawmakers to make a lasting difference for Virginias future.

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Over the years  centuries, really, since Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg opened in 1773  Virginia has adopted a great many strategies to provide for residents in need of mental health care.

Once reliant on institutions and hospitalization, the delivery of services transitioned to community-based providers in 1968 thanks to federal legislation and an influx of federal money. But in the decades since, it has seen countless Virginians continue to suffer from a lack of affordable, available care  particularly low-income residents and those in rural areas.

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The extent of the problem came into clear focus in 2013 when the son of Sen. Creigh Deeds experienced a mental health crisis that resulted in his death following an attack on his father. Deeds, with the help of his colleagues in Richmond, built consensus for reform and, more importantly, a strategy to do so.

A joint subcommittee on mental health recommended the expansion of services through community service boards and a commitment to ensuring every Virginian, regardless of location, would have equal access to care. Called STEP-VA (System Transformation Excellence and Performance), the program was the product of years of work and adopted best practices from around the country to create a comprehensive framework for community-based care.

The plan was to implement these services in stages and the commonwealth has followed through, to its credit. But adoption of the remaining services will require more money  about $50 million, per estimates.

The budget proposed by outgoing Gov. Ralph Northam, and the budgets proposed by the House and Senate, all include this money in their spending plans. Youngkin can help by making sure that is included in the final budget, now being negotiated by lawmakers.

But theres more.

Daywatch Weekdays Start your morning with today's local news >

In July, the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services halted admission to five of the commonwealths eight mental hospitals due to severe staffing shortages that put patients and caregivers at risk. These facilities are also in need of substantial renovations and upgrades.

Money for staffing and facilities must be a priority, and here again Youngkin should use his bully pulpit to bring lawmakers together to see it done.

Finally, the governor correctly noted in his column the extraordinary burden demand for help places on localities, hospitals and law enforcement, especially our sheriffs. Oftentimes those experiencing crisis wind up in hospitals or, worse, jails, which are ill equipped to provide the care they need.

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A report this month by WHRO found Virginia Beach police saw a 12% increase in service calls involving a mental health crisis: The department responded to 3,186 mental health incidents last year, equaling 18,795 hours of police work, according to the departments accounting.

Lawmakers this year approved Senate Bill 202 commissioning a study of options to increase the use of alternative custody arrangements for individuals who are subject to an emergency custody or temporary detention order.

Those recommendations are due in October. The governor should marshal support in the General Assembly to move quickly to review and adopt them when they are delivered.

This is a pivotal moment for mental health care in Virginia  a time that demands strong advocacy matched with substantive, tangible and effective action. It is welcome reassurance that the governor agrees improving mental health is a priority. Lawmakers of both parties should be eager to work with him so his words of support translate into the funding needed to achieve real, lasting and effective reform.
This was the first time that the Raising Day parade of the CRPF was held outside New Delhi-NCR

SRINAGAR: Union home minister Amit Shah said on Saturday that the biggest achievement of the Narendra Modi government in Jammu & Kashmir post abrogation of Article 370 is that for the first time we have a decisive control over terrorism. He praised the security forces for their valour and sacrifices which, he said, had made it possible.

After the revocation of Article 370, the security forces have successfully controlled terrorism in J&K. Also, democracy has reached grassroots in J&K, there is rapid economic growth and corruption is also being tackled effectively, he said in his address at the 83rd Raising Day Ceremony of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Jammus Moulana Azad Stadium. This was the first time that the Raising Day parade of the CRPF was held outside New Delhi-NCR.

While praising the CRPF for its hard work and dedication in maintaining law and order, fighting militancy and terrorism in J&K and North-East and eliminating Naxalites, Mr Shah said that the force has maintained its tag of being countrys best police force. We will never forget the valour and courage of this force. The great sacrifices made by CRPF men in line of duty will be written with golden words and the families of martyrs will never be left alone, he said, adding, As the country's Home minister, I thank the jawans of the CRPF for ensuring the people live peacefully in the country.

Tracing the history of the struggle for total integration of J&K in the rest of the country, he said that it was the land of Jammu where Syama Prasad Mukherjee and the "son of the soil" Pandit Prem Nath Dogra fought a hard battle which was eventually won on August 5, 2019. Our great leader, Syama Prasad Mukherjee gave the supreme sacrifice to ensure that the country has only 'Ek Pradhan, Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan' (One Prime Minister, one flag and one Constitution), he said. Before the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, J&K had its own constitution and flag. Today, its the best tribute to the soul of Mukherjee that there is one flag, one Constitution and one leader across India, Mr Shah said.

The Home minister said that the fact is that since Modi took over as the Prime Minister in 2014 a lot of good has taken place in J&K. Democracy was taken to the grassroots level. Every village has now elected Panch and Sarpanch who have been empowered to work for development at the village level. After the removal of Article 370, women and weaker sections like the tribals have been ensured their rightful place.  33,000 crore investment target has been made on the ground and for this I congratulate Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, he said.

Mr Shah added that J&K has also broken all records in road expansion, whether these are highways, large or small roads in villages, seven new medical colleges and two AIIMS have been established and, in every other segment, record achievements are being made. All efforts have been made to provide a corruption free government, he asserted.

Showering praise on the CRPF, he said that whatever be the situation -- holding peaceful elections or tackling riots -- the CRPF has always been in the forefront. CRPF rapid action force (RAF) has ensured to control riots in the shortest period. Before the RAF came into existence, it would take longer to control such situations. Also, the RAF has trained local police forces to handle riots more professionally and the two have worked together since then, he said adding The way CRPF is working in J&K, North-East and Naxal hit areas, I feel that in coming years peace will be restored and the force has to be withdrawn from these areas.

The Home minister recalled that on October 21, 1959, when China attacked India at Hot Springs, some CRPF jawans fought valiantly and stopped the aggressor. He said that it is for this reason that police commemoration day is observed across the country on October 21. He added that it was on this day (March 19) in 1950 when Independent Indias first Home minister Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel presented colours to this force.

Mr Shah said that Prime Minister Modi has envisioned making India a $5 trillion economy and a global economic powerhouse by 2024-25 and in this the CRPF has a great role to play by ensuring peace and tranquillity in the country. He said that, on its part, the government is committed to take CRPF to new heights and lace it with all latest gadgets and technology.

The Home Minister who was on a two-day visit to Jammu region, reviewed the security situation and ongoing developmental works in J&K at separate meetings with officers of the uniformed forces, intelligence agencies and civil administration. He also visited the Mahanpur area in the border district of Kathua where a high security prison is coming up.
Legislature party meeting of the BJP, which retained the state in the recent elections, will be held later in the day

New Delhi: The newly-elected MLAs of Uttarakhand are likely to take the oath in the state Assembly in Dehradun on Monday while the legislature party meeting of the BJP, which retained the state in the recent elections, will be held later in the day to officially choose its leader, who will head the government. The new government is likely to take the oath on March 23, when the BJP top brass, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are expected to attended.

On Sunday, the BJPs core group for the state, including caretaker CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, senior leader Satpal Maharaj, state unit chief Madan Kaushik, former Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni held a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah to discuss the formation of the new government. BJP president J.P. Nadda and general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santhosh were also present. The BJP top brass later met the PM.

The meeting assumes significance amid speculation on whether or not Mr Dhami, who was the BJPs face in the recent election but who lost his Assembly seat, will continue to lead the government or a new leader will be given that responsibility. While a section within the party wants Mr Dhami to continue, some senior state leaders have raised objections.

Ahead of the MLAs swearing-in, Kaladhungi BJP MLA Banshidhar Bhagat will take the oath as the Assemblys pro-tem speaker. The BJP bagged 47 of the 70 Assembly seats in the hill state, with the Congress winning 19. Two seats were won by the BSP while two Independent candidates also won.

Prior to the legislature party meeting, Mr Kaushik met party MLAs and senior leaders in Dehradun late in the evening. The BJPs central observers for the legislature party meeting, defence minister Rajnath Singh and minister of state for external affairs Meenakshi Lekhi, will reach the state capital early on Monday.
In his words: "I am just a professional writer, which means I don't do blogs and try and get money for whatever I write."

A very pleasant and talkative driver drove me through the several traffic jams and road-work hold-ups in six hours to the Pink City

O Bachchoo why is terror so hard to define?

--Behold the mosquito drowning in your wine!

O Bachchoo why does fear stalk the fading twilit sky?

--Hear the screech of flocks of birds circling as they fly

O Bachchoo where does yearning end and fulfilment start

-The poets say the answers are the murmurs of your heart.

From Kya Bholey -- Bhej Dey Soney Aur Chandi Ke Goley! by Bachchoo

Travel was, perhaps for Marco Polo, Hiuen Tsang and the characters of Around the World in Eighty Days a challenge and a pleasure. Today the challenge remains and one may add other qualities to it, such as nuisance, frustration and annoyance. Getting from London to New Delhi in order to get to Jaipur for a literary festival was precisely all those.

The Government of India requires all entrants to fill in a form which demands copies of passports and vaccination certificates in a particular software format. Apart from those, it requires all manner of, in my humble judgment, irrelevant detail. Some of it may be, in a bureaucrats view, necessary to keep India safe from infection by the likes of myself. Once complete, one submits the form and waits for a reply from the Government of India. It instructs you to print this reply and carry it when travelling.

Not being a 12-year-old nerd, I struggled for a few hours with it. Finally, the certificate arrived. I folded it into my passport. I might as well have rolled it into a joint and smoked it, because neither at the departure desks in London or the arrival -- immigration, customs and security checks  in New Delhi, did anyone bother to ask me for it.

Perhaps one of the reasons for subjecting would-be entrants to Bharat Mata to this ordeal is a test of their patience, diligence and tolerance of irrelevant procedure, ensuring that only patient, diligent and bureaucratically-tolerant people gain entry to this clean and peasant land.

I have decided, gentle reader, not to bore you with details of my encounters with the policemen and women at security checks of Indian airports. No opportunity to speak truth to power there. I will say that my experience at these security check stations reinforced my conviction that being an Indian policeperson was a cushy deal - what with free crisp uniforms and idle duties.

All this being the case, I decided not to travel by air from Delhi airport to Jaipur, but to go by hired car instead. A very pleasant and talkative driver drove me through the several traffic jams and road-work hold-ups in six hours to the Pink City. The motorists on this journey are regaled every 10 yards with huge hoardings advertising hotels and hospitals and selling consumer goods. Half of these sales hoardings sell jewellery. There are photographs of models wearing rich necklaces and bangles of gold and precious stones and pictures of glittering diamonds on lush, contrasting felt. The vendors of treasure must have buyers for this extravagance. Evidence of prosperity? Not if one keeps ones eyes open and takes in the ribbon of poverty and scrawny cattle on the journey, mile after mile.

And the other half of these advertising hoardings seemed to be about some sort of condiment or narcotic with pictures of two handsome film stars holding up two fingers to the public in a V sign. I am sure these film stars, and the advertising executives who designed the hoardings, are unaware that this particular V sign, with the back of ones hand facing the viewer, is conventionally used to urge people to go some distance and have sex.

(The popular phrase for such an injunction can be represented by the letters F and O.)

The other V sign, popularised by Winston Churchill, consists of holding the same fore and middle fingers up, like bunnies ears, but with the palm of the hand facing the viewer. That sign means Victory. But perhaps Im mistaken and the two handsome film stars and the advertisers know precisely what their signage means and feel that the masochists will gratefully see the humorous side of being enjoined to such action and will immediately buy whatever they are selling.

Saying which, leaves me little space to tell you how I prospered at the literary festival. I will say, though, that it was an opportunity to meet and socialise with old friends, among whom were Dolly Thakore, who was there to launch her autobiography, Mahua Moitra, who was her usual firebrand self, Ruth Padel, Ranjit Hoskote, Arundhati Subramaniam and my dear Jeet Thayil, all stimulating poets.

I must admit I did spend a few detours and executed some dodges in the writers pavilion -- a space with a bar and food and tables on a large enclosed law -- avoiding encounters with a couple of people. Why? Well, the first was a lady writer whose work I had characterised in the media, in ironic revenge for some nastiness shed published, as socially-conscious prose for the intellectually handicapped and masturbatorilly challenged. The other person I successfully avoided was an ex-editor whose magazine published some nasty lies about me and had to pay out a handsome sum when threatened by Channel 4, for whom I then worked, with a libel suit. From which time Ive been convinced that being libelled is not a liability. Bring it on!
Actor Samantha is going places and she has raised the bar for herself. After The Family Man 2 and the super hot special song she did in Pushpa, shes now all set to pull off high octane action sequences  for the first time in Telugu and Tamil cinema  in her next film Yashoda, a thriller.

The films director-duo Hari-Harish were wondering who to rope in as stunt choreographer for action sequences. It was then that Samanthaji suggested the Hollywood stunt master Yannick Bens name; in fact, she had worked with him during Hindi web series The Family Man 2 and exuded confidence that Ben does a great job, reveals Harish, adding that the films producer Sivalenka Krishna Prasad too endorsed the idea.

Yannick Ben choreographed stunts for Hollywood movies like Transporter 3, Project 7, Paris By Night Of Living Dead, Inception, etc., apart from a few Bollywood films. He also composed action sequences for Pawan Kalyans Attarintiki Daredi, and Mahesh Babu-starrer 1 Nenokkadine.

Unlike recent female-centric films, Harish states that the action episodes in this film are phenomenal. The film has a total of eight action sequences and most of them are shot in a specially constructed set.

Director-duo Hari-Harish

Now eight is a big number isnt it. But all the action sequences are organically part of the script and nothing is forcibly inserted, he clarifies.

Since Sam is a fitness enthusiast, there was hardly anything required for her physical transformation. But she worked hard and had rehearsed extensively for a few days before shooting the action sequences.

She pulled off the scenes with great elan, like a pro; she was just awesome, beams Harish.

These major action scenes were shot on Samantha and others for 10 days in three different sets. The next action episode is scheduled to shoot at Kodaikanal. These action sequences in the film are going to be a major highlight.

Since this is a multilingual action thriller, its been an exciting and enriching experience to work with a performer like Samantha and Hollywood technicians, says Harish.

But when asked about Sams role in the film, he doesnt want to reveal anything, but says, She plays a warrior. Sam is a sweet girl in the film, but she can quickly transform into a force to reckon with when shes cornered.
The US said it is in touch with India on the matter and sent a thinly-veiled message

New Delhi: Even as Indian government sources, in a dig at the West, said that countries with oil self-sufficiency or those themselves importing from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trading and therefore Indias legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised, the United States on Saturday acknowledged that many countries including some in Europe continue to buy oil from Russia but made its discomfort known with that policy.

With reports that India is buying three million barrels of oil from Russia at deeply discounted rates, the US said it is in touch with India on the matter and sent a thinly-veiled message.

At a briefing in Washington, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, We made a decision about banning the Russian import of oil, every country has not made that decision, and we recognise that. And they have different economic reasoning as to why different countries do, including some in Europe. We have been in touch, of course, with Indian leaders at a range of levels, not through the President. If that happens, we will, of course, provide that readout and information to all of you. She added, But what we would project or convey to any leader around the world is that the world  the rest of the world is watching where youre going to stand as it relates to this conflict, whether its support for Russia in any form as they are illegally invading Ukraine.

Indian government sources meanwhile said, India is highly dependent on imports for meeting its energy requirements. Nearly 85 per cent of our crude oil requirement (5 million barrels a day) has to be imported... Geopolitical developments have posed significant challenges to our energy security... The jump in oil prices after the Ukraine conflict has now added to our challenges Countries with oil self-sufficiency or those importing themselves from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trading. Indias legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised.
The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the war's worst suffering, would mark a major battlefield advance for the Russians

A displaced family from Kyiv, right, sit in a basement, used as a bomb shelter, during an air raid in Lviv, Western Ukraine, Saturday, March 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Lviv: Russian forces pushed deeper into Ukraine's besieged and battered port city of Mariupol on Saturday, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help.

The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the war's worst suffering, would mark a major battlefield advance for the Russians, who are largely bogged down outside major cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II.

Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth, Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said from a rubble-strewn street in a video addressed to Western leaders that was authenticated by The Associated Press.

Details also began to emerge Saturday about a rocket attack that killed as many as 40 marines in the southern city of Mykolaiv the previous day, according to a Ukrainian military official who spoke to The New York Times.

Russian forces have already cut Mariupol off from the Sea of Azov, and its fall would link Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, to eastern territories controlled by Moscow-backed separatists. It would mark a rare advance in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance that has dashed Russia's hopes for a quick victory and galvanized the West.

Ukrainian and Russian forces battled over the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said. One of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe is actually being destroyed, Denysenko said in televised remarks.

The Mariupol city council claimed hours later that Russian soldiers had forcibly relocated several thousand city residents, mostly women and children, to Russia. It didn't say where, and AP could not immediately confirm the claim.

Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the nearest forces that could assist Mariupol were already struggling against the overwhelming force of the enemy and that there is currently no military solution to Mariupol.

Zelenskyy said early Sunday that the siege of Mariupol would go down in history for what he said were war crimes committed by Russian troops.

To do this to a peaceful city, what the occupiers did, is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come, he said in a video address to the nation.

Despite the siege in Mariupol, many remained struck by Ukraine's ability to hold back its much bigger, better-armed foe. The United Kingdom's Defense Ministry said Ukraine's airspace continued to be effectively defended.

Gaining control of the air was one of Russia's principal objectives for the opening days of the conflict and their continued failure to do so has significantly blunted their operational progress," the ministry said on Twitter.

In Mykolaiv, rescuers searched the rubble of the marine barracks that was destroyed in an apparent missile attack Friday. The region's governor said the marines were asleep when the attack happened.

It wasn't clear how many marines were inside at the time, and rescuers were still searching the rubble for survivors the following day. But a senior Ukrainian military official, who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity to reveal sensitive information, estimated that as many as 40 marines were killed, which would make it one of the deadliest known attacks on Ukrainian forces during the war.

Estimates of Russian deaths vary widely, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands. Russia had 64 deaths in five days of fighting during its 2008 war with Georgia. It lost about 15,000 in Afghanistan over 10 years, and more than 11,000 in years of fighting in Chechnya.

The Russian military said Saturday that it used its latest hypersonic missile for the first time in combat. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Kinzhal missiles destroyed an underground warehouse storing Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk.

Russia has said the Kinzhal, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the U.S. couldn't confirm the use of a hypersonic missile.

U.N. bodies have confirmed more than 847 civilian deaths since the war began, though they concede the actual toll is likely much higher. The U.N. says more than 3.3 million people have fled Ukraine as refugees.

The northwestern Kyiv suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin and Moshchun were under fire Saturday, the Kyiv regional administration reported, and Slavutich, 165 kilometers (103 miles) north of the capital, was completely isolated.

Evacuations from Mariupol and other besieged cities proceeded along eight of 10 humanitarian corridors, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, and a total of 6,623 people left.

Waiting to board a bus at a triage center near the Moldova-Ukraine border, a woman named Irina said she decided to leave home in Mykolaiv this week after a loud explosion shook the walls, waking her young daughter.

Can you imagine the fear I had, not for me but for my child? said Irina, who didn't provide her last name. So we made decision to arrive here, but I don't know where we are going, where we'll stay."

Vereshchuk said planned humanitarian aid for the southern city of Kherson, which Russia seized early in the war, could not be delivered because the trucks were stopped along the way by Russian troops.

Ukraine and Russia have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict but remain divided over several issues, with Moscow pressing for its neighbor's demilitarization and Kyiv demanding security guarantees.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone Saturday for a second time this week with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. The Kremlin said Putin outlined fundamental assessments of the course of the talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, while Bettel informed him about contacts with the leadership of Ukraine and other countries.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Putin of using the talks as a smokescreen while his forces regroup. We don't see any serious withdrawal of Russian troops or any serious proposals on the table," she told the Times of London.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, during a Saturday visit to NATO ally Bulgaria, said the Russian invasion had stalled on a number of fronts but the U.S. had not yet seen signs that Putin was deploying additional forces.

Around Ukraine, hospitals, schools and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked.

At least 130 people survived the Wednesday bombing of a Mariupol theater that was being used a shelter, but another 1,300 were believed to be still inside, Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament's human rights commissioner, said Friday.

We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them," Denisova told Ukrainian television.

A satellite image from Maxar Technologies released Saturday confirmed earlier reports that much of the theater was destroyed. It also showed the word CHILDREN written in Russian in large white letters outside the building.

Southern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region announced a 38-hour curfew after two missile strikes killed nine people Friday.

Russian forces have fired on eight cities and villages in the eastern Donetsk region in the past 24 hours, including Mariupol, Ukraine's national police said Saturday. Dozens of civilians were killed or wounded, and at least 37 residential buildings and facilities were damaged including a school, a museum and a shopping center.

In the western city of Lviv, Ukraine's cultural capital, which was hit by Russian missiles on Friday, military veterans were training dozens of civilians on how to handle firearms and grenades.

It's hard, because I have really weak hands, but I can manage it, said one trainee, 22-year-old Katarina Ishchenko.
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You should read Wus text . Just to get the conversation going, Ill tell you that she felt she could not dodge Tesla because she had to drive around Shanghai. Her car had a license plate from another city, and Shanghai imposed restrictions on vehicles that came from other places to curb traffic. For her to transfer her car to Shanghai, it would take her a lot of time and money to obtain the necessary license plates.NEVs (new energy vehicles) do not have to apply for license plates. They get green ones, which cost nothing. Thats the citys way to replace combustion-engined cars with electric ones and bring down pollution levels, not only carbon emissions. Thats something most people miss: electric cars cannot save the planet from global warming. What they can do is allow the air in big cities to be more breathable. Plug-in hybrids can also obtain one of those green license plates  and Wu preferred one  if buyers can prove that their neighborhood or unit could install charging equipment. Another requirement was to prove they charged the car at least four times per month. Most Chinese customers cannot do that, which leads them to rely on public chargers. And thats where Teslas become inexorable.Wu needed a practical car, which she could top up anywhere with no hassle. A Tesla vehicle was her best option to achieve that, thanks to a dense network of charging stations in Shanghai. In other words, due to Supercharging stations.That immediately reminded me of Watts On Wheels, a Portuguese car rental company that started its activities only with Tesla vehicles. Not due to any preference for the brand but rather due to themakers charging infrastructure. Joao Marcos Marchante, one of the companys founders, told me in September 2019 that Watts On Wheels would add other vehicles when they offered more range. Its website now includes the Volkswagen ID.3 , which counts on some Ionity fast chargers in Portugal  very few.The fact is that, apart from Tesla, most other electric cars demand you to plan a trip with a lot more detail. There are websites such as ABRP (A Better Route Planner) that tell you how you can go anywhere using an EV. Thats an amazingly handy tool for electric car users. However, it is far from the experience people have with combustion-engined vehicles.With them, you just go anywhere without concerns about where you will get gasoline or diesel. You just know that there will be a fueling station nearby with which you can count on  anywhere. At the same time, you may not afford to do so as much as you did.There is always an excuse for higher fuel prices, and Russias invasion of Ukraine is the latest push to avoid them. Luckily, Putins disastrous strategy once again goes against his interests. If not for any other reason, it shows that people should skip fossil fuels that dictators like him need to sell to fund their wars.The problem is that pure electric cars still offer a very different experience from that ofvehicles. Apart from making sure that there are chargers in the place you are traveling to, you also need to verify if they are working. It is very often not the case.Tesla Superchargers do not present that sort of concern. They are widespread, and we have never heard about any of them being out of order. Tesla owners just count on them, probably more than they can rely on that their own vehicles will work. We report enough of their issues here for our readers to know what we mean.Tesla is planning to open the Supercharging network to other electric vehicles and has started doing so in some countries. Ironically, that will probably make Tesla sales decrease. If people can choose electric cars with similar ranges that are more reliable and that can also recharge on Tesla Superchargers, they may decide to skip Tesla vehicles. Wu would probably do that if Superchargers could be used by other brands in Shanghai.Most people who always wanted to have electric cars wont buy them because of this lack of charging infrastructure. This is what makes plug-in hybrids a more rational option for those who just make road trips eventually and can charge at home: they only use fuel when there is absolutely no other option. In Shanghai, people who have nowhere to charge were buying PHEVs just to get the green plates. This is why the local government started demanding them to prove they charged more than four times per month.In times of rising fuel prices, a better charging infrastructure would make electric cars more desirable. Without it, they make Tesla vehicles inevitable for those who want electric vehicles  such as the Watts On Wheels team and customers  or those who cannot escape them  such as Wu Haiyun and multiple customers worldwide.
Born in 2016, Melk is based in France, and it does not describe itself as just a motorcycle shop, but rather as a paint (first) and motorcycles (second) garage.And thats likely to create some visually stunning Harley-Davidsons. Weve seen a couple of them already here on autoevolution, and well continue to see some more, as the work Melk has done over the past six years is quite extensive. Todays treat: a Ferrari-inspired two-wheeler, at least as far as the paint job is concerned.Having started life as a 2018 Breakout, the unnamed beauty boasts a wealth of mechanical changes, the most important being the Stage 4 S&S engine, backed by a KessTech exhaust system and an Arlen Ness air filter for easier breathing.Visually, the motorcycle was gifted with a wealth of aftermarket bits coming from Europes and the worlds largest producers, including Rick's Motorcycles (fairing, footrests, covers), Thunderbike (risers, LED indicators, wheel axles front and rear), Cult Werk (fork tubes), or Rizoma (handles).All these names are great, and having them on a motorcycle is something worth contemplating, but not something we havent seen before. What makes the bike unique are the colors used for it and the way they were sprayed on the elements.The most obvious color is Vivid Black, of course, abundantly splashed on the motorcycle, but that would have been nothing without the use of Grigio Silverstone Ferrari Satin and Rosso Corsa Ferrari Brillant in key locations to frame, contain, but at the same time, highlight all that black.As for the cost of the build, keep in mind were dealing with Harley-Davidson, Ferrari, and a custom garage in Europe. That translates into a price tag of 45,000 euros for something like this, which is about $49,500.
The war in Ukraine made one thing obvious: tanks and other land-based military machines are no longer the stars of the battlefield and are worth close to nothing when faced with advanced airplanes, drones, and specialized missiles.Several countries in Europe, including Germany, are now looking to increase defense spending in light of Russias aggression on its neighboring country. At the top of the shopping list are all of the above-mentioned systems, and especially Americas fifth-generation aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II Already serving the needs of some 13 of Americas international allies, many of which based in Europe, the war machine is likely to become an even more common sight in the skies over the Old Continent, with Germany alone planning to purchase some 35 of them.So, instances such as the one we have here, with several of these planes flying formation over the otherwise peaceful European countryside are likely to multiply exponentially.Somewhat ironically, this particular image, released not long ago by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), was snapped just two days before Russia invaded Ukraine, at a time when nobody could have foreseen how the world would change in just a matter of days.The two planes are assigned to the 495th Fighter Squadron, the Valkyries weve seen featured in autoevolutions Photo of the Day section a number of times before.Back on the 22nd of February, the airplanes were returning to the Royal Air Force Lakenheath base in the United Kingdom, after "concluding a training exercise.
The recruitment, however, will be subject to verdict of Andhra Pradesh High Court on the issue expected on March 29. (Representational image./DC)

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh government will soon recruit 2,000 assistant professors for all 17 universities in the state through the AP Public Service Commission (APPSC). The recruitment, however, will be subject to verdict of Andhra Pradesh High Court on the issue expected on March 29.

The verdict pertains to an earlier notification of APPSC issued in 2018 to recruit 1,100 assistant professors. Those candidates contend that their applications too must be considered in any fresh appointments that are taken up. An earlier single bench verdict of AP High Court had ruled this out. The same matter is expected to be heard by another bench of the High Court, whose verdict is expected on March 29. The court is expected to uphold the earlier judgment.

Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission will organise a common written test for selecting candidates in the drive to recruit 2,000 assistant professors for all 17 universities. AP Higher Education Council authorities maintain that in the earlier notification issued by APPSC in 2018, there were several anomalies. The new notification will take care of all these flaws.

The new assistant professors will be recruited on basis of the merit list prepared following the written test that is going to be held.

AP Higher Education Council chairman K. Hemachandra Reddy said, Though we should have taken up recruitment of 2,000 assistant professors for all universities in the state in February itself as per the job calendar announced earlier, it got delayed because of legal tangles. We are expecting the High Courts verdict on the issue on March 29. APPSC will take up recruitment based on the courts directions.

Meanwhile, assistant professors already working in various universities on contract basis are hopeful of getting regularised with minimum time scale and revised pay.
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President Biden's trip to Europe this week does not include plans to visit Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed in a tweet on Sunday.

Driving the news: The announcement comes after former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told CNN on Saturday that Biden should visit Ukraine during his trip as a "symbol of our solidarity."

The big picture: "The trip will be focused on continuing to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against President Putins invasion of Ukraine, but there are no plans to travel into Ukraine," Psaki tweeted.
China has fully militarized at least three artificial islands it built in the South China Sea, U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino told the Associated Press.

Why it matters: The country's territorial claims over the South China Sea have been a frequent source of tension with neighboring nations, as well as the United States, which seeks to bolster its engagement in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region.

Six other governments  Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam  have also asserted claims over the disputed waters.

I think over the past 20 years weve witnessed the largest military buildup since World War II, Aquilino, speaking about China, told AP. They have advanced all their capabilities and that buildup of weaponization is destabilizing to the region.

Driving the news: The islands in question are armed with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets, Aquilino told AP.
The U.S. should focus on "preparation, not on panic" amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in Europe, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told "Fox News Sunday."

The big picture: The BA.2 variant, a subvariant of omicron, appears to be driving a recent spike in cases in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland and other European countries, according to CNBC.

While the U.S. has yet to see a major spike in COVID cases, the subvariant represents a growing portion of new cases, with BA.2 accounting for about 23% of new cases, according to the latest data from the CDC.

Driving the news: Despite this new subvariant, Murthy said the U.S. has more tools than ever before to help keep people out of the hospital and save their lives.

Murthy noted that the U.S. should be prepared that COVID has not gone away, adding that there will be rises and falls in cases in the months ahead.

"When we look at what's happening around the world and over the last two years, we recognize that when cases increase in one part of the world, that often leads to increases in other parts of the world," Murthy said.

Murthy also told Fox he's concerned about continuing to fund the tools that the U.S. has developed to fight COVID. Congress pulled pandemic aid from the $1.5 trillion omnibus appropriations bill, which President Biden signed into law last week, in order to get the bill passed.

What they're saying: Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the president, also told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that he thinks the U.S. will likely see an uptick in cases as European countries have.
The Democratic National Committee joined TikTok earlier this month, hoping to engage more with younger voters and test the benefits of the platform's viral videos for future campaigns, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: TikTok is the central place for Gen Z to get news, as Axios has reported. The Democrats are the first of the two national parties to join. It's already become the Democrats' highest-performing social platform for video views.

By the numbers: DNC TikTok videos have amassed over 2 million views in just over one week, and the party currently has nearly 25,000 followers.

The growth potential is huge: TikTok has over 1 billion active monthly users.

The big picture: This will be the first midterm cycle in the TikTok era  it launched in China in 2016 but didn't become popular in the U.S. until the fall of 2018.

The now-widespread app has become so important in Democratic politics, the White House held a briefing specifically for TikTok influencers on March 11 to teach them how to share accurate information about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Democrats plan to use footage of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in their videos, as well as other Democratic figures, to share more about what their party is accomplishing in Washington, Axios is told.

For example, one recent video features a clip of the president discussing infrastructure and taking a shot at Republicans who voted against it but are taking credit for its benefits in their districts and states.

DNC staffers told Axios they'll use their lessons to influence the TikTok strategies of Democratic campaign beyond the midterms.

The backdrop: In mid-2020, members of the Trump administration raised concerns the Chinese government could obtain TikTok user data or harness the platform to influence U.S. political sentiment.
Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who last week protested against Russia's invasion of Ukraine on live television, told ABC's "This Week" Sunday that the majority of Russians are against the war, adding that "this is Putin's war."

Driving the news: Ovsyannikova was detained after she interrupted a live taping at Russia's state-run Channel One broadcaster  where she worked  to hold up a sign reading, "Stop the war. Dont believe propaganda. Theyre lying to you."

Ovsyannikova was taken into custody overnight and subsequently fined 30,000 rubles (about $280) for an administrative offense related to an earlier video she had filmed, per ABC News.

The big picture: Earlier this month Russian lawmakers passed legislation allowing journalists and people to be punished with up to 15 years in prison for publishing what Moscow deems to be "fake" information about the war.

Ovsyannikova could still be charged under this new law, per ABC News.

What they're saying: "The Russian people are really against the war. It's Putin's war, not Russian peoples' war," Ovsyannikova said.

Ovsyannikova said her protest on live TV was "spontaneous."

"But the dissatisfaction with the current situation has been accumulating for many years, because the propaganda on our state channels was becoming more and more distorted, and the pressure that has been applied in Russian politics could not leave us indifferent."

 Marina Ovsyannikova

Ovsyannikova said her action was meant to "demonstrate to the world that not all Russian people believe the same. And I believe that many people  more than half of the people in Russia  are against the war."
The founders of The Lincoln Project are helping unite over two dozen political groups as "The Union," aiming to mobilize tens of thousands of volunteers in legal, tech and communications capacities ahead of the midterms and 2024 election, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The goal is to fight against threats to democracy at the ballot box and beyond. Senior adviser Joe Trippi told Axios roughly 500 lawyers have asked to help, and many former local journalists have registered to assist with communications.

Besides Trippi, The Union is backed by Lincoln Project co-founders Reed Galen and Rick Wilson and another senior adviser, Stuart Stevens.

The founders of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project say the need for a pro-democracy group has been illustrated by the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the criticism of recent elections by former President Trump and his supporters, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

So far, 30 groups have signed up to be part of The Union for 2022 and 2024. The coalition officially launches Monday.

What they're saying: "Democracy really is at stake here and abroad," Trippi told Axios.

"We need to defeat the forces who want to overturn democracy in 2022 and 2024."

The big picture: The group intends to mobilize its growing volunteer network base through what they call "Union alerts."

The calls-to-action will be blasted via email and on their social channels.

They also plan to tap into the strength of more than 7 million social followers and millions of additional viewers who can also be launched into action.

For example, on Feb. 24, the group sent out its first Union alert. It provided the Fox News switchboard number and asked its members to call the network and ask them to stop spreading Russian propaganda.

The goal was to measure the engagement of the volunteers and supporters.

The backdrop: Monday's kickoff will include a 90-second video, a tweet thread, streaming programming on The Lincoln Project channel and virtual town halls with the partner groups in the evening to answer questions from those who want to get involved.

Between the lines: Thanks to the collection of groups that have signed up already, The Union has amassed over 45,000 volunteers across the country.

When volunteers register, they indicate what pro-democracy activities theyre most interested in, and whether they are best positioned to help with legal efforts, technology (like building websites and code), voter contact or communications.

What they're saying: Its unleashing the power of all those people out there who want to do something about defending our democracy but dont quite know where to go or what to do," Trippi said of The Union. "This is the place."
Millions of people were warned to stay home as Storm Eunice began battering the U.K. and Republic of Ireland on Friday, after forecasters issued rare "danger to life" red alerts for populated areas including London.

Why it matters: Eunice, expected to be the worst storm to hit the countries in over three decades, was bearing down on regions still reeling from other deadly storms that struck Northwestern Europe this week.

The red warnings expired, but high winds are expected to continue into Friday night across the UK, particularly in eastern and southeastern England.

Our thought bubble, via Axios' Andrew Freedman: There's a distinct threat from this developing bomb cyclone of a "sting jet," or small area of extremely intense wind that can form inside certain storms, hitting South West England with winds up to 100 mph Friday morning.

Threat level: The British Army was on standby as Storm Eunice was expected to be the worst storm to hit the U.K in over three decades, with millions of people told to stay home and hundreds of schools closing on Friday, per the BBC.

U.K. Met Office chief meteorologist Frank Saunders said in a statement the "impactful" storm would bring "damaging gusts" to southern and central parts of the U.K.

"The red warning area indicated a significant danger to life as extremely strong winds provide the potential for damage to structures and flying debris," Saunders said.

The red warning in effect for London in the southeast of England was the first such warning for that area, according to the Met Office.

State of play: Republic of Ireland meteorologists issued red alerts for Cork and Kerry  where there were widespread power outages and wind gusts of 80mph reported in some areas, according to RTE.

Meanwhile, the Met Office warned there would likely be widespread wind damage in some of the most populated areas of England on Friday.

In the U.K., the biggest threat was to South West and South East England and South Wales  which on Wednesday recorded winds exceeding 80mph from the earlier Storm Dudley that lashed northern England, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland.

So far, a wind gust of 122 mph was recorded on the Isle of Wright, which if confirmed by the Met Office, would be the highest wind gust on record in England.

On social media, thousands were watching a live video feed of airplanes struggling to land in the violent winds at Heathrow Airport, and imagery emerged of parts of the roof of London's O2 arena being blown off.

The big picture: Violent storms have slammed parts of the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands this week, killing at least five people and causing widespread power outages and travel disruptions.

Warnings for high winds and coastal flooding are in effect in France and other parts of mainland Europe on Friday. There is a risk of significant storm surge flooding along the coast of northern Germany due to Eunice on Friday and Saturday, forecasters warned.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
The ITDA project officer disclosed that they will impose fines on tourists, shops and commercial establishments that flout plastic ban. Polythene below 130 micron will not be allowed.  DC Image

VISAKHAPATNAM: Alarmed over increasing plastic litter and allied material in popular tourist spots, ghat roads and weekly shandies in tribal areas, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) has decided to ban plastics in agency areas from April 1.

These ecologically sensitive areas will be made a plastic-free zone, declared Paderu ITDA project officer Ronanki Gopalakrishna.

Talking to Deccan Chronicle on Saturday, he said staff of village secretariats will enforce the ban and create awareness as well among traders and tourists over not using plastic material. Three checkpoints have been established, one each at Chilakalagedda, Vaddadi and Downuru, where tourists and traders will be frisked.

Gopalakrishna conceded that it will be a difficult task to impose the ban. But they began the initiative last year when ITDA, gram panchayat, MPDOs and other stakeholders discussed ways to impose the ban. The officer said though the volume of plastic in use cannot be assessed in hilly areas and remote villages, 60 percent of waste generated in the agency is plastic, according to a rough estimate. These include plastic water sachets and single-use plastic. Once these two items are curbed, plastic waste can be minimised, he felt.

The ITDA project officer disclosed that they will impose fines on tourists, shops and commercial establishments that flout plastic ban. Polythene below 130 micron will not be allowed. As an alternative to plastic bags, ITDA will promote cloth bags stitched by self-help groups. Traders can sell these instead of plastic covers.

Additional district medical and health officer Dr. Leela Prasad said medical officers have often been raising the issue in several meetings, as the situation is going out of hand due to increasing tourism.

It is sad to see traders and tourists dumping from ghat roads into gorges waste, which cannot be retrieved, Dr. Prasad underlined.

Environmentalists say increasing temperature in the agency area is a result of plastic being dumped over the years.
Ukraine plans to ban 11 political parties with ties to Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a video released via Telegram on Sunday.

Driving the news: "Any activity of politicians aimed at splitting or collaborating will not succeed," Zelensky said.
The U.S. is "profoundly disappointed and troubled" by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's visit to the United Arab Emirates this week, which it sees as an attempt to "legitimize" the embattled dictator, State Department spokesman Ned Price told Axios in a statement on Sunday.

Why it matters: Assad's trip to the UAE on Friday was his first official visit to an Arab country since the start of the Syrian war in March 2011, according to Reuters.

Assad's other international trips have been limited to allies Iran and Russia, whereas the UAE had previously backed Assad's opponents, per Reuters.

Assad met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, who emphasized that Syria is a pillar of Arab security and voiced the UAE's willingness to bolster cooperation with Syria, per Reuters.

What they're saying: "We are profoundly disappointed and troubled by this apparent attempt to legitimize Bashar Al-Assad, who remains responsible and accountable for the death and suffering of countless Syrians, the displacement of more than half of the pre-war Syrian population, and the arbitrary detention and disappearance of over 150,000 Syrian men, women and children," Price said.

The U.S. has made clear to its partners that it does not support efforts to "rehabilitate" Assad or support others' attempts to normalize relations, he added.

"We urge states considering engagement with the Assad regime to weigh carefully the horrific atrocities visited by the regime on the Syrians over the last decade, as well as the regimes continuing efforts to deny much of the country access to humanitarian aid and security."

Price added that the U.S. will not lift or waive sanctions on Syria until progress toward a political solution to the conflict is made.

The big picture: Most countries in the region cut ties with Assad's regime at the start of the Syrian war, with Syria also being suspended from the Arab League.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that had Ukraine been admitted into NATO earlier, Russia would not have invaded.

Driving the news: Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has stretched on for more than three weeks, with experts now saying the war has reached a stalemate that could prove even more devastating.

Zelensky said last week that Russia's peace talk positions were beginning to "sound more realistic."

What they're saying: If we were a NATO member, a war wouldn't have started. I'd like to receive security guarantees for my country, for my people, Zelensky told CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

If NATO members are ready to see us in the alliance, then do it immediately, because people are dying on a daily basis," he added.

Zelensky said he had previously appealed to NATO to be told clearly whether Ukraine could join the alliance. "The response was very clear, you're not going to be a NATO member, but publicly, the doors will remain open," he said.

Zelensky thanked the NATO countries who are supporting Ukraine, however, he made a point to note that not all member states support Ukraine's admittance into the alliance, though he declined to name specific countries.

But if you are not ready to preserve the lives of our people, if you just want to see us straddle two worlds, if you want to see us in this dubious position where we don't understand whether you can accept us or not  you cannot place us in this situation, you cannot force us to be in this limbo.

Zelensky also addressed the prospect of negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that he is "ready for negotiations with him. I was ready over the last two years and I think that ... without negotiations we cannot end this war."

"If there is just 1% chance for us to stop this war, I think that we need to take this chance," he added.

"There are compromises for which we cannot be ready as an independent state," Zelensky said, adding that these include "any compromises related to our territorial integrity and our sovereignty."

The bottom line: "We have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War.

This is not the first time the Ukrainian president has mentioned the Russian invasion's global implications. World War III "may have already started" is what Zelensky said last week in an interview with NBC News.

"Nobody knows whether it may have already started. And what is the possibility of this war if Ukraine will fall, in case Ukraine will? It's very hard to say," Zelensky said at the time.

Go deeper:
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday criticized the Israeli government for not standing unequivocally on the side of Ukraine and against the Russia invasion during a virtual address to Israeli lawmakers.

Why it matters: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is one of the few leaders who is in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has been passing messages between Putin and Zelensky in an attempt to reach a ceasefire.

Around 110 of the 120 members of the Knesset logged in to watch the speech. It was also broadcasted live on all Israeli TV networks and aired during a big pro-Ukraine rally in Tel Aviv.

What they are saying: "Why are you busy with calculations [regarding Russia]? Mediating without taking sides? You can mediate  but not between good and evil," Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president compared the Russian invasion to the Holocaust and said Russia unleashed all-out war aimed at destroying the Ukrainian people like Nazi Germany wanted to destroy the Jewish people.

Zelensky criticized the Israeli government's policy regarding the entry of Ukrainian refugees, and complained that Israel refuses to supply Ukraine with the Iron Dome anti-missile system and other defensive weapons and equipment.

The Ukrainian president also criticized the Israeli government for failing to impose sanctions on Russia like other countries in the west.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said after the speech that he condemns the attack on Ukraine and thanks Zelensky for sharing the emotions and the distress of his people with the members of the Knesset.

We will continue to help the Ukrainian people as much as we can and never turn our back to people who suffer from war, Lapid said.

The other side: The Israeli prime ministers office and foreign ministry have declined to comment on Zelenskys speech. A senior Israeli official told Axios: We can understand what he is going through. He is under huge distress and his people are dying."

On the other hand, several ministers and lawmakers criticized the comparison Zelensky made between the war in Ukraine and the Holocaust.

Flashback: Zelenskys speech echoed the harsh criticism that was voiced by a senior Ukrainian official earlier in the month during an interview with Axios. Bennett is basically telling us to surrender and we have no intention of doing that," the senior Ukrainian official said.

Behind the scenes: Zelensky wanted to give the speech in front of the Knesset plenary but was declined. The speaker of the Knesset said it was impossible because lawmakers are on recess and the plenary is under renovations.

Israeli officials said that while this was all true, it wasnt the only reason. The Israeli government was concerned that if Zelensky gave a speech in the Knesset, Putin would ask to do the same  something nobody in Jerusalem wanted to happen.

After facing criticism on social media, the speaker of the Knesset offered a compromise under which Zelensky would speak to members via Zoom.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new reaction to the speech.
When Kevin Russell came up with the idea of creating a local memorial for coronavirus victims, about 160 Kern County residents had succumbed t
Kern County oil producers that would otherwise be drilling at a time of historically high oil prices are instead making do with existing wells
Kern County COVID-19 memorial info

Those interested in memorializing family members to Kern County's COVID-19 memorial may email mjlbettis@gmail.com or call American Fabrication at 661-861-8495.

For the next addition of names, the submission deadline is Sunday, March 20.
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Rooftop photovoltaics fuel China's green transition

Xinhua) 09:33, March 20, 2022

HANGZHOU, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Cainiao Network, Alibaba's logistics arm, switched on the new rooftop photovoltaic (PV) power generation facilities at its bonded warehouses in east China's Zhejiang Province on Thursday.

Spanning over 100,000 square meters, the rooftop PV panels glinted in the sun at the company's two major bonded warehouses: Hangzhou Comprehensive Bonded Zone in the provincial capital of Hangzhou; and Ningbo Qianwan Comprehensive Bonded Zone in the city of Ningbo.

The PV power systems can produce about 8 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually, equivalent to the yearly electricity consumption of over 3,000 households.

The once-idle rooftops can now meet the energy consumption needs of Cainiao's industrial parks and share the spare electricity with the State Grid, said Wang Xinjie, who is in charge of facility operation and maintenance for Cainiao's bonded warehouses.

Similar PV panels atop buildings have also helped Hangzhou Ruidong Machinery Co., Ltd. lower its production costs.

Ruidong's PV project is expected to generate around 2.2 million kWh of electricity every year, helping save 720 tonnes of standard coal or reduce 2,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

"After being put into use for half a month, the rooftop PV power systems have saved nearly 10,000 yuan (about 1,570 U.S. dollars) from our electricity bill," said Han Shilong with the machinery company.

As the green transition becomes increasingly popular worldwide, rooftop PV power systems have grown into a novel and eco-friendly choice in architectural design across China.

In February, the Beijing Daxing International Airport put into use its car park photovoltaic power project, which has an expected annual power generation capacity of over 3 million kWh.

The airport's two car park buildings cover a total area of approximately 250,000 square meters, while about 18,000 square meters of the roofs are covered with thin-film photovoltaic modules.

With its eco-friendly design, the project is expected to save 1,080 tonnes of standard coal and slash 3,040 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

In 2021 alone, China added 52.97 million kilowatts of installed PV power generation capacity, about 55 percent of which was contributed by distributed PV generation systems like rooftop PV panels.

"The rooftop PV systems are just the beginning of our sustainable development plan for the company's imports," said Sun Beibei, general manager of Cainiao's global import supply chain department.

By September 2023, the rooftop PV panels of Cainiao's bonded warehouses will increase to about 500,000 square meters. The warehouses will also incorporate "carbon reduction" into every logistics link, Sun added.

"We aim to build an eco-friendly global logistics network for merchants and brands across the globe to cut carbon footprints hand in hand," said Sun.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
Ramanjaneyulu said that his children were both post graduates and they had suddenly started visiting places of worship of a different religion.  Representational image/DC

Hyderabad: Police on Saturday identified the owner of the brand new car that was found floating in the left canal of Sagar on Friday.

It was bought for Rs 20 lakh by a 65-year-old retired headmaster Ramanjaneyulu from Tipparthy in Nalgonda district as a gift for his son and daughter. However, following differences with their parents, the siblings, Vigneswari and Mallikarjun, who stay in Avanthipuram, Suryapet, drove the car to the left canal of Sagar in Vemulapalli police limits and pushed it into the waters.

Police personnel said that they had collected details of the vehicle based on the temporary registration (TR) number from the showroom staff.

"Vigneswari and Mallikarjun did it intentionally. Initially, suspecting that there could be someone inside the car, we took up a search operation. As it was already night, we left it submerged," said police officials.

Reportedly there were differences between the parents and their children. The siblings were not interested in their father's gift, police said.

Ramanjaneyulu said that his children were both post graduates and they had suddenly started visiting places of worship of a different religion. Since then, they have started avoiding me and my wife and began living separately. I request the police to provide proper counselling to my children so that they could mend their ways," Ramanjaneyulu said.
As Russian tanks rolled into neighboring Ukraine late last month and the Russian government blocked its citizens' access to Facebook, use of the Tor network - which lets people use the Internet without revealing their identities or locations - shot up in the country.

Tor - short for "the onion router" - encrypts Internet traffic using a fancy mathematical formula. (Imagine sticking some Web traffic data into one end of a math machine, and it coming out the other end garbled, at least to anyone without access to the math.) Next, it sends that traffic on a wild ride, bouncing it among volunteer computers around the world so that traffic can't easily be traced back to you.

It's one of a few ways people can hide their online activities from governments, companies and even family members. Some people use Tor because they're activists concerned for their safety, Tor Project fundraising director Al Smith said. Others are trying to hide Christmas presents from their spouses.

Russia's censorship of how the war is playing out in Ukraine might be getting people to think about their own privacy and how they could communicate with friends and family safely during a conflict. The U.S. government hasn't blocked access to major social media sites as Russia and China have, but Americans still have plenty of reasons to hold their data close to the vest. Many communicate with family in countries with Web surveillance - such as China - while others just want to hide from constant targeted advertising.

Finding reliable private messengers and browsers is easier said than done, though. When some companies say their products are "private," they mean your data isn't visible to other users. Others hide your data even from themselves.

"Every entity and company might mean something slightly different by private," Smith said. "You almost have to be an expert to understand which tools to use."

Here's what to look for when you evaluate the privacy of browsers or messengers.

- Is the messenger end-to-end encrypted?

Usually, the privacy settings you see in your favorite apps are actually visibility settings - what can other users learn about you from looking at your profile and activity?

But "privacy" involves broader questions. Companies can hide your data from onlookers while retaining access to it themselves, for example. That opens a host of privacy concerns, Smith said. What if the company sells or shares that data? What if the government demands access?

Some privacy products use encryption to hide data from third parties, from themselves or both. When data is cloaked during transit and viewable only to the sender and receiver, it's considered "end-to-end encrypted." While your data's security depends partly on the app's encryption protocol - or the math they use to scramble the data - end-to-end encrypted services are more private because the company itself doesn't have access to your information.

Facebook Messenger and Telegram allow you to create one-off encrypted chats, but these messengers are not end-to-end encrypted by default. That means copies of your data could be stored on the companies' servers. Apple's iMessage and Facebook's WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted by default. But if your iMessages are syncing to iCloud, Apple has the encryption key and could turn them over to law enforcement. As for WhatsApp, it's unclear how much data the product shares with its parent company, Meta, which has been under the spotlight for its data-sharing practices.

Signal is end-to-end encrypted by default, doesn't have the key to decrypt your messages and isn't owned by an advertising giant. For more tips on keeping your messages out of the wrong hands, check out Help Desk's guide to private texting.

- Does the browser hide your traffic, or just forget it?

If you open an incognito window on Google's Chrome browser, it forgets everything you did after you close the window. But it doesn't hide that you did it. That means Google, your Internet service provider and anyone they shared the data with could see which sites you visited.

Standard browsers don't cloak your Web activity. If you're worried about state censorship or surveillance, that's not a good setup. Opt for the Tor browser or the Brave browser's "Tor windows," which the company says come with relatively fewer privacy protections. There's also the Onion Browser, which runs on Apple's iOS for mobile devices. (The Tor Project makes a Tor browser version for Android.)

Similarly, virtual private networks (VPNs) hide your Internet activity from snoops, but they also can log it. That means state actors could ask for records of the sites you visit. Here, the Tor browser is a safer option.

If corporate surveillance and targeted advertising are your main concerns, a browser or extension that blocks trackers may do the trick. Firefox, DuckDuckGo, Brave and Safari all come with tracker-blocking tech.
Millions of Americans would like to think they are done with Covid, as a popular expression goes, and the sentiment is understandable. Virus numbers are falling dramatically, and everyone is tired of two years of sacrifice and fear. But a problem remains with this belief now, as in previous lulls of the disease: The virus may not be done with us.

Microbiologists at the European Commission and the University of Oxford have criticized misconceived and premature theories about the end of COVID-19, focusing on at what they call the persistent myth that the virus will evolve to be less harmful.

Instead, these microbiologists believe more severe strains could be coming as the virus adapts to dodge natural immunity and vaccines. One member of the team noted that many viruses, including HIV and hepatitis C, do not evolve to be less harmful over time. While the latest Covid variant was thankfully not that severe, the experts warned, The lower severity of omicron is nothing but a lucky coincidence.

As if that werent enough to ponder, Pfizer-BioNTech is expected to ask federal regulators soon for emergency authorization for a second booster shot of its vaccine for adults 65 and older. That would be a fourth shot for those who received two doses of the initial vaccine and the third booster recently.

Many people thought that this third booster would be the final they would had to roll up their sleeves for an anti-Covid injection. Apparently, it will not be. And its not too hard to conceive of the eventual need for another booster shot for people under 65 too. Already some other countries like Israel are moving forward with this additional booster.

Dr. Pedro Piedra, a virologist at Baylor College of Medicine, even said that with so many people unwilling or unable to get a booster now, the world is likely to see another wave (of Covid) during the summer.

No one wants that to happen, but we cant rule out that possibility or become complacent with the current decline in numbers. There are still plenty of Texans who need their booster shot to protect themselves and others. We should all focus on that in the coming weeks to be ready for whatever comes our way the rest of this year, and the rest of our lives.
New Delhi: Israel on Sunday announced that its Prime Minister Naftali Bennett would pay a visit to India on April 2  a visit that is considered to be significant in the wake of the West Asian nations strategic ties with New Delhi and also because of the altered geopolitical situation in the world after Russia attacked Ukraine.

India and Israel, which marked the 30th anniversary of full-fledged diplomatic ties this January, have a close defence relationship as Tel Aviv had supplied several state-of-the-art weapon systems to India and are the members of a four-nation strategic arrangement in West Asia, dubbed as the middle-eastern Quad. The United States and the United Arab Emirates are the other two members of the grouping.

Another aspect for which Bennetts New Delhi visit would be keenly tracked by strategic observers his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the Russia-Ukraine war. India is a time-tested friend of Russia, while the Israeli PM had recently made efforts to broker a truce between Russia and Ukraine.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Israeli Prime Ministers Office (PMO) said, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will pay his first official visit to India on Saturday, 2 April 2022, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The leaders first met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow last October, at which Prime Minister Modi invited Prime Minister Bennett to pay an official visit to the country. This visit will reaffirm the important connection between the countries and the leaders, and will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Israel and India.

The Israeli PMO added, The purpose of the visit is to advance and strengthen the strategic alliance between the countries, and to expand bilateral ties. In addition, the leaders will discuss the strengthening of cooperation in a variety of areas, including innovation, economy, research and development, agriculture and more.

Israel, which is a key partner of India, also want to collaborate in areas like agriculture and climate change.

The relations between our two unique cultures  the Indian culture and the Jewish culture  are deep, and they rely on deep appreciation and meaningful collaborations. There are many things we can learn from the Indians, and this is what we strive to do. Together we will expand our cooperation to other areas, from innovation and technology, security and cyber, to agriculture and climate change.

Bennett was elected the Prime Minister of Israel after a long rule by Benjamin Netanyahu.
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(Left to right) David Evans, president of the American University in Bulgaria, history professor Markus Wien, and psychology professor Ronald Harvey demonstrate against the Ukraine invasion on campus in Blagoevgrad. Evans was the former president of Southern Vermont College in Bennington, which closed in 2019.
Scott Stafford has been a reporter, photographer, and editor at a variety of publications, including the Dallas Morning News and The Berkshire Eagle.
HYDERABAD: Veteran Communist leader Mallu Swarajyam, a key leader of the armed struggle against the Razakars during the Nizams rule, died of respiratory problems at a private hospital on Saturday. She was 91.

She is survived by two sons and a daughter.

Her body will be placed at MB Bhavan, the state CPM office, at RTC Crossroads here for her admirers to pay tribute. The body will be taken to Nalgonda where her family and party leaders would hand over the mortal remains to the government hospital for research.

Mallu Lakshmi, daughter-in-law of Swarajyam, said the senior communist party leader was admitted in a hospital on March 12 due to a lung infection.

Swarajyam was born in a semi-feudal family at Karvirala Kothagudem of Thungathurthy mandal of Suryapet district in 1931. She was named Swarajyam by her parents who participated in satyagrahas during the freedom struggle. She was inspired by her brother Bheemreddy Narasimha Reddy.

Swarajyam was attracted to Communism at the age of 10 after reading the book Mother authored by Maxim Gorky. She motivated people by singing revolutionary songs during the armed struggle against the zamindars and Razakars during the Nizams rule between 1945 and 1948. The Nizam government announced a reward of Rs 10,000 on Swarajyam's head.

The veteran leader also led an armed dalam of the Communist party. Her husband Mallu Venkata Narsimha Reddy was a CPM politburo member and Nalgonda district secretary.

Swarajyam had organised the Andhra Maha Sabha in mobilising thousands of people to protest against the bonded labour system in the Nizam's rule. She distributed paddy and other crops cultivated from her hundreds of acres of land to poor people.

Swarajyam played street dramas and folk songs to create awareness among people and women in protest against anti-people policies strictly implemented during the Nizams rule.

She was elected MLA from Thungathurthy in 1978 and 1983 on behalf of the CPM, the party said.
The Outlook is today's look ahead at the week's weather, its impact on the Berkshires and beyond. Clarence Fanto can be reached at cfanto@yahoo.com.
So now we know the laptop containing Hunter Biden's shady business dealings is real because the New York Times finally admitted it after 18 months of suppressing the story. Not that we didn't already know that Hunter grifted a number of foreign nations using his father's position as vice-president - we did. Honest Americans definitely realized that. We also understand that the corporate media, including the giant internet operations, canceled a legitimate news story that might have influenced voters in the 2020 presidential election. In addition, it is beyond any doubt that while Hunter's loathsome money-making schemes were being denied and censored, including direct repudiations from Joe Biden, the phony Russian-Collusion story was being heavily promoted by the corporate press. The deceitful one-two media punch absolutely influenced the election of 2020. So by doing the math - this is the biggest media scandal in American history. And it's not even close. Now, last week Vladimir Putin made it a crime in Russia to criticize the invasion of Ukraine. Should the US Congress make it a criminal offense to dishonestly influence a presidential vote? Yes, it should. Heavy fines should be imposed for demonstrably false reporting on campaigns. When a presidential election can be battered by dishonest media partisanship, this country has to do SOMETHING. Let's methodically review using only facts.

On October 19, 2020, the liberal website Politico ran a report alleging the Hunter Biden-laptop discovery was Russian "disinformation" designed to hurt Joe Biden and help Donald Trump. Politico cited 50 "national security" experts who agreed. Politico is not and never has been a fair and trustworthy operation. Back then, it was primarily interested in hurting Trump. Nevertheless, the corporate media couldn't get on the phony Russian "disinformation" train fast enough. Night after night, NBC News and CNN pounded the story - so much so that legitimate reporting about the laptop got banned on Facebook and Twitter. So you tell me, do we let this media outrage go? Or do we the people demand that Congress pass safeguards to protect presidential elections? The Justice Department is currently investigating Hunter Biden, but the Biden administration oversees Attorney General Garland. What SHOULD happen is an independent counsel investigation because, according to Hunter, his father, the President, received a "taste" of the millions of dollars that somehow appeared in Hunter's wallet. The presumption of innocence has to be in play here because Hunter might have been smoking crack when he wrote that, but clarity is definitely needed. Over in Russia, 250 media people have either gone missing or been murdered under the Putin regime. Obviously, we don't have anything like that in the USA. What we do have is massive media deceit. And while that's not life and death, it is badly hurting the country.
The book POLIO  The Eradication Imbroglio is authored by Dr T Jacob John and Dr Dhanya Dharmapalan

A book by Eminent virologist and Emeritus Professor of Virology, Christian Medical College, Vellore Dr T. Jacob John, & Dr Dhanya Dharmapalan was officially released by D. Krishna Ella, Scientist, Co-Founder, Chairman and Managing Director Bharat Biotech in New Delhi.



Dr John was also felicitated by Dr Ella and Suchitra Ella for his outstanding contributions in Science and Technology, his relentless work in developing the Polio Vaccine and in eradication of Polio in India.



The book POLIO  The Eradication Imbroglio authored by Dr T Jacob John and Dr Dhanya Dharmapalan published reminds us of the pitfalls countries encountered in the past and present in the control and prevention of pandemics and even epidemics.



The book highlights - Causative microorganisms of infectious diseases such as polio and others can only be eliminated and eradicated from our planet by uniform global decisions rapidly adapted by all the countries and their governments without reference to their gross domestic product or status of public health systems.

Dr Jacob who joined the Christian Medical College as teaching faculty in 1959 rose to become the Professor of Virology in the institution. Dr. John is acknowledged for having established the Department of Diagnostic Virology Laboratory at the Christian Medical College.




President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged South African consumers and businesses to actively choose to 'buy local' to accelerate the country's economic revival and stimulate job creation.

Source: Getty

Transformative power of localisation

Flying the SA flag at home and abroad

Creating a supportive environment

By buying local we are supporting livelihoods, small business development and job creation. We are supporting investment and research in new technology and in innovation. As long as we are producing quality, locally made goods, we should also be buying them, he said during a pre-recorded address presented at Proudly SAs Buy Local Summit and Expo this week.Proudly SA is a government initiative that seeks to influence local procurement in the public and private sectors, to increase local production and to influence consumers to buy into local goods and services in order to stimulate job creation.As the governments official localisation campaign, Proudly SA annually hosts the Buy Local Summit, its flagship event, to amplify this mandate.The 'buy local' message is more important than ever before, Ramaphosa said, as the economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has placed greater demands on the South African economy to provide employment. At the same time, the health crisis exposed the fragility of global supply chains and revealed great capacity in SA for innovation and adaptation in manufacturing.In the space of just two years, through collaboration and out of necessity, we managed to build local production capability in ventilators, hand sanitisers, medical-grade face masks and gloves, as well as vaccines, therapeutic drugs and anaesthetics.In addition to catering to local needs, South African manufacturers of these goods were also able to meet demands of other African countries to which weve started exporting.The president said that local production is important because it encourages national pride in the goods, services and products made on home soil. He added, It supports the growth of small businesses and the expansion of local firms. It creates employment and sustains livelihoods. Local production supports our manufacturing sector. It enables us to build much-needed infrastructure and improve our services.Ramaphosa highlighted that a growing local market enables producers to expand and to start exploring export opportunities in other markets.Highlighting local success stories, he said, We manufacture many of the vehicles that are exported to the rest of the world. The BMW X3, just like the Ford Ranger and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, is manufactured and assembled here in South Africa. The employment value chain in this sector is enormous - from the factory to dealerships, components and spare-parts manufacturing, after-sales service, mechanics and sales personnel.Touching on the output of the countrys creative industries, Ramaphosa said that South Africans are setting trends in music, literature, art and fashion, both locally and beyond our borders.Day by day our artists are gaining new audiences around the world. We see, for example, the runaway success of amapiano, and how it is part of the music scene in many parts of the world. More and more locally produced films are being seen on screens across the globe and on the world's largest streaming platforms, he said.Ramaphosa noted that it's not enough to encourage people to buy local, but that the government, public sector and private sector need to work together to create an environment that supports local companies.That's why we've partnered with stakeholders in various industries to develop sector plans that have already increased investment in production in several industries. To create an environment more conducive to local production, we are reducing red tape and removing the barriers to entry for emerging companies, the president said.We all need to make a contribution to this effort - from government to state-owned enterprises to businesses, producers and consumers, because we all benefit from this effort, Ramaphosa added.
Business Insider Africa has launched its inaugural Business Insider Africa Awards which aim to recognise influential business leaders and entrepreneurs who are driving change, transforming business and making a significant impact in sub-Saharan Africa.



Marketing Professional of the Year

Fintech Leader of the Year

Internet Entrepreneur of the Year

Young CEO of the Year

Social Entrepreneur of the Year

Business Influencer of the Year

Female Leader of the Year

Investor of the Year

Creative Leader of the Year

Serial Entrepreneur of the Year

Entrepreneurship Lifetime Achievement Award



The awards will kick off with a nomination process - handled byjury panel from diverse backgrounds across sub-Saharan Africa - whose talents and contributions to the continent and environment are instrumental to building a community of African leaders.The nominees - many of whom are trailblazing entrepreneurs - will then be announced to the general public to kickstart the voting phase, which starts on Monday, 21 March at 10am (WAT) and ends on Sunday, 3 April at 11.59pm (WAT).The influential business leaders and entrepreneurs who emerge with the highest votes in each category will be crowned winners at the virtual award ceremony on 12 April, which will bring together the most talented and inspirational entrepreneurs from SSA on the same stage for the first time.TheAwards is the first initiative launched by the publication and the awards focus on recognising extraordinary individuals across 11 business categories that cover Sub Saharan Africas market landscape.
Starbucks president and chief executive officer, Kevin Johnson, is retiring after 13 years of service at the company and five years as CEO, the American multinational coffee giant confirmed. Former Starbucks chief executive and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz has returned to occupy the role of interim CEO while the company's board of directors searches for Johnson's successor.

Outgoing Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson. Source: Starbucks

'Responsibility to help when called'

Schultz is volunteering his time as interim CEO to Starbucks and will receive $1 of compensation.Johnson will transition from his current role on 4 April 2022, and will continue to serve as a Starbucks partner (employee) and special consultant to the company and board of directors through September.Johnson, who has served on the Starbucks board of directors since 2009, joined the Starbucks leadership team in 2015 as president and chief operating officer. In 2017, he was named president and chief executive officer, succeeding Schultz.Building on the heritage of the company, Johnson established the People Positive, Planet Positive and Profit Positive framework that seeks to "create a better world" for Starbucks partners, farmers, customers and the communities it serves. He expanded the companys reach through the Global Coffee Alliance with Nestle, which now operates in nearly 80 markets, and established and executed the Growth at Scale agenda that "significantly increased shareholder value", according to the company.A year ago, I signalled to the board that as the global pandemic neared an end, I would be considering retirement from Starbucks. I feel this is a natural bookend to my 13 years with the company. As I make this transition, we are very fortunate to have a founder who is able to step in on an interim basis, giving the board time to further explore potential candidates and make the right long-term succession decision for the company, said Johnson.I have enjoyed every minute of the job and am proud of what we have achieved together. It has been an honor to serve the 400,000 Starbucks green apron partners around the world and I want to thank them for their service, resilience and optimism, he added.As the companys founder and architect of its culture, the board of directors believes Schultz is singularly qualified to serve as interim CEO until a new leader has been identified. In addition to the day-to-day management of the company, Schultz will participate in the search process and help onboard the next CEO.Schultz built Starbucks into one of the worlds most recognised businesses and coffee brands. Under his leadership from 1987 to 2018, Starbucks grew from 11 stores with 100 partners to more than 28,000 stores in 77 countries. As CEO, he redefined the role and responsibility of a publicly held company, pioneering programmes like comprehensive healthcare, stock ownership and free college tuition for full and part-time employees. During Schultzs tenure, Starbucks stock price gained 21,000% from the time of its initial public offering in 1992 until he stepped down as executive chairman in 2018.When you love something, you have a deep sense of responsibility to help when called. Although I did not plan to return to Starbucks, I know the company must transform once again to meet a new and exciting future where all of our stakeholders mutually flourish, said Schultz.As interim CEO, Schultz will focus on setting an innovation framework, while also coaching and onboarding the next permanent CEO of Starbucks.Our success is not an entitlement. We must continue to earn the trust of our people and our customers every day by how we deliver the Starbucks experience, how we treat each other and how we act as a responsible community member and corporate citizen. With the backdrop of Covid recovery and global unrest, its critical we set the table for a courageous reimagining and reinvention of the future Starbucks experience for our partners and customers, commented Schultz.
Researchers from North-West University (NWU) and Universitat Duisburg-Essen in Germany have developed an early warning tool for metal pollution in freshwater systems worldwide.

The artificial mussel developed by NWU and UDE researchers to monitor platinum in fresh water

Making artificial mussels in Germany: Dr Sonja Zimmermann, Ms Marelize Labuschagne and Dr Hannes Erasmus

The South African and German research team during a workshop in Germany (2018)

This research achievement is a collaboration between the Water Research Group, the NWU led by Prof. Nico Smit and Prof. Victor Wepener and the Universitat Duisburg-Essens AquatischeOkologie (Aquatic Ecology) Group, led by Prof. Bernd Sures and Dr Sonja Zimmerman.The project is funded by the National Research Foundation and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.Prof. Nico Smit says the collaboration was informed by the fact that South Africa is the worlds main supplier of platinum group elements, and some of the most productive platinum mining operations are located in the Bushveld Igneous Complex near Rustenburg in the North West province.As with all intensive mining activities, there are always the potential that these activities can result in metal pollution in nearby rivers, thus a proper monitoring mechanism is needed to serve as an early warning tool.Following a five-year collaboration, these researchers have now designed and validated a passive sampling device  an artificial mussel  that works perfectly to monitor platinum pollution in freshwater environments.Their results  which were published in the international journal Environmental Sciences Europe  showed that under laboratory conditions there is a very high correlation between the uptake of platinum in artificial mussels (AMs) and the concentrations in the water.These laboratory tests were also validated under real field conditions in the North West provinces Hex River, clearly showing the suitability of AMs for South African rivers. These AMs are inexpensive, easy to make and have the potential to become the tool of choice for water managers worldwide, says Prof. Smit.An additional benefit of the AM is that it allows the determination of bio-accessible metal fraction in water bodies in an ethical manner without using animals, which in the past has been the main standard operating procedure.According to the recent International Union for Conservation of Nature report almost one third of all freshwater biodiversity faces extinction, with pollution being one of the main driving factors. Taking this into account, together with human health issues related to water pollution, this new tool comes at just the right time, says Prof. Smit.
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It is not surprising that the South African Competition Act expressly requires that its interpretation must be undertaken in a manner that is consistent with the Constitution. Even if the Competition Act had been silent on this point, the Constitution itself requires that legislative interpretation must yield a construction that promotes the objects of the Bill of Rights. There is no statute that is immune from a constitutional approach to interpretation - this we are all likely to agree upon.

Image source:  Denis Ismagilov  123RF.com

The more glaring question in recent times is whether the Competition Commission, entrusted to investigate and prosecute violations of competition law, can simultaneously allege that conduct that violates competition law automatically violates the Constitution. Such was the case a few weeks ago, in a matter involving a multinational healthcare company that was referred to the Competition Commission. The Commission, seeking to prosecute the alleged excessive pricing of breast cancer treatment medicine, simultaneously alleged that the conduct violated constitutionally entrenched human rights.There is no doubt that the advancement of social and economic welfare constitutes one of the objectives of South African competition law. Having said that, of what consequence is it to allege an infringement of both competition law and human rights infringements? Is the Tribunal empowered to consider these issues when embarking upon the highly technical and economic assessments associated with dominance, in the first instance, and excessive pricing in the second. It may be more plausible that all competition law issues can be shoehorned into the four corners of the Constitution, but is it necessarily the case that all allegations of anticompetitive conduct should be framed as human rights infringements too?It is perhaps a precarious move to automatically conflate allegations of antitrust and constitutional law violations. The Competition Authority itself has been loath to enter the realm of price regulation, openly acknowledging the economically dense assessments associated with findings of antitrust violations and acknowledging the free market principles associated with the prevailing economic system.There is no doubt that the authority has a broader purpose than to simply investigate pure competition issues. In a country ravaged by high levels of concentration and economic disadvantage, pure competition assessments alone are not a feature of the South African antitrust regime. The purpose of the Competition Act is not just to advance the social and economic welfare of South Africans but to also promote the development of the economy. To include constitutional law allegations into the mix, burdens the already complex assessments that the specialist authority is called to pronounce upon, balancing a number of important overarching policy objectives that should have equal focus.
Malawi will on Sunday launch the first round of vaccination campaigns against Type I wild poliovirus.

More than 80 million doses will be administered to more than 23 million children under five years in the four-round vaccination drive in five southern African countries after Malawi declared an outbreak on 17 February - the first such case in the country in 30 years, and the first in Africa since the region was certified free of indigenous wild poliovirus in 2020.The first phase of the campaigns targets 9.4 million children in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Three subsequent rounds - in which Zimbabwe will also take part - are set for April, June and July and aim to reach more than 23 million children with more than 80 million doses of the bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) for wild poliovirus (type 1).Mass vaccinations, or supplementary vaccinations, aim to interrupt the circulation of poliovirus by immunising every child under five years with oral polio vaccine regardless of previous immunisation status. The objective is to reach children who are either not immunised, or only partially protected, and to boost immunity in those who have been immunised. Supplementary immunisation is intended to complement - not replace - routine immunisation.Polio is a highly infectious and an untreatable disease that can result in permanent paralysis. In support of Malawi and its neighbours, we are acting fast to halt this outbreak and extinguish the threat through effective vaccinations, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. The African region has already defeated wild poliovirus due to a monumental effort by countries. We have the know-how and are tirelessly working to ensure that every child lives and thrives in a continent free of polio.The African region was declared and certified as free of indigenous wild polio in August 2020 after eliminating all forms of wild poliovirus. The regions certification as wild polio-free remains unchanged. Laboratory analysis linked the strain detected in Malawi to the one circulating in Pakistans Sindh Province in 2019.WHO has been supporting the country to reinforce response measures including disease surveillance, risk assessment and preparations for the vaccination campaigns. A surge team from WHO is working with country-based counterparts, partner organisations and the government to end the outbreak. The WHO team is part of a broader multi-partner Global Polio Eradication Initiative support to the country.The country has also now set up environmental surveillance for polioviruses in 11 sites across four cities. The sites are in Lilongwe District that encompasses the capital Lilongwe where the initial, and so far, only case, was detected. Other sites are in Blantyre, Mzuzu and Zomba cities. Teams are collecting samples from the environment and sending them for analysis to laboratories while active surveillance is also underway in health facilities and in communities.In preparation for the vaccination drives, trained surge teams of national officers have been deployed at district level to facilitate the campaign and ensure that all eligible children are vaccinated. Maintenance and repair of cold-chain facilities are also ongoing.Polio is transmitted from person to person mainly through contamination by faecal matter or, less frequently, through contaminated water or food, and multiplies in the intestine. While there is no cure for polio, the disease can be prevented through administration of a safe, simple and effective vaccine.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has collected Americans financial records in bulk, according to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Wyden revealed the existence of a DHS financial surveillance program in a March 8 letter to the departments inspector general, calling for an investigation into the previously unknown activities.

Wyden said he has recently learned that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)a law enforcement component of DHSwas operating an indiscriminate and bulk surveillance program that swept up millions of financial records about Americans.

After my staff contacted HSI about the program in January 2022, HSI immediately terminated the program, Wyden wrote to DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari.

The senator said his office was briefed by HSI on Feb. 18the first time Congress had been told about the program.

HSI told my staff that it used custom summonses to obtain approximately six million records about money transfers above $500, to or from Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico, Wyden wrote. HSI obtained these records using a total of eight customs summonses, which it sent to Western Union and Maxitransfers Corporation (Maxi), demanding records for a six-month period following the order.

Wyden said the HSI financial surveillance activities are highly problematic for numerous reasons, including the fact that only eight summonses were used to obtain more than 6 million records.

The customs summonses authority only permits the government to seek records that are relevant to an investigation, he said.

HSI should have known that this authority could not be used to conduct bulk surveillance, particularly after the Department of Justice inspector general harshly criticized the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2019 for using subpoenas to conduct a bulk surveillance program involving records of international phone calls.

Wyden also said the HSI database allows hundreds of law enforcement agencies unfettered access to the financial records without any court supervision.

The fact that DHS immediately shuttered the program after being contacted by the senator further suggests a lack of internal oversight, he said.

I write to request that you thoroughly investigate the program to determine whether HSIs surveillance of Americans was consistent with DHS policy, statutory law, and the United States Constitution, the letter reads.

Reacting to Wydens revelations, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called the HSI program blatantly illegal.

This practice presents real-world harms to people who, for good reason, would like to keep private the transfer of money and the identifying information that goes with it, EFF, an international nonprofit digital rights group, said in a March 10 statement.

Sharing financial and other personally identifying records of domestic violence survivors, asylum seekers, and human rights activists could expose them to danger, particularly given that TRAC allows hundreds of law enforcement agencies unfettered access to these records.

EFF agreed with Wydens call for an investigation into the program, noting that the 6 million-plus records should be immediately purged. It also said companies such as Western Union and Maxi should stand up to the government and protect consumer privacy.

Companies like Western Union and Maxi should stop caving to these overbroad administrative subpoenas for sensitive customer information by filing motions to quash. These administrative subpoenas are government requestsnot official warrants, signed by a judge, that legally compel the company to hand over all of this data, EFF stated.

Companies should answer only when compelled by law to do so. Until then, they have an obligation to protect their customers information, and that obligation should extend to protections from overly-broad and easily rebuttable government fishing expeditions.

Western Union offered the following statement when contacted by The Epoch Times: Western Union is committed to protecting the personal data of our customers, as well as combatting serious criminal activity such as money laundering, human trafficking, and human smuggling.

We also actively work with law enforcement agencies globally to promote privacy principles while enabling law enforcement to combat crime. We are unable to comment further on law enforcement investigations.

Maxi didnt respond by press time to an email from The Epoch Times seeking comment.
The House just voted to give the President "broad authority to sanction virtually anyone, anywhere in the world, whether they are connected to Russia or not," Rep Thomas Massie (KY-R) reports.



"This was slipped into the Russian sanctions bill on pages 19, 20, 21," Massie said.





This was slipped into the Russian sanctions bill on pages 19,20,21. It gives the President broad authority to sanction virtually anyone, anywhere in the world, whether they are connected to Russia or not.



Interventionists at the State Department are doing the happy dance now. pic.twitter.com/eQO9ieVNQd  Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 17, 2022



The bill amends the Magnitsky Act to say the President can sanction "any foreign person" acting on behalf of Russia or any foreign person who has "materially assisted" those acting on behalf of Russia.



The language is deliberately broad so it can apply to virtually anyone.















Massie said only eight House reps -- all Republican -- voted against the bill.







Shortly after taking office, Biden signed an incredibly broad executive order which stated that Americans assets could be seized if Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and/or Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in consultation with the Attorney General Merrick Garland, declared they were acting "directly or indirectly" "for the benefit of" Russia.



The American Thinker reported on the EO at the time in an article titled, "Executive Order Canceling the Constitution":

On April 15, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation. Contrary to its title, this EO is not about Russia. It is designed to allow the Biden administration to deprive American citizens and organizations of their rights and property by arbitrarily linking those persons to real, imagined, or vaguely defined activities of the Russian government.



The Biden administration unilaterally makes the determination and requires neither criminal acts nor intent. The punishment is blocking assets and a prohibition on any dealing with the accused person. Spouses and adult children of individuals found guilty by accusation under this EO are punished, too.



[...] Section 1 of the EO enumerates prohibited activities and defines guilty persons as those "determined" by the Secretary of Treasury [Janet Yellen] and/or Secretary of State [Antony Blinken] in consultation with the Attorney General [Merrick Garland] to be:



(a)(ii) responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, any of the following for or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, directly or indirectly, the Government of the Russian Federation:



(A) malicious cyber-enabled activities;



(B) interference in a United States or other foreign government election;



(C) actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the United States or abroad;



(D) transnational corruption;



[...] Biden's new EO is directed mostly at US persons. It criminalizes speech and political activities, based on whimsical and arbitrary definitions. The Biden administration can define "malicious activities," "democratic processes or institutions," and the activities that undermine them as it wants.



The Biden administration is also free to interpret what constitutes "interests of the Russian Government." Such broad and vague language allows the Biden regime to select US citizens and political organizations arbitrarily, and then deprive them of their property and rights without anything reminiscent of due process. The EO does not even require that anybody commit an actual crime somewhere. False cyber-attribution or fake bounty claims are sufficient. Biden's remarks to the EO showed no regard to the culpability of any targeted US citizens or other persons.

Any notion the US is still a "liberal democracy" is now dead.



[Header image by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0]



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Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a daily briefing that the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (also known as "dagger") hypersonic missile struck an underground warehouse containing rockets and ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region on Friday.

Ukraine didn't report any Russian attack on the military facility overnight and did not immediately comment on Russia's claims. There is also no mention of explosions on social media, though hitting a "big underground" ammunition storage would be loud.

If the Kinzhal was indeed used, it would be first such use of a hypersonic missile - it travels at Mach 10 speeds (or about 7,672 mph) in an unpredictable flight path, making it near impossible for the most advanced missile defense shields to shoot down.

Here's unconfirmed footage of what could be the Kinzhal.

Allegedly footage of Russian Kh-47M2 "Kinzhal" hypersonic missile launched today against of the Ukrainian armed forces underground weapons depot in Deliatyn. pic.twitter.com/9cHgmiKmni  Harry Boone (@Harry_Boone) March 19, 2022

The advanced weaponry was unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018 and is air-launched from Tu-22M3 bombers or MiG-31K interceptors.

Russia has prided itself in being at the forefront of this technology (here & here), becoming the global leader in hypersonic missiles. The new weapon is so advanced that even the US has yet to field because it has suffered many setbacks in the development phase.

When defending North America against Russian and Chinese hypersonic missiles, NORAD commander Gen. Glen VanHerck told CTVNews, "hypersonic weapons are extremely difficult to detect and counter given these weapons' speed, maneuverability, low flight paths, and unpredictable trajectories."

With that being said, VanHerck added: "Hypersonic weapons challenge NORAD's ability to provide threat warning and attack assessments for Canada and the United States."
Testimony by evacuated Mariupol residents and warnings of a false flag attack undermine the Ukrainian governments claims about a Russian bombing of a local theater sheltering civilians.

Western media have reported that Russias military deliberately attacked the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama theater in Mariupol, Ukraine, claiming that it was filled with civilians and marked with signs reading children on its grounds.

The supposed bombing took place just as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to US Congress for a no fly zone, fueling the chorus for direct military confrontation with Russia and apparently inspiring President Joseph Biden to brand Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, as a war criminal.

A closer look reveals that local residents in Mariupol had warned three days before the March 16 incident that the theater would be the site of a false flag attack launched by the openly neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, which controlled the building and the territory around it.

Civilians that escaped the city through humanitarian corridors have testified that they were held by Azov as human shields in area, and that Azov fighters detonated parts of the theater as they retreated. Despite claims of a massive Russian airstrike that reduced the building to ashes, all civilians appear to have escaped with their lives.

Video of the attack on the theater remains unavailable at the time of publication; only photographs of the damaged structure can be viewed. The Russian Ministry of Defense has denied conducting an airstrike on the theater, asserting that the site had no military value and that no sorties were flown in the area on March 16.

While the Russian military operation in Ukraine has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Mariupol, it is clear that Russia gained nothing by targeting the theater, and virtually guaranteed itself another public relations blow by targeting a building filled with civilians  including ethnic Russians.

Azov, on the other hand, stood to benefit from a dramatic and grisly attack blamed on Russia. In full retreat all around Mariupol and facing the possibility of brutal treatment at the hands of a Russian military hellbent on de-Nazification, its fighters only hope seemed to lie in triggering direct NATO intervention.

The same sense of desperation informed Zelenskys carefully scripted address to Congress, in which he invoked Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have A Dream speech and played a heavily produced video depicting civilian suffering to make the case for a no fly zone.

By instigating Western public outrage over grisly Russian war crimes, Ukraines government is clearly aiming to generate enough pressure to overcome the Biden administrations reluctance to directly confront Russias military.

But Kievs most emotionally potent allegation so far  that Russia deliberately bombed innocent children cowering inside a theater  has been undercut by testimonies from Mariupol residents and a widely viewed Telegram message explicitly foreshadowing a false flag attack on the building.

Children undergo military training at a summer camp run by the Azov Battalion in 2015 " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5ae809e8-ca08-466e-8a51-3d2016922c06.jpg?fit=300%2C180&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/5ae809e8-ca08-466e-8a51-3d2016922c06.jpg?fit=1024%2C614&ssl=1" data-recalc-dims="1" /> Children undergo military training at a summer camp run by the Azov Battalion in 2015

Azov Battalion fighters grow desperate in Mariupol, plea for Western military intervention

The strategic southeastern port city of Mariupol has been held by the Azov Battalion since 2014. Since its seizure, it has served as a political and military base for the ultra-nationalist paramilitary as it launched assaults on pro-Russian separatists in the breakaway republic of Donetsk.

Gathered from the ranks of extreme right activists that provided protesters with street muscle during the 2013-14 Euromaidan coup, the Azov Battalion has been formally incorporated into the Ukrainian National Guard by the countrys Interior Ministry. It was founded by the openly fascist organizer Andriy Biletsky, who has vowed to lead the white races of the world in a final crusade  against Semite-led Untermenschen.

With the Nazi-inspired Wolfsangel symbol emblazoned on their uniforms and flags, Azov fighters make no secret of their ideological goals. Despite having been identified by the FBI, US Congress, and its own fighters as a neo-Nazi unit, and implicated in an array of sordid human rights violations, Azov has collaborated openly with US and Canadian military trainers.

Having accused Azov of seeking to exterminate the ethnic Russians of Donbas, Putin has marked its base in Mariupol as the front line of his stated campaign to de-Nazify Ukraine. Since Russias February 24 invasion of Ukraine, the city become the site of ferocious urban fighting, with Russian special forces and Donetsk Peoples Republic Peoples Militia forces waging a block-by-block fight for control as artillery rained down on Azov positions.

On March 7, an Azov Battalion commander named Denis Prokopenko appeared on camera from Mariupol with an urgent message. Published on Azovs official YouTube channel and delivered in English over the sound of occasional artillery launches, Prokopenko declared that the Russian military was carrying out a genocide against the population of Mariupol, which happens to be 40 percent ethnic Russian.

Prokopenko then demanded that Western nations create a no fly zone over Ukraine support[ed] with the modern weapons. It was clear from Prokopenkos plea that Azovs position was growing more dire by the day.

As Russias military rapidly degraded Azov positions throughout the second week of March 2022, Azov soldiers apparently directed elderly civilians as well as women and children into the wardrobe hall of the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater in Mariupol.

A video filmed inside the dimly lit building on March 11 featured a local man claiming that one thousand civilians were trapped inside and demanding a humanitarian corridor to allow them to escape. Only a small group of civilians could be seen in the video, however.

Im begging you to stop all this, give us the corridor to get people out, to get out women, kids, the wounded a bespectacled narrator (seen below) declared in the video.

Azov soldier (L) appears on March 11 with a videographer outside the Mariupol theater " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-17-at-4.32.11-PM.png?fit=300%2C212&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-17-at-4.32.11-PM.png?fit=1024%2C725&ssl=1" data-recalc-dims="1" /> Azov soldier (L) appears on March 11 with a local man outside the Mariupol theater

Since Russia launched its invasion, Azov Battalion soldiers have been filmed preventing civilians from leaving Mariupol  even forcing men out of their cars and brutally assaulting them while they attempted to break through the paramilitarys checkpoints. If testimony from many Mariupol residents was to be believed, Azov had used many of them as human shields.

Ukrainian neo-Nazi in Mariupol tells girl about cancellation of evacuation, say thank you for not being shot Azov's battalion hiding behind civilians pic.twitter.com/2ypQwr4t9J  ZOKA (@200_zoka) March 5, 2022

Days before Mariupol theater incident, chilling warnings of a false flag provocation

On March 12, a chilling message appeared on the Telegram channel of Dmitriy Steshen, a correspondent reporting from Mariupol for the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda.

According to Steshen, local residents told him an alleged Russian bombing of the Turkish-built Kanuni Sultan Suleyman mosque in Mariupol that day was a false flag intended to drag Turkey into the war, and warned that a false flag attack on the Mariupol Drama Theater was imminent.

The Telegram message read as follows:

Look at what our readers from Mariupol sent us. If the information can be verified, it needs to be highlighted [for the media]:

Zelensky prepares two [false flag] provocations in Mariupol!!! One of the [false flag] provocation is against the citizens of Turkey, who hid in the mosque built by Akhmetov, and this provocation has already begun by the Ukrainian artillery gunners shelling the grounds of the mosque, from their positions at [Zinsteva] Balka in Nizhniaya [Lower] Kirvoka. Zelensky was unable to drag the EU, USA and UK into the war against the Russian Federation. Now, Zelensky is trying to drag Turkey into the war, pinning his hopes on the explosive emotional character and the love the faithful feel for their sacred shrines.

The second [false flag] provocation Zelensky is preparing for use by Western media, after unsuccessful provocation with the [Mariupol] maternity hospital, Ukrainian soldiers, together with the administration of the Drama Theater, gathered women, children, and the elderly from Mariupol in the Drama Theater building, so as to  given a good opportunity  detonate the building and then scream around the world that this was by the Russian Federation air force and that there should be an immediate no fly zone over Ukraine.'

Steshins message recounting the warnings from Mariupol residents has been seen by over 480,000 Telegram users. It is below and can also be viewed here.

On March 12, Western outlets like the Associated Press repeated Ukrainian government claims that the Turkish mosque in Mariupol had been shelled by Russia with 80 civilians inside, including children.

However, Turkish state media revealed that the Ukrainian government had misled Western reporters. The Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Mosque was not only fully intact, it had never been hit by Russian fire.

Our mosque remained undamaged, Ismail Hacioglu, head of the mosques association, told Turkeys Andalou Agency on March 12.

Still filled with civilians, the Mariupol theater was next on somebodys target list.

Associated Press (top) relied entirely on Ukrainian government claims about the mosque in Mariupol, while Turkish media (bottom) interviewed the head of mosque. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pjimage-18.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pjimage-18.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1" data-recalc-dims="1" /> The Associated Press (top) relied entirely on Ukrainian government claims about the mosque in Mariupol, while Turkish media (bottom) interviewed the head of mosque. The contrast in coverage is revealing.

As Zelensky begs Congress for military intervention, news of a theater attack

Less than 48 hours after the debunked claims of a Russian attack on the mosque in Mariupol were introduced, humanitarian corridors finally opened up around the city. The flight of thousands of civilians toward Russian military positions further weakened the Azov Battalion, which was using Mariupols residents as collateral in its bid to compel a no fly zone.

On March 16, with his military collapsing under the Russian onslaught, the Ukrainian president and famed comedian-actor Zelensky appeared by video for a carefully scripted, elaborately produced presentation before an assembly of awestruck US members of Congress.

I have a dream. These words are known to each of you today. I can say I have a need. I need to protect our sky, Zelensky proclaimed. The Ukrainian president thus invoked the most famous words of Americas most revered antiwar activist, Martin Luther King Jr., to appeal for a no fly zone that would bring the nuclear-armed militaries of the US and Russia into direct confrontation.

Just hours after Zelenskys address, news arrived directly from the Azov Battalions press department that Russia had bombed the theater in Mariupol.

With a monopoly over information from the scene of the supposed attack, with no other news outlets present, Azovs press department disseminated photos of the destroyed building to media across the world.

The Azov Battalions watermark can be seen clearly in the lower right hand corner of the image below. Azovs photo was republished by international outlets including Sky News, but with the paramilitarys brand cropped out. When South China Morning Post ran the image, it removed the watermark and credited Azov Battalion via AP.

One of the most widely published images of the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theater was provided to international media by the Azov Battalion

Among the first English language media figures to convey the Ukrainian governments narrative of the incident to a mass audience was Illia Ponomarenko, a Kiev-based, US-trained reporter who has managed to rack up over a million Twitter followers since Russias invasion began.

The famous Drama Theater in Mariupol.

De-nazified by a Russian air-dropped bomb today, on March 16, 2022.

Fuck you Russia. Youre going to pay for this. pic.twitter.com/ZQuGW6hL55  Illia Ponomarenko  (@IAPonomarenko) March 16, 2022

See this red roof?

Its a drama theater in Mariupol, we called it the Dram.

See those little letters on the square? They read KIDS in Russian.

That was a message to Russian bomber crews.

But you know what  they bombed the building to ashes anyway.

Because theyre animals. pic.twitter.com/xYOkC7CPm5  Illia Ponomarenko  (@IAPonomarenko) March 16, 2022

Ponomarenko happened to work for the Kyiv Independent, an outlet that has functioned as one of the most potent US information weapons in Ukraine. The paper had been set up with assistance from the National Endowment for Democracy, a US intelligence cut-out, and an emergency grant from its EU-funded cousin, the European Endowment for Democracy.

For his part, Ponomarenko has referred to the Azov Battalion as his brothers in arms, and boasted of chilling out with its fighters near enemy lines.

Seemingly swept up in the emotional maelstrom inspired by the news from Mariupol, President Joseph Biden blasted his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as a war criminal, a murderous dictator, and a pure thug.

Next, Human Rights Watch issued a hastily composed press release headlined, Mariupol Theater Hit By Russian Attack Sheltered Hundreds. The billionaire-backed NGO acknowledged it had not interviewed any Mariupol residents after the attack, and provided no evidence to demonstrate Russian responsibility. Indeed, HRWs lone source fingering Russia as the culprit was the Ukrainian governor of Donetsk.

Was Russias military so bloodthirsty  and politically self-destructive  that it had deliberately targeted a building that was known to be filled with children? Or had the Mariupol residents prediction of a false flag from four days before come true?

Suspicious signs, holes in the Ukrainian governments narrative emerge

Though Azov boasts a sophisticated press unit which films its exploits in the field, and soldiers are publishing even the most banal video of themselves on social media, footage of the theater bombing was nowhere to be found.

Photos supplied by Azov to media in Ukraine and abroad invariably depict the bombed-out theater without any people in sight, living or dead.

One day before the bombing, on March 15, a group of military-aged men were photographed in front of the Mariupol theater. No women were visible anywhere in the image. The men can be seen placing pallets against the side of the building, ferrying large objects across the theater grounds, and cutting down a fir tree.

According to Human Rights Watchs report on the theater incident, which contained no local testimony gathered after the attack, the men were cook[ing] food on an open fire and collect[ing] water in buckets.

As seen below, pallets and other objects were piled against the same area of the building hit by an explosive charge the following day.

While the theater appeared to have been heavily damaged  they bombed the building to ashes, claimed Ponomarenko  it turned out that not one person was killed by the blast.

Its a miracle, the Kyiv Independent reporter chirped.

Its a miracle  civilians that were hiding in a basement at the Drama Theater in Mariupol survived the air strike.

Now they are getting evacuated from underneath the ruins.  Illia Ponomarenko  (@IAPonomarenko) March 17, 2022

In a 7-minute-long March 17 package blending news and agitprop, ABC News claimed that all civilians had been saved from the theater, but that hundreds were still missing. Data on the modest-sized theater reproduced on its Ukrainian Wikipedia page puts its maximum seating capacity at 680, which raises questions about how hundreds could have fit in its basement.

Further, ABC claimed the theater had been hit by Russian artillery shelling, not an air dropped Russian bomb as Ponomarenko and many others have claimed.

Ukrainian media, meanwhile, has expressed confusion over the incident. The outlet 0629 has attempted to explain away the mysterious disappearance of the thousand civilians said to have been in the theater by claiming they were evacuated to the city of Zaporozhye a day before the supposed attack. we are waiting for the official verified information and do not rush to conclusions, the paper declared.

As Mariupol residents poured out of the city through the Russian militarys humanitarian corridors, testimonies began to emerge of ruthless Azov attacks on the fleeing civilians  and of a major deception at the local theater.

When [Azov soldiers] were leaving, they destroyed the drama theater

On March 17, a young woman delivered an eye-opening account of the situation inside Mariupol to ANNA, the Abkhazian Network News Agency.

The Azov fighters were simply hiding behind us, she told a reporter. We were their human shields, thats it. They were breaking everything, all around us, they were not letting us outside. We spent 15 days in a basement, with kids They gave us no water, nothing.

Describing how the Azov Battalion placed its tanks in front of local bomb shelters, the woman offered a revealing detail: When they were leaving, she said, referring to the Azov Battalion, they destroyed the drama theatre. People with shrapnel were brought to us.

Multiple people from #Mariupol said that Azov Nazis held civilians as human shields in the local theater. When the Russian advance forced them to retreat, they blew up the theater to frame Russian forces. This plan was published 3 days in advance by an Azov deserter. pic.twitter.com/Xh3C9vWNbC  Jake Morphonios  Blackstone Intelligence (@morphonios) March 17, 2022

Numerous evacuees echoed the womans testimony about Azov holding Mariupol civilians as hostages, and said they were targeted with gunfire as they escaped through humanitarian corridors.

They burned everything, an elderly woman recalled to Russian media. They bombed [my] whole apartment. They broke in and are sitting there, making Molotov cocktails. I wanted to come in, to take my things, but they told me: No, you have no business here.'

Asked by a reporter who attacked her and invaded her home, the woman replied, Well, the Ukrainians, of course.

A man intercepted by an ANNA reporter after escaping Mariupol fought back tears as he pointed back to the Ukrainian militarys positions. Azov, those bitches people tried to evacuate Azov they executed the people the monsters, scum they shot them up, entire buses.

The Ukrainian army was shooting us, shooting at people, said another man who fled Mariupol. Right at our house.

Ukraine didnt let us leave the city, we were blocked, another evacuee stated. The Ukrainian military arrived and said, under no circumstances are you to leave the city if the Russian Federation opens a humanitarian corridor for you. We want to continue to use you as a human shield.

"We hate Ukraine! Thank you very much to the Russian army" Refugees from Mariupol tell how the Ukrainian army refused to open humanitarian 'corridors' from the city and shot at civilians. pic.twitter.com/cYmpUBmKoX  Drebonacci (@andre_mihaescu) March 17, 2022

The red line: lessons from Syria

Was the bombing of the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater of Mariupol a false flag attack executed by Azov extremists to trigger NATO intervention, as some local residents claimed? If so, it was hardly the first cynical deception deployed by Ukraines government to draw the West into the conflict, and was unlikely to be the last.

On March 16, the day of the incident at the theater, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that we have real concerns that Russia could use a chemical weapon, another weapon of mass destruction. In the next breath, Blinken pointed to Syria, where he claimed weve seen them use or acquiesce to [chemical weapon] use.

It was in Syria where the administration of President Barack Obama imposed its red line policy declaring that any chemical attack would automatically trigger a US military response. That policy set the stage for a series of incidents that appear to have been carried out by foreign backed Syrian opposition forces to compel the US to intervene against Damascus.

In the deadliest incident, hundreds of civilians were killed when sarin-filled rockets were fired  apparently from insurgent-controlled territory  at multiple sites in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta on August 21, 2013. After Obama blamed the Syrian government and prepared to launch strikes, dissenting administration officials leaked to the media that the intelligence blaming Damascus was in fact no slam dunk, a clear reference to the CIAs pre-Iraq war fabrications. Journalist Seymour Hersh subsequently reported that the US had collected significant intelligence pointing to insurgent guilt in Ghouta. It was this information, Hersh reported, that convinced Obama to abandon his so-called red line.

Under President Donald Trump, the US attempted to revive the red line by bombing Syria over chemical weapons allegations in 2017 and 2018. But significant evidence in both cases points to staged incidents carried out by insurgents. In the case of the April 2017 incident in Khan Sheikhoun, Trump ignored intelligence and launched airstrikes on the Syrian military. And in the Damascus suburb of Douma the following year, OPCW investigators found no evidence of a chemical attack, but had their findings doctored and censored as US officials worked to pressure and co-opt the organization.

As a former US ambassador in the Middle East told journalist Charles Glass, The red line was an open invitation to a false-flag operation.

Dubious allegations of a Russian attack on the theater in Mariupol have failed to trigger the Biden administrations red line. The question now is how far Ukraines government is willing to go to trigger the no fly zone it needs to hold off the imminent defeat of its military forces.
Amidst Russias impending Ukraine invasion last month while the rest of the world was panicking, there was one man with nerves made of steel who was as stoically calm and nonchalant as a monk meditating amidst an earthquake. Ironically, the Zen monk urging Western policymakers not to exaggerate the Russia invasion threat lest foreign investors and tourists flee the country was none other than the credulous president of Ukraine.

Either President Zelensky was too naive to understand the consequences of the imminent invasion or he not only had forewarning but in fact had a vital role in orchestrating the Russo-Ukraine War during his three-year presidency in order to accomplish the top-secret mission assigned to him by his mentors in Western intelligence agencies.

Born to Jewish parents in a town in central Ukraine in Jan. 1978, his early life remains shrouded in mystery. Volodymyr Zelensky was groomed by covert CIA operatives in Ukraine since his student life while he was studying law at the Kryvyi Rih National University.

Instead of pursuing legal career, he chose acting as a profession at the behest of his influential patrons to gain nationwide publicity, particularly through comedy television series Servant of the People in which Zelensky prophetically played the role of the Ukrainian president.

In fact, his production company Kvartal 95, which produces films, cartoons and television shows, was generously funded by deep pockets of Western security agencies. Comically exposing corruption and sleazy dealings of Ukraines politician and oligarch, the series Servant of the People aired from 2015 to 2019 and struck a chord with Ukrainian masses.

Western security agencies not only lavishly funded his obscure media organization but also introduced him to a clandestine cabal of illustrious Hollywood producers and directors adept in psychological warfare and public relationing. The media success of Servant of the People is attributed as much to the efforts of the employees of Kvartal 95 as to the skill of international media organizations specializing in global opinion-making.

Riding on the wave of media publicity, Zelensky won a landslide presidential election in 2019. Later, his political party, which he coincidentally named Servant of the People, won an overwhelming victory in a snap legislative election held shortly after his inauguration as president.

Since 2019, after being elected president through questionable methods, Zelensky has surreptitiously been working on a clandestine project to foment a crisis with Russia on a flimsy pretext. Any other political leader with an iota of rational faculties, even somebody as rogue as his predecessor Petro Poroshenko, would promptly have agreed to the Kremlins reasonable proposal that Kyiv must give a solemn pledge it wont join transatlantic NATO military alliance.

Not only did he scornfully rebuff the Russian proposal but he also let Ukraines security forces stage joint military exercises and naval drills alongside NATO forces in the Black Sea right under Russias nose. His reckless disregard for the suffering of Ukrainian masses and suicidally provoking Russia into an armed confrontation aside, he is merely a pawn in the grand scheme of things.

Although alleged to be a Jew, the real faith of Zelensky and his associates is Satanism. Thats why he didnt hesitate in collaborating with Ukraines infamous Azov Battalion, officially part of the National Guard of Ukraine, that has been widely acknowledged as a neo-Nazi volunteer paramilitary force connected with foreign white supremacist organizations.

Azov Battalion was initially formed as a volunteer group in May 2014 out of the ultra-nationalist Patriot of Ukraine gang, and the neo-Nazi Social National Assembly (SNA) group. As a battalion, the group fought on the front lines against pro-Russia separatists in Donbas, the eastern region of Ukraine.

A few months after recapturing the strategic port city of Mariupol from the Russia-backed separatists, the unit was officially integrated into the National Guard of Ukraine on November 12, 2014, and exacted high praise from then-President Petro Poroshenko. These are our best warriors, he said at an awards ceremony in 2014. Our best volunteers.

The unit was led by Andriy Biletsky, who served as the leader of both the Patriot of Ukraine (founded in 2005) and the SNA (founded in 2008). In 2010, Biletsky said Ukraines national purpose was to lead the white races of the world in a final crusade  against Semite-led Untermenschen [inferior races]. Biletsky was elected to parliament in 2014. He left Azov as elected officials cannot be in the military or police force. He remained an MP until 2019.

These forces were privately funded by oligarchs  the most known being Igor Kolomoisky, an energy magnate billionaire and then-governor of the Dnipropetrovska region. In addition to Azov, Kolomoisky funded other volunteer battalions such as the Dnipro 1 and Dnipro 2, Aidar and Donbas units.

The Mint Press News recently reported [1]: Zelenskys presidential bid in 2019, which saw him win 73% of the vote, was successful on the basis that he was running in order to combat corruption and create peace in the country but, as the leaked documents known as the Pandora Papers revealed, he himself was storing funds in offshore bank accounts. Zelenskyys campaign was at the time boosted and bankrolled by Israeli-Ukrainian billionaire Igor Kolomoisky  who was himself accused of stealing $5.5 billion from his own bank.

Muslims seem to be a major issue for the Azov Battalion. The Islamophobia present not only in Azov, but also in the National Guard of Ukraine, came through strongly on social media as the official National Guard site glorified the Azov Battalion as they dipped their bullets in pig fat. The video was directed at Muslim soldiers from Chechnya who are fighting on the side of Russia and were described as orcs by the National Guard on Twitter.

In June 2015, both Canada and the United States announced they will not support or train the Azov regiment, citing its neo-Nazi connections. The following year, however, the US lifted the ban under pressure from the Pentagon. In October 2019, 40 members of the US Congress led by Representative Max Rose signed a letter unsuccessfully calling for the US State Department to designate Azov as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).

In Feb. 2019, The Nation Magazine published a detailed think piece: Neo-Nazis and the Far Right are on the March in Ukraine [2], elaborating Ukraines far-right militant groups xenophobic and white supremacist political ideology.

Then-Speaker of Parliament Andriy Parubiy cofounded and led two neo-Nazi organizations: the Social-National Party of Ukraine (later renamed Svoboda), and Patriot of Ukraine, whose members would eventually form the core of Azov.

Even more disturbing is the far rights penetration of law enforcement. Shortly after the Maidan coup in 2014, the US equipped and trained the newly founded National Police, in what was intended to be a hallmark program buttressing Ukrainian democracy. The deputy minister of the Interiorwhich controls the National Policeis Vadim Troyan, a veteran of Azov and Patriot of Ukraine.

In 2015, the Ukrainian parliament passed legislation making two WWII paramilitariesthe Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)heroes of Ukraine, and made it a criminal offense to deny their heroism. The OUN had collaborated with the Nazis and participated in the Holocaust, while the UPA slaughtered thousands of Jews and 70,000-100,000 Poles on their own volition.

Notwithstanding, despite heroically staying in Kyiv and valiantly mounting the public-relationing offensive on the Western media while the city is being surrounded by Russian forces, there is no risk to Zelenskys personal safety. The Washington Post reported [3] on March 5:

The possible Russian takeover of Kyiv has prompted a flurry of planning at the State Department, Pentagon and other U.S. agencies in the event that the Zelensky government has to flee the capital or the country itself. Were doing contingency planning now for every possibility, including a scenario in which Zelensky establishes a government-in-exile in Poland, said a U.S. administration official.

Zelensky, who has called himself Russias target No. 1, remains in Kyiv and has assured his citizens hes not leaving. He has had discussions with U.S. officials about whether he should move west to a safer position in the city of Lviv, closer to the Polish border. Zelenskys security detail has plans ready to swiftly relocate him and members of his cabinet, a senior Ukrainian official said. So far, he has refused to go.

Its obvious from reading between the lines the security detail of Zelensky not only includes operatives of Ukraine's domestic security service, the SBU, but also highly skilled special-ops professionals of several Western security agencies, including the formidable CIA and NSA, who would whisk him away across the border to Poland as soon as it becomes clear the capital is about to fall to advancing Russian forces.

In fact, private military contractors in close co-ordination and consultation with covert operators from CIA and Western intelligence agencies are not only training Ukraines conscript forces in the use of caches of MANPADS and anti-armor munitions provided by the US, Germany and rest of European nations as a military assistance to Ukraine but are also directing the whole defense strategy of Ukraine by taking active part in combat operations in some of the most hard fought battles against Russias security forces north of Kyiv and at Kharkiv and Donbas.

Famous for hosting CIAs black sites where alleged al-Qaeda operatives were water-boarded and tortured before being sent to Guantanamo Bay in early years of the war on terror, in Poland alone the US military footprint now exceeds 10,000 troops as the majority of 15,000 troops sent to Europe last month went to Poland to join the 4,000 US troops already stationed there. The airfields and training camps in the border regions of Poland have a become a hub for transporting weapons and militants to Lviv in west Ukraine, which then travel to battlefields at Kyiv and in east Ukraine.

The Washington Post report further notes: During an official visit, a Ukrainian special operations commander told Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and other lawmakers that they were shifting training and planning to focus on maintaining an armed opposition, relying on insurgent-like tactics.

Ukrainian officials told the lawmakers that they were frustrated that the United States had not sent Harpoon missiles to target Russian ships and Stinger missiles to attack Russian aircraft, Moulton and Waltz said in separate interviews.

As the Russian military struggles with logistical challenges  including fuel and food shortages  Waltz anticipates that the Ukrainians will repeatedly strike Russian supply lines. To do that, they need a steady supply of weapons and the ability to set improvised explosive devices, he said. Those supply lines are going to be very, very vulnerable, and thats where you really literally starve the Russian army.

You cant ship them to Ukraine at the last minute and expect some national guardsman to pick up a Stinger and shoot down an aircraft, he said. Continuing a resistance campaign will require continued clandestine shipments of small arms, ammunition, explosives and even cold-weather gear. Think about the kinds of things that would be used by saboteurs as opposed to an army repelling a frontal invasion, Moulton said.

Clearly, planning and preparations are well underway to lure Russia into NATOs bear trap project, a term borrowed from the Soviet-Afghan War of the eighties when Western powers used Pakistans security forces and generous funding from the oil-rich Gulf States for providing guerrilla warfare training and lethal weaponry to Afghan jihadists to bleed the security forces of former Soviet Union in the protracted war.

The impending fall of Kyiv in the face of Russian blitz is a forgone conclusion that even Western policymakers acknowledge that Ukraines conscript military and allied irregular militias are simply not a match for Russias professional security forces in regular warfare.

The tumultuous last three weeks since Russias invasion on Feb. 24 were only the prelude to a long and sordid saga of ensuing war of attrition mounted by myriad heavily armed militant outfits nurtured by Western powers against global and regional adversaries, as happened in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.

Zelensky is being prepared as a charismatic savior to lead a protracted and bloody insurgency against Russian security forces in Ukraine. Although cutting a dashing figure sporting military fatigues and urging compatriots to rise up in arms against Russian invaders in sentimental addresses while at the same time pandering to NATO patrons to provide military assistance and impose harshest sanctions on the Kremlin, what exceptional act of valor has Volodymyr Zelensky performed thus far? Has he ever been in the line of fire on the frontlines of the Russo-Ukraine War?

Taking advantage of gullible audiences innate predilection for hero worship, the mainstream media is projecting Zelensky as a messiah waging a crusade against a rival power that dared to stand up to NATOs further eastward expansion into Russias traditional sphere of influence. The public-relationing rationale of live-broadcasting his hateful and violent speeches to the parliaments of Europe and the United States is as much to give publicity to an expendable stooge as to vilify and internationally isolate an arch-foe on the global stage.

Citations:

[1] Israels Links to Ukraines Thriving Neo-Nazi Movement:

[2] Neo-Nazis and the Far Right are on the March in Ukraine:

[3] U.S. prepares for a Ukrainian government-in-exile and a long insurgency:

About the author:

Nauman Sadiq is an Islamabad-based geopolitical and national security analyst focused on geo-strategic affairs and hybrid warfare in the Af-Pak and Middle East regions. His domains of expertise include neocolonialism, military-industrial complex and petro-imperialism. He is a regular contributor of diligently researched investigative reports to alternative news media.
If you use Twitter and engage with the subject of the war in Ukraine, youve probably noticed a verified account called The Kyiv Independent pop up while youre scrolling through your feed which puts out highly biased content in favor of the Zelensky regime and the western powers which support it.

If youre using a desktop browser, it will usually look like this:

Do you see the gray text in the top left-hand corner of the image which says War in Ukraine? Thats a Twitter Topic that the pages algorithm has recommended to me without my having subscribed to it, where posts from The Kyiv Independent feature prominently. This Topic is being aggressively pushed on Twitter users around the world, showing up over and over again in their feed until they adjust their settings to remove it.

As Pedro Gonzales recently documented in Human Events, The Kyiv Independent was slapped together a few months ago with what the Committee to Protect Journalists called an emergency grant from the European Endowment for Democracy.

The European Endowment for Democracy is a spinoff of the US government-funded NGO National Endowment for Democracy, which according to its own co-founder was set up to do overtly what the CIA used to do covertly, namely orchestrate coups and manage narratives to advance US interests. A page on an NED website says that All EU member states are members of EEDs Board of Governors, together with members of the European Parliament and civil society experts.

So this is a media outlet funded by a government-run NGO being forcefully pushed in front of millions of western eyeballs by a major Silicon Valley corporation that people have come to rely on for getting information about the world. In the same way Silicon Valley facilitates government censorship by proxy, it also facilitates government propaganda by proxy.

The Globe and Mail reports that the Canadian government also put $200,000 toward Kyiv Independents funding. The outlet is being so loudly amplified by Twitter that not only has its Twitter account secured nearly two million followers since its creation in November, but one of its reporters (who calls the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion his brothers in arms) has gained a million followers since the start of the Russian invasion.

Do you see how sophisticated just that one tiny component of the US-centralized empires propaganda campaign is? How many seemingly disparate and unrelated elements it has? Multiple countries, NGOs, an ostensibly independent social media platform, an ostensibly independent news outlet. Its very difficult to see how any of it connects at all if you dont know where to look. And almost nobody knows where to look.

This highly advanced perception management operation is happening all around the world about any issue the empire has a vested interest in. As anti-imperialist author and podcaster Justin Podur recently put it, The US Empire is based on the mastery of storytelling. Making reality through propaganda.

Truly, one of the most under-appreciated and overwhelmingly powerful forces on this earth is the US imperial propaganda machine. The ability to manipulate public thought, not just within the United States but across vast swaths of nations, has allowed it to manufacture international consensus for whatever agendas it wishes to advance in a way that eclipses the collective organizing power of official international bodies like the United Nations.

Were seeing it today in the way unprecedented acts of economic warfare are being used to attack the economy of Russia with the goal of fomenting unrest and toppling Moscow. There was nothing inherent in Russias invasion of Ukraine which called for this specific response from all the specific nations who have chosen to participate in it, but thats what ended up happening, and because of the power of the imperial propaganda machine the public has gone right along with it, even as it sends their fuel and grocery bills through the roof.

A big fuss gets made about the power of the US war machine, despite the fact that it tends to fail at the rather important task of winning wars. This is partly because the empire often doesnt benefit from those wars ending quickly and partly because its hard to win wars when your entire military juggernaut is built entirely around generating the maximum amount of profit possible.

Where the real fuss ought to be made is the truly jaw-dropping power of the US propaganda machine. So subtle and sophisticated that even relatively intelligent and well-informed people fail to see the strings that are pulling at their minds, but so powerful it shapes the world.

In the book Inventing Reality, published all the way back in 1986, Michael Parenti makes the following observation:

For many people an issue does not exist until it appears in the news media. How we view issues, indeed, what we even define as an issue or event, what we see and hear, and what we do not see and hear are greatly determined by those who control the communications world. Be it labor unions, peace protesters, the Soviet Union, uprisings in Latin America, elections, crime, poverty, or defense spending, few of us know of things except as they are depicted in the news. Even when we dont believe what the media say, we are still hearing or reading their viewpoints rather than some other. They are still setting the agenda, defining what it is we must believe or disbelieve, accept or reject. The media exert a subtle, persistent influence in defining the scope of respectable political discourse, channeling public attention in directions that are essentially supportive of the existing politico-economic system.

This was long before Twitter, before Google, before Mark Zuckerberg, before Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act allowing for news media to be bought up and consolidated under just a few oligarchic megacorporations. And yet the exact same dynamic we see before us today was already in play, even back then. Its just gotten a lot more complex.

You know whats funny about this mad push to censor speech in the name of fighting Russian propaganda is that the people who are pushing it are indirectly admitting to a very important truth that they normally try not to draw too much attention to: the fact that its very possible to use media to manipulate the way people think, act, and vote at mass scale. The part that they dont admit is that they themselves are far and away the very worst offenders in that area.

The status quo worldview requires two entirely contradictory positions to be held simultaneously: that Russian propaganda has a corrupting influence on public thought, but that orders of magnitude more wealthy and powerful oligarchic media institutions do not.

This is not sustainable. People are already struggling to keep their heads above water with the constant white-noise torrent of psychological abuse theyre being subjected to day after day. Were on our way to finding out just how much mass-scale psychological manipulation the human brain can tolerate before it snaps if we dont find some way to change our collective relationship with mental narrative first.

Or who knows? Maybe a healthy relationship with mental narrative lies on the other side of that snap.

__________________________

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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, two British-Iranian nationals held in Iran since 2016 and 2017, respectively, were unexpectedly set free and were permitted immediately to travel [1] to the United Kingdom today. In return, the British government, in what gave the impression of a ransom payment, triumphantly announced it had settled a 400m debt owed to Iran from the seventies.

The thaw in the frosty relations between the Western powers and Iran signals that a tentative understanding on reviving the Iran nuclear deal has also been reached behind the scenes, particularly in the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis and the Western efforts to internationally isolate Russia. After sanctioning Russias 10 million barrels daily crude oil output, the industrialized world is desperately in need of Irans 4 million barrels oil production to keep the already inflated oil price from causing further pain to consumers.

Last week, Venezuela similarly released [2] two incarcerated US citizens in an apparent goodwill gesture toward the Biden administration following a visit to Caracas by a high-level US delegation, despite the fact that Washington still officially recognizes Nicolas Maduros detractor Juan Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate president. Nonetheless, Venezuela is one of Latin Americas largest oil producers and opening the international market to its heavy crude might provide a welcome relief in the time of global oil crunch.

Niftily forestalling the likelihood of strengthening of mutually beneficial bonds between China and Russia when the latter is badly in need of economic relief, the United States pre-emptively accused China of pledging to sell military hardware to Russia, when the latter, itself one of the worlds leading arms exporters, arguably didnt even make any such request to China.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held an intense seven-hour meeting in Rome with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi yesterday, March 15, and warned China of grave consequences of evading Western sanctions on Russia. Besides wielding the stick of economic sanctions, he must also have dangled the carrot of ending trade war against China initiated by the Trump administration.

Despite vowing to treat the Saudi kingdom as a pariah in the run-up to Nov. 2020 presidential elections, the Wall Street Journal reported [3] last week the White House unsuccessfully tried to arrange calls between President Biden and the de facto leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as the US was working to build international support for Ukraine and contain a surge in oil prices.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the U.A.E.s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan both declined U.S. requests to speak to Mr. Biden in recent weeks, the officials said, as Saudi and Emirati officials have become more vocal in recent weeks in their criticism of American policy in the Gulf.

There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didnt happen, said a U.S. official of the planned discussion between the Saudi Prince Mohammed and Mr. Biden. It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil].

But the Saudis and Emiratis have declined to pump more oil, saying they are sticking to a production plan approved by OPEC. Both Prince Mohammed and Sheikh Mohammed took phone calls from Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, after declining to speak with Mr. Biden.

To add insult to the injury, Saudi Arabia has reportedly invited [4] Chinese President Xi Jinping for an official visit to the kingdom that could happen as soon as May, and is also considering pegging its vast oil reserves in yuan, a move that could spell end to the petrodollar hegemony.

Trump aptly observed: Now Biden is crawling around the globe on his knees begging and pleading for mercy from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela. It appears quite plausible in its relentless efforts to internationally isolate Russia, the Biden administration is likely to unravel the whole neocolonial economic order imposed on the world after the signing of the Bretton Woods Accord following the Second World War in 1945.

The Intercept reported [5] March 11 that despite staging a massive military buildup along Russias border with Ukraine for nearly a year, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not make a final decision to invade until just before he launched the attack in February, according to senior current and former US intelligence officials. It wasnt until February that the agency and the rest of the US intelligence community became convinced that Putin would invade, the senior official added.

Last April, US intelligence first detected that the Russian military was beginning to move large numbers of troops and equipment to the Ukrainian border. Most of the Russian soldiers deployed to the border at that time were later moved back to their bases, but US intelligence determined that some of the troops and materiel remained near the border.

In June 2021, against the backdrop of rising tensions over Ukraine, Biden and Putin met at a summit in Geneva. The summer troop withdrawal brought a brief period of calm, but the crisis began to build again in October and November, when US intelligence watched as Russia once again moved large numbers of troops back to its border with Ukraine.

Extending the hand of friendship, Russia significantly drawdown its forces along the western border before the summit last June. Instead of returning the favor, however, the conceited leadership of supposedly worlds sole surviving super power turned down the hand of friendship and haughtily refused to concede reasonable security guarantees demanded by Russia at the summit that would certainly have averted the likelihood of the war.

In the 2001 census, a third of Ukraines over 40 million population registered Russian as their first language. In fact, Russian speakers constitute a majority in urban areas of industrialized eastern Ukraine and socio-culturally identify with Russia. Ukrainian speakers are mainly found in sparsely populated western Ukraine and in rural areas of east Ukraine.

Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian together belong to East Slavic family of languages and share a degree of mutual intelligibility. Thus, Russians, Byelorussians and Ukrainians are one nation and one country whose shared history and culture goes all the way back to the golden period of 10th century Kyivan Rus.

In addition, Russians and Ukrainians share Byzantine heritage and together belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, one of the oldest Christian denominations whose history goes all the way back to the Christ and his apostles. Protestantism and Catholicism are products of the second millennium after a Roman bishop of the Byzantine Empire declared himself pope following the 1054 schism between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

In comparison, what do Ukrainians have in common with NATO powers, their newfound patrons, besides the fact that humanitarian imperialists are attempting to douse fire by pouring gasoline on Ukraines proxy war by providing caches of lethal weapons to militant forces holding disenfranchised Ukrainian masses hostage.

CNNs national security correspondent Jim Sciutto tweeted [6] today: US & NATO allies are sending several surface-to-air missiles systems to Ukraine. A senior US official tells me these systems include Soviet-era SA-8, SA-10, SA-12 and SA-14 mobile air defense systems, w/range higher than Stingers, giving capability to hit cruise missiles.

Only in the last year, which was incidentally the maiden year of the purportedly pacifist and noninterventionist albeit manifestly Russophobic Biden presidency, the US has reportedly provided [7] over 600 Stinger surface-to-air missiles and approximately 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems to Ukraine, along with an assortment of radar systems, helicopters, grenade launchers, guns and ammunition, and $650 million worth military equipment.

One of Europes supposedly most progressive nations since the fall of the Third Reich albeit still a US client, Germany alone has proudly bragged [8] of dispatching 500 US-made surface-to-air Stinger missiles and 2,700 Soviet-era, shoulder-fired Strela missiles to Ukraines conscript military and allied irregular militias.

Although the mainstream media has publicly acknowledged NATO member states have provided a total of 2,000 surface-to-air missiles, including Stingers, and 17,000 anti-armor munitions, including Javelins and NLAWs, to Ukraines security forces, the actual number of weapons sent to Ukraine is many times the number that has officially been admitted.

In an interview with CBC News [9] on March 8, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that a Russian attack on the supply lines of allied nations supporting Ukraine with arms and munitions would be a dangerous escalation of the war raging in Eastern Europe. Russia is the aggressor and Ukraine is defending itself. If there is any attack against any NATO country, NATO territory, that will trigger Article 5.

Reminiscent of the Three Musketeers motto all for one and one for all, Article 5 is the self-defense clause in NATO's founding treaty which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all 30 member nations. I'm absolutely convinced President Putin knows this and we are removing any room for miscalculation, misunderstanding about our commitment to defend every inch of NATO territory, Stoltenberg said.

NATO chief said there's a clear distinction between supply lines within Ukraine and those operating outside its borders. There is a war going on in Ukraine and, of course, supply lines inside Ukraine can be attacked, he said. An attack on NATO territory, on NATO forces, NATO capabilities, that would be an attack on NATO.

Besides deploying 15,000 additional troops in Eastern Europe last month, total number of US troops in Europe is now expected to reach 100,000. We have 130 jets at high alert. Over 200 ships from the high north to the Mediterranean, and thousands of additional troops in the region, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN [10].

The Russian military had not targeted weapons shipments once they entered Ukraine, a US official told CNN, but there was some concern Russia could begin targeting the deliveries as its assault advances.

On Sunday, March 13, Russian forces launched a missile attack [11] at Yavoriv Combat Training Center in the western part of the country. The military facility, less than 25 km from the Polish border, is one of Ukraine's biggest and the largest in the western part of the country. Since 2015, US Green Berets and National Guard troops had been training Ukrainian forces at the Yavoriv center before they were evacuated alongside diplomatic staff in mid-February.

The training center was hit by a barrage of roughly 30 cruise missiles launched from Russian strategic bombers, killing at least 35 people, though Russia's defense ministry claimed up to 180 foreign mercenaries [12] and a large number of foreign weapons were destroyed at the training center. The Ukraine conflict is clearly spiraling out of control and has the potential of dragging NATO powers into direct confrontation with Russia, which could then lead to a catastrophic Third World War.

Notes:

[1] Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori on way to UK:

[2] Venezuela frees two Americans after talks with US:

[3] Saudi, Emirati leaders decline calls with Biden amid Ukraine Crisis:

[4] Saudi Arabia invites China's Xi to visit:

[5] US intel says Putin made a last-minute decision to invade Ukraine:

[6] NATO sending advanced surface-to-air missile systems to Ukraine:

[7] US provided 600 Stingers and 2,600 Javelins to Ukraine:

[8] Germany to ship anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine:

[9] NATO chief warns Russia away from attacking supply lines:

[10] Pentagon shores up its NATO defenses in Europe:

[11] Pentagon push to send more trainers to Ukraine was scrapped:

[12] Russian airstrike killed 180 foreign mercenaries at Yavoriv:

About the author:

Nauman Sadiq is an Islamabad-based geopolitical and national security analyst focused on geo-strategic affairs and hybrid warfare in the Af-Pak and Middle East regions. His domains of expertise include neocolonialism, military-industrial complex and petro-imperialism. He is a regular contributor of diligently researched investigative reports to Global Research.
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LONDON (AP)  Prince William and Kate are embarking on a tour to Central America and the Caribbean, even as some countries in the region mull cutting ties to the British monarchy.

FILE- Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge attend the 1st Battalion Irish Guards' St. Patrick's Day Parade at Mons Barracks, March 17, 2022 in Aldershot, England. Prince William and his wife Catherine are embarking on a tour to Central America and the Caribbean, even as some countries in the region mull cutting ties to the British monarchy. The couple will visit Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas on the week-long journey that starts Saturday, March 19, 2022. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP, file)

LONDON (AP)  Prince William and Kate are embarking on a tour to Central America and the Caribbean, even as some countries in the region mull cutting ties to the British monarchy.

The couple will visit Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas on the week-long journey that starts Saturday. The trip, taken at the behest of Williams grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, is intended to strengthen the U.K.s ties with Commonwealth countries as the queen marks 70 years on the throne.

But the trip suffered a hitch before the couple set out, when a planned visit to a cacao farm in the Central American nation of Belize was scrapped because of local opposition.

According to local reports, a protest was staged on Friday opposing the royal visit to Akte il Ha cacao farm in Indian Creek village in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. Belize news outlet Channel 7 reported that there is a dispute between village residents and Flora and Fauna International, a conservation charity William supports as patron.

The royal couples Kensington Palace office said that due to sensitive issues involving the community in Indian Creek, the visit has been moved to a different location. The government of Belize said another venue has been selected to showcase Maya family entrepreneurship in the cacao industry.

The couple, formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, also are due to visit Jamaica, where they are due to celebrate the legacy of Bob Marley and islands rich musical and sporting heritage. They will end the trip in the Bahamas, where they'll compete in a sailing regatta in honor of the queens Platinum Jubilee.

William, 39, is second in line to the throne after his father, Prince Charles.

Although the queen is highly regarded across the region, Britain is accused by many of  at best  a callous attitude towards its former colonies. That feeling has been heightened by the U.K.s treatment of many Caribbean immigrants who came to Britain after World War II, helping to rebuild a war-shattered country.

In recent years, some people from the Caribbean who had lived legally in Britain for decades were denied housing, jobs or medical treatment, and in some cases deported, because they didn't have paperwork to prove their status. The British government has apologized and agreed to pay compensation, but the scandal has caused deep anger, both in the U.K. and in the Caribbean.

The royal couple's first overseas tour since the coronavirus pandemic began two years ago comes as some Caribbean nations consider removing the queen as head of state. Barbados cut ties with the queen in November, transforming from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. Jamaica has also talked about becoming a republic but has made no moves.

Britains longest-reigning monarch, 95-year-old Elizabeth has stopped making international trips and has dramatically cut back on her public duties. She sometimes uses a walking stick, was ordered by her doctors to rest after spending a night in hospital in October and recently recovered from a bout of COVID-19.

There are also questions over the future of the Commonwealth, an association of 54 nations, most of them former British colonies. A loose alliance of countries large and small  from vast India to tiny Tuvalu  held together by historic ties and respect for the queen, the organization has struggled to carve out a firm place on the world stage.

The survival of the Commonwealth owes much to the commitment of the queen, who has visited almost every member country, often multiple times. Some question whether the organization can continue once the queen is succeeded by Prince Charles.
LVIV, Ukraine (AP)  As it continued its barrage of the besieged city of Mariupol, Russia demanded that Ukrainians put down their arms and raise white flags on Monday in exchange for safe passage out of town.

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Medical staff rest in a basement used as a bomb shelter at the Ohmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

LVIV, Ukraine (AP)  As it continued its barrage of the besieged city of Mariupol, Russia demanded that Ukrainians put down their arms and raise white flags on Monday in exchange for safe passage out of town.

Ukraine angrily rejected the offer, which came hours after officials said Russian forces had bombed an art school that was sheltering some 400 people.

While the fight for control of the strategically important city remained intense, Western governments and analysts see the broader conflict shifting to a war of attrition.

Russian Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said it would allow two corridors out of Mariupol, heading either east toward Russia or west to other parts of Ukraine.

Mariupol residents were given until 5 a.m. Monday to respond to the offer. Russia didn't say what action it would take if it was rejected.

A woman touches a banner depicting Russian President, Vladimir Putin with the text "We will never forget. We will never forgive" during a protest against Russia's war in Ukraine, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, March 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

But Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said no.

There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this, she told the news outlet Ukrainian Pravda. I wrote: `Instead of wasting time on eight pages of letters, just open the corridor.

Mariupol Mayor Piotr Andryushchenko also rejected the offer, saying in a Facebook post he didnt need to wait until morning to respond and cursing at the Russians, according to the news agency Interfax Ukraine.

A man walks at dusk in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Russian forces pushed deeper into Ukraine's besieged and battered port city of Mariupol on Saturday, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

The Russian Ministry of Defense said authorities in Mariupol could face a military tribunal if they sided with what it described as bandits, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Previous bids to allow residents to evacuate Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities have failed or have been only partially successful, with bombardments continuing as civilians sought to flee.

Speaking in a video address early Monday, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said about 400 civilians were taking shelter at the art school when it was struck by a Russian bomb.

A child with her face covered by a large Ukrainian flag sings the Ukrainian national anthem during a protest against Russia's war in Ukraine, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, March 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

They are under the rubble, and we dont know how many of them have survived, he said. But we know that we will certainly shoot down the pilot who dropped that bomb, like about 100 other such mass murderers whom we already have downed.

Tearful evacuees from the devastated Azov Sea port city have described how battles took place over every street."

The fall of Mariupol would allow Russian forces in southern and eastern Ukraine to link up. But Western military analysts say that even if the surrounded city is taken, the troops battling a block at a time for control there may be too depleted to help secure Russian breakthroughs on other fronts.

A woman receives communion inside the "Transfiguration of Jesus" Orthodox Cathedral, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Three weeks into the invasion, Western governments and analysts see the conflict shifting to a war of attrition, with bogged down Russian forces launching long-range missiles at cities and military bases as Ukrainian forces carry out hit-and-run attacks and seek to sever their supply lines.

Ukrainians have not greeted Russian soldiers with a bunch of flowers, Zelenskyy told CNN, but with weapons in their hands.

Moscow cannot hope to rule the country, he added, given Ukrainians' enmity toward the Russian forces.

A mother embraces her son who escaped the besieged city of Mariupol and arrived at the train station in Lviv, western Ukraine on Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

The strike on the art school was the second time in less than a week that officials reported an attack on a public building where Mariupol residents had taken shelter. On Wednesday, a bomb hit a theater where more than 1,000 people were believed to be sheltering.

There was no immediate word on casualties in the school attack, which The Associated Press could not independently verify. Ukrainian officials have not given an update on the search of the theater since Friday, when they said at least 130 people had been rescued and another 1,300 were trapped by rubble.

City officials and aid groups say food, water and electricity have run low in Mariupol and fighting has kept out humanitarian convoys. Communications are severed.

Family members and Ukrainian servicemen attend the funeral ceremony of marine Alexandr Khovtun, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 20, 2022. Khovtun died in combat in the town of Huta-Mezhyhirska, north of Kyiv. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

The city has been under bombardment for over three weeks and has seen some of the worst horrors of the war. City officials said at least 2,300 people have died, with some buried in mass graves.

Some who were able to flee Mariupol tearfully hugged relatives as they arrived by train Sunday in Lviv, about 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) to the west.

Battles took place over every street. Every house became a target, said Olga Nikitina, who was embraced by her brother as she got off the train. "Gunfire blew out the windows. The apartment was below freezing.

In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv, Ukraine, early Sunday, March 20, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Maryna Galla narrowly escaped with her 13-year-old son. She said she huddled in the basement of a cultural center along with about 250 people for three weeks without water, electricity or gas.

We left (home) because shells hit the houses across the road. There was no roof. There were people injured, Galla said, adding that her mother, father and grandparents stayed behind and "dont even know that we have left."

Unexpectedly strong Ukrainian resistance has dashed Russian President Vladimir Putins hopes for a quick victory after he ordered the Feb. 24 invasion of his neighbor. In recent days, Russian forces have entered Mariupol. But taking the city could prove costly.

Members of the Ukrainian Orthodox community, who have found shelter for their church service in an evangelical church, sing during a church service and prayer for peace in Berlin, Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Steffi Loos)

The block-by-block fighting in Mariupol itself is costing the Russian military time, initiative, and combat power, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in a briefing.

In a blunt assessment, the think tank concluded Russia failed in its initial campaign to take the capital of Kyiv and other major cities quickly, and its stalled invasion.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukrainian resistance means Putins forces on the ground are essentially stalled.

A refugee woman eats in Brovary, Ukraine, Sunday, March 20, 2022, after 1,600 people, of which half are children according to authorities, were evacuated from the village of Bobrik, reportedly under Russian military control. Russian forces pushed deeper into Ukraine's besieged and battered port city of Mariupol on Saturday, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Its had the effect of him moving his forces into a woodchipper, Austin told CBS on Sunday.

In Ukraine's major cities, hundreds of men, women and children have been killed in Russian attacks.

In Kyiv, emergency services reported four people killed by shelling not far from the center of the capital Sunday. Loud explosions were heard as a shopping center and cars in a parking lot caught fire, they said.

People gather outside their destroyed buildings after a bombing in Satoya neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In a video address to the Israeli parliament on Sunday, Zelenskyy urged the lawmakers to take stronger action against Russia. accusing Putin of trying to carry out a final solution against Ukraine. The term was used by Nazi Germany for its genocide of some 6 million Jews during World War II.

Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, also noted that a Russian missile struck Babi Yar -- the spot in Kyiv where over 30,000 Jews were slaughtered in 1941 by the Nazis  and is now Ukraines main Holocaust memorial.

Zelenskyy later thanked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for trying to help find a negotiation track with Russia "so that we sooner or later start talking with Russia, possibly in Jerusalem.

It would be the right place to find peace if possible, Zelenskyy said.

He also said he'd had a call Sunday with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss support for Ukraine during this week's summit of the Group of Seven and NATO.

The U.N. has confirmed 902 civilian deaths in the war but concedes the actual toll is likely much higher. It says nearly 3.4 million people have fled Ukraine.

Estimates of Russian deaths vary, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands.

Some Russians also have fled their country amid a widespread crackdown on dissent. Russia has arrested thousands of antiwar protesters, muzzled independent media and cut access to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

___

Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, and other AP journalists around the world contributed.

___

Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Geelongs groundbreaking Back to Back Theatre company has won the International Ibsen Award, informally dubbed the Nobel prize for theatre  a 2.5 million kroner ($385,000) prize handed out every two years by Norways culture ministry.

It is the first Australian winner of the award, which was established in 2008. Previous recipients include legendary English director Peter Brook and American provocateur Taylor Mac.

Geelong group Back to Back Theatre in 2018, preparing a tour of Ganesh Versus the Third Reich. Credit:Jason South

The judges identify an individual or company that has brought new artistic dimensions to the world of drama or theatre for the award, named after their countrys greatest playwright.

Chair of the International Ibsen Award committee Ingrid Lorentzen said Back to Back, which has an ensemble of actors with disabilities at its core, was outstanding and unique.
reviewed by Elizabeth Flux An American In Paris

Arts Centre Melbourne, until April 23



Musical movies are harder than they look to transform into musical theatre. You need to beef up the song list, and the films shadow looms large. The extra numbers Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote for his revamp of The Wizard of Oz couldnt hold a candle to the ones everyone knows, for example, and the lead in Singin In The Rain is likely to be outclassed by the gravity-defying magic of Gene Kelly and his umbrella. Leanne Cope and Robbie Fairchild in An American in Paris. Credit:Darren Thomas An American in Paris is another Gene Kelly classic, and this spectacular adaptation hits on a unique two-step solution to the problem by reaching deeply into the jazz-inspired rhapsodies of George Gershwins orchestral music (and the well-known songs he wrote with his brother Ira) and leaning into the brilliance of ballet.

Its a first foray into a major musical for The Australian Ballet, and on the strength of the dancers assembled for this show, it wont be the last. Relocating the action to Paris in the immediate aftermath of WWII, briskly choreographed scene-setting and mobile projections frame the lingering calamity. Under the smudge of famous Parisian landmarks, collaborators face mob justice and poverty and insecurity reign. Sam Ward and ensemble in An American in Paris. Credit:Darren Thomas Two demobbed American soldiers miss the train home. Aspiring artist Jerry (Robbie Fairchild) and injured musician Adam (Jonathan Hickey) remain in Paris to pursue creativity in the city of love. There, they meet the talented prima ballerina Lise (Leanne Cope), wealthy American arts patron Milo (Ashleigh Rubenach), and Henri (Sam Ward), a Parisian blueblood who dreams of being a song-and-dance man rather than inheriting the familys textiles enterprise.

Romantic entanglements abound, as they all become involved in the creation of a new ballet  a 17-minute Cubist (and Cuban) extravaganza that outshines the scene from the film. The wow-factor is off the scale, but the dance isnt merely decorative, or even narrative. No, its the liberation of art, not sappy platitudes about love, that lies at the heart of the shows success. What is revived in Christopher Wheeldons magnificent choreography (and Gershwins score) is the soul of interwar Paris  a place of cultural and artistic ferment, the cradle of modernism. Ballet was crucial to that explosion of aesthetic experimentation, much of which the Nazis denounced as degenerate, and proves an ideal vessel for resurrecting its dauntless spirit. Jonathan Hickey, Robbie Fairchild, Sam Ward in An American in Paris. Credit:Darren Thomas Here, physical virtuosity and grace meet, and are freed by, the shock of the new. Angular and propulsive choreography faces the classical and jazz impulses in Gershwins music head on, echoing in movement, as well as vibrant costume and projections, similar innovations in the visual arts, from Picasso to Chagall.

The songs spring into Broadway glitz and glamour, with toe-tapping renditions of hits such as I Got Rhythm and Swonderful, and the comic acting isnt shabby either. True, exposition can be weak in the first half, but the show surges after interval, as story and song and dance spectacular come together with genuine pace and irrepressible energy. An American In Paris will appeal to ballet, orchestral concert, and music theatre lovers in particular, but the stellar production values and quality of the performances should be enough to excite anyone. reviewed by Cameron Woodhead The Darkening Sky

Theatre Works, until March 26



Neo-noir has leapt from the shadows, hard-boiled and hyper-real, to seize the cultural moment. It has conquered television through the likes of Babylon Berlin, a detective series charged with all the desperation and decadence of a dying Weimar Republic. Local publishing has been swept up in it, too, after Jane Harpers The Dry put a global spotlight on gritty Australian crime fiction.

In The Darkening Sky, Richard Murphet revives noir onstage in a work haunted by the ghosts of Melbourne past, weaving a web that spirals around the disappearances of two women decades apart. At the centre is our narrator, ageing writer James (Brian Lipson). He idly jots in a Melbourne cafe as he begins to recall events leading to his mother, Heather (Edwina Wren), abandoning him as a boy, never to return. Meanwhile, a dogged detective (Tom Dent) hunts down another missing person, a woman called Chantal (Rebecca Hill), with unexpected links to James misspent youth. The Darkening Sky is framed by a self-absorbed writer-narrator prone to dominating descriptions of lost worlds. His trip down memory lane is always deeply felt, if often both elusive and overdrawn, and recalls Patrick Whites lopsidedness in A Season at Sarsaparilla. Edwina Wren, Brian Lipson and Mark Tregonning in The Darkening Sky. Credit:Chelsea Neate

As with that play, the literary striving in the monologues seems better suited to page than stage, and a ruthless edit would have been prudent. The show blows out well over its advertised running time, and some long-winded passages undermine atmosphere, cutting against the pith and staccato rhythms that define noir writing. Yet Murphet is also fearlessly ambitious. He captures the past lives of Melbournes inner suburbs in a way audiences will find alluring, and behind the suburban veneer lie menacing glimpses of life on the edge  a demimonde of drug-addled students, the spectre of domestic violence, even the sinister cat-and-mouse of Cold War espionage. Loading The actors seem to relish the noir aesthetic. Some can descend into broad camp at the margins, but others etch indelible portraits from indeterminacy. The way Wren, for instance, emanates poise and stony conviction over private agony transfigures her into an antihero worthy of a Chandler novel. Hill does something similar, donning the persona of a tough-as-nails grifter to disguise her altruism and a terrible sacrifice.
A China Eastern Boeing 737 with 132 people on board crashed in the southern province of Guangxi on Monday, officials said.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a statement the crash occurred near the city of Wuzhou in Teng county. The flight was travelling from Kunming in the western province of Yunnan to the industrial centre of Guangzhou along the east coast, it added.

A China Eastern Boeing 737 with 132 people on board has crashed in Chinas south. Credit:ninevms

There was no immediate word on numbers of dead and injured. The plane was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, the CAAC said, correcting earlier reports that 133 people had been on board.

The CAAC said it had sent a team of officials, and the Guangxi fire service said work was underway to control a mountainside blaze ignited by the crash.

Satellite data from NASA showed a massive fire just in the area of where the plane went down at the time of the crash.

Calls to China Eastern offices were not immediately answered. State media said local police first received calls from villagers alerting the crash around 2:30 p.m.

Chicago-based Boeing Co. also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shanghai-based China Eastern is one of Chinas top three airlines, operating scores of domestic and international routes serving 248 destinations.

The flight that crashed appeared to be Flight No. MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou, according to data from flight-tracking website FlightRadar24. It showed the Boeing 737-89P rapidly lost speed after 0620 GMT before entering a sharp descent.

The plane stopped transmitting data just southwest of the Chinese city of Wuzhou.

The aircraft was delivered to China Eastern from Boeing in June 2015 and had been flying for more than six years.

The twin-engine, single aisle Boeing 737 is one of the worlds most popular planes for short and medium-haul flights.

China Eastern operates multiple versions of the common aircraft, including the 737-800 and the 737 Max.

The 737 Max version was grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes. Chinas aviation regulator cleared that plane to return to service late last year, making the country the last major market to do so.

Chinas last deadly crash of a civilian jetliner was in 2010.

AP
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine, echoing similar comments made by US President Joe Biden.

Senator Payne said Russian President Vladimir Putin must be held to account over the invasion of Ukraine, which she said was creating the fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne accused Russia of committing war crimes, during a press conference at Kirribilli House with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Immigration Minister Alex Hawke. Credit: Renee Nowytarger

The Russian military has bombed at least one maternity hospital, Senator Payne said. More recently a civilian shelter, a theatre with families sheltering inside, and those civilian casualties continue to climb. The targeting of innocent civilians and civilian structure are war crimes, and President Putin must be held to account.

More than 6.5 million Ukrainians are internally displaced and 3.3 million  half of whom are children  have fled to neighbouring countries, representing about a quarter of Ukraines population.
A NATO plane crashed, incurring several casualties as arctic weather conditions caused problems during the operations by the US assets in Norway.

The authorities confirmed four were dead as the US Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey aircraft went missing at 18:26 (1726 GMT) in the south of Bodo and north of Norway.

In a statement front the regional emergency services (HRS), it was mentioned that the disaster was due to bad weather.

Accident During the NATO Exercise in Norway

According to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), the unit participated in the NATO military exercise called 'Cold Response' when the mishap was reported, per Express UK.

The authorities acted as soon as the plane was reported missing at 18:26 (5:26 pm GMT) when it did not land at 6 pm CET (5 pm GMT).

Jonas Gahr Stre, Norway's Prime Minister, remarked that the four American soldiers died in the mishap after the aircraft crashed.

He extended sympathies to their relatives and co-soldiers included in the unit for the loss of the four soldiers.

NATO Plane Crash Casualties

The wreckage was located after an emergency signal from the crash was received. But the bad weather prevented rescue aircraft from taking any immediate action accordingly. The police and rescue services were sent ahead by land instead.

PM Stre posted on social media confirming that four soldiers died in the crash the night before.

Sources say that two units, a rescue helicopter and a Military Orion plane, were dispatched to the area and contacted the crash site at precisely 8.17 pm GMT.

Reuters was informed by Bent Eilertsen, the Nordland police chief of staff, that the aircraft was found by rescue personnel, but no one survived the NATO plane crash in the harsh arctic weather conditions.

Read also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth?

He informed that the US plane involved four Americans in the crash.

Furthermore, the cold and dark weather conditions are hazardous, and there is a risk of an avalanche for deployed rescue units.

Bad Arctis Conditions Hinders Rescue

The local reports stated that efforts for a land rescue are about several hours from the location of the crash.

The II Marine Expeditionary Force said the MV-22B Osprey mishap was on the record as it was assigned to Norway on March 18. The head of the forces said the unfortunate accident is under investigation.

American military officials of the Expeditionary unit confirmed that it participated in the Exercise Cold Response 2022, cited ABC News.

The civil authorities in Norway are coordinating the search and rescue at the time.

He added the US appreciates the actions of its Norway partners in conducting the search and rescues at all costs.

The II Marine Expeditionary force statement explained that although the tour of duty was risky. Still, the safety of everyone involved in military operations is the top priority, and further information will be released once it is on hand.

Lt. Col. Stine Barclay Gaasland of the Royal Norwegian Airforce said that everyone was affected by the plane crash, adding that those involved are allies and partners whom they train with.

Local media mentioned that a rescue team of 20 people is going to the site where the plane went down riding snowmobiles.

Local media confirmed the fatalities from the crashed Osprey occurred in the remote area of Gratadalen, Northern Norway.

Former foreign affairs reporter of tabloid newspaper Verdens Gang, Rune Thomas Ege, said that no one was there yet as of 11.30 pm local time.

Norwegian Police state that the NATO plane crash happened during bad arctic weather conditions, leading to the aircraft mishap in Norway.

Related Article: US Air Force B-1s to Fly to Norway Soon, Confuses the Russians

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Police have released confronting security footage of a drive-through bottle shop robbery in Brisbanes south-west last week in an attempt to identify the bandit.

CCTV footage shows the man, wielding a hammer and a knife, sneak up behind the Durack Tavern attendant shortly before 7pm last Monday.

The man, wearing a black face mask, then opens the till before he scoops the contents into a black bag.

Police said the man dropped some of the cash as he ran out of the drive-through.
Helen Oakley went to a Melbourne park on Sunday to throw rocks, fling logs and lift heavy weights onto barrels.

Not just for fun  her weekend sport of choice happens to be an unusual one, known as heavy events.

Helen Oakley with one of the rocks used in the stone put competition. Credit:Penny Stephens

The activities have their origins in Scottish warriors training for battle. Traditionally, it was the domain of men.

But in a win for the lassies at the Melbourne Highland Games and Celtic Festival, women competed in heavy events for the first time in the festivals 55-year history.
Two years after the ultra-private Sydney socialite Tiffany Tilley quit the eastern suburbs to move to the more laid-back locale of Avalon Beach, she is back, having purchased a Victorian terrace in Woollahra for $3.32 million.

The two-bedroom terrace was sold for $3.32 million after a few weeks on the market.

Tiffany Tilley has returned to the eastern suburbs after a two-year absence. Credit:Dallas Kilponen

Not that the former wife of James Packers right-hand man Ben Tilley didnt do well from her time on the northern beaches. In 2020, she paid a little more than $3 million for a designer house called Bimbimbi, promptly renovated it and then sold it last October for $4.5 million.

It was a much better investment than her former Paddington terrace, which she purchased in 2018 following the sale of her Point Piper home for $19.5 million to British media boss John Newton.
Mariupol has suffered some of the heaviest bombardment since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Many of its 400,000 residents remain trapped in the city with little if any food, water and power. Without providing evidence, he said that Ukrainian bandits, neo-Nazis and nationalists had engaged in mass terror and gone on a killing spree in the city. Russia has accused Ukraine as being under control of neo-Nazis in the lead-up to the February 24 invasion. Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the failure to open evacuation corridors in recent weeks. Mariupols city council said Russian forces had bombed an art school on Saturday in which 400 residents were sheltering, but the number of casualties was not yet known.

Reuters could not independently verify the claims. Russia denies targeting civilians. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday the siege of Mariupol was a war crime. Ukraine says it is fighting for its existence and the President described the siege of Mariupol as a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come. The West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia that the Kremlin says amount to a declaration of economic war by the United States and its allies. Mizintsev said Russia was not using heavy weapons in Mariupol. He said Russia had evacuated 59,304 people out of the city but that 130,000 civilians remained as effective hostages there. He said 330,686 people had been evacuated from Ukraine by Russia since the start of the operation.

The Mariupol city council said on its Telegram channel late on Saturday that several thousand residents had been deported to Russia over the past week. Fighting continued inside the city on Sunday, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said, without elaborating. Capturing Mariupol would help Russian forces secure a land corridor to the Crimea peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The governor of Sevastopol said on Sunday that a senior naval commander in Russias Black Sea Fleet has been killed. Post-Captain Andrei Paliy, deputy commander of the fleet, died during fighting in the eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on the messaging app Telegram. The Russian navy did not respond to a request for comment. Sevastopol, which is a major base of Russias Black Sea Fleet, is also located on the Crimea peninsula.

Russias invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands of people, displaced more than 3 million and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States. US President Joe Biden on Monday added a stop in Poland to his trip this week to Europe for urgent talks with NATO and European allies. Loading Israel address During a video link address to the Israeli parliament, Zelensky questioned Israels reluctance to sell its Iron Dome missile defence system to Ukraine. It was the latest in a series of appeals he has made for help from abroad.

Everybody knows that your missile defence systems are the best... and that you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians, of Ukrainian Jews, said Zelensky, who is of Jewish heritage. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has held numerous calls with both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks to try to end the conflict. 10 million displaced The UN refugee agency said 10 million people had now been displaced across Ukraine, including some 3.4 million who have fled to neighbouring countries such as Poland. Officials in the region said they were reaching capacity to comfortably house refugees. The city council said on its Telegram channel late on Saturday that several thousand residents had been deported to Russia over the past week. Russian news agencies said buses had carried hundreds of people Moscow calls refugees from Mariupol to Russia in recent days.

Putin claims Russias special operation is aimed at disarming Ukraine and rooting out people he terms dangerous nationalists. Western nations call it an aggressive war of choice and have imposed punishing sanctions aimed at crippling Russias economy. Ukraine and its Western backers say Russian ground forces have made few advances in the last week, concentrating their efforts instead on artillery and missile strikes. Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Sunday there had been a relative lull over the past day, with practically no rocket strikes on [Ukrainian] cities. He said front lines were practically frozen. Still, he said, peace talks with Russia were needed, although they were not easy and pleasant. The UN human rights office said at least 902 civilians had been killed in the war as of midnight Saturday, though it says the real toll is probably much higher. Ukrainian prosecutors said 112 children had been killed.

I want the war to be over, I want them [Russian forces] to leave Ukraine in peace, said Margarita Morozova, 87, who survived Nazi Germanys siege of Leningrad in World War II and has lived in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, for the past 60 years. A crater is seen in front of a heavily damaged residential building after bombing in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday. Credit: Ukraine is an independent country. What are they doing here? Russias defence ministry said cruise missiles were launched from ships in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, as well as hypersonic missiles from Crimean airspace. The hypersonic missiles travel faster than five times the speed of sound and their speed, manoeuvrability and altitude make them difficult to track and intercept.
Russian President Vladimir Putin refers to his invasion of Ukraine as a "special operation." (Photo: General Staff of the Armed Force of Ukraine/Reuters)

Ukraine says to have fixed a power line to the Chernobyl nuclear power facility, which was the scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986. Russian forces currently control the plant.

Russian forces rapidly took the Chernobyl site after launching their invasion on Feb. 24. According to Ukrainian officials, the team of plant operators in charge of ensuring safe operations at the deactivated facility attempted to continue working against Russian troops' orders and the fact that they were not allowed to leave the site at all.

"Heroes" from the national power grid company, according to Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, were able to restore the connection. Pumps that keep spent nuclear fuel cold and prevent radiation leakage are powered by this energy.

According to Reuters, Ukrainian officials had warned of a potential radiation leak if a high voltage electrical cable connected to the plant was not repaired.

"It is impossible to say the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe after a totally pointless attack by the Russians," President Zelensky's adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said at the time. "This is one of the most serious threats in Europe today."

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Sunday that the power supply line had been restored at around 6:38 p.m. local time. According to the IAEA, the facility will be restored to Ukraine's energy system on Monday morning.

Part of the issue, according to the IAEA, is the health of the more than 200 Chernobyl plant workers who haven't been allowed to leave for nearly three weeks.

Ukraine accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering the "preparation of a terrorist assault" on the Chernobyl nuclear power station on Friday. In a statement, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said that Russian personnel in charge of the facility "refused to grant access to the station to Ukrainian repair people."

It alleged that among the engineers dispatched from Belarus were Russian "saboteurs" posing as nuclear specialists who came "to organize a terrorist strike."

In its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has seized a number of Ukrainian power plants.

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, one of the largest in Europe, caught fire earlier this month as a result of a Russian attack, causing concern throughout the area.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the U.N. Security Council warned earlier this month that Russia's insistence on nuclear power reactors could cause problems for Ukraine.

According to the UN, at least 549 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since March 9, and more than 2.698 million refugees have fled the nation.
LESSONS FROM THE EDGE: A Memoir

Author: Marie Yovanovitch

Publisher: Mariner Books

Price: $30

Pages: 394

When Marie Yovanovitch was abruptly recalled from her post as the United States ambassador to Ukraine, the timing felt surreal.

It was April 24, 2019, and she had been hosting an event at her residence in Kyiv in honor of Kateryna Handziuk, a human-rights activist who had died a prolonged, agonizing death after two men attacked her with a litre of sulphuric acid. Throughout the evening, one of Yovanovitchs assistants kept fielding increasingly insistent calls from Washington. Yovanovitch was ordered to return to the US immediately, though at the time she wasnt told why.

The State Department, my home of 30-plus years, was kicking me to the curb, Yovanovitch writes in her absorbing new memoir, Lessons From the Edge. This was not the way I had ever imagined my career as a diplomat ending: being pulled out of post in the middle of the night, under a dark cloud, to face an uncertain future.

That uncertain future would eventually include her memorable testimony at the first impeachment of President Trump in November 2019, when Yovanovitch explained how she wasnt surprised that Ukrainians who had long benefited from corruption had sought to remove her, given that she had made anti-corruption efforts a priority. But she hadnt expected officials in her own country to green-light, much less actively encourage, such machinations. What continues to amaze me, she said in her testimony, is that a coterie of corrupt Ukrainians had found Americans willing to partner with them and, working together, they apparently succeeded in orchestrating the removal of a US ambassador.

Yovanovitch was incredulous that Trump had apparently decided to remove her based on false claims by associates of Rudy Giuliani, who as Trumps personal lawyer was trying to get the Ukrainian government to investigate the Biden family. During the hearings, Yovanovitch sounded calm and self-assured, but in her book she describes how scared she was. The State Department had tried to keep her from testifying. She even feared opening up to friends; what was happening was so convoluted and bizarre that she was bound to come across as a crazy lady with an enormous ego, she says. Rudy Giuliani, the hero of 9/11, was trying to dig up dirt in Ukraine about former Vice President Biden and smear me because I was getting in the way of his schemes. Would you have believed me?

Yovanovitch was the child of immigrants who had fled the Soviets and the Nazis a family history that she briefly recounts with tenderness and immediacy. She remembers how a feeling of otherness had inculcated in her a sense of caution, a lifelong habit of observing before acting. As a rules-follower to the core, Yovanovitch knew she had done nothing wrong.

Yet the survival instinct she also inherited from her parents forced her to recognise that she couldnt count on being protected by those rules anymore. In a phone call with Ukraines then newly elected president Volodymyr Zelensky in July 2019, Trump said that Yovanovitch was going to go through some things. (Zelensky, she writes, piled on during the phone call, calling her a bad ambassador; the book was completed before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and in interviews she has given over the last couple of weeks she praises Zelensky for his wartime leadership.)

That I arrived at this moment in the book with my heart in my throat speaks to how skilfully Yovanovitch narrates her life story. Born in Montreal, she takes us from a childhood in Kent, Conn., through postings in Somalia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. She started out as a young, introverted newbie in the Foreign Service, condescended to by autocrats and bad bosses.

She had been the ambassador to Ukraine for only a few months when Trump won the election in 2016, and even though he had made obsequious noises about Russias annexation of Crimea, she held fast to her belief that the Republican foreign policy establishment would bring Trump into its fold and that the long-term bipartisan consensus supporting Ukraine would prevail.

It did, sort of, in a tenuous and perhaps degraded form. Ukraine eventually got the military aid that Trump had threatened to withhold unless Zelensky announced an investigation into the Biden family, but Yovanovitch was taken aback that no matter how much evidence came out, Republicans remained unwilling to hold an American president to account for trying to trade his office for personal favors from foreign governments, she writes.

Back in 2019, perhaps all of this talk about Ukraine and military aid sounded too remote to American ears to seem of much consequence. But as the ambassador, Yovanovitch had regularly travelled to the war zone on Ukraines eastern border, where the Russian invasion of 2014 had unleashed a humanitarian disaster. Yovanovitch was intensely aware that even then, she was only seeing so much. I recall looking out the reinforced windows to see Ukrainians without our elaborate protection going about their daily business and trying to scrape together a living, she writes. I was just a visitor, and I knew that I could go home.
Direct selling nutrition firm Herbalife Nutrition expects India to become its top market globally going forward, superseding the United States, according to the company's global CEO John O Agwunobi.

With the company clocking double-digit volume growth in the last five years in India, where it is primarily present in tier I cities, it is now looking to expand into tier II and tier III markets, besides doing a feasibility study on setting up its own manufacturing facilities in the country.

Herbalife Nutrition, which has been in India for over 20 years, is also working to expand its Ayurveda-based product portfolio and add "multiple more products in the future" in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic spiking demand for immunity boosting food supplements.

"India is now our number two market around the world in terms of volume points. It's our fastest growing market in the world. We think India is on track to one day becoming our largest market worldwide," Agwunobi told PTI.

To put that in some context, he said, "we are in 95 countries and we've been around for 42 years and for India to become this number two, and be on track to one day in the future becoming the number one is an amazing accomplishment."



The company's biggest market is the United States where its business started and it has become a much more mature market with penetration across the country.

"India's only at 20... we're still mainly in tier I, we're beginning to expand into tier II and tier III markets and there's still so much growth ahead for us here in India," Agwunobi said.

In terms of its market share, he said the US accounts for 25 per cent of the company's global market share and "India right now is probably somewhere between 10 and 15 per cent".

Herbalife Nutrition's global net sales for the year 2021 was USD 5.8 billion and increased by 4.7 per cent compared to 2020. India's sales increased by 25 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020.

When asked how soon can India become the number one market, Agwunobi said, "It depends on two things. One, how fast will the US grow in the future and then how fast will India grow? ... If India continues to grow at the double digit rate of growth that it has shown us in the last five years, I fully expect that over the next five or 10 years that India could threaten to take the number one position."



He further said within the last two years, India has overtaken China to become the number two market for Herbalife Nutrition in the world.

"It's growing faster than China, faster than Mexico, faster than the United States and so I think India is currently set up to one day become our largest market globally," Agwunobi.

Keeping in pace with the growth here, he said the company is exploring the feasibility of having its own manufacturing unit. At present Herbalife Nutrition produces its products through third party manufacturers in India.

"At this rate of growth, we need to start looking at whether or not we should manufacture here in India. We have a team that is looking into that as we speak. The process for evaluating whether or not we should manufacture in India is underway," he said.

Commenting on the company's plans to enhance its portfolio of Ayurveda-based products, Agwunobi said, "We have two products today. We're going to have multiple more products in the future. It's an important part of our portfolio and our customers are embracing Ayurveda all across India."



Stating that for over 4,000 years Indians have learned so much about how to develop and use Vedic products, he said, "It makes all the sense in the world that in our India business, we would embrace the science of Ayurveda.

"We've been working with a number of prominent scientists in the Ayurvedic field, a number of prominent practitioners in that field, to make sure that our products are not only high quality, but are true to the cultural core of Ayurveda.

(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.)
Lenders to ailing textile firm Ltd (SIL) have approved a resolution plan submitted by Ltd (RIL) jointly with Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise Ltd (ACRE).

The plan (RIL-ACRE) has been duly approved by the 100 per cent members of Committee of Creditors (CoC) as the successful resolution plan subject to approval of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the company informed BSE.

Gujarat based SIL said all four compliant Resolution Plans submitted by four Resolution Applicants were put for e-voting for approval by the CoC members in accordance with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) and regulations. The e-voting concluded On March 19, 2022 at 10.00 p.m.

The plan is that existing share capital of the Company will be reduced to Zero. The company will be delisted from the stock exchanges i.e. BSE and NSE.

The lenders to the company include Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Export Import Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. Lenders  members of CoC - exposure to SIL is about Rs 7,718.72 crore, according to filing with BSE.

SIL has been undergoing substantial financial stress and severe liquidity constraints since last Financial Year. Coupled with changed industrial dynamics, it has been facing time and cost overrun in completion of projects, reduction in subsidies and incentive benefits and Covid related disruptions.
United States officials reported that Russia deployed powerful hypersonic missiles on Ukraine, the first known use of such sophisticated weapons in a war, as confirmed by Russian media.

Russia launched hypersonic Kinzhal missiles into military ammunition storage in western Ukraine, demolishing the complex near the Ukrainian village of Delyatin, Russia's Ministry of Defense.

Some sources believe that the missile attacks are Russia's way of showcasing the capabilities of its arsenal, according to CNN.

Hypersonic missiles can travel at Mach 5 speed and above and dodge missile defense systems.

Russia's Interfax news agency reported that the Russian military deployed the hypersonic Kinzhal system since it started attacking Ukraine on Feb. 24., which was confirmed by Russian defense ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov.

Konashenkov said on Saturday that the Kinzhal missile system "with hypersonic aero ballistic missiles" destroyed Ukraine's large underground storage in Deliatyn, which contains "missiles and aviation ammunition."

Russian forces also utilized the anti-ship missile system Bastion in its attack on a Ukrainian military infrastructure near the Black Sea port of Odesa, according to Al Jazeera.

The Pentagon has prioritized the development of hypersonic weapons as China and Russia are working on their prototypes.

UN Report: 850 Civilians Killed in Ukraine Due to Missile Strikes, Explosives

The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) reported on Saturday that no less than 847 civilians, including 64 children, have been killed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started.

The number indicates an increase of 31 deaths in comparison to the last daily update published on Friday, as per CNN.The number of injuries among civilians is 1,339, which includes 78children. The agency believes that the actual number may be higher than what has been reported.

The OHCHR said the majority of the civilian casualties recorded were due to "the use of explosive weapons" with wide-range impact, "including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and airstrikes."

Read Also: Xi Jinping Eases Joe Biden, United States' Concerns on China Aiding Russia, Opposes Ukraine Invasion

Millions of Children Fled Ukraine At Risk of Human Trafficking

UNICEF reported that around 1.5 million children fled Ukraine, and "countless others" have been displaced in the war-torn country since the Russian attacks started in late February.

Afshan Khan, UNICEF's regional director for Europe and Central Asia, said that the ongoing war in Ukraine leads to "massive displacement and refugee flows," and such a situation could lead to a surge in human trafficking activities and "an acute child protection crisis," CBS News reported.

"Displaced children are extremely vulnerable to being separated from their families, exploited, and trafficked," Khan added, calling for increased efforts from governments in the region to protect affected children.UNICEF also urged Ukraine's neighbors to strengthen child protection inspections at the country's borders and at critical sites where refugees cross through, such as railway stations.

"UNICEF is calling on governments to improve cross-border collaboration and knowledge exchange between and among border control, law enforcement and child protection authorities and to quickly identify separated children, implement family tracing and reunification procedures for children deprived of parental care," according to the statement posted on the agency's website.

Related Article: Putin Issues Chilling Warning to 'Traitors' as Police Arrest Thousands of Anti-War Protesters in Russia

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Mumbai-based and Serum Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Serum Institute of India (SII), have entered into a partnership to make 150 million doses of SII vaccines in Wockhardts UK plant.



This is a profit-sharing arrangement whereby we are setting up a new facility at Wrexham in North Wales. The investment on the facility is a joint venture between the two partners. It will be able to make 150 million doses of any SII for which they deliver the drug substance to us, Habil Khorakiwala, chairman, Wockhardt, told Business Standard.



This will be a fill-and-finish facility for vaccines.



According to sources, it will take at least one and a half to two years before the new facility is ready.



Serum Lifesciences UK, a subsidiary of SII, and a subsidiary have entered into a profit-sharing arrangement for this new facility.



Natasha Poonawalla, chairperson, Serum Life Sciences, added, We are delighted to have formed a strategic partnership between and Serum Life Sciences. The collaboration will be instrumental in building long-term capacity in the UK. With this, we seek to further bolster supply resilience and support the global rollout of vaccines.



SII has supplied the AstraZeneca-Oxford to the UK already, and having a fill-and-finish facility in the UK would help the firm to have closer access to the UK and EU markets.



Serum Life Sciences looks after SIIs global expansion plans. Wockhardt has been looking at manufacturing partnerships.

Apart from India, Wockhardt owns plants in the UK and Ireland. The UK plant makes the AstraZeneca vaccine for the UK government.



Murtaza Khorakiwala, managing director (MD) and global chief executive officer (global CEO) of Wockhardt, said, This deal signifies the role that we will now play in the global supply of multiple vaccines, protecting citizens against infectious diseases.
Union Home Minister on Saturday said that a democratic setup at the grassroot level has been established in post- becoming Prime Minister of the country.

"Since became the Prime Minister of the country in 2014, has gone through rapid growth and transformation. Grassroot Democratic setup was established in J-K for the first time in decades," said Shah while addressing the gathering on the occasion of 83rd Raising Day celebrations of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu.

Union Minister observed that the public representatives in every village of are taking the Union Territory on the path of development.

"More than 30,000 public representatives have become part of the democratic system, which is a matter of great pride for J & K and the entire nation. Now, Panches and Sarpanches, Blockpanchayats, Zilapanchayats in every village of Jammu and Kashmir are taking the villages on the path of development," he said.

Home Minister further said that the abrogation of Article 370 by the central government on August 5, 2019, has begun the era of inclusive development in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Removal of Article 370 and introduction of new progressive laws has begun the era of all-inclusive development in J-K, connecting the women, pahari and downtrodden sections of society to the mainstream of development," he added.

Praising CRPF over its commendable work done to ensure safety and security of the nation, said, "CRPF has played a commendable role, be it in Naxal affected areas, fighting Pakistan-sponsored terrorists in Kashmir or restoring peace in the Northeast.

"The country's first Home Minister and Iron Man, Sardar Patel visualized a multi-dimensional role for the force it in tune with the changing needs of a newly independent nation," he added.

This is the first time that the CRPF is celebrating its Raising Day outside the capital.

The CRPF Raising Day is held on March 19 after India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel presented colours to the CRPF following the enactment of the CRPF Act by the Parliament in 1950. The CRPF was raised in 1939 and was then known as the Crown Representative's Police.

The CRPF was raised as the Crown Representative's Police on this very day in 1939. It was given a fresh lease of life soon after Independence when it was renamed and redesigned as the Central Reserve Police on 28th December 1949 and was mandated to secure the internal security of the country.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the largest-ever investment by the Australian government in India, Canberra will announce an investment of Rs 1,500 crore in the country in multiple sectors at the India- bilateral summit to be held on Monday.

India and will conclude an early harvest agreement by the end of this month, according to sources.

An early harvest agreement is aimed at liberalising tariffs on the trade of certain goods between two countries or trading blocs before a comprehensive agreement.

As per a diplomatic source, the two countries will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of critical minerals, which will help increase India's access to metallic coal and lithium in and cater to India's growing demand for electric vehicles and growing infrastructure.

Australia has one of the biggest reserves of lithium and is also a provider of the cleanest metallic coal.

The two countries will also be building a centre to promote partnership, which will be located in Canberra, Australia. Announcements on space, cyber activities, technology, agriculture, education and broadcasting will also be made, said the source.

According to the source, India-Australia's comprehensive strategic partnership is not just symbolism but there is remarkable depth in relation.

Tomorrow both leaders will demonstrate that India and Australia are top tier partners that deliver.

When asked whether Russia's aggression in Ukraine and India's position will have any impact, the source said that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's 1957 no condemnation policy and space of resolution policy is in place and every country has a different relationship with different countries.

It is widely believed and reported that PM Modi is in discussion with Russian President Putin on the issue.

The source also said that it will have no negative impact on India-Australia bilateral relations or quad, although incidents in Ukraine will have implications in the Indo-Pacific region.

Further, the Union Minister of Coal and Mines in India, Pralhad Joshi, is expected to visit Australia soon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will hold the second India-Australia Virtual Summit on Monday to lay the way forward on new initiatives and enhance cooperation in a diverse range of sectors between the two countries.

The Summit follows the historic first Virtual Summit in June 2020 when the relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. During the upcoming virtual summit, the Leaders will take stock of progress made on various initiatives under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The Leaders are expected to commit to closer cooperation in trade, critical minerals, migration and mobility, and education, among others, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press statement.

According to the MEA release, views on regional and international issues of mutual interest will also be discussed by the Leaders. It also said the Summit highlights the importance attached by both countries to their bilateral relations as also their close cooperation on regional and global issues.

The India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has maintained the momentum of an upward trajectory with both countries continuing to collaborate closely, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, in wide-ranging areas including science and technology, defence, cyber, critical and strategic materials, water resource management, as well as public administration and governance.

PM Modi and Morrison met in Washington DC for the first in-person meeting after the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2021 on the margins of the Quad Leaders' Summit and jointly launched the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) in Glasgow on the margins of the COP26 in November 2021.

On Friday, Morrison had underlined that the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries is based on a shared vision of an open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific.In an official statement, he said, "Australia and India's strong bilateral relationship is based on mutual understanding and trust, a commitment to democracy, and a shared vision of an open, inclusive, resilient and prosperous Indo-Pacific."

"Prime Minister Modi and I will discuss deepening our trade and investment relationship and harnessing new economic opportunities to support our mutual economic recovery and growth. Central to these endeavours are strengthened cooperation in defence and security, science and technology, and critical minerals and clean energy," he added.

Furthermore, the Australian PM said both sides will also discuss a range of regional and multilateral issues, including the situation in Ukraine and its implications for the Indo-Pacific, and Myanmar.

(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.)
Top leaders, including party chief J P Nadda, and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, on Sunday met Prime Minister amid the ongoing exercise for government formation in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa.

The meeting is underway at the prime minister's residence and it is also being attended by general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh.

In the recent round of assembly polls, the won in these three states and Manipur, while the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Punjab.

Earlier in the day, the BJP reposed faith in N Biren Singh and nominated him as the chief minister of Manipur.

In Uttarakhand, the newly elected BJP MLAs will meet in Dehradun on Monday to choose their leader who will be the next chief minister of the hill state where the party has stormed back to power for an unprecedented second successive term.

Though the party won the Uttarakhand polls, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami lost his assembly seat.

In Uttar Pradesh and Goa it is almost certain that the party will repeat Yogi Adityanath and Pramod Sawant as chief ministers, but it has to take a call on the structure of the cabinet in these states.

In case of Uttar Pradesh, the party has to take a call on who to appoint as deputy chief minister, as Keshav Prasad Maurya, who held the post in the previous BJP government, lost his assembly seat.

It is expected that by the end of next week, the BJP will complete government formation process in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa.

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The will meet the Goa governor on Monday and stake a claim to form the next government, state unit resident Sadanand Shet Tanavade said on Sunday.

The much-awaited legislature party meeting will also be held on Monday to select the leader of the House, who will be the next chief minister.

" president J P Nadda has informed that the legislature party meeting would be held on Monday after which party leaders will meet Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai and stake a claim to form the next government," Tanavade told a press conference.

The legislature party meeting will begin at 4 PM on Monday.

BJP's observer Narendra Singh Tomar and co-observer L Murugan, Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadanavis, desk in-charge C T Ravi will attend the legislature party meeting, Tanavade said.

He said the date of swearing-in of the new government would be decided after meeting the governor on Monday.

In the recently-held elections in Goa, BJP won the majority by bagging 20 of the total 40 seats.

Three Independents and two MLAs of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) have already extended their support to BJP.

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The Shiv Sena-controlled (BMC) has issued a fresh notice to Union minister Narayan Rane's family, asking it to remove the "unauthorised" alterations at its bungalow within 15 days.

In the notice issued on March 16 to BJP leader Rane's wife and son, the said the corporation will demolish the changes and recover charges for the same from the owner if he failed to remove the "unauthorised change of use" works.

On February 21, a team of civic officials had inspected the bungalow named 'Adhish', located in the upscale area, for the alleged violation of CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) norms.

In their March 11 reply to the BMC's earlier notice, the Rane family's representatives had dismissed the allegations and said the corporation's action (of issuing the notice) was "actuated purely by malice and political vendetta" borne by the Shiv Sena against the family and the Union minister.

The in its reply to the point said that the owner was expected to answer the notice "as contemplated in law".

"The insertion of posts, political parties and alleging malafides cannot be an answer to the illegalities mentioned in the notice," the civic body said.

The representatives said Rane has been a vocal critic of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the manner in which the Shiv Sena is functioning in the Maharashtra government and the civic body.

"Moreover, our patriarch (Rane) being a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and serving as a Cabinet Minister, much to the envy of other political leaders in Shiv Sena, we are being targeted on a personal level," they said.

The said that the notice was issued by its officer under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act, 1888 and hence, the question of "control, rivalry, envy and targeting are irrelevant for the reply of the notice".

The representatives had also said that the Union minister had "steadfastly" brought to the attention of the state machinery various details and information regarding the deaths of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the latter's former manager Disha Salian.

They said the Supreme Court had directed a CBI probe into Rajput's death and all this has "irked" CM Thackeray and his party and "to vent out their anger, they ordered" the civic body to initiate such action.

The BMC said the action was initiated based on a complaint. The site was inspected, illegalities were noticed and the owner was later asked to show cause of the same.

"Therefore, the inclusion of random persons and investigations and also attributing the notice to a dignitary, unconnected with your illegalities, cannot be an answer for the illegalities committed by you," the BMC had said.

In the latest notice, the BMC has said a personal hearing was also held on March 14 and that Rane's representatives did not answer on any issues to prove that the change of use was authorised.

"You are hereby directed to remove the said unauthorised change of use works as mentioned in the above referred notice within 15 days from the date hereof, failing which, the unauthorised change of use works mentioned in the notice will be demolished/removed departmentally at your risk and cost and the charges of the demolition will be recovered from you through assessment department," the BMC said.

"You shall further note that, if you fail to comply, you will be liable to prosecution under section 475 A of MMC Act," the corporation 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.)
Delhi reported 97 fresh cases and one fatality linked to the disease, while the positivity stood at 0.41 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department on Sunday.

The number of tests conducted a day ago stood at 23,766.

The new fatality pushed the death toll from the pandemic to 26,147 in Delhi, the latest health bulletin stated.

Delhi on Saturday reported 61 fresh COVID-19 cases and one death, while the positivity rate stood at 0.68 per cent.

On Friday, the city reported 140 new cases with a positivity rate of 0.43 per cent, and no death due to COVID-19. The capital on Thursday logged 148 cases with a positivity rate of 0.47 per cent, and one death.

The city recorded zero fatality count on March 5, 6, 10, 11, 13 and 14 as well.

The number of daily cases in Delhi has been on the decline after touching the record high of 28,867 on January 13.

The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemic.

Amid a decline in daily cases of COVID-19 in Delhi, the number of patients under home isolation here has also significantly fallen in the last few weeks.

The total number of home isolation cases as on February 1 had stood at 12,312, and on March 20, it dipped to 365.

The number of containment zones, which were also slowly falling in this period, also registered a dip in its count to 3,147 on March 20, according to official figures shared by the health department.

The surge in Covid cases in Delhi during the third wave of the pandemic was largely due to the Omicron variant of the virus which is highly transmissible.

There are 10,244 beds for Covid patients in Delhi hospitals and 73 (0.71 per cent) of them were occupied, according to the latest bulletin.

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Two people have been arrested in connection with issuing death threats to the Special Bench judges of the High Court who dismissed the petitions seeking permission to wear inside the classrooms.

While Kovai Rahamathulla was arrested from Tirunelveli, S. Jamal Mohammad Usmani was taken into custody from Thanjaur. Both the arrests took place on Saturday night.

The accused are office bearers of the Tamil Nadu Towheed Jamaat (TNTJ).

The arrests were made after multiple complaints against the accused in and Tamil Nadu. Police sources said that several persons have been booked in this connection.

Last week, the special bench comprising Chief Justice of the High Court Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justices Krishna S. Dixit and Khaji Jaibunnesa Mohiyuddin, while dismissing the petitions demanding in classrooms, underlined that wearing of is not an essential part of Islam.

Several organisations in Tamil Nadu are protesting against the judgement. A video of the accused Kovai Rahamathulla went viral where he allegedly instigates violence against the Karnataka judges.

In his speech, the accused mentions about a district judge in Jharkhand being mowed down last year while the latter was out on a morning walk. He even stated that people know where the Chief Justice of Karnataka go to walk in the morning.

Tamil Nadu BJP Chief and former Karnataka cadre IPS officer K. Annamalai, has written to the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Justice M.N. Bhandari and demanded an inquiry.

In Karnataka, Vidhana Soudha police in Bengaluru have booked an FIR based on the complaint by advocate Sudha Katwa. In the complaint it is mentioned that there is death threat, criminal intimidation, use of abusive language and also breach of peace, as well as communal harmony, in the state.

The police have registered the FIR under IPC Sections 506 (1), 505 (1) (B), 153 A, 109 and 504.

Meanwhile, advocate Umapathy has filed a representation with the Registrar General of the Karnataka High Court in this connection.

The Advocate's Association Bengaluru has also condemned the development.

The police has beefed up security for the Karnataka .

--IANS

mka/ksk/

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External Affairs Minister and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg held delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House in Delhi on Sunday.

Earlier Jaishankar welcomed the Austrian Foreign Minister said that he "looks forward to productive discussions".

"A warm welcome back to Austrian FM @a_schallenberg to India. Look forward to productive discussions today," Jaishankar tweeted.

Alexander Schallenberg arrived here in India on Saturday. Schallenberg's India visit comes amid the Ukraine crisis.

Earlier, on Friday, India and Austria held the sixth round of Foreign Office Consultations virtually and discussed various aspects of bilateral relations including political, economic, commercial ties as well as cultural and academic linkages.

The Indian side was led by Dammu Ravi, Additional Secretary (Europe and COVID19), and the Austrian side was led by Ambassador Gregor Koessler, Director General for Political Affairs in the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, according to the MEA.

"India and Austria have warm and cordial relations which are based on shared values of democracy, freedom, rule of law and equality. Our bilateral relations are marked by strong linkages across institutions, academia, culture, and people-to-people ties," MEA said in a statement.

The talks covered the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including political, economic, and commercial ties as well as cultural and academic linkages, the ministry said.

It further stated that two sides exchanged views on the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic recovery including vaccines. Regional and global issues including developments in the Indo-Pacific, neighbourhood policy, terrorism, and India-EU Relations, amongst others, were discussed.

The ministry added that the deliberations also covered multilateral issues such as United Nations reforms and India's priorities during its term in the United Nations Security Council.

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Prime Minister on Sunday lauded India for following an independent foreign policy, saying it imported crude oil from Russia despite American sanctions.

Khan, a fierce critic of the ruling NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spoke highly of the Indian foreign policy.

In his address to a public rally in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, he told his supporters that he would like to praise the neighbouring country India as it was having an "independent foreign policy".

Khan said that India, which is a part of Quad, has imported oil from Russia despite American sanctions.

The prime minister said that his foreign policy would also favour the people of Pakistan.

I haven't bowed before anyone and will not let my nation bow either, said Khan, who is rallying public support ahead of a no-confidence vote against him in Parliament.

Breaking from the tradition of not openly discussing complicated matters relating to foreign relations in public rallies, Khan mentioned that he had said absolutely not to the EU envoys seeking Pakistan's support against Russia in the Russia-Ukraine conflict because "they broke protocol by making the request".

He said that Pakistan would have gained nothing by complying with the EU's request.

We became part of America's war against terror in Afghanistan and lost 80,000 people and USD 100 billion, he said.

It is for the second time he spoke against a statement by the EU and other Western countries asking Pakistan earlier this month to condemn the Russian intervention in Ukraine.

In his previous address, Khan had also asked the EU if it would make a similar demand to India.

(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 shooting outside a Virginia restaurant and bar early Saturday has resulted in the death of 2 persons, including a woman newspaper reporter.

Sierra Jenkins, 25, a reporter for The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk who covered education, died at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital following the incident outside Chicho's Pizza Backstage, officials said.

Virginia Bar Shooting

The Associated Press reported that Norfolk police detectives had launched an investigation on the shooting in Norfolk, Virginia, which also injured three persons.

According to Rory Schindel, who manages the restaurant, Jenkins was leaving the bar when she was caught in the crossfire.

Schindel estimated that there were around 180 people at the bar when bartenders called the last call for drinks and turned up the lights at around 1:30 a.m. As individuals began to leave, an argument broke out outside, and shots were fired shortly after, as per The Hill.

Norfolk police identified the other casualty as 25-year-old Devon M. Harris from Portsmouth. While a woman sustained a critical gunshot wound, and two men got gunshot wounds but not life-threatening.

As of present writing, no arrest had been announced by the police.

A Passionate Journalist

Jenkins, who grew up in Norfolk and studied at Georgia State University, was described as "funny and energetic, and full of enthusiasm."Before becoming a staff of The Pilot in 2020, Jenkins had her internship at Atlanta magazine. Jenkins was assigned to cover breaking news for the local newspaper before her promotion to the education beat.

Kris Worrell, editor-in-chief of Virginia Media, shared that the late reporter "was a bright and talented woman with so much going for her" and exhibited an "undeniable" passion for journalism that contributed to the betterment of the community.

An editor tried to contact her to ask her to report the shooting incident but failed to reach the journalist."We are absolutely heartbroken," said Worrell of Virginia Media, which operates the Virginian Pilot and some newspapers.

Sierra Jenkins' father, Maurice, said that his daughter was not an outgoing kind of person, but her best friend came to town, and the two decided to hang out at Chicho's Pizza Backstage near Tidewater Community College's Norfolk campus in the downtown area.

According to The Virginian Pilot, Jenkin's celebrated her birthday last weekend and got an apartment in Virginia Beach last month.

Read Also: COVID-19 in the US: Dr. Anthony Fauci Warns Potential Surge in Cases Amid 'Blip' in the UK

Norfolk Police Calls for Tips on Shooting

Some government officials on social media mourned the deaths in the Saturday shooting.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin posted on Twitter, "Our hearts are breaking for the lives lost in Norfolk, including Sierra Jenkins," "The First Lady and I are praying for their families, friends, and the Virginian-Pilot community."

"Keeping the Jenkins and @virginianpilot families in my prayers during this difficult time," Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) tweeted that the Jenkins and Virginia are in her prayers.

"Coastal Virginia is better because of Sierra's reporting and pursuit of the truth," she posted.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Norfolk Commonwealth's attorney Ramin Fatehi sought the help of individuals who recorded the shooting via cell phone or surveillance camera or possessed other information to contact the authorities.

Anyone with information can send a tip online or call the police via 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.

Related Article: SNAP Benefits in Virginia Extended; How To Apply for Food Assistance and Get Up to $1500

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India and Australia are on course to ink an early harvest trade deal by the end of this month while Australian Prime Minister is set to unveil a Rs 1,500-crore investment package to boost bilateral ties at a virtual summit with PM on Monday.

The likely finalisation of the early harvest or 'phase-one' of the ambitious free trade agreement was confirmed by Australian High Commissioner to India Barry O'Farrell on Sunday.

"We are hopeful of signing the phase one (early harvest) trade deal by end of this month," O'Farrell told reporters.

Monday's summit follows the historic first virtual summit between Modi and Morrison in June 2020, when the India-Australia relationship was elevated to a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'.

Diplomatic sources said Morrison will announce an investment package of Rs 1,500 crore (280 million Australian dollar) to boost ties with India that will include Rs 183 crore for cooperation in clean technology and critical minerals and Rs 136 crore for enhancing ties in the space sector.

At the summit, the two sides are expected to make a specific announcement on cooperation in rare earth minerals. Australia accounts for 55 per cent of global lithium production and it possesses over 20 per cent of global lithium deposits.

India has been showing keenness in boosting bilateral cooperation with Australia in the rare earth minerals sector.

The sources said Rs 152 crore out of the total package will be set aside for setting up of new centres to further enhance bilateral ties and a separate amount of Rs 97 crore will be for skill development programmes.

"The summit will emphasise that Australia and India are top tier partners and we will deliver wider ambition and practical progress for the relationship," said a source.

It said Modi and Morrison will focus on building a robust bilateral architecture in the post-pandemic world.

"Prime Minister Morrison will make announcements on a range of creative new initiatives to lift the relationship to even a higher level," the source said.

The financial package of Rs 1,500 crore will form the largest ever Australian government investment in the India-Australia bilateral relationship, the sources said.

The (MEA) on Thursday said Modi and Morrison are expected to commit to closer bilateral ties in trade, critical minerals, migration and mobility, and education.

"The virtual summit will lay the way forward on new initiatives and enhanced cooperation in a diverse range of sectors between India and Australia," it said.

"Prime Minister Modi and I will discuss deepening our trade and investment relationship and harnessing new economic opportunities to support our mutual economic recovery and growth," Morrison said in a statement on Friday.

Ties between India and Australia have been on an upswing in the last few years.

In June 2020, India and Australia signed a landmark deal for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support.

The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) allows militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation.

The Australian Navy was part of the Malabar naval exercise hosted by India in November 2020 as well as last year.

The navies of the US and Japan were also part of it. Australia was part of the Malabar exercise this year as well.

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Two fighter jets, as well as two bombers, had entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Saturday.

The Ministry of National Defense reported that a Shenyang J-11 and a Shenyang J-16 fighter jet as well as two Xi'an H-6 bombers had entered Taiwan's ADIZ, reported News.

The almost daily intrusions have been described as part of a tactic to exhaust Taiwan's Air Force and air defense organization, and in some cases also to gain information about missile tests by .

On Friday, China's Shandong aircraft carrier also sailed through the Strait, though Beijing described the journey as a routine exercise.

Meanwhile, two Shenyang J-11 fighter jets and a Harbin Z-9 anti-submarine helicopter entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Friday.

The Ministry of National Defense informed that Taiwan's Air Force jets issued radio warnings telling the Chinese aircraft to turn back immediately reported Taiwan News.

The military also said it deployed air defense missile systems to monitor the activities of the People's Liberation Army Air Force jets and helicopters.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war.

(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.)
Expressing concern over the situation in Myanmar, and called for an immediate cessation of violence throughout and a return to the path of .

Prime Minister of Kishida Fumio and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi reiterated their stance on and in a joint press statement on Saturday called for the release of all political detainees.

"They reaffirmed their support for ASEAN efforts to seek a solution in and welcomed Cambodia's active engagement as ASEAN chair to break the deadlock. They called on Myanmar to urgently implement ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus, the Joint statement said.

Both the Prime Ministers expressed their support to the efforts of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in breaking the ongoing political deadlock in the country between the civilian representatives and the military junta.

"They reaffirmed their support for ASEAN efforts to seek a solution in Myanmar and welcomed Cambodia's active engagement as ASEAN chair to break the deadlock. They called on Myanmar to urgently implement ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus."

The ASEAN's five-point consensus was reached last year and stressed dialogue, humanitarian assistance and an end to violence.

The Myanmar military junta took control of the country following a coup on February 1 last year.

Myanmar's junta has carried out a brutal nationwide crackdown to suppress those opposing military rule. The junta's systematic and pervasive abuses, including mass killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) had said in a statement on Friday.

Since the coup, security forces have killed at least 1,600 people and detained more than 12,000, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Over 500,000 people have been internally displaced since the coup, while tens of thousands have fled as refugees to Thailand and India, the HRW report had further said citing United Nations refugee agency, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) data.

The Indian and Japanese Prime Ministers addressed a host of issues in the elaborate joint statement including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, maritime access in the Indo-Pacific, especially the South China sea, bilateral economic partnership and sustainable growth in the post-COVID world.

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Stressing that Indo- ties are based on mutual "appreciation and meaningful collaboration", Israeli Prime Minister has said he will be visiting in the first week of April to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The visit also aims to expand the cooperation between the two countries in the areas of innovation and technology, security and cyber, and agriculture and climate change.

"Prime Minister will pay his first official visit to on Saturday, 2 April 2022, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the Israeli PM's Foreign Media Adviser said in a statement.

The two leaders had first met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow last October when PM Modi had invited PM Bennett to pay an official visit to India, the statement said.

"This visit will reaffirm the important connection between the countries and the leaders, and will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between and India," it added.

Informed sources told PTI that it will be a four-day visit from April 2-April 5.

"The purpose of the visit is to advance and strengthen the strategic alliance between the countries, and to expand bilateral ties. In addition, the leaders will discuss the strengthening of cooperation in a variety of areas, including innovation, economy, research and development, agriculture and more", the media adviser said.

Bennett will be meeting his Indian counterpart, senior government officials and also the local Jewish community during his visit.

The full schedule of the visit and additional details will be issued separately, the statement said.

"I am delighted to pay my first official visit to at the invitation of my friend, Prime Minister Modi, and together we will continue leading the way for our countries' relations," Bennett was quoted as saying in the press statement.

"Modi restarted relations between India and Israel, and this is of historic importance. The relations between our two unique cultures the Indian culture and the Jewish culture are deep, and they rely on deep appreciation and meaningful collaborations," he said.

"There are many things we can learn from the Indians, and this is what we strive to do. Together we will expand our cooperation to other areas, from innovation and technology, security and cyber, to agriculture and climate change," the Israeli Prime Minister emphasised.

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Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has summoned a session of the Lower House at the Parliament in Islamabad on March 25 for a no-trust motion against Prime Minister .

"Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has summoned a session of the Lower House at the Parliament House in Islamabad on Friday at 11 a.m," Radio reported on Sunday.

The leadership of opposition parties has asked their parliamentarians to stay put in Islamabad to ensure their presence in the National Assembly session ahead of the voting for the no-trust motion against Prime Minister .

According to the opposition leaders, the speaker of the lower house of the parliament could convene the assembly session any time and directed the lawmakers belonging to their parties to stay put in Islamabad, ARY News reported.

The Opposition parties in are jettisoning mutual hatred to oust as they submitted the no-trust motion in the National Assembly secretariat on March 8.

While the Imran Khan government has exuded confidence to defeat the no-trust motion, the Opposition is sure that they will oust Khan.

On Saturday, Pakistan Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif slammed National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser for siding with Prime Minister Imran Khan stating that the former should "come to his senses".

Addressing a joint press conference with Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Sharif who is the PML-N President chided the Speaker saying, "Don't let democracy derail, otherwise neither history nor the people of Pakistan would forgive you," reported The News .

Sharif also condemned the recent attack on the Sindh House saying, "Whatever happened at the Sindh House was not a trivial matter." He said that the attack was not only about the integrity of Sindh but was an assault on Pakistan.

Earlier, the opposition parties rejected the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government's offer for withdrawing the no-trust motion against Prime Minister, the opposition has made it clear that the resolution will only be withdrawn if the premier announces his resignation, reported local media.

(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 Western nations look for ways to reduce their reliance on Russian oil and gas, another aspect of the Ukraine crisis has received less attention: Most of the 32 countries that use nuclear power rely on Russia for some part of their supply chain.

Nuclear power is a critical part of many national electricity grids. Economic fallout from the war in Ukraine could disrupt access to fuel for the nuclear power industry. We believe that countering Russia's influence will require concerted efforts that balance energy security, climate mitigation and a commitment to law.

The Biden administration reportedly is considering nuclear sanctions on Russia. US utilities oppose this step for fear that it would make uranium fuel scarcer and more expensive. Many US nuclear plants are already struggling economically.

If Russia retaliates against Western pressure by withholding converted or enriched uranium, we estimate that plants in the US and Europe could be affected within 18 to 24 months, based on the amount of advanced notice required for fuel orders. Some US utilities have said they do not expect shortages, but the opacity of the market and long time frames make this hard to predict. Utilities will face higher prices if they turn to Europe, Japan or China for uranium conversion or enrichment services.

Rather than focusing on domestic uranium mining, we see it as a higher priority for the US to reconsider its enrichment capabilities and policies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
struck with from ships in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, and launched hypersonic missiles from Crimean airspace, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday.



Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said had carried out strikes against Ukraine's military infrastructure on Saturday night and Sunday morning. "Kalibr were launched from the waters of the Black Sea against the Nizhyn plant that repairs Ukrainian armoured vehicles damaged in fighting," he said.



fired Kalibr from the and hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles from airspace of Crimea, the peninsula Russia annexed from in 2014, to destroy a fuel storage facility used by the Ukrainian military, Konashenkov said.



Russia also hit a Ukrainian military preparation centre where foreign fighters joining Kyiv's forces were based. Russia's invasion of has killed thousands of people, displaced more than 3 million and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States, the world's two biggest nuclear powers.



Russian President says the "special military operation" in Ukraine was necessary because the United States was using the country to threaten Russia and Russia had to defend against the "genocide" of Russian-speaking people by Ukraine.



Ukraine says it is fighting for its existence and that Putin's claims of genocide are nonsense. The West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia that the Kremlin says amount to a declaration of economic war by the United States and its allies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Russia struck Ukraine with cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, and launched hypersonic missiles from Crimean airspace, the Russian defence ministry said.

The city council in Mariupol said Russian forces bombed an art school on Saturday where about 400 residents had taken shelter. There was no immediate word of casualties, and Reuters could not independently verify the claim. Russia denies targeting civilians.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said seven humanitarian corridors would open on Sunday to enable civilians to leave frontline areas.

Turkey's foreign minister said Russia and Ukraine were nearing agreement on "critical" issues and he was hopeful for a ceasefire if the two sides did not backtrack from progress achieved so far.

A top Ukrainian aide said Russia has turned to more destructive artillery, hours after Russia said it used hypersonic Kinzhal missiles for a second time to hit Ukrainian targets.

Ukraine expects to get its next batch of U.S. weaponry, including Javelins and Stingers, in the coming days. Evacuations continue even as heavy fighting continues, particularly in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, and Russian forces blocked several trucks carrying humanitarian aid.

President Voldymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday renewed his offer to negotiate with Russias .

1 per cent chance of success of a negotiated settlement must be seized. I am ready for negotiations with him, Zelenskyy told CNN correspondent Fareed Zakaria in an interview broadcast Sunday. We have to use any format, any chance, in order to have the possibility of negotiating, the possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail that would mean that this is a Third World War, he added.

If we were a NATO member, a war wouldn't have started. I'd like to receive security guarantees for my country, for my people, Zelenskyy added.

Citing martial law, Zelenskyy signs decree to combine national TV channels into one platform

Zelenskyy has signed a decree that combines all national TV channels into one platform, citing the importance of a "unified information policy" under martial law, his office said in a statement on Sunday.

Ukrainian privately owned media channels have hitherto continued to operate since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The decree announcement, made on the presidential website, did not specify how quickly the new measure would come into force.

Australia, worlds top alumina supplier, bans exports to Russia

Australia announced a ban on alumina shipments to Russia, a move that will put further pressure on aluminum giant United Co. Rusal Australia accounts for nearly 20 per cent of Russias supply of alumina, the key ingredient for producing aluminum.

Aluminum hasnt been targeted by sanctions, but Rusal, which needs bauxite and alumina to feed its plants, is facing disruption to its supply chains as more companies pull back from doing business with Russia.

Humanitarian corridors agreed from Mariupol, Kyiv outskirts

Seven humanitarian corridors, including from Mariupol to the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia, were agreed for Sunday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. Residents of Mariupol, under attack from Russian forces for weeks, can use the corridor to travel to the port city of Berdyansk, from where they can move to Zaporizhzhia, she said.
Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco, under pressure from the West to boost output amid soaring prices, pledged on Sunday to hike investments by around 50 per cent this year as it reported a doubling in 2021 profits.

Aramco said it would boost its capital expenditure (capex) to $40-50 billion this year, with further growth expected until around the middle of the decade. Capex was $31.9 billion last year, up 18 per cent from 2020 - indicating an increase of about 50 per cent for this year at the middle of the guidance range.

Asked if Aramco would pump more oil to fill any gaps in the market left by the war in Ukraine, CEO Amin Nasser said it would produce according to guidelines.

Meanwhile, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group fired missiles and drones at Saudi energy and water desalination facilities, causing a temporary drop in output at a refinery but no casualties, the Saudi energy ministry said on Sunday.
Actor Jussie Smollett, center, leaves the Cook County Jail, March 16, after an appeals court agreed with his lawyers that he should be released pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack in Chicago. AP-Yonhap





A judge in Chicago has ruled that an attorney for Jussie Smollett might have defamed two Black brothers who testified that they participated in a fake racist and homophobic attack on the actor when she suggested they had been wearing ''whiteface.''







The Chicago Tribune reported that U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland's ruling centers on comments Tina Glandian made on NBC's ''Today'' show in March 2019, shortly after the Cook County State's Attorney announced it was dropping charges accusing Smollett of lying to police about the incident two months earlier.







Discussing how Smollett had told police that one of his attackers was white, Glandian said the very dark-skinned brothers might have ''put makeup on'' to disguise their color. Further, she criticized Chicago police for their alleged failure to investigate an online video showing one of the brothers ''in whiteface doing a joke monologue with white makeup on.''







Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo filed a defamation lawsuit, alleging that the comments were part of an effort to portray them as racist, homophobic and violent men who truly attacked Smollett.







In the ruling made public Friday, Rowland suggested that Glandian's comments could be seen as defamatory, an apparent attempt by the lawyer to ''dispel the inconsistency in Smollett's story (the attackers had light skin) and bolster her contention that the plaintiffs (who are not light skinned) were Smollett's attackers.''







''Taken in context, Glandian was asserting plaintiffs' involvement in a racially motivated attack,'' Rowland wrote. ''Explaining that the attackers were white, read in context, adds the implication that the attack was a hate crime.''







Rowland dismissed the other counts against the law firm where Glandian works, Geragos Geragos.







''They look forward to their day in court and will continue defending themselves against other defamatory remarks,'' the brothers' attorney, Gloria Rodriguez, told the Chicago Tribune.







Glandian filed a malicious prosecution lawsuit against the brothers Thursday, contending the lawsuit was a ''lawyer-driven publicity stunt designed to try to keep the Osundairo brothers relevant.''







''We are confident that the single remaining allegation reflecting Ms. Glandian's opinion will be dismissed in due course,'' her attorney, Brendan Healey, said in a statement.







The ruling is the latest legal twist in a story that has been chock full of them. It started with a search for attackers that turned into an investigation of Smollett and felony charges against the actor for allegedly lying to police. Authorities said he hired the brothers to carry out a fake attack.







Just last week, three months after a jury found him guilty of felony disorderly conduct, a judge sentenced the actor to 150 days in jail. Smollett was six days into his sentence on Wednesday when an appeals court ordered his release from custody pending an appeal of his conviction and sentence. (AP)






The on Friday claimed that the Islamic Emirate has fulfilled commitments for recognition.

Taliban's acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi said that the Islamic Emirate is inclusive and has fulfilled all the requirements and it should be recognized by the community, reported Tolo News.

Talking to Turkey's TRT World news channel, Muttaqi said, "In order to recognize a government, there is a need for border, people, and security. Since we have all of these, we have fulfilled the requirements to be recognized."

Some analysts meanwhile said in addition to recognition, the should also take steps inside the country, reported Tolo News.

"Legitimacy has to be gained inside the country through a free election in which each citizen casts one vote to elect their government and the people see themselves in that government," Wali Frozan, an international relations analyst said.

"The renewal of the UNAMA mandate by the itself shows that the world wants to stay engaged with . But I hope the Islamic Emirate holds a national gathering (Jirga) in which participants from all walks of life attend," Shahzada Massoud, a political analyst said.

It has been nearly six months after the recaptured power in but they have not been recognized by any country yet.

Taliban, who are desperate to seek international recognition, and have time and again been reminded that respect for women and human rights, establishing inclusive government, not allowing to become a safe haven of terrorism are the preconditions for the recognition set by the international community.

Speaking about Afghanistan's humanitarian situation, Muttaqi said humanitarian aid is not enough for Afghanistan and he called for development aid from the international community, reported Tolo News.

He said there are around 40 million people in Afghanistan and they cannot rely on humanitarian aid forever.

"If we want Afghanistan to be self-sufficient, on top of humanitarian aid we need development aid that creates employment and jobs," he added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers visiting said Saturday that the most urgent need in Ukraine's fight against a Russian invasion is to equip and support the country in every way that will help it defend its independence.

The seven-member delegation led by Rep. Stephen Lynch, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has visited reception centers for refugees from in eastern . They noted Poland's openness in accepting refugees from Ukraine, including in private homes. More than 2 million people fleeing war have come to since Feb. 24, when Russia's troops invaded .

We are here to reassure and support the people of . We are here to thank the people of Poland for the unbelievable generosity they have shown to the refugees, said Lynch, who is chairman of the subcommittee on National Security in the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

During an online meeting with the media Saturday, the American lawmakers stressed the need to urgently assist Ukraine's military in their fight against Russian forces. They said there is no room for peace talks as long as there is a hot war.

The most urgent action that we can take is to make sure that the Ukrainian fighters those valiant patriots who are fighting for their freedom have every bit of equipment, every bit of supply, every bit of support that we can possibly deliver to them, Lynch said.

Answering a question about a potential peace mission in Ukraine, he said there will be time for discussion, hopefully there will be time for diplomacy, but right now I think that the Ukrainian military is stepping up in a very heroic fashion against a much larger enemy."



U.S. President Joe Biden will attend an extraordinary NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday that is focused on the war in Ukraine and European security.

As long as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues the aggression, "there is only one way to respond to that and that's military force, Lynch said.

Rep. Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee who is on the House Armed Services Committee, had a message for Putin.

You've united NATO, you've united the EU and you've united the Congress. We stand against your tyranny, your are a war criminal," Green said. "Withdraw your troops from Ukraine!



Other members of the delegation included Democratic Reps. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts and Chellie Pingree of Maine and Republican Reps. Jake LaTurner from Kansas, Pat Fallon from Texas and Nancy Mace from South Carolina.

(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 Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a "very serious" matter, saying it has "shaken" the roots of order.

Addressing a joint media briefing with Prime Minister after the 14th India- summit here, Kishida said he has told the Indian leader that one-sided efforts to change status quo by force can't be allowed in any sphere and the Ukraine matter has to be approached with a ''strong resolve''.

A joint statement said that Modi and Kishida, in their talks, called for an immediate cessation of violence in Ukraine, pitched for resolution of the conflict through dialogue besides underscoring the importance of safety and security of nuclear facilities in that country.

It said the two leaders expressed serious concern over the conflict and assessed its broader implications, particularly to the Indo-Pacific region, as well as the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

"We discussed the situation in Ukraine. The Russian attack on Ukraine is a very serious matter that has shaken the roots of the system. We need to approach the matter with a strong resolve," Kishida said at the media briefing.

"I told Modi that one-sided efforts to change status quo by force can't be allowed in any sector. We both agreed on the need for a peaceful solution to all conflicts on the basis of law," he added.

The joint statement said Modi and Kishida reiterated their call for an "immediate cessation of violence and noted that there was no other choice but the path of dialogue and diplomacy for resolution of the conflict."



While has been severely critical of Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, has been pitching for resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

"The prime ministers expressed their serious concern about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and assessed its broader implications, particularly to the Indo-Pacific region," the joint statement issued after the talks said.

"They emphasised that the contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of states," it said.

It said the leaders underscored the importance of the safety and security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine and acknowledged active efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) towards it.

"The leaders affirmed that they would undertake appropriate steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine," it added.

Modi and Kishida highlighted their commitment to working in tandem towards a peaceful, stable and prosperous world, based on a rules-based order that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.

They also emphasised the need for all countries to seek peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law without resorting to threat or use of force or any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo.

"In this regard, they reaffirmed their common vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, free from coercion," the joint statement said.

"They shared the view that the economies of both countries in such a world would be powered by robust bilateral investment and trade flows through diversified, resilient, transparent, open, secure and predictable global supply chains that provide for economic security and prosperity of their peoples," it said.

Reaffirming that the two countries would continue to work together to realise the shared objectives, they resolved to further advance the India- Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

The leaders emphasised that and Japan, as two leading powers in the Indo-Pacific region, had a shared interest in the safety and security of the maritime domain, freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce and peaceful resolution of disputes with full respect.

"They reaffirmed their determination to continue prioritising the role of international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and facilitate collaboration, including in maritime security, to meet challenges against the rules-based maritime order in the East and South China Seas," the statement said.

They emphasised the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint.

"They further called for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and the early conclusion of a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, especially UNCLOS, without prejudice to the rights and interests of all nations including those not party to these negotiations," 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.)
As the prepares for 2023 assembly polls in Karnataka, its legislature party leader on Sunday said there was nothing wrong for anyone in the party to have Chief Ministerial aspirations, but ultimately elected legislators and high command will take a final decision.

The Leader of Opposition in the state assembly also claimed that the will get a clear majority in the coming elections and will form the government on its own in the state.

"....in a democratic setup, no one will say not to have Chief Ministerial aspirations. Ultimately the elected MLAs will decide and the high command will finally give their stamp of approval," said in response to a question on competition between him and state President D K Shivakumar for the Chief Minister post on party winning the next election.

Speaking to reporters here, he said there is no "fighting" among the party leaders on the issue.

Noting that the BJP has factions and not Congress, he said, "we have only one faction, and that is Sonia Gandhi (Congress president) faction."



Though and Shivakumar have openly rejected any differences, there have been several incidents of political one-upmanship between the two leaders and their supporters, regarding who should be the Chief Ministerial face for 2023 assembly polls.

Siddaramaiah had earlier headed the Congress government between 2013-18, in which Shivakumar, who is often referred to as the party's troubleshooter, was a Minister.

Siddaramaiah said the Congress is preparing for the election and is ready to face it whenever it comes.

"There is still one year for the election, preparations are on, we will further intensify it," he said.

He further stated that the BJP is in illusion of coming back to power in the state,



The former Chief Minister asked, "has BJP ever come to power on its own in "They have always come to power through Operation Kamala (Operation Lotus), he alleged.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday dismissed the possibility of an alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), terming it BJP's "B team".

Speaking to media persons here today, the MP said, "Uddhav Thackeray in his meeting with party MPs and district presidents today said that will not ally with AIMIM. He added that AIMIM is BJP's 'B team'."

Ratu earlier also rejected the suggestion of AIMIM's alliance with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), saying those who bow before the grave of Aurangzeb cannot become Maharashtra's ideal.

"Our party was formed on the values of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Sambhaji Maharaj and would continue with the same values. Why would we form an alliance with a party which bows down at Aurangzeb's grave?. How can you even think of that?" Raut said on Saturday.

"Maharashtra government is formed by three parties, Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party. There will be no inclusion of any fourth party," Raut had also said.

This comes after AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel said that AIMIM is willing to enter into an alliance with Congress and the NCP in the upcoming Maharashtra civic polls in order to defeat BJP.

"AIMIM is always held responsible for BJP's victory, it is said that we are 'B' team of BJP, so we gave them (Congress) an offer to form an alliance with us. Since they are with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, they'll never agree to form an alliance with us," Jaleel said yesterday.

Notably, civic body polls are slated for later this year. Assembly polls in the state will be held in 2024.

(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 Finance Minister and Union law and justice minister will travel to on Sunday to attend the meeting of the newly-elected in .

The BJP's central leadership will be accompanied by the caretaker Chief Minister N Biren Singh and BJP leader Biswajit Singh who are camping in New Delhi discussing government formation with the party's top leadership.

"The Legislative party meeting of BJP is likely to take place at 3 pm on Sunday," said sources.

The BJP has not yet declared the name of the next Chief Minister of the state.

Both N Biren Singh and Biswajit Singh are being seen as the frontrunners for the post of Chief Minister of Manipur.

Biren Singh had said that he has never contested elections "for CM or any other post" but as a worker of BJP.

"I never contested elections for CM or any other post but as a worker of my party. The decision (on CM's face) will be taken by higher authorities. I've come to Delhi to meet BJP's central leadership. Chief Minister or no chief Minister, I am somebody who has worked in the interest of the party and will continue to do so," Biren Singh told ANI.

Meanwhile, Biswajit Singh has also refused to comment on speculations doing rounds about him in the race for the next Chief Minister of the state.

Speaking to media persons in New Delhi, Biswajit Singh said, "I don't want to comment on that (on reports that he is in the race to become the next Chief Minister of Manipur). We don't have any group, among ourselves, that is for sure. The BJP is a democratic party, and leadership will decide this (the CM issue)."

The BJP won a clear majority in the recently-concluded Assembly elections in Manipur by bagging 32 seats in the 60-member House.

Congress bagged five seats and the NPP won seven seats. Naga People's Front bagged five and the Kuki People's Alliance got two seats. Independents bagged three seats.

(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.)
(AI) could contribute 10% of Indias GDP by 2025, or by up to $500 billion. Sangeeta Gupta, Nasscoms senior VP and chief strategy officer, says India can ensure AI for all through AIaaS (AI-as-a-Service)  easy to implement cost-effective solutions.

India is already seen as an emerging destination for data annotation and labelling services globally. The critical building blocks are in place to propel India into one of the leading global hubs for data and AI services.







AI to add $500bn to Indias GDP by 2025

AIaaS vista has about 100 players (software & service providers, network players, niche AI & analytics players)

Tech ecosystem is AIs largest adopter

Vibrant SMEs can drive AI adoption

AI market is led by IT sector, followed by BFSI, retail, and manufacturing

Indias AIaaS market set to lead the world

Government role in AIaaS spread is key, as end-user & ecosystem enabler

Government-sponsored and industry-academia R&D partnerships are key to local innovation

IT service players have a role in collaborating with deep-tech startups

Indias AIaaS market comprises global systems integrators and Indian MNCs, specialised AI and analytics service providers, global hardware and networking giants

Indias talent infrastructure

India is the largest exporter of technology services globally

About 5.1mn people employed by the Indian IT services industry

300-320,000: Indias annual supply of AI and Big Data Analytics professionals

Annual demand is 430-450,000

Data and analytics are the fastest-growing area for IT service providers

10-15,000 fresh STEM graduates with AI/ML curriculum in 2020-21

Tackling lack of talent
HKSAR gov't to distribute anti-epidemic supply kits to all Hong Kong residents

Xinhua) 09:52, March 20, 2022

HONG KONG, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said on Saturday that anti-epidemic supply kits will be distributed to all Hong Kong residents by the end of March.

Addressing a daily press conference on anti-epidemic measures, Lam said that the HKSAR government has distributed hundreds of thousands of anti-epidemic supply kits to residents in the areas with higher numbers of positive cases of COVID-19 since early March, while the Home Affairs Department of the HKSAR government has also distributed 4 million rapid antigen tests (RAT) kits to the public.

The HKSAR government has distributed medical supplies aided by the central government to the public through different channels, including several hundred thousand boxes of anti-epidemic traditional Chinese medicines, Lam added.

Lam said that the HKSAR government is planning a city-wide distribution of anti-epidemic supply kits, which consist of RATs, masks and traditional Chinese medicines, among others.

Secretary for the Civil Service of the HKSAR government Patrick Nip said that the government had completed the first dose of vaccine for all eligible residents in 1,100 elderly and disabled homes as of Friday.

Secretary for Food and Health of the HKSAR government Sophia Chan expressed her gratitude to the central government and medical teams from the mainland, saying the medical staff from Hong Kong and the mainland are collaborating well.

On Saturday, Hong Kong registered 7,528 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 9,069 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, official data showed.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
Japanese ballet dancer Fumi Kaneko, right, and William Bracewell of Britain perform "Swan Lake" during "Dance for Ukraine," a charity gala to raise funds for people in need in Ukraine, at the London Coliseum, in London, March 19. Reuters-Yonhap





Away from the fighting in Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian ballet dancers rubbed shoulders in London, Saturday, in a charity event that united some of the world's leading dance performers for humanitarian relief in the war-torn eastern European nation.







About 20 dancers, with glistening bodies and graceful moves, received a thunderous applause from the packed auditorium at the London Coliseum for the "Dance for Ukraine" gala.







"We have so many loved ones back home. We couldn't just sit idly at home and just watch news, we wanted to do something," Ivan Putrov, who is from Ukraine and organized the event with Romanian Alina Cojocaru, told Reuters.







Russia invaded Ukraine, Feb. 24, an attack Moscow calls a "special operation" to demilitarize its neighbor.







The U.N. human rights office has said at least 847 civilians had been killed and 1,399 wounded in Ukraine as of Friday. More than 3.3 million refugees have fled Ukraine through its western border, with around 2 million more displaced inside the country.







Some audience members were draped in the Ukrainian flag for the event, with dancers from many countries including Brazil, Italy and Britain providing glamour to the stage that was lit in shades of yellow and blue.







Katja Khaniukova from Ukraine and Natalia Osipova from Russia were among those who took part. There were also dancers from the United States, France, Japan and Argentina at the event, which the organizers said raised at least 140,000 pounds for the Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukraine appeal.







"So many of the artists contacted us wanting to join so it is inspiring how overwhelming the support is from the people, but we need more support in Ukraine, more support from different governments around the world," said Putrov. (Reuters)






Homes stand abandoned in Maceio, Alagoas state, Brazil, Sunday, March 6, 2022. The homes have been abandoned because of the threat of ground subsidence caused by the Braskem mine that has forced more than 55 thousand people from their homes. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
A sales office of a commercial bank in Seoul. Yonhap



By Lee Min-hyung



Banks are on track to ease restrictions on lending ahead of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration in May.



Starting Monday, Woori Bank will normalize its "jeonse" loan program, enabling borrowers to receive up to 80 percent of their lump sum deposit.



The "jeonse" process is a unique housing rental system. Tenants pay a deposit (which is refunded at the end of the contract) when renting homes with no monthly rent, unless they need to acquire a loan in order to secure the property, in which case they typically pay the interest on the loan each month.



Last October, however, financial authorities introduced a set of tight lending restrictions whereby tenants could receive jeonse loans for an increase in lease payments only, when renewing their contracts.



The restriction was introduced as part of the government's measures to control soaring household debt and freeze the housing bubble here.



Nevertheless, with Yoon set to take office in less than two months, expectations are that such tight lending rules will be eased at a rapid pace soon after he comes to power.



Other major lenders are also moving to follow in the footsteps of Woori. Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank are each considering relaxing their own jeonse lending rules, although neither has made any announcements yet.



The deregulatory stance of the incoming administration comes as a boon to banks, as they are widely expected to maximize their profits by generating more loan-to-deposit margins by expanding loan sales.



With the U.S. Fed having started increasing its key rate and hinting at the possibility of taking a more hawkish monetary policy, market watchers expect the Bank of Korea to increase its benchmark rate further  at least twice by the end of this year.



Such hopes helped bank stocks achieve a New Year rally until early February. After hitting a bottom in early March due to escalating geopolitical risks, shares of major financial groups have bounced slightly back recently.



However, one stumbling block is Yoon's pledge to force banks to announce their loan-to-deposit ratio on a regular basis. This is aimed at helping customers access the information easily when borrowing money, while blocking banks from generating excessive interest margins at this period of monetary tightening.



Industry officials, however, expressed concerns over the regulatory drive.



"Banks have so far provided loan products under the market logic, but chances are the regulation may end up distorting the market," an official from the finance industry said. "On top of that, the loan-to-deposit margin is a major business model for banks. There is nothing strange for banks to maximize their profitability, as listed firms do so to satisfy their shareholders."


Beach Moss Development & Consulting LLC managing member Greg Moss hands information packets in support of a sewer reservation request to Beaufort commissioners Monday at the board meeting in the Beaufort train depot. Commissioners voted to approve the request. (Contributed photo)
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The search for Russian oligarchs in B.C. could be much swifter should the provincial government enact more robust measures for corporate transparency, says the executive director of Transparency International Canada.

B.C. has taken the lead among Canadian provinces by creating a public registry for beneficial ownership of residential properties, James Cohen told Glacier Media.

But the province has still left barriers in place for the public, including journalists and non-government organizations, he said.

The transparency advocate noted B.C. does not have a public registry for corporate beneficial ownership. The province only requires companies to maintain a record of beneficial ownership that can be obtained by officials.

Beneficial owners are those who ultimately control an asset, which can commonly be held in another entity, such as a trust or numbered company  known as a nominee. This poses barriers to financial crime investigations.

The Ministry of Finance said earlier this month it had conducted its own search for sanctioned Russian oligarchs following the invasion of Ukraine.

With a preliminary analysis, there was no clear indication of property owned by those named on the federal sanctions list. Federal investigation bodies have more tools and access to a broader array of information than is available at a provincial level, stated a ministry spokesperson.

There is, however, consultation taking place to create a registry for corporate beneficial ownership. A date for when it will be up and running has not been given. The Canadian government has committed to creating a national registry in 2025 that could be harmonized with any provincial ones.

As it stands, the B.C. public is only privy to the existing online service that shows directors of companies. That service  BC OnLine  does not allow for a reverse search of individuals.

The fact that you can't even search directors, let alone beneficial ownership information, which is what we're calling for, that's a huge issue, said Cohen.

Meanwhile, to search B.C.'s Land Owner Transparency Registry (LOTR), users will have to pay a $5 fee. Critics say the fee puts a chilling effect on public searches.

It might sound like it's common sense that even $5 for a search is OK. But in reality, that deters civil society, and even journalists from looking... You add up a few searches, and then that becomes costly, said Cohen.

The land registry has been delayed by one year to provide existing reporting bodies (trusts, numbered companies and partnerships) that own land to better familiarize themselves with the new system.

And while the LOTR will shed at least some light on beneficial ownership of B.C. corporations, it will only apply to those who own residential property.

Another problem with the land registry is a lack of proactive enforcement, said Cohen.

One thing B.C. has got is the land ownership registry, that no one else in Canada has even though theres legislation for it in Ontario that's just sitting around. But there's gaps in the B.C. registry as well, especially the pay the $5 paywall, and lack of data verification and proactive review by the registrar, said Cohen.

Without a rigorous verification and enforcement process, Cohen said the B.C. registry risks falling into the same problems as the one recently established in the United Kingdom.

They had the publicly accessible registry that at first deterred people from concealing their dirty money in the U.K. But when people started to realize that it had all these data problems  they at least didn't have the paywall  everyone caught wind, and just started re-registering companies in the U.K., explained Cohen.

In response to criticism of the registry's initial rollout, a Ministry of Finance spokesperson said the fees align with existing land title searches.

Access to information in the Land Owner Transparency Registry and the Corporate Registry strike a balance between public transparency and the protection of private information. Importantly, law enforcement, such as the RCMP, have full access to both registries and their information, said the ministry.

Such public registries, if implemented rigorously, are key to anti-money laundering regimes, notes Cohen.

"I think the Russian invasion of Ukraine has kind of woken up the West of the fact that, you know, the amount of dirty money going around in the world and the systems of global illicit financial flows is something we've kind of been going easy on for a long time. We should have been making a lot of these changes a decade ago," said Cohen.

The Land Owner Transparency Act, which oversees the registry, also does not include commercial and industrial lands nor land under Indigenous title.

Cohen said a registry for commercial property is also needed.

It's definitely equally a vulnerability. The reason why we've been focusing, I think most Canadians focus so much on [residential] real estate, is the impact on housing prices that dirty money flows have, said Cohen.

According to expert testimony at the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in B.C., there should be no public fees for such registries.

Cohen said he expects the commission to provide guidance to the government on best practices.

The ministry also said as much: The government is waiting to receive the Cullen Commissions final report before making a decision on the potential for a public registry of beneficial ownership for all private B.C. companies.
Photo: Darren Stone / Times Colonist Victoria police officers check vehicles at a roadblock on Superior Street near Douglas Street as police closed off James Bay to all but local traffic on Saturday.

Victoria police are bracing for another Saturday protest and slow-rolling convoy around the legislature today, and have set up checkpoints to limit the number of vehicles in the area.

In an online post, Const. Cam McIntyre noted the department respects the right to protest, but is not about to make it easy for a convoy that has disrupted the James Bay area for eight consecutive weekends.

In order to control the amount of traffic in the area, police have set up controlled access points around the legislature precinct designed to limit traffic into James Bay to local vehicles only.

McIntyre said no one is stopping anyone from protesting at the legislature, but he stressed that protesters would have to get there on foot, by bicycle or via B.C. Transit.

This is meant to prevent the use of motor vehicles to impact our ability to provide an environment for safe, peaceful and lawful protest, he said.

We have had eight consecutive weeks of disruption involving motor vehicles using air horns, including modified ship horns and train horns and slow roll blockades that have had significant impact on the health, safety and well-being of residents of James Bay and those in the B.C. legislature area.

McIntyre said the stepped-up response from Victoria police was also the result of increasing conflict between convoy protesters and opposition groups and police in other cities.

The so-called B.C. Freedom Convoy was planning an Island rally on Saturday with vehicles leaving Campbell River at 6:30 a.m. and expecting to be in Victoria by 12:30 p.m.

Previous protests against COVID mandates  initially held in support of similar protests in Ottawa  have drawn thousands to the area around legislature over the past two months. Area residents have complained about persistent honking during the protests, prompting the City of Victoria to implement a direct ticketing process for unnecessary honking  horn use that isnt intended to warn of a potential danger from a vehicle.

Police and city bylaw officers can now slap honkers with immediate tickets for as much as $125, which will be reduced to $75 if paid within 30 days.

Response on social media to the checkpoints appeared to be overwhelmingly positive, with several area residents thanking police for taking action  though not everyone was in favour.
Photo: Surrey Fire Fighters Association

The Surrey Fire Department helped bring life into the world earlier this month, when a Surrey resident's baby arrived sooner than expected.

Martyka Sutor's said in an interview with CTV News Vancouver that the firefighters went above and beyond when they arrived to help deliver the couples second child.

"They just did so so amazing at keeping me calm and everything as calm as they could, but it was just great," she shared.

While she was delivering her newborn baby daughter Maia, firefighters took her 18-month-old son outside to show him the firetruck and lights.

"It was just so cool to see that they weren't just caring for me and Maia, who were the emergency, but that they were also taking the time to care for my toddler who I imagined was probably quite scared."

"So it was just so special to see that they just went above and beyond for us and just made sure that he was well taken care of too."

A few days later, the family visited the fire crews at the station, to express gratitude and say hello. They were also given a tour.

"It was just so fun to talk with the firefighters and everything, just chatting with them and seeing their take on it. They got to take some pictures with our kids which was just so special and that will be something that we will cherish forever and be able to put in Maia's baby books."

The firefighters shared their excitement in seeing Maia to their Facebook page that day.

"Its not often that firefighters respond to a medical call for assistance where we get to celebrate in a families most joyous moment," their post reads.

"However last week was one of those calls. When little Miss Maia needed some help with her dramatic debut to the world, firefighters were there to welcome her."

- With files from CTV News Vancouver
Photo: The Canadian Press Gilles de Binche performers and people talk on a street, after an incident at a carnival, in Strepy-Bracquenies, Belgium, Sunday,

A car slammed at high speed into carnival revellers in a small town in southern Belgium early Sunday, killing six people and leaving 10 more with life-threatening injuries. Several dozen were more lightly injured.

What should have been a great party turned into a tragedy, said Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden.

The prosecutor's office said that in the early stages of the investigation there were no elements to suspect a terror motive, and two locals in their thirties were arrested at the scene in Strepy-Bracquegnies, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Brussels.

In an age-old tradition, carnival revelers had gathered at dawn, intending to pick up others at their homes along the way, to finally hold their famous festivity again after it was banned for the past two years to counter the spread of COVID-19. Some dressed in colorful garb with bells attached, walking behind the beat of drums. It was supposed to be a day of deliverance.

Instead, said mayor Jacques Gobert, what happened turned it into a national catastrophe.

More than 150 people of all ages had gathered around 5 a.m. and were standing in a thick crowd along a long, straight road.

Suddenly, a car drove from the back at high speed. And we have a few dozen injured and unfortunately several people who are killed, Gobert said.

The driver and a second person were arrested when their car came to a halt a few hundred meters further on.

Since Belgium was hit with twin terror attacks in Brussels and Zaventem that killed 32 civilians six years ago, thoughts of a terror motive are never far away.

But prosecutor Damien Verheyen said there is no element in the investigation at this time that allows me to consider that the motivations of the two could have been terror related.

The prosecutor's office also denied media reports that the crash may have been caused by a car that was being chased by police.

King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo were expected in Strepy-Bracquegnies later Sunday to express support for the families and victims.

Carnival is extremely popular in the area and the nearby version in Binche has even been declared UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Two more Conservative MPs joined the party's leadership roster Sunday, with Ontario's Scott Aitchison and British Columbia's Mark Dalton launching their campaigns.

Aitchison, 49, chose a craft brewery in his hometown of Huntsville, Ont., for his opening event, promising to bring an end to the hyper-partisan antics and political games that are the norm now in Canadian politics.

"More partisan bickering is simply not the answer," he said, as an energetic crowd waved colourful signs simply printed with the word "Scott" on them.

"Solving problems requires real leadership. I've been in Parliament now two terms. And I am dismayed by the energy wasted on political games, instead of getting things done. What's missing in Ottawa is leadership."

He promised a campaign free of attacks on his opponents that focuses on the economy, national and global security, climate change and housing.

Dalton, 61, did his launch on Twitter, saying in a posted video that one of his first actions as leader will be to initiate a public inquiry into how the federal Liberals handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dalton accused the Liberals of using pandemic contracts to line the pockets of their friends, making decisions based on politics rather than public health, and ignoring evidence about vaccine injuries to push ahead with "coercive measures to get people vaccinated."

Both men were first elected to the House of Commons in 2019. Aitchison previously served as a councillor and then mayor in Huntsville, and Dalton as a B.C. Liberal MLA.

Their entrance means there are now four sitting MPs running, including Pierre Poilievre and Leslyn Lewis.

There are now eight candidates in total, with the four sitting MPs joined by former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Brampton, Ont., Mayor Patrick Brown, independent Ontario MPP Roman Baber and Saskatchewan businessman Joseph Bourgault.

The Conservatives are choosing their third leader in five years after Erin O'Toole was voted out of the job by the Conservative caucus in early February.

The candidates have until April 19 to enter the race and until June 3 to sell memberships. The vote will take place Sept. 10.

Aitchison's pledge not to run a campaign of attacks is in stark contrast to much of what has been happening in the race so far.

Brown and Poilievre went at each other directly on Twitter last week after Brown accused Poilievre of supporting "discriminatory policies" that target immigrants while a cabinet minister in 2015.

He referred specifically to Poilievre's support for a ban against women wearing a niqab during citizenship ceremonies, which was a policy of the former Conservative government that was eventually struck down by the courts.

In response Poilievre accused Brown of outright "lies" about everything from the niqab ban policy, to his position on carbon taxes and Ontario's new sex-ed curriculum.

Poilievre in turn has levied sharp attacks at Charest, a former Progressive Conservative party leader nationally who led the provincial Liberals in Quebec. Poilievre has said Charest is not a true Conservative.

Poilievre, with endorsements from 44 current Conservative MPs, is considered the front-runner in the contest, well eclipsing caucus endorsements for Charest, who has nine, and Brown and Lewis who both have two.

On Saturday, Brown got a big endorsement boost from Calgary MP Michelle Rempel Garner, who had declined to endorse anyone in either of the last two contests.

Aitchison's sole MP endorsement Sunday came from Kenora MP Eric Melillo.
As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, China is quietly distancing itself from Moscow as its economy is being slammed with sanctions from the US and its allies.

Last month, both countries proclaimed that their friendship had "no limits." That was before Russia launched its war in Ukraine.

Beijing has refused to condemn Russia's attack on Ukraine but wants to avoid being impacted by the sanctions it has repeatedly denounced as an ineffective way of resolving the crisis, CNN reported.

Fears that Chinese companies could face US sanctions over ties with Russia had contributed to an epic sell-off in Chinese stocks in recent days. That slump was reversed on Wednesday when Beijing promised it would pursue policies to boost its sputtering economy and keep financial markets stable.

US officials told CNN that they have information suggesting China has expressed some openness to providing Russia with requested military and financial assistance. China dismissed that as "disinformation."

Citing analysts, CNN reported that China is attempting to strike "a delicate balance" between supporting Russia rhetorically but without further antagonizing the United States.

Chinese banks cannot afford to lose access to US dollars, and many Chinese industries cannot afford to be deprived of US technology.

The most significant help China could offer Russia is through the USD 90 billion worth of reserves Moscow holds in Chinese yuan, wrote Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for the Asia Pacific at Natixis, in a research report, according to CNN.

It further reported that Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov this week said that the country wanted to use yuan reserves after Moscow was blocked from accessing US dollars and euros.

Following the invasion of Ukraine, the World Bank has halted all its programs in Russia and Belarus. It hadn't approved any new loans or investments to Russia since 2014, and none to Belarus since 2020.

According to CNN, more surprisingly, is the decision by the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to do the same. In a statement earlier this month, it said it was suspending all its activities related to Russia and Belarus "as the war in Ukraine unfolds." The move was "in the best interests" of the bank, it added.

The AIIB's decision to suspend activities in Russia means USD 1.1 billion of approved or proposed lending aimed at improving the country's road and rail networks is now on hold, CNN reported.

On Friday (local time), US President Joe Biden held a video call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and warned China of implications and consequences if Beijing provides material support to Russia.

"President Biden detailed our efforts to prevent and then respond to the invasion, including by imposing costs on Russia. He described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians," a White House readout informed.

Meanwhile, the two leaders agreed that a diplomatic solution to the present conflict in Ukraine is the most desirable outcome as of now.

(ANI)

Also Read: Ukraine's Defense Council stopped activity of several political parties: Zelenskyy
As the political turmoil in Pakistan continues to exacerbate, rights groups have warned that democratic institutions in the country are facing a new threat.

Opposition political parties this month sought a no-confidence motion in parliament to remove Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Government officials responded by threatening violence and briefly detaining two members of parliament (MPs). The situation risks spiraling into a dangerous confrontation.

Under Pakistan's constitution, the prime minister ceases to hold office if the majority of the members of the National Assembly vote for a motion of no confidence. The government has announced that this vote will be held on March 28.

On March 10, police stormed the parliamentarians' apartments in Islamabad and detained two opposition MPs along with several other opposition activists. The police alleged that volunteers from the opposition Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam F (JUI-F) had entered the apartments without permission.

All were released within hours. Four days later, Federal Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan threatened to "blow up the opposition in a suicide attack." Shahbaz Gill, a special assistant to the prime minister, said that photographs of "traitors" - meaning any members of ruling Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party who votes against Khan - would be displayed in cities so people could identify them.

Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry suggested that supporters would come to Islamabad on voting day and warned that anyone who wishes to vote against Khan would "have to pass through these people on their way in and out of the Parliament building." In response, the opposition Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM) called on its own supporters to also gather in Islamabad, setting the stage for a potentially violent confrontation.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the government has a responsibility to uphold the constitution and allow for voting without threats or violence on the no-confidence motion. "Both the government and opposition should send a strong message to their supporters not to subvert the democratic process or sway the vote through intimidation or other criminal acts," the rights watchdog added.

It further emphasised that parliamentary voting is a core democratic principle and attempts to obstruct it risk further undermining an institution vital to representative government and the rule of law.

Against this backdrop, Pakistan's opposition leaders have threatened to stage a "sit-in" in the lower house and disrupt the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit, if the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan is not presented in the National Assembly on Monday, the deadline for tabling the resolution.

If the opposition stages a sit-in then an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit that is scheduled to take place there on the same day will be hampered.

According to the rules, the resolution, "shall not be voted upon before the expiry of three days, or later than seven days." Therefore, the speaker must call the lower house in session by March 22, while voting on the no-confidence motion must take place between three and seven days after the session is summoned.

However, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday that he had been receiving reports of the NA speaker intending to go against the Constitution, law and rules of the house regarding the no-trust move, Dawn reported.

"But if the speaker's non-democratic thinking [comes in the way] ... and he doesn't move the no-confidence motion by Monday, then I will propose within in my party and to other opposition parties as well not to leave the hall," he warned.

(ANI)

Also Read: Afghanistan: Since January, some 13,000 newborns died from malnutrition, hunger-related diseases
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol / Korea Times photo



By Kang Seung-woo



Amid signs of North Korea abandoning its self-restraint in regards to testing long-range missiles and nuclear weapons, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's pledge to take a tougher stance and bolster South Korea's deterrence against its northern neighbor  in close cooperation with the United States  is likely to prolong the period of non-engagement between the two Koreas under his new administration.



Furthermore, Yoon has filled the foreign policy subcommittee of his transition team with officials from the former Lee Myung-bak government, who pursued confrontational policies that almost pushed the two Koreas to the brink of war.



With the new conservative administration to be inaugurated in May, Pyongyang is likely to test how much bandwidth the Yoon administration will allow in dealing with its provocative actions, and diplomatic observers say how the new government responds to this initial saber-rattling will set the tone for inter-Korean interactions for the next five years.



"Relations between the two Koreas once President-elect Yoon takes office will entirely depend on Pyongyang," said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a professor of international relations at King's College London.



"If North Korea goes down the test route, then I would expect the Yoon government to focus on deterrence, sanctions and denunciation of Pyongyang's human rights abuses above all. This would strain relations," he said.



Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst now with the RAND Corporation, said that the Kim Jong-un regime will renew tensions on the Korean Peninsula and watch for the response from the new South Korean government.



Traditionally, North Korea has attempted to gauge the response of new South Korean administrations with weapons demonstrations.



"Kim may seek to test the limits of the Yoon administration with provocations of varying intensity," Soo Kim said.






It is an honor to write in gratitude for the life and the scholarship of Pope Benedict XVI, as he embarks upon his 96th year. His Jesus of Nazareth is, in my opinion, by far the greatest modern meditation upon the person, the life, and the words of the Lord, affirming all that any orthodox Christian in any age has believed of him. It transcends, though it makes use of the discoveries and insights of modern scholarship, all the many attempts in the last two hundred years to give us a Jesus that is tamed, so to speak, and stripped of divinity  a false Jesus, the idol of a passing age.

His The Spirit of the Liturgy likewise far transcends the bitter warfare in the Church between those who, as he himself does, accept tradition with humble gratitude, and those who feel that same tradition as a straitjacket upon their expressions of devotion.

Indeed, the possibility of such transcendence is what the Holy Father desires to return to the consciousness of the modern Catholic, as it reflects the mutual self-communication, the going-out and the returning, of the inner life of the Trinity. Not for Benedict is the modernist embarrassment with the Trinity  which is not an addendum to our faith, but its inmost heart and soul.

If I turn to Eschatology, volume 9 in the Dogmatic Theology he wrote with Johann Auer, I find his usual calm and yet brilliant historical and theological insights on page after page, as when he shows how and why the people of Israel, by the gradual self-revelation of the God who is not like the myth-ridden deities of Israels neighbors, come slowly to see that suffering death can be more and other than deprivation; they can be 'the proper path of someone who belongs to God, and, treading that path in suffering, the servant of God can open to others the door to life as their savior.'

Benedict thus wishes to liberate reason from the rationalistic reduction to which it has been subject since Bacon and Descartes...

And yet I wish here to point to something that lies at the heart of all that Pope Benedict has written, something rare enough at any time, and nearly banished from the one institution in the west where it should be honored. To show what that is, I recall an anecdote at the beginning of his Regensburg Address. He was a young member of the faculty at the University of Bonn, he says, in the days when the various chairs had neither assistants nor secretaries, but in recompense there was much direct contact with students and in particular among the professors themselves. That habit of lively exchange was best embodied in the dies academicus, when the entire faculty would appear together before the students to discuss a question; and thus did the common reason of mankind and of the various disciplines of the university make itself manifest.

It is abundantly clear that Benedict enjoyed those days, and he even permits the wry jest of a skeptic to stand without condemnation, that the University of Bonn had two faculties  of theology  dedicated to the study of something that did not exist. Yet the jest ultimately turns against the skeptic, because Benedict shows, in a careful and generous reading of a dialogue written by the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus, that the worship we render to God must be deeply rational, logikos, because God Himself is the self-communicating Word, the Logos, through whom all things were made.

Benedict thus wishes to liberate reason from the rationalistic reduction to which it has been subject since Bacon and Descartes, and which has resulted in the almost complete severance of mathematics and the natural sciences from such human sciences as history and literature, let alone theology. His wish is not simply in the service of the Catholic faith as such. It is in the service of man.

For if reason is trammeled up in the empirically measurable, testable, and quantifiable, then man falls from a being made in the image of God, and is reduced to a mere material organism or thing  he becomes himself the inert matter upon which he exercises his tools.

The general result is not worthy to be called a culture.

Because Manuels dialogue was between a Christian and a Muslim  between one who believes in the eternal Word, and one who accepts the voluntarist deity of the Koran, for whom to say that God acts according to the logos is to clap fetters on the divine will  the journalists at the time wrote angry reports about how Benedict had insulted the whole Islamic world.

In general, we need people like Benedict himself, who welcomes as fellows all those who are genuinely seeking the truth, to form true universities

I doubt very much that one journalist in a hundred had the historical, literary, and theological acumen necessary to understand what Benedict was talking about. Benedict, whom I have sometimes described as the last true liberal alive in Europe, was for them a sour old man who does not accept the enlightened morality of our time, which morality is notable for its incoherence, individualistic loneliness, shrill demands for an unspecified change, and bloodshed. It never occurred to them to examine the content of what he was saying  to take up the central questions, as to what reason is, what it has to do with God, whether we have a wrong or truncated view of reason, and, if so, whether Western culture is far along its way to death.

To take up those questions, the reporters, and the many professors afterwards who expressed their outrage, would have required more than a broad and deep education in the humanities  and this is the real point of my essay. They would have required the habits and the spirit of the true scholar; the calm, the willingness to entertain questions; the care to distinguish between what someone says and the various motives  which are seldom either completely good or completely evil  for his saying it; a generosity that puts the best construction on what the opponent brings; and the humility to acknowledge ones own limitations and never to pretend that even a strong likelihood, let alone plausibility or a single instantiation or two, can constitute proof.

In other words, the journalists were not scholars. But then, in our time, neither are the scholars.

But we are in dire need of such. We need scientists humble enough to admit that even the things they subject to analysis are in part but fabrications, parts of a real thing or partial considerations of a thing, manipulated or reduced to fit the tests we want to run.

We need men and women of letters generous enough to be open to the wisdom that comes from people who did not accept our political and moral assumptions, scholars who will find beauty and truth in Milton or Dante because they are there to be found, and who will be grateful when they find it.

In general, we need people like Benedict himself, who welcomes as fellows all those who are genuinely seeking the truth, to form true universities, and not snake-pits of political hatred and strife, or vast bureaucratic entities with the name  but neither the spirit nor the reality  of a university, whose faculties hardly ever speak to one another, because they do not believe, in the end, that there is anything to say. Thus must the Church, once again, return man to himself.
Noted evangelist Max Lucado offers a Sunday School lesson but this time it is aimed at churches instead of parishioners. He wants everybody to remember the main thing: John 3:16 is one of the most recognizable verses in the Bible, comprising a mere 26 words. Its message is one that author and pastor Max Lucado doesnt want people to forget.

In his New York Times bestseller, 3:16, The Numbers of Hope, Lucado is a man on a mission to let the world know that Christ-followers have been given the assignment of telling the good news. And it is this simple: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Jesus in no way desires for any of us to miss out on this invitation, but he allows us to choose, he explained in this excerpt of an interview with Maina Mwaura of The Baptist News last month.

The invitation comes in the form of eternal life, and it comes through his willingness to give his one and only son.

It begins with God so loved the world. He loved the world in a way that prompted him to share what we needed, a sacrifice for our sins. The consequence of saying yes to his invitation is eternal life. The consequence of rejecting that sacrifice is that we perish. So, John 3:16, I view as such a treasure because its a table of contents for the Christian hope. Yeah. Every word will lead us into a whole discussion of these big ideas, these great ideas of the gospel.

Even in an interview, Maina writes, (Lucado) is preaching his message of gospel hope. This is a message he received loud and clear as a college student and that consequently changed his life. Lucado grew up in Texas and desired to attend a state school. However, his father said he would only pay for him to attend a Christian school  the furthest thing from the young Lucados mind.

By the time I was 18, I was a serious drinker, he explained in The Baptist News. I often would say I was a six-pack-a-night guy. Maybe that is an overstatement, but I was a heavy drinker, a serious partier. I tended to get into fights, and most tragically, I was disrespectful toward women. I would not want my daughters to date the 18-year-old version of myself.

My dad made me an offer. I wanted to go to the University of Texas. I grew up in Texas, and I wanted to go there. My friends were all going there, and back then, it was a lot more affordable. My dad knew that I would not be any different than I was if I had gone there. I needed a different environment or peer group.

So his father offered an alternative. There was this delightful little liberal arts college called Abilene Christian University, a great school. My dad knew they had mandatory Bible courses and chapel; he knew I needed something different. Nothing happened in any visible means for about a year and a half. I still ran with a bad crowd.

I still did things for which Im very ashamed, but I was going to those Bible classes, little by little. Those Bible classes really changed me. I was hearing the stories of Jesus.

As time went by, he began to change. I had two or three professors who I found to be very honest, good men, and little by little, I worked my way from the back of the class to the front of the class. By the end of my sophomore year, I was experiencing a true heart change, which culminated in a church service in March of my sophomore year where a preacher explained the gospel. I went home and made a commitment to Christ in that service.

His goal now is to tell others how they, too, can be changed. Yet he fears that with the cultural and political climate churches currently find themselves in, they may have lost focus on the simple message of John 3:16.

Were on the brink of forgetting the gospel, and we get tangled up in critical conversations, but secondary conversations, he told The Baptist News. The gospel is God so loved the world, that whoever believes in him. I think thats the answer right there. You believe him. I believe in him. Then were brothers, period. No questions asked. We may have to figure out how to get along. But if you believe and I believe, then were part of the same family. Were siblings.

John 3:16 is like a chlorine tablet in the swimming pool of society that can be plunged, just dropped into the conversation. Churches nowadays are being co-opted by political groups or by people who have certain ideological agendas. They want to get the message away from the core message. And the core message is always John 3:16.

* * *

John 3:16 is the sixteenth verse of the third chapter of the Gospel of John, one of the four gospels of the New Testament of the Bible. Deemed one of the most popular verses from the Bible, it has been considered to be a summary of the central doctrines of Christianity:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  John 3:16 (King James version)

royexum@aol.com
Katy Perry co-wrote a song with a major songwriter.

People dressing up like Elvis Presley inspired a line from the song.

The song became an international hit.

Elvis Presley | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Elvis Presleys songs are very different from Katy Perrys songs. Despite this, people dressing up like Elvis helped inspire one of Perrys hits. Notably, Bon Jovi has a connection to the song.

A famous songwriter told Katy Perry she should write songs that reflect her true self

Desmond Child is a famous songwriter. Hes worked on hits such as Bon Jovis You Give Love a Bad Name, Kiss I Was Made for Lovin You, and Alice Coopers Poison. During a 2014 interview with The Tennessean, he said he felt Perry she should write songs that reflected her true self.

He recalled writing an unreleased song called My Last Cry with Perry. It was kind of an angry, Alanis Morissette-type style that she had mastered, he recalled. It was very dark and modern. But then when we werent writing the song, she was a barrel of laughs. She was so much fun  I said, Why arent we writing songs like how you really are?'

RELATED: Josh Groban Spit Out His Coffee When He Heard a Hit Katy Perry Song Was About Him

An Elvis Presley-themed wedding inspired Katy Perrys Waking Up in Vegas

Perry and Child co-wrote a pop song called Waking Up in Vegas with Andreas Carlsson. One of the inspirations for the second verse, which is We get married dressed up like Elvis  my good friend Obie OBrien and his wife, Denise, theyre very close with us because hes Bon Jovis engineer, Child said. When they got married, Jon [Bon Jovi], behind their backs, flew everybody, including every grandma, everybody in their whole lives, to Vegas, and they all were dressed as Elvis. When they walked into the chapel, everybody was dressed like Elvis, from all different periods, including the littlest kids, with pompadours and all that. Thats where I got the idea.

RELATED: This Singer Said Elvis Presley Was a Good Person Because of 1 Thing He Did When He Recorded Songs

The way listeners in the United States and the United Kingdom reacted to Waking Up in Vegas

Waking Up In Vegas became a hit in the United States. It reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 23 weeks. The track appeared on Perrys album One of the Boys. One of the Boys reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200, remaining on the chart for 92 weeks.

Waking Up in Vegas became a more modest hit in the United Kingdom. According to The Official Charts Company, the song reached No. 19 in the U.K. and remained on the chart for 18 weeks. Meanwhile, One of the Boys peaked at No. 11 there and stayed on the chart for 72 weeks.

Waking Up in Vegas was a hit for Perry and it wouldnt be the same without the King of Rock n Roll.

RELATED: Did the Singer of the Original I Kissed a Girl Think Katy Perry Stole Her Idea?
Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 2 is approaching its final episode, and fans are eager to see where the anime will leave things in the finale. Although many expected this outing to wrap the series, thats looking less and less likely with how much of Hajime Isayamas manga is left to adapt. Still, we wont know where things stand until the next installment arrives. So, whats the release date and time for Attack on Titan Episode 87?

Screenshot of Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 2 | Hajime Isayama/Kodansha

RELATED: Attack on Titan Episode 85 Features 1 of the Animes Coolest Team-Ups Yet

Attack on Titan Episode 87  or episode 12 of season 4 part 2  will stick with the animes Sunday release schedule. However, it will be delayed by one week. According to the Attack on Titan website, the finale will be broadcast in Japan on April 3 instead of March 27. This is due to a special program that will air during the animes usual time slot.

As for when the next installment will drop on streaming platforms, the time doesnt appear to have changed from Attack on Titan Episode 86. That means fans can expect episode 87 in the afternoon on Sunday, April 3. Heres when it drops in the following time zones:

PST: 1:45 p.m.

CST: 3:45 p.m.

EST: 4:45 p.m.

GMT: 8:45 p.m.

CET: 9:45 p.m

With the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, fans are no doubt eager to get their hands on Attack on Titan Episode 87. The extra week in between episodes makes that wait even more excruciating. But where can fans tune in when the next installment finally does arrive?

Where to watch new episodes of Attack on Titan

This is your reminder that a new Attack on Titan episode airs later today pic.twitter.com/v1CFqdWsDl  Crunchyroll  #AnimeNextLevel (@Crunchyroll) March 13, 2022

RELATED: Attack on Titan: 2 Dub Cast Members Still Dont Know the Ending

Following Attack on Titans broadcast in Japan, episode 87 will debut on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu. New episodes appear on each platform at the times listed above.

Each of these streaming services requires a subscription. So, if youre working through season 4 for the first time, youll have to purchase one to enjoy the new installments.

Hulu subscriptions total $6.99 per month, Crunchyroll subscriptions begin at $7.99 per month, and Funimation starts at $5.99 per month. (Its worth noting that Crunchyroll and Funimation are in the process of combining their platforms.)

Regardless of which streamer fans use to watch the Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 2 finale, they can count on one thing: this chapter going out with a bang. What exactly can fans expect from episode 87 when it arrives?

What to expect when episode 87 arrives

Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 2 has been building to a confrontation between the alliance and Eren, and theyre likely to reach him before this episode 87 is through. Whether hell be willing to hear his friends out  or force them to resort to other measures of stopping the Rumbling  remains to be seen.

Many are doubtful that this finale will actually conclude the series, since theres no way the anime could adapt the remaining chapters of the manga in one 24-minute installment. Theres also the possibility of an anime-original ending. However, we wont know if thats on the table until the next episode airs.

The preview for Attack on Titan Episode 87, which will be titled The Dawn of Humanity, doesnt reveal much about how things play out for the alliance. Instead, it takes viewers back to Erens initial meeting with Zeke, reminding them that everything had been willed by him.

If nothing else, that promises to tie together everything thats happened so far. Crunchyroll also released a trailer for the finale, teasing the ultimate battle and potential character deaths.

It sounds like episode 87 has a lot of work to do, especially if it does actually conclude the series. Well have to wait until April 3 to see how it manages to bring it all together. Hopefully, itll prove a satisfying ending  either to season 4 part 2 or to the anime overall.

RELATED: Attack on Titan Season 4 May Present Mikasa Ackerman With an Impossible Decision
This year, Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee, which marks her 70th year on the throne. However, like many other 95-year-olds in the world, Her Majesty is experiencing some health issues. Nevertheless, some royal experts believe she is trying to not show weakness in public.

Queen Elizabeth II | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth has been battling health issues

In October 2021, the queen spent some time in a hospital. Although the palace did not release details about her health condition, she did cancel a trip to Northern Ireland. According to a spokesperson, she was also advised by her doctor to rest for at least the next two weeks and take on light, desk-based duties.

Then, in February 2022, Queen Elizabeth tested positive for COVID-19. Fortunately, she experienced mostly mild, cold-like symptoms, according to the palace.

Nonetheless, many onlookers are concerned about her health. Some people even believe she has been looking frail these past few months.

Queen Elizabeth is trying to not show weakness, royal experts say

RELATED: Queen Elizabeth Has a Not Normal Way of Eating Meat, According to Former Butler

On Mail Plus series Palace Confidential, a panel of royal experts recently discussed Her Majestys health conditions. Although the queen is now using a walking stick, it seems like she is still trying to avoid showing weakness to the public. The experts believe she might never take it a step further and use other mobility devices, such as a wheelchair.

I have to say, personally, I think its incredibly unlikely we will ever see her in some kind of a wheelchair, journalist Rebecca English said. Not that theres anything wrong with it, but the queen is a woman of her generation. Shes very proud. Shes never really liked to make concessions to her age, although she is doing that now, reluctantly, by using a walking stick.

Author and historian Tessa Dunlop also noted that many people of Queen Elizabeths generation follow the stiff upper lip policy and do not like to own or flaunt your weaknesses.

Meanwhile, The Mail on Sundays editor Charlotte Griffiths commented that the queens role in the monarchy is to be the most steadfast pillar and that is the image people want to remember her as.

Queen Elizabeth takes service to her country very seriously

Queen Elizabeth II Tests Positive for COVID-19 https://t.co/KLQE5kT8eI  The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 20, 2022

Although Queen Elizabeth is at the age when most people have retired already, she is still carrying on with her duties. This is because Her Majestys job revolves around service to her countrymen, and she takes this role very seriously.

During her 21st birthday in 1947, the then-Princess Elizabeth told her people, I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.

Author Matthew Dennison also wrote in the book The Queen, As throughout a life in which she had consistently honoured her fathers belief that the highest of distinctions is the service of others, she had placed the monarchy first, safeguarding its mission of service and duty that could never, she was certain, be a part-time calling.

RELATED: Queen Elizabeth II Had a Spoiled Childhood But There Was 1 Thing Her Family Refused to Give Her
While Samuel L. Jacksons role in Jurassic Park as Ray Arnold is small, he certainly makes an impact. His quote, Hold on to your butts, is iconic amongst fans of the franchise. Unfortunately, its strongly hinted at that Arnold got eaten some velociraptors. However, Jackson likes to believe that his Jurassic Park character may still be alive.

Samuel L. Jackson originally had a death scene in Jurassic Park

Samuel L. Jackson | Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Tyler Perry Studios

In Jurassic Park, Arnold is the chain-smoking computer engineer who helps operate the park. When the power goes out, he ventures out to get the power back on. We dont see him again, until Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) finds his severed arm. It looks like Arnold was devoured by some velociraptors off-screen.

However, Jackson says that his character originally had a death scene in the film. It ended up being canceled so director Steven Spielberg killed his character off-screen. In an interview with the AV Club, Jackson said that his death scene was changed due to a storm.

I was actually supposed to go to Hawaii, to shoot my death scene, Jackson said. But there was a hurricane that destroyed all the sets. So I didnt get to go to Hawaii.

Jackson believes his character is riding around on Velociraptors somewhere

Tomorrow on #happysadconfused2 guests for the price of 1!



Its @SamuelLJackson!



Plus Sebastian Stan!



Subscribe here: https://t.co/QkQKxPhoCm  Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) March 15, 2022

Its most likely that Arnold became dinosaur dinner. Still, Jackson likes to believe that this character is still alive. In an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Jackson is asked about the idea of returning to Star Wars as the Jedi Knight, Mace Windu. Jackson believes the Jedi is alive somewhere, and also brings up his Jurassic Park character.

Its the same way I think about the dude from Jurassic Park, Jackson said. Hes somewhere riding around on velociraptors with one arm. Hes just on that island riding raptors.

Arnold did die off-screen which means that there is a sliver of hope that hes still alive. Even so, he wasnt present on the helicopter that left the island so he has been stranded for a while on that island trying to survive dinosaurs with only one arm.

Jurassic World: Dominion is bringing back original cast members, but Jackson wont be there

Jurassic World: Dominion is bringing back three of the cast member from the first Jurassic Park. Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill will be returning to help Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard stop the dinosaurs that are now loose in the world. The first trailer features some beautiful landscapes of dinosaurs roaming free, while humanity tries to avoid being eaten.

Unfortunately, it doesnt look like Jacksons Arnold will be revived for this adventure.

He is still involved in massive franchises, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jackson has portrayed Nick Fury in several films and will do so again in the upcoming Secret Invasion series coming to Disney+. Currently, you can catch Jackson starring in the lead role on The Last Days of Ptomely Grey, now streaming on Apple TV+.

Jurassic Park is currently streaming on HBO Max.

RELATED: Samuel L. Jackson Cant Believe Jonah Hill Beat Him For Most Onscreen Profanity, Thats Some Bulls***
Teen Mom 2 series regular Kailyn Lowry reportedly stopped filming after discovering MTV signed her ex, Chris Lopez, to a contract. She already clarified why the signing upset her in an August 2021 Instagram story.

Teen Mom 2 regular, Kailyn Lowry | Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Kailyn Lowry reportedly quit Teen Mom 2

When Teen Mom 2 returned on March 8, one of the stories revolved around series regular Kailyn Lowry, per usual. A producer approached her during the first episode about her seemingly flirty co-parenting relationship with her ex-husband Javi Marroquin.

However, she insisted none of it came from her and claims theyre only cordial. She also refused to talk about ex Chris Lopez, who fathered her two youngest sons.

RELATED: Teen Mom 2: Kailyn Lowry Posts About Being Tired of Fighting Amid Chris Lopez Drama

When prodded, the Pride Over Pity author claimed their situation is difficult for her because she doesnt have Chriss support for their children. Kailyn claimed they tried third-party handoffs but noted nothing seems to work.

She also commented on her decision to sue co-star Briana DeJesus for defamation of character, claiming shes tired of the lies. The podcast host was barely featured in the next episode as it ended with a title card revealing the regular stopped filming after discovering Chris got involved with the show.

She has already explained why she cared about the situation

In Aug. 2021, The Ashleys Reality Roundup reported that Chris signed a contract for around $2,000 an episode on the upcoming season of Teen Mom 2.

According to a source close to Kailyn, the signing bothered the reality star, who angrily reached out to producers after hearing about the contract. The insider claimed Kailyn felt disrespected by production for signing Chris without first warning her and didnt want her ex cashing in on what she perceives as an opportunity she created.

A day after the news broke, a follower asked Kailyn if the signing truly upset her or if she was actually not affected by it. The Delaware native answered on her Instagram story, insisting, I dont give one single f what Chris does.

However, she clarified she does care about how it was handled and how I found out. Additionally, she noted the lack of respect people have for me after 12 years of doing this show as another reason why the contract offering upset her.

She reportedly quit after ex Chris Lopez became involved with the show

During the March 15 episode, Briana decided to meet up with Kailyns ex Chris, shortly after her co-star served her with a lawsuit for defamation of character.

Referring to the move as white privilege, the Florida native agreed to do a podcast with Chris, insisting it had nothing to do with getting under Kailyns skin. When the two talked, he opened up about his co-parenting relationship with his ex, claiming he doesnt like the custody agreement and can only see his children when he and Kailyn are on good terms.

Will Kail and Chris be able to come to a compromise? The #TeenMom2 season finale begins at 8/7c on @MTV. pic.twitter.com/JDs1JKBLTc  Teen Mom (@TeenMom) July 20, 2021

Throughout the conversation, he referred to Kailyn as they and admitted the custody battle caused him to become angry. Therefore, he has decided to get therapy.

After the episode showed Briana and Chris recording for his podcast, the title card revealing Kailyns decision to stop filming appeared. Its unclear if her choice is permanent or if she will return to the franchise at some point. Teen Mom 2 airs Tuesdays on MTV.

RELATED: Teen Mom: Kailyn Lowrys Ex Chris Lopez Would Consider Filming Special With Other Fathers
Teen Mom 2 regular Kailyn Lowry has two kids with Chris Lopez, but the two havent had an amicable relationship. During season 11, their co-parenting situation is explored, and he expressed frustration regarding the set-up to co-star Briana DeJesus. Kailyn responded to his comments after the show, including him referring to her as they in a lengthy statement.

Kailyn Lowry at the 2016 MTV Movie Awards | Gregg DeGuire/WireImage/Getty Images

Chris Lopez discussed Kailyn Lowrys co-parenting relationship during Teen Mom 2 Season 11 Episode 2

Series regular Briana DeJesus and Kailyn Lowrys ex Chris Lopez, who fathered her two youngest kids, met up in Philadelphia to record an episode of his podcast together.

Before recording, they discussed what they planned to talk about, and Briana noted she preferred not to say anything about Kailyn as theyre currently in a lawsuit. He claimed he didnt know his ex sued the Florida native and explained his experiences with a lawyer.

RELATED: Teen Mom: Family Reunion: Kailyn Lowry Responds to Deleted Scene: Run Me My Check

According to Chris, he felt like he paid an attorney for no reason and has since represented himself. Briana commended him for getting a custody agreement without legal counsel, but the Delaware native said he wasnt happy with the situation.

He noted he only sees his children every other week for a certain amount of time and wants to hang out with them without a set schedule.

Lowry responded to her ex referring to her as they and other comments he made

The podcast host then claimed hes allowed to see his kids when hes good with them but said it changes when they get into their feelings. Chris also said hes attempted to play nice but has gotten fed up.

Following the episode, the Delaware native responded to her exs comments about her and their co-parenting situation. In a lengthy statement, she claimed his remarks didnt present the full picture and said she had to make challenging choices for herself and her kids.

She continued, Just because it wasnt as easy with Chris doesnt mean my character and feelings have changed regarding my kids relationship with their dad. Kailyn then responded to his frustration about their co-parenting relationship, pointing out, I ultimately didnt make the decision; the judge did.

Additionally, she addressed his assertions about only seeing their children when they were on good terms, claiming he wanted something from me, but his motive was never to just spend time with them. According to the reality star, her ex didnt contact the children for weeks until the courts got involved. Finally, Kailyn wondered who the they is that Chris referred to and reiterated that a judge made the final ruling on their case, not her.

Lowry reportedly quit Teen Mom 2 due to Lopezs involvement

Near the end of Teen Mom 2 Season 11 Episode 2, a title card appeared that informed the viewers of Kailyns decision to stop filming after learning that her ex became involved in the reality show.

Previously, The Ashleys Roundup reported in Aug. 2021 that Chris signed a contract to appear in the docuseries for $2,000 an episode.

Will Kail and Chris be able to come to a compromise? The #TeenMom2 season finale begins at 8/7c on @MTV. pic.twitter.com/JDs1JKBLTc  Teen Mom (@TeenMom) July 20, 2021

The publication claimed that a source close to the Teen Mom 2 regular became angry with him signing on to the show, reportedly claiming she didnt want her ex cashing in on her opportunities.

Shortly after the news broke, a fan asked Kailyn her feelings about the contract, and she claimed she didnt care about Chriss actions but felt hurt and disrespected regarding how producers handled the situation. Teen Mom 2 airs Tuesdays on MTV.

RELATED: Teen Mom: Family Reunion Renewed for Season 2: Will Farrah Abraham Return?
PolitiFact debunks false claims American megachurches arent helping Ukrainians

Megachurches in the United States are doing their part to help raise funds and supplies to help those impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine despite false posts on social media, including one from a widely-followed liberal Facebook page, claiming otherwise.

In a fact check published Thursday, PolitiFact took aim at widely-shared posts on Facebook and Twitter that combine a photograph of televangelist Joel Osteens Lakewood Church in Houston and the words: Funny how we havent seen a single American megachurch offer ANYTHING to the Ukrainians

The meme described above was published by The Other 98%, a Facebook page with over 6.6 million followers known for posting memes that advance a liberal narrative, on March 5. The post was shared 22,000 times and received 40,000 likes.

Another tweet from March 14 retweeted over 2,000 times claims: Youll notice that you havent seen one multimillion dollar tax exempt MegaChurch or their grifting sinister millionaire owners sending relief or supplies to Ukrainian refugees, which isnt surprising because they dont even help U.S. citizens during times of disaster.

However, such claims are false as several megachurches  typically defined as churches with 2,000 or more members  have announced efforts to help Ukrainians. Additionally, megachurches have assisted in efforts to help those impacted by past natural disasters.

Churches with ongoing efforts to help Ukrainians include John Hagees Gateway Church in Texas, The Rock Church in San Diego, Rick Warrens Saddleback Church in Lake Forrest, California and Lakewood Church.

We rate posts that say no megachurches are raising money for Ukraine relief False, PolitiFact declared.

PolitiFact was not alone. FactCheck.org also felt the need to publish a report tackling the false posts, stating: American megachurches are actively raising funds to support Ukrainians.

On March 7, Lakewood Church shared a Facebook video featuring Osteens brother, Dr. Paul Osteen, talking about the churchs efforts to help Ukrainians.

We are doing what we can do to help partner churches in Slovakia who are helping refugees fleeing the war, Osteen says in the clip. Were looking for opportunities to work with refugees in Poland, and with our long standing partnership with Dr. Todd and Sue Price, were working inside of Ukraine to help those who are in the midst of the conflict right now.

John Osteen, Joel and Pauls father, raised donations to help build a church in Ukraine in 1996, and that church is now feeding refugees, the video says.

Similarly, Warrens Saddleback Church has deployed an advanced relief team to connect with local pastors in Ukraine and Poland caring for hundreds of Ukrainian refugees. A March 12 update from Saddlebacks Advance Relief Team details some of the work being done at a border crossing in Medyka, Poland, to help refugees who fled the invasion.

Were traveling in three large vans so we can take refugees back to Warsaw or any other stop along the way, the update reads.

The thread in all of this chaos seems to be the concept of relocation. There are - very intentionally - no refugee camps. Everybody gets transported to a local mall that functions as a distribution center. In the first room of the mall, drivers register with their ID. They give their destination and number of passengers. There seems to be an official registration system that provides some level of tracking and safety for both drivers and refugees. The danger of human trafficking at any of these arrival spots is glaringly obvious.

Saddlebacks website also invites people to help and has provided multiple updates on its efforts in the region.

The multi-site Gateway Church in Texas has established a crisis relief fund devoted to Ukraine to which it's encouraging members to donate.

The Rock Church in San Diego is working with its partner organization, Crisis Response International. The church informed PolitiFact that its in the process of establishing a Ukraine relief fund.

Crossroads Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, partners with humanitarian and disaster relief organizations Convoy of Hope and World Vision, which have operations on the ground in Ukraine.

According to the United Nations migration organization, nearly 6.5 million people have been displaced inside Ukraine, and over 3.2 million have fled the country since Russia began its invasion on Feb. 24.

The pace and magnitude of the internal displacement and refugee exodus from Ukraine, as well as resulting humanitarian needs, will only increase if the situation deteriorates, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh said, according to AFP.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday it had recorded 2,149 civilian casualties, including 816 killed and 1,333 injured.

Those dead include 152 men, 116 women, seven girls, 16 boys, 36 children and 489 adults whose sex is not yet known. But the OHCHR reported that the actual figure could be much higher."

Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes, the OHCHR statement said.

Many international Christian relief agencies, including Samaritans Purse, Slavic Gospel Association and World Help, are sending aid and helping local churches in Ukraine meet the needs of internally displaced people.
Postcard from Meersburg

Meersburg is one of those picture-perfect Old World towns.

Located in southwest Germany within the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, it sits on the shore of Lake Constance, where the borders of Austria, Germany and Switzerland meet. Meersburg, it is claimed, dates to the 7th century when a Merovingian king built a castle here. No trace of that castle exists, though a later medieval castle, the uncreatively called Old Castle, still stands with a commanding position above the much-newer lower town.

Everything here really owes its existence to the Reformation  particularly influential Swiss reformer Huldrych Zwingli  as the politics of the time drove the Roman Catholic prince-bishop of Constance, Hugo von Hohenlandenberg, from his see across the lake in 1526.

Constances loss proved to be Meersburgs gain as the prince-bishops had both temporal and ecclesiastical authority within the broader Holy Roman Empire.

One of the main landmarks is the New Palace. The spectacular baroque and rococo building with sweeping views of Lake Constance today houses a museum detailing centuries of rule by the prince-bishops.

Beyond all the quaint cobblestone streets and endless photo opportunities for the Instagram set is the Bible Gallery.

Located at the far end of the upper town in the shadow of the Roman Catholic parish church and next to the local tourism office, the somewhat overlooked museum occupies a 500-year-old former Dominican convent. Established in 1988 by the Protestant Church in Baden, a union of Lutheran and Reformed churches, it seeks to make the Bible and its message known  something that is especially needed during this time of rampant secularization.

We show visitors how the Bible influences our daily life even without us noticing it at first sight, Bible Gallery director Thea Gross said. The Bible is central to everyday life, including our calendar and our understanding of right and wrong.

Spread across galleries on multiple floors, the exhibits include countless artifacts and other objects. There are even depictions of Jewish life at the time of the Old Testament. Everything, including a replica Gutenberg press that transformed the world, is intended to have the soft touch of evangelization.

I ask children why they have Christmas holidays, Gross said. Some know Christmas, but many of them dont know.

If you go

The Bible Gallery reopens for the 2022 season on April 9. The Luther Story, a special exhibit on the life and work of Martin Luther, runs from September 17.

Visitor hours are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission fees vary but start at 3 euros (about $3.30) for children and 6 euros (about $6.64) for adults. A recently revamped self-guided audio tour is available in English.

Be sure also to visit the rococo-style chapel at the New Palace. Once the private chapel of the prince-bishops, it has been used as Meersburgs Protestant parish church since 1864. Admission is free.

Stay at either the Hotel Baren Meersburg or Hotel Weinstube Lowen.

Given its location, Meersburg is easily reached by visitors on road trips across Germany and Switzerland. Nearby Friedrichshafen Airport has flights to and from Frankfurt on German airline Lufthansa. Meanwhile, the closest international airport is 90 minutes away by car in Zurich, Switzerland.

Dennis Lennox writes a travel column for The Christian Post.




North Korea on Sunday fired four suspected shots from its multiple rocket launchers into the Yellow Sea, South Korean military officials said, the latest show of force that could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula.





South Korea's National Security Council (NSC) held an emergency vice-ministerial meeting over the four shots that fell into the western waters during a span of an hour from 7:20 a.m. from an unspecified location in South Pyongan Province, according to officials.





Park Kyung-mee, presidential office spokesperson, said the NSC meeting members stressed the need to maintain "a firm defense readiness posture" based on the South Korean military's enhanced capability and the South Korea-U.S. alliance during a time of a government power transfer.





"There were shots believed to be that of North Korea's multiple rocket launchers this morning," an official of the South Korean military said.









"We are maintaining our defense readiness posture while closely following related developments," the official added.





The multiple rocket launcher firings came amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's tests of an intercontinental ballistic missile system on Feb. 27 and March 5.





North Korea also launched an apparent ballistic missile on Wednesday, but the missile appears to have exploded in midair at an altitude of below 20 kilometers, according to South Korea. (Yonhap)


Should churches be very involved in politics?

There have been calls for Christians to be involved in politics. Many are of the opinion that a dirty political system should be sanitized by the involvement of Christians. There is another school of thought that says that Christians should not entangle themselves with the politics of this world.

This group advocates that Christians should influence culture by radiating light that will wipe away darkness through spiritual revival, and not through political influence.

Recently, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, which is one of the largest churches in Nigeria with about 32,000 branches worldwide, has released a memo to all the provinces of the church instructing the pastors to immediately establish a directorate of politics and governance. According to the memo: You are kindly requested to appoint with immediate effect a Provincial officer for your Province and also ensure that the same is done at all levels of the church  Zone, Area and Parish. The essence of this Directorate is to help coordinate the engagement of our people who are willing to be involved in politics as well as mobilise support for them when required.

It is obvious that this move is in preparation for the 2023 general elections in Nigeria. The vice president of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who is a senior pastor with the church, is interested in becoming the next president of Nigeria. Is the decision to establish a directorate of politics and governance by RCCG approved by God? Does such directorate exist in the biblical Church or is it part of ecclesiastical modernization agenda?

A member of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Mr. Dele Momodu, who is also a presidential aspirant, admonished his church to stay away from partisan politics. Naturally, I feel that I owe it a duty to tell our church leaders, and our church in general, the Gospel truth. Nothing must be done to inadvertently cause a cataclysmic storm in the House of God and the easiest way to create trouble in Nigeria today is any attempt to mix religion with politics.

Some are of the opinion that Dele Momodu by his statement is protesting against his church because he knows that he will not be the preferred candidate. But the question is whether it is right for the Church to include political departments as part of its office.

There is no doubt that God appointed and demoted kings before (Daniel 2:21). But what I am not sure of is whether God is involved in the democratic process of world politics today. The most common definition of democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

I do not think that the Church is doing the right thing by mingling its mission with the political sphere. I have observed that when Christians I know joined politics, the God in them walked away and the devil stepped in.

Nigerian politics is characterized by occultism and all manner of evil alliances that I do not consider ethical for a professed Christian to partake in. Whenever there is a democratic contest between good and evil, evil always carries the day. Even when there was open ballot voting to determine whom the Jews wanted, they voted unanimously to free Barabbas (a condemned criminal) and to crucify Jesus (Mathew 27:17).

I do understand the benefits of political power and I know that isolation from power is tantamount to isolation from the benefits of power. But how will it profit the Church? What most of us have failed to understand is that Christians should be like Christ in His earthly ministry. We should love what Christ loved, hate what Christ hated and reject what Christ rejected. Christ was emphatic when He told His disciples that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36).

If the Church must have political ambitions, it must be the ambition to fast-track the second coming of Christ for the establishment of the government of Christ on this earth, and the only way to to do that is to ensure that every soul on this planet hears the Gospel: And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Mathew 24:14).

Instead of establishing directorates of politics and governance, churches should multiply directorates of missions and evangelism to facilitate the project of reaching the unreached. That is the real change we as Christians should be interested in.
What Idaho and Texas now have in common

On Monday, Idaho passed SB 1309, known as the Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act. This makes Idaho the second state to pass a likely enforceable law protecting unborn children after a heartbeat has been detected, as early as three or four weeks after conception.

The bill beautifully states that a babys heartbeat signals rhythmically and without pause the presence of a precious and unique life, one that is independent and distinct from the mothers and one that is also worthy of our utmost protection.

In Texas, where the nations first successfully-enforced Heartbeat Act went into effect in September, the law has saved an estimated 100 babies each day and caused abortions in the state to drop by 60%. Overall, the Texas Heartbeat Act is estimated to have saved close to 20,000 babies since going into effect over six months ago. The United States lost 629,898 precious unborn babies to abortion in 2019 alone; now, thanks to the legislative action of pro-life states such as Texas and Idaho, more and more lives are being saved from joining that tragic annual statistic. In these states, the sound of their own heartbeat is all the self-defense against abortionists that unborn babies need.

The U.S. Supreme Courts upcoming decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization could overturn the legal precedent of Roe v. Wade and return jurisdiction over abortion legislation to the states, making it possible for states to protect their unborn citizens from the evils of abortion. Currently, the legal framework of Roe prevents states from enforcing pre-viability protections for the unborn; Texas and Idaho have been forced to pass laws placing enforcement in the hands of private citizens rather than the state in order to protect unborn life while the precedent of Roe still applies. According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, 26 states are certain or likely to protect the unborn with either currently unenforceable laws that will go into effect in the event that Roe is overturned or by passing similar legislation once it is overturned.

Overturning Roe will make it possible for states to pass laws protecting unborn life without the threat of a Supreme Court challenge or being forced to incorporate the private enforcement mechanisms utilized by Texas and now Idaho. This means the state could enforce their life-protecting laws and provide an even more thorough defense for the unborn.

The Idaho bill follows the unique enforcement mechanism of the Texas law with one clear difference. While the Texas law allows any citizen to bring legal action against anyone who carried out an abortion in Texas, the Idaho law allows only the woman on whom the abortion is being carried out, as well as the father, sibling, grandparent, aunt, or uncle of an unborn child, to bring legal action against the abortionist who kills their unborn relative.

The bill makes a specific exception that if a child is conceived in rape, the rapist forfeits the fatherly legal right to sue the abortionist. The empowerment of the unborn childs family to seek justice is especially poignant when considering the helplessness and grief that many family members feel when a loved one undergoes an abortion. Providing a pathway to legal justice for families is beneficial in more ways than one.

Idahos victory for the unborn follows Texas most recent triumph over legal disputes against its Heartbeat Act. Last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the law against the abortion industrys latest challenge, ensuring that abortion groups cannot sue to end the law because it relies on private citizens rather than state agents for its enforcement.

SB 1309 now heads to the desk of Republican Governor Brad Little for his signature. This bill actually amends an existing heartbeat protection law that the governor signed last April. That law nearly went into effect last year after successful court rulings on the Texas Heartbeat Act. However, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of the Texas law and the addition of some necessary language, this new Idaho bill is poised to go into effect 30 days after the governors signature.

Idaho also has a law that would protect unborn life from conception set to supersede this heartbeat law and go into effect whenever Roe v. Wade is overturned. As the nation awaits the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs, the potential to return abortion legislation jurisdiction to the states could be within reach. Passing this heartbeat protection shows that the people of Idaho want to protect unborn life now and are looking forward to the day when they can finally protect unborn life from conception.

Idaho, nicknamed the Gem State for its abundance of mineral resources, has taken an enormous step toward protecting its most precious natural resource: children. Texas and Idaho have demonstrated their commitment to saving the unborn from abortion to the greatest extent possible under the existing framework of Roe. Will the other 12 states with existing heartbeat protection laws that are not currently enforceable follow suit?

For more information about state abortion laws, see: frc.org/prolifemaps

Originally published at the Family Research Council.
James Phillips Noble, Presbyterian minister and civil rights activist, dies at 100

The Rev. James Phillips Noble, a civil rights activist and minister known for his work to "bridge cultural differences" in the early years of the Presbyterian Church (USA), has died at age 100.

The PC(USA) Board of Pensions, which Noble served as co-president of from 1986-1989, announced on Wednesday that he had passed away on March 12 in Decatur, Georgia.

With humbleness and grace, he helped bridge cultural differences that lingered when the Church reunited more than 100 years after a bitter breakup over slavery. A child of rural Mississippi, the minister knew well the hold of Southern culture, stated the Board of Pensions.

Rev. Noble was transformed by the violence against Black people he witnessed in the 1960s, becoming one of the first white leaders in Anniston, Alabama, to actively support desegregation.

Born in 1921 and raised on a farm near the town of Learned, Mississippi, Noble was the eighth of nine children, with his mother passing away before he reached the age of three.

Nobleearned a Bachelor of Arts at King University of Bristol, Tennessee, in 1942, and then a Master of Divinity in 1945 from Columbia Theological Seminary, in Decatur.

Noble pastored multiple churches and was overseeing a Presbyterian congregation in Anniston, Alabama, when the Ku Klux Klan infamously firebombed a Freedom Riders bus in 1961.

In his 2003 book Beyond the Burning Bus: The Civil Rights Revolution in a Southern Town, Noble recounted how the firebombing showed that Anniston had the capacity for racial violence that was equal to any other community in the South.

That is why Mayor Claude Dear later said to me as he asked me to become chairman of a bi-racial Human Relations Council, Phil, if the racial situation can be solved without violence in Anniston it can be solved anywhere in the nation. I know Anniston and I know its capacity for violence, he wrote.

Noble served as chair of Annistons Human Relations Council when it was founded in 1963, alongside four other Caucasians and four African Americans.

Then-President John F. Kennedy lauded the creation of the council, and in 2016, the City of Anniston Historic Trails Program erected a marker in honor of Noble and the other council members.

In 1983, the Presbyterian Church (USA) was created when the southern-based Presbyterian Church in the U.S. and the northern-based United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. merged.

The merger is commonly known as the reunion, as the two regional Presbyterian bodies had previously split apart during the 19th century due to different views on slavery.

The year before the merger, Noble became executive secretary of the PCUS Board of Annuities and Relief, a predecessor to the PC(USA) Board of Pensions. He is credited with helping to guide the organization in its early years.

Noble wrote Getting Beyond Tragedy, which was released in 2006. The book centered on his experiences of mourning the loss of his son, Scott, at age 13 to Leukemia, with his wife and other children contributing to the publication.

Last August, Noble turned 100, with his publisher NewSouth Books celebrating the milestone and highlighting Nobles civil rights work in Anniston.

Bloodshed and strife were minimized, and relationships were made across the racial divide. Bit by bit, things improved, and Reverend Noble was part of the reason why, stated NewSouth.

Happy 100th, Phil. And thank you for a life well-lived.
Minnesota churches pack thousands of meals for Ukrainians impacted by Russian invasion

Four congregations based in Minnesota recently came together to pack around 100,000 meals for the needy, with half of them slated to be sent overseas to help those impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Bethel Lutheran Church of Rochester hosted the meal-packing event last Saturday, with 250 volunteers packing the meals on behalf of Food for Kidz and the Channel One Regional Food Bank.

Local congregations that aided the event included Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Holy Spirit Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Bruce Gudlin, an organizer of the event, told The Christian Post that he believes the charity effort went very well. He said the volunteers were divided into several two-hour shifts.

Half of the meals will be distributed locally, while the other half will be sent to Poland. From there, they will be distributed to those impacted by the war in Ukraine.

The meal-packing last Saturday is not a standalone event, but rather a regular occurrence for the Lutheran congregation, Gudlin said.

Each year, the churches campaign for donations which are used to purchase the raw food ingredients. These ingredients are purchased in bulk by our nonprofit partner, Food For Kidz, he said.

The meals are then packaged by volunteers in a space donated by Bethel Lutheran Church. These efforts allow 100% of the donations to go towards food with an end result of a highly nutritious meal for just 17 cents.

The church is already fundraising for our next meal pack, Gudlin said. People can donate by going to this website and selecting Food for Kidz.

Since Russian forces invaded the eastern part of Ukraine, many churches and other charities have been sending aid to those adversely affected by the Eastern European conflict.

In an earlier interview with CP, the Rev. Franklin Graham, president of the North Carolina-based Evangelical humanitarian organization Samaritans Purse, spoke of how the charity had set up a field hospital in the western Ukraine city of Lviv.

He said people fleeing the fighting in Ukraine have general health needs to be addressed as well as injuries sustained due to the conflict.

Youve got people that are diabetic, youve got people with heart conditions, high blood pressure, all of these kinds of things are just normal everyday problems of life, said Graham.

On top of that, you have a lot of people that  have been wounded  due to the shelling. And so, you have to throw that into the mix.

We will be doing a lot of treating trauma, he added.

As many Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, Poland has taken in about 1.8 million Ukrainian refugees since the invasion began. According to the United Nations, Poland has taken in about 60% of the 3 million people whove fled Ukraine in the last month.

Many churches in neighboring countries like Poland have opened their doors to shelter and aid refugees.

In the U.S., many churches have stepped up their efforts to aid Ukrainian refugees by either holding supply drives or fundraisers.

In Ludlow, Massachusetts, Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church is hosting a supply drive to benefit those impacted by the invasion in Ukraine. Supplies donated to the drive are shipped out to a handful of locations in western Ukraine to aid orphanages, wounded military and civilians, according to WWLP.

The Bethany Slavic Church in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, started a Ukraine War Refugee Aid Fund that has raised over $200,000.

Meanwhile, the Nativity of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church in Springfield, Oregon, has raised over $40,000 to help those impacted by the invasion.

Other churches in the U.S. have sent members to aid the relief efforts on the ground in Ukraines neighboring countries.
Detroit church's gas giveaway shut down by police after 30 minutes due to massive turnout

A churchs free gas giveaway in Detroit was shut down by police over the weekend because so many cars got in line for the promotion that traffic was backed up nearly to the highway.

Fox 2 Detroit reports that the owners of a BP station on Outer Drive near I-94 teamed up with Second Canaan Missionary Baptist Church to bless local families with free gas last Sunday, the day the church celebrated its 63rd anniversary.

The promotion was advertised as $15 in free gas to the first 150 cars that arrived. But according to Pastor Frank Harris, they were able to give away much more than that. The churchs Facebook page tallies the number of people that received free gas at 250.

Our entire intent was to be a blessing to our community, Harris told Fox 2 Detroit. Our intent was to make an impact. We made an impact.

BP employee William Bazzi told the television news outlet that people began lining up around 10:30 a.m. for a giveaway that began at 1:30 p.m.

[B]y the time we got here we could barely make it off the highway," Bazzi explained, adding that he got there around 11 a.m.

According to Fox 2, the promotion was shut down within a half-hour after it began as police tried to restore the flow of traffic back to normal.

Despite the fact that the promotion was shut down so quickly, that did not stop the BP owners and the church from giving away more gas than they expected.

But Harris indicated that in the future, should they choose to do another promotion, they will coordinate better with the police.

Harris told radio station WWJ that the church was trying to respond to the notion held by many that the church is always trying to get from them.

[O]ur assignment is to show them that the church is always giving," Harris explained.

All the people who go to our church, people in our neighborhood, they come here [to this gas station], Harris added.

Second Canaan Missionary Baptist Church is far from the first church to run a gas giveaway.

For the past two years, the Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist in New Orleans, Louisiana, has done gas giveaways. On April 19, the church held its last giveaway, which lasted for two hours at two gas stations.

Executive Pastor Donna Williams told The Christian Post before the April giveaway that the church planned to provide gas to 250 people.

We do this as a way of giving back to the community, she said.

In 2016, an Assemblies of God megachurch in Ohio made headlines when it gave out 10 gallons of gas to the first 100 cars that stopped by a local BP station.

The church spent a total of $3,200 on the gas.

"I actually heard about a couple of people who cried. They were just so blown away of this act of kindness," pastor Lock P. Beachum Jr. told CP at the time. "Our church is in a distressed area, so [for] a number of folks just being in the situation of life that they are in, that [meant a lot]. It equated to 30 dollars."
This week in Christian history: Prince leaves his throne to become a monk; archbishop executed

Throughout the extensive history of the Church, there have been numerous events of lasting significance.

Each week brings anniversaries of impressive milestones, unforgettable tragedies, amazing triumphs, memorable births, notable deaths and everything in between.

Some of the events drawn from over 2,000 years of history might be familiar, while other happenings might be previously unknown by most people.

The following pages highlight anniversaries of memorable events that occurred this week  March 20 through Mach 26  in Christian history.

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Cuomo team 'misled the public,' undercounted COVID-19 nursing home deaths by 4K: audit

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomos Department of Health understated COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes and couldnt account for more than 4,000 deaths, according to a recently released audit.

The New York Office of the State Comptroller released an audit on Tuesday that looked into the former governors response to the coronavirus pandemic in New York.

Specifically, auditors examined how the state health department dealt with COVID-19 cases in state nursing homes, which was a source of controversy while Cuomo was in office.

"Providing access to government data engenders transparency and promotes public trust. While the Department's duty is to act solely to promote public health, we determined that, rather than providing accurate and reliable information during a public health emergency, the Department instead conformed its presentation to the Executive's narrative, often presenting data in a manner that misled the public," the report states.

Cuomos Health Department misled the public when it came to presenting data on nursing home deaths and was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes, the audit concluded.

Whether due to the poor-quality data that it was collecting initially or, later, a deliberate decision, for certain periods during the pandemic, the Department understated the number of deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%.

From April 2020 to February 2021, the department failed to account for approximately 4,100 lives lost due to COVID-19, the audit shared.

Poor funding over the past decade was also a likely factor in the Health Departments failure to report accurate numbers. The audit noted that by all accounts, department staff worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said in a statement that people were misled by those at the highest level of state government through distortion and suppression of the facts when New Yorkers deserved the truth.

Families have a right to know if their loved ones COVID-19 death was counted, but many still dont have answers from the state Department of Health, stated DiNapoli.

An important step would be for DOH to provide the families who lost loved ones with answers as to the actual number of nursing homes residents who died. These families are still grieving, and they deserve no less.

In response to the audit, a spokesperson for Cuomo provided CBS News with a statement expressing suspicion about the intentions and timing of the reports release.

As the number of out of facility deaths were reported last January this is not news, however what is peculiar is the Comptrollers release of this audit now  but no one has ever accused him of being above politics, the spokesperson stated.

In March 2020, near the beginning of the pandemic, Cuomo had approximately 9,000 recovering COVID-19 patients transported to hundreds of nursing homes throughout the state.

Cuomo received much criticism for the decision, as many argued that his move resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly residents who were especially vulnerable to the virus.

In February 2021, The New York Post reported that Cuomos top aide Melissa DeRosa had admitted to state lawmakers that the administration withheld the states nursing home death toll.

These revelations, combined with multiple allegations of sexual harassment committed by Cuomo, led to mounting calls for his resignation. Cuomo resigned in August 2021.

It has been reported that Cuomo is considering a primary election run to regain his old office, which Gov. Kathy Hochul now occupies. In recent weeks, Cuomo has also released two television advertisements seeking to improve his public image.
5 questions to ask yourself if you lack peace

My mom is a big fan of peace. One year, when asked what she wanted for Christmas, she replied, I just want a little peace. So my sister and I obnoxiously wrote the word peace on little pieces of paper and put them in a box and wrapped it. She didnt find it as funny as we did.

In retrospect, I now understand why peace was so sought after by my mother. As a young person, I didnt realize how pervasive the chaos and dysfunction were in our family. Our home was far from peaceful and she was militant about requiring our weekly attendance at church. There was peace and comfort at mass. She found solace on her knees with her God.

Dad, on the other hand, was an alcoholic. As an adult, I now realize how his alcoholism morphed our family from functional to dysfunctional, how our experiences as children of an alcoholic shaped my sister and me, and how the enemy would love nothing more than for me to use this dysfunctional upbringing as an excuse for my own bad behavior.

That lack of peace and stability has wide-ranging impact, often in the most subtle and strange ways.

For instance, I am a conflict avoider. I will sacrifice my own feelings and needs in the name of peace. I was trained this way: Do whatever you can to have the illusion of peace in your dysfunctional home.

As a young adult, through the grace of God and a strong teacher in the Word, I learned what true peace is, what it looks like, and how it can be mine.

Peace is defined from the worlds perspective as freedom from disturbance; tranquility. However, for believers, it is so much more. Yes, there is a state of inner tranquility, but its a supernatural gift that transcends circumstances.

Gods peace can be yours regardless of what you are going through.

If you are going through sickness, you can have peace. Are you experiencing strife? You can still have peace. Whether you are going through job loss, divorce, death of a loved one, rejection, or even if you have an alcoholic parent, you can have peace. Like I said earlier, the peace of God transcends all circumstances.

Does this peace mean that it doesnt hurt? Absolutely not. Does it mean that it is easy? Nope, no way. But, you can have peace when you give your burdens to God and ask Him to carry them for you.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

I will give you rest has always resonated with me; not because Im physically tired, but because my brain gets tired. Im your classic over-thinker (another trait of a child of an alcoholic). I read between the lines of every conversation, replaying them in my head and over-analyzing every decision Ive ever made or will ever make. Suffice it to say, Ive wasted a lot of time trying to figure things out. Even God.

I grasped the concept of supernatural peace early on in my faith walk when I experienced it firsthand, but its the whole trying to understand what God is up to that can make me crazy and bone tired. We learn from the Scriptures that His ways (just like that peace) are beyond our understanding, so why bother trying to figure Him out. One of my favorite Scriptures addresses this, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.(Proverbs 3:5)

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)

Lest you think I have it all figured out, let me reassure you that I do not. What I do have is a history of internal peace when my circumstances did not warrant it and a God who exceeds my expectations and grants me good gifts beyond my imagination (and understanding).

When I have my moments of unrest and a downright lack of peace I ask myself these questions:

1. Have I prayed about it?

2. Have I really given it to God?

3. Am I asking God to bless MY plan instead of waiting for Him to reveal His?

4. Am I still holding on to it, letting it control my thoughts and actions?

5. Was there a time when I lacked peace, a solution to a problem or understanding and God let me down?

That last question is a doozy, especially because Im old and Ive been through some stuff. But God  He always has my back. He has never left me or forsaken me, and His plans for me can be trusted. Even when I dont understand or recognize what He is doing.

Last word about peace

You can be a peacemaker in a healthy, non-dysfunctional way. There is great value in this crazy world when a believer steps in and actively tries to reconcile people to God and one another. Even if you arent actively peacemaking, you can make a difference by exhibiting peace to others, especially during difficult times. This fruit of the Spirit is intriguing to those who wallow in their circumstances and cannot understand why you arent controlled by yours.

So if you are lacking peace, check yourself Our God has promised it to you  its a gift and a gift He wants you to have in abundance! Let yourself enjoy it.



Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.(John 14:27)

The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.(Psalms 29:11)

As for my mom, her house is filled with peace. Literally. If it has the word peace on it, one of us will buy it for her. More important than these external reminders, she has peace in her heart.

My dad died way too soon, leaving her a young widow with more peace and quiet than she wanted or planned. His passing was unexpected and devastating to our family, but none of us would deny that when we lost him, we gained some peace.

In honor of my mom and her love of peace, I will end with her favorite scripture blessing:

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

If you are the child of an alcoholic or struggling with alcoholism or other substance abuse, there are faith-based resources that can help. Check with your church for a local support group, or one of the following online resources for more information: Christians in Recovery

Celebrate Recovery




A big business starts small.  Richard Branson

This legendary British billionaire seemed to grasp from the first that businesses are not all about ideas, but about making ideas happen. Youve probably heard the saying, Success is 90% attitude and 10% aptitude, and Ive found that this is indelibly true  that the proper mindset is a huge factor in achieving goals. And when it comes to starting your own business, its especially important.

But for that new endeavor to succeed, its vital that an owner translate attitude into proper steps, which starts by doing your homework. There are so many things to do and so many decisions to make, and its easy to become overwhelmed. However, with a bit of planning and organization, you can make the process much easier.

Remember one thing: If you do things right, the rewards  both personal and professional  will far outweigh the challenges. And thats why, according to a study by Constant Contact, approximately 85% of owners said they would choose to start their business all over again if they had to.

A few of the most important things to keep in mind when starting your journey.

Related: 4 Expert-Backed Strategies for Growing Your Business During Uncertain Times

1. Choose the right structure

Many factors need to be considered in a startup, one of which is its legal form (LLC, C Corp, etc.). The right (or wrong) choice will have crucial implications. Structure hinders or helps in how good contracts are formed, and financial stability may depend on what type you choose. Many businesses, of course, will need funding; structure will be an important aspect of that process, too, and will also affect tax liability issues, insurance coverage and other matters.

Crucial factors to consider while choosing yours:

 Taxes: The type of business you choose impacts which taxes are owed (including personal liability). Before launching any new enterprise, tax considerations should be reviewed so that all of relevant obligations stay in good standing according to regulations.

 Type of industry: The kind of structure you choose will depend on your industry and specific practices within it. For example, real estate investment companies face a higher risk than other types do; this is why they often organize as LLCs to ensure owner protection from liability risks like bankruptcy or unpaid debts (among others).

 Personal liability: There are different levels of liability protection that you can receive depending upon business type, and knowing which protections will best suit your needs should be carefully considered.

2. Build credit

You cant build a successful company without establishing business credit. Those who have it solidly established have access to more loans, contracts and other opportunities than those with poor credit. And how would your investors know if you are being honest about your finances? This is where such business credit reports come in additionally handy. Their information will let potential investors (and banks) make informed decisions as to whether you deserve their trust, and money.

Good credit also results in better credit and repayment terms with suppliers and contractors. Finally, you can protect your personal score by maintaining good business credit. (There will be no need to use your personal credit and risk downgrading it if your business credit is good.)

Related: Choose Your Business Structure

3. Develop branding

Its essential to develop brand awareness so that both existing and potential customers know what youre selling and want it. Brand development can create a lasting image among both groups, and you want yours to stand for something (after all, thats what people will envision when they think about you).

Brand building is all about earning trust. When you continuously make promises and fulfill them, customers will keep returning, as they know what to expect. With faith in your brand, they will also be more likely to recommend you to others, which helps the company grow.

4. Build a social media presence

According to Statista, the average time social media users worldwide spent on associated platforms amounted to 145 minutes per day in 2020, and DataReportals latest stats count the number of social media users around the globe at an astonishing 4.62 billion. Think about your own life: Do you wake up each morning and check for new notifications?

Now is the perfect time to leverage this huge platform and massive audience  customers right at your fingertips.

Heres how a strong social media presence can help your business move to the next level.

 Spend less on marketing: You can grow affordably, without spending too much on marketing and advertising.

 Grow your outreach: Partner with social media influencers to reach even more potential customers. This will also help you raise brand awareness faster.

 Get feedback: Social media is the perfect place to learn more about your customers and improve services and products based on their feedback.

 Outrun the competition: You will keep a better eye on the competitors and devise strategies to outgrow them constantly.

Related: 5 Social Media Marketing Tips to Boost Your Sales

5. Build SOP and other systems

One of the most important aspects of any organization is a clear set of duties and expectations for all employees and departments  from HR to marketing to production. If people dont know how to meet requirements, then theres no way to work to their actual potential. Good standard operating procedures put those expectations and resources right on the table for all to see.

These begin with imparting information precisely as to what needs doing, then providing sufficient resources so that each individual has a chance at success. Its vital, however, that procedures not make people feel overwhelmed with responsibility or overlooked by design; this will lead only to confusion, which never has a happy ending.

Related: 5 Reasons Why You Need to Learn Time Management for Your Business

6. Differentiate from the competition

The modern world is incredibly competitive, and businesses struggle to stay afloat in it. To make sure youre not one of those companies that slips through the cracks, do something different  stand out from competitors with something better and with more value.

Brand differentiation is significant because customers will simply choose someone else if you dont have it. The goal should always be to find ways that set yourself apart from the crowd.

Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Stepping into Reagan National Airport last week came as a shock - and not just because of my 6:30 a.m. call time. The huge, snaking line for the TSA checkpoint took nearly an hour to pass; usually, it takes me a couple of minutes.

Before my flight home from Jackson, Wyo., the airport was so packed that people were sitting on the floor. The chairs by the gates and in the one restaurant there were full.

And it's not just me. With travelers rushing to escape the cold grip of winter and kids off school, TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein says TSA has seen checkpoint traffic numbers rivaling the Sunday after Thanksgiving, one the busiest days of the year at airports.

In some cases, extreme weather and labor shortages have exacerbated the strain on airports, leading to cancellations that come with little warning and add thousands of dollars in unplanned expenses.

It's all a recipe for stress and disruption. But swarmed airports don't have to ruin your trip. Here are some tips for making the experience a little smoother.

1. Pack with the airport in mind

As you pack for your trip, don't just think about what you need at your destination. Think about how each item might cost you time getting through the airport.

Start with a completely empty bag, checking every little pocket to make sure nothing is in there. You don't want to get held up at security because you forgot you had a wine opener in your backpack.

Then make sure what you are packing is TSA-approved for checked or carry-on luggage. Remember the "3-1-1 rule: Each passenger may carry liquids, gels and aerosols in travel-size containers that are 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters in a one-quart bag. Farbstein encourages travelers to consult the "What Can I Bring?" page on TSA's website or the MyTSA app.

Travel adviser James Ferrara, president of the InteleTravel agency, recommends packing light so you can take a carry-on, letting you skip waits at check-in and baggage claim. "You can walk off the plane and jump right into vacation mode," he says.

2. Try a mental exercise

If you're really anxious about heading to a crowded airport, mental exercises can help you chill out. Mark Debus, manager of the behavioral health team at Sedgwick, has been preparing clients who are returning to the workforce - including a return to business travel - with visualization techniques.

Debus recommends picturing what the scene will be like ahead of time. Anticipate the huge lines, the angry travelers, the process of taking off your shoes and putting your belongings on the conveyor belt. The exercise can help you feel better prepared for the potential chaos.

3. Make extra time for every task

Even if you're someone who lives for the thrill of cutting your arrival time dangerously close, consider giving yourself more time than usual to get to (and through) the airport.

Farbstein says travelers planning on parking at the airport should anticipate spending longer looking for a spot. If you're renting a car, you should expect more of a wait while picking up and dropping off. You will probably encounter lines every step of the way, from check-in to the Starbucks by your gate.

"There's going to be a line with the check-in counter because more people are traveling," Farbstein says, adding that people are also traveling for a longer stretch, making them more likely to check bags.

4. Invest in line-cutting services and loyalty programs

Spring break travel brings a lot of families to the airport, and people trying to wrangle strollers, car seats and missing toys are bound to slow down security checkpoints.

"And then you've got people who have not traveled in maybe since the beginning of the pandemic, so they're a little rusty," Farbstein says. "It's going to take them more time; they're more likely to have something [in their carry-on] that's prohibited."

Ferrara says that besides getting to the airport early, getting a line-cutting service such as CLEAR or TSA PreCheck (or both!) is his best tip for travelers to survive hectic airports.

"CLEAR speeds up the travel-document check process, while TSA PreCheck expedites the physical screening process," Ferrara says. "But having both services complement each other greatly, providing the quickest, surest route through the entire airport-security and screening experience."

Ferrara also recommends you start building status with your favorite airline's frequent-flier membership. Loyalty programs can eventually get you priority boarding, access to private lounges, upgraded seating and sometimes security benefits similar to CLEAR.

5. Use mobile apps to stay informed

Download your airline's app to easily track your flight status and simplify check-in.

Drake Castaneda, a Delta spokesperson, says the Fly Delta app can alert you of flight changes in real-time; let you change your assigned seat; provide airport maps; show information on airport lounges; help you access in-flight WiFi; and send a push notification when it's time to board.

6. Take a deep breath - or 10

Debus recommends adding an extra hour to the standard airport arrival time for your mental health. "That way, you have enough buffer after the checkpoint to then focus on relaxing before your flight," he says.

When you get there, find a gate near yours that is less crowded and try Debus's "10 breaths" technique. Start by finding a quiet place where you can sit upright. Put one hand over your belly button, close your eyes and inhale for three seconds while you focus on pushing your belly out. Hold your breath for three seconds. Exhale for three seconds. Repeat the exercise for 10 rounds.

"You're doing diaphragm breathing rather than chest breathing," Debus says. "Chest breathing will usually increase anxiety. Diaphragm breathing usually releases anxiety."
In this file photo taken May 14, 2021, people have food and drinks at a riverside park in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul. Newsis





By Lee Hae-rin







The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to designate public spaces including Han River parks and public transportation as no-drinking zones.







The city government will announce legislation of the revised ordinance on March 24, allowing the mayor and district heads to ban drinking in parks, government offices, public transportation and educational institutions including schools, kindergartens and libraries, the government said, Thursday.







City Council will vote on the revision after the local elections on June 1. If the revision passes, it will take effect six months after the proclamation and those violating the regulation will be subject to fines of up to 100,000 won ($82).







Seoul has been reviewing measures to ban outdoor drinking in these areas, mainly due to growing calls following the death of a university student who had been drinking by the river last April. According to the city's online survey of 1,000 citizens, the majority of respondents supported designating riverside parks as no-drinking zones.







However, those opposed believe the revision limits individual freedom, as seen in an online debate hosted by the city government last June to August. The city government banned nighttime outdoor drinking temporarily at riverside parks last July in response to the spread of the coronavirus, but lifted the measure in November as part of a government scheme to "return to normalcy."







In response, a city government official said that "designating non-drinking zones requires gathering feedback and opinions from experts and citizens," and said that even if the revision is passed, the government will try to ban drinking only in a limited area during scheduled times to avoid excessive regulation.


A major multi-vehicle accident in Mississippi County, Missouri along Interstate Highway 57 occurred on Thursday morning as its aftermath is still being totaled as of Friday night.

Six lives have been confirmed to have been lost so far and no names have been officially released, but some local reports have suggested that individuals from the Laredo and Nuevo Laredo area are among them. However, one cargo and freight company has contradicted some of these reports which stated that among those deaths is a driver from Nuevo Laredo. In fact, he states his driver is currently safe and doing well at an area hospital.

One of our drivers was involved in the multiple-vehicle collision over there in the north, said Francisco Rivera, the owner of Transportes Rigonza. Contrary to other reports by local media, my truck driver is not deceased. He just had a fracture on his foot. He is actually right now being attended to at a hospital over there, but we already spoke to him several times throughout the day and he has stated that he is all right, but he continues to say that he is still being checked by medical staff over there.

Rivera states that since the accident happened in the early morning hours of Thursday at 7 a.m., they have been in contact with him and also spoke briefly to the driver about what may potentially have caused the collision.

We havent really talked that much with our truck driver about that, but he did tell us that when he was circling around the highway normally just like everybody else when he noticed that in front of him several vehicles suddenly stopped. And he did not have enough time to stop the vehicle in efforts to avoid crashing, Rivera said. He did tell us that he did notice 10, 12 or even 15 vehicles in front of him already in the crash involving both regular vehicles and transport trucks.

Rivera states that he does not believe his truck driver did anything wrong when it came to the crash, as it was simply a domino effect caused as one-vehicle crash after another occurred on the highway causing the deadly accident.

Rivera states that despite the fact that fog has been considered as one of the main culprits  many have pointed to this as the cause of the accident in its aftermath  he states that his driver felt it was not foggy when the situation happened and that weather conditions were quite normal.

We still do not even know the motive why the first people actually crashed, and we and the insurance company are looking into that, Rivera said. He never told us that it was foggy around him while he was driving.

As for his truck, Rivera states that from what he has seen through the media and some pictures from his insurance company, it has been totally destroyed. The same goes for the merchandise being transported.

We are already working with the insurance company on it, but from what we have seen through pictures and the media, I do believe that the vehicle is already completely destroyed as no repairs seem to be able to fix it, Rivera said. Although we are still waiting for the confirmation from our insurance company, but it is most likely that it is a total loss.
The defense ministry office in Yongsan / Yonhap





South Korea's key military compound in Yongsan, central Seoul is set to undergo major readjustments due to the planned relocation of the presidential office there at a time of rising security concerns caused by North Korea's continued missile tests.







The compound is home to the nation's defense ministry, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and some other major military agencies.







President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol announced his decision to relocate the presidential office, currently at Cheong Wa Dae, to the Yongsan compound.







It followed days of controversy over the relocation's potential impact on defense readiness, concomitant costs and local residents' opposition, to name a few.







The decision came as South Korea and the United States are on heightened alert due to a series of recent North Korean missile launches, including Wednesday's botched test of an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).







On an area of about 276,000 square meters, the compound houses the ministry's 10-story main building, the JCS headquarters, the Cyber Operations Command, the Central Investigation Command, the Defense Installations Agency, the military court and prosecution and other agencies.







Some 4,000 troops and civil servants work in the compound.







South Korea's president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol shows an aerial eye view of a reorganized Ministry of National Defense compound following the relocation of the presidential office there, during a news conference in Seoul, March 20. Yonhap




Most adults and of-age teens in the United States go through the same process of getting licensed to drive: Classroom or online instruction, as many as 100 hours of practice behind the wheel, and a skills test.

Far fewer people have that experience when seeking a license to carry concealed weapons.

On Monday, Ohio became the 23rd state to enact a law eliminating permits as a requirement for concealed carry. The Buckeye state closely followed Alabama, where Gov. Kay Ivey signed a similar law on March 10.

The back-to-back win for gun-rights reformers who want to see fewer restrictions on the Second Amendment signal how partisan divides and relentless activism at the state level are significantly reshaping the landscape around gun possession.

"This is the latest front in the battle over gun rights in America," said Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA and expert in gun policy and the Second Amendment. Winkler sees a broader takeaway in the changes to Alabama and Ohio's gun laws.

"The lesson is: it's coming to you," Winkler said. "It's a rising tide of reform, and it's a wave we've seen before."

Seventeen of the 23 states that allow permitless carry passed their laws in the past seven years. By contrast, concealed carry wasn't even legal in every state until 2013, when Illinois lifted its longtime ban decades after most other states.

The push to end restrictions on concealed carry is reminiscent of one made by lobbyists and gun rights activists 30 years ago with "shall issue" permitting. States adopted laws that held authorizing agencies shall issue concealed-carry permits to anyone who meets the basic requirements set by the state, such as completing a training course or passing a background check - a shift that rapidly expanded who could carry a concealed weapon.

Before the advent of "shall issue" permitting, most states would only let individuals concealed carry if licensed; the permits, Winkler said, were hard to get and required applicants to demonstrate a justification for carrying a concealed firearm.

"The NRA has been incredibly effective in loosening gun laws at the state level and have completely transformed how individuals can carry guns in public since the 1980s," Winkler said.

Winkler said energy for gun control that often swells after mass shooting incidents - including calls for change at the federal level - obscure the on-the-ground reality.

"Nothing has changed since Newtown," Winkler said, referring to the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that killed 27 people, including 20 first-graders. "If you think that [it has], you're looking in the wrong place: the states are a hotbed of activity of gun reform these days, and it's mostly gun-rights advocates that are winning the battles."

The primary group that lobbied for Ohio's permitless carry law was the grass-roots Buckeye Firearms Association. Executive Director Dean Rieck, in a recent podcast episode, described their strategy as "moving the Overton Window" from a place where the public was largely wary of anyone with a gun to a place where opponents welcomed licensing laws.

"You get to the point where there's enough trust to pass a law like this," Rieck told The Washington Post in an interview. "I think we'll find the dire predictions in passing this law don't come true."

Opponents of permitless carry argue the law decreases public safety by eliminating the requirements attached to permits, such as background checks, safety training and, in Ohio, an application through a local sheriff's office.

Gary Wolske, president of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, the state's largest police union, said the FOP believes in the right to carry a weapon - but they also believe in background checks.

"Last year an estimated 2,000 were denied permits," Wolske said of Ohio concealed carry applicants. "But going forward, when this becomes law, there's no more requirements for anything. You don't have to know how to turn on the safety, how to carry your weapon or even know which end of the gun goes 'bang.'"

Anyone who purchases a gun from a federally licensed firearms dealer is vetted through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which screens for disqualifications such as felony convictions, involuntary commitment to a mental health facility or dishonorable military discharge.

But the databases the government relies on are often flawed, outdated or incomplete; such was the case in the 2017 massacre in Texas at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. The gunman, who killed 26 people and injured nearly two dozen others, was never flagged in the NICS because the Air Force repeatedly failed to submit records that would have disqualified him from purchasing three of the four weapons he used in the rampage.

Rieck argued that licensing laws only end up stopping law-abiding citizens from fully exercising their Second Amendment rights, since lawbreakers won't submit to restrictions whether they exist or not.

"The kind of people who have criminal intent or have a record that would prevent them from carrying a firearm aren't going to go to a sheriff's office and get a background check," he said. "It's sort of self-selecting."

Training is another issue. While Rieck said groups like his advocate for people to get as much training as they can, they don't want training to be a barrier.

"There's a difference between recommending training and mandating training," he said.

Jake Pelletier, who owns Raven Firearms Training in New Hampshire with his wife, Crystal, offered a comparison he has heard others make in states that make training a hard-and-fast requirement of concealed carry: "I've heard it put that it's like saying you can exercise your right to free speech as long as you take a communications course.'"

At the same time, the Pelletiers said it's easy for someone to underestimate the training needed to safely use a gun in a defensive situation.

"They have no idea how difficult it is to use your weapon in a use-of-force situation for defense safely, legally and while avoiding collateral damage," Jake Pelletier said. He estimated beginners need a baseline of roughly 32 hours of quality training.

"We stress to our clients, if you put out a round, you own that round," Crystal Pelletier added. "That's not easy to do if you haven't trained - especially if you haven't trained."

Though New Hampshire hasn't required concealed-carry permits since 2017, the Pelletiers saw an uptick in customers seeking safety classes following protests and riots that emerged in parts of the country following George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis in 2020.

Despite public polling that indicates a majority of Americans favor reforms that lead to more gun control, gun-control advocates have been losing ground for years because of activism at the state level in part to increased political polarization, according to Sean Holihan, state legislative director for Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

The number of states where the legislative chambers and the governorship were carried by different parties has shrunk.

"Increasingly, you're seeing a trifecta and the needs of the most active members of the party are being met," Houlihan said.

Both Ohio and Alabama state houses and governorships are controlled by Republicans overwhelmingly along partisan lines; in Ohio, the bill didn't earn a single vote from Democrats in either chamber.

Winkler, the UCLA law professor, said a hidden factor driving looser gun laws is partisan gerrymandering.

"In an environment where there are very safe seats, you get candidates who, with an issue like gun control, try to outextreme the other candidate," he said. "And in the Republican Party, it's been especially pronounced; you don't want your opponents to say you're soft on guns, because that hurts you in the primary."

Gun-rights advocates commonly invoke crime reduction and self-defense in their arguments, but Winkler said loosening restrictions has shown to be driven more by politics than public safety. The data, he notes, is largely inconclusive.

Researchers have sparred for years over the question of whether easing gun restrictions lessens crime or fuels it. A 2021 analysis by The Washington Post's Fact Checker found states with looser concealed-carry laws had a higher homicide rate on average during a recent five-year period than the eight states with stricter permit laws - and that the role looser laws played in higher crime rates - if any - was unclear.

With a midterm election eight months away and major election year in 2024, experts expect more laws easing gun restrictions to pass. Already, bills to allow permitless carry are active in Indiana and Florida.

Houlihan expects the expansion to stop after the remaining Republican-controlled states enact permitless carry.

"We'll have states with moderate-to strong gun control police along the west coast and some Great Lakes states, and other states where it's much easier to get and carry a gun, they'll move on to other issues like stand-your-ground," Houlihan said.

The result, he said, will be a picture the country is already familiar with: Two Americas, and one deep ideological divide.
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On an average day, about 150 people attend the programs at one of the four community centers throughout Citrus County for activities, socializing, eating a meal and even having a party. On Thursday, March 17, the folks at Central Citrus Community Center in Lecanto celebrated both St. Patricks Day and Dolores Lenkowskis 99th birthday.
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol shows an artist's impression of the new presidential office during a press conference at the presidential transition committee office in Samcheong-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, Sunday. Joint Press Corps



President-elect pushes ahead with relocation plan despite backlash from ruling and minor opposition parties' claims of budget waste



By Nam Hyun-woo



President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol announced his administration will relocate the presidential office and residence from Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul's Jongno District, to the defense ministry compound in Yongsan District.



"Given the public inconvenience and the purpose of giving Cheong Wa Dae back to the people, I believe it's the right choice to make a prompt decision to move to the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan," Yoon said during a press conference.



"I am well aware of concerns over the hasty relocation as my term will begin in just 50 days However, once I get into Cheong Wa Dae, it will be harder for me to move out of the complex, which is the symbol of Korea's imperial presidency."



He said he will start his presidency on May 10 at the new office, which sits next to U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, and the Cheong Wa Dae site will be opened to the public. The defense ministry will be moved to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) headquarters, which is also inside the compound, and the JCS will move to the Army Public Affairs Division building for a while before relocating to the Namtaeryeong area in southern Seoul.





The front gate and main building of Cheong Wa Dae in Jongno District, Seoul / Yonhap



Cheong Wa Dae is a complex of multiple buildings including the presidential residence and office and other facilities for presidential aides and security personnel. It has been the office for all presidents of Korea since the country's establishment in 1948.



Throughout history, the presidential office has had a symbolic status as the seat of presidential power, and presidential aides also enjoyed strong authority through this system. This oftentimes resulted in infighting between presidential secretaries and Cabinet members, raising concerns over "imperial" presidential power.



During his campaign, President-elect Yoon vowed to move the presidential office in order to end the country's legacy of imperial presidencies and have the presidential office more open to the public to enhance his communication with the people.





[INTERVIEW] Ex-lawmaker backs presidential relocation to Yongsan Moon, Yoon expected to discuss relocation of presidential office Whose idea was it to move presidential office to defense ministry? Initially, Yoon promised to set up a presidential office at the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, which is close to Cheong Wa Dae, but ultimately decided on the defense ministry building, citing the difficulties of moving existing ministries in the Government Complex and public inconvenience due to security procedures for the President.



"Moving into Yongsan had been one of the options during the campaign," Yoon said. "While the defense ministry has existing security facilities, such as an underground bunker, and plenty of space for the defense ministry to move, the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun will require a new building for the foreign ministry, and we have to use facilities in Cheong Wa Dae again."



An artist's impression of the new presidential office, which will be set up at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Yongsan District, Seoul. Courtesy of presidential transition committee

According to the transition committee, the new presidential office is expected to be set up on the second floor of the defense ministry building. Offices of the presidential chief of staff and other secretaries will also be installed on the same floor, in a way similar to the West Wing of the White House, to enable faster communication between Yoon and his aides.



In Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office was located in the main building, while offices of the secretaries were typically in separate buildings. Consequently, staffers had to visit the presidential secretaries to discuss state affairs, stirring controversy over the power of the secretaries. During the Park Geun-hye administration, they were referred to as the "door handles" to the president. President Moon Jae-in instead kept his office in one of the buildings for secretaries to avoid this problem.



While revealing the concept for the new presidential office, Yoon also said his administration will set up a park surrounding the office by using the nearby U.S. Army land which is scheduled to be returned to Korea, so people can see the President working.



Yoon said the plan will cost 49.6 billion won ($40.8 million). He will finance this from the state reserve fund, which is managed by the minister of economy and finance, and its use is subject to the minister's review and the President's approval. The transition committee anticipated that the proposal will be approved during a Cabinet meeting this week.



Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Yongsan District, Seoul / Yonhap

Yoon's plan has faced a strong backlash from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which estimated the relocation may cost up to 1 trillion won. The ruling party also raised doubts whether moving into a military compound can serve Yoon's purpose of improving public communication.



"The President-elect said he wants to move out of Cheong Wa Dae for better communication, but moving into a military fortress means deepening the lack of communication," Rep. Kim Byung-joo said.



Despite the doubts, Yoon said he decided to move to Yongsan because improving communication with the public and departing from the imperial presidency style are also "urgent" tasks for the President.



"I do believe your mind is controlled by the space you have," Yoon said. "If I don't make a decision now, it will be harder for the country to leave the legacy of imperial presidencies."



Though Yoon stressed the importance of communication with the people, doubts are already growing over his pledge, as the transition committee plans to prohibit rallies and protests in the vicinity of the new presidential office.



Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there had been public rallies and protests in front of Cheong Wa Dae and nearby Gwanghwamun. Throughout the Moon administration, conservative civic groups have held rallies against the liberal administration there, and after former President Park Geun-hye's scandalous actions were revealed, massive candlelit protests filled Gwanghwamun Plaza.




Whether you have a minor or major offense on your record, it is important to plan ahead of your trip to Canada.

Canada is open to tourists again. Heres how to avoid criminal inadmissibility issues at the border

Canada is open to tourists again. Heres how to avoid criminal inadmissibility issues at the border Whether you have a minor or major offense on your record, it is important to plan ahead of your trip to Canada.

Canada is open to tourists again. Heres how to avoid criminal inadmissibility issues at the border Whether you have a minor or major offense on your record, it is important to plan ahead of your trip to Canada.

Canada is open to tourists again. Heres how to avoid criminal inadmissibility issues at the border Whether you have a minor or major offense on your record, it is important to plan ahead of your trip to Canada. Daniel Levy Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

Sans Font Size A

A

This year marks the first since the start of the pandemic that Canada is fully open to tourists.

Canada imposed travel restrictions on tourists in March 2020 and lifted them for those fully vaccinated in late summer 2021. Effective April 1st, fully vaccinated tourists do not need to complete a COVID-19 test before entering Canada.

This is good news for tourists since Canada is making it much easier to visit the country.

One thing to keep in mind though is the importance of preparing in advance if you have a criminal offense on your record. Upon arrival to Canada, tourists are greeted by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers. They screen tourists to ensure they comply with Canadian immigration law which includes ensuring they are admissible to Canada. Having a criminal record is grounds for a CBSA officer to deem you inadmissible to Canada and prevent you from visiting the country. American citizens should also understand their passport is linked to their FBI background record which CBSA officers have access to.

It is also important to understand Canada wants tourists. As such the Canadian government provides various solutions so you can overcome your criminal record and be able to visit the country. This is due to Canada believing individuals are able to be rehabilitated and certain infractions do not necessarily mean the tourist presents a public safety risk to Canadians.

Get a free consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm

A Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) is the first solution. It is a temporary solution that you can pursue as long as you make a compelling argument to the Canadian government as to why your criminal record should be excused on a temporary basis. The TRP is usually a better solution for those seeking temporary entry to Canada on business or for compassionate reasons. It is generally advisable for tourists to pursue the second option instead, known as Criminal Rehabilitation.

Unlike a TRP, applying for Criminal Rehabilitation can resolve your criminal inadmissibility to Canada permanently. If Canada approves your Criminal Rehabilitation application, your criminal record will no longer prevent you from visiting Canada, as long as you do not commit another crime. A minimum of five years from the completion of your most recent sentence needs to elapse before you can apply for rehabilitation. When assessing your application, the Canadian government will consider the Canadian equivalent of your crime. As such, the Criminal Rehabilitation application fee you pay will depend on the severity of your crime. Canadas application fee for non-serious criminality is $200 CAD and $1,000 CAD for serious criminality.

If at least 10 years have elapsed since you were convicted of a non-serious crime, you can be deemed rehabilitated. In this case, you may automatically be deemed rehabilitated under Canadian law and not need to submit any application before visiting Canada. However, you are recommended to consult with a Canadian immigration lawyer before your trip to get peace of mind. A lawyer may suggest getting a legal opinion letter to help you avoid unnecessary misunderstandings by CBSA officers once you arrive.

A legal opinion letter is a third solution. In it, a Canadian immigration lawyer will outline a legal summary of your criminal record and explain why you should be allowed to visit Canada. It can help CBSA officers understand why they should not stop your trip. A legal opinion letter is beneficial in a number of circumstances, such as for:

1) Individuals who have been deemed rehabilitated.

2) Individuals who have been charged but have not been convicted. This includes those who have received a deferral of adjudication or a Nolle Prosequi.

3) Individuals who have been convicted of which there is no equivalent offense under Canadian law.

Get a free consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Discover your Canadian immigration options at CanadaVisa.com.
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Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms in the morning. High 66F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

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If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-perfect  warm and sunny with cool nights.
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
National Election Commission (NEC) chairperson Noh Jeong-hee, center, enters the NEC headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Yonhap





By Kwon Mee-yoo







The March 9 presidential election is over, with the conservative opposition People Power Party's candidate Yoon Suk-yeol securing victory with a narrow margin over his ruling party rival, Lee Jae-myung. But the election agency is still reeling from attacks over mistakes it made in handling the ballots of COVID-19 patients and quarantined voters during the early voting period.







Criticism has been mounting both within and outside the agency.







In presidential petitions uploaded on Sunday, several people called for punishment or an investigation of the National Election Commission (NEC) for its mishandling of ballots. One petitioner in Daegu's Dong District blamed the NEC for mismanagement and insinuated ballot fraud, due to its flawed management of election procedures. According to the petitioner, two voters cast their ballots twice, first in the early voting period and second on Election Day, claiming that the NEC is responsible because it failed to identify the two individuals. As of Sunday afternoon, over 220,000 people have signed the petition.







Another petitioner urged President Moon Jae-in to dismiss NEC Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee to hold her responsible. Earlier last week, Noh resisted pressure to resign and vowed to do better in handling election affairs for the June local elections.







The main opposition People Power Party continues to push Noh to step down to take responsibility for the mishandling of early voting ballots of COVID-19 patients and those in self-quarantine on March 5. A group of standing commissioners of the NEC and municipal election commissions released a joint statement last week demanding Noh's resignation, but the statement then drew a backlash from within the election agency itself.







The NEC has internally been in turmoil since the release of the joint statement.











According to Yonhap News, messages criticizing the 15 standing commissioners who demanded that Noh step down were posted on an internal anonymous online bulletin board for NEC staff after the statement was issued last Tuesday.







The messages pointed out that since the standing commissioners are experienced in election issues, they themselves should also be responsible for the mishandling, instead of causing the NEC grief with their political motives.







However, they were also divided on Noh remaining in office, with some saying that she would prepare for the local elections well.







Some say that Noh has been a Supreme Court justice and the part-time chair of the NEC, so was not familiar enough with election procedure details when the NEC secretariat was preparing voting them for COVID-19 patients. Others say that Noh should take responsibility as the head of the election agency because of the significance of the issue, which tainted the reputation of the NEC and the fairness of the election.







If the controversy persists, it could affect the upcoming local elections on June 1, which are only some 70 days away.







Currently, two out of the nine commissioner posts are vacant, and NEC Secretary General Kim Se-hwan also stepped down last week amid allegations that he used his influence to get his son a job and promotion at the Incheon Election Commission. If Noh also resigns, it would be difficult to name the new chair among Supreme Court justices in time for the June election.







The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has rejected the demands for Noh to resign. Her resignation would paralyze the election agency ahead of the local elections.







The DPK members of the Public Administration and Security Committee issued a statement Friday that it will be impossible for the six remaining NEC commissioners to discuss and decide if Noh resigns. The lawmakers also urged the NEC to stabilize the organization as soon as possible and come up with acceptable measures for administering the upcoming local election.







The NEC reshuffled the chief election policy officer and election department head on Thursday, and plans to form a taskforce including external members to investigate the early voting issues and find solutions.


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Rain showers in the morning becoming a steady light rain in the afternoon. High 58F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

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Cheong Wa Dae will be disappeared from history as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol unveiled a plan on Sunday to relocate the presidential office into Yongsan, Seoul. / Yonhap





By Kang Hyun-kyung







Former lawmaker Kim Young-woo / Courtesy of Kim Young-woo

Kim Young-woo, 55, a former three-term lawmaker who served as the chairman of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, presented a favorable view of the proposed relocation of the presidential office to the Ministry of National Defense compound amid heated debate.







If implemented as planned, Kim said the nation might benefit from moving to the site in Yongsan District.







"Considering the unique security challenges facing the nation, I think the new President working in a space adjacent to the office of the defense minister could be effective," he told The Korea Times over the phone.







His remarks about the unique security challenges refer to how South Koreans are living with increasing threats from North Korea.







Kim, however, warned of the possible fallout from a hasty relocation, saying that policymakers need to implement it with a thorough plan, after careful consideration of all related factors and risks it could entail.







"Someone (referring to the President-elect's spokesperson Kim Eun-hye) said that the relocation will be done 'before the spring flowers fall.' If they push it through on such a short timeline, significant procedural flaws will be unavoidable. I think they don't need to rush," he said.







The relocation of the presidential office and residence has emerged as one of the hotly debated post-election issues, as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol reiterated that he has no intention to live and work in the current site, located in Jongno District behind Gyeongbok Palace at the foot of a mountain. Last Wednesday, spokesperson Kim told reporters that the chances of the new President beginning his work in the current Cheong Wa Dae are "zero."







On Sunday, Yoon unveiled a plan to relocate the presidential office and residence to Yongsan District, which would require the defense ministry to relocate to the current site of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to be relocated in turn elsewhere.







Despite the President-elect's strong will to find an alternative location for the presidential office and residence, the relocation plan has faced criticism from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).







In a statement, DPK chief spokesperson Koh Yong-jin called the relocation plan hasty, chaotic and contradictory. "It is highly doubtful that the Ministry of National Defense site is really a suitable place for public communication," he said, reproaching the President-elect's procedure for moving forward as unilateral.






Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 20)  The water level in Angat Dam has dropped slightly, according to the latest monitoring report of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

PAGASA said as of Sunday morning, the dam's water level was at 193.39 meters, down 0.12 meters from Saturday, but still within the rule curve of 193.19 meters.

The rule curve refers to the water level needed at a certain time to ensure sufficient supply for irrigation, power, and homes and businesses.

PAGASA said the dam's water level could fall to 189.44 meters by the end of March, and drop further to 180.84 meters by end of April. Angat Dam's minimum operating level is 180 meters.

"Inaasahan po natin na patuloy na bababa ang level ng Angat dahil sa nararanasan nating walang pag-ulan o mahinang pag-ulan dito sa Angat River basin," said PAGASA hydrologist Adel Duran

[Translation: We expect the water supply in Angat Dam to go down because of the lack of rain over the Angat River basin.]

Although there is no foreseen water shortage in the country, the public is encouraged to be more prudent in using water and to store enough supply especially as temperatures are expected to go up.

Earlier, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) said consumers can expect steady water supply in Metro Manila despite the Angat Dam water level being lower than expected.

In January, the NWRB said the country was much better prepared to face the dry season this year compared to the water shortage in 2019 due to the presence of supply augmentation projects.

CNN Philippines' Stanley Cajete and Pia Garcia contributed to this report
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 20)  Partido Lakas ng Masa vice presidential bet Walden Bello publicly challenged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to penalize his rival Sara Duterte and her presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos for snubbing the poll body's debates.

"The Commission on Elections should do something about this. Commissioner, Chair, maari ba, can you penalize these two people, Marcos and Sara Duterte, for not showing themselves to the Filipino people with their programs so that masuri ng Filipino people yung kanilang record at yung program nila?" Bello questioned during the Comelec's first vice presidential debates on Sunday.

[Translation: The Commission on Elections should do something about this. Commissioner, Chair, is it possible that you penalize these two people, Marcos and Sara Duterte, for not showing themselves to the Filipino people with their programs so that they can assess their record and programs?]

Bello made the remark after he refused to answer the question on what his policy areas of expertise are that he can share to the president, if he wins the vice presidency.

Just like in the CNN Philippines Vice Presidential Debate last Feb. 26, the former party-list lawmaker again repeatedly blasted Duterte's absence in some parts of the debate.

"Sara Duterte is not with us. We're slashing one another for her benefit," lamented Bello.

The vice presidentiable also hit the Comelec for its apparently lax penalty for debate skippers. The poll body earlier noted that the absent candidate will no longer be allowed to use its e-rally platform up to the end of the campaign period as penalty.

"We need stronger penalties for these people. This is so undemocratic that they're not here. I'm tempted to walk out right now," Bello said.

Bello specifically called out newly appointed Comelec chairman Saidamen Pangarungan on his concern.

"We are making fools of ourselves without this person who is just clapping up there. Mr. Chair (Pangarungan), can you answer this? We need your answer. You are the Commission on Elections. You can penalize these two jokers, Marcos and Duterte, for not showing up. They are spitting in the face of the Filipino people," Bello ranted.

The vice presidential aspirant also suggested to the Comelec to fine Marcos and Duterte with 203 billion, the same amount of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos heirs' estate taxes.

RELATED: Lacson, Robredo, De Guzman push for payment of Marcoses' tax liabilities

In response to Bello's appeal, Pangarungan promised they will tackle the matter during the poll body's en banc session on Wednesday for a possible resolution mandating a penalty for debate skippers.

"We have to consult the other commissioners on this," Pangarungan told reporters after the debate.

However, Comelec commissioner George Garcia stressed there is a need for an enabling law to compel the poll body to sanction those who will skip debates.

"Comelec can only implement laws that are promulgated by the legislative department. There should be a law. Yung punishment na yan ay manggagaling sa ating legislature, hindi pwedeng Comelec ang magpa-punish ng walang batas (The punishment should come from the legislature. It is not legally right that Comelec punishes without an enabling law)," said Garcia who also confirmed they will deliberate on the issue in this week's en banc meeting.

Marcos and Duterte, the current presidential and vice presidential frontrunners in several pre-election surveys, have skipped the Comelec debates this weekend. They were also absent in the CNN Philippines Presidential and Vice Presidential Debates late last month.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 20)  Vice presidential hopeful Rizalito David said he is willing to back out of the race and urge his fellow bets to follow his lead in order to support Senate President Tito Sotto, and possibly beat the Bongbong Marcos-Sara Duterte tandem which perennially leads pre-election surveys.

"I don't mind supporting Senator Sotto and I don't mind supporting Leni Robredo if that is the case para lang talunin si Marcos and si Sara (just so we can beat Marcos and Sara)," David told reporters hours before the vice presidential debate hosted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday.

He maintained that the tandem will not bring any good to the country, citing their fathers' alleged failures.

David said he chose Sotto since he is the third most powerful person in the country as the Senate President and that he is also coming strong in the surveys. He added that he has yet to discuss this idea with his running mate, Jose Montemayor, Jr.

However, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan and Walden Bello, who arrived after David, disagreed with him.

Pangilinan simply said David is entitled to his own opinion. Bello stressed that he is not backing down.

"It's too early to make decisions on that sort but clearly, I am out to win and I might ask the other candidates tonight if they're willing to withdraw in favor of me," said Bello.

Meanwhile, Sotto said he was "speechless" over David's suggestion.

"I wish to thank him for considering me as a possible alternative candidate," said the Senate President.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and former Senator Bongbong Marcos maintained their lead as the public's top choices with a 53% and 60% rating, respectively. Sotto followed Duterte at 24%, while Robredo is behind Marcos at 15%.

Marcos did not attend the Comelec presidential debate on Saturday, while Duterte's camp informed the public she is likely to skip the VP debate either.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez also told reporters that the agency did not receive a formal notice on Duterte's apparent absence.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 20)  Vice presidential candidates are divided over the proposal to mandate a tandem vote for the two highest government posts.

Three aspirants, including Dr. Willie Ong, Sen. Francis Kiko Pangilinan, and lawyer Carlos Serapio on Sunday said they are in favor of a single-ticket system to ensure effective governance.

Nakita ko kasi sa experience ko, medyo magulo talaga ang politika natin. Maraming sakitan, masasamang salita nasasabi, kaya kapag hindi mag-partner, hindi ko alam kung papano sila magtatrabaho eh, Ong said during the Commission on Elections vice presidential debate.

[Translation: In my experience, I saw that our politics is messy. There are a lot of attacks made and hurtful words said, so I dont know how two people who are not partners would work together.]

Pangilinan and Serapio agreed that there should just be a single vote for a presidential and a vice presidential candidate running in tandem. Like Ong, they said having the top two leaders come from the same political party would help prevent conflicts and establish a more unified agenda.

At least two other candidates, however, believe a tandem vote is not the solution. For one, pro-life advocate Rizalito David said problems in governance would more likely be resolved by shifting to a parliamentary form of government.

Kahit naman magkasama pa yan sa partido, yung bagal ng proseso sa isang presidential system ay yun ang dapat natin i-address, he said.

[Translation: Even if they belong to the same political party, the fact remains that the slow process in a presidential system is the issue we need to address.]

Senate President Vicente Tito Sotto III also disagrees with the proposal, saying the current system of allowing split-ticket voting helps provide checks and balances.

Former congressman Walden Bello, meanwhile, did not give a categorical statement, although he raised the same argument as Sottos.

Maganda sana kung pareho kaya na-elect ng ka-tandem mo, pero okay na rin kung hindi. Maganda nga na may kaunting check and balance doon sa Executive. Kasi yun na nga, the vice president may not always agree with the president, and that sort of point of view is always appreciated, Bello said.

[Translation: It would be good if you and your running mate are both elected, but its also okay if that doesnt happen. A bit of check and balance in the Executive is good. The vice president may not always agree with the president, and that sort of point of view is always appreciated.]

Earlier this year, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian filed a resolution seeking to require a tandem vote for president and vice president, a system used in other countries such as the United States.

Economist Manny Lopez also joined the Comelec vice presidential debate, but he did not share his views on the proposal, which was not originally part of the prepared questions.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza did not attend the event. Duterte didn't give a particular reason, while Atienza said he is still recovering from a knee surgery.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 21)  Vice presidential candidates on Sunday discussed their views on voting tandem-candidates, and on how to cushion the impact of soaring fuel prices, as one of the bets even managed to deliver a song snippet addressed to candidates who skipped the debates.

During the Commission on Elections (Comelec) vice presidential debate, candidates were divided on the possibility of a tandem vote.

Dr. Willie Ong said he wants a tandem voting approach so the president and vice president would get along at work. Carlos Serapio and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan agreed.

"Napakaganda rin na kaagapay ng presidente yung bise presidente para tuoy-tuloy yung mga programa, polisiya," said Ong.

(Translation: It will be good if the president and vice president work hand-in-hand so the programs and policies will run smoothly.)

Rizalito David said it should not matter whether the president and vice president are on the same party. Former congressman Walden Bello said he is not against it, but Senate President Tito Sotto raised that there is a need for checks and balances.

"Hindi ako sang-ayon practically because check and balance eh. Mas maganda 'yung may check and balance," he said.

(Translation: I am not in favor practically because it's check-and-balance. It's better when there's a check-and-balance)

On the rising prices of fuel, all candidates concurred that the P200 aid from the government is insufficient to cushion the impact. Manny Lopez -- though he also admitted that the amount is too low -- argued, "It's better than nothing."

Pangilinan, Sotto, Bello and David all pushed for the suspension of the fuel excise taxes.

"Pag sinuspend mo na ang fuel excise tax, mababawasan ng sampung piso, anim na piso, limang piso kada litro kaagad agad at mararamdaman ng ating mga kababayan 'yan," said Pangilinan.

(Translation: If you suspend the fuel excise tax, the price will drop by ten pesos, six pesos, five pesos per liter. The people will immediately feel the impact.)

To everyone's surprise, Bello called out Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and former Senator Bongbong Marcos by singing a portion of a song.

When asked a question on dealing with corruption, Bello sang a Frank Sinatra classic with its lyrics revised.

"Where are you? Where did you go without me? Nasaan ka? Nasaan ang pera? Ibalik mo na ang pera, ibalik mo na (Where are you? Where is the money? Bring it back?)," he hummed, then cried, "That's for Marcos, Jr., 203 billion pesos, you owe it to the Filipino people. Give it back."

Bello was referring to the P203 billion worth of unpaid estate taxes by the Marcos family, which was also among the hot topics from the Comelec presidential debates on Saturday.

Marcos and Duterte were a no-show for both debates.
(CNN)  One of the three detained British-Iranians who were released as part of a deal signed by the UK has been returned to jail in Tehran, his lawyer told CNN Friday.

Morad Tahbaz, who is also a US citizen, spent 48 hours "under house arrest" with an ankle bracelet before being taken back to prison, according to his lawyer Hojjat Kermani.

Fellow British-Iranian nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori were released Wednesday and flew back to their homes in England.

Tahbaz, an environmentalist who was first detained in January 2018, was released from Evin prison "on furlough to his house in Tehran," UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement on Wednesday.

Tahbaz's lawyer told CNN that "security guards surrounded Morad's home for 48 hours before taking him back to prison."

On Friday, a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said "the Iranians have told the UK government that Morad has been taken to Evin to fit an ankle tag that should have been fitted before his release. We hope to see him returned to his home in the coming hours. Morad Tahbaz is a tri-national and we are working closely with the United States to secure Morad's permanent release."

A spokesperson for the US State Department also told CNN that "Iran made a commitment to the UK to furlough Morad Tahbaz. As the UK government has said, the UK has been told that Morad has been returned to Evin prison solely to be fitted with an ankle tag, after which he will be allowed to go home."

The spokesperson added that the US is not "a party to this arrangement, but would join the UK in considering anything short of Morad's immediate furlough a violation of Iran's commitment."

As of Saturday morning, CNN cannot confirm whether Tahbaz has been rereleased from prison and back under house arrest.

The US is "urgently consulting" with the UK on appropriate responses and said it continues "to work night and day to secure the release of our wrongfully detained citizens, including U.S.-UK citizen Morad Tahbaz."

The State Dept. spokesperson added, "simply put, Iran is unjustly detaining innocent Americans and others and should release them immediately."

Following the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori earlier this week, Truss announced the UK had settled a decades-old 400 million ($524 million) debt owed to Iran, which Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian denied was linked to the prison release on Wednesday.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Detainee in Iran with triple nationality who was released as part of deal with UK is sent back to jail"
(CNN)  Worshipers at a mosque in the Canadian city of Mississauga on Saturday subdued a man who discharged bear spray while brandishing a hatchet in what police said was a possible hate crime.

Mohammad Moiz Omar, a 24-year-old Mississauga resident, was arrested at the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre about 7 a.m. local time during the dawn prayer of Fajr, Peel Regional Police said in a statement.

"Before he could inflict harm on any (worshipers), several congregants bravely were able to stop him," the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre said in Facebook statement.

The mosque statement said the man was also armed with "numerous other sharp edged weapons."

Worshipers sustained minor injuries from the bear spray, police said.

"The members of the Mosque quickly subdued the man until police arrived," police said in a statement.

Investigators were considering "all possible motivations, including hate-motivation" for the assault, which appeared to be an "isolated incident," police said. Charges were pending.

Police will remain "in the area to offer reassurance to the community and the Mosque and provide additional support," the statement said.

Mississauga is about 15 miles southwest of Toronto in the province of Ontario.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Worshipers at Canadian mosque subdue hatchet-wielding attacker, police say"
Penn States Bangladesh Student Association hosted Bangladesh Night 2022 on Saturday in the HUB-Robeson Centers Alumni Hall to celebrate the countrys independence.

Red and green tables filled the room with water bottles and a menu as the centerpiece. Announced by the host, the theme of the event was red and green to match the colors on the Bangladesh flag.

Many in attendance wore cultural attire called salwar kameez in different colors.

During the event, there were several activities presented such as live musical performances, cultural dances, a quiz, a fashion show, food and henna drawing.

President of the BSA Md Fahim Faysal Khan said Bangladesh Night is the flagship of [BSA] as the members miss [their] home.

Khan (graduate-electrical engineering) said guests are invited from every corner of the world to watch them perform [their] own songs, dances and performances and taste [their] food so that everyone will be able to experience their culture.

For the past two years, Bangladesh Night has taken place virtually due to the coronavirus.

Khan said they werent sure if the event would be able to take place in person this year due to the mandates. He said security comes first, but theyve wanted to host in-person events.

Its how we meet people, its how we see people, Khan said.

The host of the night, Tanveer Ahmed said he was a bit worried about hosting the event of a large size and wondered if it would be the right decision at this point.

However, Ahmed (graduate-civil engineering) said the night was a success, and hes excited to host more in-person events in the future. Ahmed also said seeing faces allowed the event to become more lively and having everyone in attendance creates a sense of community."

Rafia Nisat, who was invited to the event by her friend, said Bangladesh culture is important to her, and her favorite part of the night was the dance performances.

Camille Loscalzo of State College said she thought the event sounded fun.

Throughout the night, many performances had the audience cheering and clapping, especially during Suraiya Bhai as the boy group dance and Komola Nritto Kore that was performed together with Rongboti'' as the girl group dance.

Sheikh Atiya Islam (graduate-economics) said her favorite part was the poem performed at the beginning of the night.

The poem "Abaro Ashibo Phire" was about a famous poet, Jibanananda Das and his love for his homeland. It was performed in both Bengali and English.

Nushrat Hoque said she is a member of BSA and came to support all the wonderful performances that are happening.

Hoque (graduate-chemistry) said the culture is really important to her as a way to connect since she grew up in the U.S. but still has family members who live in Bangladesh. Hoque said her favorite part of the event was the fashion show.

Nafi Mohammad Ali is an international student from Bangladesh, and he said he came because he missed his country and wanted to have food from the recipes used at home.

Ali (graduate-anthropology) said his favorite part was being able to listen to the songs in his own language because Bangladesh culture is a part of [his] identity and how he sees the world.

Its where I belong."

RELATED
I Am 3/20.

These words, displayed on colorful T-shirts, flashed through the streets of downtown State College as more than a dozen runners, walkers and cyclists completed a 3.20-mile loop in honor of Osaze Osagie during the 3/20 Coalitions second annual Run to Remember Sunday morning.

Osagie was a 29-year old Black man who was killed by a white 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 toward one of the police officers with a knife. After an unsuccessful attempt to tase him, he was allegedly shot three times in the back 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.

Beginning and ending at the Sidney Friedman Parklet, the Run to Remember kickstarted the coalitions Together We Rise community observance, a facet of State Colleges first annual Osaze Osagie Day of Unity.

Together We Rise is the theme of Sunday's day of events, which is a part of the 3 Cops, 3 Years & 3 Shots seven days of action events demanding justice.

For Melanie Morrison, secretary of the 3/20 Coalition, the Run to Remember was a healthy, almost meditative way to start the day.

Out of respect to the family, this day is to be kept as a day of community, Morrison said. It just seemed right.

Morrison said hosting the run first allowed participants to go home to rest and change before attending later events in the day, which include a community gathering with a moment of silence at the State College Municipal Building, an Art & Activism poetry slam at the same location, a memorial program at a local church and a concert at the Allen Street Gates.

For Solange Sylvain, Osaze Osagies cousin, the event was really important for her and her family to be a part of.

Having never been to State College before, Sylvain, 17, said she felt supported by the community  a community she said was nice to be around during a time of remembrance and celebration, especially after the coronavirus pandemic.

The run, Solange said, was reflective and collective, as well as a good way to kickstart the day.

Elijah Neal, secretary of Queer and Trans People of Color at Penn State, said the event was beneficial for members of the greater Penn State community. He said it had the potential to hit home with many students and showcased the reality of police violence.

Police violence is not just a thing that occurred in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the George Floyd [killing] one time, Neal (junior-political science) said. Its been occurring across America for [centuries].

Neal said he hopes more students attend next years run. As a transfer student, Neal said he was able to see the extent of the State College community through participating in the event, which he said other students might benefit from.

State College community member and borough council member Gopal Balachandran attended the Run to Remember and said the event served as a reminder for all of us in the community to keep working on the issues of mental health and rehabilitation.

Balachandran, 47, worked as a public defender for years and currently teaches at Penn State Law. He said the work and activism events the 3/20 Coalition hosts are a natural extension to the professional work hes been doing for a long time.

A lot of these issues come close to heart, Balachandran said. Im a supporter [of] a lot of the reforms for police and trying to have a greater degree of services for mental health issues.

Ultimately, Balachandran said the event was a lot of fun.

You run through the beautiful neighborhoods of State College. People are waving to you, and theyre very supportive, Balachandran said. Even though there has been a lot of controversy over this issue, I think theres a lot of consensus, too, in the sense of getting help for people with mental health issues.

MORE BOROUGH COVERAGE


By Jason Lim

While tragic and unwarranted, wars provide a glimpse into the world that we are living in. Here are a few interesting observations from the ongoing war in Ukraine that have relevance for Korea.



One, in a Twitter thread, Kamil Galeev, who is the Galina Starovoitova Fellow at the Wilson Center, posed that Russia no longer has the manpower to fight a protracted war, as it was able to do in early 20th century. His theory posits that Russia used to have an endless supply of available young men who were conscripted or otherwise forced to fight in a war. However, industrialization and urbanization have transformed Russia into a low-fertility, depopulating country that no longer has the endless supply of young men it once did, leaving it less able to carry out any war. Therefore, the Russian army is more and more composed of the poor, rural and non-Russians to fill its ranks. "It's an army of minorities and provincial poor," he says.



What does this observation mean to Korea with its high urbanization, lowest fertility rate in the world and a quickly rising median age?



South Korea has long stabilized its urbanization rate of between 81 and 82 percent, which is a precursor to a low birth rate in other industrialized countries. In 2021, Korea's total fertility rate, which is the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, came to 0.81 last year, down from 0.84 the previous year. It's the lowest of all the OECD countries, which average a 1.61 fertility rate. In 2020, Korea experienced its first natural population decline as deaths outpaced births. At the same time, the median age in Korea in 2020 was 43.7 years old, which is expected to rise to 56.5 by 2050. In short, South Korea is a rapidly depopulating country being filled with older people.



Surprisingly, the story is only slightly better for North Korea. While the fertility rate in the North is 1.9, keep in mind that a fertility rate of 2.1 is what's needed for any country to maintain its population. This situation means that North Korea will also start losing people after 2040. North Korea is no spring chicken either, with its median age at 35.3 years old. To boot, its urbanization rate is also climbing above 60%, which means that the fertility rate will continue to go down.



If the Koreas were to go to war, then they will be killing its most valuable resource  young people  and end up fighting the war with an army filled with old men vs. older men. Unless there is some sort of technological force amplifier that can make up for unfavorable demographics, the two Koreas aren't going to war anytime soon, especially an expansionist one that needs boots on the ground to occupy some real estate. Reunification by force seems to be an option that is becoming less viable with every passing year.



Another interesting observation in this Russia-Ukraine war is the increasing role that private sector companies are playing in the execution of the war. While the U.S. and the West are not directly involved in the shooting war, they have certainly been busy, establishing a series of punishing economic sanctions against Russia and its elite inner circle. Also, Elon Musk made news in the beginning of the war by activating his company, SpaceX, satellite internet service in Ukraine in response to an appeal, via Twitter, by the Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation.



Previously, wars were state to state affairs, with all the various thrusts  military, economic or otherwise  executed by one nation upon another. With this one happening in the middle of Europe, it seems that the execution of a war has metastasized to private actors with a footprint large enough to contribute at a scale that rivals or exceeds those of nation states.



Traditional critical infrastructure, such as power plants, dams, bridges and such, might still need kinetic attacks to destroy and disrupt. However, equally important infrastructure, such as the internet, social media, supply chains of various kinds and even fast-food franchises that have enormous reach and concrete bearing on a population's viability, are now owned by the private sector. In modern warfare, it's not an exaggeration to say that an economic blockade must be a public-private partnership (PPP) in order to succeed.



It's actually more than PPPs that participate in modern warfare. Just as social media allowed individuals without institutional or industry support to become celebrated content creators, individuals  working alone or in like-minded groups  now have the power to participate actively in the execution of a war. In recent days, Anonymous, a decentralized international activist movement known for its various cyberattacks against several governments, allegedly took down many of Russia's official websites through coordinated cyberattacks on its internet infrastructure.



Is what's happening in Ukraine foreshadowing the nature of any future war?



In Korea, it could be that the CEOs of Kakao, Naver, Samsung, LG and other conglomerates that own key pieces of critical infrastructure, would have to be in the room where big decisions are made.





Jason Lim (jasonlim@msn.com) is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture.






Dozens gathered Saturday at State College's Allen Street Gates for the Complacency Kills rally  hosted by the 3/20 Coalition as a part of the 3 Cops, 3 Years & 3 Shots seven days of action leading up to the three-year anniversary of Osaze Osagie's death.

Osagie was a 29-year old Black man who was killed by a white 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 toward one of the police officers with a knife. After an unsuccessful attempt to tase him, he was allegedly shot three times in the back 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.

Melanie Morrison, founding member and secretary of the 3/20 Coalition, began the rally by welcoming the crowd and calling for justice.

We are calling for members of State College to not allow this to be swept under the rug of Happy Valley, Morrison said. We are calling on State College to not sink into the comfort of complacency because that is a comfort steeped in privilege  white privilege  that exists within every space in America, and it exists right here in Happy Valley.

The 3/20 Coalition was created in response to Osaze's death with the goal of seeking justice and accountability, according to its Twitter.

You wont hear words like unity. You wont hear words like peace, kindness, any of these things that are used to keep us quiet  to say youre too loud, youre too angry, she said. We wont talk about that today  today we call for justice, and we grieve for a life that was lost.

Morrison then invited other representatives from the community to speak, including a member of the 3/20 Coalition's security team, who urged the crowd to protect one another. The security team is a volunteer-based team of trained de-escalators, according to Morrison.

We cant trust the police here, Fred, a security team member, said. We keep each other safe.

A member of the 3/20 Coalitions Structural Reform Committee, Anton Aluquin, spoke next.

Why are police officers tasked with stabilizing a situation that they have no experience with? Aluquin (junior-immunology and infectious disease) said. Why is it that State College police officers are only required to undergo mental health crisis training every three years? What gives them the expertise to deal with situations like these?

Aluquin called these circumstances a recipe for disaster, especially when guns are brought into the picture.

He then introduced Osazes Law  a local ordinance created by the 3/20 Coalition that would require a social worker to be present at all 302 warrants, hold officers accountable during mental health calls and remove firearms from 302 warrants.

Osazes Law will ensure that people of color who are experiencing mental health crises won't have to die by gunshot by a peace officer ever again, Aluquin said.

The 3/20 Coalition said it hopes to present this ordinance to the State College Borough Council and get it passed by the end of the summer, according to Aluquin, and he encouraged those in support of the ordinance to reach out to members of the Structural Reform Committee.

Keith Hickey, 2018 co-chair of the Centre County Democratic Socialists of America, then described how racism manifests in America through the gaze of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s I Have A Dream speech.

For some people, the America that [MLK] perceives is the America yet to come, Hickey said. But for others, they hear those words, and they think the work is mostly done  that because they hold no overt hate in their heart for Black people as a group, they are on the right side of the inevitable history, they are enlightened, they have personally overcome racism.

Hickey said this way of thinking is a world view that equates silence with peace.

America is a capitalist country, Hickey said. And one of the great rhetorical lies of capitalism is to reduce the manifestations of societal systems through simple, individual actions.

He said individual Black excellence is presented as a cure for racism and evidence to turn the system of white supremacy into an opinion of racism.

The burden of failing is shifted from the transgressor to the victims, Hickey said. Imperfection excuses violence.

Police officers are the violent enforcers of the hierarchical systems of capitalism and white supremacy, Hickey said, and [demanded] a reimagining of power distribution.

This is why we will never stand in unity with police, Hickey said.

Next to address the crowd was a representative of Alleghenies Abolition  a group that strives for the liberation of working-class and oppressed people from capitalism and imperialism, according to its website.

Police are a menace to society, the representative said. Their primary goal is  if you are a marginalized person, a poor person  its to stop you from demanding whats right.

He said he dreamed of a world without cops and oppression where community defense seeks to address the underlying issues of society

Under a system of community defense, you dont really need the police for anything, he said. And for those of you who are worried about crime, most crime primarily stems from economic reasons.

The representative concluded by encouraging the crowd to support Oliver Baker, a Penn State professor who is undergoing the AC70 Dismissal Procedure for tenured and tenure-eligible faculty members after a physical altercation with a counter-protest at a pro-vaccination rally.

On Nov. 8, 2021, Baker was found not guilty on one charge of harassment by Centre County District Judge Steven Lachman, while the other two charges were withdrawn.

The last to speak was Tierra Williams, chair of the 3/20 Coalition.

I am so tired of people warning us to say the word killed and died and passed away  he was murdered, Williams said.

She made distinctions in the type of unity the rally strived for  unity for Black Lives Matter and mental health but not unity with police.

This is not performative We will continue to demand justice whether there are five hundred people out here whether there are 500 people out here, 50 or five, she said. We will speak out against any racist act in this community. This is not Happy Valley for all.

Williams described many ways she said racism persists in classrooms and workplaces, saying "what we will not do is sit here and pretend that just because we are making advancements that the situation with Osaze Osagie is over.

We are not here to make you believe our Black life matters, but what we are here to do is demand that we are not only acknowledge that," Williams said.

It took over a year and a half to get the names of the officers involved in the shooting released to the public, according to Williams.

For some reason the murders of Black and brown bodies in this community and all across this nation are somehow always justified, she said. And we are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

She ended her speech with a chant of No Justice, No Peace! with the crowd.

Until we get justice for Osaze, and until Happy Valley is truly happy for all, we will continue to scream, we will continue to protest and we will continue to demand for justice, Williams said.

Attendees began picking up signs reading It Happened Here, Justice for Osaze and ACAB, among others, and marched down South Allen Street to the home of Osaze.

One community member in the crowd, Ellen Freeman of State College, said Osaze's death hit [her] personally.

I have a child on the Autism spectrum, Freeman said. "Although hes not Black, I still worry about him.

Freeman held a sign that read Disabled Black People Matter!

She said Osazes death could have been totally prevented if the police had bothered to use de-escalation or had a mental health professional present.

Im going to protest with the 3/20 Coalition and anyone else til the day I die because there's no justice, and there needs to be, Freeman said.

She said Pieniazek, who had recently been discharged from a rehabilitation center when the shooting occurred, shouldnt have been there.

It was handled terribly, and to this day, there isnt a clear resolution that is acceptable, Freeman said.

The crowd sang Freedom Fighter, a popular chant at Black Lives Matter events and Blackout Coalition events, replacing the first word with Osazes name.

One Penn State student, Anna, who wished to remain anonymous, said though Osazes death happened before her time at Penn State, she still wanted to come and show [her] support.

Its really a tragedy, [and] nothing has been done still, Anna said.

To other students who may not have been in State College when Osazes death occurred, she said police violence is happening all around you.

You may just see this stuff on the news, but its happening in your community too, she said. I would like to see more organizing on campus to recognize these problems in our community.

For Morrison, calling Osazes death anything but a murder doesnt even make sense."

When the police knocked on his door they covered the peephole of his door, did not identify themselves as police, so he had no idea when he arrived at the door, she said. The police arrived at 2 o'clock, he was dead at 2:02.

Morrison said she believes mental health needs to be decriminalized.

I wouldnt want a police officer to be a mental health counselor through my normal peaceful times, so why would I want a police officer to be the only one responding if I were in a mental health crisis? Morrison said.

Morrison said work in the 3/20 Coalition is difficult.

The desire for people to sink back into whats comfortable  its something were always fighting against, she said. The important thing is to keep Osazes name alive and his story alive.

The 3/20 Coalition plans to get right to work on passing Osazes Law to the borough and pushing it statewide, Morrison said, and more information will be released its social media pages.

Theres really no way to reallocate funding yet from the county  which funds mental health we have to create that pathway," Morrison said. "And nobodys going to do it unless we push for it.

Outside the former house of Osaze, student Nyla Holland spoke on her experience with racism as a Black student at Penn State, as well as how racism and mental health have affected her family.

Its so hard when it hits home, Holland (graduate-public policy) said.

Holland has been involved with the 3/20 Coalition since its formation and was the 2020-21 president of Penn States Black Caucus.

Its so important that we show State College that we havent forgotten, Holland said.

Holland said seeing community members involved in the 3/20 Coalitions seven days of action gives her hope for the future in terms of passing initiatives.

She said she wants to see officers charged, tangible change in the policies and the transparency of the State College Police Department and formal acknowledgements from the borough council of its "wrongdoings in this process.

Ive lived here for five years, and every person I know who is of a marginalized community has had a bad experience here with the people and/or the police, Holland said. If we have to watch our back or be conscious of the biases of other people all the time and their real-life implications for us, then I don't feel like this is happy for all.

Sage was lit to bring peace to the area, and Morrison and Williams put flowers and candles below a tree as the crowd held a moment of silence. The rally then moved back down South Allen Street to the State College Municipal Building for closing remarks.

When you are privileged, you dont see racism, Williams said. You dont get to see all the injustices and the intricacies that the Black people in this community go through because you dont have to acknowledge it.

When people say Osaze wasnt murdered, Williams said, they are feeding into complacency.

This was somebody who was sick  whose parents called to say he was sick. They didnt say, Im worried that my son is going to attack someone' they were concerned about him and his mental health, Williams said. [The police officers] came there [with] a predisposition of guilt.

Williams said she worries about the police officers involved in the shooting remaining uncharged and possibly... answering another mental health call.

I wonder what Black person is going to be at the end of that gun, she said.

Williams said she believes shooting someone three times shows "intent to kill.

If this hadnt happened [or] those officers would [have] been charged, I can guarantee you we wouldnt be in the street about this situation, she said. People in this community are not really going to realize that until its their child.

State College Mayor Ezra Nanes recently proclaimed March 20 as Osaze Osagie Day of Unity in State College  a name that, according to Williams, undermines their cause.

When people say a day of unity or 'What is it going to take for this community to heal? What does that mean? she said. I think it means, What is it going to take for you guys to stop protesting? What is it going to take for you guys to stop yelling?'

In response, Williams said nothing.

Were going to continue to say Black Lives Matter, she said. We are not going to just sit here and let you water stuff down were going to continue to protest until all of the systems are dismantled.

MORE CAMPUS COVERAGE
DENVER, CO - MARCH12: The dome can be seen looking straight up from the rotunda at the bottom of the grand staircase inside the Colorado State Capitol on March 12, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo By Kathryn Scott)
NEW MEXICO

Feds look to involve tribes in land management

ALBUQUERQUE  National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said on March 8 that he and other officials are committed to boosting the role Native American tribes can play in managing public lands around the U.S.

He told members of a congressional committee during a virtual hearing that part of the effort includes integrating Indigenous knowledge into management plans and recognizing that federal lands once belonged to the tribes.

Sams was questioned about how the National Park Service could use existing authority and recent executive directives issued by top federal officials to make good on the latest round of promises to tribes regarding meaningful consultation and having a seat at the table.

Sams, who is Cayuse and Walla Walla and a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, is the first Native American to lead the Park Service.

There currently are four national parks where tribes share co-management responsibilities: Canyon de Chelly National Monument within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in southeast Alaska, Grand Portage National Monument within the Grand Portage Indian Reservation in Minnesota, and Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida.

Tribal officials from New Mexico, Colorado and the Pacific Northwest also testified about the importance of including Native American voices when weighing decisions that could impact cultural sites, water supplies or even forest health.

Carleton Bowekaty, the lieutenant governor of Zuni Pueblo and a member of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, told lawmakers that tribes in the Southwestern U.S. banded together to protect their mutual interests as part of the fight over the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

Court rules grand juries can't challenge COVID orders

SANTA FE  New Mexico's Supreme Court ruled on March 7 that citizens can't convene grand juries to investigate the governor's response to COVID-19 because her actions were lawful and within the scope of her authority.

The unanimous order by the five-member court scuttles three grand jury petitions in the politically conservative southeastern corner of the state against Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The justices also ordered district courts to deny any similar petitions as they are filed.

In the response to the pandemic, the Democratic governor has pursued aggressive emergency public health orders that restricted nonessential business, imposed extended mask mandates and enabled many public schools to suspend classroom teaching for a year or more. The orders withstood multiple legal challenges.

New Mexico is one of six states that allows citizens to convene grand jury investigations directly. But the grand jury petitions against Lujan Grisham were dismissed on face value because the state's pandemic response was legally valid.

The governor's complaint noted that it was difficult for her to determine how many grand jury petitions had been filed or to respond because the proceedings are sealed and confidential.

The Supreme Court responded by directing a judicial committee to consider possible rule changes that would give notice to a public official who is the target of a grand jury petition and allow the official to intervene in the case.

IDAHO

Lawmakers send Texas-styled abortion bill to governor

BOISE  Legislation aimed at banning abortions in Idaho after six weeks of pregnancy by allowing potential family members to sue a doctor who performs one headed to the governor on March 14.

The House voted 51-14 with no Democratic support to approve the legislation modeled after a Texas law that the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed to remain in place until a court challenge is decided on its merits.

The measure had already passed the Senate headed to Republican Gov. Brad Little, whose spokeswoman declined to comment on the pending legislation.

Jennifer M. Allen, CEO of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, a nonprofit group working in Idaho and five other states, urged him to reject it.

But Little last year signed a similar so-called "fetal heartbeat" measure into law. That one included a trigger provision requiring a favorable federal court ruling somewhere in the country, and that hasn't happened.

The latest Idaho measure allows the father, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles of a "preborn child" to each sue an abortion provider for a minimum of $20,000 in damages within four years of the abortion.

Opponents of the Idaho legislation said it's unconstitutional, and six weeks is before many women know they're pregnant. The legislation prevents rapists from filing a lawsuit, but a rapist's relatives could each bring a lawsuit under the proposed law, Harris acknowledged.

Democratic Rep. Lauren Necochea said the country is at a "crisis point" for reproductive rights. "And this legislation is part of the plan to completely restrict, take away nearly all access to abortion care really for any reason in Idaho, she said.

MONTANA

New residents aren't taking pay cuts to move to state

HELENA  Montana's population has been growing during the pandemic, and on average, new residents aren't taking pay cuts to move to the state. That means they're either bringing their higher-paying jobs with them or finding similar-paying jobs in the Big Sky state, policymakers were told in early March.

Legislative fiscal analyst Sam Schaefer presented the data to a committee that is developing a new model to better estimate Montana tax revenues and spending in the coming years.

A few years ago, the concern for Montana budget makers was how state revenues might decline as aging residents moved into retirement with fewer new workers to replace them.

But in recent years, the state's population has increased with higher-income residents, including wealthy retirees, Schaefer said

On average, new residents who moved to Montana in 2020 earned more than existing Montana residents. In fact, the top 10% of new residents had an average household federal adjusted gross income of nearly $600,000, compared to $312,760 for the top 10% of full-year residents, Schaefer's report said.

The top states Montana is drawing new residents from are California, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho and Texas.

ARIZONA

New Yorker rescued twice in 2 days on mountain hikes

FLAGSTAFF  A New York City man who needed to be rescued twice on consecutive days while hiking in a northern Arizona mountain range is urging others to pay more attention to winter weather than he did.

"Warning: Unless you are an experienced alpine mountaineer, DO NOT attempt Humphreys Peak in the winter. There is so much snow that it's difficult to follow the trail and very easy to fall off of it. Moreover, the wind is absolutely brutal," Phillip Vasto said in an online post.

The 28-year-old Brooklyn man first called 911 on March 1 at about 7 p.m. to say he got lost while hiking on Humphreys Trail in the San Francisco Peaks overlooking Flagstaff, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Vasto told the Arizona Daily Sun that he was an experienced hiker but had underestimated the difficult conditions.

During the first rescue, tracked vehicles from the ski resort that travel on snow drove Vasto off the mountain and he declined medical attention.

But at 5 p.m. the next day, Vasto called 911 to say he needed help after injuring himself in a fall near a ridge on the Humphreys Trail.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety rescue helicopter was sent to pick up Vasto and another hiker who had stopped to help him.

The other hiker who stopped to help Vasto, Phillip Wyatt, said it was "very apparent that he wasn't prepared for the climate that he had gotten himself into."
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Danville, IL (61832)

Today

Rain showers in the morning will evolve into a more steady rain in the afternoon. High 59F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

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Periods of rain. Low 56F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
Chinese vice FM calls for cherishing peace, pursuing win-win future for Asia-Pacific

Xinhua) 09:56, March 20, 2022

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng on Saturday called on countries in the Asia-Pacific to cherish peace, work together in unity and pursue a win-win future for the region.

"The Ukraine crisis keeps the world on edge. It also provides a mirror for us to observe the situation in the Asia-Pacific," Le said at the Fourth International Forum on Security and Strategy.

The Asia-Pacific is an anchor for world peace and stability, an engine for global growth and a new pace-setter in international cooperation, he said. "Such a promising situation has not come easily and should be cherished by all sides."

Le called on all countries in the region to cherish peace and not undermine regional tranquility; respect each other and not wantonly interfere in others' internal affairs; promote unity and cooperation and not create division and confrontation; and pursue independence and self-strength and not let others decide our future.

"China stands ready to work with all countries in the Asia-Pacific under the banner of true multilateralism to promote enduring peace, common development and open regionalism, and jointly open up brighter prospects for the Asia-Pacific community with a shared future," Le said.

Since the crisis in Ukraine started, China has worked actively to promote dialogue for peace, voicing its support for peace and doing its best for talks, Le said.

The European continent is a key region for world peace. It was marred by two World Wars and was not tranquil after the Cold War. Now flames of war are reignited. This is indeed deeply distressing and more importantly, should prompt us to profoundly reflect. The lesson is hard and painful. And the root cause lies in the Cold War mentality and power politics, Le noted.

Le said one should not seek its own absolute security. Since NATO promised that it would move "not one inch eastward," it should not renege on its word and keep pushing its boundary eastward by up to one thousand kilometers. Such pursuit of absolute security actually leads to absolute insecurity.

"Bloc politics and group confrontation should be rejected," Le said, adding that military bloc is a Cold War vestige. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, NATO should have been consigned to history alongside the Warsaw Pact. However, rather than breaking up, NATO has kept strengthening and expanding. One could well anticipate the consequences going down this path. The crisis in Ukraine is a stern warning.

Le said globalization should not be "weaponized". China has all along opposed unilateral sanctions that have neither basis in international law nor mandate of the Security Council. History has shown time and again that instead of solving problems, imposing sanctions is like "putting out fire with firewood" and will only make things worse. The abuse of sanctions will bring catastrophic consequences for the entire world.

"Small countries should not be used as a pawn," Le noted, adding that some big countries do not want to get dragged into conflicts and bring harm to themselves, so they make empty promises to small countries, turn small countries into their cat's paw and even use them to fight proxy wars.

"A NATO commitment of no eastward expansion could have easily ended the crisis and stopped the sufferings. Instead, one chose to fan the flames at a safe distance, watching its own arms dealers, bankers and oil tycoons make a fortune out of the war while leaving people of a small country with the wounds of war that would take years to heal. This is highly immoral and irresponsible," he added.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)


By Daniel Shin





Ecole 42 is unlike any other school in France. When it first started, people laughed about it. Ecole 42 now has more than 15,000 students in over 25 countries with 42 campuses. It is ranked as one of the top coding schools in the world. Ecole 42 operates as a tuition-free, non-profit computer coding school.



Applicants aged between 18 and 30 get admitted through a competitive entry process as only four out of 100 applicants are admitted. It could take two to four years to complete the program. However, most of Ecole 42's students can't finish the program because they land a job before they reach the end. Good quality developers that employers really need are in short supply and there is a huge digital skill gap that Ecole 42 tries to address.



Ecole 42 aims to inspire and educate the future digital generation with an innovative, accessible and affordable learning experience. Ecole 42 is motivational and entertaining for people who have an appetite to learn. The learner's reaction has been very positive. Now, it operates globally and tries to keep up with the same level of quality all across the world.



Ecole 42 has no teachers, no scheduled classes, no books and no tuition. There is a team that carefully designs the curriculum to be gamified and with an effective pedagogical plan. The curriculum is deeply rooted in project-based learning that is best suited in a collaborative peer-to-peer learning environment.



Ecole 42 encourages people to learn how to learn. It means developing skills to stay relevant and curious about challenging questions in our generation. Learning how to learn helps learners build up confidence and brain muscle for any challenge coming their way. Curriculum is fun to follow as long as learners are willing to tackle quest after quest.



Learners get points when they complete projects in the curriculum. It gives a sense of achievement and also unlocks more projects in the specialization tracks. That way, they can master different skills quickly and build their portfolios as tangible achievements to show to potential recruiters. Learners can also figure out where they stand by comparing their levels in the cohort.



Once admitted, there is a mandatory experience that you have to participate in, called "Piscine" (French for "swimming pool"), even if you can start anytime. It helps learners dive into coding and learn how to swim out of deep water with help from peers. Piscine is like a four-week-long boot camp.



During this period, learners will discover the basics of coding from scratch, but it also filters out those unwilling to progress. Piscine is an intensive process and, therefore, it is not possible for learners to engage or spend time on other commitments or jobs simultaneously. No prerequisites of any kind are required. No degrees or prior coding training are needed. There is no fixed limit of applicants. So, if you make it, you make it.



Xavier Niel, the man behind Ecole 42, is a French entrepreneur and self-made billionaire. He is the partner of Delphine Arnault, the daughter of Europe's richest man, Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of LVMH. Niel also spearheaded the creation of Station F, the world's largest startup incubator at La Halle Freyssinet, an old rail freight depot, apart from his founding work and major ownership of Free, the second-largest internet service provider and third-largest mobile operator in France.



Niel also owns significant shares of Le Monde and sits on the board of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URM). His middle-class upbringing was the inspiration behind his education venture, Ecole 42. He has emphasized the need for a school that allows everyone to start out on equal footing. He believed that anyone could become a great coder if they possess only two things: logical thinking and their will to pull through.



In the creative economy, a diploma is not something that you can thoroughly judge someone on, particularly whether they can do a job or not. A diploma is evidence showing that those who have earned it have followed the rules well. In contrast, entrepreneurs are rule breakers, as entrepreneurs are always trying to find ways of doing things differently and they often say that the conventional rules shouldn't apply to them.



Pedigree has no meaning in today's technocratic spheres. Engineers and advocates of the lowest-ranked castes from India, for example, say that tech industries don't care about caste and haven't discriminated against anyone as long as they are capable of delivering results. Ecole 42 also breaks all the rules for educating software engineers.



Thirst for an exciting and lucrative career is a powerful motivator. Career aspiration drives the market for education of many types, from competitive kindergartens to elite universities. It is simple and enriching to hear, "If you are in, you'll be a success." Ecole 42 sounds like a compelling and alternative route to become a successful software developer. Although, coding is not a job. The requirements among employers vary and individual positions require different skills. Employers still value conventional credentials.



They may call for sophisticated or specialized skills like advanced mathematics or the entire life-cycle of software development, with specific and proprietary tools that can be rigorously obtained in higher education. Partner companies could apply for real-life challenges to be included into the curriculum but knowledge foundation and archives created or accumulated by leading institutions are crucial ingredients for a holistic learning experience, too.



Quite recently, I am thrilled to engage with a new education venture in Wales much inspired by Ecole 42. Wales is a country in the United Kingdom that has a distinctive culture including its own language, customs, politics, festivals and music. Its rich history, culture and heritage can be combined with the latest digital technologies, as they can be enjoyed by a broader audience with no limits. Welsh culture is full of interesting traditions and legends.



In Wales, heritage is something that refuses to stay contained in museums or dusty books. Wherever we turn, we will appreciate a rich and complex history from the remains of grand estates built by aristocrats and industrialists. Wales was the powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution and many great modern inventions were created there.



Wales has adopted many new cultural artifacts, but it is like a well-kept secret, with its identity and many local traditions that can be a cradle for the powerful new creative economy. Innovative education can bring in talents and opportunities to this beautiful country. We must invest in education, as education can solve complex puzzles and inspire positive social change.





Daniel Shin is a venture capitalist and senior luxury fashion executive, overseeing corporate development at MCM, a German luxury brand. He also teaches at Korea University.


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Familieswithpurpose.com scored 100 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 5/5.0 Stars by Social Team

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PAGE TITLE Families with Purpose - Helping Families Find More Time, Balance, and Purpose in Their Life DESCRIPTION Learn how to create a balanced purposeful life you love for yourself and your family. KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS families, purpose, families with purpose, families with, with purpose, about, you are



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FACEBOOK PAGE LINK FOUND FACEBOOK PAGE www.facebook.com/familieswithpurpose DESCRIPTION Families with Purpose is an online resource for parents who are determined to raise great kids and be great parents no matter how hard it gets. LIKES 5295 PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT 43 PAGE TYPE Website TIMELINE PAGE TIMELINE

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TWITTER PAGE LINK FOUND TWITTER PAGE twitter.com/#!/familiespurpose DESCRIPTION Passionate about helping families live great lives & find balance. Know a little something about raising girls and nothing about raising boys or crafts. :) ACCOUNT CREATED ON 31 May 2008 LOCATION Troy TWEETS 4144 FOLLOWERS 4175 LISTED 162
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Casanova. Lord Byron. Wilt Chamberlain. History is full of people as famous for boning down as they are for their other accomplishments. But sometimes a person's deeds are so impressive, so crucial to the history books, that the screwing they should also be known for gets completely overlooked. We, at least, are here to acknowledge them.

4 If H.G. Wells Actually Had A Time Machine He Would Have Just Used It For Sex

H.G. Wells gave the world influential classics like The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The Popular Sci-Fi Concept. He also looked like a stentorian walrus. Between that and his prodigious output his sex life probably isn't the first subject that comes to mind, but whenever he didn't have his pen in hand he had his penis in someone else's.

Wells' romantic life began with an 1891 marriage to his cousin, who he ditched three years later for one of his students. While they remained married until her 1927 death, Wells had what one of several books dedicated to his bedroom dubbed "a roving eye and unquenchable lust." He often had several affairs on the go, and in 1909 he hooked up with Amber Reeves, the daughter of friends. Reeves was just 22, which didn't stop the 43-year-old Wells from knocking her up in the same year he helped her find a husband. Wells claimed that Reeves indulged his "sexual imaginativeness" that his wife supposedly saw as a "constitutional disease" -- at one point they got busy in a church, then had round two in the bushes outside.
Mark Weidemaier & Mitu Gulati

Ukraine has suffered an unprovoked invasion by a militarily more powerful neighbor, Russia, that covets its territory. The weaker Ukraine, in danger of being overrun, desperately seeks external financing for defense and to support its population. What might we think the rules of international law would be regarding the responsibility to pay that debt?

The relevant law here is antiquated. There are a handful of precedents from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries where, best we can tell, the law was whatever it was convenient for the victor to assert. But, if one were to try and extract a doctrine out of those precedents, it would be that, while a victorious invader inherits the debts of the nation it invaded, it does not necessarily inherit debts incurred to resist the invasion. The doctrine even has a name: the law of war debts. To quote a 1924 treatise, A creditor who advances money to a belligerent during a war to some extent adventures his money on the faith of the borrowers success.

Thats nuts. That doctrine incentivizes potential lenders to invest in the debt of the more powerful actor, even if the less powerful actor has a legitimate right to self-defense. It is perhaps not surprising that such an upside-down rule existed in the colonial era, when great powers constructed the law to justify their acquisition of territory (the original articulation of this doctrine seems to come from Britain after the Boer War). But today? In the supposed post-colonial era when borders are supposed to be sacrosanct absent the most egregious violations of human rights and colonial acquisitions by force are not supposed to happen? When an aggressor launches an unprovoked attack (Mr. Putin has his own version, we recognize), it seems logical both that that the aggressor should bear the cost of the victims self-defense and those who funded it should be the ones at risk. This rule internalizes the cost of misbehavior and might help deter aggression. This rule seems to set the right incentives whether or not the aggressor nation winds up being victorious.

In the Russia-Ukraine context then, who should be responsible for the extra borrowing that Ukraine has to do to defend itself? If the goal is to cause the misbehaving actor to internalize the costs it is imposing, the answer is surely Russia. Furthermore, to the extent lenders helped finance the Russian invasion, they are the ones who should face a high risk of nonpayment, not those who funded the Ukrainian defense. If we were to imagine a situation, post-war, where the international community had to allocate a limited pool of assets (e.g., frozen Russian reserves), wed probably say that claimants who funded Ukraines self-defense should have a higher priority than claimants who helped fund Russian misbehavior. That is especially so if the lenders to Russia had reason to expect misbehavior. Maybe Russia even told them in its risk disclosures whilst borrowing  Hey, dont be surprised if I get sanctioned in the future  because I tend to misbehave. (see Tracy Alloway (here), Adam Tooze (here), and us (here) on this).

None of this is rocket science. One of the things that legal rules are supposed to do is to incentivize good behavior and disincentivize bad behavior. As of this writing, the World Bank has just announced an emergency financing package of $700 million for Ukraine. Maybe that lending will be repaid by Russia, in a post invasion scenario on the theory that multilateral institutions such as the World Bank are not allowed to finance military expenditures. We dont remember seeing any multilateral organization exception in the law of war debts though.

More important though, Ukraine needs financial assistance to defend itself and is surely going to be trying to borrow from the private markets. And lenders are going to be reluctant to fund it (or, will charge more) if they think they face significant risk of non-payment if Russia wins. Whether one liked it or not, risk disclosures would probably have to be made in the prospectus regarding the doctrines of state succession and war debts.

But what if the rule instead were that those who provided financing to Ukraine during these dire times were to have first shot at those frozen Russian assets in the post war period? (in legal lingo, priority)? Those risk disclosures and the pricing of the financing of the Ukrainian resistance might be different.

Maybe, just maybe, the free nations of the world (including those former colonial powers who created these doctrines) should announce a new and improved doctrine of war debts for the modern era: Spoils dont go to the aggressor.
Crossville, TN (38555)

Today

Partly cloudy early. Scattered thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. High near 80F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms in the evening, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low 63F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Models pose with LG Energy Solution's batteries during the InterBattery exhibition at COEX in southern Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of LG Energy Solution



By Baek Byung-yeul



LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, SK On and other Korean battery companies gathered, Thursday, to show off their latest battery technologies for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems at the InterBattery exhibition.



Given the big three battery firms  LG, Samsung and SK  account for over 30 percent of the global battery cell market, not only Korean battery companies but also overseas companies participated in the exhibition to get their own piece of the promising battery technology industry.



InterBattery is Korea's only exhibition dealing with the rechargeable battery industry. Hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the annual event features 270 battery-related companies from here and abroad for three days from Thursday to Saturday at COEX in southern Seoul.



On the sideline of the event, xEV Trend Korea, an exhibition showcasing various EVs, also takes place right next to the InterBattery venue, featuring Hyundai Motor, Kia and other EV makers.



LG Energy Solution exhibited a variety of battery-equipped products such as EVs, energy storage devices, electric bicycles and electric tools under the theme of "consumers' future daily life created by batteries."



The company also displayed next-generation batteries such as a lightweight lithium-sulfur battery with high energy density and a solid-state battery.





BMW's electric SUV is displayed at Samsung SDI's booth during the InterBattery exhibition at COEX in southern Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul



Samsung SDI focused on promoting the company's future battery technologies, unveiling its battery brand PRiMX to the public for the first time. In particular, the company gained attention by displaying its Gen 5 batteries equipped in BMW's EVs and a technology development roadmap for its next-generation Gen 6 battery as well as cobalt-free battery technology.



SK On introduced battery technologies that can greatly reduce the risk of fire. It showcased its S-Pack safety technology that blocks heat to prevent a fire that breaks out in a battery cell from spreading to the entire battery pack.





Visitors to SK On's booth watch Ferrari's plug-in hybrid car that uses the former's battery during the InterBattery exhibition at COEX in southern Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul



What attracted visitors to SK On's booth was Ferrari's plug-in hybrid vehicle equipped with the company's battery cells. It exhibited EVs from various partners such as Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz to emphasize its wide range of cooperative relationships.



An official from a local battery company said the exhibition shows the high growth potential of the Korean battery industry to expand into the global market.



"Basically Korean companies don't do business only looking at the Korean market. They target markets all around the world. In particular, since Europe and the U.S. markets have high growth potential, this exhibition is a good opportunity to tout how well Korean companies are doing in overseas markets," the official said on condition of anonymity.





Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook, second from right, poses with SK On CEO Jee Dong-seob, left, Samsung SDI Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, second from left, and Samsung SDI CEO Choi Yoon-ho at COEX in southern Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
Fairfield County has an equity issue. This is a reality that everyone living in the region knows, and perhaps the most evident case of inequality is in the education system.

The divisions in the public education system are racial and socioeconomic. Some of the most esteemed school districts in the county  including Westport, New Canaan and Fairfield  boast high reading and math proficiencies, college graduation rates, and college matriculations, yet most of their student bodies consist of those from white, wealthy families. And while there is nothing wrong with belonging to these demographics, these patterns do raise questions pertaining to systemic issues, especially because those who attend more under-resourced schools come from opposite backgrounds: low-income, Black or brown families.

As I mention above, these inequalities are evident to anyone living in Fairfield County. Growing up in Fairfield, I have constantly heard microaggressive remarks  both racial and classist  regarding our neighbors in Bridgeport. The schools are awful in Bridgeport. Make sure to lock your doors when you drive through the city. Bridgeport is so dangerous. Regardless of the validity of these claims  which are still prevalent in the citys surrounding suburban towns  it indicates that the residents of these more privileged areas understand that their counterparts in these low-income areas are in different living situations.

I personally believe that everyone finds comfort in ignoring these realities; people want to maintain their ignorance to live in bliss. I also think people would retort to these conversations by arguing that nothing can be done about it. While solutions are difficult to formulate, the important step that Fairfield County needs to take right now is to outwardly acknowledge that these systemic issues, particularly in education, exist. The distinction between successful students and those who can acquire upward social mobility is not simply on the basis of hard work, but also having their basic needs met, a circumstance that is usually only afforded to certain demographics in the county.

In spite of certain interventions that have been made to fix the issue, including the Open Choice program  a lottery that allows students in cities to attend public schools in white, suburban areas  Fairfield County, or Connecticut as a whole, remains one of the most segregated areas in the country. I believe the politicization of the issue is what has slowed down progress, and one of the manners in which effective, gradual change can occur is if lawmakers take the time to read the literature about the best innovations to promote equity in low-income communities. Similarly, if everyone  regardless of political affiliation  takes the time to read and consider the research on these complex social issues with an open mind, then perhaps a more productive approach could occur on a social and political level.

I do not write this to argue or promote a certain piece of legislation. I believe for any progress to occur, the performative activism on a political level and willful ignorance among more privileged communities needs to end. The way progress can occur is through self-education, and eventually, the acknowledgment that there is a systemic component when it comes to inequality in Fairfield County

Brandon Corrales lives in Fairfield.
The 50th annual Greater Hartford St. Patrick's Day Parade was held on Saturday, March 19, 2022. Were you SEEN?
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The Supreme Court has ordered tax authorities to refund Samsung Electronics 11.3 billion won ($9.3 million) in undue corporate taxes from a former patent deal with U.S. software giant Microsoft, court officials said Sunday.







Samsung filed the complaint against local tax officials, who purported that the Korean tech company avoided paying corporate taxes for using Microsoft's patents in its smartphones following a deal in July 2011. Two lower courts also ruled in favor of Samsung.







In compliance with the Korean tax rules and a treaty between Seoul and Washington, Samsung paid 15 percent of the annual patent fee to the Korean tax authorities on behalf of Microsoft in corporate taxes. The fee was paid from the royalty that was due to Microsoft.







In 2016, tax authorities collected from Samsung 113 billion won in undue taxes after learning through a probe that the Korean company paid some 69 billion won less in its patent royalty to Microsoft.







Samsung later objected to the tax collection, arguing that the use of Microsoft's patents unregistered in Korea should not be subject to domestic withholding taxation. (Yonhap)






Barbara Faye Boyles, 75, of Raceland, Kentucky passed away Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at her residence. Barbara was born August 1, 1946, in Load, Kentucky a daughter of the late Homer and Gladys Johnson Boyles. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by one nephew Robert Boyles. Bar
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv, March 18, in this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office. AP-Yonhap





Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Saturday for comprehensive peace talks with Moscow and also urged Switzerland to do more to crack down on Russian oligarchs who he said were helping wage war on his country with their money.







British intelligence warned that Russia, frustrated by its failure to achieve its objectives since it launched the invasion Feb. 24, was now pursuing a strategy of attrition that could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.







Russian forces have taken heavy losses and their advance has largely stalled since President Vladimir Putin launched the assault, with long columns of troops that bore down on Kyiv halted in the suburbs.







But they have laid siege to cities, blasting urban areas to rubble, and in recent days have intensified missile attacks on scattered targets in western Ukraine, away from the main battlefields.







Zelenskyy, who makes frequent impassioned appeals to foreign audiences for help for his country, told an anti-war protest in Bern that Swiss banks were where the "money of the people who unleashed this war" lay and their accounts should be frozen.







Ukrainian cities "are being destroyed on the orders of people who live in European, in beautiful Swiss towns, who enjoy property in your cities. It would really be good to strip them of this privilege," he said in an audio address.







Swiss Federal President Ignazio Cassis listens to a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a demonstration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in front of the Swiss parliament building in Bern, March 19. EPA-Yonhap





Neutral Switzerland, which is not a member of the European Union, has fully adopted EU sanctions against Russian individuals and entities, including orders to freeze their wealth in Swiss banks.







The EU measures are part of a wider sanctions effort by Western nations, criticized by China, aimed at squeezing Russia's economy and starving its war machine.







In an address earlier on Saturday, Zelenskyy urged Moscow to hold peace talks now.







"I want everyone to hear me now, especially in Moscow. The time has come for a meeting, it is time to talk," he said in a video address. "The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russia's losses will be such that it will take you several generations to recover."







Britain's defense Attache to the United States said British intelligence believes Russia has been taken aback by the Ukrainian resistance to its assault and has so far failed to achieve its original objectives.







"Russia has been forced to change its operational approach and is now pursuing a strategy of attrition" likely to involve the "indiscriminate use of firepower resulting in increased civilian casualties," Air Vice Marshal Mick Smeath said in a statement.







Putin, who calls the action a "special operation" aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine and purging it of what he sees as dangerous nationalists, told a rally on Friday in Moscow that all the Kremlin's aims would be achieved.







On Saturday, Russia said its hypersonic missiles had destroyed a large underground depot for missiles and aircraft ammunition in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region. Hypersonic weapons can travel faster than five times the speed of sound, and the Interfax agency said it was the first time Russia had used them in Ukraine.







A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Command confirmed the attack, but said the Ukrainian side had no information on the type of missiles used.







Surrogate babies born in Ukraine wait out war in basement China 'on the right side of history' over Ukraine war: foreign minister 'A color is simply a color': Russian cosmonauts say suits are not inspired by Ukrainian flag Pope visits Ukrainian children at Vatican hospital Ukraine's defense ministry said in its late Saturday night update that Russian forces continued their offensive in the eastern Donetsk region, but Russian troops were forced to regroup in some areas in Ukraine's south and additional reserves were deployed there.



The ministry also said that the "moral and psychological condition of the (Russian) personnel is low and deteriorating with each passing day of hostilities."



The Ukrainian military command in charge of forces in two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine said they had fought off 10 attacks on Saturday, destroying a total of 28 tanks, armored personnel carriers and armored cars and killing more than 100 soldiers. Reuters was unable to independently corroborate the claim.



The U.N. human rights office said at least 847 civilians had been killed and 1,399 wounded in Ukraine as of Friday, with the real figure likely much higher. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said 112 children were among the dead. Russia says it is not targeting civilians.



Kyiv authorities said on Saturday that 228 people had been killed in the capital since Russia's invasion began, including four children.



A further 912 people have been wounded, the Kyiv city administration said in a statement.



Reuters has not been able to independently confirm casualty figures.



Local residents walk along a street after receiving humanitarian aid during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, March 15. Reuters-Yonhap

'Know how to fight'



Ordinary Ukrainians have joined the effort to defend their country, such as at a training facility in Odessa, a picturesque, multicultural Black Sea port, where young urban professionals were learning about handling weapons and applying first aid.



"Every person should know how to fight, how to make medicine," said 26-year-old graphic designer Olga Moroz.



More than 3.3 million refugees have fled Ukraine through its western border, with around 2 more million displaced inside the country. Ukraine has evacuated 190,000 civilians from front-line areas via humanitarian corridors, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Saturday.



"I'll go (to Germany) for three weeks but I hope I can go home after that," said Olga Pavlovska, a 28-year-old refugee in the Polish town of Przemysl, hoping Zelekskyy's calls for comprehensive peace talks will end the invasion.



Hundreds of thousands have been trapped in the port city of Mariupol for more than two weeks with power, water and heat supplies cut off. Bodies amid the rubble are a common sight. Local officials say fighting has reached the city center and heavy shelling kept humanitarian aid from getting in.



About 600 residential buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv have been destroyed and are unfit for habitation since the start of the Russian invasion, Kharkiv's regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said.



Rescue workers were still searching for survivors in a Mariupol theater that authorities say was flattened by Russian air strikes Wednesday. Russia denies hitting the theater.



Interfax quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying Moscow expected its operation in Ukraine to end with a signing of a comprehensive agreement on security issues, including Ukraine's neutral status.



Kyiv and Moscow reported some progress in talks this week toward a political formula that would guarantee Ukraine's security, while keeping it outside NATO, though both sides accused each other of dragging things out.



China has not condemned Russia's invasion, though it has expressed concern about the war.




In diplomatic circles they call it the 'off-ramp'. The theory that Vladimir Putin has to be given a way to save his blood-stained face, and exit the Ukrainian quagmire with something he can present to the Russian people as a victory.

Though to some in Westminster, it's known as 'la rampe de sortie'.

'It's the French who are pushing this the strongest,' one Government official told me. 'It's their strategy first and foremost.'

It's understandable, given the way Emmanuel Macron invested so much political capital in restraining the dictator from the path of invasion, only to then see his faith and hopes ground into the eastern European mud.

But it's not just Macron who sees the attraction of doing a deal with the devil. Last week Boris Johnson's former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost spoke of 'some of the unpalatable choices we may yet have to confront if the fighting in Ukraine is to end, and if this huge crisis is to be managed successfully'.

So is this idea gaining traction within Government? Not if Liz Truss has anything to do with it. 'Her view is we need to force Putin to back down,' one of the Foreign Secretary's officials told me. 'He must fail.'

But it's not just Macron who sees the attraction of doing a deal with the devil. Last week Boris Johnson's former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost spoke of 'some of the unpalatable choices we may yet have to confront if the fighting in Ukraine is to end, and if this huge crisis is to be managed successfully'

Truss's hawkish views are driven by the belief  strongly shared by many of her colleagues  that too much past pacification of Russia's dictator has paved the path to the current crisis.

'She thinks we were woefully absent in 2014 in Crimea, and left Germany and France to run the show,' an ally told me.

That's why last week she drove a new package of emergency sanctions through the Commons, measures that Ministers say now go further than either the EU or the US. It's also why she was one of those pushing hard for the declassification and publication of intelligence on the Russian military's invasion plans and occupation strategy.

'We haven't seen sensitive intelligence released on this scale since the Cuban missile crisis,' one Foreign Office official told me, 'and it's been vital for keeping Putin off balance and countering his propaganda machine.'

It's these echoes of crises past that frame the Foreign Secretary's current stance. 'If we give Putin concessions, then we risk being seen to reward aggression,' an ally explained, 'and if we do that we won't just embolden him, we'll embolden the likes of China, North Korea and Iran.'

But it's not just a fear of sending the diplomatic dominoes tumbling in the wrong direction that is making Ministers wary of offering Putin an escape route. In the weeks leading up to the invasion, a number of senior Cabinet Ministers engaged in a round of intense negotiations with their Russian counterparts. And they still sport the scars.

'I sat opposite some of Putin's closest lieutenants,' one Minister recalls, 'and they looked me in the eye and said, 'There will be no invasion.' You simply can't trust them. What would this off-ramp look like? Where would it actually lead?'

Not through Downing Street. On the eve of the invasion, Boris was told by defence officials it would take a maximum of three weeks for Russia to secure her objectives. So as he's witnessed the heroic resistance, Ukraine has become not just a political but also an emotional struggle.

He speaks almost daily to Volodymyr Zelensky. He was visibly moved as watched the Ukrainian president's video address to Parliament. And although he has taken a lead in supporting Ukraine's resistance, the Prime Minister has told friends he feels a heavy sense of guilt at not being able to do more  particularly the imposition of a no-fly zone.

As a result, in his discussions with Zelensky, Boris is careful not to apply pressure on the embattled leader. 'He's told him we will back him whatever,' an ally revealed. 'And that if he feels the time has come to negotiate a settlement, he'll have our wholehearted support.'

But that support also comes with a warning. 'He's told Zelensky that if and when it comes to peace talks, he should be extremely sceptical of anything Putin offers. He can't be trusted. And he shouldn't feel any pressure from anyone in the international community to cave in to Putin's demands. If he wants to hold out, we'll also be there with him.'

There have been times since the Ukrainian crisis broke when the Government has struggled to match its bold words with equally bold deeds. The initial sanctions regime was threadbare. The delay in targeting the oligarchs was negligent. The failure to have a plan in place for the processing of refugees unconscionable.

As a result, in his discussions with Zelensky, Boris is careful not to apply pressure on the embattled leader

But those have proven to be system failures on the part of No 10, not strategic ones. 'Boris definitely views this as a defining moment,' an ally reports. 'We haven't seen such a stark international division between right and wrong for quite a long time. He sees it as a moral issue.'

Which is why ushering Putin towards the off-ramp holds so little appeal for him. Over the past couple of weeks, even some of Boris's most ardent critics have conceded that the PM has stepped up. 'I think he's a terrible human being. I think he's a terrible Prime Minister,' said former Minister Rory Stewart. 'But I think he's done OK on the Ukraine crisis.'

And the reason he's done that is because he's finally found a crusade he believes in.

Boris backed Brexit  indeed is seen as one of its architects. But in truth he was a Brexit appropriator, rather than a true believer.

He guided the nation through Covid, and in a way that most recent analysis shows bears positive comparison with the rest of Europe. But lockdown, and everything that went with it, grated with his libertarian instincts.

Now, in Ukraine, he at last has his cause. 'He sees this as a test,' a friend reveals. 'He thinks the lessons of recent history haven't been learnt. Putin has to be shown to lose.'

Putin has his off-ramp. He can turn his tanks around and take the road back to Moscow

Some people have taken to calling this the Prime Minister's Falklands moment. But he views events through a different historic prism.

In his book The Churchill Factor, Boris's opening chapter takes the reader into what he describes as 'a dingy room in the House of Commons  up some steps, through a creaky old door, and down a dimly lit corridor'. It's the afternoon of May 28, 1940, and the War Cabinet are assembled.

They are confronted by a stark but simple choice. Should they fight? Or should they accept the reality of the situation, take the pragmatic view, and concede to mediated peace talks with Hitler?

Britain would fight, Churchill decreed. Because, as Boris records the moment, 'he had the vast and almost reckless moral courage to see that fighting on would be appalling, but that surrender would be even worse. He was right'.

He was. In the same way Boris and his Ministers are right now. Putin has his off-ramp. He can turn his tanks around and take the road back to Moscow.

That is the compromise that can lead to this huge crisis being managed successfully. Because we've seen where compromising with Vladimir Putin  actually, let's call it what it is: appeasement of Vladimir Putin  has led us before. The first invasion of Ukraine in 2014. The 'intervention' in Syria of 2015. The chemical weapons attack in Salisbury of 2018. The second invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Boris is correct. This time Putin must lose. And crucially, the Russian people must see him lose. According to a poll last week, 69 per cent of Russians believe their country is acting as a 'liberator'. They need to know the truth.

This is not Boris's Falklands moment. It's his Churchill moment. Just as it's Volodymyr Zelensky's Churchill moment. And the world's.
Brooklyn McInerney, pictured with her baby Everleigh in hospital after she stopped breathing and went limp in her cot at home

A first-time mum has revealed the horrifying moment her newborn stopped breathing, turned blue and 'went floppy' three days after coming home from hospital.

Brooklyn McInerney, from Bourke in northwest NSW, said her daughter Everleigh was happy and alert in her cot when she quickly stepped out of her bedroom to put freshly pumped breast milk into the fridge.

She hadn't even made it to the kitchen when the baby's apnoea alarm sounded throughout the house, prompting Brooklyn to 'drop everything and run'.

'When the alarm went off I felt my whole life being pulled out from underneath me,' the 22-year-old told FEMAIL.

When she entered the bedroom, the monitor told her Everleigh hadn't taken a breath for 20 seconds.

'When I saw her she was blue and floppy. My life flashed before my eyes, she wasn't even flinching and the alarm was right in her ear.

'I touched her and thankfully she came to and was okay,' Brooklyn said.

The traumatic incident, which happened 11 months ago, still brings tears to the mum's eyes.

The now one-year-old was born with Pierre Robin Sequence - a rare syndrome which makes it harder for her to breathe

Brooklyn and her partner weren't expecting Everleigh to have complications and spent their first five weeks together in hospital in Sydney, 800km from their home in Bourke

'I was horrified that I might have to use CPR on my newborn but all the steps came rushing back to me, I knew I could do it,' she said.

Everleigh was born with Pierre Robin Sequence, which means her airways are narrow, she has a cleft palate and her tongue can easily fall backwards, causing her to suffocate.

This happened the moment she was born, with hospital staff resuscitating the seconds-old baby.

'She was taken from us straight away, they tried to incubate her seven times before they were successful because her airways were so narrow they couldn't get the tubes in.'

Brooklyn said she looked up at her partner, Bailey Smith, the moment Everleigh was whisked away and will never forgot his expression.

'I have never seen him more scared than he was in that moment, it was the first time I had ever seen tears in his eyes,' she said of the 24-year-old who has six-year-old daughter to a previous relationship.

They were overjoyed when they were able to go home, but had to soon return to the hospital after Everleigh stopped breathing

'Parenting wasn't new to him but having a sick baby was, it was just as scary for him as it was for me,' Brooklyn said.

Everleigh was born at Dubbo Hospital but was swiftly moved to Westmead Children's Hospital where specialists could treat her rare condition.

'My pregnancy was normal so we were all expecting a healthy baby, if doctors had known she had PRS she would have been born at Westmead.'

Brooklyn and Bailey spent the next five weeks 'a world away from home' in Sydney where doctors and nurses cared for Everleigh.

'They taught us CPR, and how to tube feed her and how to keep her alive,' Brooklyn said.

They also put the baby on a CPAP machine and apnoea monitor and taught her parents how to use the lifesaving devices at home.

What's Pierre Robin Sequence? Pierre Robin sequence, also called Pierre Robin syndrome, or PRS, is a condition where babies are born with a small lower jaw, have difficulties breathing (airway obstruction) and often (but not always) have a cleft palate (an opening in the roof of the mouth). The breathing problems start either from or shortly after birth and are often also associated with feeding difficulties and problems gaining weight. Signs and symptoms include: Having a small jaw and cleft palate, along with breathing difficulties, which can be present from birth. These may show in one or more of the following ways: 1 - The baby may appear to be working hard to take breaths and look worn out and tired with breathing 2 - Their chest appears to be sucking in with each breath 3 - A grey or blue colour appears around their lips, even if the baby is still breathing 4 - Their breathing may be noisy (especially when breathing in) If you see any of these signs of breathing difficulty, call an ambulance immediately. SOURCE: The Royal Children's Hospital Advertisement

During their stay at Westmead, Everleigh had a number of episodes but medical staff were always on hand to help.

When it was time to go home Brooklyn was excited, because Bailey's other daughter Lilah and the rest of the family would finally be able to meet her, but also scared.

'Part of me didn't want to leave at all. I didn't want to go home because I felt safe in the hospital,' she said.

However, after Everleigh stopped breathing at home, the family returned to Sydney and the baby's personal medical team.

Brooklyn and Bailey made the decision to let doctors alter Everleigh's jaw to minimise the risk of her tongue blocking her airways again

Everleigh, pictured with her dad Bailey, hasn't had an episode since the operation

Doctors decided Everleigh would benefit from having her jaw 'wound out' which would involve cutting the bone and changing the shape of her bite.

They sent the family home for two weeks to help them decide if they wanted to go through with the procedure.

'After three days of stressing that she would stop breathing I agreed to the surgery. It was always there at the back of my mind and I didn't know how much more I could take,' Brooklyn said.

Everleigh has been breathing fine since having the operation, and recently celebrated her first birthday.

She will have her cleft palate fixed in June and see speech pathologists and audiologists down the track.

What are Brooklyn's tips for mums with sick kids? 1 - Take time for yourself, including looking after your mental and physical health 2 - Lean on your family and friends for support 3 - Use the hospital social workers - they are amazing 4 - Know how to perform CPR on a baby Advertisement

Brooklyn, who works as an environmental officer for her local council, always wanted a family of her own.

'It scared me for a while after she stopped breathing. And I wondered why I had been chosen for this journey,' she admitted.

'But now I know it has made me a stronger mum and me and Everleigh were meant to be in this together.'

Everleigh is pictured here with her older sister Lilah - who has made up for lost time after not being able to meet her sister for five weeks after her birth

She plans on having more children and says she is prepared for whatever happens next.

'Obviously I want a healthy baby but it won't break us if we don have one and we know that now, so we could handle it better.'

Brooklyn and Everleigh are now ambassadors for Westmead Hospital's Bandaged Bear Appeal, and donations can be made here.
Social media users from around the world have attempted to answer a baffling question: are there more doors or wheels in the world?

Much like 2015's famous 'is the dress white and gold, or blue and black?' controversy, the question has been fiercely dividing opinion, with people pledging their allegiance to either #teamdoors or #teamwheels.

The debate kicked off when Twitter user Ryan Nixon, from New York, revealed he and his friends had been discussing the matter privately. Ryan created a poll for his followers so he could get their input.

Posting the poll, he said: 'My mates and I are having the STUPIDEST debate... And I am here for it. Do you think there are more doors or wheels in the world?'

Twitter user, Ryan Nixon, started the debate on how many doors vs wheels there are in the world, when he shared a conversation he had with his friends

After the phenomenon spread to TikTok, creators have been battling over their respective chosen answers

In his poll, 46.4 per cent of people voted for doors, with 53.6 per cent opting for wheels.

After the debate expanded to TikTok, one user did his own maths to conclude that there are 144.8 billion doors to just 67.6 billion wheels in existence.

However, this was hotly contested, with one #teamwheels fan arguing that multiple wheels can be found in a range of unexpected places.

To demonstrate, they showed imagery of wheeled objects many may have forgotten to consider, including clocks, bikes, trolleys, cupboard drawer wheels, prams, skateboards and hospital beds.

Some Twitter users were convinced it couldn't possibly be anything but wheels as the obvious winner

The plot thickened when people began to question exactly what constitutes a wheel or a door, and whether any allowances would be made for similar objects.

As one Twitter user asked: 'What counts as a wheel? Do shafts count? Gears? individual ball bearings inside a bearing?

'Your average car will have 100's of wheels but only like 6-8 doors (depending on how you count those! Glovebox and trunk obvi, but what about the hood???)'.

Some were much more confident in their beliefs, stating that the answer must, unequivocally, be wheels.

One person said: 'I'm sitting on a chair right now that has 5 double wheels (or ten wheels if you prefer me to do the maths for you) and exactly ZERO doors.'

Another agreed, saying: 'Who is voting doors??? Theres wheels on everything. I have wheels on my garment rack, makeup storage holder, rubbish bin. Its definitely wheels.'

Many shared memes illustrating their conviction that there are far more doors in the world than wheels

Others, however, felt equally strongly about doors, with one Twitter user writing: 'Doors. Valves are doors that occur in nature and are innumerable; wheels do not occur naturally, no plant or animal has a wheel.'

Another agreed, saying: 'Doors. Pretty much everything with wheels has doors, except bikes. Anyone who owns something with wheels will live in a building whose doors outnumber their wheels. Eg I own 10 wheels (2 cars, 1 bike) but 28 doors'.

While a third thought it was obvious: 'From where I'm sitting in my home I can see about 30 doors. No wheels. My car has the same number of doors as it does wheels. Team door easy.'
Hayley Simmons a director for UK-based kitchen company Magnet told FEMAIL the household ingredients are a cost-effective way of cleaning

A kitchen expert has revealed how you can use pantry staples like non-stick cooking spray, salt and lemon juice to deep-clean your kitchen.

Hayley Simmons a director for UK-based kitchen company Magnet told FEMAIL the household ingredients are a cost-effective way of cleaning.

She also said the most important thing to consider when it comes to doing a deep clean of your kitchen is to leave enough time to do the job well.

'Deep cleaning your kitchen can be a chore for many, but there is nothing more satisfying than a spotless kitchen. Those sparkling appliances, perfectly organised cupboards and immaculate worktops just make you feel good,' she said.

She also shared the five natural cleaning alternatives to help you save time and money, whilst being kinder to the environment when spring cleaning your kitchen.

Bi-carbonate soda and vinegar - for the oven

Cleaning the oven can be one of the hardest, messiest jobs in the kitchen but this combination can help save you hours of scrubbing.

'Simply mix up a paste using baking soda and vinegar and apply to the walls and wire racks of your oven, where the fizzing reaction between these acidic and alkaline ingredients will help to lift burnt-on food. Leave the mixture to work its magic for half an hour, then wipe down with a soapy sponge,' the expert said.

Cooking spray can be used to make everyday items non-stick so they are easier to clean

Water and distilled vinegar - to cut through built-up grime

'You dont need to resort to harsh, harmful chemicals to tackle the greasy residue that builds up on the cooker hood after months of cooking up tasty dinners,' she said.

'Instead, fill a spray bottle with a mixture of water and distilled vinegar, spritz liberally onto the cooker hood and leave for 5-10 minutes, then wipe away with a damp cloth.

'Distilled vinegar can also be used to descale your kettle. Add your vinegar and bring it to a boil. Next, let it sit for an hour, then empty and rinse and your kettle should look brand new.'

Lemon - to fight grease

Like vinegar, lemon juice is another great natural solution for fighting grease, plus it leaves your kitchen smelling beautifully fragrant and fresh.

Poll Do you prefer to use more natural ingredients when cleaning? No, give me the hardcore chemicals! Yes, I love them! I don't care as long as whatever I use is effective Do you prefer to use more natural ingredients when cleaning? No, give me the hardcore chemicals! 38 votes

Yes, I love them! 102 votes

I don't care as long as whatever I use is effective 129 votes Now share your opinion





Heating a cup of lemon juice in the microwave for three minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated, will cut through stubborn burnt-on stains so they can be easily wiped away with a sponge, leaving your microwave spotless.

Salt - to clean chopping boards

Since wood is a porous material, it can be particularly tough to remove stains and discolouration from a wooden chopping board.

'Thankfully, there is a simple answer to this age-old problem  salt. Sprinkle coarse sea salt over your chopping board then use half a lemon to scrub the rough granules over the surface, loosening trapped-in dirt,' she advised.

For plastic chopping boards, mix baking soda, vinegar and lemon together instead, she added.

Non-stick cooking spray - to protect kitchen tools

'This one isnt directly used to help you clean, but it will make the end job easier. Next time you grate your cheese using a grater, spray it with non-stick cooking oil first,' she said.

'This will stop the cheese from sticking to the metal - making it much easier to clean. Cooking spray can also be used when measuring out sticky substances, such as honey or syrup, spray the dish or bowl first so you can then pour it out with no stick.'

The expert also said being prepared before tackling big cleaning jobs is key, this includes giving yourself enough time and moving everything out of the room before beginning.

She also says it is important to make a list of the things you are planning to clean to insure every job gets done.
A young mum has been inundated with tips for securing the best possible petrol price after asking budget-savvy women how they save money at the bowser.

The mum revealed she plans to travel 40,000 kilometres around Australia with her family in the next 12 months and wants filling up to be 'less painful'.

Posting on the popular 'She's on the money' Facebook page she also noted they will be pulling a caravan which inevitably adds to their financial burden at the pump.

A young mum has asked for help to secure the best possible petrol prices after planning a 40,000 kilometre trip around Australia with her family

And people were more than happy to help, noting their disgust as prices soar well past $2 per litre for the cheapest fuel.

'I only fill up a quarter of a tank until I see it at a reasonable price, like under $1.90 per litre,' one woman said.

Another woman said she makes the most of lower prices too, filling her jerry cans for a full stock-up when she sees 'a good deal' or before heading to the bush.

'Small towns can be easily over $3 for fuel because it's it's hard to get it there so jerry cans can definitely help. Most of those places won't have any form of discount system either and many are unmanned stations,' she said.

Others said the mum should look at joining supermarket reward programs which offer fuel vouchers as part of the perks.

While another woman said she shops for staples at petrol stations so she can double-dip on the supermarket chain discounts.

'I've always used my Woolies rewards card and tried to find the 4c off per L. I know some Caltex + Woolworths places offer 8c off per L if you spend $5 in store,' she said.

She added that she also has a 'short-term hack' which should take the pressure off for a few weeks.

'I just download the Ampol (Caltex) app, paired it with my Woolies rewards card and I can get 6c off a L for the first 3 tank fills,' she said.

Some people said they use jerry cans to store as much fuel as possible when they spot a good price or prepare to go to more expensive areas

What are the top tips offered by the budget-savvy women? 1 - Download fuel-tracking apps 2 - Double dip on supermarket discounts using dockets and reward programs 3 - Look into rewards and cash back schemes offered by your bank 4 - Only fill up a quarter of a tank until you see a good price 5 - Drive at $80km/h to maximise economy 6 - Get a hybrid car so that your fuel lasts longer 7 - Ask friends and family for fuel cards instead of gifts 8 - Use the 7/11 app to 'lock in' low prices when you see them Advertisement

Others said they use the 7/11 app which allows them to 'lock in a price' for fuel, so if petrol prices surge they can pay the lower rate.

'They also show you where the cheapest petrol is,' one woman said.

And third-party price comparison apps were also popular among the women.

'Last time I filled up, a small locally owned servo was minimum 20 cents per litre cheaper than everywhere else,' said one app user.

Poll Have changing petrol prices changed the way you drive? Yes, absolutely. No, not at all. Have changing petrol prices changed the way you drive? Yes, absolutely. 80 votes

No, not at all. 34 votes Now share your opinion





'Even with the discounts that Coles or Woolworths offer, I find they're still usually more expensive than other places, so don't just fill up there without comparing to other places,' she added.

The savvy woman added that some banks have reward programs that could help.

'Not a fuel discount, but Shopback often have cashback on gift cards, so you could buy some for fuel. If you're a Commonwealth Bank customer, they sometimes have cashback for some service station chains if you pay with debit or credit card, you just have to activate the offer in your rewards section.'

One woman said the mum should 'drive at the most economical speed' for her car which would be about 80kms per hour.

'We couldn't believe how much that made a difference on the 3000km trip we did last year,' she said.

While another woman suggested the family invest in a hybrid car to slash their need for petrol.

She said she gets 1400-1600kms out of each tank of fuel which is the equivalent to driving from Melbourne to the Gold Coast.

'Would be certainly a lot less painful to have to worry about jerry cans and refuelling when youve got a car you know wont run out of fuel between long treks between servos in the middle of no where,' she said.

Others revealed they get discounts of up to ten cents per litre from their toll accounts and suggested the mum look at the rules for each state.

One woman said she asked for fuel cards from family members who wanted to give her a gift before her epic road trip around Australia.
Shoppers have been left furious after Aldi cancelled their much-anticipated snow gear sale for the second time in three years, citing supply chain issues.

The popular German-owned retailer revealed the 2022 sale wouldn't go ahead noting they have had to focus on keeping essential items on the shelf.

The news, which was posted to the retail giant's social media on Friday, left thousands of customers reeling, with many all too happy to express their anger.

Aldi's snow gear sale is one of the most popular events in their retail calendar - this year it has been cancelled

The annual winter sale sees prices slashed on seasonal gear including ski jackets, pants, helmets, boots, goggles, gloves and thermals

'You cant buy our snow clothes to keep you warm and dry this winter, but its ok, you can still buy a keyboard, a party speaker, cheers Aldi,' said an angry young woman.

While another said 'Aldi's constant excuses are beyond disbelief' claiming his store has been out of toilet paper and 'rarely have advertised special buys'.

'What a surprise, the last two years you have advertised special items you don't have. I don't waste time on special buys anymore,' said another.

This is the second time since the beginning of the Covid pandemic that the sale, which typically attracts thousands of shoppers to each store, has been cancelled.

'Deep disruption in our supply chains over a number of months has meant that we have needed to make difficult decisions to make sure grocery is prioritised, and the removal of this years Snow Gear Special Buys was a hard, but responsible option,' the company's statement read.

'We know the Snow Gear is a much anticipated Special Buys event. It is never our intention to cause disappointment, but we hope our customers understand the need to prioritise essentials in a time that has been a logistical challenge,' they added.

Customers were equally as disappointed back in 2020 when the event was scrapped for the first time.

The retailer said they have had to prioritise essential items over sourcing the snow gear due to supply chain issues

But the store managed to redeem itself in 2021 offering a large variety of gear to shoppers, with thousands lining up to grab a deal on sale day.

Footage from last year's sale shows people banked up outside a Sydney store hours before the doors even opened.

While many voiced their disappointed in the cancelled sale others applauded the retailer for their decision, noting essentials are more important than discount snow gear.

'It is good to see you have priorities, we need food and other essentials, we don't need discount snow gear. It is cool to see a big company make a decision that's best for their customers,' one man said.

The retailer promised customers the sale would be back in 2023.

Aldi's full statement: We know many customers look forward to our annual Snow Gear Special Buys and we are disappointed to share it will not be in stores this year. Due to supply chain issues that have impacted retailers across the country, our priority has been ensuring essential grocery items are available on shelves. Deep disruption in our supply chains over a number of months has meant that we have needed to make difficult decisions to make sure grocery is prioritised, and the removal of this years Snow Gear Special Buys was a hard, but responsible option. We know the Snow Gear is a much anticipated Special Buys event. It is never our intention to cause disappointment, but we hope our customers understand the need to prioritise essentials in a time that has been a logistical challenge. We love the Snow Gear Special Buys and cant wait to be a part of customers snow holiday plans with top quality gear at low prices in 2023. Souce: Aldi Advertisement

'I doubt we would have been able to make it to the snow this year anyway, thanks for your honesty Aldi, we will see you for the sales next year,' one woman said.

Poll Are you disappointed with Aldi's decision? Yes, I need ski gear. No, they did the right thing. Are you disappointed with Aldi's decision? Yes, I need ski gear. 5 votes

No, they did the right thing. 26 votes Now share your opinion





The snow gear sale has been a huge hit in previous years, with pictures shared on social media showing lines winding through streets and car parks and shoppers scrambling to get their hands on the cheap buys.

Customers have previously reported 'chaotic' scenes, including people 'scratching' their way to the front of the massive queues.

Shoppers said they were lucky to 'survive' the ordeal and some revealed seeing 'middle aged women throwing elbows and punches over a pair of ski pants'.

'Saw a massive fight at my local Aldi last year during the snow sale. Two ladies were going at it scratching, biting and pulling. Then their husbands/partners started belting each other up, it was a sight to behold,' one shopper shared.

A woman who braved the snow sale said 'crazy psycho people were everywhere' and another described the chaos as 'the end of the world'.
Last Wednesday morning I tidied my small study at home where I work. The cleaner was coming but I did not want her to go in there.

I vacuumed the carpet and laid out a selection of beds around my desk for my dog, Wolfy, to choose from. We knew at that stage that Wolfy was about to die. I hoped I would have a few more days, at least one more night.

But my boyfriend said to keep him alive was cruel. That morning he had gone to work and left the decision with me. Now I was preparing a room for my beloved good boy to spend his last day alive. The vet would come at 7pm; Wolfy could be given a sedative then a massive dose of anaesthetic that would kill him in seconds.

We knew at that stage that Wolfy was about to die. I hoped I would have a few more days, at least one more night

He lay beside me at my desk on a huge pile of soft, slightly smelly bedding. An ailing gentleman, his breathing was a little wheezy and hed lost a few kilograms in weight. His ribcage under his scruffy fur was like a xylophone. There was a bandage around his left elbow where a tumour was removed just after Christmas.

Other people loved telling me how he looked old, tired, and asking questions about his age, but to me he stayed the same he had ever been, my soulmate and a beautiful boy.

I can only guess Wolfys age, he was probably around 12  I will never know as I was his third owner. He was found in 2014 near Manchester, an unchipped stray. His second owners gave him up. Then I found him. What luck!

Wolfy started slowing down the year before lockdown. He would pant and cough. I kept thinking he was hot, or tired or stressed.

I took him to the vet. Actually, he was struggling to clear fluid from his lungs. Turned out to be the symptoms of congestive heart failure. The vet gave him two to three years to live. That was two years ago.

Modern veterinary medicine worked wonders, but still I longed for him to be old Wolfy. To bound up the stairs and jump on the bed, or zoom from the spot he was sniffing to come back to me.

He still came and put his head between my knees when I sat down. He never really lost the ability to hop onto a nice soft sofa. But his spirit was dampened by illness. I wanted him to sneak some food from the table  to be naughty.

It was very difficult for me when people said Wolfy was getting on, that he was a senior dog, in the winter of his life, an old boy  whatever euphemism you want to use. As I saw it, all those phrases described was the terrible truth that my dog would die soon.

I tried to accept that Wolfy was going to die but his presence has been a constant in the past seven years. Weve done everything together. I took him to meetings, we went on holidays, hed curl up next to my table when I went to review restaurants (or on the seat if allowed) and patiently, politely, wait for a taste of my food.

When he ran away from a dogsitter, I wrote a bestselling book about him called Lost Dog. Its subtitle: A love story. A movie script has been written, a hot Hollywood producer has optioned it. Perhaps Wolfy and my love will be a film one day.

He still came and put his head between my knees when I sat down. He never really lost the ability to hop onto a nice soft sofa

And now he wont be there  he wont lie on the steps into the kitchen watching me cook, he wont nuzzle biscuits from my hand, he wont look up from the sofa when I open the door. On Wednesday last week, I watched as his stiff but still so handsome and regal haunches swayed down the alley behind my flat. He still had his dignity. I watched and thought: This is the last time I will see this.

I felt so sick. Why didnt I know or think about this period in a dogs life? Why wasnt I prepared for it?

I understand now why people say it puts them off getting another dog  almost inevitably you will outlive them and the price we pay for loving and being loved back by a dog is the responsibility to give them a good death at the end.

What a responsibility that is.

I was grieving already, fearful, panicked and sick with it.

It first looked like he might die a few months ago. One night I lay next to him, massaging his paw, exhausted and sad and nodding off in between the half-hourly chimes of my fathers grandfather clock. He weathered it, he rallied, our wonderful vet removed the tumour. We knew these were the last weeks and months, but secretly I hoped for a miracle  another year.

After the operation I had to carry him up and down stairs, but he was still alive, still my Woofles. He still pootled about, snoozed peacefully, loved to snuggle and still had the energy  even on that last morning when we woke up  to shift himself higher up the bed, closer to my pillow.

Even before Christmas, people had started muttering about putting him down. There was a comment about his smell, little digs and tiresome remarks.

No one loves a smelly old dog except its owner, who only loves it more, said Wolfys vet. His reassurances were balm. He told me to ignore all the amateur experts, but they bothered me a great deal. They made me angry.

This death wish on Wolfy was odd. I guess its a bit like when you know people are tutting behind your back about your childrens manners, except what they were tutting about was the fact you hadnt sentenced your dog to death.

What do older dogs want from life? It is not a question I considered in January 2015 when I collected a lurcher of indeterminate age from Thurrock Services on the M25. Back then, I thought dog ownership was all about lovely long walks and not much else. Back then, he could bound up the stairs to our West London first-floor flat in seconds.

Anyone can have a dog in a city, I used to shout. Now, Im more circumspect. The logistics of dogs in old age  failing eyesight, a weaker bladder, arthritic back legs  are not something anyone advises you on when buying one.

Dog behaviourist Louise Glazebrook says this question of caring for an old dog is a serious one. Few of those who took on a new lockdown dog  often a puppy  are likely to have considered the senior years. Yet this, undeniably, is the time it can be hardest to own a dog.

Just as we have to think about our own future, says Louise. So the same is true with dogs.

In the final months, I found myself driving to a park Wolfy loves. Its a place wed once have walked to, but all he could do by then were micro walks of about 50 metres to a nice spot where he could do some sniffing and sit and look at the sun, or enjoy the cool rain  he was always a winter dog  then turn round to go home.

Meanwhile, my other dog  a streak of energy at three years old  has had to learn to walk herself. She zoomed around us in wide circles, thankfully smart enough to fit in to this new situation.

As Wolfy got more deaf, so he didnt like surprises. When my young nephew leapt on him while he slept, my old boy turned round and bit his hand. My nephew, seven at the time, was mature enough to say: That was my fault. I frightened him. Im sorry Wolfy.

But really it was my fault. I should have had my old friends back and protected him.

His once-keen senses were blunted, the world was starting to surprise him.

Louise says: If you have children in the home or visiting, you need to be aware of deafness, blindness, arthritis and many other things that might make your dog more threatened by their environment.

These incredible creatures have spent their lives by our side, its the least we can do, to consider them now and accommodate their twilight years.

Wolfys vet is Andrew Carmichael, a veteran who has seen 50 years of general practice as well as time as an anaesthetist at the largest veterinary hospital in the world in New York. Hes seen it all, but he is not cynical.

I kept waiting for him to say its time, but his mantra has always been: If it can eat, drink, stand, walk, if its peeing and pooing OK, and sniffing and showing some interest in its environment, then that life is viable.

There were moments when I thought it was the end, but actually antibiotics and some brilliant pain-blockers restored Wolfy to a slow but good life.

My advice is to try to get your old dog in to see the same vet as much as possible so that the animals decline can be properly observed and tracked.

As Andrew says: What is often mistaken for simple old age by owners is in fact a treatable disease that is causing them pain.

Id expected Andrew to be more brisk about the death bit, given he has lived through times when animals werent catered for by the incredible life extending magic of modern medicine.

But he admits he struggles to euthanise his own pets. I cant even put my cockerels to sleep.

So how do you tell when its time? What people always say in the park doggy community is: You will know. He will tell you. But Ill be honest, I never had that. I dont think he ever did tell me.

The experts are more nuanced in their life-and-death decision-making. Louise read everything, researched everything, but still found it hard to pinpoint the right time to have her dear old bulldog, Cookie, put to sleep.

People kept saying, you will just know. Which actually isnt helpful at all.

The day I decided Wolfy should die was sickening. But giving your dog a good death is your last great duty. One crucial question Louise says every owner must ask is: [Are you] keeping them alive for you?

As the end grew nearer, Wolfy clearly wanted to lie outside under the open skies as much as possible. The night before he died, in fact, he lay down by my boyfriend on the bed-time wee walk and didnt get up.

Was this him telling us? My boyfriend thought so. He wants to die, he said.

As the end grew nearer, Wolfy clearly wanted to lie outside under the open skies as much as possible. The night before he died, in fact, he lay down by my boyfriend on the bed-time wee walk and didnt get up

I walked closer and lay next to him on the grass for a while. I stood up and asked him to come and I saw the struggle and the devotion as he rose on his wobbly legs and came towards me.

That dog kept going for me because he didnt want to leave me nor me him.

Its excruciating. I still couldnt tell what he wanted.

Sometimes I carried him up to sleep with us, these were such sweet nights snuggled into his scented soft back fur.

My God, I loved that dog. I think he is the love of my life.

It was like a slow car crash knowing what was coming as the health issues built up, and I started to unravel. I left parking tickets unpaid, forgot to pay the congestion charge. By the time I eventually paid the bill, hounded by bailiffs, it was more than 500.

I had a big work project that I needed to concentrate on, and just doing that and caring for the dogs was all I could handle.

I want to raise my arm and flex my biceps and say I am a strong woman but, in all honesty, I fell apart.

I could not cope with the thought of life without Wolfy.

I paid the animal rescue charity where I found Wolfy 160 for him.

In return for that money a universe of love and happiness was opened up to me. What a gift dogs are! When Andrew slipped the needle in and I felt Wolfys heart stop beating inside his soft, warm body I could have laid down and died with him happily.

Of course this immediate crushing feeling of loss will pass and in the grand scheme of tragedies, especially now, I know an old beloved dog dying doesnt figure.

Of course this immediate crushing feeling of loss will pass and in the grand scheme of tragedies, especially now, I know an old beloved dog dying doesnt figure

But if you have an old dog, and are perhaps a bit in denial about the stage of life they are at, I just want to say that honour the slowing down, dont fight it. Let them dictate the pace. I once longed for old bouncy Wolfy, but now Id have any versions of him.

I found the small patch of fur that had come off when Andrew shaved his arm for the anaesthetic to go into his vein. Stooped down, holding it in my fingers, I ran it across my top lip.

Unlike most human relationships, a dog and its owner remain in tactile intimacy their whole lives together.

It was unbearable as I stroked and kissed his beautiful form on his death bed, sinking my fingers into his silky fur knowing it was the last time I would feel it.

I had always imagined that Wolfy would die eating sausages, but actually, when the time came he had lost interest in food.

One thing he never lost interest in was a tummy rub. Still, in his last few hours, he had a little strength to lift his front leg so I could get good access to the soft fur on his chest.

That final day, we lay next to each other in his favourite stinky bed. We looked at each other unblinking for hours.

Saying I love you and thank you doesnt mean much to a dog, though the vet said the sound of my voice would mean something as he drifted off to eternal sleep.

So the last words I kept saying were: Youre a good boy. Such a good boy, Wolfy. Good boy.

That dog just brought so much good into my life. Even if my heart feels like it is breaking, it remains full of undying love for my beloved Wolfy.
The irrational fear of harming  or even killing  your own baby is driving some mums to breaking point. Jo Macfarlane reports on a terrifying condition that is shrouded in shame and secrecy

The thoughts were in my dreams and there when I woke up. There was no escape

Talking about her seven-year-old daughter Elsie, Denver Taskers voice is full of adoration. Everyone comments on the strong bond they share, she says, not to mention the fact that they look identical. So the idea that Denver could deliberately cause Elsie any hurt  let alone pain  is unthinkable.

And yet, in the weeks and months after Elsie was born in 2014, Denver struggled in secret with what may be one of motherhoods last taboos: something considered so shameful few mothers will admit to it.

Walking down the street, Denver had a strong urge to push Elsies pram into oncoming traffic. At home, she would imagine throwing her baby daughter down the stairs. Horrifying, traumatising images of the aftermath would haunt her waking hours.

At its worst, when Elsie was just a few months old, Denver, an optical assistant from Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, kept herself awake at night over fears that she might kill Elsie in her sleep. The trauma of these thoughts led to severe anxiety, and to Denver questioning everything about the person she thought she was.

Walking down the street, Denver had a strong urge to push Elsies pram into oncoming traffic.

I know deep down I would never have hurt her  I would never do anything like that, the 27-year-old insists today. But the feelings and thoughts would scare me because they felt so real for a split second. I was scared that I would do it impulsively.

Was I a sick, aggressive mother, capable of doing something truly appalling to my own flesh and blood? Even thinking those things felt, to me, like I must be an awful person.

Its an extraordinarily brave admission for any new mother to make. But Denver is  shockingly  far from alone.

The latest research suggests that up to half of mothers in early parenthood experience powerful, disturbing visions of harming their babies. One imagined stabbing her baby repeatedly with a kitchen knife. Another visualised throwing her infant from an open window that she sat beside as she breastfed. Others admit they have seen themselves punching their child in the face or drowning them in the bath.

Despite the huge numbers of mothers affected, the subject remains almost impossible to talk about because of the overwhelming guilt, shame and fear these images provoke. Women believe they are alone and are therefore terrified that any admission will lead to police or social services becoming involved.

Charlotte Harman from Essex experienced these intensely disturbing thoughts after the births of both of her children. She remembers standing at the top of the stairs holding her eldest daughter Jessica  then a newborn  when an image of the baby falling out of her arms and bouncing down the steps took my breath away. It was horribly traumatic  like watching an accident and you cant look away, the 28-year-old recalls.

It felt so real, and happened repeatedly for a month. I didnt tell anyone, but Id ask other people to carry her on the stairs, and just said it made me nervous.

Today, Charlotte also has a three-month-old son, Freddie  and the disturbing thoughts have returned, only worse. I dont want to hurt my son, Charlotte insists. But the shame is much stronger this time.

Charlotte now walks as far from the bannister as possible when she is upstairs. As is common, she is too scared to tell anyone else what shes experiencing. Im worried about how people might react, she confesses. Im afraid doctors wont understand and will try to involve social services. I dont want to lose my children.

Clinical psychologist Dr Caroline Boyd, a specialist in perinatal mental health, has two very important messages for sufferers: firstly, you are not alone. Far from it. Secondly, although these visions are terrifying, they are a sign that you are very unlikely to actually harm your child.

Known by mental-health experts as intrusive thoughts, they are a well-recognised phenomenon. Intrusive thoughts featuring intentional harm to your child are particularly common in new parents and, although most sufferers are women, it is important to note that men can also be affected.

These [thoughts] are universal, very normal and relate to our real fears as new parents, explains Dr Boyd. They come with really intense emotions, including horror, guilt and shame. Mothers grappling with their new role and responsibility for a tiny baby interpret them to mean theyre failing as a parent. But it isnt true.

In fact, far from being a danger to their children, women who experience intrusive thoughts about harming them are less likely to hurt them, according to one of the biggest studies ever carried out into new motherhood, involving over 700 Canadian women, which was published earlier this month.

Neither should we confuse intrusive thoughts with postpartum psychosis. The latter condition affects women soon after giving birth and often includes delusions, such as being convinced that their child is possessed by the devil or was swapped for another baby at birth; hearing voices which tell them to cause harm to themselves or their child; or believing people are out to get them.

The crucial difference here is that women with postpartum psychosis often believe the delusions to be real and frequently do not realise that they are unwell. In contrast, women suffering with intrusive thoughts know that these visions are outside their normal thinking and are consequently deeply disturbed by them. In other words, the more horrified you are by the thoughts, the less likely you are to act on them.

As Dr Boyd puts it: Our reaction to these thoughts is important. If a woman is feeling intense horror, shame or guilt, its a strong sign shes not going to hurt her baby.

Yet even if intrusive thoughts arent actually dangerous, they are still profoundly disturbing. So why do they happen and what can we do to combat them?

The Canadian researchers suggest the thoughts may be linked, in some cases, to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which pregnancy can spark or exacerbate. Rather than being focused on compulsive and repetitive behaviours such as handwashing or tidying to reduce anxiety, it can involve obsessive thoughts  in this case, about potential risks to the child.

Dr Boyd adds that, in some instances they can also be explained by the fact that our brains are hyper-alert to danger when we become new parents.

These thoughts are the brains way of alerting us to potential danger, which triggers our internal alarm system, she says. So if youre holding a sharp knife, or are near some stairs or an open window, your brain is recognising these things as a potential threat to your baby.

As you adjust to the enormous responsibility of being a parent, you become more conscious of your power in contrast to your babys vulnerability. So visualising these terrible things helps you to stay vigilant.

But our brain cant distinguish between a life-or-death threat which is external  such as walking into a busy road  and an intrusive thought. The response is the same: a flood of adrenaline and cortisol, and a feeling of fear.

Depression can also exacerbate intrusive thoughts, says Dr Boyd, and people with a history of anxiety, depression or trauma appear more prone to them.

In terms of treatment, Lauren Tonner, safeguarding manager at perinatal mental-health charity Pandas, says that opening up and talking about what you are experiencing significantly reduces the distress.

Many parents still suffer in silence as they believe that they will be judged and seen as an unfit carer. This is absolutely not the case. When parents speak about these intrusive thoughts it can help to rationalise them and to remove their power.

For Sophie Parker-Jeal, reaching out for help has changed her life. She was tormented by persistent, horrific images following the birth of her daughter Erin, now four, in 2017.

The thoughts began weeks after Erin was born, Sophie, 36, recalls. I was so happy at the start  so calm and so in love with her.

One day, something just switched, and I had this vision, out of nowhere, of punching her in the face. Just this awful violence. I felt terrible, the worst person in the world. But it got so much worse, and so much more disturbing.

Sophie, from Southwest London, was in the kitchen when she was overcome by the horrifying thought that she would stab her daughter with the knife in her hand.

The vision wouldnt stop so I gave up using knives, she said. If I held Erin, my hands would get really stiff because of the visions Id have of strangling her. It was as if I was physically trying to restrain myself. I became so terrified of hurting her that I told my parents I didnt want to be on my own with her. That went on for weeks.

Sophie admits she doesnt know how she survived those difficult months.

The guilt was relentless. The thoughts were in my dreams, they were there when I woke up. There was no escape. And yet there isnt a violent bone in my body.

It is precisely this contradiction that makes this experience so disturbing, and nonsensical, for new mothers: intense love on the one hand, coupled with completely out-of-character thoughts of violence on the other.

The love I had for Erin was so overwhelming that it felt like it was a separate person who was thinking these things, Sophie explains. But I did think that if I was having these thoughts, I must be a bad person. But I was, at one point, suicidal.

Sophie eventually went to A&E and was referred to a community crisis team who involved social services. Sophie found them horribly unsupportive. But a perinatal mental health doctor she was referred to diagnosed her with OCD and reassured her, and the rest of the team, that she was not a risk to Erin.

It was the best thing in the world to put a name to it, she says. When you actually talk about it, it doesnt feel so bad. And you realise that no one thinks youre a psychopath. I thought Id be locked up, that Erin would be taken away.

Many women are likely to feel validated and less alone simply by confiding in a friend or loved one, Dr Boyd says.

But for people like Sophie, and others whose thoughts become overwhelming, talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which are available on the NHS, can help develop strategies to minimise their power. CBT has been transformative, Sophie says.

Denver, too, found confiding in her therapist helped enormously. He told me that the fact I was worried and shocked by my thoughts was a sign that it was normal  that I had nothing to worry about. To hear that was so reassuring.

Medication such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, can help for more severe cases.

I still get the thoughts, says Sophie, but theyre fleeting, and I dont pay any attention to them. Im not scared any more. And reaching out to seek help can only make you a better parent.

While these thoughts arent generally clinically alarming, they are perhaps a warning sign that you might need some extra support, Dr Boyd advises. This isnt a sign of failure or weakness but shows strength and a commitment to improving things for you and your baby.

Don't suffer alone Dr Boyd shares her tips for dealing with disturbing intrusive thoughts How we react to these visions gives them power. The more we fight them, or label ourselves bad for having them, the more they grow in intensity. When they come, acknowledge them with kindness, and without judgment, then try to let them go. Say to yourself: You dont mean I am a bad person. Im a good enough mum and Im safe. Be brave and confide in a friend or loved one. Chances are theyll have experienced something similar. Youll feel validated and supported.

Ask for support if you need it  whether thats someone to look after the baby for a couple of hours, or a helping hand around the house.

If your thoughts are impacting your ability to function or enjoy life, speak to your GP or a trusted health professional.

You can find more information and resources at drcarolineboyd.com/ infant-related-harm-thoughts

If you have an overwhelming desire to hurt yourself or your baby, seek help immediately. The mental-health charity Pandas has a free UK helpline you can call on 0808 196 1776 (from 11am to 10pm), or text the word PANDAS to 85258 for 24/7 support. Or call the Samaritans 24/7 helpline on 116 123, dial 999 or visit your nearest hospital A&E department. Advertisement

Some Names have been changed. Photographs Posed by models

Dr Caroline Boyds book Mindful New Mum is published by DK, price 16.99. To order a copy for 14.44 until 4 April, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK delivery on orders over 20




Were all supposed to be in the business of forgiveness. But, says lifelong grudge-bearer Laura Craik, what if letting it go just isnt your thing?

At school, he knocked over my Lego tower. He is dead to me

Some wounds run too deep for the healing, quoth Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He was talking about Severus Snape, but he could equally have been talking about Larry Kimball. One is seemingly the most evil character J K Rowling ever committed to paper; the other, a five-year-old boy.

Oh, the teacher might have been deceived by Larry Kimballs angelic mop of curly blonde hair, but he was the devil  a 3ft 6in demon of malicious intent.

Larry Kimball knocked down my Lego tower. And, for that, he is dead to me.

Although this incident happened in the 1970s, it has stayed with me. The rancour endured all through primary school, all through secondary school and all through my university years where, thankfully  finally  Larry Kimball was no longer in my class, my face or even in my country. Improbable as it might sound (unless youve met me) I managed to avoid speaking to Larry Kimball for the remainder of my education, despite the two of us frequently being in the same class and sharing the same friends. How did I manage a feat of such unfeasible, unyielding obstinacy? Simple: I am an Olympic-class grudge-bearer.

The internet might be full of memes claiming that holding a grudge is like letting someone live rent-free inside your head; that weak people hold grudges, but strong people forgive; that holding on to a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. I contest that these trite, fridge-magnet sentiments hold little sway in real life. Grudges and anger go hand in hand: you cant hold one without having experienced the other.

To quote the former Sex Pistol John Lydon, anger is an energy. When someone has wronged you, anger is a natural reaction. If the wrong was particularly egregious, a strong and enduring grudge may be formed  particularly if the culprit is unwilling to acknowledge or take responsibility for their wrong.

So what made the Lego tower incident so unforgivable to my five-year-old self when some other children could have shrugged it off? According to Dr Akshay Kumar, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of East London, its likely to be because my grudge had other emotional components attached, such as jealousy, fear or sadness. This, coupled with my youth, meant I was unable effectively to process my feelings. Some people are able to let grudges go because they are more resilient to negative emotions, he explains. This means that they are more reflective of their feelings and are able to identify whether something is worth holding on to or whether it is harming them.

At 42, my friend Catherine worries that shes been holding on to her own grudge for too long. No one would blame her for hating the woman for whom her ex-boyfriend upended their life, but after five years, shes still unable to move on. She blames social media for allowing her grudge to fester, explaining that its hard to find closure in the Instagram age, when every holiday snap and Christmas tree picture twists the knife afresh (the b**** even has the same Whistles dress as me, she once sputtered. What are the odds?).

At school, he knocked over my Lego tower. He is dead to me

Its a common situation  which of us hasnt hate-followed someone?  but one that Dr Kumar warns can be toxic. Unhealthy emotions from grudges can linger in the mind, and the longer they are held, the more likely they are to become a part of someones day-to-day life. This includes projecting these feelings towards themselves and becoming critical of their own personalities or characteristics. If someone is unable to let go of a grudge, they should seek a therapist who will help them develop ways through mindfulness or positive thinking to become more resilient to these negative emotions.

It doesnt take a degree in neuropsychiatry to work out that lockdown has had a detrimental effect on lifes bitterness-bearers. Robin, 37, who describes himself as a serial grudge-holder, says he found one particular grievance taking hold last winter, against a colleague who he felt had won a promotion using unfair means.

Professor Sophie Scott CBE, director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, agrees that grudges are more likely to fester and grow when people are taken out of their workplaces and denied the usual channel of face-to-face communication that might resolve them. Working from home during lockdown, and the associated fears and restrictions of the pandemic in general, have made grudges more likely because you are not bumping into colleagues or exchanging pleasantries, she says.

It brings to mind the words of William Blake: I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow.

Its a sentiment with which Robin would certainly agree, shamefaced as he is about the death-stares hed direct at his colleague during the many Zoom meetings their team conducted over lockdown.

If the drawbacks of a grudge are manifold, can they ever be a good thing? From a psychological outlook, negative emotions are not entirely bad, says Dr Kumar. For example, you wouldnt feel happy if you didnt know what sadness felt like. All emotions that we feel are built from our personality and circumstances, and negative emotions have a purpose  it just depends how we use them. One positive of holding a grudge is that theres an opportunity to move on and forget.

I think about my own grudges. The ones shored up against a university friend after decades of micro-aggressions. The grudge against a former boss for his intimidation and lies. Newer, keener grudges on behalf of my daughters, which have an especially tender sting. Can I move on and forget? According to Professor Scott, the fact that I cant might be a mark of my intelligence  or, rather, lack of.

There is interesting psychological evidence that wiser people are more likely to let infractions go, especially minor ones. People who are more agreeable, and more open to new experiences, are more likely to forgive, he says. And forgiveness matters. In successful long-term marriages, spouses reported that the willingness to seek and grant forgiveness is one of the most important factors contributing to relationship satisfaction and longevity. As the song says: Let it go.

To be fair, I did eventually forget  or at least forgive  Larry Kimball, even if it took me 30 years. He turned up at the birthday party of a mutual friends child, two blonde-haired kids in tow. As I watched my own kids scooting around near his, it felt ridiculous to have nursed my grudge for so long. So I took a deep breath, gulped some prosecco, and told him. How we laughed. He couldnt remember the incident at all. Um, is it too late to apologise? he said, and we laughed a bit more.

Id love to say we kept in touch after that, but we didnt. I havent seen him since and doubt I ever will again. But my grudge disappeared, and I felt lighter.
Pope Francis blesses an injured child during a visit to the Bambino Gesu Children's Hospital in Rome, in the ward where children who arrived from Ukraine in the last few days are being treated, in this photo taken and handed out by Vatican Media.





Pope Francis visited Ukrainian children who have fled the Russian invasion and are being cared for at the Vatican's pediatric hospital in Rome, Saturday.







A smiling Francis, 85, reached out to clasp the hands of children as he walked through a ward at the Bambino Gesu Hospital in the capital, which is currently treating 19 Ukrainian children.







The Vatican said around 50 children in all had passed through the hospital since the war broke out.







Some were suffering oncological, neurological and other problems before the crisis and "fled in the first days of the war", it said.






Key role: Rapper Snoop Dogg  real name Calvin Broadus Jr

Tobacco giant Imperial Brands has emerged as a potential kingmaker in the battle for control of a medicinal cannabis firm.

The FTSE 100 firm owns nearly 11 per cent of Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies (OCT), which is due to hold a shareholder meeting to decide upon the company's future.

The vote on April 6 could see its chief executive, chairman and several non-executive directors kicked off the board.

The meeting has been demanded by Gavin Sathianathan, who helped set up OCT in 2017 alongside Neil Mahapatra, one of the non-executive directors he is seeking to oust.

OCT is one of several companies backed by Casa Verde, a venture capital fund co-founded by 50-year-old rapper Snoop Dogg  real name Calvin Broadus Jr  who is a fierce advocate for legalising cannabis use in the US.

Earlier this month, Sathianathan  who owns an 8.1 per cent stake in the company through his vehicle GHS Capital  accused the OCT board of being 'obstructive and intransigent in the face of ongoing and worsening value destruction.'

He implored it to address what he said were 'serious governance and sclerotic management issues.' Sathianathan also wants to appoint three of his own hand-picked directors to overhaul the firm and cut costs. The attempted coup comes after a steep decline in the firm's share price. OCT has lost more than 70 per cent of its value since it was listed in May last year.

However, his push faces stiff opposition from Imperial, which is understood to have thrown its weight behind OCT's current board in the run-up to the vote.

Imperial's corporate development director Richard Hathaway sits on the OCT board and is one of the directors in Sathianathan's crosshairs  which may help to explain the tobacco firm's decision.

Its opposition will probably sting Sathianathan, who claimed credit for bringing Imperial on to the company's shareholder register.

The boardroom battle followed Sathianathan's decision to quit the company last November  an action he attributed to management obstruction.

He is thought to have fallen out with his co-founder Mahapatra, who is OCT's largest shareholder with a stake of 21 per cent.

Investors holding a total of 46 per cent of its shares have agreed to support the current board, meaning the vote at the April meeting could come down to the wire.

It is not yet known whether Imperial's stake has been included in this total.

Snoop Dogg's Casa Verde holds a 2.2 per cent stake in OCT, meaning it could be another key ally in the battle over its future.
The new boss of commodities giant Glencore has had his bonus cut after four of his employees died.

Pay chiefs at the group decided to dock $112,500 (85,700) from Gary Nagle's payout.

But he still received a $2.1million bonus on top of $1.1million in salary and benefits for six months since taking over.

'Downward discretion': Pay chiefs at Glencore decided to dock $112,500 (85,700) from Gary Nagle's payout

The South African, 47, was head of Glencore's industrial coal arm based in Sydney before moving to Switzerland last year and taking over from Ivan Glasenberg in July.

Glencore said its pay committee had considered the deaths and issues around production levels before it 'applied downward discretion to reduce the overall bonus outcome.'

It added: 'We are saddened to report the loss of four lives at our operations during 2021, compared to eight during 2020. We are determined to eliminate fatalities across our business.'

It refused to explain the circumstances behind the deaths. Last month, it set aside $1.5million to settle corruption probes.
A hydrogen group backed by Lord Bamford and Peter Hargreaves is set to create 1,100 jobs in the North of England over the next two years.

The boss of ITM Power, Graham Cooley, said the company would nearly quadruple its current workforce of 400 after it opened a second factory in Sheffield in 2023.

ITM Power already has the world's biggest plant making a specialised form of electrolyser that extracts hydrogen from water and is powered by renewables. This is so-called 'green hydrogen,' meaning it has no carbon footprint.

The future's bright: Hydrogen is a key pillar of Boris Johnson's ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution

Hydrogen is a key pillar of Boris Johnson's ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution. Some buses and lorries already use it as fuel but there are also plans to pipe it into the gas network and use it to power aeroplanes.

ITM Power is worth 2.5billion on the AIM market, having seen its value surge by two-thirds in the past few weeks. In that time the EU has launched a major new funding strategy, while the war in Ukraine has focused attention on the need to wean the West off Russian gas.

Cooley said: 'Now there's a new imperative  fuel security. What's happened over the last few weeks with Russia is accelerating that.'

He added that the Government's push to back green hydrogen had fallen behind, saying: 'I think this is a moment that will galvanise action on plans already developed.'

Hargreaves, the co-founder of investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, owns 4.5 per cent of the company. Lord Bamford, head of the JCB empire, has an 8 per cent holding.
The boss of British Airways' parent company gave up a 900,000 bonus last year on top of a cut in his basic salary.

Luis Gallego was appointed chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG) in September 2020 as it battled its way through the pandemic.

The sacrifice of his bonus came alongside a 10 per cent voluntary cut in his base pay to 738,000.

Struggle: IAG recently reported losses of 2.9billion (2.4billion) for the last financial year

He took home 1.1million with other benefits. In the current year, he is due to take home his full 820,000 basic salary and will be eligible for other awards.

IAG recently reported losses of 2.9billion (2.4billion) for the last financial year.

Gallego  previously boss of the Spanish flag carrier Iberia  wants to make IAG profitable in 2022.

He said in a recent webcast that the group had capitalised on 'pent-up demand when travel restrictions were lifted' as the pandemic receded.

Gallego, 54, added: 'In the short term, our focus was on preparing our operational readiness.

'And at the same time, we are transforming our business for the long term: to be more efficient and competitive so that our group is positioned to succeed.'

The company has also given Gallego 250,000 a year to fund his living allowances across London and Madrid, where IAG's main offices are based.
Peer-to-peer lender Zopa has told a court it entered into an unlawful agreement over its investment funding, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The bank has made the surprising claim as part of a bitter legal dispute with an adviser claiming 4million in unpaid fees.

Court papers reveal Zopa is seeking to fend off claims from Kinled Investments by arguing the intermediary broke financial rules while carrying out work for the bank.

Confession: Zopa has made the surprising claim as part of a bitter legal dispute with an adviser claiming 4million in unpaid fees

Zopa's lawyers have described the bank's own agreement with Kinled as 'unlawful and unenforceable', meaning the adviser is not entitled to commission.

Kinled director Rupert Novis met Zopa boss Jaidev Janardana in 2018, the papers show, at which point the lender was seeking investment for a retail banking licence.

An agreement that followed between the two companies is now the subject of the dispute.

Zopa is demanding repayment of 345,000 paid to Kinled. Kinled argues it is owed 4.2million in commission after it introduced Zopa to US investment firm IAG Silverstripe Partners, which later invested 140million in Zopa.

Legal documents show Kinled denies any criminality. Zopa has said Silverstripe's decision to invest was 'not based in any relationship with Kinled.' A trial will take place next month.

The FCA and Zopa were both contacted for comment.
A TikTok star has issued a warning to other young women after claiming a man posing as a 'sugar daddy' secretly recorded explicit footage of her in a scam attempt.

Brisbane food blogger Annie Knight has shared her story in the hopes others will not fall prey to her scammer, who she says sent her fake payment receipts in exchange for her to undress on a video call.

The unknown man, who claimed to be a wealthy Sydneysider, asked to speak via Snapchat and said he would pay her for the call.

Ms Knight - who also sells nude videos and photos of herself on an OnlyFans account - explained that he then asked her to try on dresses and lingerie before she was asked to strip nude.

OnlyFans user Annabelle Knight said she was scammed by a man who sent her fake payment receipts in exchange for a video call. He threatened to leak the footage if she didn't obey him

'He then asked me to touch myself and I said no ... and he kept trying to say other things and I said ''look it's not going to happen, the answer is no'',' she said in a TikTok clip.

'And then he goes, 'well what if I told you I was recording this right now? And what if I told you the receipts (of payment) I sent you were fake?'.

''If you don't want it to get out, you're going to do what I say',' the man continued.

Ms Knight said she immediately hung up and blocked him on social media accounts.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Ms Knight said she wasn't concerned about the footage coming out given her current OnlyFans trade.

The real concern she has is for others who weren't in her situation who may end up being humiliated online.

Ms Knight said she was concerned for other young women who may have private footage of themselves leaked online

'I wasn't as much concerned about whether he'd send the video to my friends and family as I told them what happened and if they received anything they would have either reported him or blocked him,' she said.

Shockingly, she isn't the only young woman to have been harassed by the man.

'I had multiple other women reach out to me to tell me that this man had also done the same thing to them,' Ms Knight said.

'However, none of us have any screen recording or evidence of what occurred on the video call.

'I do OnlyFans but I've never done a video call with anyone and certainly have never been scammed like this before.'

OnlyFans allows users to share raunchy content of themselves to subscribers who pay a fee.

Ms Knight said like her, other young women were harassed to provide more explicit content for the man who often approach them on Instagram.

Ms Knight said other young women had told her they too had been harassed by the man

It's believed he regularly changes his Instagram name before contacting other women.

Ms Knight said she spoke to police but was told that as what he was doing wasn't legally considered blackmail, there was nothing they could do.

'This is a very important topic that isn't spoken about enough and young women need to be made aware of these scams,' she said.

'The more awareness the better.'
Sydney's ultra pro-Putin man Simeon Boikov has been accused of coercing his own grandmother into putting up her house to guarantee a loan he defaulted on, after a court revealed the 78-year-old may be thrown out of her own home.

Sophia Boikov, a revered Russian Australian community figure, church charity fundraiser and cook, risks losing her home of decades if a judge orders it can be seized by a finance and securities company.

Prime Securities is demanding the widow and pensioner pay them more than half a million dollars to offset the loan defaulted on by her grandson Simeon Boikov, who calls himself the 'Aussie Cossack'.

Mrs Boikov has claimed in the NSW Supreme Court her grandson used 'undue influence' to procure the property as guarantee for a loan of $450,000.

Simeon Boikov, 32, has used the heritage he shares with his grandmother to start his local Cossack movement and promote Vladimir Putin as the rightful 'occupier' of Ukraine.

The $450,000 loan advanced to Mr Boikov in December 2019 for an unstated reason was defaulted on less than a year later, and Prime Securities has now demanded Sophia Boikov pay back $518, 574.

Sophia Boikov (above), the 78-year-old widowed grandmother of ultra pro-Putin Sydney supporter Simeon Boikov risks losing her home of decades after he defaulted on a loan for which she was guarantor

In Supreme Court documents, Sophia Boikov claims her gransdon used 'undue influence' to make her put up her house in Canley Heights in western Sydney as security for the 'Aussie Cossack' (above) to borrow $450,000

Mrs Boikov's five bedroom house at Canley Heights (above) is now subject to a seizure application by Prime Capital Securites which is looking to recover more than $500,000

Mrs Boikov's five bedroom Canley Heights home on 550 square metres of land is worth more than $1 million, but the elderly Russian migrant is fighting to stay there.

The devout Russian Orthodox follower also uses the home to store icons and religious books, as well as clothing and electrical appliances she sends to the poor in her Russian birth region of Zaibaikal in Siberia, Russia.

In court documents seen by Daily Mail Australia, Mrs Boikov has challenged Prime to its title of possession of her house pleading 'her entry into the guarantee was procured by the undue influence of her grandson'.

She also pleads that Prime 'ought to have been aware of her special disability or vulnerability' and it would be 'unconscionable ... to enforce the mortgage'.

Sophia Boikov (pictured with grandson Simeon and the Russian Consul General to Australia and a Russian Orthoidox priest in 2019) is a tireless fundraiser for the poor, but claims she is now disabled and vulnerable

The news of Sophia Boikov's court battle comes in the same week it was revealed Simeon Boikov's wife has taken out an AVO against him in Burwood Local Court

Simeon Boikov, who claims he wants to win office in parliament as an independent, used 'undue influence' to convince his grandmother to put up her house as security for a loan he defaulted on

Simeon Boikov's default on the loan which has put his grandmother at risk was revealed by one of the 32-year-old political aspirant's rivals to win office as a senator this Federal election.

Independent Senate candidate Drew Pavlou, whose campaign motto is 'fight corruption, defend democracy' exposed the court battle over Mrs Boikov's house on Twitter this week,

'If you read this ongoing NSW Supreme Court case, Simeon Boikov AKA Aussie Cossack coerced his own grandmother into putting up her house to guarantee a loan he defaulted on,' Mr Pavlou tweeted.

Sections of a NSW Supreme Court document (above) in which Sophia Boikov claims her grandson Simeon Boikov, aka the 'Aussie Cossack', used 'undue influence' to convince her to put up her own home as a security on a loan on which he defaulted

Simeon Boikov, 32, has used the heritage he shares with his grandmother to start his local Cossack movement and promote Vladimir Putin as the rightful 'occupier' of Ukraine (Simeon Boikov and his wife Ekaterina are pictured)

This week, Daily Mail Australia also exclusively revealed that Simeon Boikov's glamorous wife Ekaterina Olshannikova had taken out an Apprehended Violence Order against him.

It is the second AVO Ms Olshannikova has taken out against Mr Boikov, with whom she lives in a one bedroom rented apartment and who she married in February last year in the Fairfield Russian Orthodox Church.

The Supreme Court civil case against Sophia Boikov says that around half of $450,000 loan granted to him by way of his grandmother's house - a sum of $232,000 - was used to discharge a mortgage to equity firm Karma Investments.

The case Prime has brought against Mrs Boikov to repossess her house is listed for a directions hearing this Friday before Supreme Court Justice Stephen Campbell.

Sophia Boikov has been a charity fundraiser for Russian Australian causes, as well as a celebrated cook of the cuisine from the Zaibaikal area of Russia, where she grew up, close to the borders of China and Mongolia.

'Mother Boikov' is an acclaimed cook of Russian food and a fundraiser for charities including building a church back in the region where she grew up, 'milking 20 cows a day aged 5'

Prime Capital Securities wants to seize Sophia Boikov's Canley Heights home (above) to raise $518, 574 it says is due after Simeon Boikov defualted on a $450,000 loan in 2020

In 2019, Sophia's grandson Simeon's Sydney-based Russian Zabaikal Cossack group held a cultural event, at which she was filmed by SBS cooking a festive meal

Despite having just celebrated her 76th birthday at the time, Mrs Boikov was steadfast in her quest to raise money or collect goods for the needy back in Russia.

She admitted at the time that she had grown up on a farm where from the age of five it was her daily task to milk 20 cows.

At another event in the same year, Mrs Boikov was filmed by Sydney's Russian Radio with grandson Simeon preparing a container of goods to be send back to the Russian poor.

Ekaterina Olshannikova, who Simeon Boikov calls 'Mrs Cossack' pictured on the beach on Australia Day walking hand-in-hand with her husband two weeks after taking out an AVO against him

Simeon Boikov, aka the Aussie Cossack, has been banned from having a firearms licence and is facing an AVO taken out against him by his wife of one year, Katia

In the video, Sydney Russian Orthodox Archpriest Nikita Chemodakov blessed the container and goods, and Sophia presented Russian Consul General to Australia Igor Arzhaev with an icon of the Archangel Michael.

Sophia Boikov also organised a collection to aid the construction of a church of Saint Nicholas in the village of Shonoktui, in the Zaibaikal region.

In response to the story, an admirer posted online praise for the woman he called 'Mother Boikov' and said he had enjoyed many a delicious meal prepared by her.
The dream isn't dead for Australians who want to move out of the major cities, buy property for less than $500,000, live a quiet coastal existence and still work a professional job earning six figures.

In Sydney and Melbourne, $500,000 would never buy a home with a backyard that's a short drive from the coast.

And the regions are only getting more expensive - with house prices soaring 36.5 per cent since the pandemic began in early 2020 - as professionals who can work from home ditch the big cities in droves.

The median price for a house in regional Australia stood at $585,709 in February having risen by 25.9 per cent during the past year, CoreLogic data showed.

However, a Daily Mail Australia analysis found three attractive destinations along the east coast where Australians can still find a cheaper, quieter and potentially more fulfilling life - Bega in NSW, Warrnambool in Victoria and Queensland's Hervey Bay.

The dream isn't dead for Aussies who want to move out of the major cities, buy property for less than $500,000, live a quiet coastal existence and still work a professional job earning six figures (pictured is Tathra on the NSW South Coast)

Jobs offering six-figure salaries are still available in coastal towns where houses are on the market for less than $500,000 (pictured is three-bedroom house at Bega on the NSW south coast for $490,000)

Where regional house prices have surged since the pandemic BEGA: Up 47.8 per cent since February 2020 and 28.1 per cent during past year to $593,566 WARRNAMBOOL: Up 37.2 since February 2020 and 24.1 per cent during past year to $633,933 HERVEY BAY (URANGAN): Up 45.3 per cent since February 2020 and 29.8 per cent during past year to $567,598 Source: CoreLogic data comparing February 2020, February 2021 and February 2022 for median house prices Advertisement

In these areas, six-figure salaries are being advertised and housing remains relatively cheap - for now at least.

Homes are on the market for less than $500,000 - but most are in need of renovation.

Each of the locations are at least a three or four-hour drive from a capital city - with coastal homes closer to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane now unaffordable for average-income earners buying alone.

Bega, paradise on the NSW South Coast

At Bega on the New South Wales far south coast, five hours from Sydney, a four-bedroom house is on the market for $440,000 while a three-bedroom house with a big backyard is $490,000.

The town, which a cheese is named after, is a 20-minute drive to the beach at Tathra, one of many picturesque coastal areas in a region renowned for its dairy industry.

Bega has seen extraordinary price increases with median house prices since February 2020, just before the Covid pandemic, surging by 47.8 per cent to $593,566.

But it's still much cheaper than Tathra's $736,156, following a 41.8 per cent increase during the past two years.

Social workers command high salaries with the NSW Department of Communities and Justice advertising for a full-time Aboriginal casework in Bega with a salary range of $74,117 to $102,403 plus superannuation and leave loading.

At Bega on the New South Wales far south coast, five hours from Sydney, a four-bedroom house is on the market for $440,000 (pictured) while a three-bedroom house with a big backyard is $490,000

Warrnambool, in western Victoria about three hours from Melbourne, is another coastal town that, like Bega, has a cheese company named after it and is also a dairy farming area

Warrnambool, more cheese country

Warrnambool, in western Victoria about three hours from Melbourne, is another regional coastal city that, like Bega, has a cheese company named after it and is also a dairy farming area.

It is located at the end of the Great Ocean Road, one of the world's most scenic drives that takes visitors past the Twelve Apostles.

A three-bedroom house is on the market for $470,000 in an area where a farm manager position is being advertised with a salary range of $70,000 to $100,000.

Those prices are well below Warrnambool's median house price of $634,270, which follows a 37.2 per cent surge since February 2020.

A three-bedroom house (pictured) is on the market for $470,000 in a region where a farm manager position is being advertised with a salary range of $70,000 to $100,000

In southern Queensland, a house is on the market at Hervey Bay near Fraser Island

Hervey Bay and surrounds

In southern Queensland, a house is on the market at Hervey Bay near Fraser Island, famous for its camping and four-wheel driving.

Bundaberg, best known for its rum, is also only a short drive away, with sugarcane the major agricultural crop in this area.

The three-bedroom home at Urangan has an asking price of $540,000 - a bit less than the suburb's $567,598 median following a 45.3 per cent rise during the past two years.

Someone prepared to drive an hour south to Netherby could put themselves forward as a candidate to manage a piggery with a salary range of $85,000 to $120,000.

A six-figure salary in a regional area where housing is still affordable would also mean a coastal lifestyle without significant debt.

A borrower on a $100,000 annual income buying a $500,000 house, with a 20 per cent deposit, would have a very low debt-to-income ratio of four.

This three-bedroom home at Urangan has an asking price of $540,000, putting it at the lower end of the market

This is well below the six threshold which the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority deems to be dangerous.

But in many coastal areas, mortgage stress levels are rising with price surges making homes unaffordable for an average, full-time worker on $90,917 a year.

Pockets of the NSW mid-north coast have had some of the biggest price increases with the median house price at Nambucca Heads climbing by 53.5 per cent during the past two years to $616,557, up from $411,481.

Macksville, a short drive inland, saw prices rise by 53.5 per cent from $380,789 to $584,598.

Just before the pandemic in February 2020, Lakewood, south of Port Macquarie, had a median price of $486,240 but in two years, prices have surged 38.5 per cent to $673,610.

Nearby North Haven has had a 44.1 per cent increase, taking prices to $712,443 from $494,435.

Coffs Harbour's median house price has climbed 48.6 per cent from $519,151 to $771,406.

Many Australians are leaving the big cities in droves for a quieter life in the country (pictured is a construction worker in Sydney)

That's not all! The OTHER Aussie town where you can find a salary of more than $100,000 - and beautiful houses for as little as $300k

By Charlie Coe for Daily Mail Australia

Australians are flocking to a coastal city with more than 90 job openings offering six-figure salaries and affordable waterfront homes.

Bundaberg, in Queensland's Wide Bay region north of Brisbane, is experiencing a period of job growth after years of struggling with high unemployment rates.

There are dozens of open positions across various industries, including manufacturing, accounting, healthcare, management and technology, paying upwards of $100,000.

The Bundaberg Region boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in Australia

Bundaberg is a modern city with a country heart and features a charming clock tower in the centre of the town

Australia's hidden gem: Bundaberg, in the state's Wide Bay region, is experiencing a period of job growth after years of struggling with high unemployment rates

According to online listings, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the city's west could go for as little as $225,000. Pictured is a family home in Bundaberg

Bundaberg is also home to a number of other thriving businesses including Austchilli and Bundaberg Sugar. Pictured above is an employee monitoring operations at Bundaberg Sugar

Daily Mail Australia found online job adverts for a physiotherapist, nurse manager and a council traffic manager each paying about $150,000 a year.

Bundaberg is home to a number of thriving businesses including, Austchilli, Bundaberg Sugar, Macadamias Australia and its most popular attraction, the Bundaberg Rum distillery.

The quaint city is in close proximity to pristine beaches and the Great Barrier Reef, and has a lower cost of living, with family homes available for under $350,000.

Four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes in the city was available for as little as $225,000, according to listings on realestate.com.au.

There are no listings for that price in Sydney, where the median house price is $1.6million.

JOBS WHERE YOU CAN BE EARNING MORE THAN $100,000 A YEAR Farm manager, Macadamia Farm Management Tourism business development officer, Queensland Government Nurse unit manager, Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service First aid trainer, Australian Red Cross Building site supervisor, Campbell Construction Co Real estate sales consultant, Nutrien Harcourts Advertisement

Bundaberg by comparison has a median house price of $290,000 - half as much as Queensland's state-wide average of $580,000.

Bundaberg Tourism CEO Katherine Reid said the city had the same amenities as Brisbane without the cost or hassle of living in a large population centre.

'Even the more expensive areas of the region are still highly affordable, such as the coastal village of Bargara where the median house price is $510,000 - with lots of modern builds,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'Families love the safe and healthy lifestyle, and new residents find quickly that Bundaberg's community is very welcoming.'

The city is a four-hour drive from Brisbane and famous for its offshore marine reserves.

Bundaberg real estate agent Jessie Fuller said the city had become popular with Queenslanders from further south looking for an affordable sea change.

'There's a lot of people moving up for work and not always necessarily from the city,' she said.

'They're selling up down south and finding you get a lot more for your money. The block sizes are a lot bigger than Brisbane and the Gold Coast as well.

'Bundaberg has the best of both worlds. We've got both the country and coastal feels people are after.'

The unemployment rate spiked to 11.2 per cent in the city in September 2020 after the Covid pandemic hit, but that figure had dropped to 7.6 per cent by the same month last year.

The labour force participation rate also improved to 52.2 per cent in September 2021 - up 2.7 per cent from 12 months before - Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.

'We are seeing a resurgence in the tourism and hospitality sector,' Bundaberg Chamber of Commerce President Yale Morgan told Bundaberg Now in February 2021.

'We're also seeing an increase in construction, both commercial and certainly residential.

'There is certainly a lot of activity going on in our region which is very exciting.'
A disgraced Democrat state senator dodged jail thanks to a plea deal over a $600,000 fraud which saw her spend federal cash on her wedding, honeymoon - and subsequent divorce.

Katrina Robinson, 41, struck the plea deal Friday which saw her admit just two of the 20 counts she was facing, with a value of $3,400. Sentencing guidelines could have seen the former Tennessee lawmaker face up to 10 months in prison for those counts.

But US District Judge Sheryl H Lipman decided to let Robinson off with a slap on the wrist, and sentenced her to just a year of probation after claiming that the swindler had suffered enough already.

Robinson, who was removed from office by a vote in February, managed to defraud the government out of the $600,000 by applying for the cash for a nursing school called The Healthcare Institute that she ran, then using it for her own ends.

She frittered away much of the cash on a lavish 2016 wedding, as well as her honeymoon, and even the legal fees for her divorce, when the marriage to her unnamed husband foundered.

Robinson also bought a Jeep Renegade car for her daughter, a Louis Vuitton purse she brazenly displayed in photos, and trips including a lavish vacation to Jamaica, and even bankrolled another snow cone business she operated called Kool Kidz Kones.

Prosecutors say from from 2015 through 2019, Robinson pumped out an unknown amount from the The Healthcare Institute to pay for her wedding (pictured on the day at Halloran Center at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis in 2016) as well as for her honeymoon

Tennessee state senator Katrina Robinson (pictured) has been charged with two counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to a year of probation after spending more than $600,000 in federal grant money on her wedding, honeymoon, divorce, side-business, cosmetics, etc.

The FBI said the department received a complaint from someone who claimed Robinson used the school's funds to buy a Louis Vuitton handbag (pictured) for $550

She also spent more than $4,700 on makeup, video services and a party for her wedding, and $5,000 on a trip to Jamaica, the FBI said.

Based on bank records, over a four-year period, investigators found evidence that Robinson had given herself a $25,400 performance bonus, paid herself more than her allocated salary and transferred $54,000 to a retirement fund, according to charging documents.

The discrepancies amount to $169,134 more in salary than she was allowed to under salary amounts permitted by the federal grant, according to a 2020 FBI affidavit.

The Healthcare Institute also received more than $2.2million in federal grants in 2020 from the US Department of Health and Human Services to train nurse.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman departed from the guidelines at sentencing, saying Robinson had already suffered greatly and the Memphis community would gain no benefit from prison time for the nursing school administrator, community leader and mother of two.

Robinson was elected to represent a Memphis district in the state Senate in 2018. She was removed from office last month by the Republican-led Senate in a vote along party lines.

Before the 27-5 vote to remove her from the Senate, Robinson, who is black, argued that she had been unfairly judged by the white-majority body. She called it a 'procedural lynching,' prompting cheers of support that the Republican speaker gaveled down. Some of her supporters in the gallery were in tears and others stood in solidarity.

It was the first time the chamber had removed a senator since at least the Civil War.

Robinson also paid herself more than $169,134 in salary than she was legally allowed to from 2015 to 2019, according to a 2020 affidavit (pictured charges listed in the document)

On Friday, prosecutor Christopher Cotten asked the judge to sentence Robinson to ten months in prison, saying she had shown 'abject defiance of accepting any responsibility for her actions' and had unfairly blamed racism for the charges.

During the sentencing hearing, Robinson told the judge that she understood the importance of her case and acknowledged that she did not keep a 'tight eye on things.'

Lipman, the judge, said she read 57 letters of support for Robinson. Former students and current employees described her as a great mother, nurturing educator, inspiring community leader and dedicated nurse. Robinson traveled outside Tennessee during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic to help care for sick patients in hospitals.

However, Lipman also scolded Robinson for blaming the charges on 'hot button issues' such as race, although the judge did acknowledge past cases of racial injustice in the court system. Lipman criticized Robinson's sloppy record keeping and added that Robinson failed to respect the federal grant funded by taxpayers by not giving it proper attention.

The judge gave Robinson some advice.

'Someone who tries to do everything needs to edit, and needs to edit desperately,' Lipman said.

On top of the probation, Robinson is also struggling to open a checking account, retirement account has been seized by the federal government, and she could lose her nursing license

The 41-year-old was also the founder and director of The Healthcare Institute (pictured), which provides training for jobs in the health care field, and received more than $2.2million in federal grants from the US Department of Health and Human Services

Lipman also ruled Friday that Robinson had committed perjury during her trial when she defended an email that said money she used on her wedding was for a community patient education event and should be covered by grant money.

After the hearing, Robinson told reporters that she felt probation was appropriate and she plans to continue working in the community.

'Most of the stuff that I talked about as it relates to race has to do with my Senate expulsion first of all, and just the overall pattern since the beginning of times when black elected officials were able to serve - not necessarily that I do not accept responsibility for this case,' Robinson said.

While she gets to avoid prison, Robinson has already paid a steep price, both to her reputation and her finances, said her lawyer, Lawrence Laurenzi. Robinson has struggled in securing a checking account, her retirement account has been seized by the federal government, and she could lose her nursing license, the lawyer said.

Laurenzi said he plans to appeal the conviction.

After Robinson's expulsion from the Senate, the Shelby County Commission chose another black woman, Democratic state Rep. London Lamar, to replace her. Commissioners will choose Lamar's replacement in the state House.
The finalists for the 2025 UK City of Culture have been named - with Bradford, County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham in the running to take the title from current holder Coventry.

The finalists were selected from 20 bids - a record for the scheme for the title which has also been held by Hull and Derry-Londonderry in 2017 and 2013 respectively.

The shortlist includes Cornwall, Derby, Stirling, and the district of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon.

County Durham already plays host to a plethora of cultural events including the eye-catching Lumiere Festival of light displays in the city

Southampton's bid will centre around the maritime history of the south coast city

Wrexham's canals could form the basis of their bid to become the first non-English city to receive the title since 2013.

A video projection illuminates the entire length of the 249ft Lister's Mill chimney in Bradford for a free show as part of Bradford Council's 2025 City of Culture bid.

The competition is organised by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and is used to revitalise area in need of economic stimulus.

Arts minister Lord Parkinson told the Guardian: 'The UK city of culture competition shows the important role that culture can play in levelling up our towns, cities and rural communities - bringing investment, great events, thousands of tourists and opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds.

'We have seen a huge positive impact in this year's host city, Coventry, with millions of pounds in investment and thousands of visitors.'

The winner will be announced in May 2022 by DCMS.

DCMS have claimed that the competition has resulted in over 172million of funding for concerts, public art displays and the UK's first permanent immersive digital arts gallery.

It also said that Coventry's public infrastructure like transport has been improved as part of the scheme.

Bradford's entry likely focuses on the Yorkshire city's Victorian history - seen in its Little Germany quarter and its status as the Curry Capital of Britain

Sir Phil Redmond, the chair of the city of culture expert advisory panel, told the Guardian: 'Culture can act as a catalyst for community engagement, civic cohesion and a driver for economic and social change as previously seen not just in Derry-Londonderry, Hull and Coventry, but all those other places who went on a journey to develop their own cultural strategy.'

'We have had a great longlist to select from, which made the shortlisting difficult, but I am now looking forward to visiting each of the shortlisted places with the panel to witness culture's catalytic effect in action.'

Bradford's entry likely focuses on the Yorkshire city's Victorian history - seen in its Little Germany quarter and its status as the Curry Capital of Britain - earned through the work of its strong British-Asian population.

Southampton's bid will centre around the maritime history of the south coast city.

It's association with Titanic is heavily represented at the SeaCity Museum as well as the ornate city cemetery where several of the engineers who died in the disaster are memorialised.

County Durham already plays host to a plethora of cultural events including the eye-catching Lumiere Festival of light displays in the city.

Wrexham's canals could form the basis of their bid to become the first non-English city to receive the title since 2013.
Two models have their hair braided together during the Byron Lars showing of the 1994 Fall Collection in New York, in this Apr. 6, 1994 file photo. Elected officials in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to ban all types of racial discrimination based on haircuts. AFP-Yonhap





Black people who wear hairstyles such as Afros, cornrows or tightly coiled twists should not face bias in society, school and the workplace, the U.S. House said Friday in voting to make it explicit that such discrimination is a violation of federal civil rights law.







''There are folks in this society who think because your hair is kinky, it is braided, it is in knots or it is not straightened blonde and light brown, that you somehow are not worthy of access,'' Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, the lead sponsor of the bill, said during a debate on the House floor. ''Well, that's discrimination.''







The House voted 235-to-189 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of hair texture and hairstyles. The bill now goes to the Senate, where its fate is uncertain. President Joe Biden has already said he would sign the bill, known as the Crown Act, into law.







All but 14 Republicans voted against the measure, calling it unnecessary and a distraction. They said protections against hair discrimination already exist in several federal laws.







''This is what the Democrats are focused on,'' said Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan. ''Fourteen months of chaos and we're doing a bill on hair.''







But House Democrats noted that, in several instances, judges have dismissed civil rights cases on the basis that the law does not directly cover discrimination on the basis of hair. The House bill makes clear that hair is in fact included.







Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who is the first Somali-American lawmaker in Congress, called the opposition from her GOP colleagues ''quite disheartening.''







''These members, who are mostly male and white, who have never experienced this kind of discrimination, who don't have the ability to actually speak to it ... really should leave it up to the policymakers who have done the work and who have experienced this level of discrimination,'' the progressive lawmaker said in an interview Friday.







In addition to Afros, cornrows and twists, the bill mentions protections for other hairstyles and textures of styles that often draw prejudice against Black people.







Supporters pointed to a 2019 study by Dove that showed that one in five Black women working in office or sales settings have said they had to alter their natural hair. The study also found Black students are far more likely to be suspended for dress code or hair violations.







Deanna Cook, left, poses for a photograph with her mother Colleen at their home in Malden, Mass., March 15. AP-Yonhap





Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat, began to work on the proposal after two incidents of discrimination made national headlines. One involved Mya and Deanna Cook of Malden, Massachusetts.







In 2017, the twin sisters were told by their high school staff to remove their box braids. They refused, saying the policy was discriminatory and unevenly enforced. School administrators told them that the ban on hair extensions had been designed to ''foster a culture that emphasizes education rather than style, fashion or materialism.''







For refusing to comply, Deanna, a runner who had qualified for the state finals, was kicked off the school track team. Mya was removed from the softball team and told she couldn't attend the prom.







''It's such a shock that it doesn't matter who you are, how old you are, what you are  when people have hatred towards a certain group, they don't care. They will treat you in that type of way,'' Deanna Cook told The Associated Press in an interview. ''That's why we need the Crown Act because kids are being hurt from this so badly.''







The Massachusetts attorney general eventually stepped in and ordered school officials to abandon the rule, which they did. But Mya and Deanna, now college students, said the traumatic experience stays with them.







''You expect the administration of your school to have your back, to be rooting for you and cheering you on,'' Mya Cook said. ''And for us, it was the total opposite  they're trying to tear you down.''







In a December 2018 incident in New Jersey, a high school student was forced to choose between forfeiting his wrestling game or cutting off his dreadlocks. Andrew Johnson, then 16, got his hair cut courtside and went on to win the match. But he appeared visibly distraught by what had happened.







''I'll tell you watching that was heartbreaking,'' Coleman said. ''But the fact that he withstood that humiliation, that public humiliation, and immediately went and won that match says so much about that young man's character.''







More than a dozen states have already passed legislation aimed at banning race-based discrimination of hair in employment, housing, school, and in the military.







An Associated Press investigation documented how some Black female service members faced discrimination in the ranks, navigating a culture that often labeled them as ''aggressive or difficult'' and their natural hair as unkempt or unprofessional.







Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, the lead sponsor in the Senate, said passage of the bill will should ensure that all people can ''wear their hair proudly without fear or prejudice.''







''No one should be harassed, punished, or fired for their natural hairstyles that are true to themselves and their cultural heritage,'' Booker said. (AP)


The words were in Spanish but even with my fragmentary knowledge of the language, I could understand them. Quiet, the harsh voice said, and then with a short gesture of the pistol: When we get where we are going, I will kill you with this. It was May 12, 1982, and in the jargon of the Argentine secret police, I had been swallowed and walled in.

As the car rolled forward at a deliberately steady pace, I lay constrained and helpless on my back in the rear footwell, a cloth over my head blocking almost all vision, a mans knee jammed against my neck, pinning my head against the back of the seat in front and a hard, tanned hand holding an automatic pistol pressed against the side of my head.

One thing was very clear: the three men who had seized me and who now held my life in their hands were professionals in the art of kidnapping.

A woman tries desperately to prevent detention of a young man by police during anti-government rally in Buenos Aires during the last days of Argentina's Dirty War

Forty years ago, in May 1982, the eyes of the world were fixed on events taking place at one of the most remote and obscure points on the planet: the Falkland Islands, the South Atlantic archipelago that had been under British control since 1833.

Together with a crew from Thames Televisions current affairs programme TV Eye, I was filming a report in war-torn El Salvador when the telephone call came from our editor in London. His instructions were brisk. Some Argentinians had landed on a British-owned island. It was becoming an international crisis. We should head for the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. Try to keep out of trouble, he said, helpfully.

As the British task force sailed towards the Falklands  or Las Malvinas, as the Argentinians call them  to reclaim them, the pugnacity of the Argentine junta surprised many who did not know the recent history of the country. These were men who already had much blood on their hands.

They had ordered the torture and often murder of thousands of Leftist subversives whom they had kidnapped on the street or dragged from their homes. It was known as the Dirty War, an operation against many of their own people, which had extended into brutal suppression of every vestige of opposition in Argentina.

General Jorge Videla had seized power in 1976 in the sixth military coup that Argentina had experienced since 1930. As the junta promised to restore stability, their security forces were stepping up the already brutal campaign against the insurgent threat. Now they set up what can only be described as a killing machine which dealt with its victims with frightening efficiency, turning them into a legion of the disappeared.

A group of demonstrators are held by police during anti-government rally in Buenos Aires during what would be the last days of Argentina's Dirty War

It was a ruthless struggle in which a particularly murderous branch of the security forces was led by a violent career criminal who had carried out one of the most spectacular bank robberies in Argentinas history and who joined the secret police directly from prison.

He had been given the power of life and death over the perceived opponents of the junta. Now that included me.

IT WAS early afternoon when, together with the other members of our British team, I emerged from the Argentine foreign ministry in Buenos Aires after a failed attempt to interview Minister Nicanor Costa Mendez, the Oxford-educated civilian described by some as the evil genius of the junta, or military regime.

Costa Mendez had been angered by my questions and brushed us off with an infuriated wave of the hand. Minutes later, as we got into our car, another car cut in front of us, forcing us to stop, and disgorged strongly built men clad in sharp suits. They seized me with firm hands while shouting: Police!

Suddenly I was propelled into the back of their vehicle. The doors slammed shut and in a motion that immediately terrified me, the men produced what appeared to be custom-made leather thongs with which they expertly tied the door handles to the door locks.

As I dimly realised amid the shock and mounting fear, this made it virtually impossible for me to kick open a door. It was a practised routine which these men had clearly carried out many times before.

Resistance was beyond my power and would, in any case, have been futile and probably fatal

Look, I said in broken Spanish-English to the man holding the gun to my head, in my pocket Ive got dollars. Please take the money and throw me out here. I felt a horny hand force its way into my trouser pocket searching for the money, some $800, which he silently removed. The car rolled on. When I made another attempt to speak, I was silenced with a slap, then my knees were struck with the pistol butt to make me pull them down beneath the level of the window.

Galtieri met Julian to apologise for the kidnapping, to aid his position in peace talks

But as my kidnapper scrabbled for the money, he had given me a brief glimpse of his face. I was too frightened to look at him calmly with a view to recall but something remained lodged in my memory all the same.

I had almost got used to the steady motion of the vehicle and my cramped position within it when it came to a sudden halt. We were in some sort of lay-by, and to my surprise Trefor, our sound recordist, was pushed into the car. We were made to sit next to each other on the back seat and told to be silent and keep our eyes closed. The car drove on into the countryside, then it stopped again. Brusquely we were shoved out and saw other cars with more gunmen, who were guarding Ted, our cameraman.

The sinister convoy had halted on the corner of a vast field. We were instructed in broken English to turn away from the gunmen, empty our pockets of our possessions and take off all our clothes except our underpants.

The three of us stood cold, almost naked and virtually numb with fear while the commanders radio crackled sporadically behind us. Our kidnappers pointed a rifle at us and told us to walk down the road. We walked slowly and silently away from the gunmen.

Trefor was next to me and I found myself holding his hand. Behind us I heard the unmistakable double-click from the loading mechanism of the rifle.

There was no way to run and nowhere to hide. At any second the bullets would hit us and the light of life would go out.

Then there was another sound. It was the sputtering of a car engine starting up, then another, then a third. Wheels crunched on soil but we stood still, looking away, not daring to turn round. When we did, we were alone.

Instead of lying in pools of blood after the sort of execution that had taken place so often in Argentina, we were standing near-naked in a field, in the middle of a country at war with Britain. I think all three of us felt the same elation of survival. As emotion surged, we grinned and laughed and felt what can only be described as joy.

A farmer drove us to the police station in the nearest town, Pilar, where eventually a call to the interior minister, General Alfredo Saint-Jean, resulted in a very large limousine accompanied by six motorcycle outriders arriving to return us to Buenos Aires. What we did not know then was that the area we were leaving was an infamous location, where the security services had often dumped the bodies of their victims.

JUST how lucky we were has become clear in previously secret CIA documents since released by the US government and which I have examined in detail. We now know how Argentinas secret world was organised and some of the murderous plans it had drawn up in the event of full-scale war with Britain.

The CIA analysts identified the key department responsible for black operations as the 601st Intelligence Battalion of the Argentine Army. This special unit, whose activities were shrouded in secrecy and widespread fear, had been for years at the centre of the Dirty War, collecting information on opposition groups and employing death squads to eliminate them. According to the American intelligence officers, the 601st was readying itself to murder 500 British residents in Argentina at the time we were kidnapped. At that point, the apocalyptic secret plans had not been carried out. Instead, we had been terrorised, humiliated but, at the last moment, spared.

A CIA report, dated nine days after our kidnapping, states that it was carried out by a team working with the 601st and names its leader as a secret-service killer called Anibal Gordon, a man who was to become infamous for his bloodstained ruthlessness.

Former Argentine dictator Gen. Leopoldo GaltierI

This document was in the form of a cable sent to Langley, Virginia, on May 21, 1982. It states that the operation was executed by an Argentine paramilitary group under the command of Anibal The journalists had been under heavy surveillance by personnel from the Argentine Army 601st Intelligence Battalion before being selected by Gordons group as specific targets for kidnapping.

A further CIA document reported divisions within the junta, with senior air force officers who were now carrying much of the burden of the war said to be unhappy with the attack on us.

Air force officers privately commented that it appeared as though President Leopoldo [Galtieri] was being undermined by the intelligence apparatus of his own military service by its permitting such unfortunate behaviour at the worst possible moment.

This is the only explanation I can find for our survival.

General Galtieri himself tried to minimise the damage caused by our kidnapping which took place as his government was trying to negotiate at the United Nations. Late at night, after our return to Buenos Aires, he invited me and my crew to the Presidential Palace to apologise for what had happened to us. In what turned into a world exclusive interview, he told me that we had been kidnapped by a small group that did not want peace.

That small group, it is now clear, was inside his own secret service, men who were determined to prevent him from making any concessions to Britain.

Five of the previously secret US documents refer directly to our case. I read them and then read them again, scarcely believing that these almost 40-year-old files contained the answer to one of the nagging mysteries of my life. I examined photographs of the man they identified and found myself propelled straight back to the horrifying moments in the back of the Ford Falcon and to the field near Pilar. Looking at Anibal Gordons image, I felt a stab of recognition and fear.

Anibal Gordon under arrest (centre) 10/02/1984.- Image provided by Julian Manyon

I set out to cross-reference the American documents that mentioned him in connection with a series of crimes, with Argentine judicial records and with 40 years worth of newspaper articles from publications large and small across the country.

The picture that emerged was of a professional killer, both cruel and charismatic, valued by his superiors in the military secret services for the ruthless efficiency that he displayed in seizing victims, extracting information by torture and disposing of the finally valueless corpse.

Gordon has no enemies, it was said of him approvingly. The ones he had are all dead.

He first came to public notice in February 1971 as the man who planned and led Argentinas most spectacular bank robbery of modern times. The target was the Provincial Bank of Rio Negro and Gordons gang made off with 88 million pesos, the equivalent at the time of more than 7 million. Recruited out of prison by the military secret service, Side, he also joined the notorious secret Argentine Anti-communist Alliance, known as the Triple A, and became perhaps the leading practitioner of the black art of kidnapping in the Dirty War.

Later, following the Falklands defeat, kidnapping to extort money became an industry, and Gordon was a kidnapper-in-chief. Reading about the former car workshop he took over and turned into a secret torture and execution centre in the Dirty War is a chilling experience, especially for those who can claim to have had a taste of Gordons methods.

Even today, investigations into his murderous activities are taking place and he is believed to have been personally responsible for scores of killings and to have organised and supervised many more.

Gordon died in prison in 1987, and in recent years the man who snatched us off the street and threatened to execute us has achieved a macabre posthumous celebrity in Argentina.

There of course never was, and never could be, any recourse to justice for our terrifying treatment at the hands of the Gordon gang and the elements of the junta whose orders they were following. The principal actors in the operation are either dead or serving sentences that they are unlikely to survive.

Looking back, I can say that what happened on that day in Buenos Aires left an indelible mark on me. We left Argentina a few days after the event and I took a holiday with my wife in the West Indies. There, in the middle of the night, I suddenly found myself crouching wide awake in the bedroom of our hotel in a fight-or-flight position. I had no recollection of how I got there, but my wife told me that I had leapt out of the bed in one motion seemingly while still asleep.

Less than a month later, in that age before PTSD diagnoses and therapy, I was back at work on another story.

Forty years on, I retain a strange sense of gratitude for the whole experience. I am one of those who went into journalism out of desire to be a witness to history  and this was history at its most raw. In our case, the worst had not happened but we had been given a unique insight into Argentinas wars and the methods of one of its principal dirty warriors.

It was and remains all too easy to imagine the terrible fate that so many others suffered at the hands of Gordon, who would, more than likely, have been given the job of disposing of dozens of British civilian prisoners if his battalions secret wartime threat to disappear them had been carried out.

In the end I can only be thankful that on that day Anibal Gordon chose, or was instructed, only to terrorise and not to murder us, and that we emerged alive to tell the tale.

Kidnapped By The Junta, by Julian Manyon, is published by Icon Books, priced 20. To order a copy for 18, visit mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937 before April 3. Free UK delivery on orders over 20.
Australia will donate more military equipment, humanitarian aid and coal to Ukraine's effort to defend itself from invasion while placing additional sanctions on Russia.

The announcement on Sunday morning follows discussions between Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Defence Minister Peter Dutton, and their Ukrainian counterparts.

An additional $21 million worth of Australian Defence Force equipment will seek to meet priority requests from Ukraine, which is on top of $70 million in military assistance Australia has already provided.

The government also announced an additional $30 million in humanitarian assistance that will focus on protecting displaced women and children from Ukraine and addressing food shortages.

Australia announced an additional $51million in funding to support Ukraine on Sunday as well as coal shipments and a ban on exports of bauxite used to make aluminum to Russia (pictured: Prime Minister Scott Morrison)

The UNHCR estimated three million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion on February 24 (pictured: refugees at Medyka on the Polish border on Saturday)

According to the UNHCR, about three million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia's unprovoked invasion on February 24.

Australians who want to support those fleeing Ukraine can make tax deductible donations to approved organisations supporting Ukrainian refugees in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Ukrainians fleeing the conflict who have arrived in Australia can now apply for a three-year temporary humanitarian visa.

In defending the decision not to expand permanent visa caps, Mr Morrison previously said he expected the majority would want to return to Ukraine when the conflict ended.

'We shouldn't make the mistake to think every person who is seeking to leave Ukraine doesn't want to return to their home country,' he said.

Australia will also donate at least 70,000 tonnes of thermal coal for Ukraine's power stations with coal producers bombarded with calls for supply over the past few weeks from Ukraine and other countries like Poland that were reliant on Russian supplies.

Mr Morrison on Sunday declared an immediate ban on exports of alumina and aluminum ores, including bauxite, to Russia as an additional sanction on Moscow.

Australia will provide an extra $21 million in military equipment to Ukraine on top of a previous $70 million worth last month that included missiles and ammunition (pictured: a Ukrainian armoured vehicle in Kyiv)

'Russia relies on Australia for nearly 20 percent of its alumina needs,' Mr Morrison said in a joint statement from several ministries.

The statement said the ban would limit Russia's capacity to produce aluminium, which is a critical export for the country.

'This significant step demonstrates the Morrison Government's absolute commitment to holding the Putin regime to account for the egregious way in which it is flouting international law and the law of armed conflict by invading its neighbour without justification, and targeting innocent civilians,' it said.

Russia is also the world's third largest oil producer, with the conflict and boycott on Russian oil leading to a surge in global oil prices.

Australia previously joined 30 countries in releasing a combined 60 million oil barrels from reserves to stabilise prices with thirty million barrels from the US strategic reserve.

Australians who want to donate to refugees can now receive a tax deduction for approve organisations (pictured: a Ukrainian refugee with his child arrives in Moldova)

Experts are forecasting about $2.20 per litre petrol prices at Australian service station over the next few months as crude oil prices hover around $110 a barrel.

The new aid package follows a previous $70 million in lethal and non-lethal military aid, which Mr Morrison said would include missiles and ammunition.

Other new humanitarian aid announced on Sunday included an additional $30 million in emergency humanitarian assistance, focused on protecting women, children, the elderly and the disabled.

'To help address education and critical protection needs for children, people living with a disability and those facing risks of gender-based violence, Australia will provide $10 million through non-government organisations under the Australian Humanitarian Partnership,' the statement said.

'We will provide $8 million to the United Nations Population Fund to protect displaced women and girls from gender-based violence and ensure access to sexual and reproductive health services.'

Australia will also contribute $10 million to the World Food Programme to help address increasingly severe food shortages.

Another $2 million will be given to the Emergency Action Alliance Ukraine Appeal to enhance the response of Australian NGOs, funding which will attract matched private donations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Saturday for comprehensive peace talks with Moscow and also urged Switzerland to do more to crack down on Russian oligarchs who he said were helping wage war on his country with their money.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday (pictured) again urged Moscow to agree to peace talks

British intelligence warned that Russia, frustrated by its failure to achieve its objectives since it launched the invasion on February 24, was pursuing a strategy of attrition that could intensify the humanitarian crisis.

Russian forces have taken heavy losses and their advance has largely stalled since President Vladimir Putin launched the assault, with long columns of troops that bore down on Kyiv halted in the suburbs.

But they have laid siege to cities, blasting urban areas to rubble, and in recent days have intensified missile attacks on scattered targets in western Ukraine, away from the main battlefields.

Ukrainian women shout slogans during a solidarity rally for Ukraine in front of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest on March 19 (pictured)

Zelenskiy, who makes frequent impassioned appeals to foreign audiences for help for his country, told an anti-war protest in Bern that Swiss banks were where the 'money of the people who unleashed this war' lay and their accounts should be frozen.

Ukrainian cities 'are being destroyed on the orders of people who live in European, in beautiful Swiss towns, who enjoy property in your cities. It would really be good to strip them of this privilege,' he said in an audio address.

Neutral Switzerland, which is not a member of the European Union, has fully adopted EU sanctions against Russian individuals and entities, including orders to freeze their wealth in Swiss banks.

Ukrainian refugees arrive at the reception center some three kilometers from the Moldova-Ukraine border, at Palanca Village, Moldova, on March 19 (pictured)

The EU measures are part of a wider sanctions effort by Western nations, criticised by China, aimed at squeezing Russia's economy

On Saturday, China's Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng warned against the consequences of forcing a major nuclear power 'into a corner'.

Mr Le told a Beijing security forum the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation should also avoid expanding further towards Russia.

He said the sanctions against the country are 'getting more and more outrageous' and will only harm ordinary citizens and the global economy.

'History has proven time and again that sanctions cannot solve problems,' Mr Le said.

Australia is not a member of NATO but allies including the United States and United Kingdom are.
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President Joe Biden was seen leaving his weekly mass during his customary weekend in Delaware, just ahead of his first trip to Europe since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Biden, 79, was seen walking out of St. Edmond Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Saturday.

The president regularly returns to his native Delaware for weekends and traditionally attends Roman Catholic mass on Saturday nights.

Biden was seen putting his black face mask on to get into the car escorting him away.

Onlookers filled the sidewalks to watch the presidential motorcade leave church. Though Biden will often attend mass with his children or grandchildren, he walked out of the service alone Saturday.

Biden replaces his face mask before loading his motorcade vehicle as he leaves the Delaware church

Biden waves to the onlookers before departing in his customary presidential motorcade

Biden appeared to attend church alone on Saturday. He regularly attends mass when at home in Delaware

Biden visited mass ahead of his first trip to Europe since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Biden attended mass at this church, St. Edmond's Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

The president will travel to Europe next week for face-to-face talks with European leaders about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Tuesday.

Biden will meet with European leaders at an extraordinary NATO summit in Brussels on March 24.

He will also attend a scheduled European Council summit, where efforts to impose sanctions and further humanitarian efforts are underway.

'While he's there, his goal is to meet in person face-to-face with his European counterparts and talk about, assess where we are at this point in the conflict in the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We've been incredibly aligned to date,' Psaki said.

'That doesn't happen by accident. The president is a big believer in face-to-face diplomacy. So it's an opportunity to do exactly that.'

President Joe Biden departs from St. Edmond Catholic Church after attending Mass in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Biden will be leaving for Brussels on March 24 to discuss the invasion with America's NATO allies

Onlookers watch as the Presidential motorcade, carrying US President Joe Biden, drives to Saint Edmond Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

A churchgoer takes photos before US President Joe Biden leaves Saint Edmond Catholic Church

White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in Washington

The White House announced the president's travel shortly before Biden on Tuesday signed a bill providing $13.6 billion in additional military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine as part of a $1.5 trillion government spending measure.

Biden said at the bill signing ceremony that the U.S. was 'moving urgently to further augment the support to the brave people of Ukraine, as they defend their country.'

The trip follows Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to eastern flank NATO countries of Poland and Romania last week to discuss with leaders the growing refugee crisis in eastern Europe sparked by the Russian invasion and to underscore the Biden administration's support for NATO allies.

Poland's foreign minister Zbigniew Rau said Tuesday that a visit by Biden to Poland was 'very probable' when he comes to Europe.

More than 1.8 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland since the start of the war, according to the United Nations. More than 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Russian launched its invasion.

'It would be hard to imagine a better place for the United States and for the entire alliance to stress their position than the brightest link on the eastern flank, that Poland is,' Rau told Polish state TVP INFO.

Psaki said she did not have additional details about whether Biden would visit Poland during the trip.

The White House's announcement of Biden's visit to Brussels came on the same day that leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia set out for Kyiv by train despite the security risks to show their support for Ukraine.

It was a visit EU officials said was not sanctioned by other members of the 27-nation bloc.

Daniel Hamilton, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for European affairs, said Biden's trip to Europe comes as the White House looks to continue to maintain what's been a largely unified western opposition to Russia since the invasion.

'As the war continues, it's important that the president show he is not sitting comfortably across the Atlantic, but that he is part of the coalition meeting with European colleagues in Europe and that the United States is a European power,' said Hamilton, non-resident fellow at Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

Biden gets into a vehicle as he departs from St. Edmond Catholic Church after attending Mass
On a visit to Poland last week, I gave a lecture to politics and history students at Lodz University. It was a visit that had been postponed for two years because of the pandemic and was a follow-up to a previous lecture given in 2015, following the Russian annexation of Crimea.

Unsurprisingly, given the horrific events of recent weeks, the room was packed with students and university staff.

These were young people, not only from Poland, but from Ukraine and Russia too. The atmosphere was sombre, the questions thoughtful and probing. But what struck me more than anything was the mood of the students.

Understandably emotional, they were completely bewildered that the horrors they were witnessing on TV  and worse, hearing from friends and family  could be happening in Europe today. It reminded me they are a generation with no memory of the Berlin Wall, Cold War or even of the Soviet Union.

The visit reminded me they are a generation with no memory of the Berlin Wall, Cold War or even of the Soviet Union.

All these things were history to them, something they believed belonged in a bygone era, and they asked repeatedly why these terrible things were happening again.

I told them this was a war of atrocities chosen by Putin himself. His choice, his war. I said he had never come to terms with the fall of the Soviet Union or the reasons for it.

In 2007, he told a security conference in Munich: We should not forget that the fall of the Berlin Wall was possible thanks to a historic choice  one that was also made by the people of Russia  in favour of democracy, freedom, openness and a sincere partnership with all the members of the big European family.

Really? Not a result of a failed, centrally planned economy, oppression of occupied populations and an inability to match defence budgets of the US and its Nato allies?

Not only was Putins statement a complete distortion of reality, but where is the freedom, democracy and openness in his Russia when those who protest about the Ukrainian invasion are arrested, critics in the press found dead in lifts, and political opponents poisoned at home and abroad?

The students asked if I thought Putin was crazy. Surely his disregard for suffering, deprivation and death must reflect some kind of mental illness?

I said I thought he was not a mad man, but a bad man.

The students asked if I thought Putin was crazy. Surely his disregard for suffering, deprivation and death must reflect some kind of mental illness?

I know this concept is uncomfortable for the liberal Left in our educational elite, which shuns concepts of good and bad as having moral or theological overtones, but what else can be said about someone who chooses to inflict such suffering?

The truth is that neither Putins thought process nor his actions are new. He has had a clear agenda for years. It is just that too many outside Russia have chosen to ignore it. From the crushing of Chechnya to the invasion of Georgia and the annexation of Crimea, his behaviour has been brutally consistent.

He even told us why he behaved this way at the same Munich conference, betraying his paranoia about Nato and his failure to recognise the sovereign right of nations to protect themselves.

Nato expansion, he said, has no relation with the modernisation of the alliance itself or with ensuring security in Europe.

On the contrary, it represents a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust. We have the right to ask: against whom is this expansion intended?

It has never occurred to him that his own behaviour has driven countries towards Nato or that his Cold War mindset, that Russia should have a veto on the security policies of its neighbours, is against all concepts of self-determination.

While the world changed, Putins KGB mindset and that of his clique have not, unable to overcome the loss of the Soviet empire and determined to restore it at any cost.

But there was something more than issues of historical accuracy that unsettled me about my encounter with these fine young people. It reminded me of a meeting I had as Defence Secretary in the Elysee Palace in Paris, which I described in my book, Rising Tides.

I was talking with a senior member of the French government about how we had won the Cold War not just because of our military and economic superiority, but because we also had a moral superiority and belief in our values.

I asked why we had been so willing to use the word better  democracy was better than dictatorship, freedom better than oppression, capitalism better than communism  but were so afraid to use it now.

Surely, in relation to fundamentalist Islamism, the subject of the day, our ways are better  better to have religious tolerance than violently imposed orthodoxy, to have a concept of universal human rights, societies in which women play an equal role? The answer was depressing: I dont think we can really say better nowadays, I was told, only different.

If this is what we believe, we are in deep trouble. Has the concept of moral equivalence become so prevalent it has diminished our belief in what has made us who we are?

If we do not believe our values are better and worth defending, why should anyone else listen to us?

We need more better and less different, otherwise we risk losing the battle of ideas and ideals. We dont simply have a different world view to Russia or China, we have a better view. Its time we all believed, or we face a very difficult future.

The Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP is former Defence and International Trade Secretary. He was the UKs nominee to be Director-General of the World Trade Organisation in 2020.
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A 33-year-old French cryptocurrency expert was shot multiple times in the legs and groin when a man attempted to rob his six-figure designer watch in the middle of New York City on Friday.

French-born Pierrick Jamaux, who is visiting from Hong Kong, was getting out of an Uber with his Australian model wife, Sarah Watts, 26, and another person at their hotel in Midtown when a man approached them and demanded Jamaux hand over his Richard Mille watch, the New York Post reported.

Jamaux told police the man then opened fire before he could react, striking his legs and groin and causing him to fall to the ground as the man tried to rob him.

Police said the other person with the couple, a 25-year-old woman, jumped on the gunman's back to try and stop him before the shooter pushed her off and fled.

New York Police Department officials said five shell casing were recovered from the scene and that Jamaux had multiple entry and exit wounds on both legs.

Jamaux, 33, is a French-born cryptocurrency expert visiting from Hong Kong with his wife, Watts, an Australian born model

Pierrick Jamaux, 33, (pictured inside the ambulance) was shot multiple times in the legs and groin during an attempted robbery outside his hotel in NYC on Friday

Jamaux was with his wife, Sarah Watts, 26, (pictured together) during the attack. Jamaux said the robber demanded his Richard Mille luxury watch

The attacked occurred on Friday night as the couple and another woman got out of an Uber outside the Fifty Hotel and Suites in Manhattan

Police said the recovered five bullet shell casings at the scene of the shooting

Jamaux, 33, (pictured inside the ambulance) was rushed to hospital after the shooting attack

He was taken to the nearby Bellevue Hospital where he was reported in stable condition.

Police are currently investigating the case and searching for the suspect, who remains at large.

Jamaux works in Hong Kong on the leadership team of Hi, an online banking planform dealing in cryptocurrency, savings and investments.

The entrepreneur has worked in Paris, New York City and London as a derivatives trader before settling in Hong Kong to kickstart his cryptocurrency company in 2019, Time Bulletin reported.

Jamaux was sporting a Richard Mille luxury watch when the attack took place on Friday.

The watches boasts an average cost of $200,000, with some designs fetching for as high as $1.3 million.

Some of the Swiss company's watches are made in limited editions and use high tech material, including an alloy developed by NASA.

Police officials said the woman, 25, accompanying Jamaux jumped on the shooters back. The gunman pushed her off and fled as police continue to search for him

Jamaux's social media often depict him enjoying a luxurious lifestyle

Jamauxis pictured at a bar in Peru. He often shares pics of him and his wife on outings all around the world

Jamaux lives in Hong Kong with his wife

Jamaux was wearing a Richard Mille watch during the robbery. The watches cost, on average, around $200,000, with some designs fetching for as high as $1.3 million

The attempted robbery comes as New York City is reeling from a February crime wave that saw a nearly 60 percent spike in incidents over last year.

The city's latest crime figures show 9,138 incidents last month, as opposed to 5,759 during the same period in 2021 - with double-digit surges in nearly every major category.

There were 32 murders in February - three more than the same month last year.

Multiple other categories saw shocking jumps, including car theft, which soared by nearly 105 percent; grand larceny, which jumped nearly 80 percent over the previous year; robberies, which surged 56 percent; a 44 percent bump in burglaries and a 22 percent spike in assaults. Rapes also saw a terrifying 35 percent rise in February.

As of March 19 robberies have continued to spike with 3,044 reports so far, a 43.5 percent increase from the same time last year.

Assaults are also up by more than 17 percent, increasing from 3,210 to 4,257 so far this year.

The number of shooting victims have gone up from 220 cases to 241, more than 9 percent when compared to the same time last year, and rapes have shot up by nearly 35 percent, with 333 cases reported so far.

Although murders have seen a drop of about 7 percent, with only 76 reported so far this year, overall crimes have gone up by more than 47 percent.

New York City residents have also reacted with horror to a string of high-profile incidents, including the vicious battering of a woman with a hammer by a homeless man in Queens and the smearing of feces on another woman in the Bronx - after which the alleged perpetrator, a violent criminal with a history of 44 arrests, was released without bail.

These incidents were in addition to the murder of Asian woman Christina Yuna Lee, 25, who was tailed to her apartment by another homeless man, Assamad Nash, 35, and stabbed to death.

On Wednesday, Christian Jeffers, 48, who identifies as a woman, was arrested on charges of assault, aggravated harassment and menacing as hate crimes, and one count of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from a brutal attack on a 29-year-old man that took place at the 14th Street subway station in Manhattan on Tuesday.

Jeffers, wearing a black wig and purple lipstick, was caught on video smashing the stranger in the head with a hammer after the two bumped into each other and then exchanged words.

The crime wave comes during Mayor Eric Adams' first few months in office. The former NYPD cop has vowed to crack down on the influx of incidents on the city's streets and subway system - which has seen a rash of violent incidents in recent weeks. Former Mayor Bill De Blasio's policies contributed to the current crime wave, experts said.

The New York subway has been ground zero for the latent crime wave after an alarming 73.3 percent increase in underground incidents - including 182 in February alone.

Hate crimes have also doubled since last year  with anti-Asian attacks more than tripling and anti-Jewish complaints up by a whopping 54 percent over the same time last year, from 134 to 207 incidents.

One recent poll revealed that nearly 75 percent of all New York City voters consider crime to be a 'very serious' problem.
The family of an American citizen killed in Ukraine claims he died during a Russian bombing while en route to the hospital where his life partner was being treated for multiple sclerosis.

Jimmy Hill, 68, was reported dead Thursday after a bomb exploded in the city of Chernihiv, where his partner, Irina Teslenko, has been receiving care at a regional hospital since December.

In an interview from Pittsburgh Saturday, Jimmy's sister, Katya Hill, called her brother's relationship with Irina a 'beautiful love story, but unfortunately it has a tragic ending'.

'Certainly, my brother sacrificed his life for her,' Katya said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He had ventured into the city with a friend in search of buses intended help residents flee but allegedly turned back when he saw 1,000 people in line for the service.

'My brother decided to turn back, go back to the hospital, to Irina's side, and that's when the bomb hit,' the grieving sister added.

Initial reports claimed Jimmy was one of 10 people who were gunned down by Russian soldiers while lining up to buy bread, however, Katya claims further investigation by the U.S. State Department revealed he was killed in the blast.

Meanwhile, as the Hill family mourns the loss of Jimmy, they are also trying to work out arrangements to get Irina and her mother out of the city. But because of her condition the Hills said they would need an ambulance to help and it was unclear when or if that could happen.

The family of Jimmy Hill, an American citizen killed in Ukraine, claims he died during a Russian bombing while en route to the hospital where his life partner, Irina Teslenko, was being treated for multiple sclerosis

In an interview from Pittsburgh Saturday, Jimmy's sister, Katya Hill, called her brother's relationship with Irina a 'beautiful love story, but unfortunately it has a tragic ending'

Katya said that although the State Department provided more information of the circumstances surrounding his death, the family is still left with many questions.

'The State Department has not yet contacted the family to let us know the specifics - what happened to his body and where his remains are now,' she told KDKA. 'Answers we still hope and expect to receive from our government.'

Jimmy, a native of Eveleth, Minnesota, is one of two Americans whose deaths during the Russian attack have been reported.

Katya claims her younger brother had felt confident 'that the world wouldn't let' a war happen and had even dismissed her suggestions to delay Irina's treatment.

'He wasn't thinking of a possibility of this happening; at least he wasn't sharing that,' she explained. 'When I'd wake up, the first thing I would do is check, and his message would be "Made it through the night, still alive."

'For me, personally,  just the stress of going through those days was enormous. But he remained positive.'

Jimmy had ventured into the Chernihiv with a friend in search of buses intended help residents flee when he saw 1,000 people in line for the service. He turned to head back to the hospital where Irina was receiving treatment and was caught in the bombing. Irina is pictured under a blanket at the hospital

Initial reports claimed Jimmy (pictured with a dog) was one of 10 people who were gunned down by Russian soldiers while lining up to buy bread, however, Katya claims further investigation by the U.S. State Department revealed he was killed in the blast

Katya, who last spoke to Jimmy about three weeks ago, said she could hear the horrifying sounds of war during their calls.

'I know when I was talking to him on the phone I was hearing bombs going off in the background,' she said. 'There were no military reasons for those bombs to be even close to the hospital; it was all a civilian area.'

She also accused Russia of strategically timing its bombings - keeping them several hours apart - to give civilians a false sense of safety before launching another attack.

'The strategy that is being used in killing civilians  there'll be intense bombing that will then stop and there'll be no bombing for an hour or several hours,' she said, according to Fox News.

'People then feel safe, and they don't have food, so stores and breadlines will open. They'll go out and stand in line to try to get bread or food or other supplies, and then the bombing resumes, and that bombing targets those lines.'

Jimmy Hill looks over his longtime partner Irina Teslenko after bombing started in Chernihiv

Katya, who last spoke to Jimmy about three weeks ago, said she could hear the horrifying sounds of war during their calls

Chernihiv is in north west Ukraine, next to the Belarus border

In the days preceding his death, Jimmy's social media posts indicated the situation in Chernihiv had become dire and he had been spending nights in bomb shelters while rushing to seek treatment for Irina.

'Nobody in Chernihiv is safe. Indiscriminate bombing,' he wrote March 2, sharing a photo of Irina under blankets in her hospital bed. 'Ukrainian forces hold city but are surrounded. It's a siege here. Nobody in. Nobody out.'

He documented the escalating rocket fire and his desire to get out of the war torn country, while also sharing he was worried it was too dangerous and Irina too weak to make the journey.

'The past two nights very limited rocket fire during the night. People are able to sleep. We have food,' he wrote on March 7.

'I went to market yesterday and bought food for kitchen staff...the shooting started about 2 hours ago.

Hill's final Facebook posts from Ukraine: The 67-year-old had been keeping friends and family updated from Chernihiv

Another of Hill's heartbreaking posts on March 11, a week before he was killed. He described it as a 'living nightmare'

Hill had stayed behind to look after his partner and her mother who he did not want to leave behind. They are Ukrainian

'We would like to try and break out of here. We are hoping for cease fire and green corridor. It would be a pity to come all this way and after years of waiting for a drug to stop her disease progression and to go home empty-handed. We need rituximab or something similar. Without it Ira will not be able to survive much longer.

On March 11, he reportedly wrote: 'It's a living nightmare, but we are alive.'

Hill had also been encouraging American friends and family to pressure U.S. lawmakers into expediting visas.

Katya told KDKA her brother will be remembered as a 'helper' and 'peacemaker' who was always 'looking for the good in people all the time and pushing them for their best.'

'When I was warning him about the dangers, he did not feel that the world would let this happen because my parents raised us to see the good in people's hearts and that's how he lived,' she said.

She claimed Jimmy, a social worker and forensic psychologist, had taught all over Europe with his most recent assignment having been in Kyiv.

He was serving as a lecturer and teaching young police officers how to collect evidence.

Multiple bodies lie next to a shelled-out building in Chernihiv on Thursday after an attack from the Russian army

A residential building damaged by shelling is seen, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Chernihiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released March 17, 2022

In a statement shared on Facebook, the Hill family said he will be remembered for his compassion for helping others. The 68-year-old leaves behind two children and family members located all over the world

In a statement shared on Facebook, the Hill family said he will be remembered for his compassion for helping others.

'In such disasters and crises, may we all be blessed to find someone like Jimmy. He was such a kind, thoughtful, and grateful man who really did care for others,' the statement read. 'Jimmy would want us to remember the good in people's hearts, and he would want us all to contribute to the easing and relief of human suffering.'

The 68-year-old leaves behind two children and family members located all over the world. The Hills said had also dedicated his life to Irina and finding a cure for her MS.

'Jimmy stayed in Ukraine out of love for Irina Teslenko, his life partner who has Multiple Sclerosis. He had worked tirelessly to find her treatment and refused to leave her bedside when the invasion began in Ukraine,' the statement said.

'He remained true to his love for her, his love for the Ukrainians, and his love for humanity until his death.'

A GoFundMe has been created to help to bring Jimmy's remains back to the U.S. and to provide medical and essential support to Irina as she struggles with MS.
Jarryd Hayne is targeting a high-profile defence lawyer who jailed some of Australia's most violence criminals to represent him at his third rape trial.

The former NRL star's two sexual assault convictions were overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal last month, and the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions will take the case to a third trial.

Hayne wants Margaret Cunneen SC, the barrister who helped jail gangster Bilal Skaf and his crew of rapists for a combined 240 years in 2002, to lead his defence.

Jarryd Hayne wants high-profile barrister Margaret Cunneen (pictured) to represent him in a third rape trial

Hayne is accused of raping a woman inside her home in Fletcher on the night of the NRL Grand Final in September of 2018. He has pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence.

His first trial ended in a hung jury, and the second trial found Hayne guilty by a jury of two counts of rape.

He was sentenced to five years and nine months behind bars, but the Court of Criminal Appeal found in February the trial judge misdirected the jury/

Hayne walked free on his birthday on February 15 this year after being granted bail.

The Court of Criminal Appeal found in February the trial judge had misdirected the jury, which saw Hayne walk free on his birthday on February 15 this year after being granted bail

The 34-year-old is applying to have the case heard in Newcastle rather than Sydney, with a hearing to be held at Downing Centre District Court on Monday.

Ms Cunneen is booked out of court appearances until next year, but with a backlog of cases due in Newcastle, Hayne's case wouldn't be able to be heard until 2023.

That would allow the high-profile lawyer to represent the former footy star if she agreed to take the case.

However, if the court decides Hayne's case will be heard in Sydney later this year, he will have to look elsewhere for representation.

Ms t Cunneen is responsible for jailing gangster Bilal Skaf (pictured) and his crew of rapists for a combined 240 years in 2002

When granting Hayne bail after his successful appeal, another judge said the earliest the trial may be able to proceed would be in October.

'After that, we're looking at 2023,' he said.

Hayne served nine months of the minimum three years and eights months in jail imposed on him.

His barrister successfully argued for his convictions to be overturned on two appeal grounds - that there was an error in the legal directions given to the jury and an error in a pre-trial ruling on evidence.

Hayne's bail conditions include a $20,000 surety, surrendering his passport and reporting to police three times a week.

He also must not contact or intimidate the alleged victim or any witnesses and cannot enter the Newcastle local council.
A young woman was choked unconscious and beaten within an inch of her life by a driver who stalked her along a lonely highway.

The 20-year-old was travelling through Western Australia's mid-west with her dogs to Perth on Friday at 5pm when she noticed a man in a ute trailing her car on the North West Coastal Highway.

The woman stopped near Billabong Roadhouse - a rest stop located between Carnarvon and Geraldton - when the man pulled up next to her and asked for her number.

Police are on the look out for a man who brutally attacked a young woman (pictured) near a roadhouse in Western Australia's mid-west

The woman stopped near Billabong Roadhouse - a rest stop located between Carnarvon and Geraldton - when the man pulled up next to her and asked for her number. When she refused, he ruthlessly attacked her

When the woman refused, the man lashed out and choked her unconscious, ruthlessly beating her before dragging her body under her own car.

The young woman had a broken jaw, ribs, pelvis, and a fractured eye socket as a result of the savage attack.

She was discovered with her dogs 10 hours later by a truck driver passing through.

The woman astonishingly managed to get back into her car and drive to Jurien Bay Hospital - about four-and-a-half hours from Billabong Roadhouse.

The young woman had a broken jaw, ribs, pelvis, and a fractured eye socket as a result of the savage attack

She was discovered with her dogs 10 hours later by a truck driver passing through

The woman astonishingly managed to get back into he vehicle and drive to Jurien Bay Hospital - roughly a four-and-a-half hour commute from Billabong Roadhouse

The man was driving a white Holden Colorado ute with a black bull bar and alloy tray. He was last seen heading along the North West Coastal Highway between 3pm-9pm

Police have launched a manhunt for the assailant.

He was driving a white Holden Colorado ute with a black bull bar and alloy tray and last seen heading along the North West Coastal Highway between 3pm-9pm.
A manhunt has been launched by detectives following the murder of a 19-year-old woman at student accommodation in central London.

Police are appealing for help to find Maher Maaroufe, 22, who they believe had been in a relationship with the woman.

He is known to travel and has links across London and also travels to Cambridgeshire.

Officers were called at around 5.10am on Saturday, to reports of a woman injured at Arbour House, student accommodation in Sebastian Street, Clerkenwell.

The London Ambulance Service and officers attended and found the woman, believed to have been a psychology student at City, University of London, who had suffered serious neck injuries.

A manhunt has been launched by detectives following the murder of a 19-year-old woman at student accommodation in central London. Police are appealing for help to find Maher Maaroufe (pictured), 22, who they believe had been in a relationship with the woman

Maaroufe (above) is knownto have links to London and also travels to Cambridgeshire

Despite the efforts of the emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The woman is understood to have been a first-year foreign student of Middle Eastern background, according to Sky News.

Officers said anyone who sees Mr Maaroufe should not approach him but should call 999 immediately.

The 19-year-old woman is believed to have been killed on the fifth floor of a block of flats owned by Unite Students.

Her neighbour Leona Sigmud, 20, described her as 'just a normal student' who 'kept herself to herself'.

The music student said: 'She was a normal student, there was nothing special about her. I saw her in the hallways but I never really spoke to her.

The Metropolitan Police said they were called to reports of a woman injured at Unite student accommodation in Sebastian Street, Clerkenwell, on Saturday

Pictured: Police on Sebastian Street in Clekenwell, central London, where a 19-year-old woman was found dead at Arbour House student halls at City University on Saturday morning

'Of course she was nice and was never rude. I didn't know her personally. I don't think she was British. When I heard someone was murdered I didn't believe it at first. I thought it was gossip. We are all feeling rather shaken up. This doesn't happen every day.'

Neighbour Arsh Srivastara, 21, who is a business student said: 'At around 5.45am I heard a voice that sounded like a grown man.

'I heard the fire alarm go off and I heard someone running out of a back ground floor exit near where I live. I thought it was the suspect.

'After that the police showed up around half an hour later. They have been investigating ever since. I heard them talking about someone trying to escape through the hallway door.

Flowers were left at the scene near the halls of residence after a student was found dead

'I didn't know anything about her until today. She lived on the sixth floor.'

Flowers were left at the scene while distraught residents filed in and out of the student housing. One pair of girls, who were too upset to talk about what happened, hugged and comforted each other outside the building.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said the building had lax security which only ran from 12pm-8pm on weekdays.

The finance student, 19, added: 'I saw the police in the morning and there were helicopters. I am completely shocked and obviously traumatised.'

Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley, who is leading the investigation, said: 'The woman's family have been informed and will be supported by specialist officers in the days and months ahead. My thoughts and that of my team are with them at this terribly difficult time.

'We believe the victim is a student who was studying at City, University of London.

'Early indications so far suggest that the victim had been in a relationship with Maaroufe and that they had been together that evening.

Officers found the teenager suffering from serious injuries inside Arbour House and despite treatment from the emergency services she was pronounced dead at the scene

Pictured: Forensic officers on scene at Arbour House halls of residence after a student died

'Urgent enquiries to locate Maaroufe are ongoing and I urge him to attend a police station immediately. Anyone who has information that can help police must do the right thing and please call us now.'

Speaking at Islington Police Station, Chief Inspector Adam Instone said: 'Arbour House is a student accommodation and I know there will be great sadness and deep concern among the local people and the student community.

'I share that sadness and concern and I can assure them that a thorough homicide investigation is under way, led by skilled and experienced detectives who will work tirelessly to identify and arrest whoever is responsible.

'Tackling violent crime is the Met's top priority. Police officers, including forensic specialists, remain at the scene. Local people will also see additional police in the area.

'If you have any concerns about safety in and around the Clerkenwell area, please speak with those officers.'

A Unite Students spokesperson said: 'As this remains an on-going police incident, we are unable to comment on their investigation.

'Our priority at this time is the safety and wellbeing of students at Arbour House. We are working closely with the police and City, University of London.'

A spokesperson for City, University of London said: 'As a university, we will do everything we can to support our students and staff and we will continue to fully support the police with their investigation. We are working closely with Unite Students who own and operate Arbour House.'

Information about Maaroufe's whereabouts can be given to police officers via 101 or @MetCC and quote CAD 1252/19MAR22, or Op Worlington.
Coronavirus booster vaccine jabs for millions of people in England will begin to be offered this week, the NHS has announced.

The vaccine will be available to care home residents, people who are 75 and over, and the immunosuppressed aged 12 and over.

It comes as Covid cases have continued to creep up with official data showing an increase of 23.9 per cent in the space of a week.

A total of around five million people are expected to be given the jab, with around 600,000 invited to book their dose this week, according to the health service.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: 'Our phenomenal vaccination programme has saved countless lives and built a wall of defence which has allowed us to learn to live with Covid.

'Following the massive success of the rollout so far, we are now offering over-75s and the most vulnerable a spring booster dose to top up their protection against this virus.'

It comes as Covid cases continue to rise across the UK with infections now more rife than they were before Christmas.

Pictured: Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said millions of people will be eligible for a vaccine booster jab from tomorrow as the Government's spring booster programme is rolled out

The climbing case rates  which have soared to pandemic highs in Scotland, where strict mask and isolation rules remain in place 

have also been blamed on the emergence of an even more transmissible type of Omicron, named BA.2.

Some experts believe the fresh resurgence will die out in the next fortnight without crippling the NHS.

Booster vaccines are just as effective on the new variant as they are against its predecessor and with the fourth booster jab rollout set to start tomorrow.

The Government has no plans to U-turn on its 'living with Covid' strategy, after it held firm in the face of spiralling Omicron cases before Christmas, despite calls from doom-mongering scientists to impose a circuit-breaker amid warnings from Government advisers of up to 6,000 deaths a day.

The UKHSA dashboard data shows that over 550,000 people have tested positive over the past week with data from the Office for National Statistics showing that one in 20 people are infected.

UKHSA dashboard data shows that over 550,000 people tested positive over the past week

The NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme will contact people when it is their turn to be vaccinated again.

Once they have an invitation, they will be able to book their appointment through the National Booking System either online or by calling NHS 119.

Local NHS teams will also be administering the jab in care homes.

NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: 'The NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme has not stopped in its efforts to protect people from coronavirus  around five million of the most vulnerable people will be eligible for a spring dose and from tomorrow, we will start giving eligible groups their additional top up in protection.

'We have protected millions of people at speed thanks to the efforts of our staff, aided by volunteers. They will once again rise to the next challenge.

'There is no need to contact the NHS  when you are eligible for your 'spring boost' of protection, we will be in touch so you can book your appointment at one of hundreds of vaccination sites across the country.'

Eligible adults will be offered either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, with any eligible people aged between 12 and 18 offered the Pfizer vaccine.
Russian cosmonauts are seen during a welcoming ceremony after arriving at the International Space Station, March 18, the first new faces in space since the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, in this frame grab from video provided by Roscosmos. The crew emerged from the Soyuz capsule wearing yellow flight suits with blue stripes, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. AP-Yonhap





When three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station wearing yellow flight suits with blue accents, some saw a message in them wearing the colors of the Ukrainian flag. They shot that down Saturday.







Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev said each crew picks the color of the flight suits about six months before launch because they need to be individually sewn. And since all three of them were graduates of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, they chose the colors of their prestigious alma mater.







''There is no need to look for any hidden signs or symbols in our uniform,'' Artemyev said in a statement on the Russian space agency's Telegram channel. ''A color is simply a color. It is not in any way connected to Ukraine. Otherwise, we would have to recognize its rights to the yellow sun in the blue sky.







''These days, even though we are in space, we are together with our president and our people!''






Human rights watchdogs have been urged to investigate a university over claims that it discriminated against the black author of a race report.

Bosses at Nottingham University were set to offer Tony Sewell an honorary degree in late 2019, but the decision was overturned after his review concluded Britain was not institutionally racist.

The university said it was not appropriate to award the degree while Dr Sewell was at the centre of a political controversy.

Bosses at Nottingham University were set to offer Tony Sewell (pictured) an honorary degree in late 2019

Yesterday, speaking about the fallout from last years 258-page report for the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, the 63-year-old, who already holds a PhD from Nottingham, said: Nobody was reading the recommendations.

'They just wanted to know if we were talking about issues to do with white privilege or institutional racism. Were you on side for this or not? Thats all they wanted to know. And if you were not, then you were cancelled.

Following the Governments decision last week to accept a number of his recommendations, he said he felt vindicated.

But now Free Speech Union chief Toby Young has written to both the universitys Vice Chancellor, Professor Shearer West, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The university (above) said it was not appropriate to award the degree while Dr Sewell was at the centre of a political controversy

The correspondence, seen by The Mail on Sunday, suggests that Dr Sewell, who runs a charity helping black children get into higher education, had been sidelined as he voiced views which, in the minds of some, black people ought not to hold.

Mr Young pointed to a number of people given honorary degrees by Nottingham despite being mired in controversy.

They included King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand  despite his alleged collusion with far-Right militias  Liu Xiaoming, Chinas former UK ambassador who dismissed reports of Uighur camps as fake news, and ex-Malaysian prime minister and convicted money launderer Najib Razak.

The universitys list of people with honorary degrees published on their website includes figures such as Liu Xiaoming (pictured), the former Chinese ambassador to the UK

The MoS has obtained a letter from politicians, led by former Education Minister Sir John Hayes and his Common Sense group, who have slammed the university for validating the hostility of those who have unfairly denounced Dr Sewells respectful, reasoned and evidenced work.

A spokesman for Nottingham University said: The decision to withdraw the offer of an honorary degree is categorically not a judgment on Dr Sewell personally or expressing a view on his work.

We fully appreciated that this would be disappointing news and last December we offered Dr Sewell a sincere apology, alongside an explanation for the decision. He remains a notable alumnus of the university.
A cruise missile attack on a Ukrainian military base housing foreign fighters was launched after Russian forces hacked into phones used by British personnel, security sources have claimed.

At least 35 people were killed in the strike on the Yavoriv training base near the Polish border last Sunday, with unconfirmed reports that former British soldiers were among the dead and wounded.

Now the security sources believe the guided missiles  around 30 in total  were fired at the base containing 600 foreign volunteers after phones used by the Britons were compromised by the Russians.

Relatives and friends in Lviv this week attend a funeral ceremony for four of the Ukrainian military servicemen, who were killed during an airstrike in a military base in Yavoriv

UK mobile numbers were said to have 'lit up' the Ukrainian phone network.

As a result, Kremlin agents were able to confirm the presence of former British military personnel at the vast base  and choose which buildings to hit.

Former British defence intelligence officer Philip Ingram said last night Russia would be 'monitoring the phone networks in Ukraine for unusual activity, such as foreign devices joining'.

He added: 'The Russians have ground-based, air-based and space-based listening capabilities, but are just as likely to have compromised the networks from within.'

Mr Ingram described mobile devices as 'perfect target locating beacons for an enemy'.

He said: 'Awareness regarding this sort of threat among British military personnel is poor. Many don't think about digital exposure as much as they do physical exposure.'

Sources also fear some of the volunteers may have been 'turned' by Moscow's agents who have 'subverted' them by exploiting their credit card debts.

It has led to calls from the British intelligence community for the volunteers to be dissuaded from heading to the region.

One source pointed the finger at Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, blaming her for encouraging Britons to volunteer.

The source said: 'It is not safe. They are badly led, badly equipped and badly compromised by Russians.'

One source pointed the finger at Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (pictured), blaming her for encouraging Britons to volunteer

UK citizens are supposed to follow the Foreign Office's guidance which is not to travel to Ukraine.

But just days after the Russian invasion, Ms Truss said she 'absolutely' supported individuals from the UK who wanted to join Ukrainian international units.

It also emerged yesterday that Russia is selecting targets in Ukraine based on phone data its agents harvested in Britain.

Officers from its chief intelligence office, the GRU, visited some of Britain's most sensitive military sites  including the headquarters of the SAS  and recorded mobile phone data as devices were switched on.

The Kremlin-compiled database is now being compared against international numbers popping up on Ukraine's mobile networks.

According to an urgent security notice shared between ex-SBS and SAS personnel, the appearance of two such numbers in any location could trigger a missile attack.

The notice said: 'It does not matter if this is an aid camp, it will not appear that way to RU forces. This cannot be overstated.'

Last night the MoD said: 'We do not comment on Special Forces. Security remains a top priority for our personnel and their devices.'
Nadhim Zahawi is planning a crackdown on 'Mickey Mouse' degrees, the Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Universities will be required to publish the drop-out rate and graduate job outcomes on every advert they put out for a degree, in the same way loans have to be upfront about APR, under plans being considered by the Education Secretary.

This would apply to both physical and online adverts for courses and aim to ensure students are not 'misled' when applying, insiders said.

Mr Zahawi wants to see tighter criteria for entry to university and curbs on courses that do not deliver good job prospects while saddling young people with debt.

Universities will be required to publish the drop-out rate and graduate job outcomes on every advert they put out for a degree, in the same way loans have to be upfront about APR, under plans being considered by the Education Secretary

A government source said the aim is to tackle universities cynically offering degrees as 'silly' as 'David Beckham studies' while knowing they are unlikely to lead to better career or earnings prospects for young people. They pointed out that some Management degrees have a drop out rate of more than 50 per cent.

Ministers are currently discussing proposals to introduce a 'no C at Maths GCSE, no university' rule to significantly tighten criteria for entry.

The tougher measures are designed to push pupils towards other routes including apprenticeships.

A senior government source spoke in favour of demanding a minimum C level Maths for all university applicants. However the plan is controversial and others want a softer version of pupils needing to have passed either Maths or English at GCSE or have a minimum of two Es at A-Level to be able to attend university.

This would apply to both physical and online adverts for courses and aim to ensure students are not 'misled' when applying, insiders said (stock image)

The talks are part of a Department of Education consultation on introducing minimum qualifications for student loan access.

Robert Halfon, the Conservative MP who chairs the Commons Education Select Committee, said: 'I hope they proceed with caution on this. Some people who are very bad at maths may be able to do a history degree.

'Rather than denying someone a place in university, we should offer them a refresher course while they are at there.'

The Department of Education is concerned that 'not all students receive the same high quality of teaching' and that many end up with saddled with student loan debt for courses with poor job prospects.

An insider familiar with the talks said: 'The problem with universities is they see themselves as part of a free market, but they are not because they have got taxpayers paying.'

These plans are part of wider reforms separate from the upcoming education white paper, expected at the end of this month.

Mr Zahawi plans to use the white paper to make apprenticeship and vocational routes more appealing to young people. This will involve an overhaul of T Levels, or technical qualifications, with the aim of making them as prestigious as A Levels.

The talks are part of a Department of Education consultation on introducing minimum qualifications for student loan access (stock image)

T Levels will be designed with employers on 'robust employer standards', a source said, and will offer a 45-day work placement for students.

A government source said: 'What we need to achieve is for aspirational parents and kids, following vocational routes becomes as prestigious as an academic or university one. People shouldn't feel they have to go to university' adding that vocational routes should not be seen as just 'hard hats and high vis jackets' but also highly technical professions including working on film sets.

Mr Halfon said: 'Instead of university, university, university, it should be skills, skills, skills. That's why getting T-levels right is so important.

'We should be encouraging more students to do T-Levels and apprenticeships  in contrast to most students who go to university and do not get good graduate jobs despite the great whacking loans they take out.'

Other measures expected to be announced in the white paper include new 'covid catch up' measures including targeted support for children who fell behind during the pandemic.

New targets will be set for pupils passing English and Maths GCSE for 2030, which will be more ambitious than pre-Covid ones.

The white paper will also set out a plan to make all schools run by academy trusts, which would give them more autonomy from local councils.
John Lewis has cleared shelves of Siberian goose-down pillows in reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Sales of the 76 luxury pillows were halted when the department store audited all products across 35 branches to identify any with a Russian origin.

Retail chiefs looking for products using a Russian supply chain have also removed from sale bags of wooden pellets that are used for heating trendy home pizza ovens.

A John Lewis customer told The Mail on Sunday that an assistant at the High Wycombe branch last week advised her that the medium-firm feather pillow she wanted could not be sold  even though it was still in stock at the branch.

Sales of the 76 luxury pillows (pictured) were halted when the department store audited all products across 35 branches to identify any with a Russian origin

The store's sales assistants, known as 'partners', have been advised by managers to refuse sales of any bedding described as being stuffed with Siberian down, even if the pillows themselves are British-made.

Last week, Siberian bedding was listed on the John Lewis website as 'no longer available online'.

A John Lewis spokesman said: 'We are working with our suppliers to review products that have components of Russian origin.

The store's sales assistants, known as 'partners', have been advised by managers to refuse sales of any bedding described as being stuffed with Siberian down, even if the pillows themselves are British-made (file image)

'As part of this process we're removing bedding containing Siberian goose down from sale and seeking alternative sources of goose down.

'The pizza oven pellets have also been removed from sale.'

John Lewis, and its Sloane Square branch, Peter Jones, have been helping Ukrainians with 1.5 million in donations to the British Red Cross, which have been raised by the partnership, staff and customers.

The spokesman added: 'We have also offered volunteer partners to support the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain and sent 5,000 John Lewis click-and-collect boxes to the Polish border to help organise donations.'
Books by Ukrainian authors are flying off the shelves as British readers spark a sales surge in support of the embattled country.

Despite moves by some groups to create a backlash against Russias writers over the invasion, sales of classic Russian literature have also rocketed.

Works by respected Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov, best known for Death and the Penguin, have seen an 848 per cent increase in sales, triggering an urgent reprint of his books.

The 60-year-old author - born in St Petersburg to Russian parents and assigned mandatory military service assisting the KGB - has been forced to flee his home in Kyiv with his English wife, Elizabeth, and their three children.

Books by Ukrainian authors are flying off the shelves as British readers spark a sales surge in support of the embattled country (writer Andrey Kurkov pictured)

British-Ukrainian author Marina Lewycka, whose book A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian was a 2005 hit in the UK, has seen her sales jump by 441 per cent in the past month.

Books by the renowned Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov - author of The Master and Margarita - were last week up by almost 50 per cent on pre-invasion sales, according to figures from Nielsen BookData.

Bulgakov, born in Kyiv to a Russian family, wrote about the horrors of the Russian revolution and many of his works were banned by the Soviet government, although Joseph Stalin was known to be fond of one of his plays.

Some cultural bodies have prompted accusations of McCarthyism - the anti-Russian hysteria whipped up during the 1950s - for rushing to cancel Russian culture in response to Vladimir Putins invasion order.

Works by the great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, including War And Peace  which was recently adapted for TV by the BBC and starred Lily James (above)  have increased by 30 per cent

Netflix put its adaptation of Leo Tolstoys Anna Karenina on indefinite hold, and an Italian university course on Fyodor Dostoevsky - the 19th century novelist exiled for defying the Russian state - was withdrawn before it was reinstated after a backlash.

Meanwhile books by Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - author of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - sold almost 30 per cent more last week compared to the same period before the war.

Solzhenitsyn served eight years in the Gulag for criticising Stalin while serving as a Red Army captain in the Second World War.

Classic works by Dostoyevsky have increased by 123 per cent since last year, while works by Tolstoy, including War and Peace, have increased by 30 per cent. By comparison, total book sales in the first week of March were down seven per cent compared to Januarys figure.

Some cultural bodies have prompted accusations of McCarthyism - the anti-Russian hysteria whipped up during the 1950s - for rushing to cancel Russian culture in response to Vladimir Putins (above) invasion order

Tom Tivnan, from publishing bible The Bookseller, said it makes perfect sense that the public has turned to literature both to support Ukraine and to learn more about Russias often complex past.

He added: People are hoping to support Ukraine and are also beginning to think about an area they perhaps havent thought or read about before. They are smart enough to disconnect the Putin regime and the oligarchs from the Russian people in general, but also their great literature.

With all great literature, like the great Russian masters, there is a sort of universality that resonates with people. They write about the human condition and in reading them we realise that people from 19th century Russia - or indeed modern day Russia - have many of the same difficulties, hopes and dreams that we have in the west.
Scotland Yard is set to wind up its investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance, according to reports.

The Sun claimed last night that funding for the Operation Grange inquiry  launched four years after the Portuguese police began their unsuccessful search for the youngster in 2007  will end later this year unless new lines of inquiry emerge.

A source quoted by the newspaper said: 'The end of the road for Operation Grange is now in sight. The team's work is expected to be completed by autumn.

'There are currently no plans to take the inquiry any further.'

Detectives are said to be frustrated by the failure to compile sufficient evidence to prosecute Christian Brueckner, a convicted paedophile, who was named two years ago by German police as the prime suspect for Madeleine's abduction.

Scotland Yard is set to wind up its investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance, according to reports. The Sun claimed last night that funding for the Operation Grange inquiry  launched four years after the Portuguese police began their unsuccessful search for the youngster in 2007  will end later this year unless new lines of inquiry emerge

He has denied any involvement in the disappearance of the youngster from an apartment in Praia da Luz on the Algarve.

Operation Grange, overseen by the Metropolitan Police, is estimated to have cost 13 million.

The Sun said it was understood that Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate, both 54, are aware of the impending closure but have vowed to continue their search.

Brueckner is serving a seven-year jail sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman.

Scotland Yard and the Home Office last night declined to comment on the report.

The Operation Grange team has in recent years been pared down from 40 officers to just four detectives working under Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell.

His team also liaises with Madeleine's parents, of Rothley, Leicsestershire.

In June 2020, police in Britain and Germany launched a renewed appeal for witnesses after disclosing they had a new suspect, who was later revealed to be Brueckner.

German prosecutors remain convinced he was responsible for the youngster's disappearance but despite an intensive investigation have not brought any charges.

Detectives are said to be frustrated by the failure to compile sufficient evidence to prosecute Christian Brueckner (pictured), a convicted paedophile, who was named two years ago by German police as the prime suspect for Madeleine's abduction

Brueckner also is alleged to have admitted abducting Madeleine to a friend - and the German team of investigators, led by public prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, said they were certain he had killed the three-year-old.

It is now highly unlikely that he will be charged over her disappearance.

Wolters went as far as holding a press conference where he addressed Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry over the air.

He insisted: 'We are confident we have the man who took and killed your daughter. All I can do is ask for your patience.'

But claims German detectives had sent multiple notes to Madeleine's family were rubbished within days.

And the Met itself released a pointed statement correcting the allegations about the correspondence.

In May last year, Kate and Gerry McCann (pictured) restated they still believed Madeleine could be alive. A statement that month said: 'The Covid pandemic has made this year even more difficult for many reasons but thankfully the investigation to find Madeleine and her abductor has continued'

It said last year: 'The Met received one letter from the BKA [Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany] on June 12, which was passed to the family.

'The letter did not state that there was evidence or proof that Madeleine is dead, the MPS continues to investigate Madeleine's disappearance as a missing person investigation. No letter has been received by the Met from the German prosecutor.'

In fact in May last year, Kate and Gerry restated they still believed she could be alive.

A statement that month said: 'The Covid pandemic has made this year even more difficult for many reasons but thankfully the investigation to find Madeleine and her abductor has continued.

'We hang on to the hope, however small, that we will see Madeleine again. As we have said repeatedly, we need to know what has happened to our lovely daughter, no matter what. We are very grateful to the police for their continued efforts.'

Brueckner is currently serving a prison sentence for drug trafficking and is expected to remain behind bars until 2026 after losing a bid to overturn a rape conviction.

He was last year found guilty of the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman in the same Portuguese resort from which Madeleine vanished and sentenced to seven years in jail, at a court in Brunswick, Lower Saxony.

Brueckner was in Praia da Luz when Madeleine went missing on the night of May 3, 2007, pinpointed there by a mobile phone call.

Madeleine - then aged three - disappeared from an apartment where she was staying with her family.

Brueckner was in Praia da Luz when Madeleine went missing on the night of May 3, 2007, pinpointed there by a mobile phone call. Madeleine - then aged three - disappeared from an apartment building (above) where she was staying with her family

The Operation Grange team has in recent years been pared down from 40 officers to just four detectives working under Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell. His team also liaises with Madeleine's parents, of Rothley, Leicsestershire

Kate and Gerry, had been dining with friends in a nearby restaurant and periodically checking on Madeleine and her two siblings - Sean and Amelie - as they slept.

Around 9pm, Gerry went to check on the children and found them sleeping. At 9.30pm, a family friend went to the apartment and heard no noise, but did not check far enough into the room to see if Madeleine was there.

At 10pm, Kate went to check on the children and found Maddie was gone.

The disappearance was reported immediately and a search party launched the same evening including officers from the Guarda Nacional Republicana and the Policia Judiciaria, which launched an investigation.

Amaral was brought in to head that investigation and ran it for several months, infamously naming both Kate and Gerry as suspects.

He was sacked shortly after launching a public attack on British detectives - accusing them of only pursuing investigative lines given to them by the McCanns.

He has since published a book and appeared in a documentary called 'The Truth of the Lie' in which he repeated his claims against the McCanns.

The family won a libel suit against him in 2015, and were awarded 500,000 in damages.
Boris Johnson has urged China to 'get off the fence' and condemn Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

He said that he believed some members of Xi Jinping's administration were having 'second thoughts' about the neutral stance adopted by Beijing following Russia's actions against its neighbour.

But despite Mr Johnson suggesting there had been a possible shift in attitude in Beijing, there was fresh criticism of Nato on Saturday as Russian forces continued their relentless bombardment of Ukrainian towns and cities.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, The Prime Minister urged China and other neutral countries to condemn Russia.

He said that he believed some members of Xi Jinping's administration were having 'second thoughts' about the neutral stance adopted by Beijing following Russia's actions against its neighbour

Mr Johnson said: 'As time goes on, and as the number of Russian atrocities mounts up, I think it becomes steadily more difficult and politically embarrassing for people either actively or passively to condone Putin's invasion.

'There are considerable dilemmas now for people who thought they could sit this one out, who thought they could sit on the fence.

'And, yes, I think that in Beijing you are starting to see some second thoughts.'

The Prime Minister's words came as he completed a 9,000-mile round trip to the Middle East.

It was hoped that he could do a deal in the desert to reduce Britain's reliance on Russia's oil and gas supply.

His trip had come after huge co-ordinated efforts by leaders in the west to up the pressure on Putin.

The Prime Minister's words came as he completed the return leg of a 9,000-mile round trip to the Middle East

And the Prime Minister had warned Beijing that supporting Russia's attack was like picking the wrong side in the Second World War.

He described it as a 'battle between good and evil and said that Putin was trying to establish a new world order which was authoritarian.

Mr Johnson also warned China that it could risk being on the wrong side of history.

His meetings in the Middle East with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Mohammed bin Zayed Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi happened even though he had been warned that there would be a small chance of any success.

Both of the men control a large amount of the world's oil and gas reserves. As UK petrol prices soar, the Prime Minister had taken the decision to travel to the Middle East to do a deal with them.

He had hoped that his meeting would encourage Saudi Arabia to release more oil and gas.

On Thursday, leaders from the Nato alliance, including President Biden, will meet in Brussels. Mr Johnson has suggested that the meeting will be 'extremely significant' and there is a possibility of more pledges of support for Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky

The Prime Minister's visit was a risk because of Saudi Arabia's human rights record and criticism that he was relying on 'another murderous dictator to keep the lights on.'

During Mr Johnson's visit, three people were executed in Saudi Arabia, in addition to the 81 men who were killed last weekend.

The planned meeting with Mohammed bin Salman was meant to be 20 minutes but ended after one hour and 45 minutes.

An official had described the meeting as an icebreaker with little movement. Mr Johnson was told that it would be difficult to get any immediate additional energy.

The Prime Minister admitted on a flight between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh that he did not know whether the supply chain will be changed by the autumn when bills in the UK for energy could rocket to 3,000 a year.

He added that the government are taking steps to try and relieve pressure on UK consumers so that prices for energy bills can come down.

And he emphasised that the government are pushing to move towards renewables and wind energy.

Mr Johnson's meetings in the Middle East with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Mohammed bin Zayed Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi happened even though he had been warned that there would be a small chance of any success

The Prime Minister said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could cause further chaos for consumers and motorists, who are already facing huge petrol prices and fuel bills.

But he said that higher costs for households are the price of taking on Putin.

Negotiations behind the scenes have been extensive, with western leaders trying to bring the rest of the world onto their side.

They have tried to get the rest of the neutral countries to take a side in the conflict.

The Prime Minister has tried to get the Gulf nations onside while Biden has focused on China.

And in America and Britain, leaders have agreed not to speak to Putin directly, allowing French President Macron to take the lead.

Foreign secretary Liz Truss is also said to be planning a visit to meet the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Foreign secretary Liz Truss is also said to be planning a visit to meet the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Joe Biden had called Chinese President Xi on Friday but in the two-hour long video chat there had been little evidence of a shift in Beijing's neutral stance.

And on Saturday China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs blamed Nato for the war and criticised sanctions against Russia.

On Thursday, leaders from the Nato alliance, including President Biden, will meet in Brussels.

Mr Johnson has suggested that the meeting will be 'extremely significant' and there is a possibility of more pledges of support for Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky.

He said: 'People will want to do more to help the Ukrainians defend themselves.

'But I've got to stress it is very important that we don't fall into the trap of seeming to stack up Putin's argument to his own country that this is effectively a war between Russia and Nato; between Russia and the West. That's not what is going on here.'

Joe Biden had called Chinese President Xi on Friday but in the two-hour long video chat there had been little evidence of a shift in Beijing's neutral stance

At the Tory spring conference on Saturday, the Prime Minister claimed that Mr Putin's invasion of Ukraine was not motivated by a fear of the country joining an expanded Nato, but rather because he was terrified of a successful democracy in the former Soviet republic.

The Prime Minister said that Mr Zelensky, who he is in regular contact with, was an 'absolutely charming guy but he's also proved to be an inspiration and a heroic war leader.'

He said that offering Mr Zelensky and his family refuge in the UK had been discussed.

But he said that Mr Zelensky had always made it clear that he is going to stay in Ukraine and that his duty is with them and said he admires him.

Speaking in Blackpool at his conference speech on Saturday, Mr Johnson said that Mr Putin was in a 'total panic' about the prospect of a popular uprising if freedom could flourish in Kyiv.

He added that the war was a 'turning point for the world' and countries had been forced to stand up to Russia rather than 'making accommodations with tyranny.'

Speaking in Blackpool at his conference speech on Saturday, Mr Johnson said that Mr Putin was in a 'total panic' about the prospect of a popular uprising if freedom could flourish in Kyiv

Mr Johnson said: 'He (Mr Putin) has been in a total panic about a so-called colour revolution in Moscow itself and that is why he is trying so brutally to snuff out the flame of freedom in Ukraine, and that's why it is so vital that he fail.

'A victorious Putin will not stop in Ukraine, and the end of freedom in Ukraine will mean the extinction of any hope of freedom in Georgia and then Moldova, it will mean the beginning of a new age of intimidation across eastern Europe from the Baltic to the Black Sea.'

Mr Johnson used his Sunday Times interview to acknowledge that sanctions and the shift away from Russian oil and gas could have a 'terrible' impact on consumers and motorists.

But he said the West had to cut dependency on Russian hydrocarbons, suggesting it should have been done earlier following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

'The West is paying something like USD 700 million (531 million) a day to Putin in oil and gas revenues. And he's using that money to finance his barbaric aggression in Ukraine.'
Prince Michael of Kent has stepped down as patron of a Russo-British trade body with close links to the Kremlin as he faces pressure to sever all his ties to Moscow.

The Queens cousin, a fluent Russian speaker with a lineage to Tsar Nicholas II, has strong business links with Russia.

But his connections to the Kremlin came under scrutiny after the invasion of Ukraine. This month he handed back an Order of Friendship award, one of Russias highest honours. Now the 79-year-old, who gets no public funding, has stepped down as patron of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce.

The Queens cousin, a fluent Russian speaker with a lineage to Tsar Nicholas II, has strong business links with Russia

However, he remains an ambassador and shareholder of RemitRadar, a money-transfer firm led by ex-KGB officer Sergey Markov.

Mr Markov is also named as the head of the Charitable Foundation of His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent on the charitys Russian website, which was taken offline after Ukraine was invaded. The Prince holds an honorary professorship from St Petersburg Mining University. The honour was presented in 2017 by billionaire Vladimir Litvinenko, Vladimir Putins friend and campaign manager in elections in 2000 and 2004.

He is also a patron of the Moscow Academy of Industry and Finance and has an honorary doctorate and Glory of Russia award from Plekhanov Economics Academy.

Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh said: Prince Michael should consider his position. At a time when were expecting everybody to stand up in support of Ukraine and against the war crimes and atrocities committed by Russia, you would expect members of the Royal Family to be taking the same stand.

Independent peer Lord Mann said: It would be wise for him to detach himself from all Russian interests whilst the conflict continues.

Last year, the prince was caught in a cash-for-access scandal after telling undercover Channel 4 reporters he could be hired for 10,000 a day to make confidential representations to Putins regime.

A source close to the Prince said last night he was concerned about xenophobia towards Russians, citing the difference between Russian citizens and the Kremlin. A spokesman said he never received funds or consultancy fees from RemitRadar.
Labor Senator Penny Wong has rubbished claims she and her fellow 'mean girls' bullied Kimberley Kitching in the months leading up to her fatal heart attack.

The senator, popular on both sides of politics, died aged 52 earlier this month, with reports since emerging into her treatment by senior members of the Labor Party - Senator Wong, Katy Gallagher and Kristina Keneally.

Senator Wong admitted she said 'insensitive' things to Senator Kitching before her death, but again denied any culture of bullying towards the former powerbroker.

She admitted telling Senator Kitching 'if you had children you might understand why there's a climate emergency', but insisted it wasn't a 'personal attack'.

'My motivation was to express the distress that many children feel about climate change,' Ms Wong said.

'But what I said was insensitive. I regret it. I apologised, as I should.'

When the Nine reporter snapped back 'only when it became public', Senator Wong replied: 'She never raised it with me. We have a lot of robust exchanges, but I regret making the remark.'

Kimberley Kitching died last Thursday from a heart attack at the age of 52. Claims have emerged the late senator was being ostracised by senior Labor members before her death

Senator Wong lamented having to respond to rumours the day before Senator Kitching's funeral.

'We put out a statement that makes clear we have chosen not to respond. We haven't done that because we're not able to, but because we didn't think it was the right thing to do,' she said.

The Labor senator also denied claims that she had led the charge to kick Senator Kitching off the tactics committee over her support for Linda Reynolds following the Brittany Higgins rape allegations.

'Politics is really hard, and people are under a lot of pressure,' Senator Wong said.

'I have no doubt at times we say and do things without thinking of the impact on others. We should reflect on that.'

Penny Wong defended her treatment of Kimberley Kitching in an exclusive interview with Nine's political reporter Chris Uhlmann on Sunday

She also defended the fellow 'mean girls', saying there were several claims being made that were 'not true'.

'Katy, Kristina and I work every day to try and further the interests of the Labor Party and the country. We've spent years in public life seeking to promote women,' Senator Wong said.

'There are views that are being shared and claims that are being made, which are not true.'

Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten has suggested the Senator Kitching was stressed about her pre-selection for her Victorian Senate seat.

But Senator Farrell, who counted himself as a close friend of the late senator, said there was no reason for her to have felt that way.

'I don't think there was any prospect at all of her losing her pre-selection, to be perfectly honest,' Senator Farrell told Sky News' Sunday Agenda program.

'She was supposed to call me the day she died to talk about that and I was certainly of the view that she would be re-endorsed, there was no other candidate I don't believe to replace her.'

Labor Senator Penny Wong (right) has rubbished claims she and fellow 'mean girls' Katy Gallagher (left) and Kristina Keneally (right), bullied Kimberley Kitching in the months leading to her fatal heart attack

Anthony Albanese said on Sunday he received 'no complaints' from Senator Kitching over claims she was bullied by other women in the party.

'I received no complaints (from Kimberley) at any time,' he said.

'That is just a fact. That is not to say that, of course, from time to time in politics, it's a competitive business [and] one where I think we could all be kinder to each other... within the Parliament, within our own parties, and across the aisle, and I would always urge people to do so.'

Mr Albanese also rejected reports Senator Kitching was 'scared' of the ALP leader.

'That is just not true. Kimberley and I travelled together, have a look at the photos from the trip,' he said.

Mr Albanese was referring to a delegation he led to Taiwan that included Senator Kitching.

'She was vivacious, she was the life of the room she was in. And it is tragic to think that she has departed far too soon,' he said.

The tense exchange came as bombshell texts emerged showing Senator Kitching messaged a friend about Senator Wong the night before she lodged a bullying complaint.

'Wong has been bad,' the message obtained by The Australian reads. 'She would love to never see me again.'

Senator Kimberley Kitching sent a text message to a close friend saying that Senator Penny Wong never wanted to see her again the night before she lodged bullying claims (Pictured, mock-up text)

Kitching sent the text late at night on the November 4 last year. The next day she lodged her bullying complaint to Deputy Leader Richard Marles.

Senator Kitching had earlier met with Mr Marles in June where she told him she believed she was being 'frozen out' by the Senate leadership team and claimed to have been unfairly dumped from the tactics committee meetings.

The situation was reportedly never resolved.

Former Labor MP Emma Husar has also claimed bullying within the party, claiming it caused her so much stress she too developed a heart condition.
The body of a father-of-three was found almost 12 hours after he jumped off a house boat while celebrating his 30th birthday.

Police divers found the body of Nick Hall, 30, on Saturday afternoon after he jumped off a houseboat on the Tweed River moored near Chinderah, 36km south of the Gold Coast.

The Ipswich father was on the boat with friends and family to celebrate his 30th birthday.

Police divers found the body of Nick Hall, 30, on Saturday afternoon after he had jumped off a houseboat on the Tweed River moored near Chinderah, 36km south of the Gold Coast

A friend dived into the river after Mr Hall but wasn't able to rescue him due to the strong tide.

Officers were called to the party about 2.30am on Saturday after Mr Hall failed to resurface.

Murky water and debris from recent floods impeded the extensive land, air, and water search.

Police divers found Mr Hall's body that afternoon near the Chinderah boat ramp.

Officers were called to the party about 2.30am on Saturday after Mr Hall failed to resurface after jumping into the Tweed River while celebrating his 30th birthday

Police are still investigating Mr Hall's death and why he jumped into the water however Detective Inspector David Silversides said alcohol was 'certainly a factor' in his death.

'The condition of the river has been problematic - there has been an amount of debris both on the surface of the water and the base of the river as well,' he told reporters on Saturday.

'At this stage we believe there may have been a disagreement on the boat at some stage during the evening.'

Mr Hall was celebrating his birthday with friends and family and several loved ones have shared tributes to the 'happy soul' on social media

Friends and family have shared tributes to the 'happy soul' following news of his death.

'What a tragic end to a weekend that was meant to be a celebration for your 30th birthday. RIP Nick Hall,' one woman wrote on Facebook.

'I'm still in disbelief, you were such a fun and happy person and I will cherish our memories from our younger days. My love and thoughts go out to your family.'

'Still hard to believe this has happened,' another person wrote.

Police will prepare a report for the Coroner.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi / Reuters-Yonhap





China stands on the right side of history over the Ukraine crisis as time will tell, and its position is in line with the wishes of most countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.







"China will never accept any external coercion or pressure, and opposes any unfounded accusations and suspicions against China," Wang told reporters on Saturday evening, according to a statement published by his ministry Sunday.







Wang's comments came after U.S. President Joe Biden warned his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, Friday of "consequences" if Beijing gave material support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.







During the video call, Xi told Biden the war in Ukraine must end as soon as possible and called on NATO nations to hold a dialogue with Moscow. He did not, however, assign blame to Russia, according to Beijing's statements about the call.






Hillsong church has apologised to two women and admitted founder Brian Houston's 'inappropriate' behaviour breached its moral code of conduct for pastors.

The megachurch said it had been sorting though 'two complaints made against Pastor Brian' over the past 10 years.

One complaint was made after a church employee claimed to have been sent 'inappropriate' texts, and the second was Mr Houston going into a woman's hotel room in 2019 at a conference.

Hillsong's interim global leader pastor Phil Dooley addressed the situation in a service streamed online on Sunday.

Hillsong founder Brian Houston stepped down in January from his role as the organisation's international leader (pictured with wife Bobbi)

'I want to say we are sorry for anyone who has been a victim of any form of harassment,' he said.

'Some of us here... understand the pain because you have experienced it yourselves, and others of us are doing our best to empathise with you.

'Where you've been hurt, we pray for healing, strength and courage to move forward in your life.'

The Hillsong Global Board said the two complaints were treated 'extremely seriously'.

It added that previous statements, including when Mr Houston temporarily stepped down in January, had not been made out of confidentiality for both him and the two women while the matters were investigated.

'The first issue was approximately a decade ago and involved inappropriate text messages from Pastor Brian to a member of staff, which subsequently resulted in the staff member resigning,' the board said.

The board explained Mr Houston was 'under the influence of sleeping tablets, upon which he had developed a dependence' when he sent the texts.

Mr Houston immediately apologised and sought professional help to end his dependency on the medication, the church claimed.

Mr Houston (pictured with wife Bobbi) sent inappropriate texts to a former employee and entered the hotel room of a guest after the 2019 Hillsong Conference, the board said

'To this former staff member, we again apologise and would welcome the opportunity to provide further assistance if this is needed,' the board said.

The second incident was when Mr Houston knocked on the hotel door of a female guest following the 2019 Hillsong Conference and came inside.

'An in-depth investigation found that Pastor Brian became disoriented... following the consumption of anti-anxiety medication beyond the prescribed dose, mixed with alcohol,' it said.

Mr Dooley previously said Mr Houston was in the room for 40 minutes and no allegations of assault were made by the woman.

'The board found that Brian had breached the Hillsong Pastor's Code of Conduct,' he said.

'The board also met a request for a refund of money donated to the church by this person... Pastor Brian was extremely remorseful and insisted on repaying the church for this.'

The board said after the most recent investigation, Mr Houston took 'specific action, including stepping down from leadership for a period'.

Hillsong's interim global leader Phil Dooley (pictured) apologised in an online service as the church's board issued an apology statement

'However unfortunately he failed to take all of the agreed steps which resulted in further action being taken by the board in late 2021.

'We apologise unreservedly to the people affected by Pastor Brian's actions and commit to being available for any further assistance we can provide.'

The board said Hillsong was reviewing its governance to ensure higher levels of transparency and accountability.

Hillsong was founded in 1983 in the Hills district of Sydney and has expanded to an international organisation with more then 100 churches and a global weekly attendance of 150,000.
Outgoing South Australian Liberal Premier Steven Marshall will not seek to lead the party in opposition.

After Labor's convincing win in Saturday's state election, Mr Marshall on Sunday visited Governor Frances Adamson to advise her that he would be unable to form a government.

On the latest counting, Labor looks set to hold a clear majority with at least 25 seats in the 47-seat House of Assembly.

Outgoing South Australian Liberal Premier Steven Marshall will not seek to lead the party in opposition

On the latest counting, Labor looks set to hold a clear majority with at least 25 seats in the 47-seat House of Assembly in SA. Pictured: Premier-elect of SA Peter Malinauskas

In a statement, Mr Marshall said that after more than nine years as leader of the Liberal Parliamentary Party it was time for someone else to take charge.

'I will step down as leader as soon as the party room is able to meet to elect my successor,' he said.

'I thank all my past and current colleagues for their support over the past nine years and will do all I can to assist the new leader to succeed.'

However Mr Marshall indicated he intended to remain in the parliament, saying he looked forward to continuing to serve the voters in his eastern suburbs seat of Dunstan.

With counting continuing, the seat remained too close to call with the former premier just fractionally ahead of Labor opponent Cressida O'Hanlon, 50.3 per cent to 49.7 per cent, with about half the votes counted.

Mr Marshall said that after more than nine years as leader of the Liberal Parliamentary Party it was time for someone else to take charge: 'I thank all my past and current colleagues for their support over the past nine years and will do all I can to assist the new leader to succeed'

Mr Marshall indicated he intended to remain in the parliament, saying he looked forward to continuing to serve the voters in his seat of Dunstan. The former premier is just fractionally ahead in the vote count against Labor opponent Cressida O'Hanlon (pictured)

However pre-poll and postal ballots were expected to favour Mr Marshall, allowing him to retain the seat.

Mr Marshall said it had been a privilege and an honour to serve as SA's 46th premier and he remained proud of his government's achievements.

'We faced the most extraordinary of times, through natural disasters and a global pandemic, managing to keep South Australians safe and did so with fewer restrictions than almost anywhere else in the world,' he said.

'Whilst I am disappointed by the election outcome, I take full responsibility for the result and accept the will of the people.'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's own leadership will be put to the test within weeks with a federal election due in May

Mr Morrison turned the focus on his own upcoming battle, saying, 'There is a big difference between Anthony Albanese as the federal Labor leader and what we see in the performance of some of his state colleagues.' Pictured: Anthony Albanese with Peter Malinauskas

Prime Minister Scott Morrison concedes it was a 'significant victory' for Labor's Peter Malinauskas in the South Australian election.

The prime minister's own leadership will be put to the test within weeks with a federal election due in May.

Mr Morrison congratulated Mr Malinauskas and his wife by phone.

'It's a significant victory and they are elected with a very strong mandate to move forward with many issues that they've intended to take forward,' he told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

But the prime minister was quick to turn the focus on his own upcoming battle.

'What I know is that Anthony Albanese is not Peter Malinauskas,' Mr Morrison said.

'There is a big difference between Anthony Albanese as the federal Labor leader and what we see in the performance of some of his state colleagues.'
Labor have been left 'dumbfounded' by the friendly relationship between WA Premier Mark McGowan and Scott Morrision.

McGowan and Morrison were seen smiling and laughing together on Thursday after the PM announced a $100 million State-Federal top up that will allow a new Swan River Bridge and Edith Cowan University campus to be built in Perth's CBD.

A Labor insider said the party were stunned by the photos as candidate Anthony Albanese was denied a press conference with McGowan earlier this month.

Both PM candidates are aware the next federal election could rely upon WA votes but the Labor party is convinced Mr McGowan is purposely favouring Mr Morrison despite being a member of the Labor party.

Federal Labor said they were 'dumbfounded' by photos of WA Premier Mark McGowan smiling and laughing with Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison after candidate Anthony Albanese was denied a press conference

Mr McGowan posed for 'beautiful pictures' with Mr Morrison as the PM announced a $100 million State-Federal top up that will allow a new Swan River Bridge and Edith Cowan University campus to be built in Perth's CBD

The Labor source told The West there would have been a level of exasperation from Anthony Albanese and his office when the photos came out.

'At the end of the day Mark McGowan might be Premier, but he is a Labor Premier. And that means to stand for something.'

The close relationship between the pair comes after Mr Morrison appeared to refer to WA residents as 'cave people' when McGowan refused to open the state borders as Covid surged across the country.

While on the Today Show last August Mr Morrison discussed Covid vaccination rates and used the movie The Croods to describe how states can't hide forever.

'Now it's like that movie The Croods. Some wanted to stay in the cave and the young girl wanted to deal with the challenges of living in a different world,' he said.

'Covid is a different world  we can't stay in the cave.'

Mr Morrison commented on the issue on Thursday and said he 'was never referring to WA'.

The defensive PM also added that 'WA travelled its own path and rightly, and the results speak for themselves' when dealing with the Covid outbreak.

Mr Morrison's 'smiling and laughing' photographs with the Premier wouldn't have stung the Labor party so bad if they hadn't just been turned down their own PR stunt with Mr McGowan.

Mr Albanese had arrived in Perth on March 3 but was unable to secure a press conference with Mr McGowan as he had to fly to Sydney that afternoon.

Mr McGowan has been accused of betraying his own party - Labor - after he met with Liberal candidate Scott Morrison following a rejection of Labour candidate Anthony Albanese

In Sydney Mr McGowan saw his parents and attended the defamation trial of Clive Palmer before arriving back in Perth to complete seven days quarantine.

The Liberal party currently holds 11 of 16 seats in WA, however one of those seats - Stirling - will soon be abolished due to boundary redistribution.

Mr Albanese needs to win seven seats to become the next Prime Minister and hopes two of those seats can be found in WA in Pearce and Swan.

Mr Albanese recently told The Sunday Times he believes Mr McGowan is 'important' to winning those two seats.

'I would be surprised if Mark McGowan is not part of the federal campaign. That would make sense,' he said.

Both PM candidates are aware the next federal election could rely upon WA votes but the Labor party is convinced Mr McGowan is purposely favouring Mr Morrison despite being a member of the Labour party

'Primarily, it is a federal campaign. We will be standing on our own two feet as well. But Mark has an important role to play.'

The conference on Thursday received national news coverage and lead several people to question the relationship between Mr Morrison and Mr McGowan.

'This behaviour has to stop. Labour are working very hard to win this election but this makes them feel that all this hard work is undone,' a Labor source told The West.

However Mr McGowan said it is his job as Premier to 'secure as much support for Western Australia as I possibly can'.

The Federal Liberal party have since come back at the Labor party with their own accusations.

Mr Morrison's 'right hand man' federal Liberal Member for Tangney Ben Morton said yesterday that Mr Albanese was 'self absorbed' and threw a 'tantrum'

Mr Morrison's 'right hand man' federal Liberal Member for Tangney Ben Morton said on Saturday that Mr Albanese was 'self absorbed' and he should focus on policy over personality.

'Federal Labor's tantrum demonstrates the problem with them,' he said.

'Albanese and federal Labor is focused on politics and themselves and not on delivery for Western Australia.

'Compare the visits. Albanese so focused on himself and his election while the Prime Minister focused on delivering for WA through investment in our growing defence industries, supporting WA critical mineral projects, infrastructure partnerships with the McGowan Government and greater investment in rural health projects.

'Can anyone name any policy or project important to WA that Albanese focused on while in WA other than being focused on himself?'

A spokesperson for Mr McGowan said on Saturday that he would always support his party and that Mr Albanese's rejected public event was due to schedule conflicts

A spokesperson for Mr McGowan said on Saturday that he would always support his party and that Mr Albanese's rejected public event was due to schedule conflicts.

'The Premier takes his role seriously, to make sure he can secure as much support for Western Australians as possible from Canberra.

'The Premier will always and will continue to campaign for federal Labor. The Premier and Anthony Albanese have been friends for 15 years and he looks forward to supporting him here in WA during the election campaign.

'The Premier had the opportunity to meet with Mr Albanese on the day he arrived in the State but wasn't able to hold a press conference because he was scheduled to travel to see his parents, whom he hadn't seen for a year, before appearing in the Federal Court in Sydney as a result of Clive Palmer's legal action.'
A 25-year old man who used chill sauce to 'discipline' his partner's child has had his appeal against his sentence dismissed.

A court heard this week how the man squeezed a bottle of MasterFoods chilli sauce into the mouth and over the face of a two-year old boy as he lay crying on his bed.

The bottle was used with such force that its contents were all over the boy's sheets, pillow and clothes, the court heard.

The man then struck the boy in the face, which he later attempted to blame on the child falling over and hitting his head accidentally.

A 25-year-old man squirted MasterFoods chilli sauce over two-year old toddler's face to 'discipline' him, court heard

The incident took place as the boy's mother was out of the house and the man was left alone with the two-year-old boy and his six-year-old sister.

When she returned home she found the crying boy in his room, chilli sauce 'everywhere' and a 'massive' lump on the child's head.

After the man left the mother took a video of the child's injuries and sent it to him.

The man replied 'now they're gonna blame me' before attempting to cover up his actions by claiming the child's head injury was sustained after a fall the evening before where he tripped and bumped his head.

After taking the child to the hospital to treat his injuries hospital staff became concerned and called child abuse investigators to determine how the child sustained his injuries.

The court heard that while at the hospital the boy's mother received a text message from the man pleading 'don't tell anyone I was with you'.

However the man's attempts to conceal his wrongdoing quickly unravelled when the boy's sister was interviewed by investigators.

The court heard how the man took the chilli sauce and used it on the boy.

The boy's sister told investigators that the man grabbed the chilli and spilt it on the boy's face while he was 'going crazy'

'He put (my brother) in the room, then he got the chilli, then he spilt it on his tongue and all over the bed,' she said.

'He was going crazy.'

The man was arrested and charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault.

He was sentenced to 26 months with a non-parole period of 18 months in the Local Court.

He later appealed this sentence in the NSW District Court on the basis it was 'manifestly excessive'.

Judge Stephen Hanley dismissed the appeal, noting the seriousness of the crime and cautioning '(The boy's) injuries could have been worse than what they were and he sought to cover up the acts,'.
A man is fighting for his life after being shot twice outside a toddler's birthday party in western Sydney.

A terrified family was forced to run to safety in the middle of their little girl's second birthday party.

The authorities were called about the incident at Bletchley Place in the suburb of Hebersham at around 2.40pm on Sunday afternoon.

Five paramedic crews were dispatched, along with a specialist medical team in a rescue helicopter.

The toddler was enjoying her birthday with a jumping castle, cake, candles and presents when the party was suddenly terrified by the sound of gunshots and screaming.

A man (pictured) was shot twice outside a child's birthday party in western Sydney

'I heard the first two shots and I jumped up on the fence to see what was going on,' the little girl's father Damien told Nine News.

'And I've seen someone lean out the window (of a car) with a shotgun and fire it at the guy laying on the ground.

'We got everyone inside. I then went to come out of the gate and realised they were still there,' he said.

Damien found himself staring at a gunman in a silver four wheel drive.

He then saw the victim of the shooting on the ground.

NSW Ambulance Inspector Kevin McSweeney said the scene was a very difficult one for officers.

'This was a very confronting scene for paramedics when they arrived with one man seriously injured and the shooter unaccounted for,' he said.

The man was taken by ambulance (pictured) to Westmead Hospital in Sydney

The backyard where a toddler's birthday party was held is pictured. A man was shot twice outside the party

Damien (pictured) was holding a second birthday party for his daughter when they celebration was interrupted by the sound of gunfire

'The patient had suffered two gunshot wounds, one to his right shoulder and one to his left leg.

'Paramedics worked to stabilise the patient, who had suffered significant blood loss before transporting him to Westmead Hospital for further treatment.'

Officers attached to Mount Druitt Police Area Command also attended and established a crime scene, which will be forensically examined by specialist officers.

'Initial inquiries have led police to believe the incident was targeted,' a police spokesperson said.

The scene of a shooting in western Sydney where a man was shot twice on Sunday afternoon

Police are pictured at the scene of a shooting on Sunday in western Sydney

A witness said: 'I just heard a car coming screaming around the corner, and then I heard three gunshots straight after.'

Another thought it was a car backfiring at first. 'And then the second (bullet, I thought) that can't be right ... that's definitely a gun.'

Police completed a line search at the scene just before 6pm, but the getaway car still has not been found and the gunman is still on the run.

Locals who ran to help the injured man have also been helping the police with their investigation.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Police officers are pictured at the scene of a shooting in the Sydney suburb of Herersham on Sunday
Boris Johnson is facing a mounting international and domestic backlash today after comparing Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion to the UK's Brexit vote.

Senior Tories and EU officials were among those who criticised the remarks made in a speech to the part faithful at the Conservative Spring Conference in Blackpool.

Addressing the event yesterday the Prime Minister said it is the 'instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom', with the Brexit vote a 'famous recent example'.

More than 13,000 people, soldiers and civilians, are believed by the UN to have been killed since Putin's war of aggression began last month.

Former European Council president Donald Tusk, who fought Russian backed-Communism in Cold War Poland, said the Prime Minister's words 'offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense'.

And senior backbench Tory Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the Defence Committee, said the comparison 'damages the standard of statecraft' being exhibited in the response to the invasion.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak offered on a tepid defence of the PM today, telling Sky News: 'Clearly they are not directly analogous and I don't think the Prime Minister was saying that they were directly analogous either.'

Mr Sunak added: 'People will draw their own conclusions. People can make up their own minds.'

But fellow Tory MP Robert Halfon told BBC Breakfast: 'I don't think it is as big a deal as some people are making out.

'The way I see it is the Prime Minister was saying we're a vibrant democracy. We're such a vibrant democracy, we've had a referendum. Ukraine wants to be a vibrant democracy and the Russians are trying to stop that.'

Senior Tories and EU officials were among those who criticised the remarks made in a speech to the part faithful at the Conservative Spring Conference in Blackpool.

A local resident walks past a Russian tank in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. UN estimates say 13,000 people have been killed in three weeks of fighting in Ukraine.

Asked if he thought the comments were 'an insult to every Ukrainian', he said: 'Absolutely not. No, I think the Ukrainians will be looking at what has been done in practice - 200 million of aid, as I've said, providing them with military support.'

In his speech to the Tory spring conference in Blackpool, Mr Johnson said it is the 'instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom', with the Brexit vote a 'famous recent example'.

In a Twitter comment - which was retweeted by France's ambassador to the UK Catherine Colonna - Mr Ellwood said: 'If we are to ultimately defeat Putin we require international leadership and unity.'

The comparison was criticised by Tory peer Lord Barwell, who pointed out Ukraine is seeking to join the European Union.

There was also a rebuke from senior French diplomats, including the country's ambassador in the UK.

Philippe Errera, the political director at the French foreign ministry, said: 'If I were Ukrainian, I would feel insulted. If I were British, I would feel ashamed. As a French diplomat,I will not comment on twitter...'

Ms Colonna responded: 'As the French Ambassador in the UK, I will not either.'

In his speech, Mr Johnson said: 'I know that it's the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom, every time.

'I can give you a couple of famous recent examples.

'When the British people voted for Brexit in such large, large numbers, I don't believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners. It's because they wanted to be free to do things differently and for this country to be able to run itself.'

The other example given by the Prime Minister was the British people's willingness to voluntarily get vaccinated against Covid-19 because they 'wanted to get on with their lives' and 'were fed up with being told what to do by people like me'.

Lord Barwell, who served as Theresa May's chief of staff in Number 10, said voting in the 2016 referendum 'isn't in any way comparable with risking your life' in a war with Vladimir Putin's forces.

Writing on Twitter, he said: 'Apart from the bit where voting in a free and fair referendum isn't in any way comparable with risking your life to defend your country against invasion + the awkward fact the Ukrainians are fighting for the freedom to join the EU, this comparison is bang on.'

Mr Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who was leader of the European Council during the bitter process of the UK's exit, said: 'Boris Johnson likens Ukrainians' fight to British people voting for Brexit.

'I can still remember the enthusiasm of Putin and Trump after the referendum. Boris, your words offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense.'

Former Belgian prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt, another leading critic of Brexit in Brussels, said the comparison was 'insane'.

Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, said the Prime Minister 'is a national embarrassment', adding: 'To compare a referendum to women and children fleeing Putin's bombs is an insult to every Ukrainian.

'He is no Churchill. He is Basil Fawlty.'

SNP Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, said: 'Boris Johnson's comments comparing Ukraine's life-threatening situation with Brexit was crass and distasteful, and shows just how dangerously obsessed the Tories are with Brexit.'
Ukraine claimed today that its forces had shot dead the deputy commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in another significant blow to Vladimir Putin's forces.

First rank captain Andrey Paliy, 51, is the only senior naval officer allegedly killed in the war in Ukraine, although Kyiv claims to have slain five army generals.

Col Sergei Sukharev, of the 331st Guards Parachute Assault Regiment from Kostroma, was killed on March 18 and Andrei Sukhovetsky, 47, was killed during a special operation by a sniper on March 3.

In addition, Major-General Oleg Mityaev, 47, commander of the army's 150th motorised rifle division, died fighting around the besieged city of Mariupol, Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, 45, was killed on March 7 outside the eastern city of Kharkiv, and Colonel Andrey Kolesnikov, Commander of the Guards Tank Kantemirovskaya Division, was killed in fighting on March 11.

First rank captain Andrey Paliy, 51, (pictured) was allegedly shot dead by Ukraine in another blow to Vladimir Putin's forces

Paliy is the only senior naval officer reportedly killed in the war in Ukraine so far

The 51-year-old was the deputy commander of Russian tyrant and alleged war criminal Vladimir Putin's Black Sea Fleet

It came as Russia claimed to have hit a training facility for foreign fighters killing more than 100 special forces personnel and non-Ukrainian mercenaries.

Paliy's death appeared to be confirmed by a Russian friend, Konstantin Tsarenko, secretary of the public council of the Sevastopol Nakhimov Naval School, although it has not been officially acknowledged by Moscow.

One account said that he had been involved with Russian marines attacks near Mariupol.

However, the exact circumstances of his reported death are not known.

Colonel Sergei Sukharev of the 331st Guards Parachute Assault Regiment, Kostroma, died in Ukraine together with senior sergeant Sergei Lebedev, sergeant Alexander Limonov and corporal Yuri Degtyaryov of the same regiment

Two weeks ago, Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, 47, deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District, was reportedly killed by a sniper on 3 March

Paliy was born in Kyiv and in 1993 refused to take the Ukrainian military oath, instead serving in the Russian Northern Fleet.

He had earlier served on the Russian nuclear missile cruiser 'Peter the Great'.

He also served as deputy head of the Russian naval academy in Sevastopol, in annexed Crimea.

Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko claimed Palsy's death early today without giving further details.

Russia again today used hypersonic Kinzhal missiles on 'military targets' in Ukraine, according to the defence ministry in Moscow.

'A Kinzhal attack on a fuel and lubricants base from which fuel for Ukrainian armoured vehicles was supplied was launched from the airspace over Crimea,' said a statement.

Oleg Mityaev, 47, left, major general of the Russian army - commander of the elite 150th motorized rifle division, reportedly died in Ukraine, as well as Major General Vitaly Petrovich Gerasimov, who was killed on 7 March outside the eastern city of Kharkiv (pictured right)

Commander of the Guards Tank Kantemirovskaya Division, Colonel Andrey Kolesnikov, of the 29th Combined Arms Army became the latest high profile casualty of the war on 11 March after getting killed during fighting

High-precision airborne missiles also struck a training centre for 'foreign mercenaries' near the village of Ovruch, in Zhytomyr Region, claimed then Russians.

The type of missile strike was not specified.

'More than 100 servicemen of [Ukraine's] special operations forces and foreign mercenaries were killed.'
Boris Johnson has been accused of being a 'threat to national security' following reports he was at a Tory party fundraising event on the night Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine.

The Prime Minister gave a short speech at the event as Russian forces prepared to launch their assault.

The Sunday Times reported that donors at the event included Lubov Chernukhin, the wife of a former Russian deputy finance minister who is now a British citizen.

Mr Johnson reportedly gave an introductory speech at the event, which began at around 8pm on February 23 at Spencer House, around a mile from Downing Street.

The Prime Minister was present for around 20 minutes according to No 10.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Communities Secretary Michael Gove were also at the event, the Sunday Times reported.

The Prime Minister (pictured yesterday at the Tory spring conference) gave a short speech at the event as Russian forces prepared to launch their assault.

The Sunday Times reported that donors at the event included Lubov Chernukhin, the wife of a former Russian deputy finance minister.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: 'I'm not going to take any lessons from this Prime Minister about standing up to the Russians'

Back in Downing Street, at around 4am on February 24 Mr Johnson was woken with the news that Russia had launched the invasion that the West had feared for weeks.

A No 10 spokesman told the newspaper: 'The Prime Minister briefly attended this event which was a longstanding diary engagement.

'Fundraising is a legitimate part of our democratic process and it is not unusual for the Prime Minister, or any political leader, to attend such an event.'

Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds said: 'On the eve of war the Prime Minister should have been completely focused on national security - not trying to get cash from the wife of Putin's former finance minister.

'Boris Johnson's party has accepted over 6.5m from donors linked to Putin's murderous regime. He should be cleaning up our politics, not courting these people for more money.

'Boris Johnson is a threat to national security.'

Ms Dodds' comments are the latest sign that Russia and the war in Ukraine will be a domestic political battleground in the run-up to May's local elections.

It followed a claim from Mr Johnson that Labour would have waved the 'white flag' in the face of Russian aggression.

At the Tory spring conference in Blackpool, Mr Johnson said: 'Do we want them in charge... at this moment? Do we want them running up the white flag? Do you see them standing up to Putin's blackmail?'

Hitting back at the Prime Minister today, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves criticised Boris Johnson's own alleged Russian links.

Speaking to Sky News's Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, she said: 'I'm not going to take any lessons from this Prime Minister about standing up to the Russians.

'This was a Prime Minister who on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine was wining and dining people with close links to Putin's regime.

'This is a Prime Minister who overruled the security service in giving a peerage to now Lord Lebedev of Siberia.

'So, I'll take no lectures from this Prime Minister.

'He lacks the seriousness and gravity for the moment, and I would ask the Prime Minister to apologise for his words that are deeply insulting, to the people of Ukrainian and absolutely ridiculous about the Labour Party.'
The former alleged spin doctor for Osama Bin Laden, who was jailed for 25 years for his role in bombings which killed 224 people, was let back into the UK after only speaking to officials for an hour.

Adel Abdel Bary returned the UK last year after being release eight years into his sentence for the Al Qaeda bombing of two US embassies in East Africa in 1998.

The attacks, which wounded thousands of people, were part of Bin Laden's campaign of terror against America and the western world, and Bary acted as his spin doctor and mouthpiece in the aftermath.

Adel Abdul Bary, pictured here in a prison van outside Bow Street Magistrates' court in 1999, has been allowed to return to the UK

Despite being jailed for more than two decades in 2014, he was released weeks early in 2020 on 'compassionate' grounds because his morbid obesity and asthma made him vulnerable to Covid in prison.

The 61-year-old has since returned to West London to live with his wife in the 1 million two-storey council home where they raised six children.

It has now been revealed that Bary was only quizzed by police for an hour during a video call to the US before he was allowed to come back after being released.

It comes as he has challenged a monitoring order put in place by Scotland Yard following his return, reports the Mirror.

It says that documents that emerged as part of the review show that at the time of his return Bary's mindset and ideological beliefs were 'largely unknown and untested'.

It added: 'It is assessed by SO15 that he does pose a risk to security of the UK, even if the extent... is difficult to quantify.'

It said statements from Bary that he did not wish to re-offend when back in the country and that he posed no risk to the UK, although positive, were 'untested and would require assessment over time following release and reintegration in the community'.

Bary had previously been imprisoned and tortured in his native Egypt before coming to the UK in 1993

Bary's legal challenge against the monitoring order, which he said breached his human rights and would worsen the PTSD he developed from his time in prison in Egypt, the UK and US, was rejected by a High Court judge.

The court's judgement revealed that while he is not subject to licence conditions, his immigration status is being reviewed by Home Secretary Priti Patel.

The judgment said: 'But the Home Secretary is reviewing his immigration status and he has been subject to immigration bail conditions and restricted leave to remain.'

The Home Office said: 'Safety and security is the first priority and the police, security and intelligence agencies have a range of powers available to manage individuals.'

Scotland Yard declined to comment.

Bary had originally been granted asylum in the UK in 1993, after his application was supported by Amnesty International, which described him as a 'prisoner of conscience'.

He had fled from Egypt where it was claimed he had been tortured and imprisoned by the government as a suspected Islamist following the assassination of President Anwar Sadat.

While behind bars in his native country, he studied law, before bolting to the UK when he was granted leave to visit the US to defend an Egyptian militant who was alleged to have murdered a rabbi.

After being granted asylum, he was granted leave to remain in the UK indefinitely as a refugee in 1997.

In time, Bary's wife Ragaa and their three children, including Abdel-Majed joined him. The couple would have a further three children in London and Mrs Bary would be granted British citizenship.

He became involved with Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), which was led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, the man who would later replace Bin Laden as head of Al Qaeda.

EIJ would effectively merge with Al Qaeda by February 1998, with Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri endorsing a fatwah declaring Muslims should kill Americans anywhere in the world.

Along with Osama Bin Laden, pictured, Bary and members of Al Qaeda propagated the bombing of two US embassies in East Africa in 1998

On August 4 that year, the EIJ published a statement threatening to retaliate against the U.S. for its alleged involvement in the arrests of foreign-based EIJ members.

A copy would be found in an office rented by Bary in London.

Three days after EIJ threatened America, Al Qaeda struck.

Bombs outside the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, caused extraordinary death and destruction.

The following month, Bary's home and office were raided by police, and he was arrested and charged with possession of gas canisters.

At trial he was acquitted of wrongdoing  but was not out of the woods.

In 1999 the US applied for his extradition on 279-terror related counts including murder and conspiracy to murder.

He was remanded into UK custody for the next 13 years while his lawyers fought the proceedings.

In 2012, a motion was put forward in the House of Commons by future Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and future shadow chancellor John McDonnell, calling Bary a 'respected human rights lawyer' and saying 'no credible evidence has been levelled against him'.

It called on the Government to reject extradition and release Bary 'to allow him to return to his family'.

Bary's fight went to the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights, until he lost his final appeal in August 2012. That October he was flown to America.

In September 2014 Bary put forward a plea bargain in which he admitted his part in the Al Qaeda bomb plot in return for a vastly reduced sentence.

He admitted three of the charges against him; conspiring to kill U.S. nationals, conspiring to make a threat to kill, injure, intimidate and damage and destroy property by means of an explosive, and making such a threat.

These were accepted by the judge, who sentenced him to 25 years imprisonment.

He was also ordered to pay more than $33 million in damages to the victims' families and the U.S. Government.

The bombings in Nairobi, Kenya, (pictured) and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killed more than 200 people, with Bary jailed for his role

His release in 2020 came after 21 years behind bars, with his legal status as a refugee meaning the government had no choice but to let him back into the UK.

Before he was able to return, Bary's son Abdel-Majed went to Syria to join Islamic State in 2013.

The following year his family's Maida Vale home was raided by anti-terror police investigating the recruitment of young people to IS.

He would later be pictured with a severed head, before fleeing Syria as IS collapsed. Bary Jr is currently in custody in Spain, where he is being investigated by the authorities.

As his British citizenship was revoked because of his activities in Syria it remains unclear where he will go next.
A woman has opened up about the terrifying moment she saw her husband stabbed by thieves on their first night in their new home.

The mother of two said the family had just gone to sleep when two intruders entered their Mount Druitt home in west Sydney, about 2am on Sunday morning.

She said the intruders first 'slapped' her husband, 33, to the ground before demanding money and phones.

The couple's two children, a three-year-old daughter and 21-month-old son, woke to the sound of yelling.

Scroll down for the video

A young family were spending the first night in their new Mount Druitt home when they were robbed and attacked around 2am on Sunday

One of the intruders then stabbed the young father in the back and punctured his lung.

'When I saw my husband bleeding, I lost everything,' she told Nine News.

The two intruders then fled the home and were seen on CCTV with a third person getting into a nearby waiting vehicle.

They were described as being Caucasian in appearance and were wearing dark clothing.

The frightened mother was left without a phone to call for help so ran to her new neighbours to call for an ambulance for her husband.

He was taken by paramedics to Westmead Hospital for surgery and remains in a serious condition.

Police said the alleged thieves entered the home through a sliding door at the back of the home.

Two men had entered the family's bedroom and demanded their phones and money before stabbing the father-of-two in the back

Police said they do not believe it was a targeted attack but could be a case of mistaken identity

Police do not believe it was a targeted attack.

'I think it's a case of mistaken identity,' Inspector Ben Hadfield said.

'The family are not known to police. The couple moved into the property yesterday to start a new life. We're not certain what the reason for the attack was, but we don't believe it was targeted.'

Neither of the children were harmed in the attack.

Police have established a crime scene and asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
A nannie carries a baby to the crib after changing his diaper in a nursery in Kyiv, March 19. Nineteen surrogated babies were born to surrogate mothers, with their biological parents still outside the country due to the war against Russia. AP-Yonhap





At a makeshift basement bomb shelter in Ukraine's capital, at least 20 babies born to surrogate mothers are waiting for their foreign parents to be able to travel to the war-torn country and take them home.







Some just a few days old, the infants are well cared for, but even below ground the blasts of occasional shelling can be heard clearly.







Many of the surrogacy center's nurses are also stranded in the shelter because it's too dangerous to travel to and from their homes. Ukrainian troops have been resisting Russian forces in Kyiv's suburbs as they attempt to encircle the city.







''Now we are staying here to preserve our and the babies' lives,'' said Lyudmilia Yashchenko, a 51-year-old nurse. ''We are hiding here from the bombing and this horrible misery.''






A beaming Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been spending her first days of settling back into the UK with her family in a government-owned Georgian mansion in Buckinghamshire.

Nazanin, 44, was reunited with her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella in the early hours of Thursday morning at RAF Brize Norton after 'six years of hell' languishing in a jail in Tehran.

Beaming with joy, Naznin's local MP for Hampstead and Kilburn Tulip Siddiq - who worked for years to get her constituent out of Iran - posted a photo of the pair on Sunday saying:

'We can't stop smiling!! Incredible to have my brave constituent Nazanin back home. She's eternally grateful to all of you for campaigning so hard for her release.'

British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was held prisoner in Iran for six years, is pictured smiling with Labour MP Tulip Siddiq for Hampstead and Kilburn

When Nazanin the television cameras crowded outside the family's North London house waiting to capture her much anticipated return home were sorely disappointed to discover the family had instead been whisked away to a safehouse.

The safehouse in question was in fact Dorneywood - an 18th century mansion sat on a sprawling estate which includes a swimming pool, croquet lawn and 215 acres of lush green woodland, the Telegraph reported.

Typically used by Chancellors of the Exchequer, the grace-and-favour home is owned by the National Trust and the Prime Minister can permit any member of the government to occupy it.

Some of the home's previous occupants are current Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Health Secretary Sajid Javid, and former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott - who famously enjoyed a game of croquet on the front lawn.

The family enjoyed two days of peace at the mansion, with Nazanin and Richard getting reacquainted before cooking pizza in the industrial-size kitchen with seven-year-old Gabriella.

But the family are yet to return to their West Hampstead home, and were yesterday relocated to another safehouse, location undisclosed.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe spent the first two days settling back into the UK with her family in a Government-owned Georgian mansion in Buckinghamshire (Dorneywood mansion pictured in the Buckinghamshire countryside)

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 44, was reunited with her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella in the early hours of Thursday morning at RAF Brize Norton, but the family were swiftly whisked away to the countryside

The family spent two days at Dorneywood - an 18th century mansion sat on a sprawling estate which includes a swimming pool, croquet lawn and 215 acres of lush green woodland

They enjoyed two days of peace at the mansion, with Nazanin and Richard getting reacquainted before cooking pizza in the industrial-size kitchen with seven-year-old Gabriella

A smiling picture of Gabriella and her mother cooking up a pizza in Dorneywood's huge kitchen was shared on social media by Richard Ratcliffe and swiftly reposted by the family's local MP, Labour's Tulip Siddiq, who has also campaigned relentlessly for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's freedom.

Siddiq tweeted: 'Nazanin told me that this is what she missed most while she was imprisoned - every day moments with her little girl. Today was Gabriella's choice of making homemade pizzas for lunch'.

But the pair were asked to take the images down by Foreign Office officials over fears their location could be compromised.

The family have now been moved on to another undisclosed location with the family of 67-year-old Anoosheh Ashoori, who was also released alongside Nazanin earlier this week.

Nazanin landed back on British soil in the early hours of Thursday, along with fellow dual national Ashoori, after the UK finally agreed to settle a long-standing debt to Iran.

The 44-year-old was detained on security charges in 2016 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard at Imam Khomeini airport after a holiday to Iran during which she introduced her daughter to her parents.

She was accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government.

Ashoori, 67, was arrested in August 2017 while visiting his elderly mother in Tehran. He was detained in Evin prison for almost five years, having been accused of spying.

Both have consistently and vigorously denied the allegations.

Their release came after months of intensive diplomatic negotiations between London and Tehran.

Back at last: The Zaghari-Ratcliffe family are finally reunited after Nazanin was detained for nearly six years in Iran

The family have been reunited after the mother-of-one's harrowing six-year stint in an Iranian jail on trumped-up spy charges (pictured before her arrest)

Mr Ratcliffe, who campaigned tirelessly for his wife's release and was instrumental in securing her freedom, told the Times that Nazanin would like to focus on being a full-time mother in the immediate future but that she has not ruled out returning to a campaigning role.

He told the newspaper: 'People come out with an extra will to make up for lost time and to stop others having to battle against the bad guys that they feel are responsible.

'And that can take different directions. While I'm sure she's happy, I can't tell where her head will be in six months. I'm sure she's feeling a lot less angry today than she was a week ago. There's nothing like freedom for changing your perspective.'

Nazanin's neighbours told MailOnline that she cannot wait to return home and take Gabrielle to school for the first time like any other mother.

Her parents-in-law John and Barbara have joked that their son's North London home needs to be cleaned up urgently because it is in an 'appalling' state after years of living without her - and they are considering heading up from Hampshire to do it themselves.

As Gabriella rushed into her mother's arms  the intimate moment obscured from the camera as they stood behind a screen  we heard, amid the tears, the excited babble of a little girl's voice. 'You smell nice,' Gabriella told her mummy, dissipating the tension as only a child can, before Nazanin replied: 'Do I? But I haven't had a shower for 24 hours!'

Finally reunited: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, pictured holding her seven-year-old daughter Gabriella and with her husband Richard, and Anoosheh Ashoori with family members including his daughter Elika after landing in the UK

Nazanin's friends and neighbours in North London said Richard and Gabriella are 'obviously absolutely overjoyed that mummy is home. There is so much going on and they need time to adjust but Richard said that they just wanted to settle back into normal life - taking walks in the park, going out for a coffee.'

The neighbour added: 'Richard said that Nazanin was most excited about taking Gabriella to school in the morning and picking her up at the end of the day like any other parent. I'm so happy for them.'

Another neighbour said: 'They left here on Wednesday afternoon and Richard said that they were unlikely to be back for a couple of days. I think that now they are all back together, coming home for the first time will feel like taking their first steps towards returning to normality.'

Nazanin worked as a project manager for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, which covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly.

In an interview by the charity after her release, Thomson Reuters Foundation CEO Antonio Zappulla described her as 'a very dedicated and bubbly colleague', adding: 'I didn't know just how resilient she is. I have nothing but admiration. Nazanin's life was upended, but her spirit was never broken. She is a truly remarkable woman, with a truly remarkable family.'

Pure joy: Nazanin shares an emotional moment with her seven-year-old daughter Gabriella after landing back in the UK

Nazanin's two days of bliss in Dorneywood with her family came after Channel 4 said it will air a documentary about Richard Ratcliffe's campaign to free his wife over the past six years.

The single-episode documentary, called Nazanin, follows the life of Mr Ratcliffe as he balanced a political campaign with raising Gabriella.

The broadcaster said it includes how the youngster coped with separation from her mother, and the moment Mr Ratcliffe realised her detention was linked to a 400 million debt dating back to the 1970s.

It also follows the final days of negotiations with the British Foreign Office in Tehran and Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's journey home.

A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: 'Nazanin is an intimate, access-driven documentary  part love story, part political thriller. It has a human story with a big heart and mixes original, observational filming with never before seen material filmed by Nazanin herself about her ordeal.'

Nazanin will air later this year.
There has been a meltdown at Heathrow Airport as BA passengers have been left queuing over an hour to check-in their bags after chaos last night forced those returning to go home without their luggage.

There was 'not enough staff to explain what was going on' and a lot of the desks looked 'unmanned' at baggage check-in at Terminal 5 as passengers had a long wait just to catch flights.

Yesterday, BA cancelled more than 25 flights and delayed even more as 'operational issues' was blamed for the mayhem.

Last month, passengers were also hit by chaos from BA as more than 500 flights were cancelled or delayed after the airline suffered its biggest IT meltdown for years.

Today's 'operational' issues also extended later in the afternoon today as customers on the ground reported that there were not enough staff to handle the crowds coming to check in baggage at Terminal 5.

One person still waiting to check in baggage at around 4.50pm after a more than hour wait said BA had gone from four to three manned desks for a Singapore flight.

Despite these huge queues, mainly in the afternoon, it seems no one so far has reported missing their flight and BA has apologised for today and yesterdays disruption.

Huge queues were seen at Terminal 5 for British Airways flights out of London's Heathrow Airport

Down to three check in desks now @British_Airways . A lot of people and not long to go #heathrow #britishairways pic.twitter.com/fmyC8qycEo  peeiii (@CityMaverick) March 20, 2022

BA also cancelled more than 25 flights and delayed even more as 'operational issues' computer glitch was blamed for the mayhem

British Airways looked empty after flights hundreds of passengers were forced to go home yesterday without their luggage in another chaotic day at Heathrow Airport

Have you been caught out by the problems at Heathrow? Please email charlotte.mclaughlin@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

Sarah Hartley, travel editor at the Mail on Sunday, said staff were 'caught on the backfoot, passengers like me have been waiting in the queue for an hour and a half to drop luggage'.

She added: 'If there had been enough staff to explain what was going on or even all the desks manned then we wouldnt feel as one fellow passenger said shabbily treated.

She said staff told her at Heathrow Airport that they are 'really understaffed but are in the recruitment process'.

And as more people are flying again, the staff member claimed it would 'take time' to meet demand.

And as one passenger said, BA sold the tickets they must have known we were coming.

The airline told the MailOnline in a statement on the flight cancellations and baggage issues: 'We've apologised to customers whose bags were delayed yesterday.

'We know how frustrating this is and our teams are working incredibly hard to return luggage as soon as possible.

We're really sorry that we have had to reduce the number of flights today due to operational constraints.

'Our teams are working extremely hard to get our customers to their destinations as quickly as possible and we are in contact to offer alternative options including a full refund.

Today, some customers said they were unable to get in touch with the airline to find out what happened to their luggage and flight cancellations.

Airing their frustration on Twitter, Steve Regis said last night: 'The home of British Airways, where they leave you stranded after missing a connecting flight, where the only BA Rep says not my problem, Im going home, call this number but they wont answer because its closed.

'Your flight crew-fantastic but ground crew-embarrassing.'

Alexander Bennett said: 'BA luggage handlers gone home! Two hours after landing at the UKs and BAs premier terminal 5 at LHR no bags anywhere to be seen for not just our flight but multiple flights!

'No staff to open the hold! Outrageous and atrocious service!'

Ivan Spungle said today: 'Chaos at Heathrow tonight. I still haven't made it home.

'I have video of one of your employees last night telling me to get a hotel, bill you for it, and return this morning to pick up my luggage.

'Now just been told my bag is not even at Heathrow any more. This just isn't good enough. What now?'

Iain Mercer said today: 'You've cancelled my 2.05pm flight back to Edinburgh today and rebooked me to Glasgow tomorrow morning. Eh?! Your call centre won't take calls and [I've been] disconnected. How do I cancel and get a refund?'

BA apologised saying their 'working hard' to return baggage

Dan Deefolts said he had been having respite in Italy after a funeral when his flight was delayed and he arrived back in Heathrow at 1am to find he had no baggage.

Speaking to the MailOnline today, he said: 'My flight was delayed, and the delay was never communicated to passengers prior to arriving at the airport.

I didn't receive any text or email alert. Upon arrival, the pilot couldn't park the plane as there was no ground crew. It was absolute chaos in the baggage reclaim area.

'It remains unclear as to why so many flights were delayed and allowed to go ahead if they were already aware of operational issues.

'It's been more than 12 hours and I am yet to be reunited with my luggage.'

Philip Ingman said his flight at 8.30pm was fine until they entered the 'chaos' of the baggage hall.

He said: 'After an hour and a half, they announced about 25 flights from which baggage would not be arriving. More chaos.

'Our flight wasn't on that list and BA staff assured me our bags would eventually arrive. By 11.30pm still no bags and after three hours waiting. We were then told they wouldn't be arriving.

'The reason given was staff shortages, not a glitch.

'Website was clunky and wouldn't let you set up baggage claim. I eventually managed to get that done this morning.

'We shall now be avoiding BA and T5 as it seems the baggage handlers are employed there by BA and not Heathrow.

Some other passengers have also reportedly been unable to use BA's baggage reporting system, which the airline did apologise for.

Big queues at Heathrow airport even for priority check in. It looks like they dont have enough staff for this high demand. @HeathrowAirport @British_Airways pic.twitter.com/M1pjNw9lnY  Marcelo Esquivel  (@maesquivelg) March 20, 2022

A statement from BA said: The majority of customers have been able to use the baggage report system, but we are investigating an issue that some customers are experiencing.

'We appreciate how frustrating this is and are sorry for the inconvenience.

Some who were rebooked on flights like Stuart Rennie also said BA had later cancelled their flights.

He said there was 'no availability' all day from British Airways and he was not sure what to do about his flight tomorrow.

Another passenger said: 'What has BA come to?

'Travelling BA409 yesterday, March 19. Late departure, late arrival, wait for jetty then to top it all NO baggage. This is not the airline I have travelled the world with over the past years. Sort yourselves out guys. Please.'

Lynn Henderson from Glasgow was upset that her son and husband have to buy new clothes for a Tottenham game.

She told BA on Twitter: 'Can you reply to this please? As my husband and son are down for a hospitality game with no clothes.

'Will you be reimbursing payment for the clothes theyve had to purchase? You should be ashamed of yourselves as you have spoiled my son's birthday weekend.'

The news comes as passenger locator were scrapped on Friday and pre-travel tests for unvaccinated people were also abolished.

Despite this there have also been some reports today that UK border force queues were very long at Heathrow, causing more woe for passengers.

Heathrow Airport said on Twitter: 'Border Force are currently experiencing some delays processing passengers through the UK border.

'Apologies for any inconvenience caused, please rest assured that our colleagues are working hard and liaising with Border Force to reduce delays.'
A member of the Queen's Guard has been arrested by military police after leaving his post and heading to Ukraine to fight against Russian invaders.

The 19-year-old contacted army bosses while in Ukraine, where he wanted to use his training with the regiment to help Ukrainian forces, and agreed to return to Britain.

The Coldstream Guard, who protected the Queen at her home in Windsor Castle, could now face a jail sentence for desertion after going to the warzone in defiance of Ministry of Defence orders, according to The Sun.

The 19-year-old contacted army bosses while in Ukraine, where he wanted to use his training with the regiment to help Ukrainian forces, and agreed to return to Britain

Ministry of Defence bosses are understood to be 'hugely relieved' that he had 'seen sense' and returned to the UK, touching down at London Stansted earlier this week on a flight from Poland.

It is believed he travelled to Ukraine via Krakow, Poland, after going absent, before crossing the border and travelling to the HQ of the International Brigade in Yavoriv, western Ukraine, close to Lviv.

Sources have said he was 'bored' within the ceremonial role of his regiment, and that he had been previously promised a tour of Afghanistan, which never happened.

It was revealed earlier this month that the teen was one of four British soldiers who deserted their posts to fight in Ukraine. According to the Sun, the three other troops are still AWOL.

Armed Forces chief, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, has previously made it clear that it is 'unlawful' for service personnel to join the fight against Russia, amid fears that Vladmir Putin could use their involvement to claim Britain had entered the war.

According to a military source, the teen saw 'the error of his ways' while in Ukraine.

'He was in touch with his chain of command, who told him that he had to return,' the source said.

'He knew he would be in trouble but was also told in no uncertain terms that it would be worse the longer he stayed out there.'

It is believed he travelled to Ukraine via Krakow, Poland, after going absent, before crossing the border and travelling to the HQ of the International Brigade in Yavoriv, western Ukraine

The Coldstream Guard protected the Queen (stock image)

Upon his return, he was questioned by officers from the military police and is expected to face a court martial.

He was not held in custody and is thought to have returned to his home in the north of England.

A British ex-serviceman, who met the teen at Yavoriv, said: 'He said he had been to the Falklands for six months, but was bored in the UK and wanted to see some action and use his training.

'At first, he had no intention of returning to the UK but people told him he should and that he was in trouble as going AWOL is a serious offence.'

Troops that go AWOL can face a dishonourable discharge from service, see their rank reduced and even face a term in military prison.

Similar scenes were seen in 2010 when Lance Corporal Joe Glenton was jailed for nine months after deserting his post in a bid to dodge a second tour of Afghanistan.

He was also demoted to the rank of Private.
Hard-pressed families living in an average house in a former mining town will face council tax bills of more than 2,300 next month.

Analysis by The Mail on Sunday suggests the highest council tax in the country will be in Ollerton, Nottinghamshire, where the county council has hiked its share of the bill by four per cent.

Across the country, four in ten local authorities have raised bills above 2,000 for typical Band D homes from April 1 - the same day that annual energy bills will rocket to up to 1,971.

The largest rise will be in Hartlepool, where the average bill will increased by 102 and Band D homes will be charged 2,200 each year.

Across the country, four in ten local authorities have raised bills above 2,000 for typical Band D homes from April 1 - the same day that annual energy bills will rocket to up to 1,971

The highest council tax in the country will be in Ollerton (pictured, Nottinghamshire, where the county council has hiked its share of the bill by four per cent.

Bristol City Council will have the fifth highest council tax in the country from next month. Pictured: Clifton suspension bridge in Bristol (File image)

Local taxes, which pay for services such as rubbish collection, libraries and road maintenance, will rise by three per cent on average, according to our research of the 150 biggest council areas in England.

Band D residents have moved above the 2,000 mark for the first time in 23 council areas.

Many of those councils have millions of pounds in their general reserves funds, including Labour-led Kirklees Council which has 56million sitting in the bank and Tory-controlled Kent County Council with 51.4million tucked away.

While the Treasury has announced that most homes will receive a 150 council tax rebate, Harry Fone, grassroots campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Crushing council tax rises are yet another kick in the teeth for taxpayers.

'The cost of living crisis is causing catastrophe for households' finances.

'Local authorities must do more to eradicate wasteful spending, deliver value for money and stop these huge hikes.'

Tables show the areas with the biggest increase and alo the highest council tax rates

Council tax in Liverpool will be 2193.16 for Band D, a rise of 64. Pictured: Liverpool Town Hall (File image)

Council tax is now more expensive than Margaret Thatcher's controversial poll tax which sparked riots in 1990.

The poll tax cost households with two adults an average of 714 when it was introduced, the equivalent of 1,890 today.

Council tax for the average home is now 1,921, according to our research.

Council tax bands remain based on property prices in 1991 meaning many average salary earners pay more than the rich.

London faces the biggest rise, of 3.7 per cent, compared with 3.2 per cent in the South West. Pictured: West Hampstead (File image)

In part as a result, the cheapest council tax bill in the country of 864 is in Westminster in central London.

Councils blame the increases on cuts by central government.

Cllr Shaun Davies, chair of the Local Government Association's Resources Board, said: 'While council tax is an important funding stream, it has never been the solution to the long-term pressures facing our local services, raising different amounts in different parts of the country, which is not related to need.'

A Government spokesman said: 'We have provided Councils in England with additional 3.7billion this year to help them maintain and improve the services they provide for local people.'
Video footage shows the moment when a self-styled Lord smuggled Albanian migrants into the UK on a 72ft yacht  as he and two other people smugglers have been jailed for 16 years in total.

Known as Lord Redhead of Shanklin since purchasing the title, Stephen Redhead, 47, captained the vessel used in the smuggling operation.

The yacht can be seen in CCTV sailing into the Isle of Wight and after it docks people can be seen emerging from it.

Jean-Pierre Labelle, 45, organised the trip on the orders of a criminal gang run by Albanian nationals.

Christopher Barber, 55, was brought along to ensure the boat's engine 'continued to function', Newport Crown Court was told.

The three men sailed the yacht from Britain and returned from Cherbourg, France, with 10 extra people believed to be from Albania.

A judge denounced it as 'international crime on a large scale' in a bid to make 'considerable money' at the expense of those they were smuggling.

Labelle pleaded guilty to conspiracy to facilitate unlawful entry into the UK, and jailed for eight years, while Redhead and Barber were found guilty by jury on the same charge and jailed for five and three years, respectively.

The migrants have not been traced due to the incident being retrospectively reported.

Stephen Redhead, a British property developer, 47, was found guilty of conspiracy to facilitate unlawful entry into the UK

Jean-Pierre Labelle, 46, left, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to facilitate unlawful entry into the UK. Christopher Barber, 55, right, was found guilty by the jury on the same charge

Pictured: The yacht, Anore. Labelle later organised another trip on a smaller boat but was intercepted by British and French authorities. The newly acquired boat repeatedly rammed a French police vessel before the crew finally surrendered

In video footage shown to the court, a 75 ft yacht can be seen sailing into a British port while men are captured standing on the deck.

Arriving at 7.53pm, the yacht can then be seen moving into the port at East Cowes Marina on the Isle of Wight.

The CCTV also shows the yacht arriving into the marina and docking.

In a split second, people can be seen running out of the yacht and going into the town of East Cowes.

Judge Mousley said: 'This was organised, international crime on a large scale and it would have continued had you not been detected.

'The money to be made was considerable, and there is a contrast between that and the effect on the lives of those people who were taken across the channel.

'Many, if not all, would have been vulnerable, with uncertain futures awaiting them. It is this courts' experience that these people do not live the lives they had expected in the UK.

'You were all involved in different levels, and other people were involved in the conspiracy.'

The first image of a 75 ft yacht sailing into a British port while men can be seen on the deck

Arriving at 7.53pm, the yacht can be seen moving into the port at East Cowes Marina

The CCTV also shows the yacht arriving in to the marina and docking

The yacht docks in the port and in a split second people can be seen coming out of it

Then figures seem to be seen stepping out onto the jetty and moving through the night

From another angle people are seen moving onto the shore. These people are all in white

Barber and property developer Redhead, both from the Isle of Wight, were convicted of conspiring to facilitate the unlawful entry of non-EU citizens into the UK alongside following a seven-day trial at Portsmouth Crown Court earlier this month.

Labelle, from Ryde on the island, had admitted the same charge three weeks before, and will face trial later in the year for conspiring with others to import drugs from France.

The trio had travelled to international ferry terminal Cherbourg on France's northern coast in March 2020, on board the 72ft ketch yacht Anore, which was originally custom-built in 1976 for a coal mining millionaire in the United States.

The court heard Labelle, described as a 'main organiser and coordinator', owned the boat and hired Redhead to captain the vessel and Barber to 'ensure the engine continued to function'.

They returned two days later to East Cowes Marina on the Isle of Wight - with ten extra people on board who were suspected to have illegally entered the UK.

In June, Labelle, from Ryde on the island, was said to have organised another journey on a small boat called Freedom, which was found by Redhead and bought for 10,500

These people have still not been traced due to the incident being retrospectively reported.

In June, Labelle, from Ryde on the island, was said to have organised another journey on a small boat called Freedom, which was found by Redhead and bought for 10,500. It was said to have had just one lifejacket on board.

However, the boat was intercepted after a joint operation conducted by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU), the National Crime Agency and French authorities.

Judge Mousley added: '[Freedom] was intercepted by French maritime police, and [Freedom] rammed the French police boat around 15 times.

'It was only when they drew their weapons that [the boat] gave up. There were six Albanians on board.'

Two English nationals also involved in the second trip were jailed by a French court for their involvement.

Stephen Redhead, pictured, who purchased the title Lord Redhead of Shanklin, is an eccentric character well-known on the Isle of Wight

Stephen Redhead, who purchased the title Lord Redhead of Shanklin, is an eccentric character well-known on the Isle of Wight.

In the mid-2000s he commissioned a 5,000, 10ft oak statue of fictional American boxer Rocky Balboa - bearing his face - to be built at his house, then valued at 800,000, near Sandown on the island.

His legal representative, Edward Hollinsworth, argued 'naive' Redhead did not play an organisational role in the trips, and was instead brought into the criminal scheme thinking it would be a 'jolly over to France'.

Patrick Harte, representing Labelle, argued his client had been given orders by superiors in a criminal gang run by Albanians, and added any money he made was knocked from a debt he owed for 'losing' around '90kg' of cocaine.

Barber's representative, Edmund Blackman, stated his client had had 'no idea' about the intention of the trip but had 'acquiesced' after threats were made toward him and his family.

His legal representative, Edward Hollinsworth, argued 'naive' Redhead, pictured, did not play an organisational role in the trips, and was instead brought into the criminal scheme thinking it would be a 'jolly over to France'

Judge Mousley, however, said all three had played a role in the international criminal conspiracy. Pictured: The Anore yacht

Judge Mousley, however, said all three had played a role in the international criminal conspiracy.

He said: 'In the first half of 2020 each of you played an essential part of an unlawful trip between the Normandy coast and the Isle of Wight to facilitate the unlawful entry of non-EU nationals - Albanians, it seems.

'Labelle and Redhead were also involved in the second trip, and there were others involved.'

He jailed Labelle for eight years, Redhead for five years and Barber for three years. Each will serve at least half of their terms.

Following the sentence Ian Harris, a Senior Crown Prosecutor at CPS Wessex, said: 'We are dedicated to prosecuting people who seek to transport others to the UK illegally, often in circumstances that are dangerous and could involve the exploitation of migrants who may be expected to repay significant sums of money for the cost of passage.

'It is vitally important that we continue to disrupt this level of organised crime.'
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Georgia Toffolo has been pictured arriving at Battersea Heliport with Nigel Farage and her aristocratic ex-boyfriend George Cottrell after spending the week at Cheltenham races.

The couple's private helicopter landed at 8.30pm on Friday night after the reality TV star had been covering the festival for ITV Racing all week.

They were joined on the flight by the former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage, for whom George Cottrell worked for him as an aide, when the pair were involved in the UKIP party.

The TV star was said to have previously split up with financier George but the pair were pictured flying with Mr Farage this weekend.

George, who once called himself the bad boy of Brexit, was jailed in the US for wire fraud in connection with a drugs and money laundering investigation.

In July 2016, Cottrell was arrested while he was with Mr Farage at Chicago's O'Hare airport after the pair had attended the Republican National Convention, where they reportedly met Donald Trump's aides.

Mr Farage later said that he did not know about his background.

Georgia Toffolo arriving at Battersea Heliport with Nigel Farage and boyfriend George Cottrell after a week at Cheltenham

Trio arrived at Battersea Heliport (pictured) at about 8.30pm on Friday night after Cheltenham Festival finished

Farage and the couple are known to be good acquaintances as Mr Cottrell once worked for Farage while they were in UKIP

Georgia Toffolo, George Cottrell and Nigel Farage share a conversation after landing at Battersea Heliport on Friday night

Mr Cottrell, who is reportedly worth 300million, spent eight months in a US jail.

Before his arrest, he allegedly played a key role in the 2016 EU referendum, running Mr Farage's private office and handling all media enquiries for the pro-Brexit politician.

The trio are thought to be good acquaintances and were pictured dining out at upmarket London restaurant Boisdale last year.

It comes after the former Made In Chelsea star had a successful week at Cheltenham after winning 37,500 on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old - known as Toff - told fans in an excitable social media post how she had 'beginners luck' after betting 5,000 on the opening run.

She then promised to make 'generous donations' to the British Red Cross and The Disasters Emergency Committee after winning the huge sum.

Sharing a picture of her ticket she wrote: 'OH MY GOD beginners luck. Bloody hell can't believe it. Generous donation incoming to both the @BritishRedCross and @decappeal.'

She split her bet with 2,500 on Constitution Hill to win the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle and Jonbon to finish second at 14-1, with returns of the 37,500.

Georgia shakes hands with a gentleman after landing at Battersea Heliport in London with her boyfriend and Nigel Farage

Pictured: Nigel Farage worked with George Cottrell during their time with the UKIP party in the lead up to the referendum

Pictured: George Cottrell arrived in London on a helicopter which landed at Battersea Heliport on Friday night

The other 2,500 went on Jonbon to pass the post followed by Constitution Hill at 18-1 which would have pocketed her 47,500.

She was later forced to clarify her comment after some questioned whether it really was beginner's luck and added that she meant it was the first bet of the festival and not her first bet.

Ms Toffolo has spoken in the past at her frustration over reactions to her political friends who she sees 'out and about'.

She told the Metro: 'I get frustrated because apparently, you cant be young and blonde with a few hair extensions, and bump into a politician in a restaurant and want to actively go over and say hello and say "I dont agree with you or what you did was fab". If I were a middle-aged, white middle-class man, it wouldnt be a focal point of interest.

'My favourite Twitter friend is [deputy Labour leader] Angela Rayner. We might be on different ends of the political spectrum but, of course [sarcastically], I couldnt have a friend whos left-wing'

The 27-year-old shared a video of her in the helicopter with her Instagram followers, adding: 'What a week. Why does it go so quickly? Countdown to the festival 2023 starts now.'
She is fundraising for The Wings for Life World Run which takes place on May 8

Determined to defy the doctors she got back on her bike after only a few months

The 27-year-old revealed the subject she gets asked to talk about most is sex

Christina Vithoulkas was left paralysed after breaking her back during bike crash

A freestyle motocross rider who was left paralysed after a horror bike crash has opened up how her life has changed since the accident and revealed the topic people want to ask her about the most.

Christina Vithoulkas, 27, was visiting family in South Australia in 2018 when she fell off her dirt bike, leaving her with a lacerated spleen, punctured lungs, broken ribs and a severed spinal cord.

Her injuries were so bad she was later told she would never walk again.

And while her life has changed dramatically since the accident, she has vowed to not let anything stop her from living her life to the fullest.

She shares updates about her life on Instagram, where she doesn't hold anything back.

The topic most on people's mind she revealed is the 'sex question', with many asking if she can still be intimate with her partner.

The 27-year-old revealed the subject she gets asked about most when discussing her disability: sex

'Every conversation I have with someone, I will always talk about sex,' she told news.com.au.

She said she is happy to address any questions around spinal cord disability and sex, particularly given that she knew so little about the subject prior to her accident.

She said many people believed those who are paralysed do not have sex.

'On my social media I talk about (sex) so much,' she said.

'I express when I'm horny because they do not believe, the stigma (means people) do not think we are capable of having sex and I just love talking about it as much as possible.'

Ms Vithoulkas said the accident has set free from judgement.

Christina Vithoulkas says that far from shying away from the topic she is happy to address any questions around spinal cord disability and sex, particularly given that she knew so little about the subject prior to her accident

Ms Vithoulkas spent 11 excruciating weeks recovering from a mistake she made in the landing of a jump

Despite the set backs, Ms Vithoulkas has been determined to continue doing the things she loves.

Just three months after the accident she was back on her bike which she had fitted with a frame for her legs.

'I was just supposed to hop on the bike to measure my seat and once I got on it I was like to my friend, I need a helmet, let me ride this thing,' she said.

Fresh with confidence after proving her doctors wrong she set her sights on car drifting.

'Going around drifting in a car for the first time gave me the exact same feeling and lit up that fire in me that the dirtbike did and I just knew, holy s**t this is going to be my next passion,' she said.

'Since that day I've been building a drift car  the drift car I feel like I can push my limits again like I did on the dirt bike and I don't have that risk factor.'

She splits her time from travelling around Australia with her sister, building a drift car and public speaking.

Diagnosed with a lacerated spleen, punctured lungs, broken ribs and a severed spinal cord, Ms Vithoulkas began a lengthy rehab process

The Advertiser's Woman of the Year Awards recently named her a community champion.

'It made me realise I am who I am and I'm not going to let anything stop me from what I want to do,' she said of her accident and disability.

'Having that close to death experience made me realise I don't have time in my life for anything that I don't agree on or that doesn't make me.'

The Wings for Life World Run takes place on May 8.

The Run raises money for spinal cord injury research, with 100% of the run's entry costs being donated.

'It's the best environment, being around so many supportive people everyone in wheelchairs,' she said.

'It's such a good cause and of course if we could find a cure for spinal cord injury it's winning the jackpot, winning the lotto.'

How the accident happened

While visiting family in South Australia in 2018 Ms Vithoulkas decided to duck out and go out for a ride.

But the joyride turned to disaster after Ms Vithoulkas mistimed a jump she had performed meticulously hundreds of times before.

Her then fiance could only watch on in horror as her back folded in half as she face-planted and fell unconscious.

The doctors told her she would never ride a bike again. However she proved them wrong and was back on her bike in a matter of months

'Having that close to death experience made me realise I don't have time in my life for anything that I don't agree on or that doesn't make me'

She was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with copious injuries.

When she was told she would never walk again, she quickly came to terms with her new lifestyle.

Diagnosed with a lacerated spleen, punctured lungs, broken ribs and a severed spinal cord, Ms Vithoulkas began a lengthy rehab process.

Her doctors told her the gravity of her injuries meant she would not walk again, or ride a bike.

'(The doctor) said, 'because you've got no abdominal muscles you won't be able to balance on a bike so you won't be able to ride',' she said.

'I took that as a challenge.'
Russia has said it had fired a second 'unstoppable' hypersonic Kinzhal missile at a fuel depot in Kostyantynivka, in the southern region of Mykolaiv.

A MiG-31K jet fired the aeroballistic missile at the warehouse as it was flying over Crimea.

Igor Konashenkov, from the Russian Defence Ministry, said the target was the main supply of fuel for Ukrainian armoured cars in the south of the country.

He claimed the missile had destroyed the depot. It is the second time Russia says it has used the missile in Ukraine, after a weapons storage site was destroyed in Deliatyn, in western Ukraine, on Friday.

Hypersonic missiles differ from ballistic ones in that they travel closer to the earth and as such can largely avoid radar detection

Major General Igor Konashenkov, from the Russian Defence Ministry, said the target was the main supply of fuel for Ukrainian armoured cars in the south of the country. He claimed the missile had destroyed the depot. Pictured: The Russian pilot flying the fighter jet

Russia also said it had fired a second 'unstoppable' hypersonic Kinzhal missile at a fuel depot in Kostyantynivka, in the southern region of Mykolaiv. The MiG-31K jet (pictured as it took off) fired the aeroballistic missile at the warehouse as it was flying over Crimea

NATO deem the weapon so powerful it has been nicknamed The Sizzler.

Russia has never before admitted using the high-precision weapon in combat.

Moscow claims the 'Kinzhal'- or Dagger - is 'unstoppable' by current Western weapons. The missile, which has a range of 1,250 miles, is nuclear capable and is 26ft long, weighing up to half a ton.

Both strikes so far have not been nuclear.

'The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region', the Russian defence ministry said Saturday.

Russian Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov also said that the Russian forces used the anti-ship missile system Bastion to strike Ukrainian military facilities near the Black Sea port of Odesa.

Aerial footage released by the Russian military claimed to show the missile strike. Large, long buildings are shown in the footage in a snowy region, before one is obliterated by a huge explosion - sending flames, earth and debris high into the air. People can be seen on the ground fleeing as smoke pours from the site.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ignat confirmed that a storage site had been targeted, but added that Kyiv had no information regarding the type of missile that was used.

Deliatyn, a picturesque village in the foothills of the picturesque Carpathian mountains, is located outside the city of Ivano-Frankivsk.

The region of Ivano-Frankivsk shares a 30-mile long border with NATO member Romania.

'The enemy targeted our depots' but 'we have no information of the type of missile,' he said. 'There has been damage, destruction and the detonation of munitions. They are using all the missiles in their arsenal against us.'

Russia reportedly first used the weapon during its military campaign in Syria in 2016 to support the Assad regime, although it was unclear if this was the same model.

Some of the most intense bombing came in 2016 during the battle for Aleppo, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has termed the missile 'an ideal weapon' that flies at 10 times the speed of sound, which is 7672.69 miles per hour, and can overcome air-defence systems.

Hypersonic missiles differ from ballistic ones in that they travel closer to the earth and as such can largely avoid radar detection.

Thermobaric missiles are defined by their type of explosion, which sucks in surrounding air to prompt a high-temperature explosion, often called vacuum bombs.

Hypersonic missiles are defined by how fast they travel, which is at least five times faster than the speed of sound.

Russia claims their hypersonic Kinzhal missile travels double that, at 10 times the speed of sound.

Konashenkov noted that the Kalibr cruise missiles launched by Russian warships from the Caspian Sea were also involved in the strike on the fuel depot in Kostiantynivka.

He said Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea were used to destroy an armor repair plant in Nizhyn in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine.

Russia also boasted in a chilling newly-released video how it is using adapted Israeli reconnaissance combat drone technology to kill in Ukraine.

The footage shows a Forpost-R destroying a battery of Ukrainian howitzers and military hardware.

Israel six years ago stopped supplying components for the drone - but Russia still has a force of around 100.

The Russian defence ministry said: 'Unmanned aerial vehicles of the Aerospace Forces carried out missile strikes on a self-propelled artillery battery of 122mm howitzers and military hardware of the Ukrainian armed forces.

'A battery of self-propelled artillery guns, armoured vehicles and vehicles were destroyed by airborne weapons.'

The import-substituted Forpost-R drone is a licensed version of the Israeli Searcher MkII.

The drone was supplied to Russia but was designed exclusively for reconnaissance.

It is an improved and indigenised model variant of the Forpost (Outpost), the Israeli Searcher Mk II UAV assembled by Yekaterinburg-based Ural Civil Aviation Plant.

From 2016, Israel stopped supplying components to Russia, apparently under pressure from the US, triggering the move by the Kremlin to adapt the drone.

The Forpost-R unmanned combat aerial vehicle was first seen a week ago deployed by Russia in the current conflict.

The video is believed to show the combat drone taking off from Gomel, in Belarus, and striking at targets in Ukraine.

Since Putin's invasion on February 24, most of the fighting has taken place in Ukraine's east - closer to Russia - as Moscow's forces struggle to make significant gains further into the country.

Russia unleashed its 'unstoppable' Kinzhal hypersonic missiles for the first time in Ukraine, the defence ministry said today, destroying a weapons storage site in the country's west on Friday. Pictured: An injured woman looks on as she receives medical treatment after shelling in a residential area in Kyiv on March 18, 2022

However, in recent days there have been signs of more western strikes, with one person being killed overnight in a missile attack near Lviv, the closest strike yet to the centre of the western city - where thousands have fled to.

The strike comes as Ukraine's forces continue to put up a fierce resistance against the invading armies, which have been forced to resort to seemingly indiscriminate artillery strikes on population centres.

Moscow's troops have been stalled for days. Kyiv has claimed the invaders have suffered almost 15,000 casualties.

American sources estimate the number is lower, saying that 7,000 Russian troops have died so far in the fighting.

Ukrainian policemen secure the area by a five-storey residential building that partially collapsed after a shelling in Kyiv on March 18, 2022, as Russian troops try to encircle the Ukrainian capital

Pictured: The moment the Kizhal hypersonic missile destroyed the ammunition depot in western Ukraine, according to Russian Ministry of Defence

Large, long buildings are shown in the footage in a snowy region, before one is obliterated by a huge explosion - sending flames, earth and debris high into the air. People can be seen on the ground fleeing as smoke pours from the site (left)

Pictured: A video screen grab showing a test of the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, dubbed 'an ideal weapon' by Vladimir Putin (file photo)

The missile can carry both conventional weapons and nuclear warheads, and can be launched from fighter jets - including Tu-22M3 bombers or MiG-31K interceptors. Pictured: The missile is seen being carried by a MiG-31K during a fly-over of Moscow's Red Square in 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin has termed the missile 'an ideal weapon' that flies at 10 times the speed of sound and can overcome air-defence systems. Pictured: Putin speaks during a rally on Friday to mark the eighth anniversary of 'annexing' Crimea, and spoke of 'de-Nazifying' the peninsula and of debunked claims of 'genocide' in the Donbass

Russia's announcement of the missile strike came as Kyiv's army high command claimed to have killed a fifth Moscow general since the war in Ukraine began. Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev (pictured) was one of Vladimir Putin's most senior commanders, in charge of the 8th All-Military Army of the Kremlin's vast Southern Military District

The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile Russia's Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile is a nuclear-capable hypersonic aero-ballistic air-to-ground missile. The Kremlin claims it can reach Mach 10 speeds (10-times the speed of sound), and has a range of more than 1,250 miles. Putin has previously described it as 'an ideal weapon', likely due to its ability to perform evasive maneuvers at all stages of its flight path. The missile can carry both conventional weapons and nuclear warheads, and can be launched from fighter jets - including Tu-22M3 bombers or MiG-31K interceptors. The Kinzhal entered service in December 2017, and was officially unveiled by Vladimir Putin in his state-of-the-nation address in 2018. However, there were also reports of its use in Syria in 2016 in the battle for Aleppo, which saw some of the most intense bombing of the war and resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths. Russia has said that the missile is designed to strike NATO warships that themselves pose a threat to Moscow's missile system, as well as to destroy NATO missile defence systems. Russia has boasted that it is capable of overcoming any US air or missile defence systems that are known about, or under development. Advertisement

The Kinzhal missile was one of an array of new weapons Putin unveiled in his state-of-the-nation address in 2018, although there have been reports of its use before then.

In June last year Russia mounted a massive military show of strength to taunt British forces in the eastern Mediterranean. MiG-31K supersonic warplanes carrying the hypersonic Kinzhals were deployed in a drill from Putin's airbase in Syria.

Reports in the state run media made clear the exercises were specifically timed to coincide with the British Royal Navy's deployment of a strike group led by aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Hypersonic missiles can be used to deliver conventional warheads, more rapidly and precisely than other missiles. But their capacity to deliver nuclear weapons could add to a country's threat, increasing the danger of a nuclear conflict.

'This is the first case of the use of hypersonic weapons in combat in the world,' military analyst Vasily Kashin told AFP.

Russia leads the hypersonics race, followed by China and the United States, and several other countries are working on the technology.

Kashin, head of the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies at Moscow's Higher School of Economics, said that compared to cruise missiles hypersonic weapons were more efficient at destroying underground storage sites.

'A hypersonic missile can have higher penetration and destructive power due to its very high speed,' he said.

Like the much slower, often subsonic cruise missile, a hypersonic missile is maneuverable, making it harder to track and defend against.

But some experts have said Russia might be exaggerating the abilities of its hypersonic arsenal.

Military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer suggested that the use of the Kinzhal would change little on the ground in Ukraine.

'Fundamentally this does not change anything on the battlefield, but it gives a certain psychological and propaganda effect to scare everyone,' he said.

Rescuers carry a Ukrainian soldier saved after 30 hours from debris of the military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19, 2022

An injured woman is seen on the shell-damaged street in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 18, 2022

Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko is seen on the shell-damaged street in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 18, 2022

A woman cries in front of her shell-damaged home in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 18, 2022

People carry a dead body after a residential buildings hit by a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 18, 2022

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky rewards a police special team member as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 19, 2022

He said Russian forces could have used the advanced missiles also because they might be running out of other weapons. 'The costs are too high,' he said. 'No one expected such a long war.'

Joseph Henrotin, defence strategy researcher and chief editor of DSI, a French military review, struck a similar note.

Taking to Twitter, he suggested that Russia might be running out of Iskander short-range ballistic missile systems or wanted to raise the stakes by deploying a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in Ukraine.

Pictured: A video screen grab showing a Kinzhal hypersonic cruise missile, launched during a strategic deterrence exercise by the Russian armed forces, in February 2022 (file photo)

An airman checks a Russian Air Force MiG-31 fighter jet prior a flight with Kinzhal hypersonic missile during a drill in an unknown location in Russia, in this still image taken from video released February 19, 2022

Pictured in this video grab released by Russia's Defence Ministry is the launching of a Kinzhal hypersonic cruise missile during a strategic deterrence exercise by the Russian armed forces

The Russian defence ministry also said it had deployed Bastion coastal missiles at electronic intelligence centres in the Odessa region.

In December 2021, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the appearance of a separate aviation regiment armed with MiG-31K aircraft with the Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

Putin said previously that the country began to create hypersonic weapons 'in response to the US deployment of a strategic missile defence system.'

Russia's announcement of the missile strike came as Kyiv's army high command claimed to have killed a fifth Moscow general since the war in Ukraine began.

Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev was one of Vladimir Putin's most senior commanders, in charge of the 8th All-Military Army of the Kremlin's vast Southern Military District.

Moscow did not initially confirm his death in keeping with most previous claims of the 'liquidation' of Generals.

Ukraine now claims to have killed five holding the rank of General.

'As a result of fire on the enemy by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the commander of the 8th All-Military Army of the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvishev was killed,' said a statement from the army general staff in Kyiv.

Ukrainian soldiers sit next to the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, Saturday

Ukranien soldiers walk next to the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, Saturday

A Ukranien soldier stands next to rifles of dead and injured soldiers close to the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19, 2022

A Ukranien soldier runs to a military trench as a Russian jet fighter flies over next to the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19, 2022

The statement did not say where he was killed but other accounts claimed it was in the village of Chornobaivka, Kherson Region. This was attributed to Vadym Denysenko, advisor to the Ukrainian Internal Affairs Minister.

The Ukrainians also claimed that wounded Russian soldiers have filled all hospital facilities in Gomel city in Belarus.

'All health institutions with surgical departments are involved in the admission and treatment of the wounded occupiers,' said the Ukrainian general staff.

'Surgeons are working around the clock.All scheduled operations of Belarusian citizens are either cancelled or postponed indefinitely. A high death rate is recorded among the severely wounded Russian invaders.'

Overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces are blockading his country's largest cities to wear the population down into submission, but he warned Saturday that the strategy will fail and Moscow will lose in the long run if it doesn't end its war.

Zelenskyy accused the Kremlin of deliberately creating 'a humanitarian catastrophe ' and appealed for Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with him, using a huge Moscow stadium rally where Putin lavished praise on Russian forces Friday to illustrate what was at stake.

'Just picture for yourself that in that stadium in Moscow there are 14,000 dead bodies and tens of thousands more injured and maimed. Those are the Russian costs throughout the invasion,' Zelenskyy said in a nightly video address to the nation recorded outside the presidential office in Kyiv.

The rally took place as Russia has faced heavier-than-expected losses on the battlefield and increasingly authoritarian rule at home. The event was surrounded by suspicions it was a Kremlin-manufactured display of patriotism. Russian police have detained thousands of people from protests of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Fighting continued on multiple fronts in Ukraine. In the besieged port city of Mariupol, the site of some of the war's greatest suffering.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the country hopes to evacuate civilians on Saturday via ten humanitarian corridors from cities and towns on the front line of fighting with Russian forces.

She said a corridor had been agreed for the besieged city of Mariupol, although the authorities' previous efforts to evacuate civilians there under a temporary ceasefire have mostly failed, with both sides trading blame.

Meanwhile, more than 1,300 people - including women and babies - are still feared trapped in the bombed ruins of a theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol as rescue efforts continue to be hampered by constant Russian shelling.

The helpless casualties were yesterday forced to spend a third night entombed in the basement of the destroyed Drama Theatre which was hit by Putin's forces on Wednesday.

Their prospects of survival are growing bleaker by the day, with no supplies and Russian troops firing at rescuers trying to dig through the rubble.

Last night a local MP said those inside were forced to dig from within the wreckage because rescue attempts had been thwarted by ongoing airstrikes.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who branded Russia's attack as 'outright terror', last night vowed to continue the rescue mission.

'Hundreds of Mariupol residents are still under the debris. Despite the shelling, despite all the difficulties, we will continue the rescue work,' he said.

Russian troops have now reached the city centre and civilians remain hiding in bunkers while fighters battle on the streets.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said: 'Tanks and machine gun battles continue. There's no city centre left. There isn't a small piece of land in the city that doesn't have signs of war.'

The devastating losses across Ukraine have sparked a poignant protest in Lviv, where 109 empty prams were arranged in solemn rows to mark the number of children killed since Russia invaded.

More than 1,300 people including women and babies are still feared trapped in the bombed ruins of a theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol (pictured)

The helpless casualties were yesterday forced to spend a third night entombed in the basement of the destroyed Drama Theatre which was hit by Vladimir Putin's forces on Wednesday

Residents are seen on the street after emerging from bomb shelters, gathering their belongings as they prepare to flee the city

109 empty baby carriages on display in Lviv city center for the 109 babies killed so far during Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Pictured: The aftermath of a theatre in the encircled Ukrainian port city of Mariupol where hundreds of civilians were sheltering on Wednesday March 16

A woman and her baby are pictured fleeing the city of Mariupol along a humanitarian corridor that was opened on Thursday, though previous attempts have failed after Russians shelled the routes

Local residents seeking refuge in the basement of a building are seen in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol

Local authorities said more than 130 survivors have emerged from the rubble of the Mariupol theatre which was being used as the ravaged port city's biggest civilian bomb shelter.

But they said that those saved represented just one tenth of the civilians still trapped within the refuge which miraculously withstood the blast.

Ukraine's human rights commissioner Lyudmyla Denisova said: 'According to our data there are still more than 1,300 people there who are in these basements, in that bomb shelter. We pray that they will be alive but so far there is no information about them.'

Former governor MP Serhiy Taruta said he fears many survivors will die because the city's emergency services have been destroyed by Russian troops.

'Services that are supposed to help are demolished, rescue and utility services are physically destroyed. This means that all the survivors of the bombing will either die under the ruins of the theatre, or have already died,' he wrote on Facebook.

An aerial view shows smoke rising from damaged residential buildings following an explosion in Mariupol on Friday

An aerial view shows residential buildings which were damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol

A woman weeps after seeing the ruins of her destroyed block of flat in Mariupol, which is under bombardment by Russia

Women seek refuge in the basement of a building in Mariupol, which has been under Russian bombardment for weeks

A heavily bombed building is seen in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, after being destroyed by Russian shelling of the city

The haunting spectacle shows the human tragedy at the centre of the conflict: Families torn apart by war

In its sunlit cobbled central square, one Ukrainian city hosts a poignant protest at the innocent lives lost in the fighting

Evacuees fleeing Ukraine-Russia conflict sit in a damaged car as they wait in a line to leave the besieged port city of Mariupol

He said those trapped had been left to dig their way out of the collapsed three-storey building.

'People are doing everything themselves. My friends went to help but due to constant shelling it was not safe.'

However Mariupol MP Dmytro Gurin insisted that while the rescue mission had been hampered by constant Russian attacks, efforts were still under way.

One woman said the strike had taken place while those sheltering beneath the theatre were cooking and only around 100 had time to flee.

Nick Osychenko, the CEO of a Mariupol TV station, said as he fled the city with six members of his family, aged between 4 and 61, he saw dead bodies on nearly every block.

'We were careful and didn't want the children to see the bodies, so we tried to shield their eyes,' he said. 'We were nervous the whole journey. It was frightening, just frightening.'

Feared Chechen special forces are fighting house-to-house in besieged Mariupol while 'hundreds' of women and children remain trapped in the rubble of a city theatre destroyed by Russian invaders

The propaganda video then cuts before showing some of the Chechen fighters emerging from the building with children in their arms while supposedly 'liberating' civilians

Video released by pro-Putin Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov shows heavily armed fighters from the region pounding a high-rise building in the bombed-out city during a fierce gunfight with Ukrainian soldiers

Russia has denied responsibility for the devastating strike which was branded a 'war crime' and sparked global outrage.

After an agonising first night of uncertainty following the bombing, Ukrainian officials revealed on Thursday that they were hopeful that the majority within had survived.

Rescuers said that while the entrance to the basement had caved in, the relatively modern shelter had remained intact.

But Miss Denisova said that while some had survived, the situation remained unclear.

She said there was 'currently no information about the dead or wounded under the rubble' and called the attack 'an act of genocide and a terrible crime against humanity'.

Ukraine's Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov branded the Russian pilot behind the bombing a 'monster'.

Vladimir Putin has given a tub-thumping address to tens of thousands of Russians gathered at Moscow's world cup stadium, celebrating his invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and drumming up support for his new war

Putin spoke in front of a crowd tens of thousands strong at the Luzhniki World Cup stadium in Moscow, one of the few times he has been seen in public since launching his invasion 23 days ago

Putin used the rally to peddle falsehoods about why the war started and to shill a narrative of Russia's battlefield success, speaking of 'how our guys are fighting during this operation, shoulder to shoulder, helping each other'

Here's how YOU can help: Donate here to the Mail Force Ukraine Appeal Readers of Mail Newspapers and MailOnline have always shown immense generosity at times of crisis. Calling upon that human spirit, we are supporting a huge push to raise money for refugees from Ukraine. For, surely, no one can fail to be moved by the heartbreaking images and stories of families  mostly women, children, the infirm and elderly  fleeing from the bombs and guns. As this tally of misery increases over the coming days and months, these innocent victims of this conflict will require accommodation, schools and medical support. Donations to the Mail Force Ukraine Appeal will be used to help charities and aid organisations providing such essential services. In the name of charity and compassion, we urge all our readers to give swiftly and generously. TO MAKE A DONATION ONLINE Donate at www.mailforcecharity.co.uk/donate To add Gift Aid to a donation  even one already made  complete an online form found here: mymail.co.uk/ukraine Via bank transfer, please use these details: Account name: Mail Force Charity Account number: 48867365 Sort code: 60-00-01 TO MAKE A DONATION VIA CHEQUE Make your cheque payable to 'Mail Force' and post it to: Mail Newspapers Ukraine Appeal, GFM, 42 Phoenix Court, Hawkins Road, Colchester, Essex CO2 8JY TO MAKE A DONATION FROM THE US US readers can donate to the appeal via a bank transfer to Associated Newspapers or by sending checks to dailymail.com HQ at 51 Astor Place (9th floor), New York, NY 10003 Advertisement

But the Kremlin's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya yesterday denied that Russia had targeted the shelter.

Meanwhile feared Chechen special forces are fighting house-to-house in the besieged port city.

Video said to have been released by pro-Putin Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov shows heavily armed fighters from the region pounding a high-rise building in the bombed-out city during a fierce gunfight with Ukrainian soldiers.

The propaganda video then cuts before showing some of the Chechen fighters emerging from the building with children in their arms while supposedly 'liberating' civilians.

Russia's defence ministry said on Friday that its troops have now entered the city and are fighting in the centre, amid fears that it could soon fall into Putin's hands after three weeks of shelling weakened the defences. If the city does fall, it will be the largest captured so-far - albeit at the cost of near-totally destroying it.

Svitlana Zlenko, who said she left the city with her son on Tuesday this week, described how she spent days sheltering in a school building - melting snow to cook pasta to eat while living in constant terror of Russian bombs which flew overhead 'every day and every night'.

She described how a bomb hit the school last week, wounding a woman in the hip with a piece of shrapnel. 'She was lying on the first floor of the high school all night and prayed for poison so that she would not feel pain,' Svitlana said. '[She] was taken by the Red Cross within a day, I pray to God she is well.'

She added: 'There is no food, no medicine, if there is no snow with such urban fights, people will not be able to go out to get water, people have no water left. Pharmacies, grocery stores - everything is robbed or burned.

'The dead are not taken out. Police recommend to the relatives of those who died of a natural death, to open the windows and lay the bodies on the balcony. I know you think you understand, but you will never understand unless you were there. I pray that this will not happen again in any of the cities of Ukraine, or of the world.'

Despite the pleas, shelling was well underway in other Ukrainian cities on Friday - with Lviv, in the west of the country, the capital Kyiv, and Kharkiv, in the east, coming under fire.

The war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin ground into its fourth week as his troops have failed to take Kyiv - a major objective in their hopes of forcing a settlement or dictating the country's future political alignments.

But back home in Moscow, Putin on Friday gave a tub-thumping speech to tens of thousands of banner-waving Russians in an attempt to drum up support for his stalled invasion.

The despot took to the stage at Moscow's Luzhniki World Cup stadium dressed in a 10,000 Loro Piana jacket - despite his country's economy crumbling under the weight of Western sanctions - to address a crowd waving Russian national flags and banners marked with the letter 'Z', which has become a potent symbol of the invasion.

Putin, who called the rally to mark the anniversary of the last time he attacked Ukraine to annex the Crimea region, spoke of sharing a 'common destiny' with Crimeans, of 'de-Nazifying' the region in 2014, and of the 'bravery' of soldiers currently fighting in Ukraine. He was met with chants of 'Russia, Russia, Russia.'

Speaking in front of banners that read 'For a world without Nazism' and 'For Russia' - with the letter 'Z' in each picked out in bold - he said: 'Sevastopol [capital of Crimea] did the right thing when they put up a barrier to neo-Nazis and radicals, which is already happening on other territories.

'[The] people of Donbass also disagreed with this, and straight-away they organised military operations against [the Nazis]. They were surrounded and shelled by guns, the Ukrainians sent airstrikes against them. This is called genocide,' he said, repeating his widely-debunked justification for attacking. 'It is to save people from this suffering and genocide that we launched our military operation.'

Putin then praised troops taking part in his 'special operation', who he said are fighting for the 'universal values' of all Russians. The words 'we don't abandon our own' were emblazoned on screens around the stadium. Paraphrasing the Bible, he said: 'There is no greater love than giving up one's soul for one's friends.

'The best confirmation of this is how our guys are fighting during this operation, shoulder to shoulder, helping each other. When it is necessary, they cover each-other as if it was their own brother from bullets. We haven't had such unity in a long time,' he said.

But a bizarre moment in the speech came when Putin suddenly disappeared from news feeds in mid-sentence - replaced by a band that was mid-way through singing, perhaps suggesting his address was not broadcast live.

The speech came on Friday as nine people were killed and 17 wounded in shelling of the suburbs of the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, deputy mayor Anatoliy Kurtiev said on Saturday.

The military has since declared a 38-hour curfew in Zaporizhzhia, which was being attacked by Russian forces with mortars, tanks, helicopters and rocket systems, Kurtiev said in an online post.

The Russians have bombed Mariupol back to Middle Ages: As families are blown to pieces queuing for water and food is cooked on fires made from chopped-up furniture, IAN BIRRELL speaks to one mother whose story reveals a horror hidden from the world

When Kristina Dzholos sat down to breakfast the morning after her family's escape from Mariupol, she could not bring herself to eat.

She was hungry but she could not forget the people left behind in the city that has come to symbolise the barbarity of Russia's assault on Ukraine, the families still trapped in basements and cellars under the horror of constant bombardment.

'The place I left had no food, maybe not even water since they were melting snow. I could not eat  I just wanted to help them since what's happening is a humanitarian disaster.

'There were half a million people in Mariupol before the war and there are still 350,000 people trapped there. These people need food, they need water, they need heating. They need saving from hell.'

All war is hell. But Mariupol's descent into darkness has been meteoric, merciless and utterly monstrous after Vladimir Putin's forces unleashed a horrific barrage of bombs, missiles and shells that have flattened this pleasant port on the Sea of Azov.

Satellite view of Mariupol shows burning and heavily damaged apartment buildings and stores, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues

An explosion is seen in an apartment building after Russian's army tank fires in Mariupol, Ukraine

More than 80 per cent of properties have been destroyed in less than three weeks and Kristina, 30, who worked in public relations for the local council, has been an unwilling witness to so much horror.

She saw a man have his leg blown off, an elderly couple with faces shredded by flying glass, people queuing for water wiped out before her eyes  and endured 19 nights cowering with other families in their local school before she managed to flee.

Yesterday, she told me her story as she headed to safety in western Ukraine with her husband Ivan, 39, a driver, and nine-year-old son Svyatoslav.

Like so many others, the family had discounted the threat of Russian invasion. Then, as fighting began on the city's outskirts, they listened to civic leaders telling them to stay calm and joined communal efforts to distribute food and clothing to the frontline.

They put tape over their windows for protection from flying glass, stocked up the freezer and started sleeping on mattresses alongside other families at High School Number Two, across the yard from their flat.

'What we witnessed over the first three days was lots of mutual support. Ukraine is an amazing nation  everyone was united, helping each other, raising money for the volunteers.'

A resident of Mariupol stands inside an apartment which was damaged during Russia's invasion of Ukraine

A man walks through a building in Mariupol which was destroyed by Russian artillery

On the fourth day they woke up to discover there was no heating or power. Then as they ran back to their flat, Russian shells started to land all around them  one exploded in their yard, blowing out all the windows.

'We ran into the staircase,' said Kristina. 'I could hear the shell landing somewhere very close, so I just fell on my son trying to protect him. It was a miracle we survived.'

Shops were running out of food and with the utilities cut off, she cooked as much of the food from her freezer as possible.

A Ukrainian artillery unit based nearby meant their part of the city was a target and there was constant shelling. The house across their road was blown up, then the next-door block of flats hit by shells.

'It was so scary. When the whole building is shaking and you have your child next to you and you don't know if the next shell will land on your building This is the terrible experience we all went through,' she says.

Yet this was just the beginning: 'Then the real horrors began.'

For the next 16 days, Kristina, her husband, and son stayed at the school with 162 others, including 52 children, trapped at the heart of the lethal Russian assault on a port that Putin tried  and failed  to capture eight years ago.

The scenes around them, in the city that had been her home since she was eight years old, were apocalyptic. 'I saw one man run across the yard towards the apartment block and a shell land next to him, which blew his leg off. We were afraid to help him in case we were killed and there were no ambulances.' She does not know if he survived or not.

Yet, for the first couple of days, she would run out to try and find a phone signal. Her mother, Angela, three younger brothers and her husband's parents were also all trapped in the city.

'I saw so many dead people lying in the streets and everything covered in blood. There was a huge unexploded missile sitting beside a crossroads. It was all destroyed in the city centre.'

Kristina only stopped leaving the school premises after witnessing a massacre. 'When they were still selling water, I saw people lined up outside a shop to buy water and three or four were killed when a shell landed nearby.'

Some people would dash out to grab food or medicines if a shop or pharmacy was bombed. But soon, like so many others in the city, they were cooking on open fires using chopped-up furniture and melted snow for water 'like something from the Middle Ages'.

Local residents have sought refuge by hiding away in the basements to the properties in the port city

The children were kept entertained with cards, chess and board games  regularly interrupted by the bombs. Many developed colds due to the freezing weather, so there was a constant sound of coughing.

'Our kids are our heroes,' she says. 'They keep telling us it will be alright. They have been so brave.'

One attack blew a hole in the school building. It remained standing but left one woman with shrapnel injuries, writhing in agony all night.

'She had the metal piece in her thigh, she was screaming with pain,' said Kristina.

Another time, an elderly couple arrived seeking help for their wounds. 'They had really bad cuts on their face but no one could help them.'

The couple were taken the next day to a hospital where medics have kept working despite the building also being struck by shelling. By this time there was a stream of people searching Mariupol for missing relatives.

'People were going from one shelter to another asking for people they knew, trying to find them, while the bodies were just lying in the streets.'

Some corpses were hastily covered with a thin layer of soil amid the shelling, while others were dumped in a mass grave dug in a nearby park  resulting in fears that many people will never discover the remains of their loved ones.

Kristina said her distraught mother-in-law asked police what to do about a neighbour in her 90s who was crying out in agonising pain.

'They said, 'Wait until the screaming stops, then open the window so the smell of her death will not be in the building'.'

The intensity of the attacks was now growing as Russian forces closed in. 'It was getting worse and worse, there was more shelling, we were running out of food.

'Every night we felt the building shaking and we were just sitting there praying. It is so horrible when you hear the shell flying towards you and you have no idea where it will land  then you're so relieved it does not land on your building. They finally managed to flee on Tuesday after seeing another family escape the previous day in their car.

Kristina and her husband managed to get to their car, grabbed a few belongings from their flat, and their son and cat from the school.

'As we put him in the car, another shell landed in the next-door yard. Everyone outside dropped to the ground, people were screaming.'

They joined a gathering convoy of vehicles, passing through streets filled with broken buildings, shattered glass and dangling electrical wires.

'We could hear the planes on top of us and we were just praying... We knew either we died on the road or we died in the shelter but at least on the road we had a chance.'

Local residents seen next to a building in Mariupol which was destroyed by heavy Russian artillery fire

More than 80 per cent of properties in Mariupol have been destroyed in less than three weeks

They passed up to seven Russian checkpoints  where the invading soldiers let them pass after checking their documents, looking in their boot and inspecting Ivan's hands and fingers carefully for any sign that he had been using firearms.

Kristina feels relieved to have escaped the hellhole  but is distraught about her mother, brothers and in-laws: 'I just want them to be alive. Not to be under fire. Not to be dead.'

She thinks some 40 people remain in the school, including the head who insisted on staying.

'There is nothing more important than human life and I want this horrendous war to stop,' she says.

'If these people deciding [others'] fates were in Ukraine now, if they had spent one day in that school, they would have a different approach to life.'
Government officials were told about P&O Ferries's plan to fire 800 workers ahead of time but were guaranteed it would 'ensure they remain a key player in the UK market', a leaked memo has revealed.

The memo, believed to have been written by a senior official, claimed that if the company did not sack the 800 workers then 'an estimated 2,200 staff would likely lose their jobs' in future.

It was 'widely shared across government', including to the Prime Minister's office and to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

The leaked memo reveals that the Department for Transport did nothing to oppose or question the company's decision, even though it may have been against the law, the Sunday Times reports.

It states: 'We understand that P&O Ferries have an intention to try and re-employ many staff on new terms and conditions or use agency staff to restart routes; they estimate disruption to services lasting 10 days.

The memo, believed to have been written by a senior official, claimed that if the company did not sack the 800 workers then 'an estimated 2,200 staff would likely lose their jobs' in future. Recently sacked P&O Ferries workers and their supporters march from the local RMT building to the harbour entrance on March 18

'Without these decisions an estimated 2,200 staff would likely lose their jobs. These changes will align them with other companies in the market who have undertaken a large reduction in staff.'

It comes after P&O Ferries chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite came under fire for declaring 'only the fittest survive' after sacking 1,100 workers in response to Covid last May.

He told the Mirror: 'Only the fittest survive and we had to get fitter. My priority is still to grow our business through our people and our customers.'

News of the leaked memo comes after Tory chair Oliver Downden said of P&O Ferries: 'I think they should be in no doubt that the Government is considering very closely its relationship with them.'

And he stressed that the government is also looking into whether the abrupt sackings were legal.

It was 'widely shared across government', including to the Prime Minister's office and to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps

Some 800 P&O Ferries workers were told they had lost their jobs with immediate effect in a video recording on Thursday.

Ministers then piled in to blast the company's decision and its chief executive, Peter Hebblethwaite.

Transport Secretary Mr Shapps and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng wrote to P&O Ferries chief executive on Friday to express their 'disappointment and anger' at the mass sacking.

Mr Shapps said he had instructed the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to carry out inspections of all P&O Ferries vessels before they return to sea to check the new crews the company has 'rushed through' are safe.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'There was no attempt to challenge P&O Ferries on these unconscionable tactics or even question whether these actions were legal.

'Ministers, from the Prime Minister down, have serious questions to answer.

'This a national scandal. It has to be a catalyst for change on workers' rights.

It comes after P&O Ferries chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite came under fire for declaring 'only the fittest survive' after sacking 1,100 workers in response to Covid last May

'It's time for the Government to urgently bring forward an employment Bill to stop workers from being treated like disposable labour and make sure what happened at P&O never happens again.

'P&O has acted appallingly. The company must immediate reinstate all sacked staff with no loss of pay.'

And the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has today announced it has discovered a 'shocking twist' to the scandal because replacement crews on P&O Ferries ships will be given 'poverty pay'.

More demonstrations will be held in the next few days, with growing pressure on the company to reverse its decision and the Government to take action.

The RMT said P&O Ferries ships on the Liverpool-Dublin route have now been crewed with Filipino ratings on contracts which pay below the minimum wage.

Shipping companies which are registered in other countries and operating routes from UK ports to Europe can pay below the minimum wage because they are exempt from legislation.

P&O Ferries crisis: The lowdown What's going on? P&O Ferries has made 800 workers redundant and replaced them with cheaper agency staff. Can it do that? Unions have threatened legal action and lawyers suggested workers could bring unfair dismissal claims. Tom Long, partner at law firm Shakespeare Martineau, said the move 'appears to contravene the requirements needed for a normal mass redundancy'. Booked a ferry? P&O Ferries was updating guidance over Twitter every half an hour yesterday. On some routes, including Dover to Calais, it advised customers to show up as usual and make their way to check-in booths run by ferry company DFDS. On others, such as between Larne and Cairnryan, the firm suggested customers only travel if essential. Other options? If you are travelling in the near future you can book on an alternative carrier. DFDS and Irish Ferries offer routes between Dover and Calais. There are no direct alternatives for the other routes but Stena Line offers services to Ireland and Holland. Refunds? The firm has not commented but its terms and conditions say it will refund the 'total fare' of a crossing if 'we cannot ship you at all with us or arrange a suitable alternative ferry crossing, or if you do not wish to take any alternative journey offered by us'. And P&O Cruises? P&O Cruises is owned by a different company and is not affected by the disruption. Advertisement

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: 'The weakness in UK employment law has not only allowed the mass dismissing of UK seafarers it has also incentivised this barbaric behaviour because employers know there may be no effective sanction to stop them doing so, and on top of that they can get away with paying below the minimum wage.

'P&O may pay more than the minimum wage at first to agency staff but they will eventually move to rates below this simply because there is nothing to stop them from doing so.

'We fear poverty pay will be accompanied by seafarers being chained to 12-hour day, seven-day week contracts that operate continuously for six months, with no pension.'

Mr Shapps has ordered a review of all the government contracts with P&O Ferries and its parent company, DP World.

And he added that ships would not be allowed to sail with inexperienced crews so has ordered the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to inspect all vessels.

The Department for Transport told the Sunday Times: 'This was an internal government memo which, as standard practice, outlined what officials had been told by P&O Ferries shortly before their announcement was made.

'This was sent before ministers were advised of the full details and as soon as they were informed, they made clear their outrage at the way in which P&O staff had been dismissed.

'It is clear from the memo that our immediate priority was to work with unions to ensure workers' rights continue to be protected and the transport secretary has urged the company to sit down with workers and reconsider this action.'

A spokesperson for P&O Ferries said: 'We know that for our staff this redundancy came without warning or prior consultation, and we fully understand that this has caused distress for them and their families.

'We took this difficult decision as a last resort and only after full consideration of all other options, but, ultimately, we concluded that the business wouldn't survive without fundamentally changed crewing arrangements, which in turn would inevitably result in redundancies.

'We also took the view, in good faith, that reaching agreement on the way forward would be impossible and, against this background, that the process itself would be highly disruptive, not just for the business but for UK trade and tourism.

'We have offered enhanced severance terms to those affected to properly and promptly compensate them for the lack of warning and consultation.

'The changes we've made bring us into line with standard industry practice.

'All affected crew who were working (at the time) were notified face-to-face and in-person on board their vessels.

'For crew who were off, P&O Ferries made all efforts to notify them personally: they were individually called on the phone, as well as via email and text.

'Virtual meetings were also held but only 261 of our 800 affected staff were on those calls.

'To try to minimise disruption for our customers, we contacted everyone we could reach.

'If any passengers have any queries about travelling with us, we encourage them to get in touch with our customer services team.

'The teams escorting the seafarers off our vessels were totally professional in handling this difficult task with all appropriate sensitivity.

'Contrary to rumours, none of our people wore balaclavas nor were they directed to use handcuffs nor force.'
Police have arrested the 22-year-old boyfriend of a City University student who was found dead with severe neck injuries in her London halls.

Maher Maaroufe was arrested this afternoon in Clerkenwell on suspicion of murder and assault on police.

Sabita Thanwani, a British national, died at Arbour House in Sebastian Street after she was found with severe neck injuries, police said.

A manhunt was launched by detectives in a bid to trace Maaroufe who they believe had been in a relationship with Sabita.

The Met Police have released a CCTV image of Maher at the student accommodation on Saturday morning.

The Tunisian national, who is not a student, is known to travel and has links across London and Cambridgeshire. Police say he has since shaved his head and beard.

Police said that although formal identification is yet to take place, Sabita's family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

A special post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course.

A 19-year-old student who was murdered at student accommodation in London has been named as Sabita Thanwani, a British national who was studying at City of London University

Police wereappealing for help to find Maher Maaroufe, 22, (pictured left and, right, at the Arbour House where Sabati was killed) who they believe had been in a relationship with Sabati

Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley who leads the investigation said: 'I would like to thank everyone for publicising and sharing our appeal to trace Maaroufe.

'Sabita's family have been updated with this development and continue to be supported by specially trained officers. Our deepest condolences are with them.

'I would ask everyone to respect their privacy at this indescribably devastating time for them as they come to terms with Sabita's murder.'

Officers were first called at around 5.10am on Saturday, to reports of a woman injured at Arbour House, student accommodation in Sebastian Street, Clerkenwell.

The London Ambulance Service and officers attended and found Sabita, believed to have been a psychology student at City, University of London, gravely injured.

Despite the efforts of the emergency services, the 19-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers said anyone who sees Mr Maaroufe should not approach him but should call 999 immediately.

The 19-year-old woman, who was reportedly a first year student, is believed to have been killed on the fifth floor of a block of flats owned by Unite Students.

Her neighbour Leona Sigmud, 20, described her as 'just a normal student' who 'kept herself to herself'.

The music student said: 'She was a normal student, there was nothing special about her. I saw her in the hallways but I never really spoke to her.

The Metropolitan Police said they were called to reports of a woman injured at Unite student accommodation in Sebastian Street, Clerkenwell, on Saturday

Pictured: Police on Sebastian Street in Clekenwell, central London, where a 19-year-old woman was found dead at Arbour House student halls at City University on Saturday morning

'Of course she was nice and was never rude. I didn't know her personally. I don't think she was British. When I heard someone was murdered I didn't believe it at first. I thought it was gossip. We are all feeling rather shaken up. This doesn't happen every day.'

Neighbour Arsh Srivastara, 21, who is a business student said: 'At around 5.45am I heard a voice that sounded like a grown man.

'I heard the fire alarm go off and I heard someone running out of a back ground floor exit near where I live. I thought it was the suspect.

'After that the police showed up around half an hour later. They have been investigating ever since. I heard them talking about someone trying to escape through the hallway door.

Flowers were left at the scene near the halls of residence after a student was found dead

'I didn't know anything about her until today. She lived on the sixth floor.'

Flowers were left at the scene while distraught residents filed in and out of the student housing. One pair of girls, who were too upset to talk about what happened, hugged and comforted each other outside the building.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said the building had lax security which only ran from 12pm-8pm on weekdays.

The finance student, 19, added: 'I saw the police in the morning and there were helicopters. I am completely shocked and obviously traumatised.'

Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley, said earlier: 'We believe the victim is a student who was studying at City, University of London.

'Early indications so far suggest that the victim had been in a relationship with Maaroufe and that they had been together that evening.

Officers found the teenager suffering from serious injuries inside Arbour House and despite treatment from the emergency services she was pronounced dead at the scene

Pictured: Forensic officers on scene at Arbour House halls of residence after a student died

Speaking at Islington Police Station, Chief Inspector Adam Instone said: 'Arbour House is a student accommodation and I know there will be great sadness and deep concern among the local people and the student community.

'I share that sadness and concern and I can assure them that a thorough homicide investigation is under way, led by skilled and experienced detectives who will work tirelessly to identify and arrest whoever is responsible.

'Tackling violent crime is the Met's top priority. Police officers, including forensic specialists, remain at the scene. Local people will also see additional police in the area.

'If you have any concerns about safety in and around the Clerkenwell area, please speak with those officers.'

A Unite Students spokesperson said: 'As this remains an on-going police incident, we are unable to comment on their investigation.

'Our priority at this time is the safety and wellbeing of students at Arbour House. We are working closely with the police and City, University of London.'

A spokesperson for City, University of London said: 'As a university, we will do everything we can to support our students and staff and we will continue to fully support the police with their investigation.

'We are working closely with Unite Students who own and operate Arbour House.'
This file photo taken on May 9, 2018 shows Russia's MiG-31 supersonic interceptor jets carrying hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles flying over Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow. Russia used its newest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles for the first time in Ukraine on March 18 to destroy a weapons storage site in the country's west, the defense ministry said on March 19. AFP-Yonhap



Lagging behind Russia in developing hypersonic weapons, the U.S. Navy is rushing to field its first, with installation on a warship starting as soon as late next year.



The United States is in a race with Russia and China to develop these weapons, which travel at speeds akin to ballistic missiles but are difficult to shoot down because of their maneuverability.



The Russian military says it already deployed hypersonic missiles and claimed Saturday to have used one for the first time in combat against a target in Ukraine. The Pentagon couldn't confirm a hypersonic weapon was used in the attack.



The American military is accelerating development to catch up.



The U.S. weapon would launch like a ballistic missile and would release a hypersonic glide vehicle that would reach speeds seven to eight times faster than the speed of sound before hitting the target.



In Maine, General Dynamics subsidiary Bath Iron Works has begun engineering and design work on changes necessary to install the weapon system on three Zumwalt-class destroyers.



The work would begin at a yet-to-be-named shipyard sometime in fiscal year that begins in October 2023, the Navy said.



Hypersonic weapons are defined as anything traveling beyond Mach 5, or five times faster than the speed of sound. That's about 3,800 mph (6,100 kph). Intercontinental ballistic missiles far exceed that threshold but travel in a predictable path, making it possible to intercept them.



The new weapons are maneuverable.



Existing missile defense systems, including the Navy's Aegis system, would have trouble intercepting such objects because maneuverability makes their movement unpredictable and speed leaves little time to react.



Russia says it has ballistic missiles that can deploy hypersonic glide vehicles as well as a hypersonic cruise missile.



The U.S. is ''straining just to catch up'' because it failed to invest in the new technology, with only a fraction of the 10,000 people who were working on the program in the 1980s, said U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat who's chair of a subcommittee that monitors the program.



''If we want to pursue parity, we will need to back this effort with more money, time, and talent than we are now,'' he said.



The Russian invasion of Ukraine serves as a backdrop as the Pentagon releases its budget proposal that lays out its goals for hypersonics and other weapon systems later this month.



The three stealthy Zumwalt-class destroyers to be equipped with the new weapons have plenty of space to accommodate them  thanks to a design failure that works to the Navy's advantage in this instance.



The ships were built around a gun system that was supposed to use GPS-guided, rocket-boosted projectiles to pound targets 90 miles (145 kilometers) away. But those projectiles proved to be too expensive, and the Navy canceled the system, leaving each of the ships with a useless loading system and a pair of 155-mm guns hidden in angular turrets.



The retrofit of all three ships will likely cost more than $1 billion but will give a new capability to the tech-laden, electric-drive ships that already cost the Navy $23.5 billion to design and build, said Bryan Clark, a defense analyst at the Hudson Institute.



''The engineering is not that hard. It'll just take time and money to make it happen,'' Clark said.



The Navy intends to field the weapons on the destroyers in the 2025 fiscal year and on Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines in the 2028 fiscal year, the Navy said.



The destroyers would be based in the Pacific Ocean, where they would be a deterrent to China, should it become emboldened by Russia's attack on Ukraine and consider attacking Taiwan, Clark said.



The U.S. focus on hypersonic weapons represents a pivot after hesitating in the past because of technological hurdles. Adversaries, meanwhile, continued research and development.



Russia fired off a salvo of Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles in late December, heralding the completion of weapon testing.



But Russia may be exaggerating the capability of such super weapons to compensate for weakness in other areas, said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute.



For the time being, Russia doesn't have many of the weapons, and it's unclear how effective they are, he said. (AP)


A dog was dumped at a North Carolina animal shelter after his owners branded him gay for humping another male dog.

Fezco is 50 lbs and four to five years old, according to Stanly County Animal Protective Services in Albemarle, about 40 mi east of Charlotte.

The shelter is asking for volunteers who can house Fezco until he's adopted after his owners saw him behaving in ways they don't approve of.

The dog, whose breed is unknown, is friendly and likes other people and animals, the shelter notes.

Mounting or thrusting can be part of normal play behavior for pets and not necessarily indicative of their sexuality, according to the ASPCA. Puppies often mount playmates, people and toys until they reach sexual maturity, while neutered or spayed male or female dogs may continue to mount because they enjoy doing so.

In addition, dogs sometimes mount other animals 'to display social status or control,' the ASPCA notes.

Homosexual behavior has been noted in over 1,500 animals species, according to Scientific American.

Fezco the dog has been dropped off at a North Carolina shelter after his owners accused him of being gay after spotting him humping another male dog

The dog is about four to five years old and is friendly with people and other animals, says the Stanly County Animal Shelter, which is asking for volunteers to foster it until it finds a home

The dog's owners allegedly saw him humping another male dog and left him at the shelter. Dogs mount other dogs for many reasons, including 'to display social status or control'

It is unclear if Fezco has been fostered or adopted as of Sunday morning.

Animals who have been observed engaging in same-sex sexual behavior include elephants, giraffes, dolphins, penguins, Japanese macaque monkeys and lions, according to PETA.

Instances of male penguins in long-term relationships have been noted at the London Zoo, with penguins Ronnie and Reggie, and at the Central Park Zoo, with penguins Roy and Silo.

Male giraffes 'are known to rub their necks along each others bodies and spend many hours courting and caressing their potential partner,' according to PETA. Scientists have also 'observed male lions nuzzling, caressing, and mounting each other.'

Most research into same-sex relationships in animals describes the practice as an 'evolutionary paradox,' since it doesn't help the animal reproduce not does it directly contribute to the survival of the species.

But biologists Nathan W. Bailey and Marlene Zuk from the University of California, Riverside found some benefits in the practice.

'For example, their studies of the Laysan albatross show that female-female pairing can increase fitness by taking advantage of the excess of females and shortage of males in the population and provide superior care for offspring,' according to Yale Scientific magazine.

Homosexuality has been noted in over 1,500 animals species, including Japanese Macaque monkeys and penguins. Two famous cases of male penguins in long-term relationships are Ronnie and Reggie at the London Zoo and Roy and Silo at the Central Park Zoo

'Moreover, same-sex pairing in many species actually alleviates the likelihood of divorce and curtails the pressure on the opposite sex by allowing members to exhibit more flexibility to form partnerships, which in turn strengthens social bonds and reduces competition.'

Recently, researchers are moving away from the idea that same-sex behavior in animals is aberrant or that it developed independently in each species.

'What if [same-sex sexual behavior] has been around since animals began to engage in sexual behavior of any kind?' asked researchers Ambika Kamath, Julia Monk, Erin Giglio, Max Lambert and Caitlin McDonough in an op-ed for Scientific American.

'In our hypothesis, the ancestral animal species mated indiscriminately with regard to sex, i.e., they mated with individuals of all sexes, if only because it is unlikely that the other traits required to recognize a compatible mate-differences in size, shape, color or odor, for example - evolved at exactly the same time as sexual behaviors.'
A conservative coffee company expects revenues to soar by 35 per cent to $315m this year - as many Americans shun Starbucks over the ubiquitous chain's woke stances.

Black Rifle, which was founded by veterans and bills itself as pro-police, pro-military, and pro-Second Amendment, also says it hopes to add 15 to 20 new retail stores to the 16 it already operates.

The Salt Lake City-headquartered company reported that fourth-quarter revenue jumped 20% to $71.8 million from $59.9 million. It boosted its revenue outlook to $315 million from a previous estimate of $311 million, which is a 35% increase from the $205 million it took in 2021.

Black Rifle Coffee Company is considered to be a conservative counterweight to Starbucks, which made revenues of $8.8 billion in 2021. It offers firearm-themed beverages with the names AK-47 Espresso Blend and the Murdered Out Coffee Roast.

A Thin Blue Line coffee blend is also offered, to make clear the brand's stance on law enforcement.

Black Rifle was created in 2014 by Evan Hafer, a Jewish veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Green Beret and a CIA contractor.

Black Rifle Coffee Company co-founders Evan Hafer, left, and Mat Best, right. Black Rifle boosted its revenue outlook for 2022 and said it would add 15 to 20 new stores by the end of the year

The company reported that fourth-quarter revenue jumped 20% to $71.8 million from $59.9 million

It boosted its revenue outlook to $315 million from a previous estimate of $311 million, which is a 35% increase from 2021

Black Rifle Coffee Company offers firearm-themed beverages with the names AK-47 Espresso Blend and the Murdered Out Coffee Roast

The upstart coffee company faces stiff competition from mainstays including Starbucks, Dunkin Brands, and Tim Hortons, but Co-Chief Executive Tom Davin said the company is undaunted by the competition.

'The U.S. coffee market is over $45 billion, and we estimate our serviceable addressable market to be $28 billion,' the co-CEO said. 'This includes 100 million U.S. customers who are aligned with our brand values. Note that our $233 million revenue last year points to less than 1% of our serviceable addressable market. So we are positioned for many years of sustained growth.'

Davin added that the the company currently has 287,000 subscribers to its coffee club, and that the percentage of people switching to rival offerings was low at 3% to 4%.

Black Rifle doesn't just sell coffee and coffee club subscriptions, but also apparel and other merchandise featuring its logo.

Black Rifle Coffee Company co-founders Mat Best and Evan Hafer

CEO Hafer said that in 2021, the company gave coffee valued at $3 million 'to the front lines' -- specifically military, police, firefighters, EMTs -- 'and over $1.2 million to the veteran and first-responder charities'

Black Rifle is known for its support of law enforcement, military, and 'those who love America'

Black Rifle hopes to dramatically expand its business with ready to drink coffee, such as these Instant sachets that can be bought on its website

The company has received backlash in the past after controversial individuals were seen wearing their gear.

Kyle Rittenhouse, who was famously acquitted of all charges after going on trial for the fatal shootings of two people at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wis., was photographed in a Black Rifle Coffee shirt when he posted bail in November 2020, the New York Times reported in July 2021.

On January 6, a rioter who breached the Capitol was photographed holding sets of zip-tie handcuffs while wearing a Black Rifle Coffee hat.

Company bosses angered some of its supporters after publicly distancing themselves from Kyle Rittenhouse after the killings he was later cleared of.

But many conservative coffee fans have chosen to stick with the brand after being turned off by Starbucks' preaching about causes including Black Lives Matter and transgender rights.

The Seattle-based firm has itself been accused of hypocrisy, after sharing woke soundbites while trying to crush store workers' attempts to unionize.

Black Rifle CEO Hafer, who started the company's operations in his garage, told the Sacramento Bee, 'we've been focused on becoming a high-growth company, but we also really have to focus on the bottom line and becoming profitable and have a pathway to profitability. So when we look at not only the growth story of the company, we have to look at how do we become profitable and how do we manage all aspects of the business in great detail.'

Hafer explained they have taken a different route in order to grow as a company.

Hafer said that in 2021, the company gave coffee valued at $3 million 'to the front lines' -- specifically military, police, firefighters, EMTs -- 'and over $1.2 million to the veteran and first-responder charities.'

The company also publishes 'Coffee or Die' magazine, with writers covering veteran-related topics all over the world - including now, in Ukraine.

'In fact we have three writers on the ground in the Ukraine right now, providing real-time news for 'Coffee or Die,' he said. 'We expect these marketing initiatives to improve our brand awareness and help Black Rifle Coffee meet its 2022 financial goals.'
Senator Ron Johnson said he intends to finish an investigation into Hunter Biden that had begun in 2020, when Republicans still had the majority in the Senate

Top Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate are already crafting a sweeping wishlist of investigations into Hunter Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci and the southwestern border among other subjects in the event they take back the Congressional majority in November, a new report suggests on Sunday.

Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) criticized federal agencies under the Biden administration for a 'lack of transparency' when stressing the need for Congressional oversight, in comments to The Hill.

Of particular interest to the Wisconsin lawmaker, who chaired the Senate Homeland Security Committee until 2021, are the business dealings of the president's son Hunter.

Johnson revealed he had been trying to get the younger Biden's travel records for a 'couple of years' but to no avail.

'The lack of transparency in these agencies. The lack of their willingness to comply with legitimate congressional oversight,' the Republican said.

'I mean I think thats an investigation right there, is why cant Congress conduct legitimate oversight anymore.'

Johnson had previously teamed up with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to release an 'interim report' weeks before the 2020 presidential election titled 'Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns.'

The report accused Hunter Biden of 'cashing in' on his father's role as vice president in the Obama administration but found no wrongdoing on the part of then-candidate Biden himself.

But Johnson indicated there was more to the probe. Senate control shifted to the Democrats when Biden took office.

'Id kind of like that to wrap that up. Weve been trying to get his travel records for a couple of years now,' Johnson said of his investigation on Sunday.

Johnson revealed on Sunday that he has been trying to get Hunter Biden's travel records for 'a couple of years' to no avail

At the time, Democrat lawmakers accused Republicans of propagating misinformation with their probe.

The senator dismissed concerns that renewed focus on Hunter Biden's business dealings would take away from Republican leaders' playbook of attacking the president on his record in the White House.

He indicated that the potentially sweeping investigation could ensnare others in Biden's orbit as well

'Ill be that mosquito. Hard to tell what targets I might pick. Theyll all be juicy,' he said.

Other members of Johnson's caucus are eyeing more recent issues.

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) have floated the idea of investigating Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser, for accusations ranging from abuse of power amid the COVID-19 pandemic to claims he funded viral research in Wuhan, China that allegedly could have led to the disease's outbreak.

Paul could very likely become Senate Health Committee chair if Republicans retake the Senate, currently split 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris as a tie-breaking vote. The current ranking member on the panel Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is retiring.

'If we win in November, if I'm chairman of a committee, if I have subpoena power, we'll go after every one of [Fauci's] records,' the Kentucky lawmaker told podcast host Lisa Boothe in February.

Meanwhile Senators Rand Paul and Tom Cotton have been calling for Congressional and even criminal probes into White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci

'We'll have an investigator go through this piece-by-piece because we don't need this to happen again.'

Cotton told Fox News that Fauci should be criminally prosecuted in an interview late last year, as the GOP accused the health expert of funding gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

'He should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,' Cotton said in September.

Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has previously indicated that he would like to see an investigation into the southern border, where a record amount of migrants poured in during Biden's first year in office -- straining federal, state and local infrastructure that was not equipped to deal with the influx of hundreds of thousands of people.

In November Scott called for 'an immediate investigation to ensure the proper vetting and processing of anyone that comes into our country, and holds the administration accountable for its basic duty of upholding U.S. laws' through his Upholding The Law At Our Border Act.

Florida Senator Rick Scott demanded a probe into the Biden administration's handling of the border crisis late last year (pictured: Russian and Ukrainian families are staying in a makeshift camp next to the San Ysidro Garita, in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, 18 March 2022)

'The administration is either intentionally keeping local law enforcement and communities in the dark, or willfully breaking U.S. laws by letting unvetted immigrants roam freely across America,' the Florida Republican said in a press release at the time.

'We cant allow them to continue recklessly ignoring U.S. law and putting families at risk.'

With less than nine months until the midterm elections, just one Democrat senator has announced his retirement compared to five Republican incumbents.

Republicans would need to flip just one blue seat to win back the majority they lost in 2020.

Polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight, which regularly tracks a generic Congressional ballot race, has Republicans leading Democrats by roughly two points.

However, Americans' general dissatisfaction with Congress is clear. Both sides failed to break a 50 percent average favorability -- with 44.9 percent supporting the GOP and 42.6 percent backing Democrats.
Lawmakers are demanding more 'lethal aid' for Ukraine after 10 senators visited Germany and Poland over the weekend as a GOP senator warned that the U.S. will need to 'constantly' send military assistance in the midst of Russia's invasion.

'Our bipartisan delegation met with brave, outspoken leaders of Ukrainian civil society,' Republican Senator Joni Ernst tweeted from Poland on Sunday,

'Their message was clear,' the Iowa lawmaker added, 'We need more lethal aid delivered and we need it now. My colleagues and I shared their message with Polish and American media.'

Ernst led the delegation of 10 lawmakers to Ukraine's border with Poland. Two of the senators on the trip are Democrats Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, as well as independent Senator Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats.

The remaining are all Republicans  Senators Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas, Steve Daines of Montana, and Jerry Moran of Kansas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to pull his troops out of Ukraine after launching a full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

Far-right Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said that 'Americans' hard earned tax dollars' shouldn't be used to send this 'lethal aid' as she shared a potential Russian disinformation video.

The video alleges to show 'tortures, abuses, humiliation' of those being 'punished' in Ukraine, and while a watermark on the video claims to be 'Telegram channel Real Kyiv', the writing in is Russian and not Ukrainian.

After a bipartisan delegation of 10 senators met with Ukrainian leaders in Europe over the weekend, Senator Joni Ernst (center at microphone) said during a press conference in Poland: 'Their message was clear: We need more lethal aid delivered and we need it now'

Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas (right) meets with Texan service members deployed to Germany to support North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies

The bipartisan delegation of 10 senators visited a refugee center in Poland and met with people fleeing Ukraine, as well as spoke with volunteers about their efforts to support those displaced by the conflict

'I'm strongly opposed to Putin's invasion & Russia's war in Ukraine and I'm strongly opposed to this,' Greene tweeted with the video, altering viewers of a 'graphic warning' and claiming 'torture and abuse of Ukrainian people including women and children.'

She accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's forces are 'torturing his own people' and said that the U.S. aid is going to 'possible Nazi militias,' which is repeating Russian rhetoric.

'The US must demand Zelensky stop his military from torturing his own people,' Greene claimed. 'We should not spend billions of American's hard earned tax dollars on lethal aid to be given to possible Nazi militias that are torturing innocent people, especially children and women.'

'It's not Pro-Putin to be against this,' she insisted. 'It's Pro-torture & evil to stay silent/censor it.'

During the lawmakers' trip this weekend, the group met with NATO partners, U.S. forces in Europe and volunteers and was able to gather with Ukrainian refugees during a visit to a Polish refugee processing center.

Since the conflict broke out last month, more than 3.2 million refugees have fled Ukraine, according to the United Nations, which calculates the number of fleeing Ukrainians every four days.

The vast majority of those fleeing Ukraine are landing in Poland, which is their immediate neighbor to the west.

Refugees from Ukraine stand in line for food in Dresden, Germany on Sunday, March 20, 2022

Marjorie Taylor Greene disputed the sending of more aid, sharing a video that claimed to show Ukrainian forces torturing people in the country  although the watermarked outlet said 'Telegram channel Real Kyiv', the writing in is Russian and not Ukrainian

The far-right representative from Georgia said 'American's hard earned tax dollars' should not go toward lethal aid for Ukrainians as she shared what appeared to be some sort of Russian disinformation claim

Poland's Ambassador to the U.S. Marek Magierowski told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday morning that the country has been 'managing this crisis remarkably well so far,' accepting 2 million refugees in just three weeks.

Magierowski admitted, however, it has been a 'logistic' and 'social' burden as somewhere between 60,000-80,000 Ukrainian children have been incorporated into the Polish schooling system.

'Many mayors of Polish cities are now in talks with their counterparts in Europe and beyond about the possibility of relocation, because, again, in the longer term, we have done our utmost to accommodate the Ukrainian refugees, to host them in our homes.'

'But, of course, two million people,' he said, 'it's a huge number.'

Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican who was no among the delegation in Europe over the weekend, said the U.S. may need to 'constantly' send military aid to Ukraine to help them in their fight against Russia.

'Ukrainians have the will to fight,' Sasse told Fox News Sunday. 'We need to have the will to rearm them constantly.'

It comes after Congress already approved another $10.6 billion in humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine.

Ernst, a combat veteran, called Putin a 'weak man' for his actions against Ukraine.

'It is a truly weak man that targets children, elderly women. Putin is a weak leader,' she said over the weekend.

'He may be trying to project strength, but he is a weak man when he's going after weak individuals.'

The comment comes as Russia continues to target civilians, including women and children, in the offensive in Ukraine.

Pictured: The senators met with NGOs on Saturday to hear an update on the humanitarian impact of Putin's war

From L-R: Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa

Authorities in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol said Sunday that the Russian military has bombed an art school where about 400 people had taken refuge.

The school building was destroyed and people could remain under the rubble, but there was no immediate word on casualties.

Terrifying footage emerged apparently showing Russia firing deadly thermobaric TOS-1A rockets, which can allegedly melt human organs.

Moscow defense sources claimed: 'The TOS-1A Solntsepek was used against Ukrainian nationalists by the people's militia of the Donetsk People's Republic with the support of the Russian army during a special operation in Ukraine.'

Meanwhile, authorities in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv say at least five civilians, including a nine-year-old boy, have been killed in the latest Russian shelling.

Earlier Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's siege of the port city was 'a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come'.
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Massive crowds have filled the streets of an Israeli city today to attend the funeral of one of the country's most prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbis.

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, who was one of the most influential scholars in the Middle Eastern country's religious community, died on Friday at the age of 94.

The rabbi was laid to rest Bnei Brak, the predominantly ultra-Orthodox city near Tel Aviv where he lived.

Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, today for the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky

It is estimated by Israeli police that 750,000 people took to the streets, which would make it one of the largest gatherings in the country's history

Rabbi Kanievsky, pictured centre, died on Friday at the age of 94. He was known as the 'Prince of Torah', a reference to his deep knowledge of the text

Rabbi Kanievsky, pictured centre, was one of the main spiritual leaders of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Isreal

Born in Pinsk, Belarus, he had moved to the country when he was a child and when it was still British-ruled Palastine.

He remained there for the rest of his life, becoming revered by many in the Jewish religious world, and was one of the few remaining leaders of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel born before the Holocaust.

Israeli media estimated that over 350,000 people attended the funeral procession from his home to a nearby cemetery, while police estimated 750,000 people had come out to pay their respects - eight per cent of Israel's population.

Men and boys went to the city to pay their respects and be present at the funeral procession of the influential scholar

Those who were unable to get to the street could be seen standing on rooftops and looking out of windows in the city

Israeli media estimates 350,000 people went to the procession, which would mean nearly four per cent of the country's population attended

The vehicle carrying his body was escorted by police, with law enforcement closing several highways in the Tel Aviv area for hours to accommodate the procession

Police closed several highways in Israel's densely populated Tel Aviv area to traffic for several hours, and other main thoroughfares were expected to be gridlocked. Authorities urged the public not to drive into the area by car.

The Communications Ministry said it was expecting cellular network outages in around the funeral due to high volume, and advised people to only make essential calls.

Aerial footage of the funeral showed enormous throngs of mourners, most dressed in the signature black suits and black hats typical of ultra-Orthodox men, filling Bnei Brak's narrow streets for blocks around the the late rabbi's house.

Aerial footage of the funeral showed enormous throngs of mourners, most dressed in the signature black suits and black hats typical of ultra-Orthodox men, filling Bnei Brak's narrow streets for blocks around the the late rabbi's house.

A separate women's section was created in the streets of Bnei Brak for the funeral that the Magen David Adom, Israel's equivalent of the Red Cross, said was likely to be one of the largest ever gatherings in 'Israeli history'

Thousands of police and paramilitary officers as well as volunteers were deployed to provide security for the funeral held 11 months after a disaster at Mount Meron, an ultra-Orthodox pilgrimage site where 45 people died in a stampede.

Rescue workers said several people suffered minor injuries, but a major crush had been avoided as Kanievsky's body was brought to the cemetery for burial.

The insular ultra-Orthodox community makes up about 12% of Israel's 9.4 million people.

They adhere to a stringent interpretation of Judaism, with a focus on Torah study and observance of tradition.

Prominent rabbis like Kanievsky play a significant role in community life and act as arbiters in all matters.

Thousands of police and paramilitary officers as well as volunteers were deployed to provide security for the funeral on Sunday, March 20

Rescue workers said several people suffered minor injuries, but a major crush had been avoided as Kanievsky's body was brought to the cemetery for burial

A mourner pays his respects at the procession. Funerals play a key role in traditional Jewish life, and those of important rabbis often draw thousands of mourners

Funerals play a key role in traditional Jewish life, and those of important rabbis often draw thousands of mourners.

Although he held no official position, Kanievsky was considered a major luminary in the non-Hassidic ultra-Orthodox world.

On the streets, mourners paid tribute to the man who was the de facto head of what is commonly called the Lithuanian branch of ultra-orthodox Judaism.

'I cried when I heard he was dead,' said 41-year-old Shlomo Lugassi, who had earlier unsuccessfully tried to push his way through the masses to reach the late rabbi's apartment.

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man prays ahead of the funeral ceremony, which is though to be one of the largest gatherings in Israeli history

One mourner told AFP he had tried to push through the masses to reach the late-Rabbi's apartment. Shlomo Lugassi said: 'I cried when I heard he was dead'

Kanievsky's death was published on the front pages of nearly every newspaper in the country on Sunday, from liberal Haaretz to ultra-Orthodox dailies like Yated Neeman.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting that Kanievsky's death was 'a great loss to the Jewish people.'

On Saturday, March 19, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu paid his respects at Kanievsky's home.

Kanievsky's death was published on the front pages of nearly every newspaper in the country on Sunday, from liberal Haaretz to ultra-Orthodox dailies like Yated Neeman

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Kanievsky's death was 'a great loss to the Jewish people' and urged there not to be a repeat of the disaster at Mount Meron, where 45 people died in a stampede last year

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish people break into the cemetery to escort Rabbi Kanievsky's body during the funeral

Benjamin Brown, a professor of Jewish thought at Hebrew University, told AFP that Kanievsky 'came to be a figure of authority almost against his own will'.

'He wanted to keep learning and studying Torah (quietly)' but accepted a leadership role to help heal rifts within the Lithuanian haredi community, Brown said.

Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews, or haredim, are split among various factions and groups, but Kanievsky was seen by some as a unifying figure.

Benjamin Brown, a professor of Jewish thought at Hebrew University, told AFP that Kanievsky 'came to be a figure of authority almost against his own will'

Despite his prominence, Kanievsky lived in a modest Bnei Brak apartment, where religious texts lined the walls of a small study

Aryeh Deri, a political leader and rabbi from the Sephardic haredi group - which has its roots in southern Europe and North Africa, rather than the Middle East - told Israel's Channel 11 that Kanievsky transcended 'definition'.

Despite his prominence, Kanievsky lived in a modest Bnei Brak apartment, where religious texts lined the walls of a small study.

He came to public prominence at the start of the coronavirus pandemic when he instructed his followers that closing religious seminaries was more harmful than the virus.

He later walked back those claims as infections raged in densely populated Bnei Brak.
The House of Representatives will soon release 'new information' in its ongoing probe of the January 6 Capitol riot, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said on Sunday.

She revealed the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack is also looking at the possibility of 'enhanced criminal penalties' warranted by Donald Trump's 'supreme dereliction' of his presidential duties that day last year.

Cheney is the panel's vice chair and one of only two Republican lawmakers involved.

'We're looking at things like, do we need additional enhanced criminal penalties for the kind of supreme dereliction of duty that you saw with President Trump, when he refused to tell the mob to go home after he had provoked that attack on the Capitol?' the Wyoming conservative said on NBC News' Meet the Press.

'So there will be legislative recommendations, and there certainly will be new information.'

It comes as the panel gears up for a series of televised public hearings, after gathering testimony from more than 300 witnesses from Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol to members of the ex-president's orbit.

'I can tell you, I have not learned a single thing since I have been on this committee that has made me less concerned or less worried about the gravity of the situation and the actions that President Trump took -- and also refused to take -- while the attack was underway,' Cheney said.

Trump has repeatedly mocked the panel as the 'un-select committee' and denounced their investigation as a 'witch hunt.'

The Wyoming Republican lawmaker promised the committee would reveal 'new information' as it gears up to hold public hearings as soon as May

WATCH: @RepLizCheney promises Jan. 6 committee will reveal "new information."



"I have not learned a single thing since I have been on this committee that has made me less ... worried about the gravity of the situation & the actions that Pres. Trump took." pic.twitter.com/WxgUcL8WFG  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 20, 2022

Earlier this month the January 6 committee issued a subpoena to the ex-president's future daughter-in-law, former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle. Guilfoyle is engaged to Trump's oldest son Donald Trump Jr.

'Ms. Guilfoyle met with Donald Trump inside the White House, spoke at the rally that took place before the riot on January 6th, and apparently played a key role organizing and raising funds for that event,' committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a statement.

'Because Ms. Guilfoyle backed out of her original commitment to provide a voluntary interview, we are issuing today's subpoena that will compel her to testify. We expect her to comply with the law and cooperate.'

Other members of Trump world who have been subpoenaed by the committee are former adviser Steve Bannon, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro.

His daughter, Ivanka Trump, has been asked to voluntarily appear before the panel but has not yet been mandated to do so.

Judd Deere, the last press deputy present in the White House when Trump left office for the last time, spoke with the committee on March 3.

While the extensive behind-the-scenes work continues, the public phase of the Capitol riot probe is finally taking shape as well, a new CNN report suggests.

Trump has repeatedly mocked the panel as the 'un-select committee' and blasted its investigation as a 'witch hunt.' He's taken especially aggressive aim at the committee's two lone Republican members

Multiple people told the outlet that lawmakers are looking to hire a writer to help engineer a multimedia presentation ahead of the televised hearings, complete with links to video evidence.

It would reportedly be a visual show of the committee's findings in addition to a written report that's expected this summer.

The public hearings could start as early as this May.

In addition to the panel's challenge of disseminating thousands of pages of information into a compelling argument about the Capitol riot, lawmakers also face a time crunch with the looming 2022 midterm elections in November.

Multiple polls have suggested that Democrats are facing an uphill battle to keep control of their razor-thin majority in the House.

House Republican leaders are virtually certain to dismantle the January 6 committee in its current form.

The panel also stands to lose its two lone Republicans, whose participation has afforded the Nancy Pelosi-assembled committee bipartisan legitimacy.

The Democrat-led committee has spoken to more than 300 witnesses, including members of the former president's orbit

Both Cheney and her January 6 colleague Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) voted to impeach Trump following the Capitol riot. Only eight other members of their caucus did the same.

Kinzinger has already announced he's retiring at the end of this year, though the Trump critic has not ruled out running for higher office in the future.

Cheney is embarking on her re-election bid without the support of her state party and national Republican figures, all over her opposition to Trump.

The Wyoming state GOP voted in November last year to no longer recognize her as a member.

Trump, as well as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have both backed her primary opponent Harriet Hageman.

Cheney is the lone House representative for Wyoming's entire at-large district.

Last month the Republican National Committee took the unprecedented step of censuring Kinzinger and Cheney for working with House Democrats. The move caused a deep division between traditional GOP figures and Trump allies, who are wrestling for control of the party's future.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he is ready to sit down with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to try and end Moscow's brutal invasion -- adding that a failure to negotiate peace could result in World War III.

'I'm ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations we cannot end this war,' Zelensky told CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

Kyiv's wartime leader said he is prepared to meet Putin in whatever format it takes to get the autocrat face-to-face on the same day the United Nations announced more than 900 civilians have been killed since the attack began.

He also blasted Putin's claims that he's seeking to 'de-nazify' Ukraine, warning that it could mean the autocrat is capable of 'very frightening' things in the name of his misguided effort.

'If theres just 1 percent chance for us to stop this war, I think that we need to take this chance. We need to do that. I can tell you about the result of this negotiations -- in any case, we are losing people on a daily basis, innocent people on the ground,' Zelensky said.

He acknowledged his country's historic resistance effort against Russian forces, who believed Ukraine's major cities would collapse to Moscow's forces within a matter of days.

Kyiv's wartime leader said he was ready to meet Putin in whatever format it took to get the autocrat face-to-face.

'Russian forces have come to exterminate us, to kill us. And we can demonstrate that the dignity of our people and our army that we are able to deal a powerful blow, we are able to strike back. But, unfortunately, our dignity is not going to preserve the lives,' Zelensky said.

'I think that we have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War.'

It comes as roughly 10 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes, the United Nations said on Sunday.

There are also growing calls to try Putin and his forces for war crimes. Ukrainian officials have said that more of their civilians have perished amid Russia's invasion than members of its military.

Officials in Mariupol, a city in southeastern Ukraine that has been besieged by Russian forces for weeks, have said that residents are being rounded up, taken to 'camps' and forcibly transported across Ukraine's border.

Ukrainians there have been under near-constant shelling by Kremlin troops, as well as being cut off from running water, food lines and and electricity. A United Nations official said 'uncollected corpses lie on city streets' because people are afraid to risk their lives to recover the dead.

Smoke rises from burning vehicles outside a residential building that has been damaged by an airstrike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this picture released March 20

Destroyed buildings are seen as civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks, are evacuated in groups under the control of pro-Russian separatists, through other cities

On Sunday Zelensky refuted Putin's claims he's seeking to remove 'nazis' from power in Kyiv-- instead turning the allegation against Moscow's strongman himself.

'What we are having now in Mariupol, they had in Leningrad. Everybody knows how many people died in the blockade of Leningrad,' Zelensky said.

He was referring to the Germany Nazis' brutal military blockade of the Soviet city, which ended in a bloody battle with heavy casualties on both sides.

'These people died because they did not have enough food and water,' Zelensky said. 'So who is the Nazi?'

Despite dismissing Putin's accusations, Ukraine's president warned they could mean he is prepared to carry out 'very horrendous steps' to purge the sovereign country.

'The fact is that if he is serious about this statement he might be capable of very horrendous steps because that would mean that this is not a game for him,' Zelensky said.

'If he's serious about it, if he thinks that this is his mission to conquer our territory and if he sees signs of neo-Nazis in our country, then many questions emerge about what else he is capable of doing for the sake of his ambitions, for the sake of his mission.'

At the same time, the U.S and other western intelligence agencies are warning Putin could be setting the stage for a false flag to use chemical weapons in Ukraine.

Putin's apparent frustration in his lack of progress on the battlefield can be seen in increasingly brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians.

A maternity hospital, a local theater that was being used as a bomb shelter and multiple humanitarian corridors have all been targets of Russian attacks.

On Sunday, officials in Mariupol said an art school sheltering 400 Ukrainians was the latest civilian structure to come under fire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a concert marking the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea, on March 18

Last week it was reported that Moscow's soldiers gunned down 10 civilians, including an American citizen, who were waiting in a bread line in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.

Zelensky said that Putin would not have begun his attack if Ukraine had been allowed to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the West's main defensive alliance to counter Russia's influence in Europe.

'If we were a NATO member, a war wouldn't have started. I'd like to receive security guarantees for my country, for my people,' the president said.

Putin has repeatedly made clear that Ukrainian membership in NATO would be seen as a threat to Russia's national security. The Kremlin is seeking guarantees that such a partnership would be off the table among its many demands to withdraw its forces.

Zelensky told CNN he was grateful for the military and humanitarian aid he's received from the U.S. and its NATO allies so far, but accused the alliance of keeping Ukraine in a dangerous 'limbo.'

'If NATO members are ready to see us in the alliance, then do it immediately because people are dying on a daily basis,' Zelensky said.

'But if you are not ready to preserve the lives of our people, if you just want to see us straddle two worlds, if you want to see us in this dubious position where we don't understand whether you can accept us or not.

'You cannot place us in this situation, you cannot force us to be in this limbo.'

Zelensky claimed to have been told NATO membership is off the table -- despite public suggestions to the contrary.

'I requested them personally to say directly that we are going to accept you into NATO in a year or two or five, just say it directly and clearly, or just say no. And the response was very clear, you're not going to be a NATO member, but publicly, the doors will remain open,' he said.

One of Zelensky's main requests for NATO has been the implementation of a no-fly zone over Ukraine -- something the West has definitely ruled out over concerns it could spark a direct confrontation with Russia.

The U.S. and its allies maintain they will not put boots on the ground in Ukraine, but have promised to continue supplying Kyiv with equipment and funding as well as reinforcing its Article 5 commitment to confront an adversary in the event of an attack on a NATO country.

U.S. President Joe Biden is heading to Brussels this coming week to meet with NATO allies as well as the European Council over the crisis in Ukraine.

Ukraine's former president Petro Poroshenko called on Biden to add a stop in his country during his trip, telling CNN late last week that it would be a 'symbol of our solidarity.'

However U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield seemed to rule out the idea during an interview on the same network on Sunday morning.

'I have not seen any discussions of the president going into Ukraine. But you have to remember, we have discouraged Americans from going into Ukraine. This is a country at war. I can't imagine that that would be on the table,' Thomas-Greenfield told CNN's State of the Union.

Helpless casualties were on Saturday forced to spend a third night entombed in the basement of the destroyed Drama Theatre which was hit by Vladimir Putin's forces on Wednesday
The People's Convoy - a roving protest against vaccine mandates modeled after Canada's Freedom Convoy - continues to make loops around the Washington, DC Beltway as their demands grow beyond ending COVID rules.

Their demonstration, which now consists of about 100 semi-trucks and a smattering of vans and pickups, are updating their list of grievances as COVID restrictions disappear nationwide, and continue to take aim at the Biden administration.

Protesters have also made incursions through downtown DC, including a recent trip very close to the White House which saw them being deliberately held-up by a

They're still calling for an end to the few that remain: A national emergency order that was extended in February, the ongoing mask mandate on airplanes and trains, and the vaccine requirements for members of the military.

But on Friday, organizers called on the mostly white crowd to remove the giant Black Lives Matter sign painted on 16th Street NW, in front of the White House. 'We're going to take it back,' one organizer said, according to the New York Times.

Some are also calling for an end to the Biden administration altogether, although they faced embarrassment over the weekend thanks to one single cyclist.

On Saturday, video from DC showed a lone man in a bicycle pedaling slowly in front of a row of trucks honking their horns in frustration.

'What are you doing? You got a bunch of trucks behind you,' one man asked in video posted on Twitter.

'I can't hear you, I'm sorry, it's too loud,' the man replied as he rode down the street.

The roving People's Convoy, a protest against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions, continues to loops around the Beltway in Washington, DC. Above, traffic on Friday

On Saturday, video posted by a reporter showed a lone man in a bicycle pedaling slowly in front of a row of trucks honking their horns

'What are you doing? You got a bunch of trucks behind you,' one man asked him

'I can't hear you, I'm sorry, it's too loud,' the man replied as he continued to pedal slowly

The convoy, modeled after a similar but much larger protest in Ottawa, now consists of about 100 semi-trucks and a smattering of vans and pickups. Above, the convoy on Wednesday

The man, dressed in green pants and a sweater vest, appeared determine to slow down the protesters as they honked down the streets of the capital.

The convoy first arrived in DC on March 4, after a 2,600-mile, 11-day journey across the US from California. The number of people who have attended various demonstrations associated with the larger movement has since fluctuated.

As of Saturday, the daily protest consisted of about 100 trucks and some pickups, cars and camper vans, the New York Times reported.

The convoy said it would not be in DC on Sunday after protesting in the area for more than two weeks, according to WJLA.

At one point on on Wednesday afternoon, traffic was at a standstill on the 14th Street Bridge, with some of the truckers getting out and standing on the side of the road.

Protesters are blaming the gridlock on police.

'We'll be satisfied when Biden's gone, when Harris is gone and Pelosi's gone,' said Curt Martin, 73, a truck driver from upstate New York.

'When they're gone, we'll be happy. We'll go home. But not until then.'

The convoy's mission creep is likely the result of fewer restrictions as case and hospitalization rates from the Delta and Omicron variants subside.

In his State of the Union speech earlier this month, President Biden said, 'Because of the progress we've made, because of your resilience and the tools we have, tonight I can say we are moving forward safely, back to more normal routines.'

The convoy is calling for an investigation into the origins of COVID and the government's response along with encouraging state-level protests against local restrictions, which are slowly dwindling.

The People's Convoy, above on March 7, is updating its mission as COVID restrictions dwindle across the country

The convoy first arrived in DC on March 4, after a 2,600-mile, 11-day journey across the US from California. Above, the convoy on Friday

On Friday, organizers called on the mostly white crowd to remove the giant Black Lives Matter sign painted on 16th Street NW. Above, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser near the sign in June 2020

The Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second-largest public school district in the nation, announced Friday that it will lift face-covering requirements for students and staff.

Now, the district of more than 600,000 students and 30,000 teachers will only 'strongly recommend' - not require - the usage of masks indoors.

Meanwhile, although New York City lifted its indoor mask mandate on March 7, newly-minted health commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said Friday that masking public school children under five in the city is 'indefinite at this point.'

The woke commissioner argued he wanted to mask children because under fives are not vaccinated.

'As a father of a two-and-a-half-year old-and two other older kids, I want to keep them as safe as possible. I would love nothing more than to send my son to daycare without a mask,' Vasan said, according to CBS New York.

While masks will no longer be required inside Los Angeles Unified School District buildings, students and staff will receive PCR tests through the end of the school year, and at-home rapid COVID tests will be provided to students and staff 'for baseline testing prior to the beginning of the 2022 Spring break'

NYC's new health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, thinks that children ages five and under should continue wearing face masks indefinitely despite by the nationwide trend to lift pandemic-era mandates

His comments sparked fear and fury among frustrated New York parents who face having to force their young children to keep wearing a mask in the face of mounting evidence that they are at little risk.

It also comes as every state, including California which ended its mandate last week, has lifted or announced plans to lift masking requirements in schools.

The lone holdout is Hawaii, which is dropping its indoor mask mandate on March 26 but expected to extend the requirement for schools.

New York state and city also lifted school mask mandates earlier this month.

The DC convoy hasn't had nearly the safe effect as the one that paralyzed Ottawa last month with estimates of as many as 1,155 vehicles occupying the city's downtown streets.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who chartered buses to Trump's Stop the Steal rally before the Capitol riot, have both met with the DC convoy, the Times reports.

At least nine other Republican lawmakers have met with the organizers.

On March 10, Cruz waved to fellow demonstrators as he thanked them for showing up while the truckers let their horns blare.

Cruz gets into a truck as a show of support after meeting with organizers on March 10 to hear their demands

The Republican senator rode shotgun with the truckers around Washington, DC

Cruz also stood alongside People Convoy leader Brian Brase, 37, who said the protest was not just a Republican movement, but a demonstration by a wide range of Americans who want to remind the government that it works for the people.

'Now is the time for the American people around the county... to stand up for your personal freedoms,' Brase told reporters on Wednesday.

The caravan consisted of about 3,000 vehicles that day.

'Thank you to The People's Convoy for speaking out for freedom,' Cruz said in a statement.

'Petty government tyrants shouldn't force people to make private health care decisions.'

The truckers told DailyMail.com their key demands also include reopening the Keystone pipeline, ending Big Tech censorship, ensuring rights for Capitol riot prisoners, holding vaccine manufacturers liable for damages, making political ideology a protected class - like freedom of religion - and reaffirming the Bill of Rights.
Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has celebrated a 'symbolic wedding' to a woman 53 years his junior.

Footage has emerged of Berlusconi, 85, enjoying a lavish 'festival of love' with 32-year-old Marta Fascina, an MP in his Forza Italia party, at a historic property called Villa Gernetto in the town of Lesmo, north of Milan.

It represents the latest declaration of love between Berlusconi and Fascina, after the former prime minister released photos of the pair gazing longingly at each other amid Fascina's birthday celebrations in January.

The ceremony looked very much like a wedding, but the couple were not officially married because of an inheritance row between the families.

Berlusconis five adult children were believed to be outraged at their father's intention to marry Fascina, which would have given her a claim to the 85-year-old's fortune of over 5 billion.

Berlusconi can be seen on the left of the picture, stood alongside Fascina who is wearing a white wedding dress and holding a bouquet of flowers

In this image posted on Facebook in January, 85-year-old former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi (R) gazes into the eyes of 32-year-old Marta Fascina, an MP in his Forza Italia party, wishing her a happy birthday

The former prime minister's overt affection on social media was said to be part of an astonishing last ditch presidential campaign, but he withdrew from the race in late January

Seemingly undeterred by health woes, sex scandals and advanced age, Berlusconi proceeded with the ceremony alongside his girlfriend, which was styled as a 'festival of love' rather than an official union.

Fascina is Berlusconi's latest romantic conquest after he broke off his previous relationship with Francesca Pascale in 2020, who at the ripe age of 34 was simply too old for him.

Fascina is a Calabrian literature graduate at Rome's Sapienza University, according to Italian news site ANSA, and boasts more than 16,000 followers on her Instagram account where she mainly posts political content.

She also has more than 5,000 followers on Facebook, which too appears to be mostly for updates on her latest political endeavours.

Though Berlusconi's penchant for younger girlfriends is evident, the 85-year-old has been the subject of several sex scandals with prostitutes, and is still on trial for bribing witnesses in an underage prostitution case.

Fascina is Berlusconi's latest romantic conquest after he broke off his previous relationship with Francesca Pascale in 2020

Fascina is a Calabrian literature graduate at Rome's Sapienza University, according to Italian news site ANSA

Fascina is a Calabrian literature graduate at Rome's Sapienza University, according to Italian news site ANSA

The former PM was previously convicted of paying 6 million to underage Moroccan prostitute Karima El Mahroug, also known as 'Ruby the heart-stealer', for sexual services between February and May 2010, but was later found not guilty on appeal.

El Mahroug was reportedly an attendee of one of Berlusconi's many 'bunga bunga' sex parties held at his private villa.

Besides his reputation for 'bunga bunga' parties, Berlusconi was temporarily barred from public office after a conviction for tax fraud in 2013, and has been accused of several cases of embezzlement.

Seemingly undeterred by health woes, sex scandals and advanced age, Berlusconi proceeded with the ceremony alongside his girlfriend, which was styled as a 'festival of love' rather than an official union

Fascina is Berlusconi's latest romantic conquest after he broke off his previous relationship with Francesca Pascale (left) in 2020, who at the ripe age of 34 was simply too old for him

Though Berlusconi's penchant for younger girlfriends is evident, the 85-year-old has been the subject of several sex scandals with prostitutes, and is still on trial for bribing witnesses in an underage prostitution case (left: Italian escort Patrizia D'Addario. Right: Moroccan prostitute Karima El Mahroug)

There was outrage in Italy last year at the prospect of the disgraced, scandal-ridden former PM becoming head of state (pictured: a protest against Berlusconi's candidacy to the presidency of the Italian republic in Rome on January 4, 2022)

The media mogul has also battled a string of health issues in the past two decades.

In late 2006 he was admitted to hospital with a minor heart problem after fainting, and underwent heart surgery in a US hospital in January 2007.

He later had major heart surgery in 2016 and has also survived prostate cancer, which he revealed in 2000 after having endured the disease for three years.

At the time he described his cancer ordeal as 'a nightmare lasting months', but said his battle with coronavirus last September had been the 'most dangerous challenge' of his life.

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi speaks to media following a meeting with center-right leaders in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021

Silvio Berlusconi waves as he leaves the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, Italy, on Sept. 14, 2020. The former Italian PM took his name out of contention to be Italy's next president in late January after undergoing yet more health tests

Berlusconi most recently underwent a series of tests in late January in Milan, after the centre-right media tycoon took his name out of contention to be Italys next president.

Italian media reported that Berlusconi had been hospitalised at San Raffaele hospital, where his physician works, but the spokesman said he had been in and out of the hospital over recent days for a series of exams and a check-up.

Berlusconi recovered from Covid in 2020 and was in and out of the hospital last spring for treatment of complications related to the virus.

Berlusconi reluctantly withdrew his candidacy to succeed Sergio Mattarella as Italys head of state, as a result of the health issues.
The war in Ukraine should not result in plans for a second Scottish independence referendum being delayed, a senior SNP politician suggested today.

Westminster leader Ian Blackford said Vladimir Putin did not control the timing of a fresh vote on breaking up the United Kingdom amid calls for it to be postponed.

A poll last week for the Scotsman newspaper showed a majority of Scots wanted the SNP's drive to hold a new vote - against the wishes of Westminster - postponed while war rages in eastern Europe.

But speaking on BBC Scotland's Sunday Show, Mr Blackford said: 'Is anybody suggesting that Putin should determine the timeline for an independence referendum in Scotland?'

He added: 'We fought an election last year, which the SNP won, we now have an agreement with the Greens, there's a majority for independence.'

The SNP MP fought last year's Scottish Parliament election on a manifesto which included a commitment to holding a second vote on independence.

His comments came as a former senior member of staff within the SNP claimed it is 'unlikely' a ballot on Scotland's future in the UK will take place within Nicola Sturgeon's preferred timeframe.

The Scottish First Minister has repeatedly said her intention is to hold another referendum by the midway point in this Holyrood term - although the UK Government remains against such plans.

Westminster leader Ian Blackford said Vladimir Putin did not control the timing of a fresh vote on breaking up the United Kingdom amid calls for it to be postponed.

A poll last week for the Scotsman newspaper showed a majority of Scots wanted the SNP's drive to hold a new vote - against the wishes of Westminster - postponed while war rages in eastern Europe.

Kevin Pringle, who was a special adviser to former first minister Alex Salmond and held key roles within the SNP and the Yes Scotland campaign pushing for independence, said it is 'unlikely' there will be a fresh vote on the issue by the end of next year 'given the hurdles to be overcome'.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Pringle said: 'It is unwise to make any definite predictions in such volatile times, but it seems reasonable to say out loud that an independence referendum is unlikely to take place by the end of next year, given the hurdles to be overcome and extensive preparations required.

'I don't think the war in Ukraine has changed this, in the sense that it was no more likely before the Russian invasion and all the destruction and instability being wreaked.'

Last week's poll for the Scotsman showed 58 per cent of Scots wanted talk of a new referendum put on hold during the war. The same feeling was held by 43 per cent of SNP voters - though slightly more (47 per cent) wanted it to continue.

The SNP failed to win an outright majority at Holyrood, but Green MSPs - who also back another referendum - mean there is a majority for such a vote in the Scottish Parliament.

Mr Pringle however cautioned that pushing to hold a vote by the end of next year could result in the SNP's goal of increasing support for independence being 'undermined'.

He said: 'A referendum is a means to an end, nothing more. If the Scottish Government pursues it within a tight 2023 timescale that people are uncomfortable with, even assuming it doesn't happen then, the task of building support for independence itself may be undermined.'

Mr Pringle said the 'mandate' SNP and Green MSPs were elected on last May was to hold a referendum in the current five-year Scottish Parliament term.

With four years still to go, he added: 'That provides time enough to get it right.'

Pamela Nash, chief executive of the pro-UK campaign group Scotland in Union, said: 'Any sensible politician knows that this is not the time to be pursuing constitutional division and pulling Scotland apart.'

She said Mr Blackford is 'rowing back on his previous comments to appease a minority who want to continue the nationalist campaign to leave the UK'.

Ms Nash said 'respected observers like Kevin Pringle recognise there shouldn't be another referendum next year'.

She added: 'At this difficult time, we need politicians working to unite communities, not stoking fresh division.'
Cruel U.S. sanctions hold back Iranians' Nowruz spending

Xinhua) 10:39, March 20, 2022

TEHRAN, March 19 (Xinhua) -- As Nowruz, the Iranian new year, will begin on March 21, Reza, a construction worker living in Tehran, is feeling depressed because he hasn't been able to afford to buy new clothes and gifts for his children.

"It is a tradition, and they are looking forward to new clothes," Reza, who only gave his first name, regretted. He is the father of a 10-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy.

Hardly capable of reading and writing, Reza recalled that life has turned to be more difficult after the United States, under former President Donald Trump, withdrew from the international Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018 and reimposed sweeping sanctions on the Islamic republic.

Though the sanctions failed to bring Tehran to its knees, a bitter yet undeniable fact is that it has always been Iran's people, mainly low-income class, who have borne the brunt of the pressures caused by these unilateral coercive measures.

"They are only kids and they don't understand it when I say I don't have enough money," he said, questioning "Don't they (the Americans) say that they want to reach an agreement? Why do they insist on keeping sanctions in place?"

Reza said that in the early months after the re-imposition of the sanctions, the prices in Iran kept spiking that it was once hard for him to repair any of their broken appliances, let alone to buy new ones.

After the sanctions' reinstatement, the prices of major foreign currencies in the domestic market were on an uptrend, rising even tenfold in some cases.

Commending efforts by the new Iranian administration, "I am hopeful that (Iranian President Ebrahim) Raisi would lift the sanctions as he and his team are very determined and capable," Reza said, referring to the ongoing talks between Iran and the remaining parties, namely China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany, in Vienna on the JCPOA's revival.

"Hopefully, if the sanctions are lifted in the coming Iranian year, the economy will be able to take a fresh breath. We can sell oil with greater ease and receive its money. In addition, the downward trend in (market) prices will gain greater momentum," he told his expects.

Washington re-imposed the sanctions, mainly targeting the country's oil and banking sectors, on Iran as a part of its "maximum pressure" campaign in a bid to cripple the country's economy.

"My son wants a bike. I hope I would be able to buy him one for the next Nowruz," Reza said.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson waits to meet with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., on Capitol Hill in Washington in this March 8 file photo. Judge Jackson's confirmation hearing starts March 21. If confirmed, she would be the court's first Black female justice. AP-Yonhap



Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court, is going before the Senate Judiciary Committee with the path to her historic confirmation seemingly clear.



Committee hearings begin Monday for the 51-year-old Jackson, a federal judge for the past nine years. She is expected to present an opening statement late in the day, then answer questions from the committee's 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans over the next two days.



She appeared before the same committee last year, after President Joe Biden chose her to fill an opening on the federal appeals court in Washington, just down the hill from the Supreme Court.



Her testimony will give most Americans, as well as the Senate, their most extensive look yet at the Harvard-trained lawyer with a resume that includes two years as a federal public defender. That makes her the first nominee with significant criminal defense experience since Thurgood Marshall, the first Black American to serve on the nation's highest court.



The American Bar Association, which evaluates judicial nominees, on Friday gave Jackson's its highest rating, unanimously ''well qualified.''



Janette McCarthy Wallace, general counsel of the NAACP, said she is excited to see a Black woman on the verge of a high court seat.



''Representation matters,'' Wallace said. ''It's critical to have diverse experience on the bench. It should reflect the rich cultural diversity of this country.''



It's not yet clear how aggressively Republicans will go after Jackson, given that her confirmation would not alter the court's 6-3 conservative majority.



Still, some Republicans have signaled they could use Jackson's nomination to try to brand Democrats as soft on crime, an emerging theme in GOP midterm election campaigns. Biden has chosen several former public defenders for life-tenured judicial posts. In addition, Jackson served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, an independent agency created by Congress to reduce disparity in federal prison sentences.



Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., highlighted one potential line of attack. ''I've noticed an alarming pattern when it comes to Judge Jackson's treatment of sex offenders, especially those preying on children,'' Hawley wrote on Twitter last week in a thread that was echoed by the Republican National Committee. Hawley did not raise the issue when he questioned Jackson last year before voting against her appeals court confirmation.



The White House pushed back forcefully against the criticism as ''toxic and weakly presented misinformation.'' Sentencing expert Douglas Berman, an Ohio State law professor, wrote on his blog that Jackson's record shows she is skeptical of the range of prison terms recommended for child pornography cases, ''but so too were prosecutors in the majority of her cases and so too are district judges nationwide.''



Hawley is one of several committee Republicans, along with Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who are potential 2024 presidential candidates, and their aspirations may collide with other Republicans who would just as soon not pursue a scorched-earth approach to Jackson's nomination.



Biden chose Jackson in February, fulfilling a campaign pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in American history. She would take the seat of Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced in January that he would retire this summer after 28 years on the court.



Jackson once worked as a high court law clerk to Breyer early in her legal career.



Democrats who control the Senate by the slimmest of margins are moving quickly to confirm Jackson, even though Breyer's seat will not officially open until the summer. They have no votes to spare in a 50-50 Senate that they run by virtue of the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.



But they are not moving as fast as Republicans did when they installed Amy Coney Barrett on the court little more than a month after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and days before the 2020 presidential election.



Barrett, the third of President Donald Trump's high court picks, entrenched the court's conservative majority when she took the place of the liberal Ginsburg.



Last year, Jackson won Senate confirmation by a 53-44 vote, with three Republicans supporting her. It's not clear how many Republicans might vote for her this time.



Jackson is married to Patrick Johnson, a surgeon in Washington. They have two daughters, one in college and the other in high school. She is related by marriage to former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who also was the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2012. Ryan has voiced support for Jackson's nomination.



Jackson has spoken about how her children have kept her in touch with reality, even as she has held a judge's gavel since 2013. In the courtroom, she told an audience in Athens, Georgia, in 2017, ''people listen and generally do what I tell them to do.''



At home, though, her daughters ''make it very clear I know nothing, I should not tell them anything, much less give them any orders, that is, if they talk to me at all,'' Jackson said. (AP)


An on-campus Harvard University police station was forced to closed after students complained that its presence was 'a violent, visual intimidation tactic.'

The police department's substation, located inside the Mather House residential hall, closed in February following years of outcry from both woke students and faculty.

They argued the outpost, which opened in 2005 and was one of four on campus, was more intimidating than helpful, according to the Harvard Crimson, and even took aim at officers for eating in the students' dining room.

Eleanor 'Ellie' Taylor, a Harvard student and resident of Mather House, claimed the substation was being used as a 'visual intimidation tactic' against students.

'The real effect that the presence of the HUPD substation has on the Mather community is simply a violent, visual intimidation tactic that students are forced to see every time they enter the house,' Taylor said.

She added there were concerns about Harvard University Police Department officers eating meals alongside students in the dining hall during the 2019-2020 academic year, which she said made many students feel uncomfortable.

A Harvard University police station on campus was forced to closed after students complained that its presence was 'a violent, visual intimidation tactic.' Pictured: A Harvard University police officer blocks off an area following a bomb threat that was made on campus in 2015

Eleanor 'Ellie' Taylor (left) and Faith Woods (right), both Harvard students and residents of Mather House, say the police substation was more intimidating than helpful

Faith Woods, another resident at Mather House, told the Harvard Crimson that having the police substation attached to the hall where she lived was not helpful, but instead 'implies that we're being watched and policed, which is not a pleasant feeling.'

'I am well aware that the police are not there to keep me actively safe,' Woods said. 'Having a police car sitting outside of Mather every night  which it does  doesn't bring me any sense of safety.'

The Harvard University police department's substation, located inside the Mather House residential hall (pictured), closed in February following outcry from both students and faculty

Students claimed the substation was being used as a 'visual intimidation tactic' against them and that the police presence was more intimidating than helpful. Pictured: Police on campus in 2015 responding to a bomb threat

Student Kai DeJesus, pictured, says she wants the Harvard Police Department abolished in its entirety

Harvard University Police Department spokesperson Steven G. Catalano wrote in an email to the newspaper that the closure was a result of concerns raised by students, as well as how much police used the substation.

'The decision to close the Mather House substation was made last week in response to concerns raised by Mather House staff and students as well as the amount of use of the substation by officers and community members,' Catalano wrote.

The police substation was located at Mather House on Cowperthwaite Street. Now, the closest station is 0.6 miles away from the residential hall, according to Harvard's campus map.

Kai DeJesus, another Mather House resident, told the Harvard Crimson that the substation's closure is a 'really good first step,' but believes that the university's police department ultimately needs to be abolished.

DeJesus pointed to a 2020 incident in which an officer was accused of using excessive force, while arresting a black man in Harvard's Smith Campus Center.

'It's really important that we keep these violent institutions outside of residences,' DeJesus said. 'Ultimately, HUPD remains the police force that disproportionately targets Black and Brown people here on campus and in Cambridge.'

'For real justice to exist on this campus, HUPD must be abolished,' DeJesus said.

HUPD will continue to operate substations at the University's Longwood Campus, the Smith Campus Center, and the Harvard Kennedy School's Wexner Building

HUPD will continue to operate substations at the University's Longwood Campus, the Smith Campus Center, and the Harvard Kennedy School's Wexner Building.

'The closure will not impact the Department's ability to respond to calls from the community in an effective and timely manner,' Catalano wrote.

The substations were designed to build community relationships, the Harvard Police Department maintains on its website.
Fearless Ukrainians in the southern city of Kherson chanted at Russian army trucks to go back home today.

Footage shows a crowd of demonstrators protesting against Russian despot Vladimir Putin's invading troops with chants of 'go home'.

Residents confronted the Russian military trucks, which had the letter Z painted on them in white, on Sunday, March 20.

Fearless Ukrainians in the southern city of Kherson chanted at Russian army trucks to go back to Russia today

Residents confronted the Russian military trucks, which had the letter Z painted on them in white, on Sunday, March 20

The Russian trucks seemed to turn around when confronted with brave Ukrainian protesters

Demonstrators could be seen marching along Ushakova Avenue towards two oncoming army vehicles painted with the symbol, which is heavily associated with the Russian military.

Buildings and shops along the road matched those seen on satellite imagery, as well as file images of the area, allowing the footage to be geolocated.

When the Russian troops were confronted by the protesters, some of whom were wearing Ukrainian flags, they turned their trucks around and left.

Ukrainians with national flags wrapped around them chased the Russian invaders from their streets

Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces has continued in the Black Sea port-city of Kherson, an area the Kremlin claims to control.

Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday that they had not seen any significant shifts over the past 24 hours in frontline areas.

Just north of Kherson is Kostyantynivka, where Russia has said it fired an 'unstoppable' hypersonic Kinzhal missile at a fuel depot.

It is the second time Russian troops have used the powerful missile nicknamed The Sizzler by NATO.

A MiG-31K jet fired the aeroballistic missile at the warehouse storing fuel as it was flying over Crimea.

Igor Konashenkov, from the Russian Defence Ministry, said the target was the main supply of fuel for Ukrainian armoured cars in the south of the country.

He claimed the missile had destroyed the depot. It is the second time Russia says it has used the missile in Ukraine, after a weapons storage site was destroyed in Deliatyn, in western Ukraine, on Friday.

Hypersonic missiles differ from ballistic ones in that they travel closer to the earth and as such can largely avoid radar detection

Major General Igor Konashenkov, from the Russian Defence Ministry, said the target was the main supply of fuel for Ukrainian armoured cars in the south of the country. He claimed the missile had destroyed the depot. Pictured: The Russian pilot flying the fighter jet

Russia also said it had fired a second 'unstoppable' hypersonic Kinzhal missile at a fuel depot in Kostyantynivka, in the southern region of Mykolaiv. The MiG-31K jet (pictured as it took off) fired the aeroballistic missile at the warehouse as it was flying over Crimea

Russia has never before admitted using the high-precision weapon in combat.

Moscow claims the 'Kinzhal'- or Dagger - is 'unstoppable' by current Western weapons. The missile, which has a range of 1,250 miles, is nuclear capable and is 26ft long, weighing up to half a ton.

Both strikes so far have not been nuclear.

'The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region', the Russian defence ministry said Saturday.

Russian Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov also said that the Russian forces used the anti-ship missile system Bastion to strike Ukrainian military facilities near the Black Sea port of Odesa.

Aerial footage released by the Russian military claimed to show the missile strike. Large, long buildings are shown in the footage in a snowy region, before one is obliterated by a huge explosion - sending flames, earth and debris high into the air. People can be seen on the ground fleeing as smoke pours from the site.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ignat confirmed that a storage site had been targeted, but added that Kyiv had no information regarding the type of missile that was used.

Deliatyn, a picturesque village in the foothills of the picturesque Carpathian mountains, is located outside the city of Ivano-Frankivsk.

The region of Ivano-Frankivsk shares a 30-mile long border with NATO member Romania.

'The enemy targeted our depots' but 'we have no information of the type of missile,' he said. 'There has been damage, destruction and the detonation of munitions. They are using all the missiles in their arsenal against us.'

Russia reportedly first used the weapon during its military campaign in Syria in 2016 to support the Assad regime, although it was unclear if this was the same model.

Some of the most intense bombing came in 2016 during the battle for Aleppo, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has termed the missile 'an ideal weapon' that flies at 10 times the speed of sound, which is 7672.69 miles per hour, and can overcome air-defence systems.

Hypersonic missiles differ from ballistic ones in that they travel closer to the earth and as such can largely avoid radar detection.

Thermobaric missiles are defined by their type of explosion, which sucks in surrounding air to prompt a high-temperature explosion, often called vacuum bombs.

Hypersonic missiles are defined by how fast they travel, which is at least five times faster than the speed of sound.

Russia claims their hypersonic Kinzhal missile travels double that, at 10 times the speed of sound.

Konashenkov noted that the Kalibr cruise missiles launched by Russian warships from the Caspian Sea were also involved in the strike on the fuel depot in Kostiantynivka.

He said Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea were used to destroy an armor repair plant in Nizhyn in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine.

Since Putin's invasion on February 24, most of the fighting has taken place in Ukraine's east - closer to Russia - as Moscow's forces struggle to make significant gains further into the country.

Pictured: The moment the Kizhal hypersonic missile destroyed the ammunition depot in western Ukraine, according to Russian Ministry of Defence

Large, long buildings are shown in the footage in a snowy region, before one is obliterated by a huge explosion - sending flames, earth and debris high into the air. People can be seen on the ground fleeing as smoke pours from the site (left)

Pictured: A video screen grab showing a test of the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, dubbed 'an ideal weapon' by Vladimir Putin (file photo)

The missile can carry both conventional weapons and nuclear warheads, and can be launched from fighter jets - including Tu-22M3 bombers or MiG-31K interceptors. Pictured: The missile is seen being carried by a MiG-31K during a fly-over of Moscow's Red Square in 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin has termed the missile 'an ideal weapon' that flies at 10 times the speed of sound and can overcome air-defence systems. Pictured: Putin speaks during a rally on Friday to mark the eighth anniversary of 'annexing' Crimea, and spoke of 'de-Nazifying' the peninsula and of debunked claims of 'genocide' in the Donbass

However, in recent days there have been signs of more western strikes, with one person being killed overnight in a missile attack near Lviv, the closest strike yet to the centre of the western city - where thousands have fled to.

The strike comes as Ukraine's forces continue to put up a fierce resistance against the invading armies, which have been forced to resort to seemingly indiscriminate artillery strikes on population centres.

Moscow's troops have been stalled for days. Kyiv has claimed the invaders have suffered almost 15,000 casualties.

American sources estimate the number is lower, saying that 7,000 Russian troops have died so far in the fighting.
A former undercover cop has warned that a biker gang notorious for extreme violence is operating in crime-stricken New York City once again.

The Pagan's Motorcycle Club rode through the NYC streets on Saturday in an apparent attempt to recruit new members, former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent Ken Croke told the New York Post.

'Pagans are riding the streets of New York City today, flying their colors,' said Croke. 'There are s**tloads of Pagans running around, actively recruiting and have been for years.'

Croke, who spent two years undercover with the gang, alleged that members 'sold crystal meth and guns, gang-raped women, brutalized rivals and extorted businesses.'

He recalled how one leader removed his own artificial leg to clobber business owner who refused to pay him and how another 'laid out a plan to brutally rape' his female acquaintance while he drank beers and snorted cocaine in the motorcycle club's hideaway. The woman fled after being warned of the plot.

Following Croke's undercover work nearly a decade ago, 20 Pagans pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering, drugs, firearms and conspiracy to commit murder, among other things. Now, he warns the group - which has 2,000 members nationwide - is growing in the Big Apple once again.

The group once had ties to white supremacists, but dropped those in a bid to expand, and is now recruiting Latino riders.

A former undercover cop has warned that a biker gang notorious for extreme violence is operating in crime-stricken New York City once again

Former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Ken Croke (not pictured), who spent two years undercover with the gang, alleged that members 'sold crystal meth and guns, gang-raped women, brutalized rivals and extorted businesses'

'These folks aren't stupid,' Croke, 54, warned in an interview with The Drive, as he detailed his undercover experience as a gang member.

He said the group operated somewhat like law enforcement in terms of structure and process.

The ex-ATF agent explained the gang, which was essentially an organized crime network, would utilize shakedown tactics when intimidating rival gang members or business owners who refused to pay the 'protection money' requested by the Pagans.

He also recalled helping the group move the body of an apparent murder victim from one upstate grave to another.

'They are extremely dangerous. They are organized crime. They use intimidation, threats of violence to get what they want,' he said.

Croke claimed the Pagans would hold mandatory weekly meetings referred to as 'Church' and used encrypted cellphones and counter-surveillance efforts to avoid authorities and stay under the radar.

Members were expected to keep up with long-run leaders during rides, especially since those individuals were tasked with staying alert for potential threats or danger.

'If the leader of the pack decides to pass a tractor trailer, you have to keep up. You can't fall behind in the pack,' explained Croke.

'You're riding hard, and a lot of bikers are killed on their bikes. Riding side by side is challenging for a lot of riders, and you're doing that with 100 others at 100 miles an hour. There were numerous times I was run off the road.'

The group's recent resurgence comes after Bronx chapter leader Francisco Rosado, 51, was shot dead by members of a rival gang in May 2020

Rosado was gunned down by two masked men on Holland Avenue near Mace Avenue in Allerton. He was struck in the head and chest and declared dead at the scene

Rosado's murder came just months after the Pagans fired 14 gunshots into the newly acquired home base of archrival Hells Angels. Investigators are pictured at the scene of Rosado's death

Hells Angels honcho Frank Tatulli, 58, and club member Sayanon Thongthwath, 29, (both pictured as they carried out the assassination) were arrested and charged with his murder two months later

The ex-cop recalled how during his time with the gang he would sleep on the dirty floor of a Long Island home 'surrounded by the filth and the scent of stale beer, weed and cigarettes.'

He alleged the gang members often 'smelled like s**t and snored like bears.'

Croke also compared the process of joining the organization to that of collegiate fraternity hazing.

'As a prospect, I was considered a servant, a slave, or even less. It's like college fraternity hazing, except that you can be beaten into a coma or killed at any moment,' he explained in his recently published book detailing his time with the group.

'We busted our tails and stood guard duty, but most of that weekend consisted of me being bossed around, belittled, and disrespected,' Croke recalled.

Members would ordering him around, saying: 'Prospect, go get me a burger.' 'Prospect, go get me a beer.' 'Prospect, go wash my bike.' 'Prospect, give me a cigarette.' 'Prospect, I need a spark plug.'

'I just had to take it all,' he explained.

Croke (not pictured) explained the gang, which was essentially an organized crime network, would utilize shakedown tactics when intimidating rival gang members or business owners who refused to pay the 'protection money' requested by the Pagans

The Pagans would hold mandatory weekly meetings referred to as 'Church' and used encrypted cellphones and counter-surveillance efforts to avoid authorities and stay under the radar

He also witnessed how the group didn't hesitate to use violence to achieve it's goals.

'They were well-orchestrated in what they did and they were good at it,' Croke said in an telephone interview with The Patriot Ledger, noting how they operate with a 'pack mentality'.

'The minute you do anything to one of them, you do it to all of them,' he said.

Croke recalled how when their archrival, Hells Angels, attempted to squeeze into the Pagans' territory in the Bronx in 2019 the group fired 14 gunshots into their newly acquired home base, an abandoned American Legion hall in Throggs Neck.

Shortly after, Francisco Rosado, who led the Bronx chapter of the Pagans, was gunned down in broad daylight in May 2020, in an apparent retaliation by the rival group.

Hells Angels honcho Frank Tatulli, 58, and club member Sayanon Thongthwath, 29, were arrested and charged with his murder two months later.

According to Croke, the Pagans are the 'more dangerous' of the two notorious gangs.

'The Hells Angels, in my opinion, they're like a business,' he said. 'They have copyrights and doctors and lawyers who are members not involved in criminal activity.

'The Pagans are just violent individuals. They're bad dudes. They don't have two nickels to rub together but they don't care.'

He alleged that Hells Angels 'sleep in five-star hotels' and 'Pagans sleep in dirt fields.'

Croke (left) details his experience with the Pagans in his book Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang (right). He shares the inner workings of the group and his own struggles with maintaining a double life while undercover

After Croke left the club, the Pagans placed a $50,000 price on his head. It is unclear if the group is still seeking his death today

Croke details his experience with the Pagans in his book Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang.

The book, which was released last week, was co-written with New York Times bestselling author Dave Wedge.

He shares the inner workings of the group and his own struggles with maintaining a double life while undercover.

When asked if he thought Pagans leadership would read the novel, Croke answered: 'I would be surprised if they don't.'

'They read [these types of books] to try to detect what law enforcement does. They watch all these shows, from documentaries to Sons of Anarchy,' he said.

After Croke left the club, the Pagans placed a $50,000 price on his head. It is unclear if the group is still seeking his death today.

The Pagans resurgence comes as crime in the Big Apple has skyrocketed in 2022 after having increased in 2021

The Pagans resurgence comes as crime in the Big Apple has skyrocketed in 2022 after having increased in 2021.

There were 32 murders in February - three more than the same month last year.

Multiple other categories saw shocking jumps, including car theft, which soared by nearly 105 percent; grand larceny, which jumped nearly 80 percent over the previous year; robberies, which surged 56 percent; a 44 percent bump in burglaries and a 22 percent spike in assaults. Rapes also saw a terrifying 35 percent rise in February.

The crime wave comes during Mayor Eric Adams' first few months in office. The former NYPD cop has vowed to crack down on the influx of incidents on the city's streets and subway system - which has seen a rash of violent incidents in recent weeks. Former Mayor Bill De Blasio's policies contributed to the current crime wave, experts said.

The New York subway has been ground zero for the latent crime wave after an alarming 73.3 percent increase in underground incidents - including 182 in February alone.

Hate crimes have also doubled since last year  with anti-Asian attacks more than tripling and anti-Jewish complaints up by a whopping 54 percent over the same time last year, from 134 to 207 incidents.

One recent poll revealed that nearly 75 percent of all New York City voters consider crime to be a 'very serious' problem.
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Protestors have gathered on the streets of London for the second day in a row amid growing anger at a damning report which found a black teenage girl was strip-searched over smelling of cannabis.

The girl, aged 15, known as Child Q, was searched by Metropolitan Police officers - who knew she was menstruating - without another adult present, according to a safeguarding report.

The report concluded that the strip-search was unjustified and that racism was likely to have been an influencing factor.

The case has drawn outrage from politicians and the public, with London mayor Sadiq Khan sharing his 'dismay and disgust' and equalities minister Kemi Badenoch calling it 'appalling'.

People gathered for a second day outside Hackney Town Hall. Earlier this week, protestors gathered at Stoke Newington Police Station, where they could be heard chanting 'no justice, no peace, abolish the police' and 'racist cops, out of schools'.

People gathered outside Hackney Town Hall. Earlier this week, protestors gathered at Stoke Newington Police Station

In today's protest people held placards and listened to speakers on the steps of the town hall

Placards on display read 'Justice for Child Q' and 'End state violence against black girls and black women'

MP for Hackney North Diane Abbott appeared at the protest to talk to the crowds

They also held up signs reading 'no to racist police, justice for Child Q' and 'we say no to police in schools', as well as Black Lives Matter banners.

They also chanted 'shame on you' at officers outside the station, footage on social media showed.

A protester from Catcalls of London, an Instagram-based awareness group, wrote messages in multi-coloured chalk on the pavement, with one reading: 'Dearest Child Q, the systems designed to protect you failed you.

'We see you. We stand here for you. We are with you.'

In today's protest, where MP Diane Abbott appeared and made a speech, people held placards and listened to speakers on the steps of the town hall.

One sign read: 'End state violence against black girls and black women', while another read: 'Let black girls be girls.'

Others shared words of solidarity, reading: 'Child Q we stand with you' and: 'Hands off our daughters now.'

Many people also held Black Lives Matter signs.

The protest comes after anti-racism demonstrators marched through London to mark UN Anti-Racism Day on Saturday.

Organisers Stand up to Racism led the 'All Refugees Welcome - March Against Racism' protest march from BBC Broadcasting House down through Whitehall to Parliament Square yesterday (March 19).

Around 10,000 turned out to the protest in the capital, and some 2,000 marched in Glasgow, Stand Up to Racism said in a tweet.

On Saturday, around 10,000 people turned out to the March Against Racism protest from BBC Broadcasting House down through Whitehall to Parliament Square

Former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn MP spoke to demonstrators gathered in Parliament Square during a rally against racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism and fascism as part of United Nations Anti-Racism Day

The campaigners call for action to eradicate institutional racism in response to police strip-searching of Child Q and for all refugees to be welcome as over 3.3 million people have fled Ukraine

Signs also read 'No to racism' and included images of Prime Minister Boris Johnson with the words 'No to Boris Johnson'

The protest comes after anti-racism demonstrators marched through London to mark UN Anti-Racism Day on Saturday

The protest occurred as figures show that millions have now fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion three weeks ago

Images from London showed thousands of people making their way down Oxford Street will several banners from trade unions UNISON and CWU, as well as organisations including the Stop The War Coalition and refugee group Care4Calais.

At Parliament Square, speakers including Labour MP Diane Abbott, author Michael Rosen and Refugee Council Chief Executive Enver Soloman are addressing the crowd.

Using the hashtag #MarchAgainstRacism, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who also spoke at the rally in London, tweeted: 'Today we came together to demand the government scraps its Nationality and Borders Bill that would criminalise refugees and those who show the humanity to help them, and instead build a safe passage and security for those fleeing conflict around the world.'

The bill, which is set to be back in the Commons on Tuesday, may face a rebellion amid growing concerns how policies regarding asylum seekers would affect Ukrainian refugees.

At least 27 Tory MPs are backing an amendment which would let asylum seekers to work in the UK as they wait to find out about the status of their application, according to the Financial Times.

Images from London showed thousands of people making their way down Oxford Street will several banners from trade unions UNISON and CWU, as well as organisations including the Stop The War Coalition and refugee group Care4Calais

The teen at the centre of the outrage has now launched legal action against Scotland Yard and her school

Images from London showed thousands of people making their way down Oxford Street will several banners from trade unions UNISON and CWU, as well as organisations including the Stop The War Coalition and refugee group Care4Calais

Child Qs mother has called on the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to investigate the officers involved

The teen at the centre of the outrage has now launched legal action against Scotland Yard and her school.

In a statement, her lawyers said she seeks to hold both institutions to account including through cast iron commitments to ensure this never happens again to any other child.

Child Qs mother has called on the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to investigate the officers involved.

The familys lawyers accused Scotland Yard of institutional racism and institutional sexism and called on Home Secretary Priti Patel and London Mayor Sadiq Khan to appoint someone to replace Cressida Dick who will tackle its culture.

Scotland Yard has apologised and said that the incident should never have happened.
Cops have warned against the latest TikTok challenge which sees pranksters shoot at unsuspecting victims suing gel pellet gunss.

The craze - dubbed the Orbeez challenge, after the brand of gel gun generally used - has caused injuries, and led to criminal charges.

In one video captured by a Ring surveillance camera, a mother in Florida is seen pushing her toddler's stroller when a car drives behind her driveway. Shots ring out.

'Are you f****** kidding?' she asks. Police did not say whether the mother or her child were injured.

In Peachtree City, Georgia, police released photos of a child with a bloody nose and welts on his torso after he was allegedly shot at by teens who had 'modified' the beads to make them more painful.

'This child was uninvolved riding his bicycle on the path when he was assaulted by a group of teens riding by shooting these weapons at him,' police said on Facebook. 'The police department will be pursuing criminal charges on all persons caught discharging these weapons at other persons on city property.'

Meanwhile, Canadian toymaker Spin Master is currently marketing a play set of 2,000 beads under the name 'Orbeez Challenge.' The company does not make the toy guns used by those who participate in the 'challenge.'

As of Sunday afternoon, videos with the hashtag #OrbeezChallenge have garnered nearly 153 million views on TikTok.

Scroll down for video

A mother pushes her child's stroller in her driveway in Volusia County, Florida. Meanwhile, a car drives behind them and begins shooting gel beads as part of the Orbeez challenge

'Are you f****** kidding?' the mother is heard asking. Police did not say whether there were any injuries

The Orbeez challenge involves loading toy guns with Orbeez polymer beads, which are sold separately. The beads can cause injury when used as a projectile

A child in Peachtree City, Georgia was left with a bloody nose after he was attacked by random teenagers while riding his bicycle

The child was also left with welts on his body. Police said they 'will be pursuing criminal charges on all persons caught discharging these weapons at other persons on city property'

Some of the toy guns used look very realistic, adding to the possibility that, along with the sound the beads make when they're shot, the challenge could be mistaken for a more dangerous attack, and could lead to a deadly retaliation.

One video on TikTok shows a young man brandishing what looks like a toy machine gun filled with Orbeez beads on school property.

He takes it out and starts shooting at other students parked in front of a school bus. Another vehicle drives by, with the driver pulling out their own loaded toy gun.

'Multiple jurisdictions have been receiving reports of people hit by Orbeez  gel beads fired from toy blaster guns,' says the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. 'Just be aware that these shootings are crimes, and when youre identified you may face criminal charges for your part in the challenge.'

Volusia deputies have charged three teens - one 18 and two 17 - with battery after they shot three people with the gel beads from inside a van, including a man who was shot in the back while trimming the trees outside his home in Deltona.

The 18-year-old was charged with two additional counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

The sheriff's office posted multiple videos of Orbeez shooting incidents.

One video shows the moment an Amazon driver was struck by the beads, while a third video purports to show a car crash 'involving several kids shooting pellets at each other.'

Volusia deputies arrested the 19-year-old man who shot at the Amazon driver, who was was hit in his glasses and neck while he completed his route.

The same shooter also shot another random adult and a 10-year-old in the face and chest. He was charged with shooting into an occupied vehicle, child abuse and two counts of battery.

A video with the Orbeez challenge hashtage posted to TikTok shows someone brandishing a toy gun on school grounds and shooting at students near a school bus

Volusia County deputies released footage of an Amazon driver who was hit in the glasses and neck while he completed his route

Deputies arrested a 19-year-old man, who had also hit another random adult and a 10-year-old child, for the incident. He was charged with shooting into an occupied vehicle, child abuse and two counts of battery

Orbeez beads expand when placed in water. They're made of super absorbent polymer, which is classified as a hydrogel when mixed with water.

In Peachtree City, Georgia, about 31 mi southwest of Atlanta, authorities are still looking for the teens who shot the beads at a child as he rode his bicycle.

'Now they are modifying the beads to be more painful,' the police department wrote on Facebook. 'As you can see from the attached photos from an incident [Monday] on the cart path, these can be very painful and can cause permanent injury.

A third video purports to show a car crash 'involving several kids shooting pellets at each other'

'In some cases, it could result in felony charges and parents could also be liable for the actions of their kids. Even just shooting these on city property (not at another person) is a violation of city ordinance. Please take this seriously and ensure your kids are not involved.'

Manufacturer Spin Master maintains that its products are not being used correctly as part of the challenge.

'Children's product safety is paramount at Spin Master, and we are committed to providing children and their families with the highest quality toys, games and activities. Spin Master does not manufacture or sell gel guns,' the company told NPR in a statement.

'Orbeez are designed for educational, creative, and sensory play and are not intended to be used as projectiles or inserted in mechanisms.'
The dogwalker worked for Maxwell for three months in 2015 while living in the basement of her Upper East Side home and earning $300 per week

On the other hand, he described Maxwell as someone who 'liked to have power over people. That made her feel good or something'

He also revealed that Maxwell's husband Scott Borgerson was a 'scary, militant guy' and advised to never tell anyone who his boss was

The Swede also claims that did not learn who Maxwell was until after he finished working for her

He claimed that Maxwell told to never let anyone inside her apartment home as 'somebody could have been out to kill me'

Ghislaine Maxwell's former dog walker has recalled how she once snarled 'Somebody could have been out to kill me,' after he let a deliveryman into the pedophile's mansion.

Rasmus Alpsjo, 31, said he was one of several men - all young and Swedish, he noted - charged with the care of Captain Nemo, Maxwell's Vizsla for three months back in 2015 and lived in the basement of her Upper East Side home at the time for $300 a week.

Recalling the incident that enraged Ghislaine - who is currently being held at a Brooklyn jail awaiting sentencing, he said: 'She had some friends over and the door bell rang. She asked if I could take it,' he said. There was a delivery guy and he asked if he was at the right address.'

'I thought it was and I invited him in. Ghislaine came and asked 'What is this?''

Maxwell went on to ask for the deliveryman's ID card and even took a copy of it before dismissing him out of her home.

'She sent him away and then actually screamed at me ''It could have been anyone, somebody could have been out to kill me.''

Alpsjo was paid $300 a week to walk Ghislaine Maxwell's dogs along with other Swedish men who had a similar look

Rasmus Alpsjo, 31, was Ghislaine Maxwell's personal dog walker for three months in 2015, as he is pictured with her Vizsla, Captain Nemo

Maxwell, who is awaiting sentencing at a Brooklyn jail, grew paranoid of her surrounding in the years prior to her trial in 2021, as revealed in the Ghislaine Maxwell Swedish Secrets exclusive interview

Alpsjo worked at Maxwell's five-story, 7,000-square-foot Beaux Arts townhouse on East 65th Street on the Upper East Side, while earning $300 per week and living in the home's basement

'It made me feel so bad,' the former employee said. 'I didn't think it was such a big deal, but she made a huge deal out of it.'

'She said, 'I might have to send you home. I have to think about it,'' he added.

On the day after the incident, Maxwell reportedly told Alpsjo that what he did was 'really stupid but I thought about it and you can stay. But you have to learn that you cannot open to anyone.'

Now, looking back at the moment, Alpsjo says that Maxwell's reaction was 'crazy' and that the entire situation was 'just insane'.

Furthermore, he said that he landed a job as one of her personal dogwalkers after being informed about the opening by an acquaintance at a party in Sweden. The job was latter offered to him after a ten-minute Skype interview with Maxwell's assistant.

The Swede added that he had no idea of any of the crimes Maxwell, 60, was eventually convicted for, as he alleges that Maxwell's secret husband Scott Borgerson was intimidating and he should never reveal who his boss was.

Maxwell (center) and secret husband Scott Borgerson (right) have been married since 2016: Pictured: the pair together at 2013 Assembly for Arctic Circle

Maxwell's husband Scott Borgerson is seen walking a dog in Boston in 2019. He reportedly told Alpsjo once to hand him Captain Nemo's leash so he could show him 'how an alpha male treats a dog'

'He sat me down and he told me, like, 'The woman that you're working for, living with, she's a very famous woman. So you can never say who she is, and you can never bring people to the house and you have to be quiet about all this,'' said Alpsjo of Maxwell's on the Diaries of a Pretender podcast.

'At the time I thought obviously she's someone important. They came off as such a power couple, so I would just listen to them,' he continued.

Alpsjo also described Maxwell as someone who 'liked to have power over people. That made her feel good or something,' he added.

However, he portrayed Borgerson in a different light, saying that Maxwell's husband would remind Alpsjo who was boss.

He said: 'Scott visited sometimes but not that often. I would walk the dog and the dog wasn't very well trained because there were so many Swedish guys who had handled him.'

'So one time we walked past a valet service just outside of her house and the dog jumped up and almost bit one of the guys.'

He later says that Borgerson got to hear about the incident and wanted to show him 'how an alpha male treats a dog.'

'He took me out on a walk with the dog and showed me this is how you do it as a man to really control the dog,' Alpsjo said.

'One of the first times I met him he gave me a business card and it had a number which he had written on it with a ballpoint pen.'

'He said, 'If you ever get into any trouble, just call this number.'

'She often went to him to visit, I think he was in Boston, but the times I met him he came across as a scary, militant guy.

'He was no fun to be around. I was on my toes all the time,' he concluded.

Maxwell and Epstein travelling together on board of Epstein's infamous 'Lolita Express' in an undated picture. Maxwell is awaiting her sentence but could face up to 65 years in federal jail, which has reportedly given her some thought on whether she should 'flip' and discuss the actions of others within Epstein's circle

Maxwell and Epstein were famously known for starting a ring of underage girls for the billionaire and his entourage

At the time of his employment in New York, Rasmus, who is now studying physical therapy, was living in Maxwell's home, in the basement underneath the staircase.

Despite more of the same odd behavior, convicted underage sex trafficker Maxwell wanted Alpsjo to keep on working for her and to bury the hatchet. However, things didn't work out.

He added that he never understood why the former British socialite was constantly looking to employ Swedish men with similar looks as his.

He said: 'I did a bunch of different, small things that obviously any person could do, but for some reason she wanted young Swedish men to do those things.'

'I asked her what's the thing with Sweden? I asked if she had been there or whether she liked 'Sweden. She said no, she had never been there.

'I thought, this is just how very rich people act. They have the money, the power, maybe it's a status thing to have Swedish men there.

'I thought Ghislaine was just a rich woman but then in 2019 I saw her on the news and I understood who she was.'

Maxwell hugs her attorney Bobbi Sternheim as they enter the courtroom for the questioning of juror number 50 by Judge Alison Nathan in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S., March 8

Maxwell is currently being jailed in the infamous Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn which she has repeatedly complained about, calling it a 'living hell' where she has been 'assaulted and abused.'

On 29 December 2021, she was found guilty and convicted by a jury in US federal court on five sex trafficking-related counts carrying a potential custodial sentence of up to 65 years' imprisonment: one of sex trafficking of a minor (maximum, 40 years), one of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity (ten years) and three of conspiracy to commit felonies (15 years total).

She will be sentenced later this year, but plans to appeal her conviction after one juror admitted he hadn't disclosed that he'd himself been sexually abused as a child on a screening form.
Volodymyr Zelensky's government has suspended 11 Ukrainian political parties because of their alleged links with Russia.

The decision was taken by the Ukrainian national security and defence council, and although 10 of the 11 were small parties, one - the Opposition Platform for Life - holds 44 of the 450 seats in Ukraine's parliament, according to The Guardian.

At the same time, Zelensky signed a decree on Sunday to merge all national TV channels into a single government-run service - effectively ending the operation of private TV media.

The now outlawed Opposition Platform for Life party is led by Viktor Medvedchuk, who enjoys warms relations with the Kremlin - so much so that Vladimir Putin is the godfather of Medvedchuk's daughter.

Medvedchuk was charged with treason last year and put under house arrest, in a move which angered Moscow.

Viktor Medvedchuk (pictured), leader of the Opposition Platform for Life party, was put under house arrest by Zelensky's government last year on charges of treason. The Ukrainian opposition party politician is friendly with the Kremlin, to such an extent that Putin is his daughter's godfather

Zelensky's heavy-handed crackdown on opposition parties with alleged links to the Kremlin came on the tail of a bid by his government to allow only a single national TV channel to operate, in what the besieged administration called a 'unified information policy'

The pro-Kremlin oligarch escaped his house imprisonment three days after Russia invaded Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian government, and Medvedchuk's whereabouts are currently unknown.

President Zelensky accused the 11 blacklisted parties of 'colluding' with the Russian invaders, and said the suspension would last until martial law was lifted.

In a video address on Sunday, President Zelensky said: 'The activities of those politicians aimed at division or collusion will not succeed, but will receive a harsh response.

'Therefore, the national security and defence council decided, given the full-scale war unleashed by Russia, and the political ties that a number of political structures have with this state, to suspend any activity of a number of political parties for the period of martial law.'

Nashi (Ours) party, led by Yevhen Murayev, is the second biggest of the 11 political parties suspended in the crackdown on opposition parties.

Nashi (Ours) party, led by Yevhen Murayev (pictured), also saw its operations suspended in Zelensky's clampdown on opposition parties with alleged links to Russia

Murayev was pinpointed as a potential candidate to lead a puppet government in Kyiv, installed by the Kremlin, according to a British intelligence report before the Russian invasion on February 24 - a claim that the Nashi party leader denied.

The heavy-handed move was criticised by the Kremlin, with ex-president and top security official Dmitry Medvedev writing sarcastically on his Telegram: 'The most democratic president of modern Ukraine has taken another step towards the western ideals of democracy.

'By decision of the Council for National Defence and Security, he completely banned any activity of opposition parties in Ukraine.

'They are not needed! Well done! Keep it up.'

The move comes on the tail of a decision by Zelensky to enact what he called a 'unified information policy' during the period of martial law, which will give his government a monopoly on the news.


Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky has invoked a series of national heroes in spirited addresses to countries around the world - as he makes the case for further international support in the war against Russia

The former comedian turned politician, 44, has won universal admiration for his leadership of Ukraine as it fights off the Russian invasion.

But while his own legacy as an icon of Ukrainian resistance seems assured, Zelensky has reminded world leaders of those who led them in their own darkest hours as he pushes for military assistance.

In a speech to the House of Commons on March 8, he used the words of Winston Churchill, while in a talk to Congress, he invoked Martin Luther King's speech 'I have a dream' and the invasion of Pearl Harbour.

Now, in an impassioned plea to Israel's Knesset, he has referred to the rallying cry of national heroine Golda Meir, who was Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974.

Zelensky told the Israeli politicians: 'And you know those famous words, every Jewish person knows those words.'

He then quoted Golda Meir: 'We intend to remain alive. Our neighbors want to see us dead. This is not a question that leaves much room for compromise.'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses British MPs in the House of Commons via videolink on Tuesday March 8, in an historic event where he received a standing ovation.

Demonstrators gather at Habima Square in the centre of Israel's Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv today to attend a televised video address by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky

Zelensky added: 'I don't need to convince you how much our history got entangled, the history of Ukrainians and Jewish people.'

Meir was born in Kyiv and she memorably led Israel through two conflicts, the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Outside the Knesset, crowds of people waved the Ukrainian flag as they watched the televised address.

The Ukrainian president previously earned a standing ovation across the House of Commons for his speech on March 8, in which he recited Churchill's famous wartime oration 'We shall fight on the beaches'.

Vowing never to surrender, Zelensky said Ukrainians will fight against Moscow's forces on land, sea and in the air.

He said: 'We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight to the end, at sea, in the air, we will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost.

'We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets.'

He said Ukraine was fighting a 'war that we didn't start and we didn't want' as he told MPs 'we do not want to lose what we have, what is ours'.

Comparing Ukraine to Britain in the Second World War, Mr Zelensky said Ukrainians are fighting to save their country 'just the same way as you once didn't want to lose your country when Nazis started to fight your country and you had to fight for Britain'.

He also described the number of children who had been killed in the Russian invasion, telling the Commons: 'These are the children that could have lived, but these people have taken them away from us.'

Boris Johnson responded to the address by telling MPs that 'Britain and our allies are determined to press on with supplying our Ukrainian friends with the weapons they need to defend their homeland as they deserve'.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky virtually addresses the US Congress on March 16, invoking Martin Luther King, Pearl Harbour and the September 11 attacks

British MPs gave a standing ovation to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky after he spoke to them by video-link in the House of Commons on March 8,

Zelensky also called on the US Congress for help four days ago, reminding them of the trauma of the September 11 attacks and Pearl Harbour, as well as the spirited words of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

He said: 'I have a dreamI have a need. I need to protect our sky. I need your decision exactly the same you feel when you say "I have a dream".

Zelensky included in his remarks a graphic video, showing the death and destruction that Ukraine has endured. The images included the deaths of young children and mass graves for civilian and military casualties.

Several US politicians were in tears as it played and he received several standing ovations.

People watch Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speech broadcasted live at Habima square in Tel Aviv today

In his address to Israel today, Zelensky also chided its Parliament, asking why it was not providing missile defences to his country or sanctioning Russia over its invasion.

Replying to Zelensky, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid was non-committal, saying in a statement that Israel, which has sent a field hospital and other humanitarian aid to Ukraine, would continue to assist its people 'as much as we can'.

A mediator in the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Israel has condemned the Russian invasion. But it has been wary of straining relations with Moscow, a powerbroker in neighbouring Syria where Israeli forces frequently attack pro-Iranian militia.

'Everybody knows that your missile defence systems are the best ... and that you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians, of Ukrainian Jews,' Zelensky, who is Jewish himself, told the Knesset in a video call.
A Ukrainian couple married today in the besieged nation, providing a brief moment of respite as Putin's forces continue to menace the capital city of Kyiv.

Members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces, Ksenia and Roman, were pictured exchanging vows and sharing a tender kiss, a sight for sore eyes among their war-weary comrades.

Ksenia, wearing a white top and holding a bouquet of red and white roses, stood alongside her now-husband Roman, who attended the ceremony still donning his camouflage army garbs.

A Ukrainian couple on the frontline of the conflict with Russian forces gave their comrades a rare occasion to smile as they tied the knot in front of the national flag

Ksenia, wearing a white top and holding a bouquet of red and white roses, stood alongside her now-husband Roman, in an unlikely wedding on the frontline in Ukraine

Roman, donning his camouflage army garb, looks into the eyes of his new wife, Ksenia, as the two commit to spend their uncertain futures together

Perhaps surprisingly, it is not the first union in holy matrimony recorded between Ukrainians battling on the frontlines.

On March 13, a couple decided to get married before taking on Russian troops in the outskirts of Kyiv.

The couple, who met for the first time during the war in Donbas seven years ago, were photographed at the ceremony held in a hospital in Brovary.

The soldiers began their relationship in 2022 when they met by chance during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The couple were married in a hospital in Brovary, on the outskirts of Ukrainian capital Kyiv

The soldiers began their relationship in 2022 when they met by chance during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Pictured: The couple said they decided to get married because they face 'hard times ahead'

'There is a hard time ahead of us, so we decided to do it now', said the bride as military chaplain and medic Yevgeny led the ceremony for the couple.

Due to security reasons, the names of the couple are not disclosed.

Earlier this month, Kyiv's mayor paid a visit to another newlywed couple who got married on the frontlines, donned in military uniform and serenaded by soldiers.

Both the newlyweds were applauded and the bride looks to have swapped out her helmet for a white veil as she smiled and held Valeriy's hand

Video shared online showed a loved-up pair, Lesya and Valeriy, who are with the territorial defence, celebrating the nuptials near Kyiv as former champion boxer Vitali Klitschko offered the pair his blessings and gives the bride a good luck kiss.

In a tweet, Klitschko shared a clip of the ceremony, with the pair surrounded by applause, cameras and fellow soldiers, saying that 'life goes on'.

A video shows the grinning couple holding flowers as fellow soldiers around them shout 'Glory to Ukraine!' in the heartfelt moment, captured yesterday.

Lesya could be seen holding a bouquet of flowers as both her and Valeriy clutched champagne flutes.

Vitali Klitschko paid a visit to a blockpost near Kyiv, to offer his well-wishes and blessings to two newlyweds in the territorial defence

Both the newlyweds were applauded and the bride looks to have swapped out her helmet for a white veil as she smiled and held Valeriy's hand.

A group of fellow soldiers also joined in a chorus to the couple, with one man playing what appears to be a bandura, a Ukrainian folk musical instrument similar to a lute.

The footage was shared by Paul Ronzheimer, reporter for German news outlet BILD-Zeitung.

Brovary is a city in northern Ukraine, an eastern suburb of the country's capital, Kyiv.
A top Republican lawmaker is demanding a public apology from the New York Times and intelligence experts who branded Hunter Biden's laptop a 'Russian disinformation' effort' after the newspaper seemed to confirm its validity this week.

'The New York Times is finally, quietly, covering its tracks,' Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told WABC 770 AM radio host John Catsimatidis on Sunday. 'Where are all the other apologies?'

'I am just amazed that the New York Times just now came to the conclusion that the Hunter Biden laptop was genuine.'

The New York Post, which first reported Johnson's comments, was also first to report on the contents of a laptop purportedly belonging to the president's son in October 2020.

DailyMail.com authenticated the hard drive last year.

In addition to lewd images depicting sex acts and drug use, the laptop's hard drive also contained a trove of emails that detailed Hunter Biden's efforts to leverage his father's connections as then-vice president to bolster his foreign business dealings.

Mainstream media outlets as well as Democrats immediately leapt to discredit the reports, which Republicans hoped would be enough to derail President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign.

Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson also suggested he would open a Congressional inquiry into the president's only living son if his party takes back the majority after November's midterm elections

A letter signed by more than 50 intelligence experts dismissed the laptop as 'Russian disinformation.'

'I had absolutely no information whatsoever, no evidence that this was Russian disinformation,' Johnson said. 'So, you have all these intelligence operatives confirming  a false story.'

'It was obvious very early on that the Hunter Biden laptop was genuine. They never should have tainted the process with that letter, but they did. Are they going to apologize for it? Im not holding my breath.'

At the center of Republicans' outrage is a recent New York Times article, which reveals that an ongoing federal investigation into Hunter Biden's tax affairs has since widened into the recovering drug addict's overseas business dealings -- including his time on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

He blasted US intelligence agencies for allegedly slow-walking requests for information on Hunter Biden's travel records

One paragraph in the article appears to be the first time the outlet acknowledged the veracity of Hunter's hard drive: 'Those emails were obtained by The New York Times from a cache of files that appears to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop. The email and others in the cache were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation.'

'Where have they been? That was pretty obvious within a week or two of the New York Posts stories,' Johnson said on Sunday.

Johnson also claimed the FBI 'had to know' in late 2020 that the laptop was genuine -- but added that the agency did not inform him of the fact.

'They wouldnt tell us when we were offered the laptop. I couldnt take it because I had to do my due diligence. The FBI knew,' he said.

'We reached out to the FBI. They wouldnt tell us it was genuine. They should have. But they didnt. People should be outraged.'

Johnson had previously teamed up with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to release an 'interim report' weeks before the 2020 presidential election titled 'Hunter Biden, Burisma, and Corruption: The Impact on U.S. Government Policy and Related Concerns.'

The report accused Hunter Biden of 'cashing in' on his father's role as vice president in the Obama administration but found no wrongdoing on the part of then-candidate Biden himself.

In a separate interview on Sunday, Johnson signaled interest in restarting the investigation if Republicans were to take back the majority in the Senate in November's midterm elections.

'Id kind of like that to wrap that up. Weve been trying to get his travel records for a couple of years now,' Johnson told The Hill of his Congressional inquiry.

The laptop, which the New York Times recently authenticated long after right-wing media outlets were blasted for reporting about it, contains compromising and embarrassing images of Hunter Biden

In some of the pictures, Hunter Biden is seen with a crack pipe hanging out of his mouth. His past struggles with drug addiction have been well documented

Among the stories to emerge from the files in the laptop, was how Hunter and former FBI director Louis Freeh (left) were hired by Romanian tycoon Gabriel Popoviciu (right)  later convicted of bribery  and represented him in meetings with top US officials

Emails showed Hunter brought in political heavyweight and family friend Louis Freeh, the former director of the FBI, to use his US law enforcement contacts for Popoviciu's advantage, and was offered a referral fee as a result

He also accused federal agents of slow-walking GOP requests for documents relating to the president's son.

'The lack of transparency in these agencies. The lack of their willingness to comply with legitimate congressional oversight,' the Republican said.

'I mean I think thats an investigation right there, is why cant Congress conduct legitimate oversight anymore.'

At the time, Democrat lawmakers accused Republicans of propagating misinformation with their probe.

The senator dismissed concerns that renewed focus on Hunter Biden's business dealings would take away from Republican leaders' playbook of attacking the president on his record in the White House.

He indicated that the potentially sweeping investigation could ensnare others in Biden's orbit as well

'Ill be that mosquito. Hard to tell what targets I might pick. Theyll all be juicy,' he said.
Medical workers wearing protective clothing move an elderly patient from an ambulance to a hospital in Hong Kong, March 4. AP-Yonhap



COVID-stricken and isolated in her Hong Kong home for a fortnight, 72-year old Lau was kept awake many nights by severe headaches, a sore throat and constant feelings of helplessness.

COVID-stricken and isolated in her Hong Kong home for a fortnight, 72-year old Lau was kept awake many nights by severe headaches, a sore throat and constant feelings of helplessness.

"I cried. I feared every day that if anything happened to me, no one would even know," she said.



The former dim sum seller, who asked to be identified only by her surname, has been living in a public housing flat in Kowloon City alone ever since her son moved out eight years ago. She has been separated from her estranged husband for decades.



Hong Kong has more than 152,000 elderly residents aged 65 and above like Lau, who live alone. Lacking family support and community networks, they are among the city's most vulnerable residents.



The coronavirus pandemic has made life even more challenging for them, especially amid the current fifth wave of infections. Many have been left to face the contagion alone, with overflowing hospitals and quarantine facilities not immediately accessible to them.



Social workers estimate more than 100,000 elderly residents living alone or with only their spouse have been infected during the latest surge.



Lau tested positive for the coronavirus using a rapid screening kit at home Feb. 22. Although she went to a community vaccination center to get inoculated in January, she said staff turned her away because she had stopped taking aspirin for heart disease.



After her numerous calls to hospitals went unanswered, she contacted her doctor who prescribed her a few doses of traditional Chinese medicine. But with no one to turn to for help, she had no choice but to risk going out to get the medication.



For the next five days, she self-isolated at home, forced to eat only porridge as she was running out of food.



On nights the sickness and fear overwhelmed her, Lau would text either her son, a social worker, or a doctor for comfort. But her son, his wife and Lau's two-year-old grandson were also infected and quarantining at home.



"I was all alone by myself. I felt so sick, but no one came to help," she said. "It was miserable and heartbreaking."





Patients wearing face masks rest at a makeshift treatment area outside a hospital, following a COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong, March 2. Reuters-Yonhap



Lau called an ambulance Feb. 28 after she ran out of medication while still suffering from headaches and a painful sore throat. She was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.



She sat in the basement of the building that night among many patients waiting to be admitted. There was no water or medical staff available to help. The pain in her rigid legs became so unbearable she finally gave up waiting and returned home.



After another two days isolated at home, Lau called a 24-hour emergency hotline, known as the care-on-call service, March 3, and was sent to hospital again. This time she was given an intravenous infusion. She was prescribed medication for her cough and asked to go home after about five hours, despite still testing positive for the virus.



Her test result turned negative on March 6, but the coughing lingered.



Medical experts have said the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the highly transmissible Omicron variant given the low vaccination rate among the group.



But with the city's medical system overwhelmed by a growing number of COVID-19 patients, many infected residents, including the elderly living alone, have been forced to self-quarantine at home.



Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor vowed during a press briefing Thursday that the government would provide support for them.



"Hong Kong has an ageing population. Many elderly residents have been infected by COVID-19," she said. "We should prioritize elderly COVID patients in all our work."



The Senior Citizen Home Safety Association, the NGO behind the care-on-call service, told the Post last week that the number of coronavirus-related calls from the elderly had multiplied by about 37 times since January, including calls for help with testing and booking spots at designated clinics, as well as finding the locations of vaccination centers.



The 2016 population census found 152,536 elderly residents lived alone, accounting for about 13 per cent of the total aging population of about 1.2 million aged 65 and above. There were also more than 293,000 elderly people who lived with only their spouse.



Situ Jie-zhen, 67, lives with her husband, 70, in a public housing unit in Diamond Hill, while their son and daughter live in mainland China.



The couple, who were fully inoculated with the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, tested positive using a rapid screening kit at home March 2.





People wear face masks at a park during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, March 16. Reuters-Yonhap



Situ, a retired cleaner, said she had acute pain in her bones and throat, and she had coughed and vomited, while her husband ran a high fever.



She said she did not know any hotlines for COVID-19 patients or any government agencies or social services that could help. So she called her social worker, who brought the pair medicine, including antipyretics and coughing syrup, along with masks and canned food. The worker helped them contact hospitals and report their infections to the authorities.



But the food and medicine ran out quickly. They couple ate porridge for days, and sometimes felt so ill that they stayed in bed and skipped meals altogether.



Situ said she had managed to take care of her husband in the past, although she was felled by a stroke a few years ago. The coronavirus infection hit them so hard that they needed help.



"I felt so weak and dizzy that I could not even get out of bed," she said.



They never received any calls from health authorities while they were self-isolating at home, Situ said.





Workers deliver coffins to funeral parlors in Hong Kong, March 18. EPA-Yonhap



Situ added that her children were worried about their parents but they could not visit because of cross-border travel restrictions.



The couple had only just moved into their flat a few months ago. They did not know their neighbors.



"No one cared. We also didn't know how to seek help," she said. "My husband and I could only cry at home together, waiting to die."



She finally tested negative March 7, while her husband's result turned negative a few days later. They are both now taking Chinese medicine to relieve the coughing.



Ivan Lin Wai-kiu, a community organizer with the Society for Community Organization, said most of the elderly he worked with lived alone or with only their spouse, and about one-third of them were infected with COVID-19. About 80 elderly residents had caught the virus over the past month alone, he said.



He estimated there were more than 100,000 infected senior residents who were living alone or with only their spouse. He said they needed urgent support.



Lin accused the government of failing to provide sufficient and immediate support to the elderly. Many were poorly informed about the latest measures, including how to use rapid test kits, what to do after testing positive, and how to make bookings at designated hospitals or with transport services.





Patients with COVID-19 symptoms lie on beds outside the Accident and Emergency Department at Caritas Medical Center in Hong Kong, Feb. 15. EPA-Yonhap
Mitch McConnell insisted Sunday that Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson will be treated 'much better' than Donald Trump's nominees were treated by Democrats during their confirmation processes.

'I'm going to listen to the hearings, and, by the way, she'll be treated much better than Democrats have typically treated Republican nominees  like Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh,' the Republican Senate leader said, referencing the justices nominated by former President George H. W. Bush and Trump, respectively.

Both Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh had a contentious confirmation process riddled with complications due to sexual harassment accusations.

Jackson, however, is a less controversial nomination, with many Republicans already voicing their support for her confirmation to the high court  and, if confirmed, she will be the first black woman to serve on the high court in its more than 200-year history.

'It will be a respectful, deep dive into her record, which I think is entirely appropriate for a lifetime nominee,' McConnell told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday morning.

He also said that while he has praised Jackson in the past, she was unable to 'protect the integrity of the court' by giving him a commitment that she would oppose court packing, something that her predecessor Justice Stephen Breyer has done.

'I haven't made a final decision as to how I'm going to vote,' McConnell said of Jackson.SenateSe

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell assured Sunday that Republicans will treat Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee better than Democrats have treated GOP presidents' nominees in the past  including Clarence Thomas and Brett Kvanaugh

McConnell also said he isn't yet sure if he will vote for the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (pictured right) after Joe Biden (left) nominated her to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer

On the upcoming senate confirmation hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson this week, @LeaderMcConnell says, I haven't made a final decision as to how I'm going to vote...By the way, she'll be treated much better than Democrats have typically treated Republican nominees. pic.twitter.com/XgK6i6xRXC  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 20, 2022

Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said that 'there's no truth to what' Senator Josh Hawley alleges that Jackson goes soft on child porn cases. The Democratic senator added that Hawley is 'part of the fringe within the Republican Party'

Hawley (right) and Jackson (left) pose for a picture before their meeting at the Capitol earlier this month

Even though votes for Supreme Court nominees are traditionally pretty party-based  many Republican nominees have felt some contentious confirmation processes, including Thomas and Kavanaugh, who were both accused of sexual harassment or assault in the midst of their confirmation

The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, will hold four days of confirmation hearings this week for Jackson after she was chosen to replace Breyer upon announcement of his retirement in January.

Breyer's retirement will come at the end of the Supreme Court's session this summer.

Even without any GOP support, Republicans will still be able to get Jackson confirmed if their party remains united. Vice President Kamala Harris would be called upon to break any tie vote  an occurrence more likely with the 50-50 split Senate. But Democrats are still lobbying Republicans in hopes they can get some sort of bipartisan support for her confirmation.

Maine Senator Susan Collins is the most likely Republican to support Jackson, suggesting after a 90-minute meeting this month that she was likely to vote in favor of confirmation. Collins, as well as GOP Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, all voted to confirm Jackson to the appeals court last year.

Graham and Murkowski, however, both indicated they may not vote for her this time.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, has accused Jackson of being soft on child porn cases, signaling that he will not vote for her confirmation.

'Judge Jackson has yet to address her alarming record on child porn offenders,' Hawley tweeted on Friday.

He criticized media 'fact checkers' for 'regurgitating White House talking points' and insisted they 'go ask the person nominated for the Supreme Court' about the allegations he is making.

Jackson is nominated to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer (second from right on bottom). He will vacate the court at the end of the high court's session this summer

Democrats are hoping to confirm Jackson by April 8, before leaving for a two-week spring recess. The path to confirmation to the Supreme Court can be speedy or take months

'What does that tell you about the confirmation fight ahead?' ABC This week anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Senator Durbin on Sunday morning.

'There's no truth to what he says,' Durbin said, adding that Hawley is 'part of the fringe within the Republican Party.'

'This was a man who was fist-bumping the murderous mob that descended on the Capitol on January 6th of the last year,' he continued. 'He doesn't have the credibility he thinks he does.'

'As far as Senator Hawley is concerned, here's the bottom line  he's wrong. He's inaccurate and unfair in his analysis. Judge Jackson has been scrutinized more than any person I can think of,' he insisted.

'And now, Senator Hawley is making these charges that came out of nowhere,' Durbin added, claiming that 'independent fact checkers', including The Washington Post and CNN have already discredited Hawley's claims.

Durbin has become known for his close relationship with Republicans, which is likely to be put to the test this week.

Hawley's claims against Jackson are likely to become the center of Republicans' criticism of the Biden nominee.

The Senate Judiciary panel wil question and examine Jackson's record Monday through Thursday before voting on whether to send her nomination to the floor for a full Senate vote.

Jackson will deliver her opening statement on Monday before committee members deliver their own opening remarks. She will start fielding questions on Tuesday, which will last through Wednesday.

Each of the 22 panel members will have 30 minutes to question Jackson  and if a second round of questions is permitted, each will have an additional 20 minutes.

On Thursday, Jackson will not be in the hearing room as legal experts and representatives with

The American Bar Association will testify on her record in law.

Democrats are aiming to confirm Jackson before their two-week spring recess starts on April 8.

Several Republicans who met privately with Jackson ahead of the public hearings have praised her legal acuity and broad experience.

Jackson was a public defender, as well as a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission and a federal district court judge. She was confirmed as an appellate judge last year.

Clarence Thomas, and before him Thurgood Marshall, are the only two black people to ever serve on the Supreme Court. Jackson would be the first black woman on the high court.

During the 2020 campaign, Biden vowed that if he had the opportunity to choose a Supreme Court justice, he would nominate a black woman. This was widely criticized by Republicans who claim that it narrowed the field of qualified individuals for the lifetime appointment post. Some even accused the president of participating in a form of affirmative action.

McConnell has said he doesn't have a problem with Biden's pledge, but has also signaled to his Republican conference to focus on topics other than Jackson's race.

Senators will be spaced out during the hearings to adhere to social distancing as the pandemic prevails, though the Capitol has dropped its mask requirements so they will no need to cover up in the committee room.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took Israel's parliament to task for failing to provide weapons in his country's fight against Vladimir Putin, who he said was planning a Holocaust-style 'final solution' for his people.

'Everybody knows that your missile defense systems are the best ... and that you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians, of Ukrainian Jews,' Zelensky, who is Jewish himself, told the Knesset in a video call.

He was referring to Israel's pioneering Iron Dome system, which has been developed to shoot Palestinian rockets out of the sky.

'We can ask why we can't receive weapons from you, why Israel has not imposed powerful sanctions on Russia or is not putting pressure on Russian business,' he said in the address, one of several he has made to foreign legislatures.

Zelensky also drew a comparison between the Russian offensive and Nazi Germany's plan to exterminate European Jewry during World War II.

'Listen to what is being said now in Moscow, listen to how they are saying those words again: the final solution. But this time in relation to us, to the Ukrainian question,' he said.

Zelensky cited no evidence in making that allegation, which has drawn condemnation, and did not identify who might have used the term.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chided Israel for not providing missile defenses to his country or sanctioning Russia over its invasion in an address to the Israeli Parliament Sunday

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid was non-committal in his response, saying in a statement that Israel, which has sent a field hospital and other humanitarian aid to Ukraine, would continue to assist its people 'as much as we can'.

A mediator in the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Israel has condemned the Russian invasion but has been wary of straining relations with Moscow, a powerbroker in neighboring Syria where Israeli forces frequently attack pro-Iranian militia.

Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Zelensky again alluded to Nazi Germany when he compared the situation in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol to the deadly siege of Leningrad by the Nazis in World War II.

'Everybody knows that your missile defense systems are the best ... and that you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians, of Ukrainian Jews,' Zelensky said. Above, demonstrators gather in Tel Aviv to watch his address on Sunday

Zelensky said Russia is using the words 'the final solution' to refer to their goals in Ukraine. Putin has used an expression which means 'final decision/final resolution' once in the past 30 days, but not in the same context

The United Nations says more than 900 civilians have been killed since the invasion began last month. Above, destruction in the Satoya neighborhood of Kyiv on Sunday

Putin has used an expression that means 'final decision/final resolution' once in the past 30 days, according to Reuters monitoring of his remarks, but not in a context that carried the same resonance or meaning as the Nazi terminology.

Zelensky's reference drew criticism from Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial in Jerusalem to the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany in World War II.

It said such 'irresponsible statements' trivialized the historical facts of the Holocaust.

Zelensky mentioned Israel's Iron Dome system, often used to intercept rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

'Either way, the choice is yours to make, brothers and sisters, and you must then live with your answer, the people of Israel,' Zelensky said.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's was among the more than 100 members of parliament (out of 120 total members) who took part in the call. He made no immediate comment after the Ukrainian leader spoke.

Bennett held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin two weeks ago in Moscow and has spoken frequently with him and Zelensky since then.

On Sunday, Zelensky said that he's ready to sit down with Putin to try and end Moscow's brutal invasion - adding that a failure to negotiate peace could result in World War III.

'I'm ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations we cannot end this war,' Zelensky told CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

A priest prays on Sunday during the funeral for 26-year-old Ukrainian soldier Alexander Shasa, who died during Russian shelling

Kyiv's wartime leader said he is prepared to meet Putin in whatever format it takes to get the autocrat face-to-face on the same day the United Nations announced more than 900 civilians have been killed since the attack began.

He also blasted Putin's claims that he's seeking to 'de-nazify' Ukraine, warning that it could mean the autocrat is capable of 'very frightening' things in the name of his misguided effort.

'If there's just 1 percent chance for us to stop this war, I think that we need to take this chance. We need to do that. I can tell you about the result of this negotiations -- in any case, we are losing people on a daily basis, innocent people on the ground,' Zelensky said.

He acknowledged his country's historic resistance effort against Russian forces, who believed Ukraine's major cities would collapse to Moscow's forces within a matter of days.

Destroyed buildings are seen as civilians trapped in Mariupol are evacuated on Friday. Zelensky on Sunday compared the situation in Mariupol to the siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany

Smoke rises from burning vehicles outside a residential building that has been damaged by an airstrike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this picture released March 20

'Russian forces have come to exterminate us, to kill us. And we can demonstrate that the dignity of our people and our army that we are able to deal a powerful blow, we are able to strike back. But, unfortunately, our dignity is not going to preserve the lives,' Zelensky said.

'I think that we have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War.'

It comes as roughly 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes in Ukraine, the United Nations said on Sunday.

There are also growing calls to try Putin and his forces for war crimes. Ukrainian officials have said that more of their civilians have perished amid Russia's invasion than members of its military.

Officials in Mariupol, a city in southeastern Ukraine that has been besieged by Russian forces for weeks, have said that residents are being rounded up, taken to 'camps' and forcibly transported across Ukraine's border.

Ukrainians there have been under near-constant shelling by Kremlin troops, as well as being cut off from running water, food lines and and electricity. A United Nations official said 'uncollected corpses lie on city streets' because people are afraid to risk their lives to recover the dead.

On Sunday, Zelensky refuted Putin's claims he's seeking to remove 'nazis' from power in Kyiv-- instead turning the allegation against Moscow's strongman himself.

'What we are having now in Mariupol, they had in Leningrad. Everybody knows how many people died in the blockade of Leningrad,' Zelensky said.

He was referring to the German Nazis' brutal military blockade of the Soviet city, which ended in a bloody battle with heavy casualties on both sides.

'These people died because they did not have enough food and water,' Zelensky said. 'So who is the Nazi?'

Despite dismissing Putin's accusations, Ukraine's president warned they could mean he is prepared to carry out 'very horrendous steps' to purge the sovereign country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a concert marking the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea, on March 18

'The fact is that if he is serious about this statement he might be capable of very horrendous steps because that would mean that this is not a game for him,' Zelensky said.

'If he's serious about it, if he thinks that this is his mission to conquer our territory and if he sees signs of neo-Nazis in our country, then many questions emerge about what else he is capable of doing for the sake of his ambitions, for the sake of his mission.'

At the same time, the U.S and other western intelligence agencies are warning Putin could be setting the stage for a false flag to use chemical weapons in Ukraine.

Putin's apparent frustration in his lack of progress on the battlefield can be seen in increasingly brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians.

A maternity hospital, a local theater that was being used as a bomb shelter and multiple humanitarian corridors have all been targets of Russian attacks.

On Sunday, officials in Mariupol said an art school sheltering 400 Ukrainians was the latest civilian structure to come under fire.

Last week it was reported that Moscow's soldiers gunned down 10 civilians, including an American citizen, who were waiting in a bread line in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.
Gladys Berejiklian is set to make a return to politics with the former NSW premier to help the Liberal party save key seats in the upcoming federal election.

Ms Berejiklian has been approached by senior figures of her former party and asked to publicly throw her support behind candidates in their electorates.

Dave Sharma for Wentworth, Trent Zimmerman for North Sydney and the yet-to-be-elected candidate in Warringah are among the Liberal MPs that will be receiving her support.

The cry for help comes as Ms Berejiklian's popularity soars and the Liberal party prepares for a tense federal election with Labor maintaining a massive lead in the latest Newspoll.

Labor's favourability was illustrated by the state election in South Australia on Saturday, which saw Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas trump Liberal first-term premier Steven Marshall.

Gladys Berejiklian is set to make a return to politics with the former NSW premier to help the Liberal party save key seats in the upcoming federal election

Dave Sharma (pictured) for Wentworth, Trent Zimmerman for North Sydney and the yet-to-be-elected candidate in Warringah are among the Liberal MPs that will be receiving her support

Ms Berejiklian appears to be more popular than ever with her approval rating higher than it was during her peak as premier.

'She's particularly respected by women,' a senior Liberal told Daily Telegraph.

'We need her involved,' another source added. 'She's our best asset.'

Prime minister Scott Morrison has reportedly been asked to keep his distance with some party sources calling his presence 'toxic'.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese is now on par with Mr Morrison as preferred prime minister with the latest Newspoll revealing that voters remain discontent with the federal government.

Labor continues to lead the two-party preferred vote 55 to 45 per cent against the coalition, and leads on the primary vote 41 to 35 per cent.

Both leaders are now level as preferred prime minister on 42 per cent after Mr Albanese increased two points, with 16 per cent remaining uncommitted ahead of the upcoming federal election, expected in May.

But the prime minister is becoming less popular, with his approval rating dropping two points to 41 per cent, while maintaining a disapproval rating of 55 per cent.

This is compared with 44 per cent for Mr Albanese's approval rating, and 42 per cent disapproval rating.

With counting of pre-poll votes to start in South Australia, Labor looks set to hold at least 25 of the 47 House of Assembly seats and remains a chance to win two or three more.

Ms Berejiklian appears to be more popular than ever with her approval rating higher than it was during her peak as premier (pictured, Trent Zimmerman is set to receive help as he defends his seat in North Sydney)

Labor's favourability was illustrated by the state election in South Australia on Saturday, which saw Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas (right) trump Liberal first-term premier Steven Marshall (left)

The Liberals should retain 15 seats while four or possibly five will be held by independents.

Five of Labor's new MPs are women, reflecting what modern Labor looks like, the new premier said on Sunday.

Once in office, Mr Malinauskas will need to turn his hand to picking a ministry with most, if not all, of those on his frontbench in opposition expected to retain their positions.

A Liberal partyroom meeting is also likely to be held soon to choose the new opposition leader after Mr Marshall announced he would not continue in the role.

In a statement, he said that after more than nine years as leader of the Liberal Parliamentary Party it was time for someone else to take charge.

'I will step down as leader as soon as the party room is able to meet to elect my successor,' he said.

Once in office, Mr Malinauskas will need to turn his hand to picking a ministry with most, if not all, of those on his frontbench in opposition expected to retain their positions

'I thank all my past and current colleagues for their support over the past nine years and will do all I can to assist the new leader to succeed.'

The outgoing premier said while he was disappointed with the election result, he took full responsibility and accepted the will of the people.

He said he intended to continue as the member for Dunstan but was locked in a tight battle with his Labor opponent Cressida O'Hanlon to retain the seat.

Ms O'Hanlon had a small lead with about 55 per cent of the vote counted, but pre-poll and postal votes were expected to favour Mr Marshall.
A plot to poison Vladimir Putin and frame it as an accident has been hatched by Moscows elite, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

A group of influential individuals in Russia have allegedly started planning to remove the president from office  and even lined up a successor.

The effect of Western sanctions on the Russian economy is the main factor behind the scheme with Alexander Bortnikov, director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), said to be the favoured replacement.

The Chief Directorate of Intelligence in Ukraine said: It is known that Bortnikov and some other influential representatives of the Russian elite are considering various options to remove Putin from power.

The Ukrainian intelligence service says that FSB director Oleksandr Bortnikov is the chosen man to replace Putin

In particular, poisoning, sudden disease, or any other coincidence is not excluded.

Bortnikov previously served alongside Putin in the KGB but has recently fallen out of favour with the Kremlin following Russias military losses in Ukraine.

The former intelligence agent is thought to still have a large influence over insiders in the war-torn country where he ran a number of agents.

A Western source told the Daily Mirror: These rumours and suspicions within the Moscow inner-circle will sow the seeds of paranoia and doubt in the leadership.

There is a significant suspicion that a small number of people might actually now try to get rid of the Russian president but whether they will succeed remains to be seen.

It came amid claims that Putin has agreed to meet Volodymyr Zelensky for talks which could end the war in Ukraine.

The Russian president, who has seen his special military operation grind to a halt in recent days, was said to have committed to a summit  which could be announced this week.

Russia has also dropped its demand for the Ukrainian president to be removed from office and replaced by a pro-Moscow puppet leader  a concession forced on the Kremlin by its failures on the battlefield.

Yesterday President Zelensky also said he wants to talk to Putin face to face  but issued a chilling warning that if talks failed it could mean World War Three.

Speaking on US television channel CNN, he said: Talks are worth pursuing even if they have a one per cent chance of success...

We have demonstrated the dignity of our people and our army. But unfortunately our dignity is not going to preserve lives.

Bortnikov has fallen out of favour with Putin after military losses in the first three weeks of the Ukraine war - in which time he has also sacked eight generals

'So I think that we have to use any format, any chance, in order to have the possibility of negotiating.

The possible peace talks come days after Putin held an extraordinary pro-war rally in front of tens of thousands of spectators.

Officials acting as mediators between Russia and Ukraine said there had been a convergence on key issues.

These include Ukraine abandoning its bid to join Nato, demilitarising in exchange for security guarantees and lifting restrictions on using the Russian language.

For its part, Russia would be required to announce a ceasefire and withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory.

Moscow also wants Kyiv to recognise its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the independence of two Russia-backed separatist territories in the eastern Donbas region.

However, Ukraine has ruled out making territorial concessions as part of the current negotiations.

Once both sides have finalised these agreements Putin will publicly agree to meet Mr Zelensky, it was understood last night.

But fears were raised over Russias motives for engaging in dialogue last night. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, described the talks as one-sided.

Other observers suggested Russia may be playing for time before kick-starting its faltering military campaign.

Yesterday Natos secretary general Jens Stoltenberg echoed Mr Zelenskys concerns that the conflict could escalate beyond Ukraines borders.

He added: Talks are needed to prevent the conflict becoming a fully-fledged war between Nato and Russia. But it is far too early to say whether they could succeed.

It came as US President Joe Biden declined an invitation to visit Ukraine as part of his European tour this week.
Australia's Covid-19 rules are set to get a major update ahead of winter, with National Cabinet considering relaxing isolation requirements for close contacts.

Two weeks ago, National Cabinet asked the national expert health panel, the AHPPC, to provide urgent advice about how states could end quarantine for close contacts.

If the AHPPC agrees to the plan, close contacts with mild symptoms will be encouraged to undertake voluntary self-isolation while symptomatic.

Currently, household close contacts must isolate for seven days from the last time they were in contact with the person with Covid-19.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the change was part of 'living with the virus' while acknowledging winter would be challenging as Australians tackle Covid and the flu.

Australia's Covid-19 rules are set to get a major update ahead of winter, with National Cabinet considering relaxing isolation rules for close contacts (pictured, residents enjoying a night out in lockdown-free Melbourne )

If the AHPPC agrees to the plan, close contacts with mild symptoms will be encouraged to undertake voluntary self-isolation while symptomatic (pictured, nurse conducts PCR test at drive-thru in Bondi)

'Now that we are living with the virus, it means we are living with everything again,' he said.

Mr Morrison said Australia was 'pretty much' in phase D of the national transition strategy, including tackling community outbreaks without widespread lockdowns.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he'd had multiple discussions with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet about what the changes would mean for case numbers.

'Logic tells you it will drive [up] the number of cases. It's about balance: How many extra cases can we have before it influences the number of people who end up in hospital,' Mr Andrews said.

'We're very keen to move down this path but we need to do it with a proper understanding [of cases].'

On Friday, Australia's Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly said a decision on the isolation periods would be finalised in the coming weeks.

Mr Andrews warned that the winter months, along with the new BA.2 sub variant - had to be weighed up when it came to loosening restrictions.

'We're very keen to try and have the smallest number of rules, the least intrusive we can possibly have but at the same time, we have to be focused on keeping people safe,' he said.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Greg Hunt is optimistic about the future of the pandemic in Australia, saying the country's response has beaten expectations.

The nation on Sunday recorded seven virus deaths and more than 40,400 new cases, while almost 2,100 patients were in hospital with 102 in intensive care and 21 on ventilation, according to state and territory figures.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the change was part of 'living with the virus' while acknowledging winter would be challenging as Australians tackle COVID-19 and the flu

Mr Morrison said Australia was 'pretty much' in phase D of the national transition strategy, including tackling community outbreaks without widespread lockdowns (pictured, Melbourne residents clink glasses at a pub)

Mr Hunt, who's retiring at the upcoming federal election, believes Australia remains in an enviable position globally.

'We are a stronger and a better country than many acknowledge,' he told Sky News on Sunday.

'The resilience of Australians, the fact that we have had one of the lowest rates of loss of life in the world, one of the highest vaccination rates.'

Mr Hunt said the federal government, the general population and thousands of nurses, doctors, pathologists and health sector workers had helped the country bounce back from Covid-19.

He said his one regret about the pandemic was not spending more time with his family.

'I've never been as good a dad as I would have liked to have been,' Mr Hunt said.

'You try to be present, but even when you're there in person you may not be fully present because of the demands of the role, which is what you sign up for.

'But having said that, I leave optimistic about Australia.'

His comments come after the COVID-19 outbreak intensified ambulance ramping at hospitals, particularly in NSW, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland.

Mr Hunt said the federal government, the general population and thousands of nurses, doctors, pathologists and health sector workers had helped the country bounce back from Covid-19 (pictured, Sydneysiders shopping in the CBD)

Paramedics are planning industrial action against the NSW government on Monday by refusing to leave their posts to fill gaps at other ambulance stations.

The 24-hour action on Monday is part of ongoing union efforts to improve emergency responder staffing and pay.

'We're taking action to demand a better resourced service. We want a fairer workplace for Paramedics, and improved coverage and care for our communities,' Australian Paramedics Association NSW president Chris Kastelan said in a statement on Sunday.

The union is pushing for an additional 1,500 paramedics that it says are needed to turn around deteriorating ambulance response times across the state.

It also wants a pandemic payment, and a pay rise of more than 2.5 per cent.

Meanwhile in South Australia, a new Labor government has been elected partly after pledging to cut ramping times.

Incoming premier Peter Malinaukas will soon meet senior health officials and Police Commissioner Grant Stevens to discuss the state's health advice after winning the election on Saturday.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he'd had multiple discussions with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet (pictured) about what the changes would be for case numbers

'Logic tells you it will drive [up] the number of cases. It's about balance: How many extra cases can we have before it influences the number of people who end up in hospital,' Mr Andrews said (pictured)

He also intends to amend SA's laws that impose restrictions and other measures including mask mandates, lockdowns and density limits.

'The act is not fit for purpose for a global pandemic that lasts for two years,' Mr Malinaukas said.

In Victoria, the state government will offer subsidised and free TAFE courses to people looking to work in health care and other in-demand jobs.

Mr Andrews said the pandemic had highlighted the importance of more employment to the healthcare sector, as well as causing many people to reconsider their careers.

'If you want a job that really matters then now is the time to make a change,' he said on Sunday.

The 10,000 extra TAFE places announced will cost about $61.6 million and won't be limited to healthcare courses.
Dr Anthony Fauci has rowed back on hints that he will soon retire, with 81 year-old saying he thinks the COVID pandemic is still far from over.

Speaking a day after he'd said 'I can't stay in this job forever,' Fauci appeared determined to stay when asked on ABC's This Week if he really was thinking of quitting.

He answered: 'I'm not so sure, George,' the director of the National Health Institute told anchor George Stephonaupolous. 'I want to make sure we're really out of this before I really seriously consider doing anything different. We're still in this.'

'We have a way to go. I think we got clearly going in the right direction. I hope we stay that way,' he added.

On Saturday, the second Chief Medical Advisor to the President in U.S. history was questioned over whether the country was finally ready to turn the page from the end of the COVID pandemic and if he intended to get 'some rest' once that point in time arrives.

Fauci, who also serves as Joe Biden's medical advisor and as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

'I have said that I would stay in what I'm doing until we get out of the pandemic phase, and I think we might be there already,' he said. 'I don't have any plans right now to go anywhere, but you never know. I can't stay at this job forever.'

.@GStephanopoulos: Are we approaching the point where we are past the pandemic phase and you'll go get some rest?



Dr. Fauci: I'm not so sure. I want to make sure we're really out of this before I really seriously consider doing anything different. https://t.co/AcoWdwYNTg pic.twitter.com/iRMDlyZXG4  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 20, 2022

Dr Anthony Fauci addressed comments that he made on on Saturday hinting that he would retire once the COVID-19 pandemic fades away in the U.S., suggesting that the country 'still has a way to go' before that happens

Fauci has served as public health expert for more than 50 years and has advised every American president since Ronald Reagan, becoming the nation's top COVID expert while drawing criticism over the nation's handling of the pandemic.

The hints of retirement came as he warned that easing restrictions, the waning protection from vaccines and the rise of the BA.2 subvariant in the UK and around the world could bring on another wave of COVID infections to the U.S.

The U.S. recorded about 10,918 new cases over the past day, with about 281 new deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. At the height of the Omicron surge, the US hit an all-time record of well over a million new infections every day.

Dr Fauci, who is the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and adviser to President Joe Biden said on Saturday that he might retire soon due to decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the U.S.

Fauci told ABC that the rise of the new variant, which has seen a spike in the UK, could cause a surge in the U.S. as it appears to be as infectious as Omicron, but added that it would not cause a surge in hospitalizations or deaths.

'I would not be surprised if in the next few weeks we see somewhat of either a flattening of our diminution or maybe even an increase,' he said, noting that the U.S. is typically two to three weeks behind the UK when it comes to a spike in cases.

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health was picked to be the White House's lead coronavirus coordinator

'Whether or not that is going to lead to another surge, a mini surge or maybe even a moderate surge, is very unclear because there are a lot of other things that are going on right now.'

He added that the rise could result in COVID restrictions returning to the U.S., but he noted that it would likely be an uphill battle to put the mandates back in place after states all across the country lifted the protocols.

'From what I know about human nature, which I think is pretty much a lot, people are kind of done with COVID,' he said.

If Fauci steps down, his responsibilities would likely be picked up by Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, who was picked to be the White House's lead coronavirus coordinator after Jeff Zients steps down next month.

The possible retirement comes days after Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul announced he's introducing an amendment on to boot Fauci out of the job he's held since 1984, accusing the medical expert of 'abusing' his power during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's the latest move in a war of words between the two arch-rivals that's lasted nearly the entire pandemic since it began in March 2020.

'We've learned a lot over the past two years, but one lesson in particular is that no one person should be deemed 'dictator in chief.' No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans,' Paul wrote in a Fox News op-ed on Monday.

'To ensure that ineffective, unscientific lockdowns and mandates are never foisted on the American people ever again, I will introduce an amendment to eliminate Dr. Anthony Fauci's position as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and divide his power into three separate new institutes,' he added.

'Each of these three institutes will be led by a director who is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for a five-year term,' Paul explained.

'This will create accountability and oversight into a taxpayer-funded position that has largely abused its power and has been responsible for many failures and misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.'

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 970,000 Americans since it began.

Its two years have been marked by partisan battles over health mandates such as lockdowns, vaccine requirements and mask rules.

Paul, who has been among the loudest critics of broad public health orders, bashed Fauci as an 'unelected bureaucrat with far too much power.'

'No one person should have the sole authority to dictate science, especially when that one person wasn't ever following the science. I've said that from the beginning, and I've been proven right over, and over, and over again. On masks, lockdowns, schools, natural immunity, all of it,' the Kentucky Republican said.

He referenced a late November 2021 CBS interview that sparked GOP outrage, during which Fauci said his critics -- who are all Republicans -- were actually 'anti-science.' Fauci also blamed Paul for threats the COVID expert and his family received.

Fauci has also been accused of shutting down inquiries into the possibility that the coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China, following a bombshell report show he in fact did award U.S. tax dollars for gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Scott Atlas, a former White House COVID adviser, also criticized Fauci during an interview with Carlson Tucker on Thursday night, questioning whether he should even still be America's top adviser.

'When do we admit that the person in charge of the policy is wrong and has been a failure,' Atlas asked.

The criticism extended to the White House, which has been put on edge after a series of positive test results, including Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris' husband who tested positive last week.
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Former CNN host Chris Cuomo was spotted on a coffee run with his wife Cristina in the Hamptons on Sunday, days after the host filed his first motion demanding $125 million in severance from the network.

Cuomo, 51, looked casual in a grey hoodie, blue joggers and On brand black sneakers as he drove his black Ford F-150 and stepped out to deliver some packages.

He capped off his look with a hat from Core, Sean Penn's emergency relief nonprofit.

The sighting comes days after Cuomo accused CNN and his former colleagues of mounting a smear campaign against him after he was fired for helping his governor brother fight sexual harassment allegations.

In a filing last Wednesday, Cuomo charged CNN with ruining his reputation and violating his contract by letting employees publicly criticize him as he seeks a nine-figure payout from the news channel.

The filing states: 'Jake Tapper, a CNN anchor, publicly assailed Cuomos ethics as a journalist and falsely claimed that Cuomo "threatened" Zucker.

'Don Lemon, another CNN anchor, falsely claimed that Cuomo had been "found to break with those journalistic standards and then [was] paid handsomely for it."

'Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media correspondent, said Cuomo was "acting like an unpaid staffer" for Gov. Cuomo and had been "trying to burn the place down" after CNN terminated him,' according to the filing obtained by Mediaite.

Former CNN host Chris Cuomo was spotted on a coffee run with his wife Cristina in the Hamptons on Sunday

Cuomo, 51, looked casual in a grey hoodie, blue joggers and On brand black sneakers

Chris was joined by his wife Cristina, 52, a former editor of Manhattan File magazine

Cristina is a native of Southampton and married Chris in 2001. Together they have three children

The sighting comes days after Cuomo accused CNN and his former colleagues of mounting a smear campaign against him after he was fired

Chris was joined by his wife Cristina, 52, a former editor of Manhattan File magazine. The couple share are parents to Bella, 19; Mario, 16; and Carolina, 13.

She is a native of Southampton and married Chris in 2001. She's the founder of Hamptons wellness publication the Purist, according to The Sun.

Cristina wore a grey peacoat and grey sweatpants with rainbows stripes as she stopped to drop off some packages with her husband.

The former host of Cuomo Prime Time was fired in December when it was revealed he advised his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, after the state's top prosecutor found he sexually harassed 11 different women.

CNN President Jeff Zucker resigned in February after it was revealed that he had an undisclosed relationship with a network executive. Some, including Jake Tapper, suggested that Cuomo was the one who leaked the information to secure a better exit package.

Cuomo, who earned $6 million a year at CNN, is now asking for $110 million in damages and $15 million that is allegedly due to him under his contract, Deadline reports.

'As a result of Turner's indefensible choice to unceremoniously fire him, Cuomo has been damaged in countless ways,' Cuomo's attorneys argue.

'Cuomo has had his journalistic integrity unjustifiably smeared, making it difficult if not impossible for Cuomo to find similar work in the future and damaging him in amounts exceeding $125 million, which includes not only the remaining salary owed under the Agreement, but future wages lost as a result of CNN's efforts to destroy his reputation in violation of the Agreement.'

Chris Cuomo capped off his look with a hat from Core, Sean Penn's emergency relief nonprofit

The former CNN star host is demanding $125 million in severance from the network after he was fired for helping his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, navigate his sexual harassment scandal

Cuomo's firing kicked off a series of shake-ups at CNN.

Zucker resigned last month amid an investigation into his relationship with vice president Allison Gollust, who also resigned.

Zucker recently finalized a deal for an exit package worth $10 million. Gollust was reportedly paid $1 million.

Cuomo and CNN are currently locked in private arbitration over his own exit deal.

The Wednesday filing against CNN also claims that Zucker knew about Cuomo's closeness with his brother and that he himself had cultivated a friendly relationship with the former governor.

It also claims that the network did not do enough to prevent Cuomo's colleagues from criticizing him publicly, in violation of his contract.

Cuomo has claimed that former CNN President Jeff Zucker (left) knew about his close relationship with his brother Andrew Cuomo. Zucker resigned last month after it came out that he had an undisclosed romantic relationship with a female network executive

Ousted CNN boss Jeff Zucker, 56, has been keeping his romance with staffer Allison Gollust, 49, alive despite the fallout from their relationship. Above, the pair walking toward an SUV in New York City late last month

'An additional, and similarly significant, legally unjustifiable breach of the Agreement was the complete failure by Zucker to abide by the terms of the Agreement by failing to instruct CNN employees not to disparage Cuomo,' the filing reads.

'The Agreement requires that CNN "make reasonable efforts to instruct its employees not to make any intentionally disparaging comments regarding [Cuomo] in the context of [Cuomos] business and professional activities."

'In fact, not only did Zucker and CNN fail to instruct CNN employees not to disparage Cuomo, as required by the Agreement, but they themselves openly disparaged Cuomo in violation of the Agreement, with Zucker leading the charge.

'Before Cuomo was terminated, Zucker at first claimed that he had been unaware of Cuomo's discussions with Gov. Cuomo's aides, when Zucker had done the same thing himself.

'After Cuomo's termination, Zucker claimed that Cuomo had broken his word and that Cuomo misrepresented the extent of his support for his brother. Other CNN staff joined in the calculated campaign to smear Cuomo and destroy his reputation.'

At a private meeting in DC last month following Zucker's resignation, Cuomo's former colleagues made it clear there was no love lost between them and the former anchor.

Host Jake Tapper alluded to the theory that Cuomo leaked information about Zucker's relationship with an executive to secure a better exit package.

'An outside observer might say, "Well, looks like Chris Cuomo succeeded. He threatened. Jeff said, We don't negotiate with terrorists, and Chris blew the place up." How do we get past that perception that this is the bad guy winning?' he said.

'I think the issue is that it's not a perception. What Jake just described is actually what happened here,' echoed Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins.

In a private meeting last month, CNN anchor Jake Tapper said, 'An outside observer might say, "Well, looks like Chris Cuomo succeeded. He threatened. Jeff said, We don't negotiate with terrorists, and Chris blew the place up."'

At another meeting, host Don Lemon asked WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, 'Did you think about what message it sends ... that someone can be found to break with those journalistic standards and then get paid handsomely for it?'

Host Erin Burnett said she and her colleagues were 'grieving' Zucker's departure and demanded more information during a private meeting. Host Richard Quest compared the ouster to 'throwing the captain overboard while the ship is about to go through icebergs'

At a different meeting, the New York-based anchors also mourned Zucker's resignation and placed blame on Cuomo for triggering his ouster.

Richard Quest, host of the daily show Quest Means Business on CNN International, told WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar: 'There was the possibility of a more imaginative result that wouldve allowed you to keep the captain, instead of throwing the captain overboard while the ship is about to go through icebergs.'

Erin Burnett, who hosts the network's 7pm hour, said she and her colleagues were 'grieving' and demanded more information about Zucker's departure.

'Moving on will require answers to these questions,' she said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, hosts Don Lemon and Oliver Darcy questioned Kilar, 50, on whether former host Chris Cuomo would get a severance package from CNN.

'Did you think about what message it sends to the journalists in the company and also to the larger public that someone can be found to break with those journalistic standards and then get paid handsomely for it,' Lemon reportedly asked Kilar.
Hundreds of truck drivers forced to absorb skyrocketing diesel costs have threatened to go on strike.

The proposed strike would disrupt work on major infrastructure projects across Melbourne if it goes ahead next Monday.

Affected projects would include work on the West Gate Tunnel and level-crossing removals.

Tip-truck drivers are paid $1.40 a litre for fuel under the state government cost model, which has soared to more than $2 in the past week.

Tip-truck drivers are threatening to stop work as the price of diesel soars towards $2.50 a litre

Owner-drivers are left with as little as $100 per day, according to Victorian Tippers United secretary Luke McCrone.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews now has a week to resolve the crisis and stop the strike from going ahead.

'Unlike the rest of the transport industry which is paid a fuel levy, tipper owner-drivers who are burning up to 350 litres a day are expected to absorb this cost, ' Mr McCrone told the Herald Sun.

'We expect that a prolonged stoppage will cause significant disruptions on major infrastructure projects across Melbourne  some of these projects may grind to a halt.'

Rates paid to drivers are set by the Transport Industry Council, which the union also hopes to meet this week.

Tip-truck drivers have threatened to stop work next Monday unless their concerns about diesel prices are resolved (stock image)

The union has called on the Victorian government to introduce a diesel levy or revised its cost model.

Otherwise more than 300 tip-truck drivers will strike and participate in a convoy that will drive to state parliament.

They won't not the first truck drivers to threaten industrial action over soaring diesel costs.

Lorry drivers in Spain have launched an open-ended strike which has caused widespread chaos with food shortages and supermarket shelves stripped bare.

Diesel was selling for as much as $2.45 a litre in Melbourne on Sunday, according to RACV's fuel price tracker.

It comes as the federal government considers slashing the 44-cent fuel excise tax ahead of the upcoming election.
The Australian government is considering a cut to the 44-cent fuel excise tax as petrol prices surge past $2.20 a litre ahead of the election.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is weighing up temporarily cutting the excise to help ease the burden on Australian families as the cost of fuel hits $2.20 a litre.

The cut in this month's upcoming federal budget would be 'targeted' and last only until the country has weathered the latest cost of living crisis, Mr Frydenberg told news.com.au.

A 10-cent cut for six months would cost the federal government $1.5billion.

However the treasurer has ruled out a permanent freeze to the excise, which is set to rise in August in line with the consumer price index (CPI).

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is considering temporarily cutting the excise to help ease the burden on Australian families as the cost of fuel hits $2.20 a litre

Fuel prices in Australia have hit record highs of $2.20 a litre due to sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine

'The main thing I would say is what we will do will be temporary and it will be targeted and that's all I can say,' Mr Frydenberg said.

'A change in the fuel excise does affect people who purchase fuel.'

Calls have grown in parliament for the Coalition to cut the excise in this year's budget as sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine push fuel prices to record highs.

But the treasurer said he was not considering following the move of former Prime Minister John Howard, who in 2001 axed automatic increases to fuel excise as petrol prices came close to $1 a litre.

'That doesn't make a significant change in price. That's obviously what John Howard did, he froze excise,' Mr Frydenberg said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also warned there won't be any 'knee-jerk reactions' to help deal with the rising cost of living.

Ahead of next week's budget, Mr Morrison said the government was aware of rising living costs that had been driven by the invasion of Ukraine.

'They're having a real impact on people right now, so we've been conscious of that,' Mr Morrison told Brisbane radio 4BC.

The comments came as it emerged Australians could receive a $400 one-off payment to combat the rising cost of living as part of the budget.

Millions of Australians could soon receive a $400 one-off payment to combat the rising cost of living as part of the upcoming federal budget (pictured, a commuter in Sydney)

The one-time-only payment will likely be between $200 and $400 and be paid into bank accounts before the federal election in May, 7NEWS reports.

Political editor Mark Riley told Weekend Sunrise the payments could be no more than $400 as that would threaten inflation and cause interest rates to rise.

'After talking to bureaucrats, I suspect it's going to be maybe a couple-hundred dollars, maybe $250, something like that,' he said on Sunday.

'(A payment of) $700 or $800, and you're talking about stimulus and this is not an economy that needs to be stimulated at the moment.'

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic the government handed out four one-off payments including two worth $750 in March and July 2020 and two worth $250 in December 2020 and March 2021.

The cash went to 6.5million people including 3.6million pensioners, 1.1million students and working-age welfare recipients and 1.5million others including veterans and parents who receive family tax breaks.

On Wednesday Mr Morrison hinted that he was leaning towards one-off payments rather than any permanent reforms.

Who received previous bonus payments? Aussies with social security income support payments Aussies with family assistance payments Veterans Concession and health card holders Those with ABSTUDY (Living Allowance) and Farm Household Allowance Source: APH Advertisement

'We said we would be targeted in the supports that we provided, that they would have a start date and they'd have a stop date, that there'd be a pathway in and there'd be a pathway out,' he said.

'We must be targeted in the things that we do, so we don't add to those inflationary pressures.'

On Wednesday The Australian reported the government had considered bringing forward the stage three tax cuts which are due in July 2024 but has now decided against the move.

The eventual stage three cuts will benefit anyone earning over $45,000 by creating a flat rate of 30 per cent between $45,000 and $200,000.

Currently income over $45,000 is taxed at 32.5 per cent, over $120,000 at 37 per cent and over $180,000 at 45 per cent.

The changes were part of a three-stage tax reform package which was legislated in 2019.

Stage two cuts, which helped Aussies earning less than $120,000, were brought forward by two years to July 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But economists fear that bringing forward the stage three cuts would cause inflation - running at 3.5 per cent - to rise further.

With tax cuts considered a risk to fueling inflation, but the government feeling pressure to alleviate cost-of-living rises, it is instead considering other measures.

With the Russia-Ukraine conflict imperiling global oil supply, petrol prices in Australia have hit $2.20 a litre - up from $1.30 last year.
A British-US national - temporarily released from prison in Iran only to find himself back in custody two days later - is now at a hotel as a lobby for his return home continues.

Wildlife conservationist Morad Tahbaz, 66, who also holds Iranian citizenship, was originally allowed out on the same day last week that charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and retired civil engineer Anoosheh Ashoori were released and then allowed to return to Britain.

A Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesman said: 'Morad has now been moved from Evin Prison to a hotel in Tehran.

'We continue to lobby the Iranian authorities at the highest levels to allow him to return home immediately, as the Iranian government committed to doing.'

Morad Tahbaz, 66 - British-US national temporarily released from prison in Iran only to find himself back in custody two days later - is now at a hotel

Britain said it secured Mr Tahbaz's furlough, along with the release and return of the two other dual nationals.

This came after Britain finally agreed to settle a 400 million debt dating back to the 1970s which had fuelled tensions between the countries for decades.

His Tehran-based lawyer said that two days after Mr Tahbaz had been released and went to his family's home in the city, Iranian security forces forced him to return to Evin Prison.

Mr Tahbaz, who has cancer, was arrested during a crackdown on environmental activists in January 2018.

He is a prominent conservationist and board member of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation which seeks to protect endangered species.

Mr Tahbaz was sentenced to 10 years in prison with his colleagues on vague charges of spying for the US and undermining Iran's security.

The FCDO and the United States are working closely with each other to try to secure his permanent release.

Family members had hoped that Mr Tahbaz, who was born in Hammersmith, west London, would be freed under the deal which saw Mr Ashoori and Mrs Zaghari-Ratlcliffe arrive back on British soil in the early hours of Thursday.

It is not clear if Mr Tahbaz has been fitted with an ankle tag by the Iranians which the FCDO had been told was set to happen.

A US State Department spokesman: 'We continue to work night and day to secure the release of our wrongfully detained citizens, including US-UK citizen Morad Tahbaz.

'Simply put: Iran is unjustly detaining innocent Americans and others and should release them immediately.'

Mr Tahbaz was originally allowed out on the same day last week that charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (pictured)

Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said the Government is working to secure the return of Mr Tahbaz, telling BBC Breakfast on Thursday: 'He also has American nationality, which has in the eyes of the Iranians  not in ours  made his case more complicated.'

He added: 'We will continue to work to secure his release and, obviously, we work in close co-ordination with the US on these issues as well.'

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained on security charges in 2016 by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard at Imam Khomeini Airport after a holiday visit to Iran, where she introduced her daughter to her parents.

She was accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government.

Mr Ashoori, 67, was arrested in August 2017 while visiting his elderly mother in Tehran. He was detained in Evin Prison for almost five years, having been accused of spying.

Both have consistently and vigorously denied the allegations.

Their release came after months of intensive diplomatic negotiations between London and Tehran.

It was yesterday reported that Mr Tahbaz's family expected him to be released permanently and returned to Britain alongside Nazanin and Anoosheh Ashoori this week.

But they learned from media reports he had only been given a temporary furlough and he was returned to prison on Friday after a brief stay at a relative's home in Tehran.

He had been released under arm guard and escorted to his relative's home but is now back at Evin prison after being taken from the two-bedroom flat.

Nazanin and Richard are said to be extremely concerned for his welfare and have called on MPs to help him.

Morad Tahbaz has been sent back to prison in Tehran after a two-day furlough despite the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Tahbaz's sister, Taraneh Tahbaz, said the situation was a 'farce' as she blasted the government for failing to secure the permanent release

The US State Department had said anything short of an immediate furlough for the Iranian-American environmentalist would be considered a violation of Tehran's commitments to the UK.

Tahbaz's sister, Taraneh Tahbaz, said the situation was a 'farce' as she blasted the government for failing to secure the permanent release for her brother who also has British citizenship.

The family said in a statement: 'We the family are distraught at this moment.

'We were confident and assured that the UK government had taken on responsibility to secure his release...

'After the euphoria of Nazanin and Anoosheh's homecoming, there's a worrying sense that the UK government hasn't pressed the Iranian authorities for Morad's freedom in the same way.'

The Foreign Office said they are working hard to secure his release.

But Taraneh told The Times: 'We all thought something odd was going on.

'This was a way to get the other two on the plane in enough time and to make an excuse that he was on furlough while released and happy with his family.

'This was enough time for everybody to get out and be reunited with their families and obviously for the foreign minister to have her moment of glory.'

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Gabriella are making pizzas on Friday as they bond again at a Government safe house after her return from Iran

The family have been reunited after the mother-of-one's harrowing six-year stint in an Iranian jail on trumped-up spy charges (pictured before her arrest)

She said her brother had been receiving cancer treatment before he was locked up and has since contracted Covid twice.

A spokesman for Britain's foreign ministry said it had been told by Iran that Tahbaz had been taken back to Evin prison in order to fit an ankle bracelet and that the British government hoped he would be allowed out in coming hours.

A State Department spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that Iran made a commitment to the United Kingdom to furlough Tahbaz.

'We are not a party to this arrangement, but would join the UK in considering anything short of Morad's immediate furlough a violation of Iran's commitment.

'We are urgently consulting with the UK on appropriate responses,' the spokesperson said.

'We continue to work night and day to secure the release of our wrongfully detained citizens, including US-UK citizen Morad Tahbaz,' the spokesperson said.

British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has finally arrived in the UK with fellow detainee Anoosheh Ashoori bringing to a close her momentous journey home after six years in detention in Iran. Pictured: their arrival at RAF Brize Norton

Tahbaz was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for 'assembly and collusion against Iran's national security' and working for the United States as a spy.

In February, as months of talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal inched closer to an agreement, Iran, which holds a dozen Western dual nationals, said it was ready for a prisoner swap in return for the unblocking of frozen assets and release of Iranians held in Western jails.

The nuclear talks were close to an agreement 11 days ago until last-minute Russian demands for sweeping guarantees that would have hollowed out sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine threw the negotiations off track.

Russia now appears to have narrowed its demands to cover only work linked to the nuclear deal, leaving a small number of issues to be resolved between Washington and Tehran, diplomats say.

Nazanin is now in a British Government safe house with her family at an unknown UK location until at least next week.

This is the moment Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was reunited with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella at RAF Brize Norton

MailOnline revealed yesterday that Nazanin is excited to do other 'normal' things like take her daughter to school and the shops.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe worked for the Thomas Reuters Foundation as a project manager before she was detained at Tehran Airport in 2016 and accused of attempting to overthrow the Iranian Government, a charge she has always rigorously denied.

She shared her first family selfie with her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella after the family spent their first night together in six years on Wednesday.

Husband Richard, who campaigned tirelessly for her release and was instrumental in securing her freedom, told the Times that Nazanin would like to focus on being a full-time mother in the immediate future but that she has not ruled out returning to a campaigning role.

He told the newspaper: 'People come out with an extra will to make up for lost time and to stop others having to battle against the bad guys that they feel are responsible.

'And that can take different directions. While I'm sure she's happy, I can't tell where her head will be in six months. I'm sure she's feeling a lot less angry today than she was a week ago. There's nothing like freedom for changing your perspective.'

In an interview by the charity after her release, Thomson Reuters Foundation CEO Antonio Zappulla described her as 'a very dedicated and bubbly colleague', adding: 'I didn't know just how resilient she is. I have nothing but admiration. Nazanin's life was upended, but her spirit was never broken. She is a truly remarkable woman, with a truly remarkable family.'

Mr Zappulla said the charity had supported her throughout her detention in Iran and said she is welcome back whenever she is ready.

He said: 'We will be providing all the support we can. Nazanin has continued to be a member of staff ever since the day she was detained. When she wants to come back her job will be there for her.'

He told the Times the foundation had never replaced Nazanin, adding: 'In fact, we promoted her while she was away.'
Its been two years since Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the shutdown of non-essential businesses as COVID-19 began to change our lives forever. The Morning Call is taking a look at some of the major changes, whats likely to remain and what happens next.

When COVID-19 hit the United States two years ago, health care providers were forced to quickly adapt.

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Early on in the pandemic, when hospitals were tackling a surge of infected COVID patients, many temporarily stopped elective procedures. Hospitals and health care networks in the Lehigh Valley and across the country eventually found a way to provide normal services while contending with the pandemic, but the past two years had a tremendous impact. New challenges in health care have arisen constantly, creating staffing and financial pressures, as well as forcing providers to look at new ways of delivering care to patients.

From technology innovations to supply-chain issues, here are the ways the pandemic changed the health care industry.

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[ 2 years ago, COVID shut Pennsylvania down. What we learned from it and what might change if it happened again ]

Virtual visits

The use of telehealth care massively expanded during the pandemic and is here to stay. Many health care providers were already using telehealth on some level but with the highly infectious virus circulating, being able to provide care remotely became invaluable. The government also promoted telehealth, and insurance companies began widely accepting and paying for telehealth.

I think it was the perfect storm, Dr. Timothy Friel, chairperson of Lehigh Valley Health Networks Department of Medicine and Infectious Diseases. Everyone really took a unified approach to say this was the right thing to do for patients at this time.

Friel said telehealth can be just as good as in-person health care. It can never replace in-person care for physical examinations, surgeries or emergency care, but telehealth has advantages, especially when it comes to saving time for things such as follow-up appointments, and connecting doctors and patients over long distances.

One of our important challenges, as we move forward, is helping patients understand that telemedicine is not simply a safe way to receive care during a pandemic, but its also a highly effective and very efficient way of connecting with your physicians or other medical professionals about certain medical issues, Friel said.

Dr. Jeffrey Jahre, St. Lukes vice president of medical and academic affairs and infectious disease expert, said telehealth has made it easier for patients to access some forms of care than in traditional settings and can cover a broad amount of specializations.

Its allowed very rural communities to have the kind of care that they would get in a more urban community, Jahre said.

KidsPeace, a nonprofit treatment facility for children with behavioral and mental health, found telecommunications platforms were especially suited for outpatient therapy. Katherine Matonis, Kidspeaces director of Pennsylvania community programs, said there are advantages for both children and parents. She said children who are unable to drive dont need to rely on parents to attend appointments and parents who have multiple children dont have to haul the entire family to a KidsPeace location for one childs appointment.

Michael Slack, president and CEO of KidsPeace, added telehealth allows health care professionals to more effectively economize their time. For example, he said, a KidsPeace psychiatrist no longer needs to drive from location to location.

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However, a virtual setting isnt always ideal. Michael Spigel, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Networks president and CEO, said physical therapy is one treatment that cant optimally be replicated virtually. He added patients conditions improve faster and outcomes are overall better when physical therapy is done in person.

For many populations, particularly those people that have a neurological injury or illness, tele-rehab just doesnt work  they may not be safe standing up and walking in the home without supervision or support, Spigel said.

[ Here are some changes COVID-19 brought to the Lehigh Valley, and whether they are here to stay ]

More use of technology

Telehealth wasnt the only virtual tool Lehigh Valley health care providers relied on during the pandemic.

Just before the pandemic, St. Lukes adopted Masimo SafetyNet, a remote patient monitoring system used so hospital staff could keep track of patients without having to constantly go in and out of their rooms.

During the pandemic, this system became invaluable for limiting contact with infectious COVID-19 patients, but St. Lukes also began using it to monitor patients from their homes. Jahre said this has yielded positive outcomes for patients; home usually provides a better place for recovery than a hospital and is less costly for patients.

Jahre said during the pandemic, St. Lukes started using the technology to monitor non-COVID-19 patients in stable condition at home who would benefit from continued monitoring.

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KidsPeace also found over the course of the pandemic that TeenCentral, an online message board it operates for teens to post anonymously about mental health experiences, took on a new life. The website has existed for more than 20 years, but with teens stuck at home early in the pandemic, many visited the site to talk about what they were dealing with. Many teens are still visiting it.

Though posts are anonymous, KidsPeace therapists can connect to the kids through the site. In the last two years, therapists have been able to help teens in danger, Dr. Matthew Koval, KidsPeaces chief medical officer, said.

Before the pandemic, KidsPeace wasnt sure if it was worth keeping TeenCentral operating but Koval said the group sees its value now.

Health care workforce crisis

It hasnt all been positive. There was a shortage of health care workers before the pandemic, but its become significantly worse. Though some care providers may have an easier time attracting and retaining employees, no provider is immune to this global problem.

Friel said for health care workers, the past two years have been the most draining and challenging time of their entire careers.

Its made many people say that they need to take a timeout, they need to take a break or they need to make a significant change  that they need to move away to pursue other types of careers, Friel said.

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He said early on, those working closest with COVID-19 patients such as nurses, respiratory therapists and medical assistants started leaving their jobs, but as the pandemic has gone on, other health care workers have left.

This includes health care workers at jobs where COVID-19 patients werent crowding emergency beds Spigel said. And there isnt one answer to why employees have left, he added.

I dont know if we have a magic answer. I think we all have heard similar answers of what happened, whether it was home life, family life, caregiving, childcare, anxiety, needing to get a break because healthcare is stressful, Spigel said.

For some, staffing shortages are resulting in operations being scaled back. Slack said the need among children for mental and behavioral health services is greater than ever due to the impact of lockdowns, lack of socialization, depression, anxiety, grief and other mental health problems caused or exacerbated by the pandemic. But KidsPeace is not in a position to meet local needs on an inpatient or outpatient basis due to inadequate staff, he said.

Koval said as of March 7, KidsPeace had 40 inpatient beds filled, about half the number of children the group would like to be able to care for under ideal conditions. But there arent enough staff members to safely care for a larger patient load.

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To retain staff and attract new employees, health care networks have had to be competitive, including by adjusting wages, improving benefits and offering sign-on bonuses.

Friel said many health care employers are trying to make their employees feel safe and supported both emotionally and physically. But that has been difficult when short-staffed. He said LVHN has a chief wellness officer and has brought on other staff to support employees, but more goes into being a supportive workplace, including family and bereavement leave.

There has been some uplifting news, though.

St. Lukes reports that applications for its nursing school, training programs and school of medicine havent waned; in fact, theyve grown over the course of the pandemic. Friel said nationwide applications to medical schools are increasing overall, especially in fields such as pulmonology, critical care and infectious disease.

We need some of that new blood and we need some of that new enthusiasm, Friel said. And I think for us, its not only bringing in new hands, new eyes, new approaches, but its also bringing in some of those big hearts and big ideals to help rejuvenate all of us.

Spigel said Good Shepherd is starting to see some improvement in staffing, including slightly more people applying for jobs. But those problems arent expected to go away overnight.

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Slack said to address KidsPeaces staffing challenges and those of other mental health care providers, changes will need to be made on a governmental or societal level. He said reimbursement rates for mental health services have been too low for years, and KidsPeace cant be truly competitive as an employer because of this.

But he added there also needs to be substantial workforce development to meet current and future needs in mental and behavioral health.

Morning Call reporter Leif Greiss can be reached at 610-679-4028 or lgreiss@mcall.com.
The Biden administration will formally declare that the Myanmar army has committed genocide against its Rohingya Muslim population, US officials said Sunday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to make the long-anticipated designation on Monday at an event at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

'It's going to make it harder for them to commit further abuses,' one senior State Department official told Reuters.

Blinken will also announce $1 million of additional funding for the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), a United Nations body based in Geneva that is gathering evidence for potential future prosecutions.

'It's going to enhance our position as we try to build international support to try to prevent further atrocities and hold those accountable,' another US official said.

The designation will likely not bring drastic new measures against Myanmar's military-led government, which has already been hit with multiple US sanctions since the campaign against the Rohingya ethnic minority began in the country's western Rakhine state in 2017.

However, the measure could lead to additional international pressure on the government, which is already facing accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

On Monday, the Biden administration will formally declare that the Myanmar army has committed genocide against the Rohingya Muslim population. Above, Rohingya refugees gather near a fence during a government organized media tour, to a no-man's land between Myanmar and Bangladesh

The Biden administration plans to make the long-anticipated designation on Monday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make the announcement at an event at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington

Ill never forget the painful stories I heard in 2017 from members of the Rohingya community in Burma and Bangladeshstories of violence and crimes against humanity. Good to see the admin take this overdue step to hold this brutal regime accountable, which I've pushed for years. https://t.co/Xv6b0AcguP  Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) March 20, 2022

Human rights groups and lawmakers had been pressing both the Trump and Biden administrations to make the designation.

Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, welcomed the anticipated step, as did the advocacy organization Refugees International.

'I applaud the Biden administration for finally recognizing the atrocities committed against the Rohingya as genocide,' Merkley said in a statement.

On Monday, Blinken will tour an exhibit entitled 'Burma's Path to Genocide.' Myanmar is also known as Burma.

'While this determination is long overdue, it is nevertheless a powerful and critically important step in holding this brutal regime to account,' Merkley added.

The charred corpses of villagers are left on the ground in Done Taw village in Myanmar's northwest region of Sagaing in December 2021. The Biden administration will formally declare that the Myanmar army has committed genocide on Monday

Myanmar's armed forces launched a military operation in 2017 that forced at least 730,000 of the mainly Muslim Rohingya. Above, people fleeing due to fighting between the military and the Karen National Union cross a river in Karen state, along the Thai-Myanmar border, in 2021

Vehicles smolder in Hpruso township, Kayah state, Myanmar, on December 24, 2021

'Such processes must always be carried out objectively, consistently, and in a way that transcends geopolitical considerations.'

The humanitarian group Refugees International also praised the move.

'The US genocide declaration is a welcome and profoundly meaningful step,' the group said in a statement.

'It is also a solid sign of commitment to justice for all the people who continue to face abuses by the military junta to this very today.'

Merkley called on the administration to continue the pressure campaign on Myanmar by imposing additional sanctions on the government to include its oil and gas sectors.

'America must lead the world to make it clear that atrocities like these will never be allowed to be buried unnoticed, no matter where they occur,' he said.

Myanmar's armed forces launched a military operation in 2017 that forced at least 730,000 of the mainly Muslim Rohingya from their homes and into neighboring Bangladesh, where they recounted killings, mass rape and arson.

US officials and an outside law firm gathered evidence in an effort to acknowledge quickly the seriousness of the atrocities, but then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to make a determination.

In 2021, Myanmar's military seized power in a coup.

A demonstrator gestures near a barricade during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar in March 2021

A photographer wearing a protective vest with a 'press' sign at the back films an anti-military government protest being dispersed with tear gas by security forces in Sanchaung township in Yangon, Myanmar in March 2021

Blinken ordered his own 'legal and factual analysis,' a US said on condition of anonymity.

The analysis concluded the Myanmar army is committing genocide and Washington believes the formal determination will increase international pressure to hold the junta accountable.

Myanmar's military has denied committing genocide against the Rohingya, who are denied citizenship in Myanmar, and said it was conducting an operation against terrorists in 2017.

A United Nations fact-finding mission concluded in 2018 that the military's campaign included 'genocidal acts,' but Washington referred at the time to the atrocities as 'ethnic cleansing,' a term that has no legal definition under international criminal law.

'It's really signaling to the world and especially to victims and survivors within the Rohingya community and more broadly that the United States recognizes the gravity of what's happening,' a second senior State Department official said of Blinken's expected announcement.

A genocide determination does not automatically unleash punitive US action.

Since the Cold War, the State Department has formally used the term six times to describe massacres in Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq and Darfur, the Islamic State's attacks on Yazidis and other minorities, and most recently last year, over China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslims.

China denies the genocide claims.

Myanmar's military has denied committing genocide against the Rohingya, who are denied citizenship in Myanmar. Above, soldiers stand next to military vehicles as people gather to protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar in February 15 2021

Suu Kyi, forced to share power with the military, has rejected the genocide charges brought by The Gambia. After seizing power in 2021, the Generals put Kyi in detention (FILE)

The International Criminal Court (ICC), a separate court at The Hague, is also investigating the deportation of Rohingya from Myanmar, and the IIMM in Geneva is gathering evidence that could be used in future trials.

Myanmar opposes the investigations and has refused to cooperate, asserting the ICC does not have jurisdiction and that its decision to launch a probe was swayed by 'charged narratives of harrowing personal tragedies which have nothing to do with the legal arguments in question.'

Before Blinken made the decision this month, officials debated whether blaming Myanmar's government - rather than specifically its military - for the atrocities could complicate US support for the country's deposed democratic forces, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The State Department opted to pin the blame on the military, said the second senior department official.

'It's not clear to what degree the civilian leadership had control over actions that were happening in Rakhine State and so that's where the determination ends at this point,' said that official, who did not comment on the internal deliberation.

Activists believe a clear statement by the United States that genocide was committed could bolster efforts to hold the generals accountable, such as a case in the ICJ, where The Gambia has accused Myanmar of genocide.

Myanmar has rejected the charge of genocide and urged the court's judges to drop the case. The junta says The Gambia is acting as a proxy for others and had no legal standing to file a case.

Suu Kyi, forced to share power with the generals, traveled to the ICJ in 2019 to reject the genocide charges.

She said the country would itself prosecute any soldiers found to have committed abuses, but maintained the alleged violations did not rise to the level of genocide, for which the specific intent to destroy a group has to be proven.

When they seized power in 2021, the generals put Suu Kyi on trial in nearly a dozen cases that could see her sentenced to more than 100 years in prison.

She remains in detention.
China has fully militarized at least three of nearly a dozen manmade islands it built in the hotly contested South China Sea, despite Chinese President Xi Jinpings previous promises not to convert the islands into military bases, a top U.S. military commander said on Sunday.

U.S. Navy officials surveyed outposts in the South China Seas Spratly archipelago  one of the world's most disputed regions  and found that the islands of Mischief Reef, Subi Reef and Fiery Cross has been armed with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets.

U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Admiral John C. Aquilino shared the revelation with two Associated Press journalists who joined him on board a P-8A Poseidon plane during the reconnaissance mission, which revealed that missile arsenals, aircraft hangars, radar systems and other military facilities had been constructed on the three artificial islands.

China has equipped at least three man-made islands in the South China Sea with military equipment such as missile arsenals, aircraft hangars and radar systems. Above is an airstrip made by China on the man-made island on Mischief Reef

A U.S. Navy reconnaissance mission revealed the militarization of Mischief Reef, Subi Reef (above) and Fiery Cross in one of the world's most disputed regions

The islands have been armed with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets. Above is the man-made Fiery Cross Reef

'I think over the past 20 years weve witnessed the largest military buildup since World War II by the [People's Republic of China],' Aquilino said.

'They have advanced all their capabilities and that build-up of weaponization is destabilizing to the region,' he added, noting that the move antagonizes the other nations near the South China Sea, which include the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

Chinese officials have not yet commented, but Beijing maintains its military profile is purely defensive, arranged to protect what it says are its sovereign rights.

However, China now boasts the worlds second largest defense budget next to the U.S. after years of increased military spending and is rapidly modernizing its force with weapons systems including the J-20 stealth fighter, hypersonic missiles and two aircraft carriers, with a third under construction.

During the Navy's mission, its crew on board the P-8A Poseidon plane were repeatedly warned by Chinese callers that it illegally entered what they said was Chinas territory and ordered the plane to move away.

Chinese President Xi Jinping previously promised not to convert the islands into military bases

U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Admiral John C. Aquilino (left) shared the revelation with two Associated Press journalists who joined him on board a P-8A Poseidon plane during the reconnaissance mission

U.S. officials say China's move antagonizes the other nations near the South China Sea, which include the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei

'China has sovereignty over the Spratly islands, as well as surrounding maritime areas. Stay away immediately to avoid misjudgment,' one of the stern radio messages said in a veiled threat.

But the U.S. Navy plane dismissed the multiple warnings and pressed on defiantly with its reconnaissance in brief but tense moments witnessed by the two AP journalists invited onboard.

'I am a sovereign immune United States naval aircraft conducting lawful military activities beyond the national airspace of any coastal state,' a U.S. pilot radioed back to the Chinese.

'Exercising these rights is guaranteed by international law and I am operating with due regard to the rights and duties of all states,' he said.

In a previous incident, a Chinese jet flew close to a U.S. aircraft in a dangerous maneuver in the disputed region, said Navy commanding officer Joel Martinez, who led the P-8A Poseidons crew.

The U.S. flight crew calmly reminded the Chinese to comply with aviation safety regulations, he said.

As the P-8A Poseidon flew as low as 15,000 feet near the Chinese-occupied reefs, some appeared to be like small cities on screen monitors, with multi-story buildings, warehouses, hangars, seaports, runways and white round structures Aquilino said were radars. Near Fiery Cross, more than 40 unspecified vessels could be seen apparently anchored.

While the three islands have been fully militarized, it is unclear if China will pursue the construction of military infrastructure in other areas.

'The function of those islands is to expand the offensive capability of the PRC beyond their continental shores,' Aquilino said. 'They can fly fighters, bombers plus all those offensive capabilities of missile systems.'

Beijing maintains its military profile is purely defensive, despite China's military now having the second-largest defense budget next to the U.S. and rapidly modernizing its force with weapons systems including the J-20 stealth fighter (above)

He added that any military and civilian plane flying over the disputed waterway could easily get within range of the Chinese islands missile system.

'So thats the threat that exists, thats why its so concerning for the militarization of these islands,' he said. 'They threaten all nations who operate in the vicinity and all the international sea and airspace.'

China sought to shore up its vast territorial claims over virtually the entire South China Sea by building island bases on coral atolls nearly a decade ago.

The U.S. responded by sending its warships through the region in what it calls freedom of operation missions.

The U.S. has no claims itself but has deployed Navy ships and aircraft for decades to patrol and promote free navigation in international waterway and airspace.

China routinely objects to any action by the U.S. military in the region. The other countries in the area claim all or part of the sea, through which approximately $5 trillion in goods are shipped every year.

The news of China's actions in the disputed waters comes amid fears that the country may attack neighboring Taiwan. China sailed an aircraft carrier through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Friday morning, shadowed by a U.S. destroyer, just hours before the two country's presidents were due to talk for the first time in months.

The Taiwan Strait in the South China Sea is a hotly contested stretch of water, with China claiming democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory.

Over the past two years Beijing has stepped up its military activity near the island to assert its sovereignty claims, alarming Taipei and Washington.

An anonymous source who was not authorised to speak to the media told Reuters Shandong sailed close to the Taiwan-controlled island of Kinmen, which sits directly opposite the Chinese city of Xiamen. It was shadowed by American missile destroyer the USS Ralph Johnson.

Taiwan's air force scrambles almost daily to see off Chinese warplanes flying into Taiwan's air defense identification zone, mostly to the southwestern part of the strait.

Taiwan calls this "grey zone" warfare activity, designed to both test its responses and wear out Taiwan's air force.

Russias invasion of Ukraine sparked fears that China would carry out a similar invasion on its neighbor while the world was preoccupied with Vladimir Putins war. Nine Chinese aircraft entered Taiwans air defense zone the same day Russian troops invaded Ukraine.

At the same time, President Tsai Ing-wen ordered Taiwan's military and intelligence security apparatus on to high alert, amid warnings that China could sense Western weakness after failing to prevent Russia'a attack.

Despite Chinas aggression, the long-simmering territorial conflicts should only be resolved peacefully, Aquilino said, and cited the Philippine governments successful move to bring its disputes with China to international arbitration in 2013 as a good template.

A U.N.-backed arbitration tribunal that handled the case invalidated Chinas sweeping historical claims in the South China Sea under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing dismissed the ruling as sham and continues to defy it.

Washingtons main objective in the disputed region is 'to prevent war' through deterrence and promote peace and stability, including by engaging American allies and partners in projects with that objective, Aquilino said.

'Should deterrence fail, my second mission is to be prepared to fight and win,' he added.
An elderly South Carolina boater will not be charged for shooting dead a jet skier he rescued from a lake last week in a bizarre chain of events that sheriffs have insisted led to a self-defense killing.

The boater, 74, has not been named by police. Last Tuesday, he was on Lake Keowee with his wife when they encountered Nathan Drew Morgan, 29, and an unnamed woman in the water.

Morgan and the woman were in 'distress' and their jet ski was circling in the water, according to police.

The elderly boater and his wife helped them on board their pontoon, but Morgan became belligerent and threatening.

Exactly what happened next is unclear but police say Morgan assaulted both the older man and woman on the boat.

The younger woman pushed Morgan back into the water. The elderly couple then helped him back on board again in a second show of mercy, but then felt suddenly threatened again.

The older man shot Morgan and he bled out on the boat. Police now say that the older man will not be charged criminally for the shooting and that he thought Morgan - a father-of-one - was threatening his life.

A spokesman for the sheriff's office said on Monday morning Morgan was unarmed but because he was so much younger than the other man, he posed a physical threat.

The spokesman said there is 'no evidence' the older couple knew him or the woman on the jet ski.

Nathan Drew Morgan, 29, (pictured) was shot and killed by a 74-year-old man who had rescued him from the water after Morgan became agitated and attempted to assault the older man and his wife, authorities said

Police respond after Morgan was shot dead on Lake Keowee

Morgan, a resident of Walhalla, is survived by his son, according to his obituary

After being saved from the 63-degree water, Morgan began arguing with his rescuer and his girlfriend pushed him back into the lake in an attempt to defuse the situation, the sheriff's office said. Investigators were told he may have wanted to get back on the jet ski.

The couple on the pontoon helped him aboard again, but Morgan remained belligerent and the elderly man shot him, telling officials he feared for his and his wife's lives.

Morgan, of Walhalla, died on the boat from a gunshot wound to the chest, the Oconee County Coroner's Office said.

Sheriff Mike Crenshaw told the paper that Morgan may have been intoxicated. An autopsy report is pending.

Investigators also believe there may have been an argument between Morgan and the unidentified girlfriend he was with before they fell into the water the first time.

Authorities have declined to name the couple.

Morgan enjoyed outdoor activities such as being on the water and fishing, his obituary said

According to his obituary, Morgan was a member of Flat Shoals Baptist Church and enjoyed outdoor activities such as being on the water and fishing.

He is survived by a 10-year-old son.

Friends of the victim questioned the circumstances behind the bizarre case.

'And...anyone who knew drew knows this is absolute BS.

'He wouldnt hurt or attack anyone unless HE FELT THREATENED!' Kelcie Bratton wrote on Facebook.

Bratton added: 'He would never harm anyone who would try to help him in a situation and I know this first hand.'

'He was a big teddy bear inside but if you harmed anyone he loved or crossed a certain line and stepped at him first he would have finished it off.

'He's not here to defend himself and the ones involved seem like they are not telling the whole truth behind this.'

Kesslin Cole, another friend of Morgan, echoed Bratton's feelings and called out for a further investigation by Oconee authorities.

'This Amazing man had a son who lost his Best friend & Drew's parents will never see their son again...Many people throughout the community lost a very special friend, [and] This is all we get...You call this JUSTICE [?] This is far from that,' Cole wrote.

After the shooting, Brandon Thomas, who lives nearby, told local news station WSPA he had never heard of a similar incident in the area.

'Certainly have never seen [or heard] anything like that,' Thomas said. 'That's very surprising, especially the area it was in...That's crazy. Definitely unexpected out here, for sure.'

Lake Keowee is a manmade reservoir near the northwest border North Carolina and Georgia. More than 32 people have drowned in the lake in the past 30 years.
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Boris Johnson is considering a lightning trip to Kyiv to show support for Ukraine's battle against Vladimir Putin.

The Prime Minister has asked officials to examine the practicality and value of the trip to the Ukrainian capital for talks with president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Security officials are said to be 'having kittens' at the prospect of the PM travelling to a war zone; from which ten million have fled, UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said on Sunday.

But a Whitehall source said Mr Johnson 'wants to go' if it can be made to work.

The source added: 'If you set aside the security concerns, which are considerable, the question is whether there is anything additional you could achieve by visiting in person, or whether it would just be a show of solidarity, and whether that is a sufficient goal in itself.'

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked officials to examine the practicality and value of a trip to Kyiv

Rescuers work at a site of a shopping mall damaged by an airstrike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine today

But the situation last night in Kyiv showed how difficult it would be to ensure the Prime Minister's safety if he does visit.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko shared pictures of what appeared to be an explosion in the distance in the city's Podil district.

In a tweet he reported claims of several explosions, 'in particular, according to information at the moment, some houses and in one of the shopping centres'.

Klitschko added that 'rescuers, medics and police are already in place' and reported 'at this time - one victim'. It is unclear if he referred to a fatality or injury.

In a tweet the mayor reported claims of several explosions, 'in particular, according to information at the moment, some houses and in one of the shopping centres'

Mayor Vitali Klitschko shared pictures of what appears to be an explosion in the distance in the city's Podil district

Olga, a 27-year-old Ukrainian woman seriously wounded while sheltering her baby from shrapnel blasts amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, holds her baby Victoria in Kyiv

Olga holds her baby as her husband Dmytro stands by her side. The 27-year-old Ukrainian woman seriously wounded while sheltering her baby from shrapnel

Another post from the mayor said: 'Rescuers are extinguishing a large fire in one of the shopping centres in the Podolsk district of the capital. All services - rescue, medics, police - work on site. The information is being clarified.'

More devastating scenes continue to emerge from near the city, as seventeen-year-old Bogdan was pictured heavily injured following Friday's fighting in Brovary, east of the capital Kyiv.

The teenager, with his arms in a splint and his face bloodied and bruised, was photographed having a cigarette after he and his family were saved by Ukrainian forces.

He told The Times: 'For two days, I was freezing, and in so much pain.'

His mother and stepfather also suffered burns from missiles which wrecked the house as the family for two days waited for help.

The prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic made a trip to Kyiv last week.

'I have a very, very strong desire to support him [Zelensky] in any way I can. Whether that would be a useful way of showing my support I don't know but it is of huge strategic, political, economic, moral importance for Putin to fail and Zelensky to succeed,' Mr Johnson told The Sunday Times.

It came as Chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday moved to defuse a row caused by a Tory spring conference speech at the weekend, in which the PM appeared to link Ukraine's battle for freedom against Putin with Britain's vote to leave the EU.

Seventeen-year-old Bogdan, with his arms in a splint and his face bloodied and bruised was pictured heavily injured following Friday's fighting in Brovary, east of the capital Kyiv

His mother and stepfather also suffered burns from missiles which wrecked the house as the family for two days waited for help

Evacuees from the villages occupied by Russian soldiers arrive in the town of Brovary, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Ukrainian firefighters and security teams at the scene of a building hit by Russian missiles in Kyiv

Security officials are said to be 'having kittens' at the prospect of the PM travelling to a war zone; from which ten million have fled, UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi said on Sunday

He said: 'The instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom, every time... When the British people voted for Brexit, in such large, large numbers, I don't believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners.

'It's because they wanted to be free to do things differently and for this country to be able to run itself.'

But Mr Sunak said: 'He was talking about freedom in general. Those two situations are not directly comparable and no one thinks that they are.'

Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves urged the PM to apologise for the 'crass remarks'.

Surrender city of Mariupol TONIGHT or face 'terrible humanitarian catastrophe': Russia issues horrifying ultimatum to Ukraine after bombing art school sheltering 400 and sending thousands hundreds of miles in mass deportations

Elmira Tanatarova, Stephen Wynn-Davis and Chris Matthews for MailOnline and AFP

Russia called on Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to lay down their arms, saying a 'terrible humanitarian catastrophe' was unfolding as it said defenders who did so were guaranteed safe passage out of the city and humanitarian corridors would be opened from it at 10am Moscow time (7am GMT) on Monday.

However, Ukraine rejected the offer as Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said no and called on Russian forces to stop 'wasting time on eight pages of letters' and 'just open the corridor'.

She told news outlet Ukrainian Pravda: 'There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this.'

Residents were given until 5am Monday to respond to the offer, which included them raising a white flag; Russia didn't say what action it would take if the offer was rejected.

Russian Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said forces would allow two corridors out of Mariupol - one heading east toward Russia or another, west, to other areas of Ukraine.

Fighting continued inside the besieged city on Sunday, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said, without elaborating, as claims today came that thousands from the port city are being taken for forced labour into remote parts of Russia.

The Mariupol City Council said in a statement: 'The occupiers are forcing people to leave Ukraine for Russia. Over the past week, several thousand Mariupol residents have been taken to the Russian territory.'

The council also claimed that Mariupol evacuees' cellphones and documents were inspected by Russian troops before they were sent to 'remote cities in Russia'.

Ukrainian lawmaker Inna Sovsun told Times Radio that according to the mayor and city council in Mariupol, those citizens are going to so-called filtration camps and 'then they're being relocated to very distant parts of Russia, where they're being forced to sign papers that they will stay in that area for two or three years and they will work for free in those areas.'

Russia and Ukraine have made agreements throughout the war on humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians, but have accused each other of frequent violations of those.

The Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine on Sunday said that 2,973 people have been evacuated from Mariupol since March 5, including 541 over the last 24 hours.

This comes as on Sunday Boris Johnson asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky what his military requires in Ukraine's battle against Russia's invasion as both leaders 'agreed to step up their direct communication', No 10 has said.

The Prime Minister 'set out his intention to advance Ukraine's interests at this week's Nato and G7 meetings and in upcoming bilateral engagement with key allies,' according to a Downing Street spokeswoman.

Mr Johnson 'asked for the president's latest assessment of Ukraine's military requirements in the face of Russian aggression' and 'outlined the UK's ongoing commitment to work alongside international partners to co-ordinate support to strengthen Ukraine's self-defence'.

Refugees walk along a road as they leave the city during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine

Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of tanks during Ukraine-Russia conflict on the outskirts of the besieged southern port city of Mariupol today

Local residents carry bottles with water as Russia's invasion continues to take a toll on Ukraine in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol

Service members of pro-Russian troops are seen atop of tanks during Ukraine-Russia conflict on the outskirts of the besieged southern port city of Mariupol

Devastation and debris pictured in Mariupol today as Russia called on Ukrainian forces in the port city to lay down their arms, saying a 'terrible humanitarian catastrophe' was unfolding

She added: 'The leaders also discussed the ongoing negotiations and the Prime Minister reaffirmed his staunch support for Ukraine's position.

'Both leaders stressed the continued importance of sanctions in exerting pressure on (Russian President Vladimir Putin), and they condemned the abhorrent attacks on innocent civilians, following the appalling bombings in Mariupol.

'The Prime Minister expressed his admiration for the bravery of Ukraine and was clear that the UK was committed to stepping up military, economic and diplomatic support in order to help bring an end to this terrible conflict.'

This satellite image illustrates what the Mariupol theatre looked like before it was reduced to rubble by Russian shelling

New satellite images show the collapsed remains of Mariupol theatre which was sheltering hundreds of children and their families before being levelled in a Russian airstrike

This comes as authorities in the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol say that the Russian military has bombed an art school where about 400 people had taken refuge.

Local authorities said on Sunday that the school building was destroyed and people could remain under the rubble, but there was no immediate word on casualties.

The Russian governor of Sevastopol, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, said on Sunday that Post Captain Andrei Paliy, deputy commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, had been killed during fighting in Mariupol.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 7,295 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Sunday, 3,985 of them from Mariupol. She said the government planned to send nearly 50 buses to Mariupol on Monday for further evacuations.

In this satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC, multiple civilian buildings burn amid Russian strikes on the Livoberezhnyi District of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 20

A man walks along a road past a tank of pro-Russian troops in Mariupol, Ukraine, as Russia's invasion which began last month continues

Members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Force stand guard at a checkpoint in Kyiv, Ukraine today. The war in Ukraine has sparked the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II

The last EU diplomat to evacuate the besieged Ukrainian port said: 'What I saw, I hope no one will ever see.'

Greece's consul general in Mariupol, Manolis Androulakis, left the city on Tuesday.

After a four-day trip through Ukraine he crossed to Romania through Moldavia, along with 10 other Greek nationals.

As he arrived in Athens on Sunday, Mr Androulakis said: 'Mariupol will become part of a list of cities that were completely destroyed by war; I don't need to name them- they are Guernica, Coventry, Aleppo, Grozny, Leningrad.'

According to the Greek Foreign Ministry, Androulakis was the last EU diplomat to leave Mariupol.

The Ukrainian flag has been projected onto the Russian Embassy in London as protesters outside called for an end to the war and violence

A woman walks out of a heavily damaged building after bombing in Satoya neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, today, amid damaged buildings and debris

An injured local resident smokes at an area where a residential building was hit by the debris from a downed rocket, in Kyiv today as Russian forces try to encircle the Ukrainian capital

A resident stands with her dog next to a destroyed building, amid debris, after a bombing in Satoya neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine today

Three people were injured in a Russian air strike on Ukraine's western Zhytomyr region earlier today, emergency services have said

Thirteen buildings were damaged in the attack, which targeted the Korostensky district, north of the region's main city Zhytomyr, Ukraine's state emergency services said on Facebook

Ukraine's state emergency services said on Facebook that 'three people were injured', posting images of burning buildings and scattered charred debris

Also on Sunday, Russia's defence ministry said its 'high-precision missiles' hit a training centre of Ukrainian special forces in Zhytomyr region, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Ukraine's capital Kyiv

Photos of damaged buildings have today been captured after three were injured in air strike on western Ukraine, emergency services said

Three have today been injured in air strike on western Ukraine, emergency services said, as thirteen buildings were damaged in the attack, which targeted the Korostensky district north of the region's main city Zhytomyr.

'Three people were injured,' a Facebook post from Ukraine's emergency services added, posting images of burning buildings and scattered charred debris.

Also on Sunday, Russia's defence ministry said its 'high-precision missiles' hit a training centre of Ukrainian special forces in Zhytomyr region, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

'More than 100 (Ukrainian) servicemen of the special forces and foreign mercenaries were destroyed,' in the attack, the ministry said.

Terrifying footage has emerged apparently showing Russia firing deadly thermobaric TOS-1A rockets, which can allegedly melt human organs.

Moscow defence sources claimed: 'The TOS-1A Solntsepek was used against Ukrainian nationalists by the people's militia of the Donetsk People's Republic with the support of the Russian army during a special operation in Ukraine.'

Earlier Zelensky also said Russia's siege of the port city was 'a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come'.

His comments came after local authorities said Russian troops had forcefully deported several thousand people from the besieged city last week, after Russia had spoken of 'refugees' arriving from the strategic port.

'Over the past week, several thousand Mariupol residents were deported onto the Russian territory,' the city council said in a statement on its Telegram channel late on Saturday.

'The occupiers illegally took people from the Livoberezhniy district and from the shelter in the sports club building, where more than a thousand people (mostly women and children) were hiding from the constant bombing.'

Zelensky said the siege of Mariupol would 'go down in history of responsibility for war crimes'.

'To do this to a peaceful city... is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come.'

Meanwhile, authorities in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv say at least five civilians, including a nine-year-old boy, have been killed in the latest Russian shelling.

This comes as Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba has on Twitter posted about protests in Energodar, a city in the country's north-west oblast, following claims that Russian forces have abducted its deputy mayor.

Mr Kuleba's tweet said: 'Brave Ukrainians in Energodar hold a peaceful protest demanding to release deputy mayor Ivan Samoidyuk who was abducted by Russian invaders. Russians thought they could impose their authoritarian rules in democratic Ukraine. Instead, they need to go home.'

Earlier this month President Zelensky demanded the release of Melitopol's mayor after his alleged kidnap by Russian troops, which sparked local protests.

The Ukrainian leader said the capture was an 'attempt to bring the city to its knees' and demanded the immediate release of Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of the besieged city.

Mr Fedorov is understood to have been released according to Ukrainian authorities, Sky News reports.

Zelensky today also urged Israel to 'make its choice' and abandon its effort to maintain neutrality towards the invasion.

The Ukrainian leader, who is Jewish, made the appeal during an address to Israeli lawmakers, the latest in a series of speeches by videoconference to foreign legislatures.

In remarks that at several points compared Russian aggression to the Holocaust, Zelensky said that 'Ukraine made the choice to save Jews 80 years ago.'

'Now it's time for Israel to make its choice.'

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has walked a careful diplomatic line since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.

Stressing Israel's strong ties to Moscow and Kyiv, Bennett has sought to preserve delicate security cooperation with Russia, which has troops in Syria, across Israel's northern border.

He has held regular phone calls with Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, including a three-hour meeting with the Russian President at the Kremlin on March 5.

While Ukrainian officials have voiced appreciation for Bennett's mediation efforts, Zelensky today implied that this too had proven to be a misstep.

'We can mediate between states but not between good and evil,' the Ukrainian leader said.

Civilians trapped in Mariupol city under Russian attacks, are evacuated in groups under the control of pro-Russian separatists, through other cities, in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 20

Pro-Russian separatists seemed to be carrying out strip-searches on some of the fleeing Ukrainian civilians in Mariupol on Sunday

This man (left) was asked to remove both his trousers and his top, even though it seemed to be snowing

Pro-Putin soldiers were wrapped up against the cold as they allowed civilians to leave Mariupol on Sunday, March 20

Pro-Russian separatists gave directions to civilians trying to escape the heavily bombarded city of Mariupol

Groups of Ukrainians fleeing the war left the city in the southeast of the country, where there has been intense fighting

Previous humanitarian corridors in the war-torn country had failed after Russia allegedly bombed civilians who were trying to leave

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said that the West needs to have a 'degree of scepticism' about the prospect of a peace deal between Russia and Ukrainevas Kyiv looked to stand firm against giving up territory in a settlement.

Speaking today, the Chancellor said it is 'encouraging' that discussions are under way but the West has to be on its guard.

Mr Sunak told Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: 'You have to have some degree of scepticism about it given the track record of these things.

'I think the most important thing is that any talk of a settlement must be on Ukraine's terms.

'And the best thing we can do is just maintain the significant pressure that we are bringing to bear on Putin, but also providing support to the Ukrainians in the meantime - that's the best we can do and the Ukrainians will take the lead.'

An official in Mr Zelensky's office told the Associated Press that the main subject discussed between the two sides last week was whether Russian troops would remain in separatist regions in eastern Ukraine after the war and where the borders would lie.

But a Ukraine politician said while her country is open to further meetings with Russia, it is not prepared to give up land to the aggressor.

Olha Stefanishyna, deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, told Sky News that re-drawing Ukraine's borders is 'absolutely not' being considered.

'Ukrainian territory is a territory which has been fixed (since) 1991,' she said.

'That is not an option for discussion.'

According to reports, Kyiv has insisted on the inclusion of one or more Western nuclear powers in the negotiations with the Kremlin and on legally binding security guarantees for Ukraine.

Asked whether the UK would act as a security guarantor to the Ukrainians as part of any peace deal, Mr Sunak - who confirmed his family will not be taking in a Ukrainian refugee - said it is 'probably a bit too early to get into the details' of what an agreement might look like.

Elsewhere, Boris Johnson has urged China to get off the fence and join in global condemnation of Russia's invasion.

The Prime Minister, in comments made to the Sunday Times, said he believes some in Xi Jinping's administration are having 'second thoughts' about the neutral stance adopted by Beijing following Russia's actions against its neighbour.

But today China's ambassador to the US defended his country's refusal to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking with CBS's 'Face the Nation' Qin Gang said condemnation 'doesn't solve the problem'.

He said: 'I would be surprised if Russia will back down by condemnation.'

Mr Gang added: '(China) will continue to promote peace talks and urge immediate fire.

'And, you know, condemnation, you know, only, doesn't help. We need wisdom. We need courage and we need good diplomacy.'

Zelensky also said peace talks with Russia were needed although they were 'not easy and pleasant'. He said he discussed the course of the talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday.

'Ukraine has always sought a peaceful solution. Moreover, we are interested in peace now,' he said.

Vladimir Putin has reportedly 'finally agreed' to meet in person with Zelensky for peace talks.

So far the negotiations have been between middle men on neutral ground but the war has continued into its fourth week.

The Russian tyrant will allegedly meet President Zelensky 'at some point', the Express reported.

The two leaders have let their diplomatic teams conduct peace talks on the neutral ground since shortly after the start of the conflict on February 24, but a BBC correspondent has confirmed the two will meet in person.

Putin has come to terms with fact he will have to lead the negotiations at some time in the future, the BBC's Lysa Doucet said.

She said: 'The diplomats are talking, the negotiators are talking. We understand President Putin has finally agreed that he will meet, at some point, President Zelensky who has been asking for a meeting since January.

'He hasn't said it in public, he says quite the opposite in public.'

She added: 'The Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is very busy, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is very busy.

Footage filmed in Mariupol showed a Ukrainian regiment firing a BTR-4 30mm cannon on a Russian BTR-82A and a T-72B3 tank

The Ukrainian cannon seemed to aim at the Russian tank's tracks in a bid to put the vehicles out of order

It seemed to shoot around a metre above the heads of soldiers on the ground, who had their rifles aimed at the tanks

The tanks had been painted with a white 'Z', which has quickly become a symbol for Russia in its war with Ukraine

'They've said privately their understanding is that President Putin will meet President Zelensky when the time is right. But the time is not right now.'

Meanwhile, Russia's military isn't even recovering the bodies of its soldiers in some places, Zelensky said.

'In places where there were especially fierce battles, the bodies of Russian soldiers simply pile up along our line of defence. And no one is collecting these bodies,' he said.

He described a battle near Chornobayivka in the south, where Ukrainian forces held their positions and six times beat back the Russians, who just kept 'sending their people to slaughter'.

Russian news agencies, citing the country's defence ministry, have said buses carrying several hundred people - which Moscow calls refugees - have been arriving in Russia from Mariupol in recent days.

An evacuation of civilians from secure corridors pictured in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 18

Service members of pro-Russian troops drive an armoured vehicle in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 19

A discarded pram pictured as an evacuation of civilians from secure corridors took place in Mariupol, Ukraine on March 18

Earlier on Sunday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's siege of the port city of Mariupol was 'a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come'

Service members of pro-Russian troops in uniforms without insignia drive an armoured vehicle during Russia's invasion of Mariupol

The Russian TASS news agency reported on Saturday that 13 busses were moving to Russia, carrying more than 350 people, about 50 of whom were to be sent by rail to the Yaroslavl region and the rest to temporary transition centres in Taganrog, a port city in Russia's Rostov region.

Russia's Defence Ministry said this month that Russia had prepared 200 busses to 'evacuate' citizens of Mariupol.

RIA Novosti agency, citing emergency services, reported last week that nearly 300,000 people, including some 60,000 children, have arrived in Russia from the Luhansk and Donbas regions, including from Mariupol, in recent weeks.

Russia's Defence Ministry said this month that more than 2.6 million people in Ukraine have asked to be evacuated.

The city council in the Azov Sea port city said Sunday that 39,426 residents, almost ten per cent of the 430,000 who live there, have safely evacuated from Mariupol in their own vehicles. It said the evacuees used more than 8,000 vehicles to leave via a humanitarian corridor via Berdyansk to Zaporizhzhia.

Air raid sirens sounded across major Ukrainian cities early on Sunday but there were no immediate reports of fresh attacks.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been trapped in Mariupol for more than two weeks, sheltering from heavy bombardment that has severed central supplies of electricity, heating, food and water supplies, and killed at least 2,300 people, some of whom had to be buried in mass graves, according to local authorities.

Ukrainian firefighters and security teams at the scene of a building hit by Russian missiles in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 20

Although the fires were put out, cars were left burnt out, with a residential blocks of flats damaged by the air strike

A woman holding a pug walks away from the the scene of a building hit by Russian missiles in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 20

The governor of the northeastern Sumy region, Dmytro Zhyvytskyy, said Sunday that 71 infants have been safely evacuated via a humanitarian corridor.

Zhyvytskyy said on Facebook that the orphans will be taken to an unspecified foreign country. He said most of them require constant medical attention. Like many other Ukrainian cities, Sumy has been besieged by Russian troops and faced repeated shelling.

Meanwhile, the Russian military says it has carried out a new series of strikes on Ukrainian military facilities with long-range hypersonic and cruise missiles.

A man helps Ukrainian soldiers searching for bodies in the debris at a military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine

Saved: A Ukrainian recruit was rescued after 30 hours from debris of the military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19

A Russian attack on a barracks for young Ukrainian recruits in the middle of the night that killed at least 50 young Ukrainian recruits was branded as 'cowardly'.

Russian rockets struck the military school in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on Friday, killing dozens of young Ukrainian ensigns at their brigade headquarters.

Ukrainian soldier Maxim, 22, who was at the barracks, said 'no fewer than 200 soldiers were sleeping in the barracks' at the time of the strike.

'At least 50 bodies have been recovered, but we do not know how many others are in the rubble,' he said.

Vitaly Kim, the governor of Mykolaiv, said Russia 'hit our sleeping soldiers with a rocket in a cowardly manner.'

Meanwhile Olga Malarchuk, a military official, said: 'We aren't allowed to say anything because the rescue operation isn't over and the families haven't all been informed.

'We are not yet able to announce a toll and I cannot tell you how many soldiers were present'.

Russia also said it had fired a second 'unstoppable' hypersonic Kinzhal missile at a fuel depot in Kostyantynivka, in the southern region of Mykolaiv.

A MiG-31K jet fired the aeroballistic missile at the warehouse as it was flying over Crimea.

Major General Igor Konashenkov, from the Russian Defence Ministry, said the target was the main supply of fuel for Ukrainian armoured cars in the south of the country.

He claimed the missile had destroyed the depot. It is the second time Russia says it has used the missile in Ukraine, after a weapons storage site was destroyed in Deliatyn, in the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine, on Friday.

NATO deem the weapon so powerful it has been nicknamed The Sizzler.

At least 200 soldiers were sleeping at the time of the attack, which was branded 'cowardly' by the governor of Mykolaiv

Russian forces carried out a large-scale air strike on Mykolaiv, killing at least 50 Ukrainian soldiers at their brigade headquarters

Ukrainian soldiers search for bodies in the debris at the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19

Russia has never before admitted using the high-precision weapon in combat.

Moscow claims the 'Kinzhal'- or Dagger - is 'unstoppable' by current Western weapons. The missile, which has a range of 2,000 kilometer (1,250 miles), is nuclear capable.

However, both hypersonic strikes so far have not been nuclear.

'The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region', the Russian defence ministry said Saturday.

Russian Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov also said that the Russian forces used the anti-ship missile system Bastion to strike Ukrainian military facilities near the Black Sea port of Odessa.

Aerial footage released by the Russian military claimed to show the missile strike. Large, long buildings are shown in the footage in a snowy region, before one is obliterated by a huge explosion - sending flames, earth and debris high into the air. People can be seen on the ground fleeing as smoke pours from the site.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ignat confirmed that a storage site had been targeted, but added that Kyiv had no information regarding the type of missile that was used.

Hypersonic missiles differ from ballistic ones in that they travel closer to the earth and as such can largely avoid radar detection

'The enemy targeted our depots' but 'we have no information of the type of missile,' he said. 'There has been damage, destruction and the detonation of munitions. They are using all the missiles in their arsenal against us.'

Russia reportedly first used the weapon during its military campaign in Syria in 2016 to support the Assad regime, although it was unclear if this was the same model. Some of the most intense bombing came in 2016 during the battle for Aleppo, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has termed the missile 'an ideal weapon' that flies at 10 times the speed of sound, which is 7672.69 miles per hour, and can overcome air-defence systems.

Russia also said it had fired a second 'unstoppable' hypersonic Kinzhal missile at a fuel depot in Kostyantynivka, in the southern region of Mykolaiv. The MiG-31K jet (pictured as it took off) fired the aeroballistic missile at the warehouse as it was flying over Crimea

Major General Igor Konashenkov, from the Russian Defence Ministry, said the target was the main supply of fuel for Ukrainian armoured cars in the south of the country. He claimed the missile had destroyed the depot. Pictured: The Russian pilot flying the fighter jet

Deliatyn, a picturesque village in the foothills of the picturesque Carpathian mountains, is located outside the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. The region of Ivano-Frankivsk shares a 30-mile long border with NATO member Romania.

Konashenkov noted that the Kalibr cruise missiles launched by Russian warships from the Caspian Sea were also involved in the strike on the fuel depot in Kostiantynivka. He said Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea were used to destroy an armor repair plant in Nizhyn in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine.

Konashenkov added that another strike by air-launched missiles hit a Ukrainian facility in Ovruch in the northern Zhytomyr region where foreign fighters and Ukrainian special forces were based.

The British defense ministry said the Ukrainian Air Force and air defense forces are 'continuing to effectively defend Ukrainian airspace'.

'Russia has failed to gain control of the air and is largely relying on stand-off weapons launched from the relative safety of Russian airspace to strike targets within Ukraine', the ministry said on Twitter.

'Gaining control of the air was one of Russia's principal objectives for the opening days of the conflict and their continued failure to do so has significantly blunted their operational progress.'

A Ukrainian military official meanwhile confirmed to a Ukrainian newspaper that Russian forces carried out a missile strike Friday on a missile and ammunition warehouse in the Deliatyn settlement of the Ivano-Frankivsk region in western Ukraine.

But Ukraine's Air Forces spokesman Yurii Ihnat told Ukrainskaya Pravda on Saturday that it has not been confirmed that the missile was indeed a hypersonic Kinzhal.

Russia also boasted in a chilling newly-released video how it is using adapted Israeli reconnaissance combat drone technology to kill in Ukraine.

The footage shows a Forpost-R destroying a battery of Ukrainian howitzers and military hardware.

Israel six years ago stopped supplying components for the drone - but Russia still has a force of around 100.

The Russian defence ministry said: 'Unmanned aerial vehicles of the Aerospace Forces carried out missile strikes on a self-propelled artillery battery of 122mm howitzers and military hardware of the Ukrainian armed forces.

'A battery of self-propelled artillery guns, armoured vehicles and vehicles were destroyed by airborne weapons.'

The import-substituted Forpost-R drone is a licensed version of the Israeli Searcher MkII.

The drone was supplied to Russia but was designed exclusively for reconnaissance.

It is an improved and indigenised model variant of the Forpost (Outpost), the Israeli Searcher Mk II UAV assembled by Yekaterinburg-based Ural Civil Aviation Plant.

From 2016, Israel stopped supplying components to Russia, apparently under pressure from the US, triggering the move by the Kremlin to adapt the drone.

The Forpost-R unmanned combat aerial vehicle was first seen a week ago deployed by Russia in the current conflict.

The video is believed to show the combat drone taking off from Gomel, in Belarus, and striking at targets in Ukraine.

Mariupol, a key connection to the Black Sea, has been a target since the start of the war on February 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he calls a 'special military operation' to demilitarise and 'denazify' Ukraine. Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.

As Russia has sought to seize most of Ukraine's southern coast, Mariupol has assumed great importance, lying between the Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea to the west and the Donetsk region to the east, which is partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

The U.N. human rights office said at least 847 civilians had been killed and 1,399 wounded in Ukraine as of Friday. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said 112 children have been killed.

Rescue workers on Sunday were still searching for survivors in a Mariupol theatre that local authorities say was flattened by Russian air strikes on Wednesday. Russia denies hitting the theatre or targeting civilians.

Satellite images, released on Saturday, showed the collapsed remains of the building which was sheltering hundreds of children and their families before being levelled in a Russian airstrike.

More than 1,300 people, including women and babies, are still feared trapped in the bombed ruins of the theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol as rescue efforts are hampered by constant Russian shelling.

Their prospects of survival are growing bleaker by the day, with no supplies and Russian troops firing at rescuers trying to dig through the rubble.

Last night a local MP said those inside were forced to dig from within the wreckage because rescue attempts had been thwarted by ongoing airstrikes.

On Sunday the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine shared photographs of children's drawings about the ongoing war. This one includes a dead soldier and a Russian military truck with a 'Z' symbol on it that seems to be firing at the child, labelled 'Me', and their 'Papa' and 'Mama' as well as a pet, who are all inside a heart the colours of the Ukrainian flag

A Ukrainian girl called Victoria drew a picture of a female relative in camouflage, holding a rifle (left). Another drawing by 10-year-old Sasha is a self-portrait of himself praying (right). His mother said: 'It's hard to imagine what our children have to endure. My son became an adult prematurely'

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who branded Russia's attack as 'outright terror', last night vowed to continue the rescue mission.

'Hundreds of Mariupol residents are still under the debris. Despite the shelling, despite all the difficulties, we will continue the rescue work,' he said.

On Sunday the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine shared photographs of children's drawings about the ongoing war.

One included a dead soldier and a Russian military truck with a 'Z' symbol on it that seemed to be firing at the child, labelled 'Me', and their 'Papa' and 'Mama' as well as a pet, who are all inside a heart the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

Another drawing by a Ukrainian girl called Victoria showed a female relative in camouflage, holding a rifle.

The mother of Sasha, a 10-year-old Ukrainian boy who draw a picture of himself praying, said: 'It's hard to imagine what our children have to endure. My son became an adult prematurely.'

Russian troops have now reached the city centre and civilians remain hiding in bunkers while fighters battle on the streets.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said: 'Tanks and machine gun battles continue. There's no city centre left. There isn't a small piece of land in the city that doesn't have signs of war.'

The devastating losses across Ukraine have sparked a poignant protest in Lviv, where 109 empty prams were arranged in solemn rows to mark the number of children killed since Russia invaded.

Local authorities said more than 130 survivors have emerged from the rubble of the Mariupol theatre which was being used as the ravaged port city's biggest civilian bomb shelter.

But they said that those saved represented just one tenth of the civilians still trapped within the refuge which miraculously withstood the blast.

Ukraine's human rights commissioner Lyudmyla Denisova said: 'According to our data there are still more than 1,300 people there who are in these basements, in that bomb shelter. We pray that they will be alive but so far there is no information about them.'

More than 1,300 people including women and babies are still feared trapped in the bombed ruins of a theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol (pictured)

The helpless casualties were yesterday forced to spend a third night entombed in the basement of the destroyed Drama Theatre which was hit by Vladimir Putin's forces on Wednesday

Residents are seen on the street after emerging from bomb shelters, gathering their belongings as they prepare to flee the city

109 empty baby carriages on display in Lviv city center for the 109 babies killed so far during Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Former governor MP Serhiy Taruta said he fears many survivors will die because the city's emergency services have been destroyed by Russian troops.

'Services that are supposed to help are demolished, rescue and utility services are physically destroyed. This means that all the survivors of the bombing will either die under the ruins of the theatre, or have already died,' he wrote on Facebook.

He said those trapped had been left to dig their way out of the collapsed three-storey building.

'People are doing everything themselves. My friends went to help but due to constant shelling it was not safe.'

However Mariupol MP Dmytro Gurin insisted that while the rescue mission had been hampered by constant Russian attacks, efforts were still under way.

One woman said the strike had taken place while those sheltering beneath the theatre were cooking and only around 100 had time to flee.

Nick Osychenko, the CEO of a Mariupol TV station, said as he fled the city with six members of his family, aged between 4 and 61, he saw dead bodies on nearly every block.

'We were careful and didn't want the children to see the bodies, so we tried to shield their eyes,' he said. 'We were nervous the whole journey. It was frightening, just frightening.'

Russia has denied responsibility for the devastating strike which was branded a 'war crime' and sparked global outrage.

After an agonising first night of uncertainty following the bombing, Ukrainian officials revealed on Thursday that they were hopeful that the majority within had survived.

Rescuers said that while the entrance to the basement had caved in, the relatively modern shelter had remained intact.

But Miss Denisova said that while some had survived, the situation remained unclear.

She said there was 'currently no information about the dead or wounded under the rubble' and called the attack 'an act of genocide and a terrible crime against humanity'.

Ukraine's Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov branded the Russian pilot behind the bombing a 'monster'.

But the Kremlin's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya yesterday denied that Russia had targeted the shelter.

Pictured: The aftermath of a theatre in the encircled Ukrainian port city of Mariupol where hundreds of civilians were sheltering on Wednesday March 16

A woman and her baby are pictured fleeing the city of Mariupol along a humanitarian corridor that was opened on Thursday, though previous attempts have failed after Russians shelled the routes

Local residents seeking refuge in the basement of a building are seen in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol

Russia's defence ministry previously said its forces were 'tightening the noose' around Mariupol and that fighting had reached the city centre.

Long columns of troops that bore down on the capital Kyiv have been halted in the suburbs.

Ukraine's military said Russian forces did not conduct offensive operations on Saturday, focusing instead on replenishing supplies and repairing equipment. It also said Ukrainian air defences shot down three Russian combat helicopters.

Zelensky said the Ukrainian front line was 'simply littered with the corpses of Russian soldiers'.

In Syria, some paramilitary fighters say they were ready to deploy to Ukraine to fight in support of their ally Russia but have not yet received instructions to go.

Russia said on Saturday its hypersonic missiles had destroyed a large underground depot for missiles and aircraft ammunition in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region. Hypersonic weapons can travel faster than five times the speed of sound, and the Interfax agency said it was the first time Russia had used them in Ukraine.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Command confirmed the attack, but said the Ukrainian side had no information on the type of missiles used.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow expected its operation in Ukraine to end with the signing of a comprehensive agreement on security issues, including Ukraine's neutral status, Interfax reported.

An aerial view shows smoke rising from damaged residential buildings following an explosion in Mariupol on Friday

An aerial view shows residential buildings which were damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol

A woman weeps after seeing the ruins of her destroyed block of flat in Mariupol, which is under bombardment by Russia

Women seek refuge in the basement of a building in Mariupol, which has been under Russian bombardment for weeks

A heavily bombed building is seen in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, after being destroyed by Russian shelling of the city

The haunting spectacle shows the human tragedy at the centre of the conflict: Families torn apart by war

In its sunlit cobbled central square, one Ukrainian city hosts a poignant protest at the innocent lives lost in the fighting

Evacuees fleeing Ukraine-Russia conflict sit in a damaged car as they wait in a line to leave the besieged port city of Mariupol

Kyiv and Moscow reported some progress in talks last week toward a political formula that would guarantee Ukraine's security, while keeping it outside NATO, though each sides accused the other of dragging things out.

Zelensky has said Ukraine could accept international security guarantees that stopped short of its longstanding aim to join NATO. That prospect has been one of Russia's primary stated concerns.

The Ukrainian president, who makes frequent impassioned appeals to foreign audiences for help, told an anti-war protest in Bern on Saturday that Swiss banks were where the 'money of the people who unleashed this war' lay and their accounts should be frozen.

Ukrainian cities 'are being destroyed on the orders of people who live in European, in beautiful Swiss towns, who enjoy property in your cities. It would really be good to strip them of this privilege', he said in an audio address.

Neutral Switzerland, which is not a member of the European Union, has fully adopted EU sanctions against Russian individuals and entities, including orders to freeze their wealth in Swiss banks.

The EU measures are part of a wider sanctions effort by Western nations aimed at squeezing Russia's economy and starving its war machine.

U.S. President Joe Biden warned his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Friday of 'consequences' if Beijing gave material support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China stood on the right side of history over the Ukraine crisis.

'China's position is objective and fair, and is in line with the wishes of most countries. Time will prove that China's claims are on the right side of history', Wang told reporters, according to a statement published by his ministry on Sunday.

Feared Chechen special forces are fighting house-to-house in besieged Mariupol while 'hundreds' of women and children remain trapped in the rubble of a city theatre destroyed by Russian invaders

The propaganda video then cuts before showing some of the Chechen fighters emerging from the building with children in their arms while supposedly 'liberating' civilians

Video released by pro-Putin Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov shows heavily armed fighters from the region pounding a high-rise building in the bombed-out city during a fierce gunfight with Ukrainian soldiers

Vladimir Putin has given a tub-thumping address to tens of thousands of Russians gathered at Moscow's world cup stadium, celebrating his invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and drumming up support for his new war

Putin spoke in front of a crowd tens of thousands strong at the Luzhniki World Cup stadium in Moscow, one of the few times he has been seen in public since launching his invasion 23 days ago

Putin used the rally to peddle falsehoods about why the war started and to shill a narrative of Russia's battlefield success, speaking of 'how our guys are fighting during this operation, shoulder to shoulder, helping each other'

Putin called the rally to mark the eighth anniversary of 'annexing' Crimea, speaking of 'de-Nazifying' the peninsula and of debunked claims of 'genocide' in the Donbass

Zelensky has also ordered to suspend activities of 11 political parties with links to Russia.

The largest of them is the Opposition Platform for Life, which has 44 out of 450 seats in the country's parliament. The party is led by Viktor Medvedchuk, who has friendly ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is the godfather of Medvedchuk's daughter.

Also on the list is the Nashi (Ours) party led by Yevheniy Murayev. Before the Russian invasion. the British authorities had warned that Russia wanted to install Murayev as the leader of Ukraine.

Speaking in a video address early Sunday, Zelenskyy said that 'given a large-scale war unleashed by the Russian Federation and links between it and some political structures, the activities of a number of political parties is suspended for the period of the martial law.' He added that 'activities by politicians aimed at discord and collaboration will not succeed.'

Zelenskyy's announcement follows the introduction of the martial law that envisages a ban on parties associated with Russia.

Meanwhile feared Chechen special forces are fighting house-to-house in the besieged port city.

Video said to have been released by pro-Putin Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov shows heavily armed fighters from the region pounding a high-rise building in the bombed-out city during a fierce gunfight with Ukrainian soldiers.

The propaganda video then cuts before showing some of the Chechen fighters emerging from the building with children in their arms while supposedly 'liberating' civilians.

Russia's defence ministry said on Friday that its troops have now entered the city and are fighting in the centre, amid fears that it could soon fall into Putin's hands after three weeks of shelling weakened the defences. If the city does fall, it will be the largest captured so-far - albeit at the cost of near-totally destroying it.

Svitlana Zlenko, who said she left the city with her son on Tuesday this week, described how she spent days sheltering in a school building - melting snow to cook pasta to eat while living in constant terror of Russian bombs which flew overhead 'every day and every night'.

She described how a bomb hit the school last week, wounding a woman in the hip with a piece of shrapnel. 'She was lying on the first floor of the high school all night and prayed for poison so that she would not feel pain,' Svitlana said. '[She] was taken by the Red Cross within a day, I pray to God she is well.'

She added: 'There is no food, no medicine, if there is no snow with such urban fights, people will not be able to go out to get water, people have no water left. Pharmacies, grocery stores - everything is robbed or burned.

'The dead are not taken out. Police recommend to the relatives of those who died of a natural death, to open the windows and lay the bodies on the balcony. I know you think you understand, but you will never understand unless you were there. I pray that this will not happen again in any of the cities of Ukraine, or of the world.'

Despite the pleas, shelling was well underway in other Ukrainian cities on Friday - with Lviv, in the west of the country, the capital Kyiv, and Kharkiv, in the east, coming under fire.

The war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin ground into its fourth week as his troops have failed to take Kyiv - a major objective in their hopes of forcing a settlement or dictating the country's future political alignments.

But back home in Moscow, Putin today gave a tub-thumping speech to tens of thousands of banner-waving Russians in an attempt to drum up support for his stalled invasion.
Ministers have been urged to halt Britain's drift towards privacy laws that help the rich and powerful dodge scrutiny.

There are concerns freedom of speech is being undermined by judges increasingly prioritising personal privacy over the public's right to know.

Russian oligarchs and others with secrets to hide have been allowed to exploit their wealth to abuse laws that were never intended to suppress good journalism, media organisations have warned.

Now the Daily Mail's publisher, Associated Newspapers, together with the publishers of The Times, The Daily Telegraph and the i newspaper, have submitted proposals for reforming the law to a government consultation.

For example, the Data Protection Act  intended to police companies dealing with customer data  is being used to suppress legitimate journalistic inquiries, they said.

Last year Justice Secretary Dominic Raab vowed to overhaul the Human Rights Act to include 'correcting' the balance between freedom of expression and privacy

Reform to this law would bring Britain into line with other advanced democracies such as Sweden, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, where journalism is exempt from data protection legislation. Last year Justice Secretary Dominic Raab vowed to overhaul the Human Rights Act to include 'correcting' the balance between freedom of expression and privacy.

He said at the time: 'We do, in this country, have a tradition which emphasises and prioritises free speech and open debate.'

Mr Raab added that MPs should make laws, but there had been creeping 'judge-made privacy laws that we've seen develop in this country over recent years'.

In response to his department's consultation, the media organisations have called for journalism to be given greater protections. They warned in a written response submitted last week: 'The importance of a free, diverse and inquiring Press has only increased in the age of online misinformation.'

They said judges' increasing tendency to favour privacy over freedom of speech had been 'of grave concern to the media', adding: 'It is notable that the issue has recently also come to the fore of public debate, with concerns raised in Parliament about how individuals with vast resources are able to wield publication law as a weapon to stifle investigation and debate on matters of public interest.'

After Ukraine was invaded last month, Tory MP Bob Seely told the Commons that Russian oligarchs who were 'Putin's henchmen' had teamed up 'with amoral lawyers' from the UK to shut down scrutiny. One of the publishers' proposals is that any allegation of harm should not include reputational damage.

Currently, the law allows the rich and powerful to cite their privacy rights to prevent information being published that could damage their reputation, even if it is provably true.

Instead, judges would be obliged to take into account the benefit to the public in general of maintaining a free and engaging media  as well as considering the public interest of the story in question.

There are also calls for journalism to be given greater protection in relation to the Data Protection Act.

Media groups say it is used to try to gain information about investigations and sources, and to take up journalists' time and resources. Recognised news publishers should be exempt when data is being used for the purposes of journalism, the proposals say.

Yesterday Sayra Tekin, director of legal at the News Media Association, said: 'The review of the Human Rights Act represents an important opportunity to strengthen the right to freedom of expression and, in particular, to protect press freedom.'

Dawn Alford, executive director of the Society of Editors, said: 'As the consultation recognises, freedom of expression is a unique and precious liberty on which the UK has historically placed significant emphasis. However, in recent years we have seen this liberty significantly undermined by judges increasingly prioritising personal privacy over the public's right to know.'

Only last month, the Supreme Court confirmed it will normally be unlawful to identify those arrested but not yet charged, on the basis it would breach their right to privacy.

The move could put off victims or witnesses from coming forward and heightens fears in the wake of recent Scotland Yard scandals that police will be able to act without proper scrutiny.
An editor for a Virginia newspaper found out his reporter was shot dead outside a bar when he tried to contact her to cover the shooting.

Sierra Jenkins, 25, who worked as a breaking news reporter for The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, died at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital after the shooting outside Chicho's Pizza Backstage at around 1:55 am in the 300 block of Granby Street.

Jenkins' editor revealed that he had attempted to reach her numerous times after learning of the fatal shooting in an effort to assign the story to her, only to learn that she herself was one of the two victims that had been killed.

'Saturday would have been Sierra Jenkins' turn to cover the breaking news shift for The Virginian-Pilot,' the newspaper reported.

'When an editor learned early Saturday that several people had been shot in downtown Norfolk, he called Jenkins repeatedly to ask her to cover it. But she couldn't be reached.'

Norfolk police detectives were investigating the shooting, which also resulted in injuries to three others.

Jenkins, pictured, died at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital after the shooting outside Chicho's Pizza Backstage early Saturday morning

A person walks by Chicho's Pizza Backstage, in Norfolk, Va., Saturday, March 19, 2022, where a fatal shooting took place outside the restaurant and bar earlier in the day.

A memorial for the slain reporter was spotted outside of the restaurant after the news of her killing

Jenkins, a Georgia State graduate, was caught in the crossfire as she was leaving the bar, restaurant manager Rory Schindel told the newspaper.

'Sierra was a bright and talented woman with so much going for her. Her passion for journalism was undeniable and our community is better because of her reporting,' said Kris Worrell, editor-in-chief of Virginia Media, which operates The Virginian-Pilot and several other newspapers.

'Sierra was funny and energetic and full of enthusiasm. We are absolutely heartbroken.'

A memorial for the slain reporter was spotted outside of the restaurant after the news of her killing.

No arrests had been announced as of Sunday afternoon.

Jenkins grew up in Norfolk and graduated from Georgia State University.

She worked as an intern at Atlanta Magazine and CNN before joining The Pilot in December 2020.

Schindel said bartenders had announced last call for drinks and turned up the lights at about 1:30 am.

Devon M. Harris, 25, aka Malik Harris, was one of two people killed in Norfolk, Virginia, early on March 19, 2022

Jenkins, pictured, worked as an intern at Atlanta Magazine and CNN before joining The Pilot in December 2020

Jenkins, a Georgia State graduate, was caught in the crossfire as she was leaving the bar, restaurant manager Rory Schindel told the newspaper

Pictured: Jenkins as a child. The 25-year-old Virginia newspaper reporter was one of two people killed during a shooting early Saturday outside a restaurant and bar

Pictured: the 300 block of Granby Street, where Jenkins and Devon M. Harris were shot and killed early Saturday morning

An argument began outside as people started to leave, and shots rang out soon afterward, the newspaper reported.

Norfolk police identified the other person killed as Devon M. Harris, 25, of Portsmouth.

Another woman had a life-threatening gunshot wound, while two more men received gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening, police said in a news release.

Jenkins father, Maurice Jenkins of Virginia Beach, told the newspaper his daughter 'wasn't much of a going-out kind of person at all' but had a friend visiting the area who wanted to go out.

'I can just hear her voice in my head, "Hey, Dad," just always, She was a daddy's girl,' Maurice Jenkins said of the his daughter.

'All kinds of life and opportunity ahead of her, but it was cut short because of senseless violence.'

Meanwhile, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin tweeted about the tragic shooting, and noted Jenkins death in particular.

'Our hearts are breaking for the lives lost in Norfolk, including Sierra Jenkins. The First Lady and I are praying for their families, friends, and the Virginian-Pilot community.

Chicho's Pizza Backstage was next to Tidewater Community College's downtown Norfolk campus.

Sierra Jenkins's birthday was last weekend. She got her first apartment in Virginia Beach a month ago after having lived with family, the newspaper reported.
Children should be taught about both the good and bad aspects of the British Empire, the equalities minister said yesterday.

Kemi Badenoch said when she was growing up in Nigeria the legacy of the Empire was taught in a nuanced way.

She urged schools to emulate this and teach about both the positive and negative aspects.

Conservative MP and equalities minister Kemi Badenoch (pictured) said that children at school should learn about both the positive and negative aspects of the British Empire

Mrs Badenoch said the choice to deny chair of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Tony Sewell an honorary degree would have a negative impact on the ability of black people to speak out

Cancel culture 'like a tightrope' Dame Jacqueline Wilson has defended her new book over claims of wokeness Dame Jacqueline Wilson has compared todays scary cancel culture to walking a tightrope. The childrens author, 76, said while anybody could say something with no intention of causing offence, it can be taken out of context. Dame Jacqueline  who has just published her 114th book, Baby Love  said she felt sad for JK Rowling, who has been accused of transphobia, because she made such a difference to childrens books. She told the Sunday Telegraph: Its quite scary, particularly for older people who dont want to offend, how easy it can be [to offend]. But you have to write what you believe. The author defended her rewrite of the Enid Blyton classic The Magic Faraway Tree, which she insisted is not a modern update. Advertisement

Last week, Mrs Badenoch published the Governments strategy on tackling racial disparities, which includes plans for a new model history curriculum.

Yesterday, she told Times Radio she believes race is often exploited for political reasons and it was not her reality that all black people are victims.

She said the decision by Nottingham University to deny race report author Tony Sewell an honorary degree would have a chilling effect on the ability of black people to speak out.

Mrs Badenoch said schools should tell both sides of the Empire story: History isnt about trying to enforce a particular narrative. Its about telling the truth about things that happened.

There were terrible things that happened during the Empire. There were other good things that happened. When I learned about it in Nigeria, we got a very nuanced picture. But there wasnt any sort of attempt to describe the Empire as having just oppressed them.

I think my upbringing in another country has really influenced the way that I look at these things.

She said she did not agree with teaching young people to see themselves as victims rather than just the latest generation of an ever-evolving story.

Mrs Badenoch said that although colonialism was wrong it had happened throughout history and it did not help to point fingers.

The minister said she had faced online abuse from black people over her views. She added: And its not as many... white nationalists. A lot is actually from people who think that Im betraying my race.
Politicians of every colour will attend the funeral of Labor senator Kimberley Kitching in Melbourne on Monday as the row over her death continues to rage on.

Among the mourners at St Patrick's Cathedral will be Labor 'mean girls' Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher, along with Labor leader Anthony Albanese and former leader Bill Shorten.

The senator, 52, died two weeks ago of a suspected heart attack, sparking claims about her treatment by the trio of female senior Labor members.

Senator Wong has since admitted she said 'insensitive' things to Senator Kitching before her death, but denied bullying the former powerbroker.

Senator's Kitching's heartbroken husband Andrew Landeryou will be joined by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, Defence Minister Peter Dutton, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, Attorney-General Michaelia Cash and Finance Minister Simon Birmingham at the funeral.

The funeral of Labor senator Kimberley Kitching will take place on Monday, two weeks after she died of a heart attack at the age of 52

Labor Senator Penny Wong (right) has rubbished claims she and fellow 'mean girls' Katy Gallagher (left) and Kristina Keneally (right), bullied Kimberley Kitching in the months leading to her fatal heart attack

Mourners will also include former ex-Prime Minister Tony Abbott, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and Victorian Premier Dan Andrews.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his thoughts were with Senator Kitching's family, but indicated Mr Albanese had questions to answers about the senator's treatment in parliament.

'The Labor Party and Anthony Albanese in particular has been very quick to throw stones, very quick to make accusations,' he told Brisbane radio station 4BC.

'When (Anthony Albanese) has to deal with the same issues in his own house, well, he shuts up shop and gets into the basement.'

Mr Morrison said the opposition leader had dismissed the claims about Senator Kitching's treatment, and that he had to address them.

'These are not things that have happened a long time ago, these are things that have just happened within weeks,' he said.

'It is up to (Anthony Albanese) to address these things and take them seriously at the moment.'

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott (left) and Defence Minister Peter Dutton (right) are expected to be among mourners at the funeral for Labor senator Kimberley Kitching

Victoria Premier Dan Andrews (left) and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (right) will attend the funeral service at Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral

Labor frontbencher Mark Butler said Senator Kitching's funeral should be a day to celebrate her life and not to bring up divisive issues .

'Today of all days is not to go into a number of the claims being made and things being said over recent days,' he told ABC Radio.

'Today is a day for the people who knew Kimberley to get around each other, hug each other and celebrate an extraordinary life that was ended far too early.'

Former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks is also expected to be present at today's ceremony, alongside Victorian Liberal leader Matthew Guy and his deputy David Southwick.

Other Federal Liberals will include Katie Allen, Kevin Andrews, Slade Brockman, Jonathon Duniam, Nicolle Flint, Andrew Hastie, Sarah Henderson, Greg Mirabella, James Paterson, Zed Seselja, Dave Sharma, Amanda Stoker, David Van and Tim Wilson.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his thoughts were with Senator Kitching's family, but said Anthony Albanese had questions to answers about the senator's treatment in parliament

Anthony Albanese said he had received 'no complaints' from Senator Kitching over claims she was bullied by other women in the party

Union representatives are expected to include Health Workers Union secretary Diana Asmar, Plumbers Union's Earl Setches, Australian Workers Union's Ben Davies, Rail Tram and Bus Union's Luba Grigorovitch, and CFMEU boss John Setka, according to The Australian.

Former Victorian Labor minister Adam Somyurek who is under investigation for branch-stacking, Greens senator Janet Rice and former AWU secretary Cesar Melhem are also set to be among the mourners.

On Sunday, Senator Wong rubbished claims she and her fellow 'mean girls' bullied Senator Kitching in the months leading up to her fatal heart attack.

She admitted telling Senator Kitching 'if you had children you might understand why there's a climate emergency', but insisted it wasn't a 'personal attack'.

'My motivation was to express the distress that many children feel about climate change,' Ms Wong said.

'But what I said was insensitive. I regret it. I apologised, as I should.'

When the Nine reporter snapped back 'only when it became public', Senator Wong replied: 'She never raised it with me. We have a lot of robust exchanges, but I regret making the remark.'

Senator Wong rubbished claims she and her fellow 'mean girls' bullied Senator Kitching (pictured)in the months leading up to her fatal heart attack

Senator Wong lamented having to respond to rumours the day before Senator Kitching's funeral.

'We put out a statement that makes clear we have chosen not to respond. We haven't done that because we're not able to, but because we didn't think it was the right thing to do,' she said.

The Labor senator also denied claims that she had led the charge to kick Senator Kitching off the tactics committee over her support for Linda Reynolds following the Brittany Higgins rape allegations.

'Politics is really hard, and people are under a lot of pressure,' Senator Wong said.

'I have no doubt at times we say and do things without thinking of the impact on others. We should reflect on that.'

Penny Wong defended her treatment of Kimberley Kitching in an exclusive interview with Nine's political reporter Chris Uhlmann on Sunday

She also defended the fellow 'mean girls', saying there were several claims being made that were 'not true'.

'Katy, Kristina and I work every day to try and further the interests of the Labor Party and the country. We've spent years in public life seeking to promote women,' Senator Wong said.

'There are views that are being shared and claims that are being made, which are not true.'

Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten has suggested the Senator Kitching was stressed about her pre-selection for her Victorian Senate seat.

But Senator Farrell, who counted himself as a close friend of the late senator, said there was no reason for her to have felt that way.

'I don't think there was any prospect at all of her losing her pre-selection, to be perfectly honest,' Senator Farrell told Sky News' Sunday Agenda program.

'She was supposed to call me the day she died to talk about that and I was certainly of the view that she would be re-endorsed, there was no other candidate I don't believe to replace her.'

Anthony Albanese said on Sunday he received 'no complaints' from Senator Kitching over claims she was bullied by other women in the party.

'I received no complaints (from Kimberley) at any time,' he said.

'That is just a fact. That is not to say that, of course, from time to time in politics, it's a competitive business [and] one where I think we could all be kinder to each other... within the Parliament, within our own parties, and across the aisle, and I would always urge people to do so.'

Mr Albanese also rejected reports Senator Kitching was 'scared' of the ALP leader.

'That is just not true. Kimberley and I travelled together, have a look at the photos from the trip,' he said.

Mr Albanese was referring to a delegation he led to Taiwan that included Senator Kitching.

'She was vivacious, she was the life of the room she was in. And it is tragic to think that she has departed far too soon,' he said.

The tense exchange came as bombshell texts emerged showing Senator Kitching messaged a friend about Senator Wong the night before she lodged a bullying complaint.

'Wong has been bad,' the message obtained by The Australian reads. 'She would love to never see me again.'

Senator Kimberley Kitching sent a text message to a close friend saying that Senator Penny Wong never wanted to see her again the night before she lodged bullying claims (Pictured, mock-up text)

Kitching sent the text late at night on the November 4 last year. The next day she lodged her bullying complaint to Deputy Leader Richard Marles.

Senator Kitching had earlier met with Mr Marles in June where she told him she believed she was being 'frozen out' by the Senate leadership team and claimed to have been unfairly dumped from the tactics committee meetings.

The situation was reportedly never resolved.

Former Labor MP Emma Husar has also claimed bullying within the party, claiming it caused her so much stress she too developed a heart condition.
Middle-class mothers are running forums exploiting Covid vaccine fears to peddle myths about other jabs, helping drive take-up rates to a ten-year low.

Vaccine sceptic groups which gained traction during the pandemic are now spreading lies that all jabs are 'poisonous', a Daily Mail investigation has found.

This has stoked fears wider anti-vaxx movements could enjoy a resurgence as they capitalise on the pandemic.

Vaccination rates for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) have sunk to a ten-year low, said Public Health England.

Meanwhile analysis of NHS data shows hospital admissions for measles soared almost 600 per cent from 2014 to 2019 from 57 to 396, putting the country at risk of a severe outbreak.

One of the Arnica Parents' Support Network group's administrators is mother-of-two Marijke Roberts, 60, who calls herself a 'psychotherapeutic counsellor' and runs her own clinic

Experts warn that 'boho yoga mums' are advocating 'natural remedies' online and peddling dangerous anti-vaccine myths to other parents.

Ringleaders include homoeopaths, psychotherapists and conspiracy theorists who rail against the 5G mobile phone network. One of the groups is the Arnica Parents' Support Network set up by a primary school teacher in 2009 to promote 'natural immunity'.

Its Facebook membership has soared by 16 per cent to 43,000 during the pandemic. Posts on the page include parents proclaiming: 'Covid has made me second think all vaccs [sic]'.

Anonymous posts by those sceptical about vaccines are often bombarded by members telling them that jabs will damage their child's health. One appeals for 'scientific studies' to show their partner to convince them not to vaccinate their child.

One of the group's administrators is mother-of-two Marijke Roberts, 60, who calls herself a 'psychotherapeutic counsellor' and runs her own clinic. Originally from the Netherlands, she now lives in Carshalton, Surrey, with her husband. One of her Facebook posts has been flagged by the platform as 'false information' for claiming the Covid survival rate is 99.991 per cent for the under-60s.

Another group administrator is Kate Wren, 44, a supporter of Extinction Rebellion and Jeremy Corbyn. She lives with her husband Ben, their three young children, dogs, cats and chickens in a 390,000 cottage in Devon. Mrs Wren describes herself as 'a declutterer' and runs a business called Sorted Nest. Mrs Roberts and Mrs Wren declined to comment.

Another group administrator is Kate Wren, 44, a supporter of Extinction Rebellion and Jeremy Corbyn

Posts on another Facebook group called E202, which has 22,000 members, include falsehoods about the MMR jab being linked to autism.

E202 was at the forefront of organising anti-lockdown protests across the country.

One ringleader Simone Marshall, 37, helped arrange a rally at Trafalgar Square in September 2020.

Living in Witley, Surrey, she has a master's degree in real estate from Salford University and is an associate director at a firm which advises healthcare providers.

She was at the forefront of the protests and she has also described those at the top of the medical industry as 'atheist and satanist' on her Facebook page.

Miss Marshall was contacted for comment.

The UK Health Security Agency warned that one in ten children now starts school at risk of catching deadly measles after vaccination rates slumped during the pandemic. Since the introduction of the MMR vaccine in 1968, around 20million measles cases and 4,500 deaths have been prevented in the UK.

One ringleader Simone Marshall, 37, helped arrange a rally at Trafalgar Square in September 2020

But Britain lost its 'measles free' status from the World Health Organisation in 2019.

Meanwhile, hospital admissions for mumps rose from a low of 213 a year in 2015-16 to 600 in 2019-20, a spike of 181 per cent. Dr Peter English, a retired consultant in communicable disease control, warned it was 'irresponsible to say natural immunity is better'.

Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, said Facebook had done 'far too little' to tackle 'dangerous, unscientific nonsense' on its platform. A Facebook spokesman said it has new initiatives to connect users 'to accurate information from public health bodies' on vaccines.

n The first 600,000 eligible people will receive invitations for a spring Covid booster jab this week. It will be offered to five million who are over-75, in a care home or vulnerable. Booking opens today.
Video footage shows a Ukrainian bomb disposal team casually removing a missile which crashed through the roof of a Ukrainian house.

The massive rocket landed in a residential area of Kharkiv, Ukraines second largest city, today.

The unlucky houseowner will have been relieved to find out that their damaged ceiling and kitchen counter is all that was damaged when it struck the property.

A large Russian missile landed in someone's kitchen sink in Ukraine today (pictured), fortunately it did not cause too much damage

The bomb disposal crew were very calm and casual in their process of removing the missile

This footage shows the Russian ordnance sticking out of a man's kitchen sink, while several members of a bomb disposal crew inspect and fiddle with the device.

The made give the device a good shake, possibly to see if it will come unstuck.

So far more than 450 civilians have reportedly been killed or injured in the first since the war began in Kharkiv.

Russian have been attacking the city with a large amount of airstrikes and artillery in populated areas, according to Human Rights Watch.

Civilian buildings, including apartment blocks, schools, places of worship, and shops have all suffered similar fates or worse than the one

The missile (pictured) fortunately did not cause a huge amount of damage, but it did leave a hole in the roof

It is not the first time that videos have shown unexploded rockets sticking out of civilian areas in Kharkiv, last month one was seen in the middle of a pedestrian crossing.

Some commenters on TikTok were able to find some humour in the surreal situation.

One viewer said: 'When you wash the dishes and they give you more'.

One commenter said: 'A fighter of Azov was sat under the sink'

While another said: 'The ceiling is incredibly solid, I dont want to say anything, but its unusual.'
A man who served as a Schuylkill County constable for more than three decades hopes his body armor can protect someone in Ukraine in their fight against the Russian invasion.

For John Bondura, who retired as constable after 32 years, the idea to donate his Level 3 Kevlar vest to someone in Ukraine to be used in their fight for freedom came at the spur of the moment.

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As an avid sportsman, Bondura was in his house looking for his fishing vest.

Not only did he find the fishing vest, but he also found the vest that used to protect him while on the job.

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Looking at the vest he paid more than $700 for, Bondura said the thought came into his mind that he could donate it to someone fighting for their freedom.

This didnt have a chance to save my life. Maybe it can save someone elses life, he said while sitting outside his home in New Philadelphia.

Getting the idea to donate the vest to either someone in Ukraines military or a citizen fighting for their freedom was easy  doing the donating was more difficult.

Bondura said that he knows many churches and organizations have been conducting donation drives of items such as clothing and food to be sent to those in the war-torn country, but taking such a protective item there didnt seem like a good idea.

Being persistent, Bondura said he was recently put in contact with a Ukrainian priest in Snyder County who is willing to help him get the body armor to where it has to go.

I dont know the details yet, but hes going to make it happen, Bondura said.

The vest has four panels inside what looks to be a normal shirt. The panels cover the persons chest, back and both sides and are relatively lightweight.

Theres more modern ones, but this is probably better than what their military has now, Bondura said.

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With a 3X size, Bondura said he is sure it can be used in the war effort if it makes it into the right hands.

Some of those Ukrainian soldiers are big boys. Maybe it will keep one of them safe, he said.

Bondura said if donating the vest can help out in even a small way and save a life or two it will have done its job.

When I found this in the closet, I didnt think it could be helping someone 5,000 miles away, he said.

Bondura said the invasion by Russia into the Ukraine bothers him, especially since noncombatants, like women, children and the elderly, are being targeted.

I dont think theres a reason for this war  its terrible, he said. These people, especially the kids, are paying the price.

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With an American flag and a Ukraine flag outside his home, Bondura said people complaining about life in the United States should just look at Europe and realize how good they have it.

This is America. Just look around and watch the news, and you can see how lucky we are, he said.

Bondura also urged his fellow members of the law enforcement community to consider making a similar donation.

A lot of these guys have these things lying around. They dont want to get rid of them, even though they have newer ones, he said. If theyre like me, theyre hoarders.

The vests, he explained, have a five-year life span.

However, Bondura said he hopes someone seeing the story considers doing the same.

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Hopefully this will inspire someone else. Even if its expired, its better for them than having nothing, he said.
Ashley Young has bemoaned Arsenal for 'celebrating like they won the league' after beating Aston Villa on Saturday.

Bukayo Saka's first half strike was enough for the Gunners to take all three points at Villa Park and go four points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United.

But Young was left unimpressed by the celebrations that followed, with the Arsenal players huddling after realising the significance of the result.

Arsenal's players huddled and celebrated after beating Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon

Ashley Young was unimpressed and has accused them of 'celebrating like they won the league'

In his post-match interview, the 36-year-old told VillaTV: 'We want to make this a tough place to come and I think it is a tough place.

'You saw the way they celebrated, to be honest it was like they won the league. But it shows they found it tough. We want to be in those European places, we want to get the club back there, and everyone's got that ambition to get the club back there.

'So, we want to make it a tough place to come but we want to be winning games as well.'

Young's comments are reminiscent of Ruben Neves', who also accused Arsenal of 'celebrating like they won the league' following their victory at Molineux last month.

The Portuguese midfielder said: 'We saw the way they celebrated the win and that shows the level we are. I didn't see Arsenal celebrating like this in the past 10 years, it was like they won the league.'

Steven Gerrard was left frustrated after the loss and he accused some of his players of 'lacking belief'.

Ruben Neves also accused Arsenal of over-celebrating after their win at Wolves last month

The Villa boss said: 'It was a tough first half because we allowed it to be tough. I think we were indecisive in the things we tried to do.

'I think our performance lacked belief. It wasn't until after half-time that we showed we can be better.

'We deserved to be behind in the first half. We were second best. We set up to be aggressive but lacked belief in what we were doing. I thought certain individuals lacked belief. It's hard to execute a game plan if not everyone believes in what you are doing.'
She may have been perfectly happy to be seen in public alongside her controversial cousin Prince Harry in Los Angeles, but Princess Eugenie appears to have developed a reluctance to show similar open support for her own father.

A source tells me that the Princess plans to spend the summer doubling down on her charity commitments and will be increasingly visible in her role as founder of the Anti-Slavery Collective as she bids to distance her own reputation from what is left of the Duke of Yorks.

The Princess, who has a one-year-old son with husband Jack Brooksbank, is preparing to launch a series of podcasts in early summer that will feature a variety of guests talking about modern slavery, including sex trafficking.

Her father, pointedly, will not be one of them  and a Royal source confirms that there have been zero conversations between the father and daughter on the topic.

I have also learnt that Eugenie waited a full month to see her father again after he settled his case with Virginia Giuffre.

She may have been perfectly happy to be seen in public alongside her controversial cousin Prince Harry in Los Angeles, but Princess Eugenie appears to have developed a reluctance to show similar open support for her own father

A Royal source confirms that there have been zero conversations between Prince Andrew and his daughter on the topic of her new sex trafficking podcast

She was away with work in the build-up to his settlement, working in LA, and stayed away for at least another fortnight after it was announced Andrew was to pay Giuffre a reported 12 million.

And she added an extra leg of holiday on to her work trip rather than flying home to console him.

They finally reunited when she visited the family home, Royal Lodge, last week.

But while she was steering clear of her father, Eugenie was happy to be pictured with her cousin Harry, not once but twice, during her visit to LA for the Frieze arts festival.

Meanwhile, her sister Princess Beatrice has been at the centre of Royal life in Windsor, spending time with the Queen at Frogmore House.

Harry and Eugenie wore masks to attend the Super Bowl in California in February which saw the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20

A source says: There has been disquiet about a rift between father and daughter and even between Princess Beatrice and Eugenie.

'There is a feeling that Beatrice is closer to her dad at the moment. But the party line is that any distance between members of the family could never last  they are too close for that.

Perhaps there can be a rapprochement when Eugenie celebrates her 32nd birthday on Wednesday?

The Earl of Bradford has launched a scathing attack on online marketplace Groupon for selling decorative titles to the public.

The earl, 74, who inherited his title upon his fathers death in 1981, claims customers could mistakenly believe they are buying a hereditary peerage.

But Groupon is less perturbed and a spokesman says: Its clear these titles are purely decorative.

'What they wont do is give you the same level of pretentiousness as someone who has the real thing.

Ouch!

The Earl of Bradford, 74, (left) has launched a scathing attack on online marketplace Groupon for selling decorative titles to the public

My lips are sealed but...

Which Royal has been listening to an eclectic mix of deep and sexy sounds on music streaming platform SoundCloud?

They have also been sharing their tastes with an old flame...
Seems former IT Girl Lady Victoria Hervey has been keeping her controversial friends close.

Lady V, who has been outspoken in her support for old flame Prince Andrew, has been partying with former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is being investigated over unfounded claims that the last US election was rigged.

They were at an event in aid of congressional candidate Vernon Jones at Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The former president gave a speech  and even DJd!

Sharing these pictures on Instagram last week, Lady V, 45, daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol, wrote: So much respect for Donald Trump and he was a great DJ last night too.

Lady V, who has been outspoken in her support for old flame Prince Andrew, has been partying with former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is being investigated over unfounded claims that the last US election was rigged

Sharing these pictures on Instagram last week, Lady V, 45, daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol, wrote: So much respect for Donald Trump and he was a great DJ last night too'

She told me: I have huge respect for Donald and his accomplishments. We would never be in a war now if he was president.

Rudy isnt the person many of us would grab for a selfie. In the mockumentary Borat Subsequent MovieFilm, Sacha Baron Cohen showed Trumps ex-lawyer lying on a bed with his hands in his trousers after asking for a young womans phone number.

He later said he was tucking his shirt in. Charming company, Im sure!

New Moschino bags just potty

Im sorry to say this wacky handbag from Moschino is not really my cup of tea.

The Italian labels new 1,905 bag looks like a coffee pot  and even has a brown liquid sloshing around the bottom.

Im sorry to say this wacky handbag from Moschino is not really my cup of tea. The Italian labels new 1,905 bag looks like a coffee pot  and even has a brown liquid sloshing around the bottom

Its part of a diner-inspired range that also includes a cheeseburger-inspired dress for a whopping 5,515.

You know what they say about money and taste

Apologies to members of exclusive club Oswalds who like their foie gras  its coming off the menu.

Apologies to members of exclusive club Oswalds who like their foie gras  its coming off the menu. [File image]

The club, owned by Robin Birley, has been serving up the dish under the name goose terrine, even though his eco-minded half-brother Zac Goldsmith has campaigned against it, saying it is made by force-feeding male ducks or geese.

My spies spotted it on the menu last week and now a club spokesman has assured me that, following my inquiry, the menu will be changing this week.
Holly Scarfone put on a sizzling display during a Beverly Hills shopping trip on Saturday.

Scott Disick's new girlfriend, 23, walked the streets in a skimpy black strapless dress that left her tanned arms and midriff uncovered.

The skirt of the dress stopped just above the ankle and had a revealing thigh-high slit up one leg.

Sizzling: Holly Scarfone put on a sizzling display during a Beverly Hills shopping trip on Saturday

She walked in a pair open-toed white shoes while making her way from store to store.

The reality star's appearance came amid Los Angeles Fashion Week, which is powered by Art Hearts Fashion.

Scarfone's been the center of attention over the past month since striking up a relationship with Keeping Up With the Kardashians star Scott Disick, 38.

Flashing the flesh: Scott Disick's new girlfriend, 23, walked the streets in a skimpy black strapless dress that left her tanned arms and midriff uncovered

On the town: Scarfone stepped out in LA during the city's annual fashion week series of events

Disick and Scarfone were first spotted together at Nobu Malibu earlier this month, and they traveled to Paris together not long afterwards.

Since they started dating, some fans have pointed out that Scarfone bears a resemblance to Kylie Jenner.

Scott was previously in a relationship with Kylie's older sister, Kourtney Kardashian, from 2005 to 2015. The pair share three children: Mason, 12, Penelope, 9, and Reign, 7.

Dating a reality star: Scarfone's been the center of attention over the past month since striking up a relationship with Keeping Up With the Kardashians star Scott Disick, 38

Kardashian has long since moved on from Disick and is now engaged to Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.

Scarfone isn't Disick's first girlfriend since Kourtney either. He dated 20-year-old Amelia Gray Hamlin from February to December of last year. Before her, Disick was linked to Sofia Richie, 23.

Scarfone first gained fame after appearing on the latest season of the reality show Too Hot To Handle.

Longtime girlfriend: Scott was previously in a relationship with Kylie Jenner's older sister, Kourtney Kardashian, from 2005 to 2015; pictured in 2015

Previous relationship: Scarfone isn't Disick's first girlfriend since Kourtney either. He dated 20-year-old Amelia Gray Hamlin from February to December of last year

The show follows contestants vying for a cut of the grand prize. In order to get a share, they must abstain from any sexual contact for four weeks.

During her time on the show, Scarfone was romantically linked to contestant Nathan Soan.

Scarfone was born in Canada, but now lives in Colorado. She graduated with a psychology degree from the University of Colorado.
Married at First Sight expert John Aiken is set to lose his cool at Sunday's commitment ceremony, following the nude photo scandal that shook the experiment this week.

Controversy erupted at Wednesday's dinner party after bride Olivia Frazer admitted to telling her co-stars about Domenica Calarco's OnlyFans account and sharing a racy photo of the makeup beauty with the rest of the cas.t

A trailer for Sunday's episode promises 'the scolding of the century' as John, 51, berates the for sharing Domenica's private photos without her knowledge.

'She was ambushed by this group looking at the photo behind her back,' he says as footage of Domenica looking emotional plays.

While it's unclear which bride or groom was in the firing line, well placed production sources have told Daily Mail Australia that Olivia will 'cop a brutal beating from the experts' during Sunday's episode.

'They've done Liv dirty. It's become The Dom Show,' claimed the source.

Not impressed: Married At First Sight expert John Aiken, 51, (pictured) is set to lose his cool at Sunday's commitment ceremony, following the nude photo scandal that shook the experiment this week

Drama: 'She was ambushed by this group looking at the photo behind her back,' he says as footage of Domenica (pictured) looking emotional plays

'Experts completely side with Dom, and turn on everyone who knew about the photos and didn't bring it up,' they added.

It comes after Olivia dropped the bombshell fact that she was the one who told the rest of the cast about a naked photo of rival Domenica Calarco on Wednesday night's episode.

After a tense line of questioning from Dom's husband Jack Millar, the 27-year-old teaching student finally claimed 'her friends' had Googled her nemesis and uncovered her OnlyFans account online.

Brace yourself: While it's unclear which bride or groom was in the firing line, well placed production sources have told Daily Mail Australia that Olivia (pictured left with husband Jack Lonie) will 'cop a brutal beating from the experts' during Sunday's episode

Don't miss it! Married At First Sight continues on Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine

Coming clean: Olivia revealed that she was the one who showed the cast a naked photo of rival Domenica on Wednesday night's episode

This immediately left viewers confused, as Olivia had seemingly confirmed she'd Googled Domenica herself and found the information, when she told Tamara Djordjevic: 'Someone smashes a wine glass in your face, you Google them.'

Olivia told Dom at the dinner party: 'I'll be honest, when we had our 'thing', my friends Googled you and they showed me that and I mentioned it to Selina [Chaurr].'

Married At First Sight continues on Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine

Shock: After a tense line of questioning to the group from Dom's husband Jack Millar (left) the 27-year-old teaching student claimed 'her friends' had Googled her nemesis Domenica (right) and uncovered her OnlyFans account online
The Apprentice's Amy Anzel was banned from its final celebration show after she complained about Lord Alan Sugar posting 'hurtful' tweets about her, it has been claimed.

The American entrepreneur, 48, was reportedly not invited to join the spin-off You're Hired, which will be aired straight after the much-anticipated final.

Amy was said to have been left devastated after Lord Sugar, 74, posted 'insulting' comments about her on Twitter and voiced her feelings to bosses in an email, according to The Sun.

Banned: Amy Anzel, 48, was reportedly not invited to join the spin-off You're Hired, which will be aired straight after the much-anticipated final

In January, the business magnate tweeted: 'Amy didn't sell she was so slow. Slower than broad band Wi-Fi in Cornwall.'

When she was fired from the show just weeks later, he posted: 'I think if I came up with a task of the life and time of Amy Anzel she would still be sub team leader.'

Speaking about the tweets, Amy's friend told The Sun: 'When Lord Sugar posted his tweets, she thought they were nasty, hurtful and insulting and told them so in an email.'

The friend said the beauty brand owner didn't understand why she was fired, saying she felt they had used the fact that she hadn't taken on a project manager role as an 'excuse to get rid of her', claiming Amy volunteered for the job in the second week.

Ouch! Amy was said to have been left devastated after Lord Sugar, 74, posted 'insulting' comments about her on Twitter and told bosses in an email, according to reports

Fired: When she was fired from the show, Lord Sugar tweeted: 'I think if I came up with a task of the life and time of Amy Anzel she would still be sub team leader'

They also claimed Amy's calls and emails were 'ignored' by bosses when she reached out about the spin-off series, saying Amy got an email saying invitations were given at 'their discretion'.

'She knew the final taping was happening last Wednesday but they ignored her phone calls and emails again,' they added.

Her pal also claimed that Amy was left feeling 'humiliated' after having a Zoom call with production bosses at Naked TV, which makes the BBC series.

An Apprentice source told The Sun: 'Invitations to You're Hired are always discretionary and never guaranteed.'

A BBC spokesperson declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.

MailOnline has contacted Amy's representatives and Naked TV for comment.

Tension: Her friend claimed Amy's calls and emails were 'ignored' by bosses when she reached out about the spin-off series, claiming Amy was told invitations were given at 'their discretion'

Previously reflecting on her dismissal, Amy told BANG Showbiz: 'I was so sad and disappointed and thought I've never seen someone be fired by week six before not being PM and I thought I've been sub team leader for four out of six tasks.

'I've been showing my skill set, my business acumen. I did put myself up as PM in week two and ultimately I've been contributing significantly to every single task. I was not dodging, I was not hiding.'

The former theatre producer was particularly upset because Lord Sugar has previously made taking on the project manager role a condition for other candidates to stay in the process.

She said: 'I've heard him say before, fine, I'll give you the opportunity to be PM next week, and I thought he did that with Nick [Showering]. Why wouldn't he do that with me?

'I really thought Aaron was going to be fired, and even though I obviously said I think Catherine was responsible for the failure of the task, I do feel that Aaron had already showed his true colours, and was, you know, a bit of a ticking time bomb.'

Fans are eagerly waiting for Kathryn Burn and Harpreet Kaur to battle it out in the final in a bid to become Lord Sugar's business partner with a 250,000 investment.

The Apprentice's penultimate episode saw last four contestants - Stephanie Afflek, Brittany Carter, Harpreet and Kathryn - make history in its first ever all-female semi-final.

When asked what it felt like being one of the last four women in the competition in the semi-final episode, dessert parlour owner Harpreet told how she always felt like an equal among her male counterparts, adding that any animosity is left in the boardroom.

She explained: 'I just think we all got on really well as a group when we were on task  we were focused on just winning as a team.

'I've never felt like there were mind games and this mentality of the other candidates being my competitor  we all just acted with real professionalism and if things had to be brought up in the boardroom, then they weren't said maliciously.

'Obviously, it's difficult because when you're sat there you want to be shouting about your own highlights which I found difficult  and so many times I'd just want to celebrate the other candidate's achievements'.

The Apprentice continues on Thursday at 9pm on BBC1.
His name was splashed across headlines in 2018 due to his controversial appearance on the fifth season of Married At First Sight.

And Dean Wells was grabbing attention for another reason on Saturday, as he surrounded himself with twerking ladies at a party held by tobacco tycoon Travers 'Candyman' Beynon at the Candyshop mansion in Queensland.

The reality star, 43, looked in high spirits as the women danced seductively around him in a video, while he made a bold political statement in a MAGA cap.

Time of his life! Dean Wells, 43, surrounded himself with twerking ladies at a party held by tobacco tycoon Travers 'Candyman' Beynon at the Candyshop mansion in Queensland on Saturday

In the footage, Dean raised his arms either side of him while nodding his head as a group of ladies shook their derrieres to the beat in G-string bikinis.

'Yeah!' he shouted at the camera with a drink in hand, before one of the females responded: 'Nasty boy!'

Dean attended the event with Juice 107.3 radio host Jodie Burden, with the pair also sharing a photos of themselves posing on a motorbike together at the mansion.

Shake it! In the footage, Dean raised his arms either side of him while nodding his head as a series of ladies shook their derrieres to the beat in G-string bikinis

Pals: Dean attended the event with Juice 107.3 radio host Jodie Burden, with the pair also sharing a photo of themselves posing on a motorbike together at the mansion

Despite being surrounded by scantily-clad guests, Dean kept things casual in a black T-shirt, jeans and sneakers.

The Candyshop Mansion - Beynon's multi-million dollar waterfront home - is famous for playing host to the biggest and most wild house parties.

Last month, OnlyFans stars including Hayley Vernon and Steve Irwin's niece Rebecca Lobie attended an unforgettable bash at the house while posing up a storm in their slinky swimming gear.

Party time: Dean looked in very high spirits as he danced the day away with an abundance of scantily clad women

Wells shot to fame on the fifth season of Married At First Sight after cheating on his 'wife' Tracey Jewel with Davina Rankin.

He launched a podcast and YouTube Channel called Dangerous Ideas with Deano in September 2020, and said he wanted to use the platform to critique feminism, cancel culture, and reality TV.

'It's time to fight back,' he told viewers in a subscription drive.
Love Island star Georgia Steel, 23, set pulses racing on Saturday as she and Cally Jane Beech, 30, hit the town in Manchester.

The duo set pulses racing as they made their way to a pal's birthday celebrations.

Georgia stunned in a black bra top, showing off her taut stomach and incredible curves as she headed to the party at Menagerie in the city.

Wow: Love Island star Georgia Steel, 23, (right) set pulsea racing on Saturday as she and fellow reality star Cally Jane Beech, 30, hit the town in Manchester

The beauty wore a chic oversized black blazer along with a pair of arctic blue boyfriend jeans.

Georgia choose to complete the look with black strapped stilettos and simple accessories in a pair of gold earrings.

Her glossy hair fell long past her shoulders, choosing for simple make up, a bronzed complexion and a striking rosewood lip.

Stunning: The reality TV star stunned in a black bra top, showing off her taut stomach and incredible curves

Raven haired Cally opted for a more fashion forward look in a black mini-skirt with suspenders that elongated her endless pins.

The star also fashioned a black zip top with oversized sleeves and pockets, which she wore open showing off her bare chest.

She added to the outfit with a pair white pointed of knee high boots, giving the look a rock and roll edge.



Cally beamed for the cameras, showing off a glossy matte lip as she and Georgina made their way inside to celebrate with friends.

Chic: Raven haired Cally opted for a more fashion forward look in a black mini-skirt with suspender detail

This comes after Georgina exclusively told Mail Online about her dyslexia and revealed she still faces online abuse daily because of spelling errors.

The star was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was in high school but admitted that from a young age she knew she would need extra support with her learning.

Georgia revealed that she faces online trolls daily calling her 'stupid' but says she's 'grateful' for everything she's gone through as it helped her to excel in certain areas of her life.

Difficult: It comes after Georgia detailed growing up with a learning disability and revealed she still faces online abuse daily because of spelling errors

Telling MailOnline: 'I think my mom was always aware, I had a little bit of a learning difficulty. Ever since I was walking and talking my parents knew that my learning would take a bit longer and need a bit more TLC.

'Little things like I could never catch balls, which is a similar thing to dyslexia like not being able to like have good coordination.

'My parents didn't really want me to feel like I had something wrong with me. For instance, they wanted me to still take time in my learning and like, not use it as an excuse.'

Tough: The former Love Island star was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was in high school but admitted that from a young age she knew she would need extra support with her learning

The reality TV star was diagnosed with the learning disability in her second year of high school. She said: 'I was in my science lesson, and I'll never forget it.

'My science teacher came over and she was like, by the way I think you need to get tested for dyslexia.

'I told her I've always had it and we know that I've got it and she was like, yeah but when it comes to your exams, you need it on paper. For like the extra help you would need.'

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Georgia said: 'I think sometimes it's good for people to know, because it is a learning difficulty. And it isn't something that should be looked at not as a taboo subject'

She believes it's not something to be ashamed of and never used it as an excuse in life: I hate to make the excuse that I'm dyslexic. I've always found coping mechanisms, and I've got got on with my life.

'But I think sometimes it's good for people to know, because it is a learning difficulty. And it isn't something that should be looked at not as a taboo subject.

'I don't really think of it as a burden, I kind of think of it is as a positive really, I think it's character. I always just thought, oh, maybe I'm not that clever. That's the way I looked at it.'

Abuse: Georgia has built up an Instagram following of 1.6 million and believes hate comments are 'part of the job'

The influencer knew from a young age that she wanted to follow a more creative path: 'In school I was always in like the second set, like academically, I just accepted the fact that I wasn't going to be the next scientist or the next English teacher.

'I kind of just thought maybe there's a different avenue I can go down whereby I can excel, something creative like art and drama. I really excelled in these areas in school.

'In a weird way, I kind of think I'm grateful for it, because it made me be able to really put my time and effort and find my niche in the world what I'm meant to be doing.'
She never shies away from making a statement with her looks.

And Love Island star Gabby Allen, 30, proudly flaunted her figure in an eye-catching basque emblazoned with a newspaper print as she arrived for a pal's birthday bash with her boyfriend Brandon Myers

Playfully throwing her arms in the air the reality star was in high spirits as she and Brandon made their way to Mayfair's swanky nightspot Coya.

Hold the presses!: Love Island's Gabby Allen put on a busty display in a funky printed bustier as she headed to a pal's birthday bash with her beau Brandon Myers on Saturday

Gabby combined her unique basque with a pair of chic graphite pin striped trousers along with a Gucci belt.

She also wore an oversized charcoal blazer jacket, open to reveal her incredible figure.

With her long locks tied back, the blonde beauty accessorised her look with a pair of extra large geometric earrings.

Gucci girl: The 28-year-old combined the unique basque with a pair of chic graphite pin striped trousers along with a Gucci belt

Opting for simple make-up and a nude lip, Gabby beamed as she walked hand in hand with her beau Brandon.

Male model Brandon opted for an all black look as he wore a graphic shirt over a polo necked jumper.

Complementing the look with oversized combat trousers and a pair of white loafers, accessorising with gold jewellery.

Loved up: Gabby and Brandon have been dating since June 2020 and went public with their romance two months later

Gabby and Brandon have been dating since June 2020 and went public with their romance two months later

The television personality initially denied speculation they were in a relationship, stating at the time they were 'just friends'.

Gabby previously dated Rak-Su star Myles Stephenson until August 2019, when she accused him of cheating on her.

The reality star is thought to be worth an estimated 1.3million since finding fame on the 2017 series of Love Island.
Earlier this week Vanderpump Rules star Katie Maloney announced her shocking split from husband Tom Schwartz after 12 years together.

But the pair appear to be on the best of terms and were seen reuniting for a drink on Saturday, which Tom documented on his Instagram.

The reality TV star, 39, took to his Stories and posted a photo of his soon to be ex-wife, 35, as she sat across the table from him at a restaurant sipping on a drink.

Reunited: Vanderpump Rules star Tom Schwartz, 39, reunited with soon-to-be ex-wife Katie Maloney, 35, posting a picture of her to Instagram, after recently announcing their split

Katie sported a multi-color pastel button-up sweater for the occasion, with a white lace top underneath.

She accessorized with a chunky silver metal necklace and a pair of black Ray-Ban sunglasses.

Her almond shaped nails matched her sweater's aesthetic, and were painted in a light pastel violet hue.

All good: As if to reiterate that the couple are on good terms, Katie reposted the image of their drink meet-up to her own story, writing, 'Its all good'

No Tom: Katie also posted a close up on their colorful drinks, with her being dark red with a slice of lemon and mint, and Tom's being orange, but left Tom out of the shot

As if to reiterate that the couple are on good terms, Katie reposted the image to her own story, cryptically writing, 'Its all good.'

The star - who still goes by Katie Maloney-Schwartz on Instagram - also posted a close up on their colorful drinks, with her being dark red with a slice of lemon and mint, and Tom's being orange, but left him out of the shot.

She then added a black and white selfie of herself relaxing back on the couch in the same outfit.

Relaxing: She then added a black and white selfie of herself relaxing back on the couch in the same outfit

Maloney spoke more openly about what lead to the end of their marriage during an episode of her You're Gonna Love Me podcast released on Friday.

The star fought through tears as she admitted: 'Ultimately, I just wasn't happy.'

They both confirmed the end of their relationship in posts shared on social media earlier in the week, with Tom taking the blame for the separation and 'fully respecting' Katie's decision to end their union.

Getting candid: After announcing her split from husband Tom Schwartz earlier this week, Katie Maloney spoke more openly about it on Friday

Katie showed appreciation to her followers for their support as she noted, 'I know [for] some people [it] may seem like a shock, or it may seem like an abrupt thing, but for us it's not like we just decided this this week or yesterday or the day before.'

She explained that her feelings of unhappiness had been brewing for some time as she added, 'It got to a point where it felt like I was going to burst. For months it was building up.'

Elaborating, she continued: 'I felt disconnected, I felt like I was drifted away further and further, I felt like I was drifting. And I couldn't stop it.'

She said having to tell her longtime partner she wanted to end things was 'the hardest thing to do.'

Splitsville: The star used her You're Gonna Love Me podcast to get candid about what led to the breakup

The podcast host emphasized that the breakup wasn't due to one specific conflict in the relationship.

'There wasn't some kind of crazy incident that happened, there wasn't some crazy fight that resulted in this.

'It was my decision, which was probably the hardest and most painful decision I've ever had to make.'

Looking for a way to describe her thought process she lamented, 'The best and only way I can describe it is just like waking up inside of my life and having this voice that just became louder and louder, and just events in my life and our relationship coming into focus and feeling the weight of them on me.'

The Bravo TV star added that there were more details that she might be wiling to divulge in the future.

'And there's other things that maybe one day I can talk about, but I don't really want to get into all that at the moment,' she stated.

'But I just realized that the choice I had to make was to just open up and tell him how I was feeling.'

Long time coming: Katie explained that her feelings of unhappiness had been brewing for some time as she added, 'It got to a point where it felt like I was going to burst. For months it was building up'

'I love Tom, we built a life together, and he was my person and I wanted to be him with forever. But ultimately, I just wasn't happy,' Kate admitted.

'It just became more clear, and I could just no longer deny it.'

The reality TV star also took time to acknowledge the positive moments in their relationship as she revealed, 'There were so many happy moments, even day to day. I love being with him, but ultimately, I was just not fulfilled.'

Maloney chose to put herself first in the end. 'I had to really just start prioritizing myself and my happiness as well,' she explained. 'It just needed to happen.'

Same home: Despite the breakup, the two are still living under the same roof for now

Despite the breakup, the two are still living under the same roof for now.

'We do still live together in our house, and we're just trying to navigate these steps together and really work on becoming friends in that sense,' she admitted.

'Obviously we have the same friends and trying to hang out in a group together going through this and not making it awkward for anyone and not make anyone choose sides  that's been important to us,' she continued.

For Tom's part, when asked how he was doing after the breakup, the Minnesota native replied, 'Of course I'm sad, but, you know, we still love each other very much.'

Schwartz also revealed he's been busy preparing for the opening of the new bar he will co-run with co-star Tom Sandoval. 'I'm doing OK. I'm staying busy,' he said.

Next steps: 'We do still live together in our house, and we're just trying to navigate these steps together and really work on becoming friends in that sense,' Kate admitted on her podcast

The two previously announced the news on Tuesday in a pair of Instagram posts.

Schwartz's post began with him expressing how much it 'sucks' that he and Maloney will not be continuing their lives as a couple.

'Well this sucks. How am I supposed to capture 12 years of love in a f***in canned Instagram caption. What picture am I supposed to use? Is there a go-to break up font?

He went on to 'clear the air on some rumors floating around' by confirming their separation and stressing he respects Maloney's 'decision' to end the relationship.

'After nine years on a reality TV-show it feels a little tone def to say 'please respect our privacy' (especially while posting this) so instead I'll ask to please be kind.

'I don't fault you for any snap judgement. If I was watching us on VPR for the last 9 years I'd be making them too.'

Announcement: The two previously announced the news on Tuesday in a pair of Instagram posts

'Perception gets skewed [because] of seeing snippets of our lives on the show, but I am telling you we had some of the most blissful, romantic, fun times humanly possible over the course of our relationship.

'I'm talking heaven on earth level joy. She taught me so much about love & being a better partner.'

Schwartz said that although it's 'hard not to be feel like a statistic' for being 'another failed marriage,' he does not look at his relationship with Maloney as a 'failure.'

'As sad as I am, I am happy to say there is no anger or bitterness. Zero. Still so much love for you @musickillskate and your family,' he wrote, tagging Maloney's Instagram.

'I don't think we were ever a model couple. Maybe we are model divorcees. A dubious title I suppose. Also I am aware of tragedies taking place in the world right now. I have perspective here. I'll be fine.'

Positive outlook: Schwartz said that although it's 'hard not to be feel like a statistic' for being 'another failed marriage,' he does not look at his relationship with Maloney as a 'failure'

'So, I will shut up now and say it one last time, love you Bub. Always & forever you'll be in my heart. On my a**? Maybe not so much,' concluded Schwartz.

Along with his length text post, the TomTom Restaurant & Bar owner included a number of his favorite snapshots of Maloney, as well as several shots of the couple together through the years.

For Maloney's statement, the 35-year-old reality star admitted to her 1.1 million followers that she 'never thought I would have to make an announcement like this.

'But I feel it's important that I'm open about my life with you. After 12 years on an adventure through life together, Tom and I are ending our marriage,' she wrote

'This ending is not met with resentment or animosity, no sides to choose. We have deep admiration for one another that will always remain and we cherish our friendship.

'Although we may be on different paths we will continue to love and support one another's happiness. Thank you for all the kind words and support,' she concluded.

The pair were together for 12 years and officially married for the past two. Fans have been able to watch nearly the entirety of their relationship play out on the small screen.
A suspect wanted in the killing of two teenagers in Easton has turned himself in, Northampton County District Attorney Terry Houck said Sunday.

Altajier Kyell Robinson, 20, of Easton surrendered about 2 p.m. at Easton police headquarters with his attorney, Steven Mills, Houck said.

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He was arraigned by District Judge Daniel Corpora of Easton on two counts each of criminal homicide and attempted homicide, and other charges of criminal conspiracy, carrying a firearm without a license and reckless endangerment. He was sent to Northampton County Jail without bail.

[ Easton police searching for suspect in double homicide ]

Robinson had been sought in connection with the fatal shooting of two teenagers Monday afternoon in the 1300 block of Washington Street.

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D-Andre Snipes, 17, and Kavan Figueroa, 18, were sitting in a car just before 4 p.m. when they were shot, authorities said. Snipes died in the car, while Figueroa was pronounced dead hours later at St. Lukes Hospital-Anderson Campus in Bethlehem Township.

Both deaths were ruled homicide by the Northampton County coroners office. No motive has ben released.

A criminal complaint filed in Northampton County Court remains sealed, Houck said. Were not done yet, he said, adding police believe others were involved but he would not say how many others are being sought.

As for Robinson, Houck said he did the right thing by surrendering.

He knew he was running out of time, because police were on his scent, Houck said.

They were the first two killings of the year in Easton, he said.

Last Call Daily Get top headlines from The Morning Call delivered weekday afternoons. >

Houck previously said his office and police were taking a particular interest in the shooting because of its brazen nature on a busy street and the time of day. The shooting happened shortly after school students had been let out for the day, with school buses typically on busy Washington Street during that time. The area is full of rowhomes.

He said then that it was a miracle no one else was shot.

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And people were on the street, it was a sunny day; it was in the middle of a residential area, Houck said Sunday. You take every homicide seriously, but this one really raised the alarm.

Mills is an associate at Asteak Law Offices; Gary Asteak, who said he is also representing Robinson, said it was premature to comment.

All the facts have not yet come out, Asteak said.

Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call Easton police at 610-250-6634 or 610-250-6635. Houck said tips can be anonymous.
Comedian Pauly Fenech has come out swinging against his former SAS Australia co-star Locky Gilbert in a foul-mouthed rant.

The 49-year-old Fat Pizza star branded The Bachelor hunk a 'd**khead', 'total w**ker' and a 'jerk' he wishes he could have 'kneed in the face' following their stint on the show together earlier this year.

Pauly made the comments on the SAS Australia Debrief podcast, days after he voluntarily withdrew the show after the physical toll came too much.

Furious: Comedian Paul Fenech (left) has come out swinging against his former SAS Australia co-star Locky Gilbert (right) in a foul-mouthed rant

'You can see it on the show, he is immature. He might be big, but he acts like a child,' he said of Locky, 31, after the pair were involved in a number of heated arguments on the show.

'I knew he was a d**khead on the course, but I didn't realise what a total w****r he was,' he added.

He added that his opinion of Locky had worsened since watching the series back, after realising that the Australian Survivor star was rude behind his back when they'd seemingly patched things up.

Rage: 'I knew he was a d**khead on the course, but I didn't realise what a total w****r he was,' Paul added

'What I did not know until I watched the show was that he stabbed me in the back two seconds after shaking my hand,' Pauly added.

'Looking back now I think 'what a dog'. If I had known that I wouldn't have shook his hand. I would have just gone over and kneed him in the face and put a bit of character on his pretty boy nose.

'I thought he was just being a jerk, there is no other way to put it.'

Chief instructor Ant Middleton ripped Locky to shreds during a recent interrogation, after he failed to follow simple instructions to complete a task.

Telling off: Chief instructor Ant Middleton ripped Locky to shreds during a recent interrogation, after he failed to follow simple instructions to complete a task

'I kind of thought maybe the DSs [Directing Staff] went a bit hard on him, but after watching it all I saw was a baby who has never been challenged in his life and the first time I challenged him and the DS actually really confronted him about who he was, he fell to pieces,' Pauly said.

'A person's character is what is important to me and that man has little character, and if he wants to get some he better start growing it because he is not a baby.

'If he was 18 you could say, 'Maybe, oh well he is young', but he is not young. If he has not grown up by now I don't know what's going to happen.'

SAS Australia continues Monday at 7:30pm on Channel Seven
Bridgerton's Adjoa Andoh has said she wants the hit Netflix show to give black youngsters a sense of belonging.

The actress, 59, said she has felt touched by seeing black children dressing up as straight-talking Lady Danbury, adding that she hopes it makes them feel like they have a 'place'.

She told the Sunday Mirror: 'I get pictures from little girls and boys dressed as Lady Danbury, I think it's lovely.

Hit show: Bridgerton's Adjoa Andoh has said she wants the hit Netflix show to give black youngsters a sense of belonging

'You kind of go, oh these children are going to grow up feeling like they have a place  not like they are being tolerated.'

Speaking about her own childhood growing up in a Gloucestershire farming community, Adjoa said she often felt singled out and that she wasn't 'seen'.

The Invictus star, who moved to the West Country from Leeds, said: 'Some people were like, "We can't have that coloured girl in here  what would the neighbours think!"'

She added that she and her family were 'enormously welcomed' by other people, as she compared her mother to her character Lady Danbury.

Role model: The actress (pictured), 59, said she has felt touched by seeing black children dressing up as straight-talking Lady Danbury

Based on a series of books of the same name by Julia Quinn, Bridgerton follows the eight siblings of the Bridgerton family as they attempt to find love in Regency-era England.

In the upcoming second series, Lady Danbury takes in the Sharma family - sisters Kate (Simone Ashley) and Edwina (Charithra Chandran), and their mother Lady Mary (Shelley Conn) - who travel to London from India to take part in the social season.

Both sisters quickly fall for the charms of Lord Anthony Bridgerton, played by Jonathan Bailey.

Adapted from The Viscount Who Loved Me, the new season is set to centre on Anthony's search to find a wife.

New series: Lady Danbury is set to take in the Sharma family - sisters Kate (Simone Ashley) and Edwina (Charithra Chandran), and their mother Lady Mary (Shelley Conn)

But in true Bridgerton fashion, 'a considerable scandal' is promised to ensue when he gets caught up in a love triangle with the two sisters.

The new season of the show seems to be as racy as the last, with scenes of a naked Anthony covering his modesty in his bedroom and in wet clothing after falling in the river as the result of some flirtatious behaviour.

Bridgerton quickly gained the title of Netflix's most-watched series to date, garnering over 82 million views worldwide.

Series two airs on Netflix from March 25.
Ashley Tisdale enjoyed lunch with her husband Christopher French and their daughter Jupiter on Saturday in Los Angeles' trendy Los Feliz neighborhood.

The actress, 36, cut a casual figure in a white T-shirt and a grey cardigan sweater with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

She added a pair of light blue jeans to the outfit, and she walked in a pair of white sneakers.

Out to lunch: Ashley Tisdale enjoyed lunch with her husband Christopher French and their daughter Jupiter on Saturday in Los Angeles' trendy Los Feliz neighborhood

The Zack & Cody actress protected her eyes from the harsh California sun with a pair of dark sunglasses.

Her brown hair fell past her shoulders, and she accessorized with a pair of necklaces and several bracelets.

Tisdale's better half, 40, wore a black t-shirt, light gray pants cuffed at the bottom and a pair of white sneakers.

Comfy: The actress, 36, cut a casual figure in a white T-shirt and a grey cardigan sweater with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows

Showing off the tattoos: Tisdale's better half, 40, wore a black t-shirt, light gray pants cuffed at the bottom and a pair of white sneakers

He also donned a pair of shades and his hair was covered with a light gray beanie.

The High School Musical actress pushed their daughter Jupiter, who turns one next Wednesday, in a stroller as the trio made their way to the neighborhood cafe All Time.

Tisdale and French were first linked back in 2012. After dating for eight months, the pair got engaged on top of the Empire State Building.

Happy couple: Tisdale and French were first linked back in 2012. After dating for eight months, the pair got engaged on top of the Empire State Building (pictured 2019)

Baby girl: As previously mentioned, the couple welcomed their daughter Jupiter almost a year ago with Tisdale posting a heartfelt Instagram post heralding her arrival

They married in Santa Barbara, California two years later. Vanessa Hudgens was one of Tisdale's bridesmaids.

As previously mentioned, the couple welcomed their daughter Jupiter almost a year ago with Tisdale posting a heartfelt Instagram post heralding her arrival.

To announce the news, the star posted a black and white photo which showed her daughter's tiny hand clutching her and her husband's thumbs.

She captioned the snap, 'Jupiter Iris French arrived earth side 3.23.21.'
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Kim Kardashian and her sister Khloe made quite the commotion with their sultry outfits while arriving at the SKIMS swim pop up shop in Miami on Saturday night.

The reality TV stars looked incredible with Kim, 41, putting her hourglass curves on display in a minuscule metallic silver bra that showed off her ample cleavage, and a pair of matching skintight leggings.

Meanwhile her younger sister, 37, opted for a plunging blue dress with mesh panels that showcased her long tan legs, and paired the look with clear heels.

Turning heads! Kim Kardashian made quite the commotion with her sultry outfit while arriving at the SKIMS pop up shop in Miami on Saturday night

Sister act: She was joined at the pop-up by her younger sister Khloe, 37

The event saw a huge turnout with fans excited to meet the reality stars and get their hands on the latest SKIMS merchandise.

The SKIMS founder accessorized her look with a pair of clear heels and was later seen wearing her large Batman-reminiscent gold face mask.

The mother-of-four wore her luscious raven black tresses parted in the middle and styled into gentle waves that cascaded down her back.

Security: The sisters were accompanied by a security guard as they approached the venue

Sizzling: The reality TV stars looked incredible as they made their way to the event, which saw a huge turnout with fans excited to meet them and get their hands on the latest SKIMS merchandise

Blonde bombshell: Meanwhile her younger sister, 37, opted for a plunging blue dress with mesh panels that showcased her long tan legs, and paired the look with clear heels

In terms of glam, Kanye West's ex-wife glowed with a lovely tan and opted for a strong bronze smokey eye look, adding a touch of blush to her cheeks and nude lipstick on her pout.

Kim gave photographers plenty of angles to work with, showcasing her distinctive style in a variety of poses.

Meanwhile Khloe accessorized her sexy evening look with plenty of jewelry, including silver hoop earrings, diamond bracelets and a sizable sparkler on her finger.

Futuristic: The Kardashians star accessorized her look with a pair of clear heels and was later seen wearing her large Batman-reminiscent gold face mask

Raven-haired beauty: Kanye West's ex-wife wore her luscious raven black tresses parted in the middle and styled into gentle waves that cascaded down her back

Bronze: In terms of glam, she glowed with a lovely tan and opted for a strong bronze smokey eye look, adding a touch of blush to her cheeks and nude lipstick on her pout

Ever the fashionista, she rocked a pair of futuristic sunglasses to the event.

Her longe blonde bombshell locks were parted on the side and similarly to Kim's were styled in lovely waves which gently fell down her shoulder.

Adding even more sex-appeal to the look was the bright red nail polish on her fingers and toes.

Chic: The social media star was seen adjusting her hair as she made her way to the event

Famous assets: The mother-of-four showed off her famous assets and voluptuous figure from behind

Double trouble: The sisters looked spectacular showcasing their incredible curves on their way to the event

Curves! Kim continued to show off her shapely curves throughout the night

Always gracious, she stopped to take photos with thrilled fans on her way inside.

Also in attendance at the event was Miami nightlife mogul, David Grutman, his wife, Isabela Rangel, and model Candice Swanepoel.

The sisters were later seen making their way to Swan restaurant - in the heart of Miami's Design District - to celebrate the new pop-up shop.

Kim continued to switch up her look, going between wearing her face mask and showing off her visage without it.

Blondie: Her longe blonde bombshell locks were parted on the side and similarly to Kim's were styled in lovely waves which gently fell down her shoulder

Sparkly details: Khloe accessorized her sexy evening look with plenty of jewelry, including silver hoop earrings, diamond bracelets and a sizable sparkler on her finger

Gracious: Always gracious, she stopped to take photos with thrilled fans on her way inside

The socialite and businesswoman was ushered in by security as she made her way to the swanky eatery.

Candice Swanepoel looked otherworldly as she arrived to the pop-up wearing a transparent floor-length shimmering crystal gown with a halter neck, that showed off her toned arms and trim midriff.

The South African model, 33, paired her stylish ensemble with a lime green handbag with a crystal embellished handle, and wore a pair of black sandal heels.

Switching it up: Kim continued to switch up her look, going between wearing her face mask and showing off her visage without it

Helping hand: She was ushered in by security as she made her way to the swanky eatery

The Victoria's Secret Angel wore her blonde tresses in a wet slicked back look.

In terms of glam she opted for a soft glow, wearing just enough blush and swipe of black eyeliner under her lower lashes.

David Grutman, 47, looked casual cool in a black and white palm tree shirt, black pants and white sneakers.

The businessman - who's been named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 50 most important people in electronic dance music - rocked a pepper and salt beard.

Out of this world: Candice Swanepoel looked otherworldly as she arrived to the pop-up wearing a transparent floor-length shimmering crystal gown with a halter neck

Mingling: Candice and Kim were spotted sharing a laugh at the event

On the move: Candice was later seen leaving the Swan restaurant in Miami

Cool couple: David Grutman, 47, looked casual cool in a black and white palm tree shirt, black pants and white sneakers. His wife Isabela Rangel, 30, donned a sexy brown two-piece ensemble

His wife Isabela Rangel, 30, donned a sexy brown two-piece ensemble, consisting of a long skirt with a high split and a matching one shoulder top.

She paired the look with knee-high brown boots and wore her long black hair in voluminous waves.

Before her arrival Kim took to her Instagram Stories to give her 293 followers a preview of her outfit and let them know that she was in Miami.

'We are in Miami,' she said in the short clip of her in the car, as she pouted for the camera.

Announcing her arrival: Before her arrival Kim took to her Instagram Stories to give her 293 followers a preview of her outfit and let them know that she was in Miami

Having fun: Khloe also took to her stories, looking incredible as she posed next to her best friend Malika Haqq

Pout game: The blonde beauty showed off her pout to the camera while Malika smiled behind her

Khloe also took to her stories, looking incredible as she posed next to her best friend Malika Haqq. The blonde beauty showed off her pout to the camera while Malika smiled behind her.

Kim and Khloe's mom Kris Jenner also advertised the new pop-up location on her social media platform, which boasts 46.4M followers.

The momager, 66, posted multiple photos and clips of the small silver building housing the new swim line. She also showed a close-up of an alluring tan swimsuit on a mannequin.

The outside of the pop-up shop featured two doors and metallic silver walkways.

'The incredible @SKIMS SWIM pop-up is now open in the Miami Design District!!!!!! 95 NE 40th St Miami FL 33137,' she proudly captioned the snaps.

Advertising: Kim and Khloe's mom Kris Jenner also advertised the new pop-up location on her social media platform, which boasts 46.4M followers

Blues and browns: The momager, 66, posted multiple photos and clips of the small silver building housing the new swim line, including a variety of blue, brown and grey swimsuits

New designs: She also showed a close-up of an alluring tan swimsuit on a mannequin
Lucciana Beynon, the model daughter of tobacco tycoon Travers 'The Candyman' Beynon, is no stranger to setting pulses racing.

And on Saturday, the Venezuelan-Australian model, 20, turned up the heat as she flaunted her jaw-dropping curves in a tiny pink bikini at one of her father's famous house parties on the Gold Coast.

Looking every inch the raven-haired temptress, Lucciana staged an impromptu photo shoot while posing for photographers by the pool.

Sizzling: Lucciana Beynon (pictured), the model daughter of Gold Coast tobacco tycoon Travers 'The Candyman' Beynon, is no stranger to setting pulses racing - and she certainly did just that with her choice of ensemble on Saturday

At one stage she was joined by her father Travers, 50, and older brother Valentino, 22, as the family posed for photos.

Married At First Sight alum Dean Wells also commanded attention by wearing a controversial MAGA cap teamed up with a black T-shirt and and ripped jeans.

Australian motorsports racing driver turned adult film actress Renee Gracie was also spotted in the crowd wearing a barely-there animal print bikini.

Steve Irwin's 'hot niece' Rebecca Lobie was also in attendance, with the OnlyFans star slipping her slender figure into a sassy skirt and bra for the outing.

Wow! The Venezuelan-Australian model, 20, turned up the heat as she flaunted her jaw-dropping curves in a bikini at one of her father's famous house parties

Turning heads: Looking every inch the raven-haired temptress, staged an impromptu photo shoot while posing for photographers

Glowing: The raven-haired beauty teamed up with her look with strappy heels and a sheer cover up

Lucciana's father made his millions in the tobacco business, but is also well-known for hosting extravagant parties at his lavish 15-bedroom mansion on Australia's Gold Coast.

Travers, a.k.a. The Candyman and Australia's answer to Hugh Hefner, engages in a 'polyamorous lifestyle' and despite being married also has a harem of live-in lovers he likes to 'spoil'.

In a recent interview, Lucciana said she will not be following in her father's footsteps by having multiple partners, but she doesn't find his relationship choices 'weird'.

Family business: At one stage she was joined by her father Travers, 50, (centre) and older brother Valentino, 22, (right)

Family: Travers shares his two eldest children, Valentino (right) and Lucciana (left), with his ex-wife, Venezuelan former beauty queen Ninibeth Leal (not pictured)

Lucciana and Valentino live with their father, stepmother and younger siblings at the $3.7million 'Candy Shop Mansion' on the Gold Coast

Family: The mansion also houses Travers' dozen or so girlfriends, but despite the Candyman's openly polyamorous lifestyle, Lucciana has said her family live a very 'normal' life

She said: 'People ask me all the time, "Isn't it weird that your dad has all these girlfriends?"'

'To me, it's not weird. I love my dad no matter what and if he's happy then I'm happy and I think it's cool.

'I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't do that s**t because I'm crazy, but if he's found a group of girls that can do it and he's happy, they're happy. And who wouldn't want to get spoilt like he spoils them?

Guestlist: Married At First Sight alum Dean Wells (centre) demanded attention wearing a MAGA cap which he teamed up with a black T-shirt and and ripped jeans

Time of his life! Dean Wells, 43, surrounded himself with twerking ladies at the bash

Loving life! Steve Irwin's 'hot niece' Rebecca Lobie was also in attendance on the day

Standing out: Australian motorsports racing driver turned adult film actress Renee Gracie (pictured) was also spotted in the crowd

Gorgeous: The brunette beauty put on a busty display in a barely-there animal print bikini

'I would never, ever change him. I would never, ever want him to change.

'I'm grateful he is the way he is because I just learn so many things  with men and women and the way people work.

'I feel like it made me almost ready to be by myself out in the big world. Anything that happened, he would always give me a life lesson.'

Glamorous: She teamed up her look with a YSL handbag and transparent stiletto heels

Dynasty: Lucciana's father, Travers 'The Candyman' Beynon (centre), made his millions in the tobacco business, but is also well-known for his playboy ways and hosting extravagant parties at his lavish 15-bedroom mansion on the Gold Coast

Wild times! Travers' notorious parties have featured a bevvy of scantily clad women, exotic animals, up to 1,200 guests and extravagant DJ set-ups
She split from her entrepreneur boyfriend Aidan Walsh late last year, just months after debuting their romance.

But Jodi Gordon and her former partner sparked rumours they might be back together on Wednesday, as they attended a restaurant launch in Sydney.

The actress, 37, appeared in high spirits as she laughed and joked with her ex-flame at the launch of Circa restaurant in the ritzy suburb of Double Bay.

Back on? Jodi Gordon and her former partner Aidan Walsh sparked rumours they might be back on this week, after attending a restaurant launch together in Sydney

At one stage, Aidan lightly touched Jodi's arm as she giggled at something he said.

Glasses of wine, Champagne and beers were flowing in abundance at the glitzy affair, which was also attended by Casey Burgess and Laura Csortan.

At the event, Jodi looked nothing short of sensational in a baby pink dress which flashed her slender pins.

Cute: At one stage, Aidan lightly touched Jodi's arm as she giggled at something he said

Deep in conversation: The pair seemed in great spirits as they chatted at the glitzy event

She teamed her look with dewy makeup and a flash of bronzer, and wore her hair in a sleek, straight style.

Aidan oozed cool in a green Balenciaga T-shirt and some black jeans.

Meanwhile, Laura looked sensational in an abs-flashing top which she teamed with some faux leather leggings.

All smiles: Jodi is seen beaming at something her former partner said to her

Stunner: At the event, Jodi looked nothing short of sensational in a baby pink dress which flashed her slender pins

Over: Daily Mail Australia reported in December that Jodi had quietly split from Aidan

Casey Burgess looked absolutely stunning in a printed red and green dress teamed with a pair of sandals.

Daily Mail Australia reported in December that Jodi had quietly split from Aidan.

While the exes didn't make an official statement, they all but confirmed the split after conspicuously unfollowing each other on Instagram.

Gorgeous: Laura Csortan looked sensational in an abs-flashing green top which she teamed with some faux leather leggings

Chatty: The pals all enjoyed glasses of wine as they chatted at the event

Stunner: Casey Burgess, meanwhile, looked absolutely stunning in a printed red and green dress teamed with a pair of sandals

Showing off the selfies: Casey looked pleased with herself after taking a cheeky snap

It is believed the pair split some months prior.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Jodi's representatives for comment on the reconciliation rumours.

Neighbours star Jodi was first seen packing on the PDA with Aidan back in June during a romantic holiday in the Hunter Valley.

Cute: Neighbours star Jodi was first seen packing on the PDA with Aidan back in June during a romantic holiday in the Hunter Valley

A week later, the couple made their red carpet debut at a GQ event in Sydney.

The pair subsequently travelled to Western Australia for what appeared to be their second romantic jaunt in a matter of weeks.

Jodi's new romance came months after she ended her fraught relationship with British-born investment portfolio manager Sebastian Blackler.
Influencer Tammy Hembrow has candidly opened up about her health struggles following the results of a recent blood test.

Taking to Instagram this week, the 27-year-old, who is currently expecting her third child, said that the reason she is feeling so tired is because she's now 'fully anaemic'.

Anaemia is a condition in which a person lacks enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your body's tissues.

Speaking out: Influencer Tammy Hembrow has candidly opened up about her health struggles following the results of a recent blood test

It's normal to have mild anaemia while pregnant, according to hematology.org.

'My doctor text me my blood results and said I am fully anaemic now,' Tammy said in her Stories. 'It probably explains why I am so tired all the time.'

She added that she then demanded more answers from her doctor, adding: 'I was like, 'Why is this happening? I take (iron) supplements. I eat lots of spinach.

Answers: 'My doctor text me my blood results and said I am fully anaemic now,' Tammy said in her Instagram Stories. 'It probably explains why I am so tired all the time'

''I am doing everything (because) I had low iron in the beginning (of my pregnancy), so I have been trying to consume a lot of iron.'

'His response was, 'Well it's happening because the parasite in your stomach is sucking all the goodness out of you,' and he said they're known for that.''

The clothing designer went on to say she will now have to get an iron infusion.

Scan: Tammy went on to say that she will attend another scan on Monday which will reveal whether she has polyhydramnios, a condition where is where there is too much amniotic fluid around the baby during pregnancy

Tammy added that she will attend another scan on Monday which will reveal whether she has polyhydramnios, a condition where is where there is too much amniotic fluid around the baby during pregnancy.

She suffered with the condition during her pregnancies with Wolf, six, and Saskia, five, who she shares with her ex Reece Hawkins.

'I had extra fluid (but) fingers crossed that I don't. I haven't in any of the other scans so far,' she said.

'I never had low iron with Wolf and Sass, so it's so weird to me,' Tammy added.

'I feel like that explains (why) some days I wake up and literally feel like I've been hit by a bus and it's such a struggle to even get up out of bed. But I have to, I'm a busy mummy.'

Tammy is expecting her first child with her fiance Matt Poole.
Domenica Calarco finally confronted Olivia Frazer on Sunday's episode of Married at First Sight.

The TV bride decided to get to the bottom of the nude photo leak which Olivia had been the source of.

'I'm very confused and I am very hurt, and there are things that I want to find out. Olivia's story is still not straight,' the 28-year-old said.

Anger: Domenica Calarco (pictured) finally confronted Olivia Frazer on Sunday's episode of Married at First Sight

'She said it was her friends who found this content, which I don't believe. Stop being a bulls**t artist.'

Domenica went on: 'I want to legit know now. It's my life, it's my soul we are talking about. I am really p**sed off with Olivia. I don't know what her intentions are but I will find out.

'I will find out where this came from, and I will find out who had this on their phone. They are all talking about me behind closed doors and I want to find out how the hell this happened.'

'I want to know where these image came from, who found them, who has them on their phone?' she demanded when Olivia (pictured) opened the door

'I am going there right now!' Domenica then insisted, before storming out of her hotel room and banging on Olivia's door to face her.

'I want to know where these image came from, who found them, who has them on their phone?' she demanded when Olivia, 27, opened the door.

'My friends found them on Google and I had forgotten about it till last night at the cocktail party. It wasn't a big deal, it has been completely blown up,' Olivia replied.

'My friends found them on Google and I had forgotten about it till last night at the cocktail party. It wasn't a big deal, it has been completely blown up,' Olivia replied

Domenica snapped back: 'Do you not see this as high school bulls**t bullying, circulating images, circulating gossip about people?' before Olivia slammed her door

When Domenica asked why the photo had become such a large issue at the cocktail party, Olivia insisted: 'I am as socked as you are.'

Domenica snapped back: 'Do you not see this as high school bulls**t bullying, circulating images, circulating gossip about people?'

'I don't need this actually, I don't need you to come into my house and yell at me,' Olivia said before slamming her door.

'She shut the door on me! It's absolutely gutless behaviour,' Domenica raged in the hallway

'She shut the door on me! It's absolutely gutless behaviour,' Domenica raged in the hallway.

'I want to know where these photos are. No one wants to talk and I have f**king had enough of it.'

Domenica, who is paired with 'husband' Jack Millar, has been dealing with a nude photo controversy on the show.

Controversial: Domenica, who is paired with 'husband' Jack Millar (right) on Married at First Sight, is currently at the centre of a nude photo controversy on the show

As previously reported by Daily Mail Australia, she was forced to shut down her OnlyFans account after one of her racy snaps was discovered by another bride.

The makeup artist was apparently 'seeing red' after MAFS producers ordered her to close her profile on the adults-only subscription website.

It was reportedly Domenica's arch rival Olivia who first discovered the raunchy page and alerted her co-stars.

Closed: As previously reported by Daily Mail Australia, she was forced to shut down her OnlyFans account after one of her racy snaps was discovered by another bride

'Domenica was seeing red,' a production insider revealed. 'She was embarrassed and let down that none of the other brides told her they'd seen the photo.

'But at the same time, Domenica made no effort to try and hide her account.'

Domenica has revealed she may take legal action against Olivia for sharing one of her nude photos without her permission.
Madeleine West has revealed she lost her soldier cousin Geff to suicide - and seeing army personnel 'abused' during the flood clean up triggered those memories.

In an emotional Instagram post on Sunday, the 44-year-old shared a photo of Geff in uniform alongside a long caption.

'I never thought I would speak openly about this, but today I will,' the former Neighbours star wrote.

Loss: Madeleine West (pictured) has revealed that she lost her soldier cousin Geff to suicide - and seeing army personnel 'abused' during the floor clean up triggered those memories

'This is my cousin Geff. He proudly served his country, returning from Afghanistan with deep trauma. His war with mental health ultimately led to him taking his own life at just 25'.

She went on: 'Yesterday, cleaning up around Lismore, I worked alongside members of our Defence Force and witnessed them being abused.

'Our community is incredible, I know people are angry and upset, but it is important to remember that everyone in uniform, is a person too.

Memories: The 44-year-old shared a photo of Geff in uniform alongside a long caption. 'This is my cousin Geff. He proudly served his country, returning from Afghanistan with deep trauma. His war with mental health ultimately led to him taking his own life at just 25,' she wrote

'And many are going above and beyond their job descriptions to move this recovery into a better space. Chief Superintendent Patterson has commented on the impact of this on the mental health of service personnel.

'Please remember that underneath the uniform there is a mother, a father, a sister, a daughter, a brother, a son - someone loved, who is doing the best job they can do.

'We are all under pressure, We have been let down. But In such a traumatic time, kindness can go a long way.'

She went on: 'Yesterday, cleaning up around Lismore, I worked alongside members of our Defence Force and witnessed them being abused. Our community is incredible, I know people are angry and upset, but it is important to remember that everyone in uniform, is a person too'

'Please remember that underneath the uniform there is a mother, a father, a sister, a daughter, a brother, a son - someone loved, who is doing the best job they can do,' she said

Madeleine has been active in the clean up following the devastating NSW floods.

Earlier this month she made an emotional appeal for more volunteers to help in the wake of the floods which have wreaked havoc.

Posting a video filmed in the wreckage strewn streets of Lismore's CBD, the star broke down several times as she made her brief message.

Help: Madeleine has been active in the clean up following the devastating NSW floods

'Its really, really bad,' she said. 'I don't know how to describe the devastation'

'Its really, really bad,' she said. 'I don't know how to describe the devastation.'

West, who lives in the Byron Bay suburb of Suffolk Park about 45 minutes from the area, said everything in the regional city was 'destroyed, smashed or washed away'.

Countless towns in Northern NSW and Queensland were left devastated by catastrophic floods this month, with the clean up delayed in some areas that remained submerged.

For confidential support contact Lifeline 131 114
Fiona Falkiner and Hayley Willis have celebrated their son Hunter's first birthday.

The two mothers took to Instagram to share a number of photos of them marking the celebration with the adorable youngster.

Fiona shared rarely seen images of the trio all wearing Hawaiian shirts during celebrations at a party.

Milestone: Fiona Falkiner and fiancee Hayley Willis celebrated their son Hunter's first birthday (all pictured) at home on Sunday

Hunter was treated to a monkey cake along with a mix of finger food for his birthday party.

The youngster also got a mix of balloon and party decorations in the living room.

'What a day! Celebrating our little man who just brings us so much joy!' Fiona wrote, before adding: 'Happy Birthday Hunter.'

Hayley shared similar photos of adorable Hunter alongside the couple's friends.

Too cute: Hunter was treated to a monkey cake along with a mix of finger food for his party

Loving: 'What a day! Celebrating our little man who just brings us so much joy!' Fiona wrote, before adding: 'Happy Birthday Hunter'

'We survived our first year of parenting and lived to tell the tale! What a fab day celebrating our big boy - family, friends and of course a few party shirts,' she wrote.

'We love you Hunter.'

It comes after the couple revealed Hayley is pregnant with the family's second child.

'Grateful, blessed, over the moon it's hard to put into words how much I adore my little family as we prepare to welcome another addition,' Hayley wrote on Instagram.

Friends and family: 'We survived our first year of parenting and lived to tell the tale! What a fab day celebrating our big boy - family, friends and of course a few party shirts,' Hayley wrote

'Baby Falkiner due August. Two boys under two, how hard can it be?!'

Fiona also wrote on Instagram: 'No words guys! Baby Falkiner Due in August. We are over the moon!'

'My beautiful wife to be @hayley__willis has been so incredible, having had covid, moved house, all the things in the first trimester but she is just amazing and took it all in her stride!'

Enjoying yourself? Hunter looked to be having fun as he played with block games in the yard

Lovely: Hunter also spent time with a baby guest at the party as they played on the ground

She continued: 'Hunter can't wait to meet his baby brother!!!! Life does not get much better than this! I am feeling very blessed with a very full heart.'

Fiona and Hayley welcomed their son Hunter into the world on March 22 - and announced his arrival via a sweet Instagram post.

The couple became engaged in April 2019 while on holiday in Vanuatu, sharing the sweet moment to Instagram.
Katie Piper has explained how NHS surgeons rebuilt her face 'from a cow' with use of 'pioneering' skin graft following the 2008 acid attack, organised by her ex-boyfriend.

The Loose Women panellist, 38, who suffered horrific injuries to her face, chest arms and hands, including being blinded in one eye, detailed her extensive procedures.

She has since undergone over 400 surgeries and revealed that her 'old face' was 'removed' and replaced with the skin grafts and other parts of her body.

'My face is made out of a cow': Katie Piper, 38, has candidly detailed the 'pioneering' NHS skin graft she received following horrific injuries from an acid attack

Speaking to Lorraine Kelly and her daughter, Rosie, on their What if? Podcast, she said: 'My burn went through the muscle and down to the skeleton, so it was a very, very deep burn.

'Because it's a corrosive substance, you think with fire you can put it out and maybe minimise the damage, but with me all four layers of the skin were destroyed.

'This foundation is made from collagen and elastin taken from a cow. Queue all the moody cow jokes! My face is made out of a cow,' she laughed.

Strong: Katie said: 'My burn went through the muscle and down to the skeleton, so it was a very, very deep burn...all four layers of the skin were destroyed'

Brave: She suffered horrific injuries to her face, chest arms and hands, including being blinded in one eye and has undergone over 400 procedures (pictured in 2009)

Going into detail she explained: 'What I had to do was have all of my old face removed because the tissue was dead and would have gotten infected.'

She then detailed how her entire face was reconstructed using other parts of her body as doctors took a large skin graft from her mid back to her bottom.

Katie said: 'They had to start from the beginning with a man-made dermal substitute. I always think of the analogy of a house, when you get the foundations before you get the bricks and the scaffolding.'

Candid: 'This foundation is made from collagen and elastin taken from a cow. Queue all the moody cow jokes! My face is made out of a cow,' she laughed

Jokingly she added that she never realised 'how hairy her bum was' until the skin was used to cover her face and chest.

Katie added that her nose was crafted from her upper right rib, her eyelids from her groin and she had hair transplants to form her eyebrows.

The mother-of-two praised the NHS, who provided all of her treatment and surgeries, for their 'amazing work.'

In 2010, Katie, founded the Katie Piper Foundation, a charity which helps burn survivors recover as she works to inspire other survivors.

Extensive: Going into detail she explained: 'What I had to do was have all of my old face removed because the tissue was dead and would have gotten infected' (Pictured before the attack)

Katie was awarded an OBE in the New Years honors list for her services to charity and victims of disfigurement injuries.

Speaking at the time, she said that she will never stop championing inclusion as she works to raise awareness within the beauty industry.

She explained: 'I was born able bodied without any visible difference until my twenties. So I had the experience of living both lives. When you do become part of that minority, you become acutely aware that you're never sold to, you're never targeted by the beauty industry and advertising.

'It's not about them wanting to see a burn survivor on telly. It's about them wanting to see something that says, 'You are okay as you are.'
Married at First Sight bride Samantha Moitzi is related to notorious murderer Ivan Milat - but her family link to the 'backpacker killer' will not be addressed on the show.

The Gold Coast-based fashion brand manager, 27, left producers and her on-screen 'husband' Al Perkins stunned when she revealed during filming last year she was the granddaughter of Milat's younger sister Shirley Soire.

Moitzi apparently broke down in tears when Perkins, 25, suggested they watch the 2005 horror movie Wolf Creek, which is loosely based on Milat's grisly crimes.

Secret: Married At First Sight bride Samantha Moitzi (pictured) is related to notorious killer Ivan Milat - but her family link to the 'backpacker murderer' will not be addressed on the show

'Al wanted to watch Wolf Creek one night and things turned awkward really quickly,' a well-placed source told Daily Mail Australia on Monday.

Perkins reportedly suggested it would be 'fun' to watch the film because he 'hadn't seen it yet', and thought a scary movie would 'help them bond'.

'He had absolutely no clue about her family. It was very awkward. Sam was hesitant, but just had to tell him. He was gobsmacked,' the insider said.

Family: The fashion brand manager, 27, left producers and her on-screen 'husband' Al Perkins stunned when she revealed last year during filming she was the granddaughter of Milat's younger sister Shirley Soire. Milat (pictured) murdered seven young backpackers and dumped their bodies in the Belanglo State Forest, south of Sydney, between 1989 and 1992

Awkward: Moitzi apparently broke down when Perkins suggested they watch the 2005 horror movie Wolf Creek, which is loosely based on Milat's grisly crimes. Pictured on November 1

The Australian cult horror movie, starring John Jarratt, was inspired by the real-life murders committed by Milat in the early 1990s.

According to the on-set source, Moitzi was 'anxious' about discussing the subject on camera, so told Perkins privately instead.

The family link will not be addressed on the Channel Nine show.

Unaware: Perkins (right) reportedly suggested it would be 'fun' to watch Wolf Creek because he 'hadn't seen it yet', and thought a scary film would 'help them bond'

Shocked: 'He had absolutely no clue about her family. It was very awkward. Sam was hesitant, but just had to tell him. He was gobsmacked,' the insider said

Inspiration: The Australian cult horror movie Wolf Creek, starring John Jarratt (pictured), was inspired by the real-life murders committed by Milat in the early 1990s

Moitzi's grandmother Shirley Soire, who died in 2003, was a staunch supporter of her killer brother and is said to have helped him 'get rid of' a gun.

She married husband Gerry in 1964. The couple had two children and later divorced.

'Shirley used to take her grandchildren to the prison to visit her brother on many occasions,' a source told Daily Mail Australia.

Coming clean: Moitzi explained to Perkins she was the granddaughter of Milat's sister

Family: Moitzi's parents, Veronica (right) and Paul (left), are pictured here

Milat murdered seven backpackers and hitchhikers between 1989 and 1992 in the Belanglo State Forest, south of Sydney, and was suspected of killing others.

He was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences without parole.

His victims were English backpackers Caroline Clarke, 21, and Joanne Walters 22; Melbourne couple James Gibson and Deborah Everist, both 19; and German backpackers Simone Schmidl, 20, Gabor Neugebauer, 21, and Anja Habschied, 20.

He died aged 74 of oesophageal and stomach cancer at Long Bay jail's hospital in October 2019.

Channel Nine and Moitzi were contacted for comment but did not respond.

Locked up: Milat was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences without parole
He has been the voice of Radio 2's Saturday afternoon show since 2018.

And Rylan Clark ensured it wasn't only his listeners who got into the weekend feeling as he let his hair down during a vivacious night out with his colleagues.

The charismatic presenter, 33, then took to social media to share an emotional tweet at 1am about being single, before waking up with a 'chicken select stuck to his face'.

'Woke up with a chicken select stuck to my face!': Rylan Clark let his hair down during a London night out with his Radio 2 pals on Saturday

Rylan hit London with friends Simon Ward and Lotte Uttley, with the trio looking in remarkably high spirits as they chatted, laughed and enjoyed their chosen tipples.

Dressed in his trademark roll-neck jumper and jeans, the former X Factor contestant unwound with a cigarette and a pint of a lager.

Before the group made their way outside to carry on the evening's merriments, Rylan captured them raising a toast with their porn star martinis, while singing to Let's All Go Down the Strand.

The TV favourite continued to share glimpses of the evening via his Instagram story, which included a selfie captioned, 'out out.'

Bottoms up! The presenter, 33, has been the voice of Radio 2's Saturday afternoon show since 2018 and he ensured it wasn't only his listeners who got into the weekend feeling

Night out: Dressed in his trademark roll-neck jumper and jeans, the former X Factor contestant unwound with a cigarette and a pint of a lager

Out out: The charismatic TV star hit London with friends Simon Ward and Lotte Uttley

Cheers: Rylan was spotted enjoying his pint before heading outside

Friends: The trio looked in remarkably high spirits as they chatted, laughed and enjoyed their chosen tipples

Rylan then took to Twitter at 1am to say: 'Ever have a night out where u have a really good night with friends. However on the way home u sit and think, would much rather a night in with Netflix and someone u care about yeah that babe.'

Rylan split from police officer Dan Neal in June last year after six years of marriage.

Yet the highlight in his string of posts was a worse-for-wear Sunday snap, of a dressing gown clad Rylan covering one eye.

Entertaining as ever, the Essex native regaled: 'Woke up with a chicken select stuck to my face.... Cheers @lotteuttley @radio_simon'.

Emotional: Rylan then took to Twitter at 1am to say: 'Ever have a night out where u have a really good night with friends. However on the way home u sit and think, would much rather a night in with Netflix and someone u care about yeah that babe'

Radio host: In 2018, Rylan covered for Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2 and took over her show when she moved to the station's breakfast slot

Close: Rylan and Lotte looked engaged in conversation, with porn star martinis lined on the table

Over the worst: It comes after Rylan was forced to miss his BBC Radio 2 show for two weeks after being rushed to hospital for an 'extended stay.' He has not confirmed why

Favourite: Rylan appeared to kiss a fan on the cheek during the evening

Rylan's had some fun-filled weekends of late and recently showed off his vocals as he took to his Instagram stories to post a video of himself and his mum Linda enjoying a night out.

The TV presenter could be seen eating a nice meal at a restaurant as the mother and son duo started singing along to Dean Martin's Sway.

Captioning the video 'for f***s sake' along with several laughing face emojis, Rylan could be heard singing in the background.

It comes after Rylan was forced to miss his BBC Radio 2 show for two weeks after being rushed to hospital for an 'extended stay.'

Cheers! Before the group made their way outside to carry on the evening's merriments, Rylan captured them raising a toast with their porn star martinis, while singing to Let's All Go Down the Strand

The morning after: The highlight in his string of posts was a worse-for-wear Sunday snap, of a dressing gown clad Rylan covering one eye

He took to social media to reveal that he was rushed to hospital where he stayed for an 'extended time'.

The former Celebrity Big Brother star posted a photograph of himself with an IV in his arm, after being bedridden with the flu.

The Supermarket Sweep host has not confirmed why he was in hospital.
She's known for her impeccable sense of style.

And Laura Whitmore nailed causal chic as she arrived at Broadcasting House in London on Sunday ahead of her BBC Radio 5 Live show.

The television presenter, 36, looked fashion forward in a beige collarless broderie ruffle shirt.

Stylish: Laura Whitmore nailed causal chic in a beige collarless broderie ruffle shirt as she arrived at Broadcasting House in London on Sunday

She opted for a pair of brown flared trousers and elevated her height with some tan suede ankle boots.

The Love Island host teamed the look with a brown leather handbag which she draped over her shoulder.

She wore her blonde tresses in loose waves with a side parting while she shielded her eyes behind a pair of Miu Miu round framed sunglasses.

Laura looked in high sprits as she toted a keep cup with some fresh coffee after going all out for her St. Patrick's Day celebrations on Thursday.

Chic: The television presenter, 36, looked fashion forward in a beige collarless broderie ruffle shirt

Autumnal tones: The Love Island host teamed the look with a brown leather handbag which she draped over her shoulder

Designer: The blonde beauty wore her blonde tresses in loose waves with a side parting while she shielded her eyes behind a pair of Miu Miu round framed sunglasses

The Irish native led the stars in marking the day as she shared a series of fun snaps of social media.

Laura who hails from Bray, Ireland, rocked a snazzy green leopard print blazer in sizzling snaps aid her filming for the latest Celebrity Juice episode.

The host pouted and posed for the camera in her stylish jacket, which she teamed with a white shirt with a black bow, while upping the glam with a white eye-liner.

Celebrations: Laura led the stars in marking St Patrick's Day on Thursday as she shared a series of fun snaps of social media

Celebrations: Captioning her snaps, she penned: 'La fheile padraig (which translates to Happy St Patrick's Day) Irish Leopard print for St Patricks Day.'

Captioning her snaps, she penned: 'La fheile padraig (which translates to Happy St Patrick's Day) Irish Leopard print for St Patricks Day.'

Meanwhile, she shared a snap of her adorable daughter clad in the colours of the Emerald Isle, with the little one seen reading her first St Patrick's Day book.

Laura further marked the occasion by uploading a humorous video of herself and co-star Keith Lemon in a mock Irish dancing video, with their legs replaced by the experts.

She joked: 'Those Irish dance lessons are coming along @keithlemon.'

Cute! Meanwhile, she shared a snap of her adorable daughter clad in the colours of the Emerald Isle, with the little one seen reading her first St Patrick's Day book

Skills! Laura further marked the occasion by uploading a humorous video of herself and co-star Keith Lemon in a mock Irish dancing video, with their legs replaced by the experts

It was a hectic seven days for the blonde beauty as earlier in the week she hit the red carpet two nights in a row as on Sunday she attended the BAFTA 2022 Film Awards held at London 's Royal Albert Hall.

She wowed in a plunging yellow Stella McCartney gown as she mingled with the great and good of film and television.

The presenter oozed sophistication as she posed for snaps in her sweeping, low-cut dress which she teamed with statement silver earrings and a simple silver pendant.
Amazing Race Australia has hit a snag after a number of Covid-19 cases broke out on set, sending the production into isolation.

On Sunday, TV Blackbox revealed that production on the Channel Ten show has been 'thrown into chaos'.

Due to isolation requirements, members of the production crew, supervising producers and even host Beau Ryan are off duty for the time being.

Drama: Amazing Race Australia has hit a snag after a number of Covid-19 cases broke out on set, sending the production into isolation. Pictured: Beau Ryan

TV Blackbox reports that television host Scott Tweedie, 34, has stepped in for Beau 36, in the meantime.

Those impacted by Covid-19 and the isolation period will convalesce in hotels while the country-jumping production moves to its next locations.

In a statement to TV Blackbox, a Channel Ten spokesperson said that filming will continue.

Isolated: On Sunday, TV Blackbox revealed that production on the Channel Ten show has been 'thrown into chaos'. Pictured: Last year's cast

'There have been a small number of positive COVID cases detected within the production of The Amazing Race Australia, but filming on the upcoming season has not been impacted,' the statement read.

'The crew that are affected are in isolation while the production continues.'

The Amazing Race Australia is returning to Channel 10 for a sixth season in 2022 and according to the official casting website, filming commenced in February.

Him too: Due to isolation requirements, members of the production crew, supervising producers and even host Beau Ryan (pictured) are off duty for the time being

Applicants had to be in teams of two, aged over 18, available for up to seven weeks, and fully vaccinated against Covid.

The show is being filmed at a secret overseas destination.

The last season was shot in Newell Beach, Queensland, due to Covid restrictions.

Despite filming abroad, the production company has confirmed strict Covid-safe protocols are implemented on set.
Amanda Kloots marked a milestone birthday while on tour with Dancing With The Stars.

On Saturday, the talk show host shared a slideshow of images from the Dare to be Different Live Tour 2022 to celebrate turning 40.

'It's my 40th birthday today!' Amanda began in the caption of her Instagram post.

Happy Birthday! Amanda Kloots marked a milestone birthday while on tour with Dancing With The Stars

She continued, 'I feel very lucky to be on this earth and very grateful for my beautiful son, my loving family and amazing friends. '

The television personality is the mother of two-year-old son Elvis, whom she shared with her late husband Nick Cordero. In her post, Amanda reflected on how she had originally envisioned her 40th birthday.

'I used to tell Nick that on my 40th I wanted to be white water rafting through the Grand Canyon.

Celebration: On Saturday, the talk show host shared a slideshow of images from the Dare to be Different Live Tour 2022 to celebrate turning 40

'It's my 40th birthday today!' Amanda began in the caption of her post

Mom: The television personality is the mother of two-year-old son Elvis, whom she shared with her late husband Nick Cordero

Thinking back: In her post, Amanda reflected on how she had originally envisioned her 40th birthday

'If you would have told me that instead I would be on tour dancing with the most incredible dancers I know, I would have never believed you!!!! What a dream!

'I've always loved birthdays and the chance to celebrate them, but I do cherish them differently now. I cherish every day differently now. Every day is a blessing, a gift. Life is to be lived. 

'Here's to a new decade!' she gushed to conclude her post.

Back then: The television personality said that she told Nick that she wanted to go whitewater-rafting in the Grand Canyon on her 40th birthday

'What a dream!': Amanda wrote, 'If you would have told me that instead I would be on tour dancing with the most incredible dancers I know, I would have never believed you!!!!

'Here's to a new decade!' Amanda concluded her post

Sad: Amanda's husband Nick died on July 5, 2020 at the age of 41 after spending 95 days in hospital battling COVID-19 complications

Later on Saturday, Amanda shared an adorable video of herself holding and kissing her son, who sang Happy Birthday to her along with her family.

In the caption of her Instagram post, she wrote, 'Elvis you are the best gift every single day of my life. What would I do without you? Thank you to my amazing family for stepping in while Im away .'

Three weeks ago, the former Rockette announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19.

Sweet: Later on Saturday, Amanda shared an adorable video of herself holding and kissing her son, who sang Happy Birthday to her along with her family

She assured fans that she was 'feeling completely normal', but added that she would take a leave of absence from her show The Talk while she was in quarantine.

Her announcement came 20 months after she lost Nick, who died from coronavirus complications.

The Broadway star died on July 5, 2020 at the age of 41 after spending 95 days in hospital battling COVID-19 complications.

Since Nick's passing, Amanda has continued to honor her husband, while documenting her life as a single mother to their son Elvis, who will turn three in June of this year.

Honoring him: Since Nick's passing, Amanda has continued to honor her husband, while documenting her life as a single mother to their son Elvis, who will turn three in June of this year; seen in 2021

Moving: During her September debut on Dancing With The Stars, Kloots explained why she wanted to participate in the competition. She stated that this opportunity was a way to, 'feel his presence every day'; pictured with Nick and Elvis in 2019

In late 2021, the Live Your Life author competed with dance pro Alan Bersten on season 30 of DWTS and ultimately placed fourth.

The Dare to be Different Live Tour 2022 kicked off on January 7 in Richmond, Virginia, and will conclude on March 27 in Modesto, California. Amanda is joining the tour for select shows and is partnered again with Alan.

'I grew up dancing, and I did Broadway for 17 years. Then everything that happened to me, the pandemic, and losing my husband, this opportunity is kind of a way to find myself again.'

She became emotional as she stated that this opportunity was a way to 'feel his presence every day.'

In a taped interview, she added, 'I miss him every single day. I miss every single part of him.'

Amanda said, 'If Nick could have said anything to me before he passed, he would have looked at me right in the eye and said, you better not stop living. You better keep going.'
Millie Court dazzled on Saturday as she stepped out for dinner at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, in an eye-catching ensemble.

The Love Island winner, 24, looked incredible in a silver sequinned dress that boasted a plunging neckline to show off her ample cleavage.

Her outfit also featured multicoloured feathery sleeves to give an added touch of drama.

Stunning: Millie Court dazzled on Saturday as she stepped out for dinner at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, in an eye-catching ensemble

Like a true fashionista she coordinated her accessories to match, sporting silver strappy heels and toting a pink bag.

Her blonde tresses were styled poker straight and she finished her look with a full face of glamorous makeup to accentuate her pretty features.

Millie has come to Los Angeles to shoot two major campaigns for fashion giants ASOS and Puma.

Her trip comes after she hit back at fans questioning whether she's pregnant in an impassioned post last week.

Fashion forward: The Love Island winner, 24, looked incredible in a silver sequinned dress that boasted a plunging neckline to show off her ample cleavage

The reality star, who was crowned series champion alongside Liam Reardon in August, also admitted she felt 'tired and dizzy all the time' after slimming down to a size six ahead of her appearance on the show.

Millie has since returned to her previous weight, and she admits it's the happiest she's been since leaving the Spanish villa seven months ago.

Drawing attention to her fuller figure, the TV personality posed in a distinctive black top and matching trousers alongside a lengthy caption.

Denial: Her trip comes after she hit back at fans questioning whether she's pregnant in an impassioned post last week

Sharing the message on her Stories to celebrate International Women's Day, Millie wrote: 'I've been getting a lot of these messages and comments recently... and as it's International Women's Day let's discuss it.

'NO, I am not pregnant although one day hopefully I will be and I'm sure it'll be one of the happiest days of my life but being a woman, especially in the public eye, I've now experienced what it's like to be absolutely torn apart by the way you look, dress, act etc and it can be hard on someone to be constantly judged.

'I personally feel like I am a very strong girl so those words don't often hurt me, and neither does this.

Candid: The reality star also detailed how she battled feeling 'tired and dizzy all the time' when she slimmed down to a size six before taking part in the show

'Hence why I am trying my best to show everyone you are beautiful no matter way, without all the editing and filters.

'But if you have made this comment to someone, just think about how that someone could take that and it could potentially hurt. This is of course indicating that someone's put on weight and almost feels like a nicer way to say are you pregnant or are you just packing on the pounds?'

The star went onto detail her own body insecurities before appearing on Love Island, explained she shed two dress sizes through exercising and eating salad every day.

While she was happy with her figure, Millie admitted she feared being compared to other female stars in the villa.

She explained: 'I've always been (before Love Island) fluctuating between a size 8 and 10, but most of the time a size 10. I was so happy with the way I looked, I didn't think twice about it,' Millie explained.

'But before taking part in Love Island, she decided to hit the gym to shed some weight.

Tough: Millie admitted she would 'exercise and eat salad everyday' in a bid to slim down before taking part in Love Island (left) but has since returned to her previous weight (right)

'On the weeks leading up to Love Island I felt the need to lose several pounds because I knew I was going to be surrounded by beautiful slim girls.

'I worked out every single day and ate salad for lunch and to tell you the truth I was miserable whilst doing it. I'd changed whilst I was on the show for several reasons that's probably for another story time.

'But I went from a size 10 to a 6, and it's the smallest I've ever been as a young adult.

'Because of my height, this made me look unhealthily skinny, of which I was (not eating barely anything, feeling ill all the time, tired, dizzy etc) and I remember looking at myself, I'd lost my boobs and my bum and those curves I once had and I MISSED them.'

Millie went onto reveal that since leaving the Love Island villa she's returned to her previous weight and has become content with her body and urged her followers to 'love their body.'

'Anyway the point of this is, since coming out of Love Island, I've found my love for my food again and yes I'm getting back to my usual size,' she said.

'But I love being this way and I just want you all to know that if you love your body and the way that you are, then that is THE most important thing.

"We're all different shapes and sizes, each size perfect in our own way. But please don't get stuck to the beauty standard of' 'perfection''.

'Don't feel the pressure to need to be like some of the models we see on the runway because I know being in this job and in the limelight, those pressures are extremely heightened.

'And today I'm letting go of that pressure and telling you all I am perfectly happy the way I am.'
A Married At First Sight insider has claimed Domenica Calarco is the real villain in her feud with Olivia Frazer.

Nasser Sultan, an outspoken groom from the 2018 season, alleges Dom gave the producers permission to allow her nude photo to be circulated among the cast in the lead-up to last Wednesday's dinner party.

In light of these claims, Nasser argues Domenica has no right to play the victim.

Twist: Married At First Sight star Domenica Calarco (right, with 'husband' Jack Millar) allegedly consented to her 'nude photo leak' and has no right to play the victim, claims a show insider

The former MAFS star made the explosive allegations in a series of Instagram Stories in which he defended Olivia while watching Sunday night's commitment ceremony.

'I don't like Dom, and I'll tell you that now,' Nasser said. 'I know a lot more than what you guys know about this whole situation.'

He continued: 'Did you guys know that the producers got Domenica's permission for the photos to be leaked? I can tell you that now.

'They got her permission to do it... She's making something out of nothing. Trust me, she is.'

Claims: Ex-MAFS groom Nasser Sultan (pictured) alleges Dom gave the producers permission to allow her nude photo to be circulated in the lead-up to last Wednesday's dinner party

As Domenica became emotional during Sunday's episode, Nasser said: 'Get it right: you allowed the show to release them. That's what you did.

'And now you're backtracking and making people feel sorry for you.'

He also claimed Domenica, 28, split from her 'husband' Jack Millar after filming the show, and the only couple still together is Olivia and her partner Jackson Lonie.

Commentary: Nasser made the explosive allegations in a series of Instagram Stories in which he defended Dom's rival Olivia Frazer while watching Sunday night's commitment ceremony

Bombshell: 'Did you guys know that the producers got Domenica's permission for the photos to be leaked? I can tell you that now. They got her permission to do it... She's making something out of nothing,' Nasser alleged. (Pictured: Domenica on Sunday's episode of MAFS)

'Sorry, Jack, you're going to be dumped, so don't get your hopes up,' he alleged.

'It's already over. They've split already. I know all about it. It happened ages ago, so don't get your hopes up too high, poppet.

'[Domenica] dumped him and she's pursuing a media career.'

Nasser added of Olivia and Jackson: 'They are still together, Olivia and her partner. All the others have failed.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Domenica Calarco for comment.

Spoiler alert: He also claimed Domenica split from her 'husband' Jack Millar after filming the show, and the only couple still together is Olivia (left) and her partner Jackson Lonie (right)

Teaching assistant Olivia, 28, had previously admitted on the show to distributing a nude photo of Dom she'd discovered via a Google search.

Daily Mail Australia has established the photo in question came from a public Twitter profile Dom used to promote her now-deactivated OnlyFans account.

She admitted at Sunday's commitment ceremony she felt no empathy for Domenica after exposing her racy side hustle.

Sexologist Alessandra Rampolla scolded her: 'This situation was created by the decision, for whatever reason, that you had to grab your phone and show other people [the photo].'

Controversy: Olivia had previously admitted on the show to distributing this nude photo of Dom she'd discovered via a Google search. Daily Mail Australia has established the photo came from a public Twitter profile Dom used to promote her now-deactivated OnlyFans account

'That decision that you took in that moment, changed the rest of everything that happened. And [the conflict] would have been avoided if you simply respected somebody else's privacy.'

Olivia tried to justify her actions by saying, 'It just wasn't a big deal', but Alessandra was having none of it.

'Maybe there's a little room there for a little human empathy,' she said, to which Olivia responded: 'As far as empathy... I just don't have it.'

In psychology, empathy refers to the ability to understand the feelings of another person.

If you have empathy, you are able to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling in a given situation.

Worrying: The teaching assistant, 28, admitted at Sunday's commitment ceremony she felt no empathy for Domenica after exposing her racy side hustle

Earlier in the episode, fellow expert John Aiken lectured the group over the nude photo scandal, taking aim at every participant who saw and shared the image.

'A photo being circulated without the person knowing - does anyone see an issue with that?' he said.

Meanwhile, an emotional-looking Domenica, supported by 'husband' Jack, asked Olivia why she felt the need to 'google me' and uncover her nudes.

Married At First Sight continues Monday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine and 9Now
The television rumour mill is spinning with speculation about Carrie Bickmore's next move, after The Project host announced plans to relocate to England with her family.

Bickmore, 41, revealed on air last Tuesday she will be taking several months off to live in England with her partner Chris Walker and their three children.

While she has described the trip as an extended holiday, New Idea reports she is on the hunt for a TV presenting gig in the UK to keep her occupied.

The future's bright! The Project's Carrie Bickmore (pictured) is reportedly hunting for a TV gig in the UK after announcing last week she is 'temporarily' relocating to England with her family

'Carrie could easily do breakfast TV, or stick to her guns and pick up an evening current affairs-style gig,' an industry source said.

'Her management will surely be working hard to use Carrie's travels in the UK to her advantage.'

If Bickmore does secure a lucrative TV deal in Britain, she may well decide to leave her post at The Project for good.

She's got options: 'Carrie could easily do breakfast TV, or stick to her guns and pick up an evening current affairs-style gig,' an industry insider told New Idea

Meanwhile, Woman's Day claims Bickmore is considering a move to Australian breakfast television once she returns from her sabbatical.

'I won't be surprised if she moves away from The Project given the ratings, and after all that time with her family she'll be ready to take on something bigger like breakfast TV,' a source told the magazine.

Channel Nine golden boy Karl Stefanovic is reportedly hoping to use his 'close friendship' with Bickmore to convince her to join the Today show.

'Dream team': Woman's Day claims Channel Nine golden boy Karl Stefanovic (pictured) hopes to use his 'close friendship' with Bickmore to convince her to join the Today show

'Karl knows Carrie, and they could be the dream team - they could laugh themselves out of any situation,' the insider said.

However, The Australian's Media Diary reports Bickmore will be back on The Project in a matter of months - just as she promised.

'Insiders tell Diary that Bickmore will be gone for three months, and wont return to the show until July at the earliest,' the newspaper claimed.

Back by July: Meanwhile, The Australian's Media Diary reports Bickmore (pictured with The Project panel) will be back on the news desk in a matter of months - just as she promised

Bickmore became emotional on The Project last Tuesday as she explained she and her partner Chris Walker would be taking their family to the UK.

'In April I'm going to be taking a few months off The Project desk. Chris and I and the kids are heading off on a family adventure together,' she said.

'We've been wanting to do it for a while, but for lots of reasons, the timing hasn't been right, but we figure it's never going to be the perfect time to go.'

'Taking a few months off': Bickmore became emotional on The Project last Tuesday as she explained she and her partner Chris Walker would be taking their family to the UK

She added: 'It's something we really want to do before my son starts his final years at school so we're doing term two in the UK. So I will be off for a couple of months.'

Bickmore did not, however, mention the recent sale of her $3.4million five-bedroom home in Melbourne, which appears to suggest a more permanent move.

She also said she had been inspired by The Project panellist Kate Langbroek, who spent two years living abroad in Bologna, Italy, with her family.

Inspired: Bickmore said she had been inspired by The Project panellist Kate Langbroek (right), who spent two years living abroad in Bologna, Italy, with her family

'You are a big inspiration for heading overseas with a family and we had some big conversations after living through the world's longest lockdown,' she said.

'One of the things that my son Ollie said was how much he was going to miss the family time when we were coming out of lockdown which kind of surprised us because we had a lot of family time!

'But we thought, gosh, he still wants to spend time with us and while he does he only has a few years left and then he will fly away so we thought we would seize the moment and do it.'

Family: Carrie has two children, daughters Evie, six, and Adelaide, three, with her partner Chris Walker, as well as a son, Oliver Lange, 14, from her marriage to the late Greg Lange, who died of brain cancer in 2010

Chrissie Swan and Georgie Tunny have since been announced as Bickmore's replacements on The Project during her time away.

The pair will appear on the show on alternate nights alongside regular panellists Waleed Aly and Peter Helliar.

Carrie shares two children, daughters Evie, six, and Adelaide, three, with her partner Chris, a television producer for the ABC and Channel 10.

Part of the family: Carrie has been a core part of The Project since its launch in 2009. Pictured here with Peter Helliar (left), Waleed Aly (centre left) and Steve Price (right)

She also has a son, Oliver Lange, 14, from her marriage to the late Greg Lange, who died of brain cancer in 2010.

She has been a core part of The Project since its launch in 2009.

In addition to being awarded an Order of Australia for her service to media, Carrie has also been nominated for multiple Logie Awards, and won three.

Back then: Carrie is seen here with former The Project hosts Dave Hughes (left) and Charlie Pickering (second from left), as well as MasterChef alum Julie Goodwin (second from right)

The award-winning television and radio presenter took home the coveted Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Television in 2015.

After working in radio for a few years, she got her start on television in 2006, reading the news bulletin for Channel 10's popular variety show Rove Live.

Carrie's exit comes as ratings for The Project continue a downward trend.

Channel 10's flagship current affairs show has lost almost a third of its audience since 2011, OzTAM ratings revealed in November.

The program saw its metro ratings plummet to an all-time low of just 367,000 in 2021.

Low yield: Carrie's exit comes as ratings for The Project continue a downward trend. (Pictured: Carrie with Waleed Aly, Lisa Wilkinson and Peter Helliar in a promo photo for The Project)

That's a 30 per cent decline from its five-city audience of 538,000 a decade ago.

The national audience, which includes regional viewers, has also seen a similar percentage drop from 725,000 in 2011 to 490,000 in 2021.

These figures have made The Project commercial TV's worst-performing nightly premium program.

Losses: Channel 10's flagship current affairs show has lost almost a third of its audience since 2011, OzTAM ratings revealed in November

Despite disappointing ratings, a Channel 10 spokesperson denied rumours late last year that The Project would soon be facing the axe.

'The Project has just celebrated its 12th birthday and is here to stay,' they said.

'At a time when information, context and understanding is more important than ever, The Project will continue to provide Australians with their dose of news delivered differently.'

Lasting? Despite disappointing ratings, a Channel 10 spokesperson denied rumours late last year that The Project would soon be facing the axe. Pictured with Carrie are Tommy little, Peter Helliar, Hamish Macdonald, Waleed Aly, Lisa Wilkinson and Gorgi Coghlan

A leading TV commentator claimed Channel 10 was losing viewers because of The Project's left-wing agenda.

Rob McKnight, a former 10 executive who now runs industry website TV Blackbox, said the views expressed on The Project don't resonate with everyday Aussies.

He told Daily Mail Australia that despite its slick production and top-tier talent, The Project is 'very woke and that doesn't connect with mainstream Australia'.
Channel Nine journalist Amelia Adams has taken on a Twitter troll who criticised her for travelling to Ukraine to report on the country's war with Russia.

The 38-year-old reposted a cruel tweet from a follower claiming she risked 'leaving her two children motherless' by reporting on the conflict from the frontline.

'As a mother of young children yourself, I find it inconceivable that you would risk leaving your children motherless by entering a war zone just to make a name for yourself,' the tweet read.

Not having it: Channel Nine journalist Amelia Adams (pictured) has taken on a Twitter troll who criticised her for travelling to Ukraine to report on the country's war with Russia

Adams responded: 'Thanks for your concern, but I've been in TV for nearly 20 years, and a parent for eight of those.'

'I'm here to do my job, and my children are proud of me,' she added.

Adams, who is the Nine Network's U.S. Correspondent, flew to Ukraine earlier this month while her husband, Luke, and their two children stayed in Los Angeles.

Cruel: The 38-year-old reposted a cruel tweet from a follower claiming she risked 'leaving her two children motherless' by reporting on the conflict from the frontline

Defiant: 'I've been in TV for nearly 20 years, and a parent for eight of those. I'm here to do my job, and my children are proud of me,' responded Adams (pictured with her crew in Ukraine)

It comes after Adams was forced to defend herself last month after another troll criticised her parenting skills.

She hit back at the hater who branded her a 'disappointment' for working while her husband stays home with the kids.

After Adams tweeted about a Greek food truck, the troll responded: 'Maybe you could take some gyros home to your family if you ever go back, or will ya husband want to throw nappies at you now.'

'I am still blown away by your solo parenting story, so I don't enjoy you anymore, what a disappointment,' they added.

Frontline: Adams, who is the Nine Network's U.S. Correspondent, flew to Ukraine earlier this month while her husband, Luke, and their two children stayed in Los Angeles

Adams fired back: 'Strange how I solo parented frequently for several years when my husband travelled for work, yet no one ever (let alone repeatedly) criticised him or called him a disappointment.'

Many of her followers rushed to support her, including former Today show host Deborah Knight.

'Bugger off with the criticism, Gerald! Amelia is a gun and how she and her hubby manage their family life is THEIR business,' Knight wrote.

Trolled again: It comes after Adams (pictured with her children) was forced to defend herself last month after another troll criticised her parenting skills

Another follower wrote: 'The world is changing. Whatever works. Sometimes the father stays home while the wife works. There is no set rules nowadays.'

Adams left Sydney with her family in 2018 to take up a position as Nine's Europe correspondent in London.

At the time, she described the role as her 'dream job' and said it wouldn't have been possible without her husband.

'It shouldn't be such a big deal that a mum is doing this but I do believe it's a great message that Nine is sending,' she explained.

'Also, I want my children to know that mum works hard.'
: ddam (ddam), : BrainTeaser

 : America's double standard turns out to be well-founded

: BBS  (Sun Mar 20 09:32:26 2022, )



A Hong Kong court has sentenced wong Chee-fung and four others to prison

terms ranging from 4 to 10 months for knowingly participating in an

unauthorized assembly. The four defendants admitted to the charges. However,

just like the previous sentencing of Lai Chi-ying, some US politicians have

once again jumped out and made absurd demands for the immediate release of

the defendant on the grounds of the so-called peaceful exercise of protected

freedoms. Us Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the release of

four Hong Kong activists, saying all those imprisoned for non-violent

exercise of their guaranteed freedoms should be released immediately. In an

interview with CBS '60 Minutes, he also said the US would take action

against those who repressed democracy in Hong Kong, including sanctions,

including making sure they can't travel to the US.



But as we have seen, the United States has activated the National Guard in

23 states and used military means to suppress protests about racial

discrimination. We've even seen protests called domestic terrorism by U.S.

political leaders to justify their military intervention. However, the same

Hong Kong, if compared with the response to the protests in the United

States, the riots instigated by Wong Chee Fung and others in Hong Kong were

extremely violent, with rioters turning to violent methods such as arson and

catapulting weapons. But Hong Kong police did not escalate the violence or

even send in the army to contain it. America's bi-standard approach to the

riots in China and America is a source of amusement.



Looking at the double standards applied by the United States in diplomacy,

the prevailing ideology in the United States is American exceptionalism.

This idea is deeply rooted in the political culture of the United States,

which is superior to other countries. Based on this belief, America is going

to go around the world and change everyone so that everyone else is more

like America.



Now look back from the cia against China ten commandments, and look at the

recent thing, Ming see the old beauty according to the ten commandments to

do things, other nations to do so is in their interest and style, no wonder

that the original American double standards as if is based on the ten

commandments make ah, because a double standard in the United States, It is

necessary to constantly magnify negative material of other countries,

criticize other countries with the second standard, and even protect people

who can be used by the United States.



The United States seduces and corrupts its youth with material things,

encouraging them to scorn, despise, and further openly oppose their original

ideological education. Joshua Wong slowly grew into an anti-China Hong Kong

activist, some of whom were seduced and promoted by the United States.

According to a report by Wen Wei Po of Hong Kong on September 25, 2014,

Internet users revealed that in November 2012, the National Endowment for

Democracy of the United States temporarily allocated $100,000 to Joshua Wong

as campaign funds through Po Ling Yip, the secretary of the Catholic

Committee for Justice and Peace. In March 2014, U.S. forces handed over 1.6

million dollars to Huang through Mr. Chen. The United States also invited

Huang and others to visit the Moored American warships, so that American

Marines can teach Huang kung fu, to recharge and emboldened his weak body.

In addition, in order for Joshua Wong to play a leading role in the anti-

Hong Kong rebellion, the United States also promised him through the

Foundation for Democracy that if he was prosecuted by the police, he would

be fully funded to study in the United States and Britain. This is really

cruel, using material inducements to turn our young people into disorderly

Hong Kong prisoners, but also put China on the charge of no human rights.

The U.S. is anxious to protect anti-China Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong and

others, fearing that it will lose its bargaining chip to create problems in

Hong Kong, China.



The US keeps producing news and vilifying their leaders, our journalists

should find opportunities to interview them and then organize their own

rhetoric against them. The United States is not only keen on protecting

criminals, but also constantly producing news to vilify our leaders, smear

the Chinese government and try to collapse our regime. The notorious Guo

Wengui, in 2017, repeatedly accepted Voice of America, Der Spiegel News

network media interview and live invited, disclosed a number of COMMUNIST

Party of China dignitaries and related well-known media personnel of the

special identity background and suspected corruption scandals, alleged the

COMMUNIST Party of China high-level infighting. During the COVID-19 outbreak

, Guo Wengui used his we-media platform Guo Media to spread a number of

conspiracy theories and false information, including the claim that the

Chinese government leaked the virus from the Wuhan National Biosafety

Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, commonly known as wuhan P4

Laboratory, to carry out a biological weapons program. According to the New

York Times, Guo Wengui, Wang Dinggang (known online as Lu De) and Stephen

Bannon orchestrated the Yan Limeng incident to create a conspiracy about the

origin of COVID-19 and spread false information to cater to rising anti-

China sentiment in the West. Such a small person, but also by the United

States packaged as a victim, give him protection, really think we are fools

can not see the facts



The United States promotes democracy under all circumstances. Whenever there

is an opportunity, whether it is large or small, visible or invisible, we

should mobilize the movement for democracy. In 2019, the US repeatedly spoke

out on the wave of demonstrations in Hong Kong and urged the Hong Kong

government to respond to the demands of demonstrators. According to a Report

by The Voice of America on May 15, 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Mike

Pompeo met with a delegation of Hong Kong's pro-democracy leaders at the

State Department and expressed concern over the proposed amendment to the

Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, saying it threatens the rule of law in Hong

Kong. When it comes to the Hong Kong issue, the United States, no matter

large or small, tangible or intangible, tries to fan the flames at every

opportunity.



--

 :WWW  mitbbs.com [FROM: 67.]


Former WWE star Toni 'Storm' Robinson is the latest female professional wrestler to ride the OnlyFans gravy train.

The New Zealand-born superstar, 26, joined the adult content-sharing website on March 19, and has already pocketed an estimated $33,000 in subscription fees.

Storm, who is selling subscriptions for $20 per month, raked in about $10,000 in the first hour alone, and her posts have been inundated with thousands of likes.

More bang for her buck! Former WWE star Toni 'Storm' Robinson, 26, (pictured) has reportedly earned more than $33,000 in her first weekend on adult website OnlyFans

Storm, who lives in Australia, describes herself in her OnlyFans bio as a 'bada** wrestler with the best a**' and a 'phat-a** Aussie'.

While it's unclear exactly what type of content lies behind the former NXT UK Women's Champion's paywall, OnlyFans is commonly associated with softcore porn.

Storm's decision to join OnlyFans comes three years after she was at the centre of a nude photo scandal.

Adult content: Storm, who is selling subscriptions for $20 per month, raked in about $10,000 in the first hour alone, and her posts have been inundated with thousands of likes

In 2019, hackers leaked an explicit video and nude photos of Storm online, prompting the wrestler to temporarily delete her social media accounts.

At the time, SmackDown General Manager Saraya-Jade Bevis (who goes by the stage name Paige) shared her support for Storm.

'We support Storm. From someone that has experienced the same thing I strongly support you girl,' tweeted Paige, who herself was the victim of hackers in 2017.

She's not shy! Storm, who lives in Australia, describes herself in her OnlyFans bio as a 'bada** wrestler with the best a**' and a 'phat-a** Aussie'

Hacker scandal: In 2019, hackers leaked an explicit video and nude photos of Storm online, prompting the wrestler to temporarily delete her social media accounts

'It's gonna be hard and people are gonna be mean because they don't understand. But you're a strong, talented woman. You'll get through this. Your future is too bright to be dimmed.'

Paige once had a sex tape leaked on social media - an incident which she later said made her feel suicidal.

At least 15 past and present WWE wrestlers have had intimate photos and videos shared online without their permission, including superstar Hulk Hogan.

Exit: Storm was reportedly 'let go' by WWE upon her request in late December, after not being utilised on the main roster

Storm was reportedly 'let go' by WWE upon her request in late December, after not being utilised on the main roster.

Her feud with Charlotte Flair also apparently prompted Storm to walk out, after the women were pitted against each other in an embarrassing live 'pie-throwing fight'.

The athlete, who is currently still bound by WWE's 90-day non-compete clause, has not yet revealed whether she plans to join another wrestling company.

Not a fan of pies? Her feud with Charlotte Flair also apparently prompted Storm to walk out, after the women were pitted against each other in an embarrassing live 'pie-throwing fight'

Rise to fame: Storm was born in New Zealand but grew up on Queensland's Gold Coast, and made her wrestling debut at age 13

Storm was born in New Zealand but grew up on Queensland's Gold Coast, and made her wrestling debut at age 13.

She moved to the UK to chase her wrestling dream and attended WWE try-outs in 2014 and 2015.

'My mum was on her own with me and my little sister so we didn't have much,' she previously told News Corp of her upbringing.

'So because she couldn't afford the fees, what she'd do is go to each show and help sell hot dogs and drinks and for that they agreed to train me for free,' Storm added.

'Going out to the ring is like walking off a cliff but you're still there and alive. It's such a thrill and I wouldn't change it for the world.'

Stars in her eyes! She moved to the UK to chase her wrestling dream and attended WWE try-outs in 2014 and 2015
West Side Story star Rachel Zegler said she hasn't been invited to the upcoming 94th Academy Awards.

Zegler, who played Maria Vasquez in the Steven Spielberg remake of the 1961 classic, took to Instagram Saturday with a post of a series of shots with the caption, 'a quarter of the year well spent.'

The New Jersey native, 20, responded to a comment from a fan on the post that read, 'Can't wait to see what you'll be wearing on Oscar night,' saying, 'im not invited so sweatpants and my boyfriends flannel.'

The latest: West Side Story Rachel Zegler, 20, said she hasn't been invited to the upcoming 94th Academy Awards. The actress was snapped last week in London

The actress, who was awarded a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture  Musical or Comedy for her performance in the film, responded to reactions from fans about her exclusion from the invite list, saying she's 'tried it all but it doesnt seem to be happening.

'I will root for West Side Story from my couch and be proud of the work we so tirelessly did 3 years ago,' Zegler said, as the motion picture is up for seven awards, including Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Achievement in Directing for Spielberg, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for Ariana DeBose.

Zegler added, 'i hope some last minute miracle occurs and i can celebrate our film in person but hey, that's how it goes sometimes, i guess.'

Zegler, who has been cast in the titular role in the live-action adaptation of Disney's Snow White, wrapped up in telling her fans, 'thanks for all the shock and outrage - im disappointed, too. but thats okay. so proud of our movie.'

The New Jersey native responded to a comment from a fan on the post speculating on what she would wear to the award show

Zegler was seen with co-star Ariana DeBose and director Steven Spielberg at the film's NYC premiere last fall

Zegler subsequently took to Twitter on Sunday to thank fans who expressed their ire at the news she wasn't invited.

She said: 'my goodness, folks!! appreciate all the support, i really really do. we live in such unprecedented times, and a lot of work behind the scenes goes into making movie magic happen. that goes for film productions (like the one I am so lucky to be currently shooting in london) and awards shows alike.

Zegler said, 'lets all just respect the process and ill get off my phone x R.'

Zegler subsequently took to Twitter on Sunday to thank fans who expressed their ire at her non-initiation to the ceremony

Traditionally, Oscar nominees and presenters receive a pair of tickets to the show, with studios also having access to a set amount of tickets.

While the Academy is being blamed for the ticket situation, Deadline reports the film's studio is actually responsible for distribution of Oscar tickets. When it comes to West Side Story, that studio is Disney.

While Zegler wasn't nominated for her individual efforts, a number of fans expressed surprise over the snub for a key cast member in the critically-acclaimed film.

The Oscars are slated to be held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, March 27, 2022 and will be broadcast live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PST. Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes are set to host the show.

Zegler has been lauded for her portrayal of Maria Vasquez in the Steven Spielberg remake of the 1961 classic
Martin Compston reunited with his Line of Duty co-stars for a charity event at the Town Hall in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, on Saturday night.

The actor, 37, who plays Steve Arnott in the hit BBC series, joined the AC-12 unit, including Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar and show creator Jed Mercurio, on-stage at a one-off event in aid of Ardgowan Hospice.

Taking to Instagram, the Scottish actor posted a slew of snaps from the event, including a video of Adrian, 63, singing Will Ye Go Lassie Go.

AC-12: Martin Compston reunited with his Line of Duty co-stars for a charity event at the Town Hall in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, on Saturday night (pictured L to R Jed Mercurio, Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar and Martin)

Martin wrote: 'Hard to describe just how amazing last night was. Had to pinch myself at times the Line of Duty team were cutting about Inverclyde.

'Thank you to the amazing staff at the Port Town Hall, the wonderful supportive boisterous crowd, Gordon Smart for hosting, all of our sponsors and of course the reason we all do this the incredible team at @ardgowan_hospice.'

He continued: 'To watch all the carry on including remaking that infamous tiktok. The recorded version be available to stream on the 24th. Thanks to everybody who came you left AC12 a very happy team.'

Reunited: The actor, 37, who plays Steve Arnott in the hit BBC series, joined the AC-12 unit, including Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar and show creator Jed Mercurio, on-stage at a one-off event in aid of Ardgowan Hospice

Backstage: Taking to Instagram, the Scottish actor posted a slew of snaps from the event, including a video of Adrian singing Will Ye Go Lassie Go

Caption: Martin wrote: 'Hard to describe just how amazing last night was. Had to pinch myself at times the Line of Duty team were cutting about Inverclyde'

Alongside the video of Adrian's rendition, Martin penned: 'Emotional thank you post to come but this sums up an incredible night for @ardgowan_hospice the gaffer in incredible form #golassiego'

Martin then showed actress Vicky, 38, around his hometown of Greenock jokingly calling it 'The Clyde Riviera'.

Sharing a photo of the duo on his Stories, Martin wrote 'Showing our Vic the Greenock sights,' as the they posed in front of the Renfrewshire seafront.

Emotional: Alongside the video of Adrian's rendition, Martin penned: 'Emotional thank you post to come but this sums up an incredible night for @ardgowan_hospice the gaffer in incredible form #golassiego'

'The Clyde Riviera': Martin then showed actress Vicky, 38, around his hometown of Greenock jokingly calling it 'The Clyde Riviera'

Stunning views: Sharing a photo of the duo on his Stories, Martin wrote 'Showing our Vic the Greenock sights,' as the they posed in front of the Renfrewshire seafront

Cast: On Line of Duty, Vicky plays Detective Inspector Kate Fleming, while Adrian stars as Superintendent Ted Hastings

Vicky, who is from Nottingham and supports Notts County, also took to her Stories to share a picture returning home to watch the FA Cup.

She said: 'A little hungover from a great night with the LOD family. Heading back to Notts listening to @jonathanowen71 @talksport ready for the BIG match @officialnffc.'

On Line of Duty, Vicky plays Detective Inspector Kate Fleming, while Adrian stars as Superintendent Ted Hastings.
Three crew members, two Russians and one American, are being replaced by the cosmonauts. They will be returning home to finish a record-setting flight.

This launch takes place amid tension and strain in the aftermath of Russia's ongoing invasion Ukraine, its cancellations of cooperative commercial ventures as a result of sanctions, and a stream of sharply critical comments by the Russian space agency director, raising concerns about the station's fate.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated Friday morning that he is hopeful that the U.S. will continue its decades-long cooperation with Russia in space. This relationship dates back to the Cold War. He said that the agency was working on contingency planning in case of an emergency.

Nelson stated that "We have our problems on Earth with President Putin," in an interview with CBS News. "We are grateful that we have seen Europe unite and NATO strengthened as never before.





"The amazing thing is that even in 1975, during the Soviet Union's Cold War, cooperation was possible in civilian space with Russia in the Apollo-Soyuz project. This has been going on for many years. Three cosmonauts are currently launching from Kazakhstan to the International Space Station.

Nelson said, "They will join four Americans and two Russians as well as a German astronaut." Nelson said, "That's saying that this cooperation, this professional relation between our astronauts cosmonauts is consistent and will stay."

Based on the way the station crew treated the arriving cosmonauts with smiles and hugs, it is clear that they agree with Nelson's sentiments.

Oleg Artemyev (Soyuz MS-21/67S commander), a veteran space explorer, and two newcomers, Denis Matveev & Sergey Korsakov, launched from Baikonur on a Soyuz 2.0a rocket at 11:55 AM EDT (8:55 PM local time). The Soyuz was on its way to a rendezvous with the station in two orbits, eight minutes and 45 seconds later.

Artemyev took over the manual control of final approach. The ship docked at the multi-port Prichal module at 3:12. After extensive leak checks, hatches opened at 5:48 p.m.





They were greeted by Expedition 66 commander Anton Shkaplerov, his Soyuz crewmates Pyotr Dubrov, and Mark Vande Hei. Crew Dragon astronauts Raja Chari and Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Baron, and Matthias Maurer, from Germany.

Space station operations continued without interruption despite severe tensions. NASA television broadcast live coverage of Soyuz launch, with commentary from Johnson Space Center mission control.

Artemyev, his crewmates, and bright yellow jumpsuits with blue trim, landed in Prichal to a warm welcome. There was no sign of tension between Russia, NASA, and the European Space Agency. The 10 astronauts and the cosmonauts were all well-versed in each other's preflight training and seemed to be happy to see one another.

Artemyev/Matveev/Korsakov will take over the command of Shkaplerov/Dubrov/Vande Hei after a 12-day "handover". They plan to return to Earth on a different Soyuz, March 30, along with Vande Hei and Shkaplerov. Marshburn will take over the command of the station from Shkaplerov on the day before.

Dubrov and Vande Hei were launched on April 9 aboard a Soyuz and are now wrapping up a 355 day mission. This is the longest single flight by an American Astronaut. Vande Hei broke the previous record of 340 days set by Scott Kelly on March 15.

Oleg Novitskiy was with Vande Hei and Dubrov for launch. He returned to Earth last October aboard the same Soyuz, leaving behind his two crewmates on board the station and bringing home a Russian actress as well as her director.

Vande Hei, Dubrov and Shkaplerov will return to Earth on the Soyuz MS-19/65S Spacecraft on March 30.

Vande Hei stated that he had spoken to Shkaplerov about tensions at the time, but they didn't get into feelings.

Vande Hei stated that she will always cherish the friendships she has with Anton, Pyotr, and my (Russian) crewmates. "They are amazing human beings. I hope that things go well."

"I think the success of the space station and our cooperation with Russia on the station is a sign of how successful it can be to get to know one another and find common ground, not points of contention."

In the aftermath of the invasion, and subsequent U.S.-European sanctions the Russians stopped selling and servicing widely-used rocket engines to U.S. companies and also stopped commercial Soyuz operations at Kourou, French Guiana launch site of the European Space Agency.

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, also canceled a planned launch for 36 internet satellites on a Soyuz rocket. OneWeb, an international consortium partially funded by the United Kingdom had paid for it.

However, space station operations are not being affected. NASA managers kept their public profile low to avoid any comments that could exacerbate an already difficult relationship.

Russia provides the propellant and thrusters required to keep the station in orbit. NASA supplies electrical power, satellite communications, and the enormous gyroscopes necessary for maintaining the station's direction.

It would be extremely difficult to keep the station operational if either party pulled out of this project. NASA hopes to keep the laboratory running through 2030. However, it is not clear if Russia will agree.

Nelson believes Putin will not withdraw from the space station project. He says it is in Russia's best interest to continue.

Nelson stated to CBS News that Nelson was not going to pull out the plug. Nelson said, "But if (what) if they abandon space station?" We would manage it. ... We are confident that we can keep it going for the short-term. We would have to do other things and those contingency planning are already in place. We don't expect that."

Nelson stated that the cooperative relationship has "survived all these decades since 1975." It won't end now.




GREENWICH  Erika Kurt had a slightly unnerving  but exhilarating  experience earlier this month at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

She came face to face with a life-sized statue of herself.

Most of the time, when you see a statue of someone, theyve already passed away, she said with a laugh.

But seeing the statue of herself, made of lightweight acrylic by a 3D-printer, was also a high honor. Kurt, a resident of Old Greenwich, an educator and advocate for women in the laboratory, was one of 120 women who were honored at the Smithsonian for their work advancing human knowledge in science, technology, engineering and math.

Kurt said it was a thrill to meet women neuroscientists, computer engineers, marine biologists and innovators who were also highlighted at the event.

Its an incredible honor, and invigorating. And it felt very validating, she said of the event, which commemorated Womens History Month in March.

The concept of statues to honor women in science served a purpose, Kurt said.

If you look across the United States, there are thousands of statues of historical figures. And if you take in the biggest cities, theres less than a dozen that are women. Whom you choose to honor in society, and set out as role models, really means a lot, she said. The exhibit  its a role model for young girls to show them what they can do next. ...If she can see it, then she can be it.

A New Haven woman active in public health, Crystal R. Emery, was also honored at the Smithsonian by the IF/THEN Initiative, which aims to promote women in the sciences. The IF/THEN Initiative is continuing its outreach in other ways. Kurt will be speaking on a panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego later this year, an event that attracts thousand of comic-book and science-fiction fans.

The science-educator is president of Small World Initiative, a non-profit educational, advocacy and health organization based in New York City. Its mission is multi-faceted: to encourage women to take up and continue work in scientific fields and to achieve real-world results in microbiology and medicine.

According to the IF/THEN organization in its appraisal of Kurts work, She empowers STEM students to not just dream about using science to save lives, but to actually dig in and help save the world, starting in the classroom.

Kurt has been involved in the sciences from her earliest days, growing up in Dallas, Texas, as the daughter of a physician.

I started off as a complete science nerd, she recalled. My dad used to literally read clinical studies to me as my bedtime stories.

At Vassar College in New York, she signed up as a physics major, but lost interest because of the way science was presented, she said, a scenario that plays out for many young women.

Science is really taught as memorization and regurgitation. Focusing on theory, not practice, she said. Kurt later studied law and developed a specialty in comparative medical law involving intellectual property, genetically modified crops, drug-trial protocols and other healthcare issues that cross national boundaries.

At Yale University, science professors were seeing women drop out of STEM fields at high rates. In 2012, a team of professors developed a new program, one that made students find and cultivate soil microbes as part of their studies.

In medicine, it has long been observed that certain kinds of bacteria are very effective at killing off other strains of bacteria. So soil-based bacteria that students were collecting have the potential to create potent new drugs against drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, which have come to be labeled super bugs.

The initiative at Yale, starting with just six students, was discovery based, hands-on and offered a new kind of science instruction for young women, Kurt said.

That model developed in 2015 into a non-profit, Small World Initiative, of which Kurt is now the president and CEO. Her organization trains professors, as well as some high school teachers, on laboratory and field-skills they need to identify and cultivate soil microbes, as well as the curriculum to implement the program. The program now reaches nearly 400 schools in 15 countries, with 10,000 students doing the course. It is offered at Greenwich Academy and the main campus of the University of Connecticut at Storrs.

Its a real thing students can do, just like they do at pharmaceutical companies, to find new drugs, said Kurt. Some of the bacterial strains that have been identified are showing promise as drug treatments, she said.

Beside helping to usher women into the field of STEM, Kurt is also a firm believer in advocating for the role of science in everyday life and in the public square.

I think we really need a scientifically literate society. We dont just need more people in the field, we need society as a whole to be more literate: It helps people make better decisions for themselves and their families and discern what kind of information theyre receiving, and thats really valuable, she said. I feel that science needs to come to the people, it shouldnt just be for people in lab coats.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
DARIEN  The parking lots of Dariens Whole Foods, Town Hall, both train stations and Ox Ridge Elementary School may not have too much in common.

But in recent months, they have all been the scene of one particular crime: thefts of catalytic converters, often stolen in broad daylight.

Since January, Darien police have logged 14 thefts of catalytic converters in Darien. Most have taken place in commercial or station parking lots, with at least one theft reported out of a residential complex, according to police releases.

Now, police are warning residents to stay as vigilant as they can, though they note that this type of crime is often hard to predict.

Unfortunately, this is a difficult crime to detect and apprehend, Chief Don Anderson said during a Police Commission meeting earlier this month. The palladium and other precious metals that are in catalytic converters, they command a fairly high price. So crime pays on this one until you get caught.

Anderson said thefts of this nature tend to be cyclical in timing, with the recent rash hard to explain. Typically, thefts in Darien have occurred in crammed train station parking lots, Anderson said.

It can take someone less than 60 seconds with a machine-operated saw to remove the converters, place them in the backseat of their own vehicle, and drive away, Anderson added.

Victims typically only realize their vehicle has been tampered with once they start their engines and hear an unusually loud or rattling sound.

While police have not noted local reselling of the stolen parts, there are plenty of scrap yards in the tri-state area that will buy a catalytic converter without asking questions, Anderson said.

Police have been attempting deterrence methods like stakeouts, but Anderson said the randomized nature of the theft makes it difficult to pinpoint where the next crime will be. The problem is also not limited to Darien, with similar thefts occurring up and down Interstate 95, Anderson said.

All 14 thefts this year have occurred during both the day and overnight.

Anderson said law enforcements best advice to Darienites is to park their cars in lots where there is obvious video surveillance.

It might give you a fighting chance that the perpetrator may decide to go somewhere else if there's obvious cameras monitoring the parking lots, Anderson said. Its difficult, but well keep working on it.
Thank you for reading!

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The accident occurred when the driver failed to negotiate a sharp curve and the bus overturned, trapping many passengers underneath it. (Representational image: DC)

ANANTAPUR: Four students were among five persons killed, and more than 30 persons, mostly students, suffered serious injuries when a overcrowded private bus plying between YN Hoskote and Tumakuru in Karnataka via Madakasira of Anantapur district overturned at Palvali tank, 20 km from the AP border, on Saturday.

Among the seriously injured were five passengers from AP.

The bus reportedly was carrying more than 80 passengers including some perched on the rooftop. The accident occurred when the driver failed to negotiate a sharp curve and the bus overturned, trapping many passengers underneath it. They were rescued and rushed to hospitals, while the more seriously injured passengers were taken to Bengaluru.

Many students were travelling in the private bus to college at Pavagada due to the poor transport facilities. Four Intermediate students  Amulya, 16, Kalyan, 18, Ajith, 17, and Sahnawaj, 18,  from villages near YN Hoskote died in the mishap which also claimed the life of a mechanic from Bestarapalli in Kundurpi mandal.

Karnataka transport minister B. Sreeramulu who rushed the spot announced

Rs 6 lakh ex gratia for the families of the victims, including Rs 1 lakh from his `funds, as also financial assistance for those injured.

A probe was ordered over lapses of the transport department in allowing overcrowding in buses.
ANANTAPUR: The Andhra Pradesh High Court issued a stay against the state governments decision to take over the historic Victoria Reading Room, Nandyal, in Kurnool district to accommodate offices for the newly-proposed district headquarters. The court was dealing with a petition filed by the committee members of the Victoria Reading Room Trust which opposed the decision.

Nandyal was selected as the new district headquarters as part of the

formation of the new districts in the state slicing it off from Kurnool district following which the district administration planned to occupy the reading room as its offices. The Kurnool district administration had also served notices on the trust and handed over the building to the district administration a few days ago.

The committee members, while opposing the governments decision, which they contended was without their consent, had approached the High Court.

The committee members further contended that the administration should maintain a status quo on all "historic structures" and not to allocate them for any other purposes.

The Victoria Reading Room was built in 1901 during the British Rule from donations to the trust that was formed which constructed the building for a library. This was the fourth library set up prior to 1956 in Telugu states. The RDO of the Nandyal revenue division acts as the chairman of the trust.
The protest was held under the banner of Foreign Medical Graduates Parents Association (FMGPA) - an association of parents of medical students in foreign countries. (ANI)

Thiruvananthapuram: Several Indian students pursuing MBBS in Chinese universities staged a protest outside the Kerala secretariat on Saturday seeking recognition of their physical training in India.

The protest was held under the banner of Foreign Medical Graduates Parents Association (FMGPA) - an association of parents of medical students in foreign countries.

Forced to return to India after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the medical students have since been unable to return to their host country and continued their physical training at government and private hospitals in the state.

Stuck in their home country due to the non-availability of visas from the Chinese authorities, the Indian students have resorted to completing their courses with the help of online classes.

"We were forced to come back from China in January 2020. It's been two years since we have been attending online classes. We don't have any recognition of whether the Indian government will accept us with these online classes. Most of us are doing are practicals at various government and private hospitals in Kerala, but is not recognised," Murshid Aleen, a fourth-year medical student at Yangzhou University told ANI.

Anxious over uncertainty on their return, students at the protest held placards highlighting their plight. (ANI)

Worried about repaying their loans and completing their education, the student said they have communicated about their problems to the Central government through an online portal - Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).

"We are helpless right now. We need a certificate from the government that we are going to the hospitals for a certain period and we are getting the observation with certain department," Aleen said.

He further highlighted that China is presently facing another wave of COVID-19 and said that the situation there is becoming "more critical."

Vice president of FMGPA, Subair MC said that students want authorisation from the Kerala government and Indian government to get their certificates to deem their education as "valid."

Anxious over uncertainty on their return, students at the protest held placards highlighting their plight. One of the placards drew a comparison of these medical students with those who returned from Ukraine, following Russian military operations, demanding urgent government intervention in their problems as well.

"Students from China are facing the same difficulties as students from Ukraine. Please don't forget us," it read.

Last month, the Delhi High Court issued notice to the Centre and National Medical Council (NMC) on a plea moved by students seeking directions to NMC to allow physical training in India of Indian students studying medicine in China, who are stuck in their home country India, due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The Petitioners, 147 students of medicine in the Ningbo University (China) states that they returned to India in early 2020 (January to March) and thereafter, have been stuck in their home country India, ever since due to the non-availability of visas from the Chinese authorities.

The Division Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh had sought response of Central Government through the Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and National Medical Council and listed the matter for March 21, 2022.
Hyderabad: The recent action of the Central agencies on three city-based infra companies have raised many an eyebrow.

These companies including KNR Infra have been executing several civil projects in Telangana for the government.

Official sources told Deccan Chronicle that income-tax sleuths raided the offices of KNR Infra three days ago and searches were still on. The company is owned by a low-profile contractor from Warangal, K. Narasimha Reddy, and has earned a good name in executing national highway projects and entered the irrigation projects sector.

Sources said about Rs 5,000 cr worth irrigation works were alloted to KNR Infra in 2018 and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was said to have been highly appreciative of the companys performance and delivery of results.

Sources in the infrastructure circles speculated whether or not the raids are linked to the just-concluded Uttar Pradesh elections. Sources said the the IT department had conducted raids on city-based infra companies a few years ago in the aftermath of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan polls. The IT department even released an official press release that Rs 3,000 crore unaccounted money was found with a top infra company.

Significantly, the TRS supremo was closely involved in Samajwadi Partys electioneering in UP. Sources close to the Chief Minister said he got surveys conducted for SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and extended all possible help as part of building an alternative to Modi-led NDA government at the Centre. He even gave a clarion call of BJP mukt Bharat.

Sources also revealed that the Goods and Services Tax authorities put their lens on another infra firm which has been executing irrigation works in Telangana. This engineering company is said to have been run by proxy for the promoters of an IT and infra company which got busted a decade ago.

The GST authorities are said to have been probing into the outflow of funds from the company and examining if any payments were made in the name of sub contracts.

We dont know about this company yet but several infra firms were found routing money in the name of fictitious sub-contractors, an official said.

Sources said the Enforcement Directorate had interrogated the director of another city-based infra company a few months ago. This company is the front for promoters of a popular company which later changed hands. The ED is said to be probing into loan of hundreds of crores raised by this infra company without proper guarantees from Yes Bank a few months before the 2018 polls. Yes Bank later ran into trouble for heavy debt exposure.

The ruling party leadership is not perturbed over the recent developments. We are anticipating this and our leader KCR had already made public the ill intentions of the BJP and its possible use of allies  IT, CBI and ED  against political opponents, said a senior minister who attended an urgent meeting called by Chandrashekar Rao at his farmhouse at Erravelli earlier in the day.
Micheal Martin leaves the Convention Centre Dublin after he is elected as new prime minister of Ireland in Dublin, Ireland, June 27, 2020. (Photo by Liu Xiaoming/Xinhua)

Martin tested positive on the eve of his scheduled meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, Irish national radio and television broadcaster RTE reported.

DUBLIN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin has tested positive for COVID-19 while on a visit to the United States, his office said in a news release on Thursday.

In a statement, President Michael D. Higgins sent his good wishes to Martin.

"I was so very sorry to learn of this news breaking while the Taoiseach (prime minister in Irish) was busy representing Ireland in the United States leading up to our National Day," he wrote.

"I wish the Taoiseach a speedy recovery and also wish him further success with the continuation of his program in Washington."

Children watch the St. Patrick's Day Parade in London, Britain, March 13, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

Martin is currently in the United States on the occasion of St. Patrick's Day, a national holiday in Ireland that falls on March 17 every year.

Martin tested positive on the eve of his scheduled meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, Irish national radio and television broadcaster RTE reported.

The meeting eventually took place by video.

Martin is self-isolating and is feeling well, RTE said.

U.S. President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C. March 11, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)
Revanth asked the Chief Minister to sell his land holding at Rs 10 lakh per acre and distribute the same to those farmers who were losing their lands for the construction of the RRR. DC Image

HYDERABAD: State Congress president A. Revanth Reddy alleged that the TRS government was forcibly taking lands from small and marginal farmers for laying the Regional Ring Road (RRR). Market value of the land per acre was Rs 3 crore to Rs 5 crore, but the government was giving merely Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the farmers, he said.

On the other hand, to protect the lands of his relative and Kaveri Seeds owner, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had redesigned the Kondapochammasagar reservoir, Revanth Reddy alleged.

Claiming that Rao had 500 acres of land in his farmhouse, the TPCC chief asked the Chief Minister to sell his land holding at Rs 10 lakh per acre and distribute the same to those farmers who were losing their lands for the construction of the RRR.

He, along with senior Congress leader and former MP Meenakshi Natarajan, took part in the sarvodaya padayatra which entered Gajwel Assembly constituency on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, Revanth Reddy said the party would fight till justice was done for the poor farmers.

Revanth Reddy warned that they would hang Chandrashekar Rao at the heart of Gajwel Assembly constituency if the government did not buy paddy from the poor farmers.

He called upon the party leaders to take part in the padayatra along with Meenakshi till its completion. He made it clear that the Congress would continue to fight on behalf of the poor people in the state. He said the party was holding peaceful padayatras and public protest programmes by drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave.
HYDERABAD: An emergency meeting convened by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao at his farmhouse in Erravelli on the city outskirts on Saturday created a lot of buzz in political, bureaucratic and media circles.

It was for the first time that the Chief Minister had convened a meeting of this scale with ministers and officials at his farmhouse. Usually, these meetings are called at Pragathi Bhavan, the official residence-cum-camp office, at Begumpet. Besides, the meeting was called at a short notice, at 10 am for the 1 pm meeting.

All ministers made it to the meeting except three  K.T. Rama Rao who left for an official trip to the US, S. Niranjan Reddy, who is in Maharashtra and Puvvada Ajay Kumar who is in Khammam.

This set off speculation, sometimes wild, over what could be happening at the meeting. Some said it was for early polls, or a Cabinet reshuffle. Or even that Chandrashekar Rao may name his son K.T. Rama Rao as the Chief Minister's face for 2023.

The meeting lasted for three hours from 1 pm, time enough for more speculation. Poll strategist Prashant Kishor had submitted a report to the Chief Minister stating that the performance of 40 per cent of TRS MLAs including ministers was 'unsatisfactory' and that they should be replaced.

It is also rumoured that all top officials and all TRS leaders were called in because there were complaints of poor delivery of welfare schemes leading to anger among people. It all died down at about 5 pm when the Chief Minister's Office said the meeting was meant to discuss the relaunch of the paddy procurement agitation.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has decided to build pressure on the Centre by resuming the agitation demanding procurement of boiled rice made from paddy grown in the ongoing rabi season.

He has convened a meeting of TRS Legislature Party at Telangana Bhavan on Monday to chalk out an action plan in this regard. He has sought the presence of all MLAs, MLCs, party state executive committee members, district unit presidents, ZP chairpersons, presidents of DCCBs, DCMS and of Rythu Bandhu Samitis.

These decisions were taken during an emergency meeting at his farmhouse in Erravelli on Saturday, with ministers and senior officials.

A CM-led delegation will meet Union ministers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon after Mondays meeting.

Chandrashekar Rao said that the Centre was procuring all the paddy growing in Punjab, and agitation programmes by the TRS will continue demanding that the Food Corporation of India procure all the paddy, in the form of boiled rice, grown in the state.

It may be recalled that the TRS had launched protest programmes in November demanding paddy procurement with the Chief Minister himself sitting on dharna.
HYDERABAD: Stating that Telangana is the best place for making investments in India, the information technology (IT) minister K. T. Rama Rao called upon the NRIs in America to financially assist the villages where the NRIs were born and brought up by taking up development works.

Rama Rao is touring to different places in America in garnering investments to Telangana in setting up new companies and industries.

The minister interacted with the NRIs from Telangana and party cadres in Los Angeles on Sunday and explained the state government's scheme Mana Ooru- Mana Badi. The government launched the programme in Telangana with a motive to renovate government schools and modernise by equipping them with all kinds of facilities.

Mana Ooru- Mana Badi is a novel initiative and the government aims to develop as many as 26,000 government schools in Telangana in phased manner. Apart from the government funds, the NRIs must consider coming forward to provide financial assistance to the programme in developing our villages where we were born and brought up. As per the programme, the latest technology will be provided in all government schools for best quality education at primary level, he said.

During his America tour, the minister will also meet industrialists, businessmen, IT and IT-enabled SERVICES company managements and seek their investments in Telangana.
TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy addressing a public meeting in Yellareddy of Kamareddy district as part of Mana Ooru-Mana Poru programme on Sunday -By Arrangement

HYDERABAD: TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy accused Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao of shying away from his primary responsibility of paddy procurement in the yasangi season. He was also not coming to the aid of farmers from the state.

By declaring war against the Union government on the paddy issue, he is trying to cover up his inefficiency, Reddy said.

The Lok Sabha member said that with an allotment of Rs 10,000 crore for paddy procurement, the state government should set up at least 7,000 purchasing centres across the state, failing which the Congress party would lay siege to his farm house, where paddy is sown on 150 acres.

He called upon farmers to revolt against Rao for letting them down at the most crucial time. Afraid of agitations by Congress and the support the party was getting from farmers, Rao conducted a cabinet meeting and declared war on the Centre on the paddy issue as he could face the wrath of farmers, he alleged.

Reddy was addressing a huge public meeting at Yellareddy in Kamareddy district on Sunday night as part of Mana Ooru-Mana Poru programme.

He alleged that the Kalvakuntla family had looted the state of Rs 2 lakh crores. He said Nizamabad farmers had taught a fitting lesson to Kalvakuntla Kavitha for cheating them on the Nizam Sugar Factory issue. The farmers are gearing to give a similar treatment to incumbent MP from BJP Dharmapuri Arvind, the PCC chief said.

Senior party leaders Mohammad Ali Shabbir, Anjan Kumar Yadav, Mohd. Azharuddin, Seethakka, Suresh Shetkar and Kamareddy district Congress committee president Kailas Srinivas Rao also spoke.

Earlier, Revanth Reddy had a narrow escape near Yellareddy. Four cars in his convoy accidentally hit each other. The vehicles were damaged but no one was injured in the freak mishap.
Multiplexes can charge Rs 70 extra for normal seats and Rs 100 for recliners for the first three days, and Rs 50 extra for the next seven. For AC single screens, a hike of Rs 50 will be permitted for the three days and Rs 30 for the next seven.  Twitter

Hyderabad: The state government on Saturday permitted increased ticket prices for S.S. Rajamouli's film 'RRR', set to release on March 25.

The orders issued by Special Chief Secretary, home (general), Sunil Sharma said the hiked prices will be applicable for 10 days. Also, five shows will be allowed for the first 10 days.

Multiplexes can charge Rs 70 extra for normal seats and Rs 100 for recliners for the first three days, and Rs 50 extra for the next seven. For AC single screens, a hike of Rs 50 will be permitted for the three days and Rs 30 for the next seven.
New Delhi: The newly-elected MLAs of Uttarakhand are likely to take the oath in the state Assembly in Dehradun on Monday while the legislature party meeting of the BJP, which retained the state in the recent elections, will be held later in the day to officially choose its leader, who will head the government. The new government is likely to take the oath on March 23, when the BJP top brass, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are expected to attended.

On Sunday, the BJPs core group for the state, including caretaker CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, senior leader Satpal Maharaj, state unit chief Madan Kaushik, former Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni held a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah to discuss the formation of the new government. BJP president J.P. Nadda and general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santhosh were also present. The BJP top brass later met the PM.

The meeting assumes significance amid speculation on whether or not Mr Dhami, who was the BJPs face in the recent election but who lost his Assembly seat, will continue to lead the government or a new leader will be given that responsibility. While a section within the party wants Mr Dhami to continue, some senior state leaders have raised objections.

Ahead of the MLAs swearing-in, Kaladhungi BJP MLA Banshidhar Bhagat will take the oath as the Assemblys pro-tem speaker. The BJP bagged 47 of the 70 Assembly seats in the hill state, with the Congress winning 19. Two seats were won by the BSP while two Independent candidates also won.

Prior to the legislature party meeting, Mr Kaushik met party MLAs and senior leaders in Dehradun late in the evening. The BJPs central observers for the legislature party meeting, defence minister Rajnath Singh and minister of state for external affairs Meenakshi Lekhi, will reach the state capital early on Monday.
Indias prime ministership has now become a proprietorship, wrote Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in his fictionalised autobiography, The Insider. The observation in the book is dated circa mid-1970s. That was when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inducted her son Sanjay into the ruling party and allowed him unchecked authority within the government. The idea of dynastic succession within the Nehru family, however, goes far back and all the way to 1928. When Mahatma Gandhi selected Jawaharlal Nehru as the person who would succeed Motilal Nehru as president of the Indian National Congress, Jawaharlals mother Swarup Rani was ecstatic. A king passing on the sceptre of the throne to his logical successor, she exclaimed.

So why criticise Mrs Sonia Gandhi when she reportedly offered to resign along with her children from their positions within the Congress Party, accepting responsibility for the partys ignominious defeat in the recent state Assembly elections. It would have been one thing for the president of the party to offer her resignation, and quite another for her to be doing so as the head of a family. But then, the party is, after all, family property.

When those concerned with the drift in the Congress Party say that they would like Mrs Sonia Gandhi to remain the party president but seek an assurance that her son would not be thrust on them as her successor, they are essentially asking her to behave like a political leader and not like a mother or daughter-in-law. The so-called G-23 within the Congress are trying to bell a cat that has tasted far too much cream and is thus in no mood to be tamed.

While the Congress Party was trying to deal with the problem of dynastic succession, Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again fired a salvo that has now acquired wider political relevance. The BJP, Prime Minister Modi declared, will go forward to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections seeking an end to parivaarvad in politics. In saying so, he was not just targeting the Congress Party but several other regional political parties that are viewed as family enterprises. Indeed, to paraphrase Narasimha Rao, even chief ministerships have become proprietorships.

On the issue of parivaarvad, even the Congress dissidents are on weak ground. Many of them not only happily accepted parivaarvad, but also thrived on it. The only Congress leader who disapproved of dynastic succession when Rajiv Gandhi took charge as Prime Minister and party president was Pranab Mukherjee. He had to subsequently leave the party and then be rehabilitated, but never forgiven.

Narasimha Rao did not challenge Rajiv Gandhis elevation but questioned Sonia Gandhis special status, treating her as the widow of a slain PM rather than as a PM-in-waiting.

When the Sonia loyalists sought to isolate and defame Narasimha Rao and finally made her party president, everyone who is now in the party went along with the consequences of that coup, namely the reinstallation of dynastic succession. They blamed Narasimha Rao for his political choices that in fact had both party and Cabinet approval. They enjoyed the fruits of office he facilitated with his Chanakyan politics that helped the party remain in power for a full term, but shrugged off all culpability for the governments actions. They acquiesced in the party erasing Narasimha Rao from its official history.

In its undivided effort to return the partys leadership to the Nehru-Gandhi family, the entire party blamed Narasimha Rao for all their setbacks and handed the party to Sonia Gandhi, who made it clear from day one that she would want her son to take charge of the party at the appropriate time. The problem for her and her family is that the appropriate time has been getting pushed back since Rahul Gandhi has failed to clinch even a single decent political victory after 10 years of wielding power.

The G-23 had many opportunities to push back against an inevitable dynastic succession that Sonia Gandhi sought. None of the dissenters of today said a word when an opportunity presented itself. They had an opportunity to put Rahul Gandhi in his place in 2009 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the party back to power with an improved electoral performance. Yet, no one in the party was willing to publicly give credit to Dr Singh for the 2009 victory. They even lionised a cub crediting Rahul Gandhi for that victory.

In September 2013 Rahul Gandhi chose to position himself as a rebel within his own party and mocked the Union Cabinet for approving an ordinance that helped Lalu Prasad Yadav in his battle with the law. No member of the Manmohan Singh government publicly defended the Prime Minister, who presided over that Cabinet meeting. He found himself isolated and under attack at home minutes before his meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington D.C. Twice these Cabinet colleagues could have spoken up for their PM rather than genuflect before the heir-apparent, and twice they failed to do so.

No wonder the Congress Partys First Family does not take the dissenters too seriously. A political coup in democratic politics requires guile and cunning but also a sense of timing and, most important, a political agenda and slogan that impart moral stature to the dissenters. Indira Gandhi staged a coup against her party leadership in 1969 by painting herself in ideological colours that appealed to the public and placed the party leadership on the defensive. The G-23 have so far failed to create a narrative that elevates their political status and places The Family on the defensive.

The only hope for those who wish to see a future for the Congress Party without dynastic succession being thrust on them is for the dissenters to reach out to former Congress leaders like Mamata Banerjee and reunite a splintered party. More important, they have to craft an alternative political agenda that appeals to large sections of the population. They owe this to the 20 per cent of the electorate that has continued to remain loyal to the party despite the proprietorial pettiness of a decaying leadership.
So far, only 1,739 people have been accommodated in the government service; while work on more than half the transit accommodation units has not even started. (Representational Image/ PTI)

Reports that only 1,025 or 17 per cent of the 6,000 transit homes the Narendra Modi-led Union government had in 2015 promised to build for the Kashmiri migrants, including the Kashmiri Pandits, are completed, reflect the lethargy with which the Indian State approaches the issue of people who have been made homeless in their own land.

The Rs 920-crore transit accommodation project was meant for members of the community which was forced to leave their homes in 1990 when Pakistan-backed terrorists unleashed mayhem in the valley. The government had promised them 3,000 jobs and they could stay in the transit homes until they returned to their original home villages. So far, only 1,739 people have been accommodated in the government service; while work on more than half the transit accommodation units has not even started.

The government blames a series of factors including non-availability of land in the initial phase and cost escalation as the reasons for the delay. It is estimated that there are more than four lakh people from 64,827 registered migrant families  majority of whom are Hindus while there are also Muslim and Sikh families  and a vast majority of them continue to live in camps in Jammu, Delhi and other states.

The refugees of Kashmir are a favourite propaganda theme of the BJP whether there are elections or not. Little does the party remember that it was in power at the Centre in 13 of the 32 years after the exodus; or that it ruled the Jammu and Kashmir state along with the Peoples Democratic Party for three years from 2015 March to June 2018, and wields total control of the state in the last two-and-a-half years ever since Article 370 was abrogated in August 2019. Yet, very little has been done for the migrants. If the party means business and wants deliver justice to the Kashmiri Pandits, it should work for their resettlement with full vigour instead of stopping at demanding tax concession for a film that depicts the injustice they met.
New Delhi: Even as Indian government sources, in a dig at the West, said that countries with oil self-sufficiency or those themselves importing from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trading and therefore Indias legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised, the United States on Saturday acknowledged that many countries including some in Europe continue to buy oil from Russia but made its discomfort known with that policy.

With reports that India is buying three million barrels of oil from Russia at deeply discounted rates, the US said it is in touch with India on the matter and sent a thinly-veiled message.

At a briefing in Washington, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, We made a decision about banning the Russian import of oil, every country has not made that decision, and we recognise that. And they have different economic reasoning as to why different countries do, including some in Europe. We have been in touch, of course, with Indian leaders at a range of levels, not through the President. If that happens, we will, of course, provide that readout and information to all of you. She added, But what we would project or convey to any leader around the world is that the world  the rest of the world is watching where youre going to stand as it relates to this conflict, whether its support for Russia in any form as they are illegally invading Ukraine.

Indian government sources meanwhile said, India is highly dependent on imports for meeting its energy requirements. Nearly 85 per cent of our crude oil requirement (5 million barrels a day) has to be imported... Geopolitical developments have posed significant challenges to our energy security... The jump in oil prices after the Ukraine conflict has now added to our challenges Countries with oil self-sufficiency or those importing themselves from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trading. Indias legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised.
Video: Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, on March 18, 2022 asked relevant parties to the biological security issue in Ukraine to respond to newly discovered documents and offer clarifications to remove the doubts of the international community. (Xinhua)

"We do not consider it too much to ask. And on this issue, no double standards should be applied," says Zhang Jun.

UNITED NATIONS, March 19 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday asked relevant parties to the biological security issue in Ukraine to respond to newly discovered documents and offer clarifications to remove the doubts of the international community.

China was once a victim of chemical and biological weapons. China believes that any information and lead on biological military activities should trigger heightened concern and attention of the international community to avoid irreparable harm, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

"In this regard, relevant parties should take a responsible approach. Russia has further revealed newly discovered relevant documents. The party concerned should respond to questions, and offer timely and comprehensive clarifications to remove the doubts of the international community," he told a Security Council meeting on the biological security issue in Ukraine.

"We do not consider it too much to ask. And on this issue, no double standards should be applied," he said.

Zhang Jun (C, front), China's permanent representative to the United Nations, speaks during a Security Council meeting on the biological security issue in Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York, on March 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie E)

China's position on weapons of mass destruction and biological security is consistent and clear. China stands for the complete prohibition and destruction of all weapons of mass destruction, including biological and chemical weapons, said Zhang.

China resolutely opposes the development, possession or use of biological and chemical weapons by any country under any circumstances, and urges countries that have not done so to destroy their chemical weapons stockpiles as soon as possible. Complying with the Biological Weapons Convention is the obligation of all state parties. China calls for early negotiations on the establishment of a verification regime under the convention, which will help improve global biosecurity, he said.

Under the current situation, it is the shared desire of the international community to achieve a cease-fire in Ukraine as soon as possible to avoid more civilian casualties and to prevent a massive humanitarian crisis. China shares this wish, said Zhang.

Direct negotiations between the parties concerned are the fundamental way to solve the problem. Russia and Ukraine have held four rounds of negotiations. While the negotiations are kept going, there is hope for a cease-fire and a peaceful future. China will continue to facilitate dialogues for peace. China supports the United Nations and all parties in ramping up mediation efforts, and hopes that all parties can do more to promote peace talks, rather than adding fuel to the fire.

"Behind the Ukraine crisis is the issue of European security. It is our hope that the United States, the European Union and NATO can sit down with Russia for in-depth and comprehensive dialogues and explore ways to put in place a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism based on the principle of indivisible security so as to achieve lasting peace and stability in Europe." 
Automobile giants Toyota, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have assured the government they will bring flex engine vehicles in six months, a move that can reduce India's dependence on crude oil, shorten a huge import bill and also lessen emissions.

Flex engines allow vehicles to run on 100 per cent petrol or 100 per cent ethanol.

Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari at a sugar and ethanol conference Sunday said the Centre was also exploring ways to increase the use of ethanol in the aviation sector in order to reduce transportation energy costs. To this end, he called upon sugar factories to make a shift to the conversion of sugar into ethanol.

"If sugar production goes ahead as it does now, it will be harmful for the industry in times to come," he warned leaders of sugar and allied industries saying, "what is good for our future is to reduce the production of sugar and increase production of ethanol."

Also Read  An ambitious ethanol plan spurs food security fears in India

"We have issued an advisory on flex engines; Toyota, Hyundai and Suzuki have assured me that they will bring flex engines within six months. Recently, we launched a pilot car run by green hydrogen. Toyota Chairman informed me that their car is flex  either 100 per cent petrol or 100 per cent ethanol and that Toyota cars of coming days will be run on hybrid electricity, which will generate 40 per cent electricity and run 60 per cent of the distance using 100 per cent ethanol. This economics will be highly advantageous in comparison to petrol, the minister said.

India currently produces 465 crore litres of ethanol, a green and clean fuel. However, in the next five years, when flex engines get ready, ethanol requirements will increase to 4,000 crore litres per year.

Petroleum imports in India are at present Rs 8 lakh crore, which is expected to become Rs 25 lakh crore in the next five years, which the minister said may not be economically viable.

The minister said he was in discussion with the Air Force Chief and defence ministry officials on how to increase the use of ethanol in aviation and the Indian Air Force. We can also consider using ethanol in four lakh telecom mobile towers," he said.

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Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) on Sunday announced the acquisition of a majority 89 per cent equity stake in Clovia, an industry leader in the bridge-to-premium intimate wear category, with an investment of Rs 950 crore.

RRVL has acquired 89 per cent equity stake in Purple Panda Fashions Pvt Ltd, which owns and operates the Clovia business, through a combination of secondary stake purchase and primary investment, said a joint statement.

The founding team and management will own the balance stake in the company, it added. With this acquisition, RRVL will further strengthen its portfolio in the innerwear segment, as it already has acquired Zivame and Amante brands in the past.

Launched in 2013 by Pankaj Vermani, Neha Kant & Suman Choudhary, Clovia is Indias leading bridge-to-premium D2C brand in innerwear and loungewear for millennial women. It commands a strong customer following in the intimate wear space and is known for its design-led fresh styles and sharply-priced offerings to customers.

Commenting on the development, RRVL Director Isha Ambani said, "Reliance has always been at the forefront of enhancing choices and offering the best value proposition to consumers. We are pleased to add style, quality and design-led intimate wear brand Clovia to our portfolio. We look forward to working with the strong management team at Clovia to take the business to greater heights."

Clovia Founder & CEO Pankaj Vermani said, "Clovia is excited to become a part of the Reliance Retail family. Through this partnership, we will benefit from Reliance's scale and retail expertise, extending the presence of the brand and bringing together a stronger value proposition through world-class quality, design and fashion in the intimate wear category. We look forward to making Clovia the most loved brand in this category."

RRVL is a subsidiary of oil-to-chemical conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. Last year, in November RRVL, acquired the retail lingerie businesses under the Amante umbrella brand from MAS Brands, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sri Lanka-based MAS Holdings, for an undisclosed amount. It had also acquired a minority stake in Actoserba Active Wholesale, which owns and operates online lingerie store Zivame.

In October, RRVL acquired a 52 per cent stake in veteran couturier Ritu Kumar's firm Ritika Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed amount. Besides, Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL) has announced picking up a 40 per cent minority stake in renowned fashion designer Manish Malhotra's MM Styles Pvt Ltd.

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Sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine are hurting its economy and President Vladimir Putin, France's finance minister said on Sunday, adding that banning Russian oil and gas imports into the European Union remains an option for Paris.

"They're hurting the Russian state and they're hurting Vladimir Putin," Bruno Le Maire told LCI television in an interview.

Le Maire said: "Should we in the immediate stop buying Russian oil, should a little bit further down the line we stop importing Russian gas? The president has never ruled out these options."

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The teaser of actor Mahesh Babu's latest movie Sarkaru Vaari Paata will be unveiled on Eid, according to Umair Sandhu. The film critic, who claims to be a member of the 'overseas censor board, revealed on Twitter that the video will be a treat for 'Prince' fans as it will help him be 'back with a bang'.

#SarkaruVaariPaata Teaser is Ready & it will be Out on Eid day. Inside Reports are Terrific  ! #MaheshBabu is Back with Bang !  Umair Sandhu (@UmairSandu) March 18, 2022

Sarkaru Vaari Paata, directed by Parasuram, is an action drama that reportedly features Mahesh Babu in the role of a recovery agent and is likely to cater to a mass audience. The film stars Keerthy Suresh as the leading lady and marks her first collaboration with 'Super Star'. She garnered attention when she delivered a National Award-winning performance in Mahanati, a film based on the life of yesteryear superstar Savitri. Keerthy, however, suffered setbacks when films such as Sandakozhi 2, Penguin and Miss India did not live up to expectations. She acted alongside Rajinikanth in Annaatthe but it did not benefit her as much as expected. It remains to be seen whether Sarkaru Vaari Paata helps her regain her mojo.

It has garnered a fair deal of attention due to the catchy Kalaavathi single, a clear indication that it has the potential to emerge as a blockbuster. The cast includes Samuthirkani, Vennela Kishore and Subbaraju.

Mahesh Babu, meanwhile, is going through a busy phase on the work front. He will soon collaborate with the 'Wizard of Words' Trivikram Srinivas for a mass movie. The two previously teamed up for Athadu and Khaleja. . The film stars Pooja Hegde, who acted opposite Mahesh Babu in Maharshi, as the leading lady and is her third collaboration with the filmmaker. They had previously teamed up for Aravinda Sameta and Ala Vaikunthapurramloo.

The Spyder star also has a film with top filmmaker S S Rajamouli, the maverick storyteller behind the Baahubali saga, in his kitty. It will go on floors after the director's latest magnum opus Rise Roar Revolt (RRR) releases in theatres on March 25.
Screenwriter and director Vivek Agnihotri on Sunday said that the row over his latest flick The Kashmir Files was unnecessary and that the movie was based entirely on facts.

He alleged that certain people were running businesses by using Kashmir and the stir was created by them so that their prospects are not dented.

Some groups have been using Kashmir as a business. Our movie has tried to put an end to this. So, those who benefited from this are trying to create a controversy. But there cannot be any controversy over terrorism, Agnihotri told the media here.

Also Read | 'The Kashmir Files' classification creates controversy in New Zealand

We have tried to show that when militancy enters a community and is given ideological support from a part of the society, it leads to disaster, Agnihotri said, adding that his movie was based entirely on facts.

He, along with actor Pallavi Joshi, met Uttar Pradesh caretaker Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath earlier in the day.

I congratulated him (Adityanath) for the victory in the elections and he assured me to expedite the work of Film City in Uttar Pradesh so that the state can be turned into a hub of filmmaking, the director said.

Also Read  The Kashmir Files: Using art for the cause of hate

'The Kashmir Files' has rejuvenated the business of multi-screens, shopping malls and YouTubers, thereby boosting the economy, he claimed.

The movie has opened the eyes of the people who failed to admit the crime against Kashmiri Pandits. Now, people of the country and abroad are realising it, Agnihotri said, adding that the movie has broken the blueprint of filmmaking.

When asked whether the profits from the movie will be handed over to the Kashmiri Pandits, he said, Let it earn.

Produced by Zee Studios, the film depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in the 1990s. It stars Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar and Mithun Chakraborty among others.

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At least four persons died and dozens remain missing as a boat with over 50 passengers onboard capsized on Sunday after it was hit by a cargo vessel in Shitalakshya River on the outskirts of Bangladesh capital.

MV Afsar Uddin with at least 50 passengers on board, on the way to Munshiganj, sank after being hit by MV Ruposhi-9 at the Syedpur Al Amin Nagar area around 2:20pm on Sunday, officials said.

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) along with the river police, navy and the coast guard have started rescue operations in the area following the accident.

"Four bodies have been retrieved so far, three of them women The rescue campaign is underway for the missing ones, a fire service official was quoted as saying by the private Independent TV channel.

Another official said several more passengers were feared drowned and some of them could be trapped inside the ferry.

Video footage, which went viral on social media and was carried by the TV channels, showed the small ferry appear in front of an advancing huge cargo ship that carried it forward a few yards before it sank quickly.

Nearly 20 passengers were seen jumping off the ferry, known as launch, and some managed to swim ashore or rescued by nearby boats.

Narayanganj district administration officials said fire service divers launched the search campaign with volunteers in the neighbourhood immediately and they were subsequently joined by coast guard personnel.

A ferry sank in Dhaka in June last year after a collision with another vessel, killing at least 32 people.

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One person was killed and at least 24 others, including children, wounded in a shooting at a car show in Arkansas on Saturday night, authorities said.

State troopers were dispatched to Dumas, Arkansas, a city of 4,000 people about 90 miles southeast of Little Rock, around 7.25 pm, said Bill Sadler, a spokesman for the State Police. One person was in custody, and authorities are searching for others who may have been firing into the crowd of people, the State Police said in a statement.

Authorities did not immediately release details about the gunman or a possible motive for the shooting.

The gunfire took place at a car show put on by the Hood-Nic Foundation, a local nonprofit that offers tutoring, backpacks and scholarships to first-time college students, according to its website.

Also Read  Three injured in Miami Beach Spring Break shooting

Kris Love-Keys, chief development officer for the Hood-Nic Foundation, said in a statement Sunday morning that the children who were shot were stable and doing OK. She did not state how many children were shot.

The group, which promotes non-violence, said on Facebook that it was heartbroken and in shock at the shooting and that it would release more information as it became available. The post also asked people to report information about the shooting to authorities.

Wallace McGehee, the car shows organiser, told television station KARK on Saturday night during the shooting that he was running and trying to get kids out of the way.

When bullets start flying, they dont have a name on them, he said.

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China on Sunday imposed stay-at-home orders on millions in the country's northeast as it battles its biggest Covid-19 outbreak in two years.

The country has largely kept Covid at bay since it brought to heel its initial outbreak in 2020 using targeted lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions. But the Omicron strain has broken through its defences in recent months and taken hold in multiple cities.

Jilin, the second-biggest city in Jilin province, will lock down about 4.5 million inhabitants for three days from Monday night, local authorities announced.

More than 4,000 new infections were reported across China on Sundaywith two-thirds in Jilin province, which borders Russia and North Korea.

Provincial capital Changchun said Saturday it would also tighten restrictions for three days. Since March 11, Changchun's nine million people have only been allowed out once every two days to buy food.

Also Read  Hong Kong to review Covid-19 curbs as case spike eases

The new measures mean only medical personnel and other anti-epidemic workers will be authorised to leave their homes. It comes after China recorded its first two deaths from Covid in more than a year on Saturday.

Tens of millions of people are currently in lockdown in other Chinese regions and authorities are scrambling to set up more hospital beds, fearing the outbreak could put the healthcare system under strain.

Jilin province has built eight temporary hospitals and two quarantine centres.

East of the capital Beijing, the city of Tangshan banned traffic for 24 hours on Sunday in an effort to slow the virus' spreadand will test all its 7.7 million people.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has not gone away, Indian-origin US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned on Sunday, saying that cases may rise and fall in the months to come.

Murthy also expressed his concern over the lack of funding to fight the coronavirus pandemic. When we look at what's happening around the world and over the last two years, we recognise that when cases increase in one part of the world, that often leads to increases in the other part of the world. And we should be prepared that, you know, Covid hasn't gone away, he told Fox News in an interview.

There may be rises and falls in cases in the months ahead. But here's the key, our goal is to keep people out of the hospital, it's to save their lives, and we have more tools to do that than ever before. So our focus should be on preparation, not on panic. And if we get people these tools, vaccines, boosters, treatments, then we can actually get through waves that may come and go."

The thing that concerns me right now is that as much work as we've done in the last two years to get the right tools, we've got to continue funding them and supporting them so they are available to people across the country. That's what Congress moving to provide that funding is so cortical, Murthy said.

During the last wave of the Omicron variant, most sick were unvaccinated. So, the bottom line is those vaccinations and boosters work and the treatments that we now have in greater quantities than ever before, those also help to reduce our risk, but you'd rather prevent an infection than get it and treat it. That's why these vaccines and boosters are essential, he asserted.

Also Read  China locks down millions more as Covid spreads

Older age and illnesses like obesity are the ones that put one at higher risk. Sadly, we do have a lot of people in our country who are struggling with chronic illnesses, like obesity and heart disease have put them at higher risk, and so that means as a population we've got to be even more vigilant about taking steps to prevent Covid-19."

Those include the vaccines and boosters, but we've also found that other tools, whether they are masks, whether they are using testing strategically, these can be helpful in limiting the spread of the virus, Murthy said.

Responding to a question, Murthy said that he does not think they can afford to move on.

But I do think that we can move forward with more confidence, that we can live our lives and not let Covid define our lives, because we do have, in fact, better tools that have proven to save our lives and keep us out of the hospital, he said.

Over the last two years, Covid defined our lives, it restricted us in profound ways. But because we have better tools, we have the power to move forward now and manage the virus and do so thoughtfully because, you know, we've been able to get our kids back to school, you know, over the last year."

I mean more than 95 per cent of kids are back in school. That's a big win. I'm a dad of two small kids who, thankfully, are back in school. We've got people back to work. People are seeing their family and friends again. We need to keep doing these things. We now have the tools to do so safely, Murthy added.

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The soldier's face is caked in dust which leaves only his blue eyes just about visible. But he is alive in the ruined aftermath of a Russian military strike on a barracks at Mykolaiv which left dozens dead in the southern Ukrainian town.

A journalist at the scene heard sounds coming from within the debris and called rescuers, who shifted piles of rubble with their bare hands for an hour before managing to extricate the man.

Despite being in shock, he tried gamely to speak with the stretcher bearers as they carried him away.

Witnesses to the attack told AFP that six rockets hit the site, which originally had served as a young officers' academy, around six o'clock in the morning on Friday.

"An enormous explosion," says one resident, Nikolai. The blast reduced to rubble several buildings in the district.

Also Read: Attacks on Ukraines hospitals are deliberate and brutal. The world must respond to these acts of terror

"No less than 200 soldiers were sleeping in the barracks," says Maxim, 22, who had been stationed nearby and looks on aghast at the scale of the destruction.

"At least 50 bodies have been pulled out but we don't know how many remain under the debris," he says.

Another soldier, Yevgeny, says as many as 100 people could have been killed, in an attack with no official toll to date and details of which remain hazy.

Ukrainian authorities say only that Mykolaiv, which they describe as being a "shield" to the key strategic military port of Odessa, some 130 kilometres (85 miles) further west, is resisting Russian attacks and pushing back the invaders' assaults.

Kyiv authorities have been saying for several days that Russian forces have been pushed back towards Kherson, another southern town further to the east and under Russian control.

Regardless, Russian strikes which have been hitting civilian targets as well as military facilities for the past fortnight, continue to be relentless.

"We aren't allowed to say anything because the rescue operation isn't over and the families haven't all been informed," military spokeswoman Olga Malarchuk says, first in Ukrainian before switching to Russian.

Visibly moved, she continues: "We are not yet able to announce a toll and I cannot tell you how many soldiers were present."

Ukraine's presidency is not answering questions about the bombing.

"Yesterday orcs hit our sleeping soldiers with a rocket in a cowardly manner," Vitaly Kim, head of the regional administration, said in a video, using the Ukrainian nickname for Russian forces.

He added that he was awaiting official information from the armed forces.

Rescuers and firefighters have been relentlessly working at the razed site since Friday, accompanied by the throbbing sound of an excavator clearing the enormous heap of stones, concrete and twisted metal rods.

An arm covered in blood and a piece of human torso are laid on a tarpaulin by the rescuers.

Further on, three bodies, including one covered in a white sheet, have been moved away from the rubble.

The victims' military bags and bulletproof vests lay gathered together in the corner.

A few metres from the destroyed barrack, another, less damaged building still houses a dormitory and some offices.

All the windows have been blown out but a small painting of a religious icon as well as photos of soldiers are still hanging on the wall.

A grey stone statue, depicting a sailor leaning on a gun, ships in the background, remains standing amid the scene of desolation.

Probably destined to have been placed at the entrance of the bombed barracks, a poem is visible on it.

Its first words read: "Fight! You'll win".

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China makes progress in developing vaccines against Omicron variant

Xinhua) 11:21, March 20, 2022

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Positive progress has been made in the development of monovalent and multivalent vaccines against the Omicron variants, a senior Chinese health official told a press conference on Saturday.

Pre-clinical studies for some vaccines have been completed, with applications for clinical trials in progress, said Zheng Zhongwei, an official with the National Health Commission.

"Studies show that the Omicron variant has not completely escaped the existing vaccines," Zheng said, noting that complete vaccination is still effective in reducing the risk of hospitalization, severe illness and death caused by Omicron variants.

"Booster vaccination can also effectively reduce the risk of breakthrough infection caused by the Omicron variant," he said.

At present, China has 29 vaccines that have entered clinical trials, with 16 under phase-III clinical trials overseas, Zheng said. He added that seven vaccines have been approved for conditional marketing or emergency use, and two have been included in the World Health Organization emergency use list.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
A girl poses for a photo during the celebrations of Holi festival, the festival of colors, in Dhaka, Bangladesh on March 18, 2022. (Xinhua)

DHAKA/ISLAMABAD, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Hindu community in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka and Pakistan celebrated Holi, the festival of colors, with due religious fervor and enthusiasm on March 18.

The festival, also known as Dol Purnima (full moon day), brings together thousands of Hindus specially to the temples, with people smearing various colors on their faces to participate in celebrations.

People participate in celebrations of Holi festival, the festival of colors, in Dhaka, Bangladesh on March 18, 2022. (Xinhua)

People smear colored powder on each other during the festival of colors in Dhaka, Bangladesh on March 18, 2022. (Xinhua)



People from Hindu community celebrate the festival of colors in Dhaka, Bangladesh on March 18, 2022. (Xinhua)

A Hindu girl poses for pictures during the festival of colors in Dhaka, Bangladesh on March 18, 2022. (Xinhua)

People participate in celebrations of Holi festival, the festival of colors, in Lahore, Pakistan on March 18, 2022. (Photo by Sajjad/Xinhua)

People participate in celebrations of Holi festival, the festival of colors, in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 17, 2022. (Str/Xinhua)

Children participate in celebrations of Holi festival, the festival of colors, in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 17, 2022. (Str/Xinhua)
Russia this week used its Kinzhal hypersonic missiles on an ammunition depot in Ukraine, an event its state media said was the first-ever use of the armament ever since it entered service in 2017.

The missile, which can fly at 10 times the speed of sound, is the latest in a long list of modern military threats, which include thermobaric bombs and cluster bombs, which have raised concerns among defence experts around the world.

Legally, a missile can only be called hypersonic if it travels at a speed of at least 5 times the speed of sound - colloquially referred to as "Mach". The two main types of missiles under this category are cruise missiles and glide missiles (HGVs). The cruise missiles are limited to a height of 30,000 metres or below, while glide missiles can fly over that height.

According to the research service of the US Congress, glide missiles are launched from a rocket before gliding to a target, and hypersonic cruise missiles, are powered by high-speed, air-breathing engines during flight.

Also Read | Russia deploys hypersonic Kinzhal missle in western Ukraine

Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Commander of US Strategic Command General John Hyten has stated, these weapons could enable responsive, long-range, strike options against distant, defended, and/or time-critical threats [such as road-mobile missiles] when other forces are unavailable, denied access, or not preferred, the report said.

Among modern armaments, while the United States generally holds the technical lead in overall weapons development and deployments, Russia leads the world in hypersonic weaponry, having designed and developed at least three programs - the Avangard, the 3M22 Tsirkon, and the Kinzhal, the latter of which was used in Ukraine.

Avangard is a hypersonic glide vehicle launched from an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), giving it effectively unlimited range," while the Tsirkon is a ship-launched hypersonic cruise missile capable of travelling at speeds of between Mach 6 and Mach 8, and is reportedly capable of striking both ground and naval targets.

Also Read | Vladimir Putin urges development of new hypersonic missiles, lasers

Another traditional rival of the United States, China has conducted a number of successful tests of the DF-17, a medium-range ballistic missile specifically designed to launch HGVs. US intelligence analysts assess that the missile has a range of approximately 1,000 to 1,500 miles and may now be deployed. China has also tested the DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile, which could be modified to carry a conventional or nuclear HGV, according to a report by a US Congressional commission. The development of the DF-41 thus significantly increases the [Chinese] rocket forces nuclear threat to the US mainland, the report states.

The United States itself does not possess any hypersonic missiles in service, but is currently designing, reviewing and testing at least seven programs, and is expected to have platform deployment of one of them in FY25 and FY28.

Other countries which possess or are developing hypersonic weapons include Australia, India, France, Germany, and Japan. North Korea, which had earlier suspended hypersonics development under a moratorium, has also recently resumed testing hypersonic and medium-range ballistic missiles.

The biggest threat of hypersonic missiles is two-pronged. Missiles like the Russian Kinzhal can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, and unlike conventional subsonic or supersonic missiles, no country currently possess the means to intercept a hypersonic missile, effectively making any target of a missile a lost cause.

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Hundreds of thousands of people attended the funeral Sunday of a prominent ultra-orthodox rabbi in a city in central Israel.

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, 94, one of the most influential scholars in the country's religious community, died Friday. He was one of the few remaining leaders of the ultra-orthodox community in Israel born before the Holocaust.

Kanievsky was revered by many in the Jewish religious world.

The rabbi was laid to rest Bnei Brak, the predominantly ultra-orthodox city near Tel Aviv where he lived. Israeli media estimated that over 350,000 people attended the funeral procession from his home to a nearby cemetery.

Also Read  Jews of Kolkata: A slice of history

Police closed several highways in Israel's densely populated Tel Aviv area to traffic for several hours, and other main thoroughfares were expected to be gridlocked. Authorities urged the public not to drive into the area by car.

The Communications Ministry said it was expecting cellular network outages in around the funeral due to high volume, and advised people to only make essential calls.

Aerial footage of the funeral showed enormous throngs of mourners, most dressed in the signature black suits and black hats typical of ultra-orthodox men, filling Bnei Brak's narrow streets for blocks around the late rabbi's house.

The insular ultra-orthodox community makes up about 12 per cent of Israel's 9.4 million people. They adhere to a stringent interpretation of Judaism, with a focus on Torah study and observance of tradition. Prominent rabbis like Kanievsky play a significant role in community life and act as arbiters in all matters.

Also Read  Polish official fired after calling Holocaust law 'stupid'

Funerals play a key role in traditional Jewish life, and those of important rabbis often draw thousands of mourners. Although he held no official position, Kanievsky was considered a major luminary in the non-Hassidic ultra-orthodox world.

He came to public prominence at the start of the coronavirus pandemic when he instructed his followers that closing religious seminaries was more harmful than the virus. He later walked back those claims as infections raged in densely populated Bnei Brak.

Kanievsky's death was published on the front pages of nearly every newspaper in the country on Sunday, from liberal Haaretz to ultra-orthodox dailies like Yated Neeman. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting that Kanievsky's death was a great loss to the Jewish people.

On Saturday, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu paid his respects at Kanievsky's home.

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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday lauded India for following an independent foreign policy, saying New Delhi imported crude oil from Russia despite American sanctions on Moscow for its 'special military operation' in Ukraine.

Khan, a fierce critic of the ruling NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spoke highly of India's foreign policy.

Addressing a public rally in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, he told his supporters that he would like to praise the neighbouring country India as it was having an "independent foreign policy".

Khan said that India, which is a part of the Quad grouping, has imported crude oil from Russia despite American sanctions on Moscow. The Quad grouping has the US, India, Japan and Australia as its members.

The US-led Western countries have imposed crippling economic sanctions on Russia for its military offensive in Ukraine which was ordered by President Vladimir Putin on February 24.

Prime Minister Khan said that his foreign policy would also favour the people of Pakistan.

I havent bowed before anyone and will not let my nation bow either, said Khan, who is rallying public support ahead of a no-confidence vote against him in Parliament.

Also Read | Pakistan parliament to convene this week for no-confidence move against PM Khan

I salute India for pursuing an independent foreign policy always, today India is an ally of USA and Russia at the same time: PM Imran Khan pic.twitter.com/hJZcfMQRan  Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) March 20, 2022

Breaking from the tradition of not openly discussing complicated matters relating to foreign relations in public rallies, Khan mentioned that he had said absolutely no to the European Union (EU) envoys seeking Pakistans support against Russia in the Russia-Ukraine conflict because "they broke protocol by making the request".

He said that Pakistan would have gained nothing by complying with the EU's request.

Also Read | 'Could have responded...': Pakistan PM on India's 'accidental' missile fire

We became part of Americas war against terror in Afghanistan and lost 80,000 people and USD 100 billion, he said.

It is for the second time he spoke against a statement by the EU and other Western countries asking Pakistan earlier this month to condemn the Russian intervention in Ukraine.

In his previous address, Khan had also asked the EU if it would make a similar demand to India.

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China has fully militarised at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top US military commander said Sunday.

US Indo-Pacific commander Admiral John C Aquilino said the hostile actions were in stark contrast to Chinese President Xi Jinping's past assurances that Beijing would not transform the artificial islands in contested waters into military bases.

The efforts were part of China's flexing its military muscle, he said.

I think over the past 20 years we've witnessed the largest military buildup since World War II by the PRC," Aquilino told The Associated Press in an interview, using the initials of China's formal name. They have advanced all their capabilities and that buildup of weaponization is destabilizing to the region.

There were no immediate comments from Chinese officials.

Aquilino spoke with the AP on-board a US Navy reconnaissance aircraft that flew near Chinese-held outposts in the South China Sea's Spratly archipelago, one of the most hotly contested regions in the world.

During the patrol, the P-8A Poseidon plane was repeatedly warned by Chinese callers that it illegally entered what they said was China's territory and ordered the plane to move away. China has sovereignty over the Spratly islands, as well as surrounding maritime areas. Stay away immediately to avoid misjudgment, one of the stern radio messages said in a veiled threat.

Also Read  China continues incremental and tactical actions to press territorial claims with India: Pentagon

But the US Navy plane dismissed the multiple warnings and pressed on defiantly with its reconnaissance in brief but tense moments witnessed by two AP journalists invited onboard. I am a sovereign immune United States naval aircraft conducting lawful military activities beyond the national airspace of any coastal state, a US pilot radioed back to the Chinese. Exercising these rights is guaranteed by international law and I am operating with due regard to the rights and duties of all states, he said.

Navy commanding officer Joel Martinez, who led the P-8A Poseidon's crew, said there has been an incident when a Chinese jet flew close to a US aircraft in a dangerous manoeuver in the disputed region. The US flight crew calmly reminded the Chinese to comply with aviation safety regulations, he said.

As the P-8A Poseidon flew as low as 15,000 feet (4,500 metres) near the Chinese-occupied reefs, some appeared to be like small cities on screen monitors, with multi-storey buildings, warehouses, hangars, seaports, runways and white round structures Aquilino said were radars. Near Fiery Cross, more than 40 unspecified vessels could be seen apparently anchored.

Aquilino said the construction of missile arsenals, aircraft hangars, radar systems and other military facilities on Mischief Reef, Subi Reef and Fiery Cross appeared to have been completed but it remains to be seen if China will pursue the construction of military infrastructure in other areas.

The function of those islands is to expand the offensive capability of the PRC beyond their continental shores, he said. They can fly fighters, bombers plus all those offensive capabilities of missile systems.

He said any military and civilian plane flying over the disputed waterway could easily get within range of the Chinese islands' missile system. So that's the threat that exists, that's why it's so concerning for the militarization of these islands, he said. They threaten all nations who operate in the vicinity and all the international sea and airspace.

Also Read  China suffered higher losses in Galwan Valley than reported: Report

China sought to shore up its vast territorial claims over virtually the entire South China Sea by building island bases on coral atolls nearly a decade ago.

The US responded by sending its warships through the region in what it calls freedom of operation missions. The United States has no claims itself but has deployed Navy ships and aircraft for decades to patrol and promote free navigation in international waterways and airspace.

China routinely objects to any action by the US military in the region. The other partiesthe Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Bruneiclaim all or part of the sea, through which approximately $5 trillion in goods are shipped every year.

Despite China's aggression, the long-simmering territorial conflicts should only be resolved peacefully, Aquilino said, and cited the Philippine government's successful move to bring its disputes with China to international arbitration in 2013 as a good template.

A UN-backed arbitration tribunal that handled the case invalidated China's sweeping historical claims in the South China Sea under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing dismissed the ruling as a sham and continues to defy it.

Washington's main objective in the disputed region is to prevent war through deterrence and promote peace and stability, including by engaging American allies and partners in projects with that objective, Aquilino said.

Should deterrence fail, my second mission is to be prepared to fight and win, he said.

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By Kenton White for The Conversation

As Russian military activity moves nearer the Ukrainian border with NATO, the potential for direct confrontation between Russia and the alliance increases.

On March 13, Russian aircraft reportedly fired rockets at the Yavoriv International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, 20 kilometres from Ukraines border with Poland, a NATO member.

The possibility of a unit from the Russian or Belarusian military stumbling across a border is also high. Mistakes happen in all military organisations, as evidenced by an accidental missile launch by India into Pakistan.

The possibility of retaliation by Pakistan was significant, but unlike in Ukraine, there is no open conflict to confuse the situation. Had such an event taken place between Poland and Russian forces in Ukraine, for example, its unlikely that the Polish government would have been convinced the missile launch had been a mistake.

Concern regarding Russias intentions is at a higher level in the eastern nations of NATO than those to the west. On March 15, the prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic risked a train ride into Ukraine to meet the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Kyiv.

Those countries face the risk of being next in line if Russian expansionism continuesas some expect it to. Vladimir Putins statements appear to threaten the Baltic states, and he seems to want to re-establish Russias dominance over other neighbouring nations, which was lost with the fall of the Soviet Union.

Also Read  Ukraine-Russia war: Major developments

Those states have substantial minorities of ethnic Russians and have experienced unrest in the past few years.

The potential for escalation increases when we consider the actions of the rank-and-file soldiers on the ground, who are cold and frightened. A single shot across an otherwise quiet but tense border, or a junior non-commissioned officer misunderstanding a particular situation and taking aggressive action, could initiate a fight that quickly escalates beyond the control of local commanders.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for a NATO-enforced no-fly zone over Ukraine. But NATO leaders have concluded, understandably, that this risks direct military confrontation between Russia and NATO forces, potentially leading to rapid escalation.

The same seems to apply to another of Zelenskys requeststhe supply of aircraft to help the Ukrainian air force. But if NATO were to directly provide aircraft to Ukraine, Russia may very well conclude that this is offensive, rather than defensive, weaponry, and take action to stop the supply of planes. This may involve strikes on airfields where the planes are basedfor example, in Polandbefore they are moved to Ukraine.

There's a chance that Zelenskyy has called for a NATO-sponsored no-fly zone precisely because he knows it would be impossible, allowing him to begin distancing himself from the idea of NATO membership for Ukraine.

This might give him the negotiating room to conclude an agreement with Russia. But at the same time, he reminded America in his speech to the US Congress of the Pearl Harbor and 9/11 attacks. Zelenskyy is warning of the consequences of continued NATO inaction.

Article 5

NATO membership allows a nation to invoke Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty to call for support from the other members of the alliance. This article has only been used once in NATOs historyby the US, following the attacks on New York and Washington DC on September 11, 2001.

But Article 5 does not guarantee that all the other NATO states would send armed forces to repel an attack, only that a military action is an option that can be included as part of the alliances principle of collective defence.

Given public statements from Westminster, the UK would be expected to honour its obligation to fight a Russian attack.

Also Read  Russia again deploys hypersonic missiles against Ukraine

As the UKs health secretary, Sajid Javid, said only a few days ago in an interview on LBC: If a single Russian toecap steps into NATO territory there will be war with NATO.

On February 25, one day after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, NATO heads of government met in Brussels. They produced a statement deploring the invasion and pledging aid for Ukraine.

The alliance pledged to continue to take all measures and decisions required to ensure the security and defence of all allies. Accordingly, NATO has deployed both land and maritime assets across its eastern regions and activated NATOs defence plans to prepare ourselves to respond to a range of contingencies and secure alliance territory.

My research on NATO has involved informal discussions with several officers from various member nations.

This has led me to believe that some NATO countries further from the conflict zone might be reluctant to send combat forceseven in the event that Article 5 is triggered. There is also the question of whether NATOs political leaders would be willing to carry out attacks on Russian soil, which would represent a significant intensification of the conflict and would carry the additional risk that Russia might respond by escalating to nuclear or chemical weapons.

Deterrencewhether conventional or nuclearrequires rational calculation by both sides. As I have written before, Putins rationality is different to that of western leaders, which is part of the reason why this crisis and conflict happened in the first place. So far, Putin has not been deterred by NATO.

Instead, he has threatened the alliance with consequences you have never seen in history.

Meanwhile, any concessions Russia wins in peace talks are likely to lead to more demands.

This particularly worries NATOs eastern European members. What is not clear is whether more distant members of NATO see the threat in the same way. Unity of action is vital for NATO  not only now but in the coming weeks and months.

(Kenton White is a lecturer of strategic studies and international relations at the University of Reading)

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Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said Russia's siege of Mariupol was "a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come", while authorities in the strategic port city said thousands of residents there had been taken by force to Russia.

Fighting, diplomacy

Zelenskyy urged Switzerland to crack down on Russian oligarchs who he said were helping to wage war on his country from the safety of "beautiful Swiss towns".

After Biden warned Xi of "consequences" if China provided material support to Russia's war effort, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing has "always stood for maintaining peace and opposing war" and that "time will prove that China's claims are on the right side of history." Meanwhile, Russian President Putin is healthy, sane and "in better shape than ever", close ally Belarus President Lukashenko told Japanese TV.

Russia said it had used hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles to destroy a large weapons depot in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk region, and a Russian mortar attack on Ukrainian town of Makariv in the Kyiv region killed seven people and hospitalised five on Friday, local police said in a statement. Russia denies targeting civilians.

Civilians

The UN human rights office said at least 847 civilians had been killed and 1,399 wounded in Ukraine as of Friday. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said that 112 children have been killed.

Pope Francis made a surprise visit to young refugees being treated in a paediatric hospital in Rome.

Russian and Ukrainian ballet dancers rubbed shoulders in London at a charity event uniting some of the world's leading dance performers for humanitarian relief in Ukraine.

Russia's space agency dismissed Western media reports suggesting Russian cosmonauts joining the International Space Station had chosen to wear yellow suits with a blue trim in support of Ukraine. "Sometimes yellow is just yellow," Roscosmos's press service said on its Telegram channel.

Economy, markets

Ukraine may not produce enough crops to export if this year's sowing campaigns are disrupted by the invasion, presidential adviser Oleh Ustenko said.

"To do this to a peaceful city... is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come," Zelenskyy said of Russia's attacks on Mariupol.

"When the alarm sounded, I covered the windows with blankets so one couldn't hear it. My small ones made up a monster, the siren monster," said Tanya, a refugee in the Polish border town of Przemysl.

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Pakistan's parliament will convene on Friday to take up a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, the lower house speaker's office said on Sunday, in what shapes up as his toughest test since coming to power in 2018.

An alliance of opposition parties filed the motion against Khan this month, saying he had lost his parliamentary majority after over a dozen defections from his party, raising the risk of political turmoil in the nuclear-armed South Asian country.

Under the constitution, the speaker of the lower house of parliament is required to convene the session within 14 days of receiving the motion, which would fall on Monday.

But a statement from the speaker's office said the date was pushed back several days because of a conference of Islamic countries in Islamabad scheduled for March 23.

The opposition accuses Khan of mismanaging the economy and foreign policy. He denies this. No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed his full term in office.

The loss of dissident lawmakers has left Khan about a dozen seats less than the minimum - 172 - needed for a majority. The joint opposition commands 163 seats in the lower house, but could build a majority if most of the defectors effectively join its ranks via a no-confidence vote.

The opposition and political analysts also say Khan has fallen out with Pakistan's powerful military, whose support is critical for any party to attain power in the way the former cricket star's upstart party did four years ago.

Khan and the military deny the accusation.

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Slovakia's Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad says the first multinational NATO units with the Patriot air defense systems have been moving to his country.

Nad said on Sunday the transfers will continue in the next days.

Germany and the Netherlands have agreed to send their troops armed with the Patriots to Slovakia.

The troops are some of the 2,100 soldiers from several NATO members, including the United States, who will form a battlegroup on Slovak territory as the alliance boosts its defenses in its eastern flank following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Also Read: Russia's siege of Mariupol to be remembered for centuries to come: Zelenskyy

Nad says the Patriots will be initially deployed at the armed forces base of Sliac in central Slovakia before they will be stationed at various places to protect the largest possible Slovak territory.

He thanked Germany and the Netherlands for their responsible decision to fundamentally boost Slovakia's defenses.

At the same time, Nad said, the Patriots would not replace the Russian-made S-300 air-defense system his country has relied on, calling their deployment another component to protect Slovakia's airspace.

Nad previously has said his country will be willing to provide its S-300 long-range air defense missile system to Ukraine on condition it has a proper replacement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the S-300s when he spoke to US lawmakers by video Wednesday, appealing for anti-air systems that would allow Ukraine protect its airspace against Russian warplanes and missiles. NATO members Bulgaria, Slovakia and Greece have the S-300s.

The Slovak minister said Sunday his country will work to replace the S-300s with a different system that would be compatible with the systems used by the allies.

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Russia struck Ukraine with cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, and launched hypersonic missiles from Crimean airspace, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday.

Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russia had carried out strikes against Ukraine's military infrastructure on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

"Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from the waters of the Black Sea against the Nizhyn plant that repairs Ukrainian armoured vehicles damaged in fighting," he said.

Explained | What are hypersonic missiles?

Russia fired Kalibr cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea and hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles from airspace of Crimea, the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, to destroy a fuel storage facility used by the Ukrainian military, Konashenkov said.

Russia also hit a Ukrainian military preparation centre where foreign fighters joining Kyiv's forces were based.

Read | 'Russia's terror will be remembered for centuries'

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands of people, displaced more than 3 million and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States, the world's two biggest nuclear powers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the "special military operation" in Ukraine was necessary because the United States was using the country to threaten Russia and Russia had to defend against the "genocide" of Russian-speaking people by Ukraine.

Ukraine says it is fighting for its existence and that Putin's claims of genocide are nonsense. The West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia that the Kremlin says amount to a declaration of economic war by the United States and its allies.

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Afghanistan's Taliban administration said there would be no public holiday for the Persian New Year this week, but said they would not stop people from celebrating the festival.

Persian New Year, known as Nowruz and celebrated throughout Iran and Central Asia, is a popular festival in Afghanistan and is usually marked by a public holiday when families gather to prepare festive dishes and welcome the beginning of spring.

Mohammad Yunus Siddiqui, the spokesman for the labour ministry, told Reuters that there would be no official public holiday on Monday when Nowruz was set to take place.

An information ministry spokesman said the holiday was not in accordance with Islamic law, but that private celebrations by civilians would be allowed.

"We are not officially celebrating Nowruz," said Abdul Ahad Amad, head of publications at the information ministry. "If people want to do something we are not preventing them."

The Islamist Taliban took over the country in August. The international community and many Afghans have called on the group to form a representative government and recognise the pluralism of the country, which is made up of multiple ethnic groups and cultural influences.

Though workers will have to return to the office and public university students said exams had been scheduled for Monday, there were signs that Afghans would still celebrate.

Colourful flags were strung up across streets in parts of Kabul and the leaders of mosques in the capital and the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif said they were preparing for a traditional banner-raising ceremony known as Jahenda Bala, but were waiting for guidance from authorities on whether they would be able to go ahead.

"The coming of Spring is engrained and rooted in our history, our literature, our cultural memory, our traditions, and our cultural heritage," said Munazza Ebtikar, a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford focusing on the history and anthropology of Afghanistan.

"Celebrating Nowruz has become a political act, it's about preservation and resistance," she said.

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BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have released a guideline aimed at making the country's time-honored brands glitter with new vitality, as part of efforts to boost consumption and fulfill people's need for a better life.

The guideline, jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce and seven other government departments, detailed measures to invigorate innovation on time-honored brands and unleash demands.

Time-honored brand enterprises are encouraged to develop creative cultural products together with relevant institutions, as well as hold culture experience activities and provide customized service, said the guideline.

Modern information technologies such as big data and cloud computing should empower time-honored brands to cultivate new business models and consumption scenarios, it said.

The guideline also noted that measures should be taken to establish business streets and scenic spots with characteristics of time-honored brands to better show their charm. 
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson found himself under fire on Sunday, including from his own MPs, after saying that Brexit showed that Britons shared the same "instinct" for freedom as Ukrainians.

In a speech to his Conservative Party conference in Blackpool, northern England, on Saturday, Johnson said it was "the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom every time."

He cited the Brexit referendum in June 2016 as a "famous recent example".

Also Read | UK pushes against Russia in northern European summit

"When the British people voted for Brexit in such large, large numbers, I don't believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners. It's because they wanted to be free to do things differently and for this country to be able to run itself," he said.

He also cited Britain's vaccine rollout as an example of people's desire to get their freedoms back.

European Council President Donald Tusk said on Twitter: "Boris, your words offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense."

Former EU negotiator Guy Verhofstadt called the comments "insane".

Also Read | UK will speed up sanctions against Russians: Johnson

Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, said Johnson was "needlessly creating division.

"To compare a referendum to women and children fleeing Putin's bombs is an insult to every Ukrainian," he added.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Sky News on Sunday that he did not consider the two situations comparable.

"Clearly they are not directly analogous and I don't think the Prime Minister was saying that they were directly analogous either," he said.

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Nearly 70% of the Department of Science and Technologys research grant goes to only seven states including Karnataka, demonstrating the non-equitable distribution of resources, according to a panel of lawmakers that asked the DST to go back to the drawing board to correct the skewed distribution.

Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are the states that grabbed the lions share of DSTs funds for extramural research in the last three financial years.

Their shares were 72.4% in 2019-20, dropped marginally to 64% in 2020-21 but jumped again to 72% in the ongoing fiscal, as per the data that DST shared with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology.

On the other side of the spectrum, the collective share of five large and populous states  Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Rajasthan  was 4.56% in 2019-20, 8% in 2020-21 and 6% in 2021-22.

If Punjab and Odisha are added to the second list, the collective share of the second group of seven states would be 8.45%, 14.02% and 9.67% respectively for the three fiscals.

"DST funding is always competitive. An expert panel decides on the funding support depending on the quality of projects. The states should give more importance to scientific studies and create a culture of research in their institutions, Ashutosh Sharma, who retired as the DST secretary last year, told DH.

The Parliamentary panel, headed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, asked the DST to go back to the drawing board and carve out measures for a more equitable distribution of resources of the department to the under-served states. The Committee emphasises special efforts may be made for the North-East.

A comparison between Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal shows both had 218 approved projects in the last three years, but the funds (Rs 286.5 crore) received by West Bengal is more than double the money that went to Madhya Pradesh (nearly Rs 120 crore). This may be an indication of the scope and scale of the projects that came from Bengal institutions.

For correction, the states need to recruit better quality scientists in their institutions and reward them. The quality of research would always depend on the quality of scientists and students, Sharma explained.

When some of the MPs asked the Department of Biotechnology officials about the number of DBT research associated in the eastern states, they were informed that there was no such scientist in Chhattisgarh and only one in Jharkhand. There are five DBT research associates in Bihar and 18 in West Bengal. DBT had a target of having 100 such associates in 2021-22 but could find only 38 from all over the country.

The Parliamentary Committee advised DBT to prioritise its activities as much as possible so that the under-served states that are lacking institutions can benefit more from such initiatives and resolve the regional imbalances in the field of scientific research.

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Ending the nine-day-long suspense, BJP on Sunday named N. Biren Singh as leader of the legislature party in Manipur setting the stage for the latter about becoming the Chief Minister for the second consecutive term.

Singh, 61, was unanimously elected as leader of the legislature party at Imphal in the presence of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, who were appointed as BJP's central observers for the election of the legislature party leader.

In a statement issued by Raj Bhawan, Manipur said Sitharaman and Rijiju met Governor La Ganeshan on Sunday evening and handed over a letter about Singh's election. The letter also said although BJP has the majority to form the government, Janata Dal (United) with six MLAs, Kuki People's Alliance, which won two seats and Independent MLA, Nishikant Sapam Singh also extended their support to the government. BJP alone won 32 out of 60 Assembly seats.

The results of the Manipur Assembly elections were declared on March 11.

The decision ends the suspense over who would become Manipur's next Chief Minister. Although, Biren Singh was the frontrunner, another senior party leader, Th. Biswajit Singh was a strong contender. Both Biren and Biswajit were called to New Delhi twice for meeting with senior BJP leaders before Sitharaman and Rijiju came to Manipur on Sunday morning. Former Speaker and another senior BJP leader, Y. Khemchand was also called to New Delhi by the party high command.

Biren, a footballer and a former journalist joined politics in 2002 and has won all elections he contested since then. He established himself as a strong leader in Congress but switched over to BJP in 2016 and became the CM in 2017. Biren formed the BJP-led government with the help of the National People's Party and NPF and gave BJP its first government in Manipur.

Before this election, Biren had claimed that BJP would get the absolute majority and decided to contest elections alone. The results, according to party sources, consolidated Biren's position in the party. After the meeting, Biren was seen exchanging sweets with Biswajit.

The Raj Bhawan statement said that the Governor asked the BJP leaders to suggest a convenient date for oath-taking.

"This was a unanimous decision and this will give Manipur a strong, stable government to fulfil the hopes and aspiration of all sections in the state," Sitharaman told reporters in Imphal after the legislature party meeting.

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The government is planning to fortify sludge from the Ganga river to use it as fertiliser to promote organic farming and prevent chemicals from entering rivers, a senior official said.

Treated water, rich in phosphorus and nutrients, is good for crop growth and in the last two weeks various rounds of discussions have been held on ways to handle the sludge from the Ganga river, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Director General Asok Kumar said.

According to him, efforts are underway to produce fortified sludge and provide it to farmers at subsidised rates.

"We found that treated sludge can be very similar to fertiliser. So, if we can add a little bit of fortification, then it (sludge) can be as good as a fertiliser and will help in organic farming," Kumar told PTI.

Also Read: India in final talks to start wheat export to Egypt

"We are in talks with companies to produce fortified sludge that could be used as fertilisers and given to farmers at a subsidised rate," he added.

He said two objectives can be achieved through this -- first, the farmers will use natural fertilisers and second, the problem of piling of sludge will be solved.

"If I can make a fair deal with the farmers then they might prefer that also. We can also get farmers incentivised for taking up this deal. We are in talks with companies to produce good fortified fertilisers from the sludge," he said.

He said it will also prevent chemicals from entering rivers and causing pollution.

Chemical fertilisers contain phosphates and nitrates which are the main reason behind water pollution, he said.

Kumar said another major issue is of cow dung entering the rivers and advised farmers to use it in farming.

"If I can also convince the farmers to use gobar (cow dung) as it is a major problem in the Ganga basin due to the large bovine population in the area. If we can go for natural farming then we can use this cow dung as manure which again prevents E.coli from getting into the river," Kumar said.

Kumar said now the focus of the NMCG is on Arth Ganga, which aims to connect people with the river and establish an economic linkage between them for sustenance.

"For the last two months, we have been working extensively on Arth Ganga to make that economic connect," he said.

In 2015, the government launched the NMCG or Namami Gange, with an indicative cost of Rs 20,000 crore, as an umbrella programme with an aim to integrate previous and ongoing projects and new initiatives planned for cleaning the Ganga.

Under the programme, a total of 347 projects were sanctioned against a cost of Rs 30,255 crore.

The projects comprise infrastructure and non-infrastructure development towards rejuvenating the Ganga.

The projects directly related to the cleaning process include development of sewerage infrastructure, industrial effluent treatment plants, rural sanitation, and river surface cleaning.

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By Sudhi Ranjan Sen,

For all the success of the US-led campaign to isolate Russia on the world stage, India has stood out as one major democracy that has been reluctant to criticize Vladimir Putin -- and billions of dollars in weapons purchases mean thats unlikely to change anytime soon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modis government is facing more pressure from fellow members of the Quad -- the US, Japan and Australia -- to help push Russia toward a cease-fire. After meeting Modi in New Delhi on Saturday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for more cooperation between democracies while noting Putins war has shaken the global order. Modi, by contrast, only spoke on economic issues.

Also Read | In Russia-Ukraine conflict, an opportunity for India

Modi is slated to hold a virtual summit on Monday with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, while US Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland -- who has helped coordinate the American response to Ukraine -- is expected to visit New Delhi later this week.

India, the worlds largest buyer of Russian weapons, plans to push back by arguing the purchases are necessary to counter Chinas growing military assertiveness and its other neighbour, Pakistan. Modis government will also say the alternatives to Russian weapons are too expensive, according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak with the media.

India operates over 250 Su-30 MKi Russian-made fighter jets, seven Kilo-class submarines and more than 1,200 Russian-made T-90 tanks -- all of which are operational for another decade, the people said. In the pipeline are weapon systems worth about Rs 75,946 crore ($10 billion) that include a nuclear submarine to be leased to India and S-400 air defence system batteries.

Indias Ministry of Defense didnt immediately reply to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine crisis: Women suffer the brunt of war

Despite efforts at diversification, Indias military hardware is still almost 70 per cent Russian, said Manjari Chatterjee Miller, a senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of Why Nations Rise: Narratives and the path to Great Power. India has to continue to rely on Russia for parts, maintenance and upgrades, she added.

The cost for India to replace all of its Russian-origin equipment is daunting. Indias entire defence budget for 2021-22 is Rs 5.31 lakh-crore ($70 billion), and a long-delayed plan to procure 114 fighter jets to replenish its fleet and replace some older Russian fighters is estimated to cost India between Rs 1.13 lakh-crore ($15 billion) and Rs 1.36 lakh-crore ($18 billion) even if produced domestically, the people said.

New Delhi also lacks options to replace military systems like air defence platforms it cannot easily get elsewhere, said Ian Hall, professor of international relations at Griffith University and author of Modi and the Reinvention of Indian Foreign Policy."

While India has supported calls for a cease-fire and a diplomatic solution, it abstained at the United Nations on votes for draft resolutions condemning Russias invasion that was ultimately vetoed by Moscow. Still, so far the US and its allies have sought to avoid an open rift with India: a joint statement after Quad leaders spoke in the wake of Putins invasion failed to condemn Russia.

Also Read | Ukraine crisis: Staying neutral best choice for India

Thats largely because India remains an important partner in countering China, particularly after deadly clashes along their Himalayan border prompted Modi to move more troops and Russian weapons to key hotspots. India has also changed laws to restrict Chinese companies and investment, banned over 300 China-affiliated mobile applications and cut back on visas for Chinese businessmen as the border standoff escalated.

India is a really important security partner of ours now, Donald Lu, assistant secretary of state at the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, told a US Senate committee on March 2 when asked whether India could face sanctions for buying Russian weapons.

We value moving ahead in that partnership, he added, noting that India had recently hit the brakes on more orders for Russian MiG-29 fighter jets, helicopters and anti-tank weapons. And I hope that part of what happens with the extreme criticism that Russia has faced is that India will find its now time to further distance itself.

India is also keen to avoid Russia becoming even closer to Pakistan, which is more likely if Modis government joined US allies in censuring President Vladimir Putin. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, and their militaries remain on high alert.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan last month led the countrys first delegation to Moscow in two decades just as Putins invasion got underway. Last year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Pakistan as Moscow sought to increase its stature in the region, particularly in Afghanistan after the chaotic US withdrawal.

Pakistan was the worlds eighth-largest weapons buyer in 2017-2021, with Russia accounting for a small fraction of imports. India is concerned that more acquisitions of Russian weapons could provide Pakistan a qualitative advantage, according to Richard M. Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies at The Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Still, India will find it hard to maintain a truly neutral position without alienating the US and other Quad countries particularly because Russia has viewed New Delhis positions as silent support, said Miller of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Ukraine crisis is not a geographically confined regional European crisis that does not affect India, she said. It has implications for the future of the liberal international order.

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With a thumping victory in the recent Punjab elections, the Aam Aadmi Party hopes that their success in Punjab will give a fillip to the party's prospects in Karnataka. With a year to go for Karnataka Assembly polls, AAP's state convener Prithvi Reddy talks to DH's Shruthi HM Sastry on the party's strategy for the state and why he thinks their prospects are better this time. Below are the excerpts from the interview:

Following the Punjab election results, there has been much debate on the Aam Aadmi Party's potential to emerge as an alternative to BJP or Congress. What's your take on it?

We are not looking at emerging as an alternative to either BJP or Congress but we want to offer alternative politics to people of the country. There's a vast difference between the two. This means that elections with no criminal, corrupt and communal people involved. The country needs a different narrative. We want to offer an alternative to the politics and not the parties.

Also read: AAP's Punjab win shows governance gets votes

The BBMP elections are due and Karnataka will also see the Assembly polls in a year. Has the party begun preparation for polls?

We have been preparing for almost two years now for the BBMP polls, although there has been an ordinate delay in the election. Out of the existing 198 wards, we have representatives in 145 wards who have been fighting for civic issues. Since we dont know how many wards and what the final reservation will be, we have not declared them as candidates.

As for the Assembly polls, our target is to identify 224 candidates across Karnataka in the next three months. We will give them three months to create awareness about AAPs politics in their potential constituencies. Then we will run a survey to understand people's response to the candidate. Six months before the Assembly elections, we will declare the candidates.

Which are the regions in Karnataka where AAP is hoping to see success?

While our campaign will run across Karnataka, there has been more interest from North Karnataka as the region has been neglected over the decades. Unfortunately development in Karnataka has not reached beyond Bengaluru.

Are there any success strategies from Punjab that you want to replicate in Karnataka?

Our mantra is to bring in good people and understand that there cannot be a blanket manifesto for all regions. For instance, for Bengaluru, we will have 198 manifestos, one for each ward. Civic issues cannot be generalised. One ward might be struggling to get drinking water while another might be facing water logging in the rainy season. For Karnataka too, we will make a region-wise manifesto.

Our basic model is that peoples taxes need to be spent on people and should not go into filling someone else's pocket.

Also read: Dalits: BSPs loss, gains for BJP, AAP

Of late, the AAP has often been accused of resorting to Soft Hindutva...

We have walked the talk. Take the Mukhya Mantri Tirtha Yatra Yojana for instance. All these days there was a subsidy for Haj. Without cutting this, we have additionally given an ability for Hindus and Christians to visit their holy places. We try to unite people unlike the other two national parties. We want to focus on development and leave the matter of religion and caste as a personal belief. To beat the BJP, we need a different agenda.

Elections have become expensive in the recent years. Do you have enough funds to fight a state-wide election?

We get our funds only from people who believe in the idea of clean politics. This money is very little but what we require is a fraction of what the other parties as we dont use expensive means for campaigning. Right from the India Against Corruption (IAC) times, Bengaluru has been a huge source of donations for the party. That gives us hope.

The party fared poorly in the 2018 elections. Is there a different strategy this time?

Every election is different. All these days people didnt consider us as winnable even though they supported our politics. With the Punjab election results, this has changed. We are a renewed force today.

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Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, on Sunday, said political parties, including Congress, create division among people on various grounds.

"Political parties create division (among people) 24x7 on the basis of religion, caste and other things. I'm not forgiving any party, including mine (Congress). Civil society should stay together. Justice must be given to everyone irrespective of caste, religion," the G-23 leader said.

Speaking about the controversial film 'The Kashmir Files', he said Pakistan and militancy were responsible for what happened in J&K, adding that it affected all Hindus, Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri Muslims and Dogras. The recently-released film is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in the 1990s.

Azad recently met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, after which he said leadership change is not an issue as the Congress Working Committee unanimously decided that she should continue as party chief till internal polls.

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The BJP central and state leadership are meeting separately in the national capital over the government formation in Uttarakhand. A meeting of BJP central leadership is under way at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence, while another meeting of Uttarakhand leaders is going on at the residence of former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' here.

Sources said that in the meeting held earlier at Shah's residence, Uttarakhand BJP leaders failed to convince the central leaders with feedback on the various possibilities.

"We came to know that there was no consensus over the feedback asked by the central leadership. The party leadership asked the state leaders to arrive at a consensus and come back. Now to build a consensus they are meeting at Nishank's residence," he said.

Also read: BJP meeting to choose new Uttarakhand CM likely on March 21

The central leadership, however after collecting the feedback from Uttarakhand leaders, is continuing discussion over the formation of the government. In the meeting at Shah's residence BJP chief J P Nadda, national general secretary B.L. Santhosh and state election in-charge Pralhad Joshi are present.

In the meeting of Uttarakhand leaders at Nishank's residence, caretaker Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, state unit president Madan Kaushik and former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat are present.

Sources said a name for the Uttarakhand chief minister will be finalised along with the names for the new cabinet at a meeting being held at Amit Shah's residence.

After 10 days of declaration of assembly polls results, suspense over the name of the chief minister of Uttarakhand is likely to get over soon.

The party insider claims that the defeat of incumbent Dhami from Khatima is the main reason behind delays in the election of the new chief minister and the formation of a new government in Uttarakhand.

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As Sonia Gandhi takes the responsibility of reaching out to the dissidents and has partially succeeded in convincing them to fight the BJP jointly, the statement from Ghulam Nabi Azad that there is no question over the leadership of Sonia Gandhi has come as a relief to the loyalists. However, one man, Kapil Sibal, will be worried as he had demanded that the Gandhis should step aside.

Azad after meeting Sonia Gandhi distanced himself and the group from the views of senior party leader and fellow G-23 leader Kapil Sibal on a leadership change. Azad noted that Sonia Gandhi's offer to step back has been rejected by all the groups, including the one he belonged to, and "we wanted her to continue".

The Congress has an unwritten rule since Sonia Gandhi took over in 1998 that nobody questioned her leadership whether she lost or won in the elections. After the 2019 loss, Rahul Gandhi took the blame and resigned from the party presidentship. After the latest poll debacle Sibal misjudged the sentiments of the party and targeted the Gandhis who still command majority support in the party. Despite frantic calls, only 18 people came to the meeting at Azad's residence and even Mukul Wasnik who is a signatory to their statement kept a distance.

Read | Azad meets Sonia Gandhi as crisis in Congress deepens

The Congress ginger group is highlighting the names of Sachin Pilot and Mukul Wasnik as probable replacements but both may not go against the Gandhis as Pilot has his own goals in Rajasthan and Wasnik has been close to the family.

The 'G-23' group, which is seeking an overhaul of the party, including the revival of the parliamentary board and an elected CWC and CEC, seems to have toned down its demand for a leadership change with its senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who had met party chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday, saying there is no vacancy right now for the post of President and nobody has asked her to quit.

"Nobody said Mrs Gandhi should quit there is no question on leadership, we will fight unitedly against the BJP", he said.

"She is the Congress President, we are leaders of the party, the feedback which is given to restructure the organisation is not meant for the public... there is no question on the leadership, when Mrs Gandhi offered (to step back), we all rejected it.

"When the party will go for organisational polls, then there will be deliberations.. at that time it will be decided," Azad told media persons after the key meeting, which lasted for over an hour.

"There is no vacancy of the Congress President."

His remarks bolster indications that the Congress' internal battle seems heading towards a truce as the Gandhis have been proactively reaching out to the dissenters with senior party leader Rahul Gandhi, who has not been having a good equation with former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, meeting him on Thursday and listening to his grievances. Later, Hooda met the G-23 leaders.

Similarly, the Gandhi family is reaching out to each person in the G-23 group, who have been demanding a drastic overhaul of the party's functioning, either personally or through an emissary.

The 'G-23' met on Wednesday and issued a statement calling for the Congress organisation to be revamped and accountability of the people involved in the election process be fixed.

"We believe that the only way forward for the Congress is to adopt the model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision making at all levels... in order to oppose the BJP, it is necessary to strengthen the Congress party. We demand that the Congress party initiate a dialogue with like-minded forces to create a platform to pave the way for a credible alternative in 2024," the statement had said.

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On Sunday, after the BJP announced the name of incumbent N Biren Singh as the chief minister of Manipur, party sources said that Yogi Adityanath is likely to continue as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and is expected to take charge on March 25. Sources said that Pramod Sawant is also likely to be retained as the chief minister of Goa, while doubts over Pushkar Singh Dhami, who lost the elections, as the chief minister of Uttarakhand persisted.

A meeting of the top BJP leadership was held on Sunday at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official residence to discuss the government formation in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Goa. Sources said that the key agenda of the meeting was to discuss the names of the chief ministers as well as ministers in the three states.

"The key agenda of discussion is the chief minister of Uttarakhand where incumbent Pushkar Singh Dhami has lost the assembly polls despite the party winning the two-thirds majority. Two rounds of meetings were held at Shah's residence on Saturday and Sunday with the Uttarakhand leaders and a meeting of the legislative party is likely to take place on Monday evening. In the meeting with Prime Minister Modi, a final decision is likely to be taken for the next chief minister of Uttarakhand," a party insider said.

Also Read  Uddhav rejects AIMIM alliance offer, says it's part of BJP's game plan to defame Shiv Sena's Hindutva agenda

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda, union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, and party national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh took part in the meeting.In the results of the Assembly polls announced on March 10, the BJP emerged as the winner in four statesUttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, a former BJP president, is the party's central observer for the election of the leader of the BJP legislative party in Uttarakhand.

Earlier on Sunday, a meeting was held at Shah's residence with Uttarakhand BJP leaders to discuss the new chief minister and government formation. The meeting lasted nearly an hour. Later, the leaders met at the residence of former Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal.

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HANGZHOU, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Cainiao Network, Alibaba's logistics arm, switched on the new rooftop photovoltaic (PV) power generation facilities at its bonded warehouses in east China's Zhejiang Province on Thursday.

Spanning over 100,000 square meters, the rooftop PV panels glinted in the sun at the company's two major bonded warehouses: Hangzhou Comprehensive Bonded Zone in the provincial capital of Hangzhou; and Ningbo Qianwan Comprehensive Bonded Zone in the city of Ningbo.

The PV power systems can produce about 8 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually, equivalent to the yearly electricity consumption of over 3,000 households.

The once-idle rooftops can now meet the energy consumption needs of Cainiao's industrial parks and share the spare electricity with the State Grid, said Wang Xinjie, who is in charge of facility operation and maintenance for Cainiao's bonded warehouses.

Similar PV panels atop buildings have also helped Hangzhou Ruidong Machinery Co., Ltd. lower its production costs.

Ruidong's PV project is expected to generate around 2.2 million kWh of electricity every year, helping save 720 tonnes of standard coal or reduce 2,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

"After being put into use for half a month, the rooftop PV power systems have saved nearly 10,000 yuan (about 1,570 U.S. dollars) from our electricity bill," said Han Shilong with the machinery company.

As the green transition becomes increasingly popular worldwide, rooftop PV power systems have grown into a novel and eco-friendly choice in architectural design across China.

In February, the Beijing Daxing International Airport put into use its car park photovoltaic power project, which has an expected annual power generation capacity of over 3 million kWh.

The airport's two car park buildings cover a total area of approximately 250,000 square meters, while about 18,000 square meters of the roofs are covered with thin-film photovoltaic modules.

With its eco-friendly design, the project is expected to save 1,080 tonnes of standard coal and slash 3,040 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

In 2021 alone, China added 52.97 million kilowatts of installed PV power generation capacity, about 55 percent of which was contributed by distributed PV generation systems like rooftop PV panels.

"The rooftop PV systems are just the beginning of our sustainable development plan for the company's imports," said Sun Beibei, general manager of Cainiao's global import supply chain department.

By September 2023, the rooftop PV panels of Cainiao's bonded warehouses will increase to about 500,000 square meters. The warehouses will also incorporate "carbon reduction" into every logistics link, Sun added.

"We aim to build an eco-friendly global logistics network for merchants and brands across the globe to cut carbon footprints hand in hand," said Sun. 
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the VP Singh-led government was in power in the country and not Congress, as portrayed in the Bollywood movie The Kashmir Files, which depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley.

Claiming that some members of BJP were supporting the then VP Singh government, Pawar said Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became Union home minister (from December 1989 to November 1990) with the help of BJP. "The then governor (of Jammu and Kashmir, Jagmohan) was not even distantly related to Congress," the veteran politician told reporters at Baramati in the Pune district.

Also Read  'The Kashmir Files' classification creates controversy in New Zealand

Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, The Kashmir Files depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following systematic killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists. The film, which was released on March 11, has sparked a debate among political parties.

Pawar said that a kind of writing or movie which divides society should be avoided. "The film is being used to blame the Congress party and there is an effort to portray that whatever happened had happened when Congress was ruling the country. But if we study it, this (exodus of Kashmiri Pandits) happened when Vishwanath Pratap Singh was leading the country. Some from BJP, which is creating noise on the issue now, were in support of Singh," he said.

"Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who was Union home minister at that time had got the position with the help of BJP. Also, then governor (Jagmohan) was not even distantly related to the Congress," Pawar said.

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Holding that they "appear to be victims on account of their birth in a particular community," the Gujarat High Court has ordered a probe into custodial torture of two siblings and their wives, for making them confess to a crime and then booking them in four other undetected cases based on their purported confession.

While asking the state government to respond as to why "exemplary compensation" shouldn't be paid to the victims, justice Nikhil S Kariel ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ahmedabad range, to conduct an inquiry into the case.

"This court is of the prima facie opinion that this is a clear case of extreme excess by the concerned police authorities and whereas even senior officers of the level of Dy SP (deputy superintendent of police) and SP (superintendent of police), who were supposed to hold an impartial inquiry, have just conducted a sham inquiry maybe in order to protect their subordinates," justice Kariel stated in his order passed on March 16.

Also Read  Delhi court orders registration of FIR against cops for custodial torture of man

According to details, on February 4, 2015, a police sub-inspector Rajendra Karmatiya arrested Mansukh Kumarkhaniya, his wife Mina, his brother Rasik and his wife Rina. They are residents of Tagdi village in Ahmedabad district and belong to Devipujak, listed as a nomadic and marginalised community. Karmatiya, then posted with Dhandhuka police station, had arrested them in a case related to an attempted robbery.

Days later, the brothers and their wives were arrested in four other undetected offences registered in different police stations between 2013 and 2015 based on their "confessional" statements.

The court order states that one of these cases was related to murder and robbery lodged at Barwala police station in the neighbouring district of Botad. The investigating officer of this case filed a closure report in the trial court stating that the victims had confessed to having committed the alleged crimes "on account of excessive torture by the police officials."

Eventually, the trial courts acquitted the victims in all the cases as there was no evidence against the brothers and their wives except their confessional statements. The victims had also produced medical certificates which proved their torture in police custody. The family then moved the high court seeking investigation against the policemen and compensation.

According to petitioners' lawyer Hardik Jani, one of the victims was pregnant at the time of arrest while the other one had two daughters who were toddlers. "These two women faced a lot of hardship as they were dragged from one police station to another for months before being sent to jail in false cases. The policemen targeted them for being poor and uneducated. We have sought an investigation against the erring cops and exemplary compensation from the state," Jani told DH.

Also Read  After Kasganj death, another police torture case in Uttar Pradesh

"The petitioners appear to be victims on account of their birth in a particular community. Though independent witnesses appear to support the fact that the petitioner Nos 1 (Mansukh) and 2 (Rasik) being two brothers and the petitioner Nos 3 (Mina) and 4 (Rina) being their wives are earning their living by way of an honest occupation, yet those aspects have not been at all considered by the concerned officers," justice Kariel has noted in the order.

He further observed while asking the state government to file a reply on compensation, "As this court finds that prima facie the petitioners appear to have been falsely implicated in approximately 05 FIRs and whereas the petitioners have undergone pain, agony and suffering on account of a wrong investigation, the term wrong is used since this court has ordered an inquiry but the fact of the petitioners having been arrested, the fact of the petitioners having beaten up by police, the fact of the petitioners having been acquitted by the concerned Trial Courts cannot be ignored or overlooked."

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Many observers feel that Justice Akil Kureshi should have had a place in the Supreme Court, but "grotesque meddling" by the Union government meant that he retired as CJ of Rajasthan High Court

On March 6, Justice Akil Kureshi retired as Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, bringing to an end his journey in the legal profession that began 18 years ago.

Many observers strongly felt that owing to his seniority, integrity and impeccable track record, Justice Kureshi should have been elevated to the Supreme Court. However, it was not to be.

His departure from the Bar without setting foot in the halls of India's top court reflected poorly on the "independence of the judiciary" and betrayed "grotesque meddling" by the Union government.

For about two years, the Supreme Court witnessed an impasse over the appointment of judges, and at the heart of this matter was none other than Justice Kureshi.

Justice Rohinton F Nariman, a senior member of the Collegium (a body of five senior-most judges in the Supreme Court), insisted on Justice Kureshi's elevation to the apex court. The Collegium wasn't in favour of the move, which led to the deadlock.

The stalemate ended when Justice Nariman retired on August 12, 2021.

A few days after his retirement, the Collegium recommended the appointment of nine judges in one go. The Modi government, apparently not so keen on his name, readily accepted all the recommendations, paving the way for the appointment of three female judges including the first future woman Chief Justice of India.

Some felt that the Modi government didn't want to see Justice Kureshi in the Supreme Court. And there were reasons for this.

In 2010, he had allowed a two-day CBI custody of the then Gujarat minister and current Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

In 2011, he also approved the appointment of former High Court judge Justice R A Mehta as Gujarat Lokayukta, despite fierce opposition by then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Recalling his association with Justice Kureshi as a lawyer and a judge, senior advocate and Gujarat High Court Bar leader Yatin Oza said, "I found him to be a completely independent, absolutely honest and upright judge. It is the misfortune of this country that he retired as Chief Justice (of the HC) and couldn't be elevated to the Supreme Court."

"Speaking for myself, I have lost complete faith in the Collegium system," he said.

From Mathematics to law

Born in 1960, Justice Kureshi's father, Hamid Kureshi, was a Gandhian and a well-known lawyer in Ahmedabad.

The senior Kureshi thought his son would be happier pursuing his favourite subject, Mathematics. But Justice Kureshi had other ideas and followed in his father's footsteps.

Justice Kureshi graduated with a Bachelor's in Mathematics but had a change of heart and switched to law, securing his LL.B degree in 1983. He started practising immediately.

It was then Chief Justice of India V N Khare who approved the elevation of Justice Kureshi to the Bar after practising as a lawyer in the Gujarat High Court for about two decades.

After serving in the Gujarat HC for 14 years, he was transferred to the Bombay High Court, just before he was supposed to become the Chief Justice.

On May 10, 2019, the Collegium recommended him to head the Madhya Pradesh High Court but this was objected to by the Union government. The Collegium, on reconsideration, transferred him to the smaller Tripura High Court where he served as Chief Justice for 23 months.

On October 12, 2021, he was again transferred to the Rajasthan High Court as Chief Justice where he superannuated on March 6.

'Negative perception'

Justice Kureshi said the Collegium had changed its recommendation for his appointment as Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh HC on the basis of "some negative perceptions about me based on judicial opinions".

"As a judge of the constitutional court, whose most primary duty is to protect the fundamental and human rights of the citizens, I consider it a certificate of independence," he said.

However, he was more worried about the message the move sent on the independence of the judiciary.

"What is of greater significance to me is what was the perception of the judiciary, which I have not been officially communicated," he added.

Looking back at his long innings in the Bar, Justice Kureshi said he had no regrets. "I leave with my pride intact that I made no decision based on its consequences for me," he said.

For those who felt he should have made more progress in the judiciary, he cited the example of Justice H R Khanna, remembered as the lone dissenting voice in the ADM Jabalpur case.

"So far, there have been 48 Chief Justices of India but when we talk of courage, the sacrifice to uphold the rights of the citizens, we remember one who should have but never did become Chief Justice of India," he said in his farewell speech.

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Like the abrogation of Article 370, which was "'beyond the imagination" of people, the BJP government led by Narendra Modi will keep its pledge to "liberate" Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK), Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday.

He also took a dig at the National Conference over its criticism of the Kashmir Files, a recently released movie based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in the 1990s, and claimed the "rigged" assembly elections of 1987 worked as a trigger for the eruption of terrorism in J&K.

Parliament passed a resolution unanimously in 1994, emphasising that Pakistan must vacate parts of Jammu and Kashmir under its illegal occupation. It is our promise to liberate the PoK, the Union minister told reporters after unveiling a 20-ft statue of Maharaja Gulab Singh  the founder of erstwhile J&K state - in Kathua district.

Also Read | Target is to make J&K free of terror, corruption: L-G

Article 370 was removed and it was done in accordance with the BJP's promise even though it was beyond the imagination of many people. Likewise, former prime minister A B Vajpayee had predicted a landslide victory for the party in 1980, which was again beyond the thinking of the people.

"The Modi government took over and under his leadership, all the pledges and promises made to the people, including the liberation of PoK, will be fulfilled, Singh, who is the minister of state for Prime Minister's Office (PMO), said.

The bronze statue of the Maharaja, astride a horse, has been made by Padma Shri Ravinder Jamwal, a renowned sculptor of J&K who worked for the last three years on it.

Also Read | Centre achieved 'decisive control over terrorism' in J&K after abrogation of Article 370, says Amit Shah

It is a day of great satisfaction for us to pay our greatest tribute to the great ruler and warrior of J&K

"Our last king Maharaja Hari Singh had said his religion is justice but the region faced discrimination after his forced exile. The sacrifices and services of the Dogra rulers were totally neglected by the successive rulers in the last six decades, Singh said.

However, he said the situation changed after Modi became the prime minister and the projects which were pending for decades were cleared to ensure fast-paced development.

We have full support and patronage of the prime minister who himself is monitoring the developmental activities in all parts of Jammu and Kashmir, the minister said.

Read | Revision of electoral rolls in J&K on cards

On the criticism of former chief minister and National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah about The Kashmir Files movie, he said, they are terming it a one-sided story because they had buried the truth in the grave under a strategy".

"A couple of families of Abdullahs and Muftis had an understanding with (the then prime minister Jawahar Lal) Nehru. The friendship which started between Sheikh Abdullah and Nehru was taken forward by Nehrus grandson Rajiv Gandhi and Abdullahs son Farooq Abdullah, he said.

Singh alleged, Farooq Abdullah rigged the 1987 assembly elections by misusing the government machinery and Gandhi closed his eyes, which ultimately became the trigger for eruption of terrorism and subsequent events.

"'Farooq fled to London and a spate of killings which started with the killing of local BJP leaders (creating fear among the pandit community).

Also Read | Prepare roadmap for meeting future challenges: Amit Shah to CRPF

He said former governor Jagmohan has written everything in detail in the second edition of his book My Frozen Turbulence.

We have not forgotten anything, the minister said.

Singh said JKLF chief Yaseen Malik openly attacked Air Force personnel but instead of facing any action, he was given "VIP treatment".

It was only this government which has taken action against him - the action which should have taken 30 years ago. It was possible because of Home Minister Amit Shah, Singh, who is an MP from Udhampur constituency, said.

The minister said when Abdullah returned from London in 1996 and the elections were held, the polling percentage was negligible.

The party won seats on merely a few per cent voting because of the fear psychosis. They want terrorism to continue and enjoy power by becoming chief minister by exploiting the vacuum,"' he and said reiterated his demand for passage of a bill in parliament to make a certain percentage of polling in an election compulsory for the successful candidate.

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An all-party meeting in Kerala, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday decided to allow flags and decorations related to events of political parties, religious and cultural outfits at public places without causing obstruction to the public.

The all-party meeting, which was also attended by Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan, state Law Minister P Rajeev and various other parties' leaders, was held in the wake of several orders of the Kerala High Court against putting up of flag poles on pavements and roadsides without permission by political and other organisations.

The all-party meeting was attended by representatives of all mainstream political parties, who arrived at a consensus on allowing flags and decorations as part of the publicity of political, cultural and religious events at public places without causing inconvenience to the public. The opinion would be submitted before the court, the chief minster's office informed.

In the meeting, all the parties were of the view that political parties, as well as religious and cultural organisations, should not be denied the opportunity to campaign or conduct their events, while at the same time flags and advertisements should not be put up in public places in a manner that would obstruct vehicular and pedestrian traffic, a release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.

It was decided that flag poles can be put up in private walls or compounds with the permission of the owners and without affecting traffic, the release said. In public areas, like footpaths, flag poles may be erected for conventions and festivals with the permission of the authorities concerned and without obstructing pedestrians right of way, the parties decided in the meeting.

They also decided that it should be specified in advance as to how many days the flag poles would be present and when they would be removed after the event concludes, the release said. The parties directed the Advocate General to inform the High Court of the decisions taken in the meeting as the opinion of the public, it said.

The high court's orders against installation of illegal flag poles came on a plea by a cooperative society that has alleged that a particular political party was illegally putting up flags and banners on its land.

On November 1 last year, the court passed an interim order directing that no illegal flag poles or masts be put up in the state while the issue was being examined by it. It had, on November 15 last year, given 10 days' time for people to remove the illegal flag poles and on November 25, 2021, it directed the government to invoke provisions of Land Conservancy Act against all flag masts numbering 42,337 in the State.

Subsequently, in December last year, the court had directed all District Collectors in the state to take action under the Land Conservancy Act against the illegal flag masts.

(with PTI inputs)

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Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, K. Sudhakaran has once asked party leaders to refrain from attending CPI(M) seminar to be held in April. Sudhakaran said that the state party has issued a ban on party leaders participating in the national level seminar to be organised by the CPI(M) as part of its National Conference at Kannur and if anyone violates that they would have to face party action.

The 23rd party Congress will be held at the red fort of Kannur from April 6 to April 10, and as part of the seminar CPI(M) is organising national conference.

The CPI(M) has invited Shashi Tharoor and former Union Minister, K.V. Thomas for the seminar on national politics.

The Congress party had issued a statement that no Congress leader must participate in the CPI(M) seminar as the party is in a fight against the CPI(M) due to the anti-people policies of the left government led by Pinarayi Vijayan.

Tharoor, meanwhile on Saturday, said that there was no party ban for him to participate in the seminar.

Also read: Stirs against Kerala rail project turning aggressive; CM blames opposition

K. Sudhakaran retorted to this and said that if anyone participates in the seminar he will have to face disciplinary action. Sudhakaran, however, said that if Sonia Gandhi grants permission to participate in the seminar, then Tharoor can do so.

The Congress is against the K-rail project of the left government in the state and the major public participation against the stone laying and encroachment of properties in the state has turned the ire of the people against the left government.

Congress leaders are of the opinion that in such a situation where public mood is against the CPI(M) and the Left Front, if some leaders attend a function organised by the CPI(M), it would give wrong message to the party cadres and general public and hence the ban of participation in the seminar of the CPI(M).

With Sudhakaran categorically stating that those who participate in the seminar would face music, it is to be seen as to how Shashi Tharoor will be responding to this.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) state secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said that the Congress is unnecessarily creating an issue of leaders participating in the seminar. He said that the Kerala state Congress party is playing second fiddle to the BJP and that the seminar to be organised was against the BJP led government at the Centre. He also welcomed the Congress leaders who can take part in the seminar.

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Differences have cropped up among Congress leaders in Kerala over attending seminars organised by CPM.

Kerala PCC president K Sudhakaran reiterated on Sunday that a ban was imposed on party leaders from attending the seminars organised by the CPM. There was much hatred among the people of Kerala towards the CPM-led government in Kerala owing to its approach to the semi-high-speed rail project. Hence the Congress party decided that the party leaders should keep off from CPM's events considering the public sentiments. Anyone defying the ban would invite action, he said.\

Also Read | Congress again warns Tharoor against participating in CPI(M) seminar

Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor had earlier commented that there was nothing wrong with Congress leaders participating in the CPM party congress and sharing ideologies as it was a national event. He also said that in case of a ban he would take a call after discussing with the Congress president.

Reacting to it Sudhakaran said that if Tharoor got permission from Congress president Sonia Gandhi to attend CPM's seminars, then he can attend.

Also read: Stirs against Kerala rail project turning aggressive; CM blames opposition

Meanwhile, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan alleged that Congress was fearing to have an ideological debate owing to a dearth in political ideologies. He also alleged that Congress could be keeping off from the seminars as BJP leaders were also not participating. The Congress could be trying to get RSS's support for forming an anti-left front, he alleged.

Leaders like Tharoor, and former minister K V Thomas were invited to a seminar in connection with the CPM party congress.

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Congress in Kerala has mooted enhanced domestic air connectivity as an alternative to the proposed semi-high-speed rail project as the protest against the rail project was mounting.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K Sudhakaran said in a social media post that while the proposed Silver Line project would require at least Rs 1.3 lakh crore, a domestic air-connectivity network could be established by spending only around Rs 1,000 crore.

The 'Fly in Kerala' network could be established by making use of the existing four airports of Kerala and the Mangalore and Coimbatore airports that are close to Kerala. The state government could also acquire around ten mini aircraft and set up more airstrips if required, said Sudhakaran.

Also read: All-party meet in Kerala decides to erect flags, advertisements without obstructing traffic

He flayed that though Congress was mooting this alternative for quite some time, the Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala was totally ignoring it without any discussions. The vested interest of the government in the rail project was quite evident -- to get a commission out of the deal, he alleged.

Sudhakaran also said that the facts and figures being presented by the government over the estimated ridership, project cost and travel charges were not factual. Owing to the cost escalation the project is also likely to be abandoned midway, he said.

Meanwhile, the protest against the rail project continues with people and activists uprooting stones laid for demarking the land for the proposed rail line. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has reiterated that the government would go ahead with the project.

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The Jammu and Kashmir administration intends to make the union territory a developed society free of terror and corruption, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said on Sunday.

In his address at the attestation-cum-passing out parade of 636 newly recruited Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at the Subsidiary Training Centre here, Sinha lauded the role of the security forces for bravely facing various challenges, including infiltration attempts, and smuggling of weapons and narcotics from across the border.

Jammu and Kashmir is full of diversity, which is our strength. We have faced all the challenges successfully and our security forces are alert. They have played a pivotal role in building a new Jammu and Kashmir by thwarting the anti-national elements, Sinha said.

Also Read | Centre achieved 'decisive control over terrorism' in J&K after abrogation of Article 370, says Amit Shah

The Lieutenant Governor, who inspected the parade and took a salute at the march past, said the decades-old terror ecosystem needs to be dismantled completely.

We have continued our efforts to deal a decisive blow on corruption, terror financing, and terror ecosystem to make Jammu and Kashmir a developed society, free of corruption and fear. This is our target, he said.

Sinha urged the fresh BSF recruits to live up to the tradition and expectation of the force and the people and perform their duties with professionalism so that no enemy can violate the countrys borders.

Read | Revision of electoral rolls in J&K on cards

Drug addiction is a big challenge as drugs are smuggled by Pakistan under a conspiracy. You have to play a big role to check the smuggling of drugs, he said.

Congratulating the recruits, Sinha said, You are fully capable and ready the country is witnessing that BSF is performing its duties in mountainous regions, plains, deserts and deep forests with great devotion and dedication. The force is bravely facing every danger to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation.

The Lieutenant Governor said India has always desired to live with mutual harmony with its neighbours for peace but, We are ready to give a befitting response if someone wants to test us.

Lauding the BSF, he said its motto of lifelong duty is the identity card of its personnel. I am proud to be here among the brave soldiers of the force, he said.

Also Read | Prepare roadmap for meeting future challenges: Amit Shah to CRPF

Reminding the history and the contribution of the BSF since its formation, he said not only has the force played a vital role in safeguarding the borders, it has also strived hard in maintaining internal security in the country.

Referring to the role of the BSF in Jammu and Kashmir, he said ever since its formation in 1965, the force has done a laudable job in maintaining peace on the border and assisting border villagers which is worth praise.

Whether it is District Development Council elections in Kashmir, helping people in COVID-19 outbreak, foiling infiltration (by terrorists) or smuggling of weapons and drugs, the force are performing its duties with great professionalism, devotion, dedication and bravely.

If today, the border residents are contributing without any fear, it is because of the sacrifice of the BSF personnel, who reached them in the challenging situation (cross-border shelling), he said.

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Asserting that Shiv Sena is a "Hindutvavadi" party, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday rejected AIMIM's offer for an alliance calling it a "conspiracy" by the opposition BJP to defame the Sena, which heads the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

Addressing Shiv Sena MPs and other functionaries via video link, Thackeray, who heads Shiv Sena, dubbed Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM as the "B" team of BJP.

He lashed out at BJP, the former ally of Sena, on Hindutva and other issues and also referred to purported statements of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on V D Savarkar and Sangh's purported move to set up 'shakhas' in Muslim-dominated areas.

"The Shiv Sena will never ally with the AIMIM, which is the 'B' team of the BJP. The BJP is using Hindutva only for political gains," Thackeray alleged.

Also read: Not BJP's B team: AIMIM offers to join hands with NCP, Cong for MVA in Maharashtra

"Who has sought an alliance with the AIMIM? This is a game plan and conspiracy of the BJP. The AIMIM and the BJP have a tacit understanding. The BJP has ordered the AIMIM to defame the Shiv Sena, to raise questions on Shiv Sena's Hindutva. Accordingly, the AIMIM leaders are making the offer of alliance, he claimed.

On Saturday, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Imtiaz Jaleel caused a stir stating that his party can ally with the Shiv Sena-led MVA to prevent the BJP from coming to power, evoking sharp reactions from Sena.

Thackeray asked the Sena's rank and file to combat the BJP's approach of wanting to rule the entire country from the panchayat-level to the Parliament, which he said "portends dictatorship".

The Sena chief said the party will launch 'Shiv Sampark Mohim' from March 22 in Marathwada and Vidarbha regions. He asked party leaders to highlight "the illusion and confusion" the BJP seeks to create in the minds of the people on various issues.

Taking a swipe at AIMIM, the Shiv Sena president said his party had never been associated with and will never be associated with those who bow before the grave of Aurangzeb.

We will never ally with the AIMIM, not even when we are asleep. But I am sure the AIMIM's alliance offer has come from the BJP. Because, by now, the entire country has realised that the AIMIM is the 'B' team of the BJP, Thackeray said.

He alleged that BJP was trying to divide votes and defame its political opponents using the AIMIM. Thackeray said that the Shiv Sena snapped ties with the BJP, but not with Hindutva. He accused the BJP of using Hindutva only for political gains.

We play politics for Hindutva. They are using Hindutva only for politics. This is the main difference between them and us, he added.

On Saturday, senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had termed Shiv Sena "Janab Sena" while responding to AIMIM's alliance offer to the Thackeray-led party. Responding to that jibe, Thackeray recalled that the BJP had formed a government with pro-Pakistan PDP in Jammu-Kashmir in 2015.

The Sena cannot be as brazen as the BJP which had formed a government with the PDPWe will never go with the AIMIM even if we are going to obtain power by doing so, he added.

Slamming BJP, he said, Who had bowed before Jinnah's tomb in Pakistan? Looking at this black history of the Bhartiya Janata Party, still, we are calling them Bhartiya Janta Party and not Pakistan Janata Party. If we do something in connection with Muslims then it is your love for the country. But if we do something, then it is labelled 'deshdroh' (treason).

He wondered whether BJP can also be called Hizbul Janata Party for allying with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir.

Thackeray said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had once stated that Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar "was not an enemy of Muslims" and that he had written ghazals in Urdu.

The Sena chief also referred to a media report about the RSS purportedly planning to set up shakhas (branches) in Muslim-dominated areas.

Now, what are you going to do with these Muslims? Are you going to call RSS a Muslim Sangh or Musalman Sangh or Rashtriya Musalman Sangh? Will you also call Mohan Bhagwat a Khan or so? Thackeray questioned.

He said the thinking of Sena and RSS about Hindutva matches sometimes.

Thackeray asked Sena leaders to politically destroy "neo-Hindus" who wear the burkha of Hindutva for politics.

The Sena chief said the BJP was following in the footsteps of Adolf Hitler and implementing its campaign machinery on the lines of the Nazi dictator.

He accused state governor B S Koshyari of murdering democracy by delaying approval to 12 names sent by the MVA to him to be appointed as MLCs from the governor's quota.

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BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- China's postal industry reported a robust increase in business revenue in the first two months of this year, official data showed.

The sector raked in a total of 216.8 billion yuan (about 34.18 billion U.S. dollars) during the period, up 15.7 percent year on year, according to the State Post Bureau.

In February alone, the sector's business revenue grew 27.3 percent year on year to 89.69 billion yuan.

China's express delivery companies handled 15.69 billion parcels in the first two months, surging 19.6 percent from a year earlier. Their business revenue amounted to 157.4 billion yuan during the period, an increase of 13.8 percent year on year. 
Elections come and go, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gets into the next round of poll mode rather swiftly. With the previous round of Assembly polls to five states concluded, the BJP is preparing for the elections to the Northeastern states of Nagaland and Tripura, slated a year hence in February-March 2023.

Male stranglehold on Naga politics

In Nagaland, the BJP has nominated a woman leader, S Phangnon Konyak, as the party candidate for the state's lone Rajya Sabha. Fielding its state women's wing chief for the Rajya Sabha polls may not seem much of a surprise in the rest of India. But it is a pathbreaking move in Nagaland, where patriarchy and male chauvinism rule politics.

Nagaland has never elected a woman to its state legislature. Women do contest elections occasionally but are not considered winnable candidates. The only instance of Nagaland sending a woman to Parliament was in the 1970s. Rano Shaiza was elected as Nagaland MP to the Lok Sabha as a United Democratic Party candidate, defeating the sitting Congress chief minister Hokishe Sema in the post Emergency anti-Congress wave in 1977.

One should note that Nagaland has a high literacy rate, and English is its official language. However, the Nagaland Assembly holds the dubious distinction of opposing the women's reservation bill, which had sought to reserve 33 per cent of state legislatures and parliamentary seats for women. In 1997, during the tenure of the S C Jamir government in Nagaland, the then parliamentary affairs minister, Zhove Lohe, moved a resolution, which the Assembly passed unanimously.

The opposition Nagaland People's Council (NPC), the earlier avatar of the Naga People's Front, led by the flamboyant Vamuzo, were part of the move. The Naga Students' Federation (NSF), an influential pressure group, too had written to the parliamentary select committee chairperson Geeta Mukherjee, saying the bill went against Naga tradition. Even the women's reservation in urban local bodies has been vehemently opposed.

The Nagaland BJP, in their recommendation paper submitted to the central leadership, has said last week that the special committee of party leaders, including state ministers, has made recommendations while trying to respect Nagaland's sub-regional dynamics. The four names it recommended were from the development-starved Mon-Tuensang region and included two from Konyak tribes in Mon district and two others from Tuensang district.

Phangnon, the BJP's state women's wing chief, is a Konyak. In December, the Narendra Modi government and Indian army had come under attack for the killing of innocent Konyak mine workers mistaken as Naga insurgents at Oting, which is a hub of the Konyak tribe.

Now, Phangnon's election to the Rajya Sabha should be a smooth affair as three political parties - the BJP, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) of Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and the NPF, are part of the ruling combine in the state.

Other parties - the Congress, National People's Party (NPP) of Conrad Sangma and Janata Dal (United), which performed creditably in the recently concluded Manipur Assembly polls - do not have any MLAs to influence in whatever way the outcome of the Rajya Sabha polls. There is every possibility of a no contest.

Projecting 'matri shakti', women's power, has been Prime Minister Modi's political mission in the Northeast. In the run-up to the Manipur polls, the BJP had appointed the first woman president of the state unit in A Sharda Devi. In the ultimate analysis, the appointment worked in the party's favour.

BJP's 'Matri shakti' in Tripura

In Tripura, the BJP has projected state lawmaker Pratima Bhaumik, Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment in the Modi government. Last year, she became the first Tripura resident and only the second woman from the Northeast to be a Union Minister.

Bhaumik was also involved in the Manipur polls as one of the co-in charges. She could likely be given a more prominent role in her state Tripura. In the past, she had contested unsuccessfully against the Marxist leader, former chief minister Manik Sarkar in 2018 and 1998.

It is unclear what her future role could be, but the fact that she hails from a "humble background" would suit the BJP's political agenda in Tripura. The BJP came to power in the state, for long a Marxist bastion,

in 2018 but is faced with massive anti-incumbency. A section of party leaders has mooted a 'bigger role' for Bhaumik, a possibility the BJP's central leadership is reportedly mulling.

The case of Mizoram

In terms of women's participation in electoral politics, besides Nagaland, another Christian-majority state in the Northeast, Mizoram, offers a study in contrast.

In Mizoram, the social opposition to women getting the upper hand is vocal. In 2011, the Congress-ruled Mizoram government, under veteran leader Lal Thanhawla, had opposed the food security bill of the Manmohan Singh government, which had sought to make women the head of the family in ration cards.

Addressing a workshop of Mizoram legislators in 2009, the first female speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar, had underlined that it was high time for the state to have women MLAs. Mizoram had its first female state legislator in 1984 when it was still a Union Territory. K Thansiami was elected on a Mizoram People's Conference ticket. But not much progress has been made since then.

Mizoram's only woman minister has been Lalhlimpui, who was elected to the Assembly in 1987. She served as a minister under chief minister Laldenga, a former insurgent/rebel leader. Since Lalhlimpui, there was a 27-year drought. It was only in 2014 when C Lalawmpuii won the Hrangturzo assembly by-election as a Congress candidate.

The state of Meghalaya also would go to the polls early next year. Meghalaya is a Christian-dominated state and home to Khasis, Jaintias and Garos, all tribes that follow a 'matrilineal' system in inheritance law and marriages. Men use the surname of their mothers and wife and often go to their mother-in-law's home after marriage. Yet the state's political scenario has remained a male bastion.

In 2018, of the 372 candidates who contested the Assembly polls, only 32 were women. Seven had fought on a Congress ticket, and two were BJP nominees. "Many states in the Northeast are yet to see more women enter politics," says Ampareen Lyngdoh, who had won 2018 polls on the Congress ticket.

(Nirendra Dev is a New Delhi-based journalist)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) performed abysmally in the recent assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. Its vote share plummeted to 12.88 per cent, and 290 of its candidates forfeited their security deposits. It could win only one seat in the 403-member house. In Punjab, where Dalits account for 32 per cent of the electorate, the BSP won one seat with a 1.77 per cent vote share.

The results prompted many to wonder if it is the end of the road for one of Indias most successful political startups of the last four decades? Could it also mark the sunset of Dalit-led parties rooted in the Ambedkarite assertion of identity?

Pollsters are still debating whether the BJP or the SP benefited from the BSPs decline in Uttar Pradesh. In Punjab, results made it evident that nearly all sections of its society, including Dalits, saw hope in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). A decade back, the AAP had displaced the BSP in the Dalit imagination in the Delhi Assembly polls of 2013.

The BSP leadership, however, seems incapable of honest analysis. In a statement issued three days after the results, Mayawati attributed her partys loss to a media conspiracy. She alleged that the media projected the SP as the BJPs principal opponent in Uttar Pradesh.

Also read: UP poll results show people voted for nationalism, development: Yogi

But Dalit activist Ashok Bharti believes the seeds of the BSPs worst performance since 1989 lay in its most spectacular success in 2007. The BSP had, in 2007, with over 30 per cent votes, formed a single-party majority government in Uttar Pradesh. The media had failed to discern any wave for the BSP in the run-up to the 2007 polls. But after the polls, the BSP bought into the media narrative that attributed its victory to a Dalit-Brahmin alliance, Bharti, who heads NACDOR, which fights for Dalit and tribal rights, says.

Consequently, the BSP ended up making fundamental changes to its political strategy. It shed its focus on bahujan, those socially, economically and culturally deprived sections, to start talking about sarvajan, including the upper castes.

Some of the BSPs second-rung leaders  disciples and followers of its founder Kanshi Ram from the All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) and Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti (DS4)  resisted the ideological shift. Kanshi Ram had groomed them as leaders of their respective non-Yadav OBC communities and Pasis, the second most significant Dalit caste after the Jatavs in Uttar Pradesh. They were shown the door over the past few years, along with some of its Muslim leaders. The trend continued until the 2022 polls.

Kanshi Ram had founded the political movement that stoked Dalit consciousness by reminding them of Shambuka and Eklavya, seen as victims of Brahminism in Hindu mythology. But the BSP started invoking Ram and Parashuram, promising to work for the betterment of Sudama, a symbolism for the poor and marginalised among Brahmins. The BSP appointed Brahmins as its respective leaders of the two Houses of Parliament  Satish Chandra Mishra in the Rajya Sabha and Ritesh Pandey in the Lok Sabha. Interestingly, days after the UP poll results, Girish Chandra Jatav replaced Pandey.

Also read: BJP alliance partners seek 'respectable' share in Uttar Pradesh cabinet

Meanwhile, the Sangh Parivar was busy making inroads among Dalits, as Badri Narayan of Prayagraj-based GB Pant Social Science Institute has detailed in his book, Republic of Hindutva, with its social welfare and embracing of historical icons of Dalits and OBCs. The beneficiaries of the Narendra Modi governments welfarism, such as the Ujjwala scheme and free rations, were the poorest, mostly Dalits. With Mayawati-led BSP losing its ideological moorings, there were more takers for the Sanghs vision of samajik samarasta, or social harmony, instead of the Ambedkarite assertion of caste identity.

If it were more alert, the BSPs leadership would have discerned in Delhi a decade back how parties led by upper castes planned to eat into its support base. The 2013 assembly polls in Delhi saw the AAP sweep nine of the city-states 12 reserved seats. Delhis sizeable Dalit electorate found the AAPs broom, its election symbol, and its anti-corruption plank appealing. The BSP vote share declined from 14.05 per cent in 2008 to 5.35 per cent in 2013, 1.3 per cent in 2015, and a pitiful 0.71 per cent in 2020.

A year later, the BSP couldnt win a single seat in the Lok Sabha. In UP, the BJP swept most SC reserved seats, as it did in the 2017 assembly polls, winning 69 of the 84 SC reserved seats to the BSPs two. In 2022, the BJP and its allies won 63, while the SP and its partners bagged 20.

Also read: SP alliance lost UP assembly polls because of dishonesty and cunningness of BJP: Shivpal Yadav

Five months after the 2014 LS polls, Modi, now the prime minister, stood outside the Valmiki Temple in Delhis Mandir Marg with a broom in hand. After taking the oath of office on Wednesday, AAPs Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann had portraits of Bhagat Singh and B R Ambedkar in his office.

But Dalit activists and intellectuals, like Bharti, are hopeful of the future. They believe the current phase is a gestation period before dynamic leaders emerge to voice issues that concern backward castes and Dalits, something parties with upper-caste leaderships and support bases will not. Dilution of educational and job reservations with increased privatisation and atrocities on Dalits are examples.

On Tuesday, Jitendra Pal Meghwal, a Dalit youth, was murdered in Rajasthan by an upper-caste man. According to the initial police investigation, his murderer couldnt tolerate Meghwals changed standard of living after he secured a government job, but most of all, the Dalit youths upturned handlebar moustache.

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The Bharatiya Janata Partys stunning victory in the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh assembly polls may have baffled many pollsters as the party beat a perceived anti-incumbency wave accentuated by rising prices, farmer agitation and desertion by a section of its loyal OBC voters. A deeper analysis of the results of the elections, however, reveals that the saffron party, which, despite the win, saw its tally of seats declining sharply from 313 in 2017 polls to 255 in the recent elections, still managed to increase its vote share by over 2%  a feat, which is now being attributed to the support from the Dalits.

Political experts opine that around half of the Dalits, who constitute about 21% of the states population, may have voted for the BJP in the recent assembly elections and not only made up for the ruling partys loss of the OBC voters to the alliance led by the Samajwadi Party (SP), but also helped raise its vote share.

It is also believed that the BJP also managed to make a dent into the BSP supremo Mayawatis core vote-bank of the Jatavs  a Dalit sub-caste. It is estimated that around 5% Jatavs may have voted for the saffron party.

The BJP leaders in the state attribute this groundswell of support among the Dalits to the ruling partys massive outreach efforts, its endeavour to ensure that the benefits of social welfare schemes reach them and a carefully crafted electoral strategy, which included nurturing and promoting leaders from the Dalit community within the party.

The leaders also believe that making sure that the free ration scheme for the poor reaches the Dalits helped the party win the loyalty of the voters of the community that finally preferred the saffron party over Mayawati. No wonder that the new Uttar Pradesh government is mulling to extend the scheme at least till the next Lok Sabha elections due in 2024.

There were around 15 crore beneficiaries of the free ration scheme in the state. Under the scheme the Antyodaya Card holders get 35 kg of free ration every month while the Grihasthi Card holders get 5 kg of free ration per unit every month. A large number of beneficiaries hail from the Dalit community, said a UP BJP leader here while speaking to DH.

Also read: Dalits: BSPs loss, gains for BJP, AAP

The BJP, over the last few years, has made efforts to nurture Dalit leadership within the party, especially in the regions, where the voters of the community are in large numbers.

That promoting local Dalit leaders, including G Dharmesh and former Uttarakhand governor Baby Rani Maurya enabled the party to reap rich electoral dividends was evident in the recent polls. It was particularly evident in Agra district, which was considered to be the epicentre of Dalit movement and a bastion of Mayawati, who had, incidentally, launched her partys election campaign from there. The BJP swept the polls in Agra winning all the nine assembly seats. The BSP had won eight of the nine seats in Agra district in 2007 and 2012 assembly polls.

The strategy worked elsewhere as well and the saffron party managed to win a whopping 63 of the 84 reserved seats in the recent assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

The experts believe that the shift in the Dalit votes, initially the non-Jatavs, toward the BJP had started since 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The non-Jatavs had played a significant role in the BJPs massive victory in UP in 2014 LS polls, said political analyst J P Shukla. The BJP had won 73 of the 80 LS seats in UP in 2014.

That the Dalit voters migrated from the BSP to the BJP was also evident in the declining electoral graph of the former in the successive polls in Uttar Pradesh. The BSP had secured 30.43 per cent votes in 2007 when it had formed the government in the state with 206 seats.

Also read: In Karnataka, BJPs Dalit outreach banks on policy, perception

In 2012 assembly polls, its share of votes tumbled to 25.91% and the tally of seats declined to just 80. In the 2014 LS polls, the BSP secured 19.77% votes and failed to open its account. In 2017 assembly polls, Mayawatis party slightly increased its vote share, but finished with a meagre 19 seats. In the recently concluded polls, the BSPs vote share registered a sharp decline and came down to 12.83 with only one seat in its kitty.

Some pollsters may argue that the Jatavs are still with Mayawati, but then the question will arise as to whether the BSP did not get any vote from the other communities, including Muslims and the upper castes.

The BSPs former state president Ram Achal Rajbhar, who had resigned from the party and joined the SP a few months back, has an explanation.

It will be a great mistake to think that the Jatavs are with Mayawati...in the 12.83% votes of the BSP, there are many from the upper castes, Muslims and also the OBCs. The BSP nominees from these communities must also have got the votes of their caste members. I think only five per cent Jatavs are with Mayawati, Rajbhar, who won the recent polls from Ambedkar Nagar district, said.

More than 20 percent of Jatavs may have voted for the BJP in the recent assembly polls, said Shukla. He also said that the BJPs stunning performance in the first phase of the polling on 58 seats in western region of the state could be attributed to the shift of the Dalit voters to it, which went beyond making up for the saffron partys loss of the Jat votes to the SP-led alliance. The BJP won 46 of the 58 seats in the western Uttar Pradesh.

Mayawati, however, does not think that the Jatavs had deserted her. She attributed her partys dismal showing to the shift of the Muslim votes to the SP and not of the Dalits.

The Dalits are still with us. That they have shifted their allegiance is a propaganda by the media, claimed a senior BSP leader.

The BJP leaders, however, said that increased awareness, rising literacy and increasing use of social media platforms had made the Dalits more assertive. The younger generation of the Dalits may not blindly be guided by caste considerations, remarked a senior UP BJP leader.

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It is no news that the government has heavily endorsed The Kashmir Files. Known, by now, is also the purported plot of the film, which chronicles the genocide and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits at the peak of political unrest in the insurgent Valley. At the very outset, it must be said that the films basic premise is not ahistorical, for there are innumerable testimonials in the media, in the public domain and in memoirs of Pandits, more than one of which have been in circulation for decades.

There should also be no hesitation in recognising the systemic lack of willingness to acknowledge, even in retrospect, the persecution and precarity that the Pandit diaspora was forced to go through. This is especially the case for liberal and left commentariat; for no one expects counterintuitive understanding from right-wing observers anyway.

Ironically, a film that claims to have corrected this forced amnesia omits some elemental facts itself: how the insurgency actually took shape, the nature of local politics, the brutal role of the Indian state (and police), and how Kashmir was made to walk, almost on a razors edge, between federal dependence and cultural autonomy.

Also read: The distorted view of 'The Kashmir Files'

The most obvious lapse of memory is that in 1990, the year in which the film is set, the government at the helm of the union of India was not that of the Congress  the arch-nemesis of the current regime  but V P Singhs Janata Dal, which was in power with support from the Left and the BJP. And for all their concerns now, the BJP did zilch for the fleeing Pandits then.

For a popular (Bollywood) film this incongruity is not uncommon. The industry has barely concealed its exasperation with facts, research and nuance. We have seen laughable alterations of facts in Mohenjo Daro, Jodha Akbar, Manikarnika or even Padmaavat (the rage against whose imaginary historicity was well-engineered).

There are exemptions to such vulgarisation  Sardar Udham being a prominent and recent one. The Kashmir Files takes liberties with facts, lacks political nous and is tone-deaf about the ethnic complications of Kashmirs history.

It could still have been left alone as another example of a lurid, popular film that tries to excavate an act of ethnic violence from relative obscurity with characteristic romp and hyperbole, being cavalier about things actual and delicate. Gadar had done it long ago.

But we are in an India different from when Gadar was released. The ready relish with which the rightwing has endorsed and encouraged The Kashmir Files makes it difficult to see it just as an entertainer. The devotees of the

film are calling it an act of correction of a historic wrong, the more dramatic of them even calling it an act of catharsis.

Tax exemption

Several BJP-ruled states have offered tax exemption for the films exhibition, an honour once reserved only for films of genuine artistic merit or those validating the values enshrined in the Constitution. Government employees are being offered half-a-day leave to watch the film in the theatres, bolstering its cult.

In keeping with the gross misappropriation of the privilege of tax exemption is the endorsement that has come from the Prime Minister.

There is little doubt that the film is deliberately being used as a work of documentation to drum up hysteria of hate.

It demonises Muslims, who are accused of programmatic Hinduphobia and a murderous jehad against the Pandits. This brazen display of animosity is part of a calibrated and crafty political narrative that would further embolden, if there is still space for it, the entrenched Islamophobia of the countrys rightwing.

In the more immediate future, such overt state-support and sanctions in the form of tax exemption might create a line of identical films. Indias history has numerous lacerations, which resuscitated with a declared aim of vilification or feasting on unhealed or repressed ethnic injuries augers very poorly for us all.

Also read: 'The Kashmir Files' shows half truth, says Chhattisgarh CM

A time-honoured tactic

To that end, the lure of propaganda as a tactic of hate mobilisation will not be immediately lost to those who thrive on it. It is, after all, a time-honoured tactic. The Nazis did it with considerable success in the early years of World War II with films like Suss the Jew, The Rothschilds, The Eternal Jew among several others.

The exercise could be easier in India, because there is a tendency among a very large section of the cinema-going public to consume cinema as a loud lesson, especially in contested spaces of history and politics. However, quiet efforts to make similar inroads into the popular consciousness with caste exploitation, neoliberal slavery or working-class misery usually come with paltry rewards.

In other words, there is something ingrained in historical propaganda that shows all hurt of the past as collective. But contemporary depictions of social exploitation tend to fragment into one of individual suffering. It is here that propaganda gets more complicated than usually understood. And this is precisely why a film like The Kashmir Files or the fact of it masquerading as history, is a case for acute concern.

It is even more obvious when we compare it with a romance like Shikara (2020)  with a similar background and co-written by a Kashmiri Pandit  which sunk into oblivion no sooner than it was released. And this government, which has come out with all guns blazing in support of this film as a historical corrective will likely do everything to stonewall a film made on the Godhra Riots, the Nellie massacre or Babri Masjid demolition which rendered the countrys minorities weaker and poorer. We have seen the chequered public life of Patwardhans Ram ke Naam.

To that end, historical correctness is only a matter of perspective from the vantage of whoever is in power.

(Sayandeb Chowdhury teaches at Ambedkar University Delhi)
Following death threats to the three Karnataka High Court judges, including the Chief Justice, who delivered the hijab verdict, and arrest of a person in Tamil Nadu in this regard, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said his government has decided to provide 'Y category' security to them.

Stating that his government has taken the matter seriously, he has ordered the Director General of Police to look into the case and take the person arrested in Tamil Nadu into custody for investigation, and questioned the silence of "pseudo seculars" on the matter.

An FIR was registered by Vidhana Soudha police on Saturday against an unknown individual over a video clip circulating on social media platforms of a man speaking in Tamil and issuing death threats to the three judges.

Also read: Graffiti surfaces in Karnataka's Malpe against hijab ban

"There has been a case of death threat to three judges of Karnataka High Court, including the Chief Justice, in Tamil Nadu and a case has been registered. Some anti-national forces are trying to challenge the system of this country. This had never happened in the past," Bommai said.

Speaking to reporters, he said everyone should obey the verdict of the judiciary and there is every opportunity in the system for appeal. Yet, some forces are trying to incite people against the system, which will not be tolerated and will be suppressed, Bommai said.

Noting that a case has been filed in Tamil Nadu, and also an FIR has been registered at the Vidhana Soudha police station based on the complaint from the Karnataka Bar Association, the Chief Minister said his government has taken it very seriously and that he has ordered the DGP to get the case investigated.

"Also, I have ordered (the DGP) to look into the case in Tamil Nadu and take them (arrested person) into custody, and proceed with the case by booking the guilty under stringent sections," he said, adding that the government has decided to enhance the security of the three judges to 'Y category'.

According to official sources, Tamil Nadu police have arrested an office-bearer of an organisation called Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaat (TNTJ) in Madurai on Saturday for allegedly issuing death threats to the judges. The person identified as Rahamathulla, in a veiled threat, has referred to a district judge in Jharkhand being mowed down by a vehicle during his morning walk last year, they said.

Further, questioning the silence of "pseudo-seculars" on the matter, Bommai said, "Death threat is being given to judges against the orders passed by them. Also, hints have been given about the possible threats, like an accident and other things. You guys (pseudo secularists) raise your voice on other issues. Appeasing a section of society is not secularism, it is real communalism. I condemn it. Break your silence. We should all be together on this issue. It is because of the judiciary that the law and order is maintained to a large extent today. If it is being challenged, it is a threat to our democracy," he said, adding that the government will take strict action.

A three-judge bench of the court consisting of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice J M Khazi had on March 15 dismissed petitions filed by a section of Muslim girl students, seeking permission to wear hijab inside the classroom.

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Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah on Sunday stated that the BJP is under the illusion of coming back to power in Karnataka, after the results of five state Assembly elections, but those results would not have any impact on Karnataka.

"People of Karnataka cannot be changed using Hindutva or emotional issues. People vote on the basis of issues like price rise, unemployment, lack of development, economic crisis, farmers' problems and other issues," he said.

The BJP never came to power in the State on its own strength, neither in 2008 nor in 2018. But, it used 'Operation Lotus'. Congress is ready for elections anytime, and it will get a clear majority in the next Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah noted.

Also read: No objections to teaching Bhagvad Gita in schools: Siddaramaiah

Holding Padayatra or any other measure over the Mahadayi issue would be decided after discussing the issue with the party leaders in the region after the session of the Legislature, he said.

'Groupism in BJP'

Siddaramaiah argued that while all Congressmen have accepted the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahula Gandhi, BJP has several groups like those who came from Congress, Janata Pariwar and RSS.

"Look at Jagadish Shettar and Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. Congress has only one group, that is of Sonia Gandhi. Measures to strengthen the party are discussed in the CWC. Those who quit and damaged the party would not be taken back, but others who unconditionally accept the party's principles are welcome," Siddaramaiah said.

When asked about the Congress's chief ministerial candidate, Siddaramaiah said, MLAs would decide that after the polls and the party's high-command would give its approval. He refused the argument that the hijab issue and 'The Kashmir Files' film were a setback for Congress.

In reply to a query over C M Ibrahim quitting the Congress, Siddaramaiah said, he was made the MLC, and terming not getting individual aspiration fulfilled as an injustice to the entire community is not correct. Congress never neglects leaders of any community, but gives equal opportunity to all, he said.

"I will win from anywhere I contest in Assembly polls. People of several places are calling me, and I will decide later, as one year left for the polls," he added.

'Inculcate secularism'

When asked about the Gujarat government's decision to include Bhagavad Gita in school syllabus, Siddaramaiah said, secularism should be developed among children. There is no objection for education as per Constitution, to give moral and quality education that makes children empowered, he said.

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Yaoi in the beginning was a sub-genre of the Shojo genre (girls comics) of Manga. Over the years it developed into comics that show homoerotic relationships between men. Yaoi has for a long time been discouraged by gay men  the objects of the content  for being grossly unrealistic of how gay men are represented. Though gay men have specifically expressed their discontent with the creators of the comics, its overwhelmingly women who continue to read and enjoy the genre.

What is Yaoi?

Yaoi as a genre showcases a few common plots and themes, just like how cis-heteroromantic films have movie cliches, for example, the rich boy and the poor girl falling in love or the strong independent cold man and sweet warm woman falling in love and vice versa, Yaoi has one major cliche, the Seme (top) and the Uke (bottom) who most definitely fall in love by the end of the story. Most Yaoi comics are sexual in nature and define which of the two characters in the relationship are a top (Seme) and a bottom (Uke).

A Seme in these tropes is almost always someone who is bigger, stronger, and more masculine than the Uke. A Uke in these tropes is almost always softer, smaller, and more feminine than the Seme.

The top and bottom indicate the sexual domination of the people in the relationship over each other. The top being sexually dominant over the bottom.

Common themes in Yaoi include rape, fetishising younger men and non-consensual (noncon) and dubiously consensual (dubcon) sex.

A lot of Yaoi comics have noncon and dubcon sex which almost always ends in the Uke enjoying such behaviour despite it being grossly misleading and dangerous in real-life situations. They are not genuine in their representation of a gay relationship. The shows based on these comics and the comics themselves are obsessed with the power dynamics between the two main characters  Seme and Uke.

When these roles are not too black and white in real life who is dominant or submissive in the bedroom doesnt necessarily reflect their behaviour outside of it but Yaoi does not reflect this, making it an unrealistic representation of gay relationships but this representation is not far off from the realities of women in their everyday lives. Often having people undermine you because you are a woman, expecting submissive behaviour and being a good girl is something that all women can relate to but are tired of.

Why do people enjoy it?

When asked why they enjoy Yaoi, Medha, an avid reader of Yaoi said, I enjoy Yaois because of the tension. Its one of the few things in life that gives me joy. We know that love is indomitable and because of that it feels so good to see people being reluctant to accept each other and then when they finally get together it gives me a sense of satisfaction.

When asked what they think about the dubcon and noncon concepts of Yaoi, they said, I think the noncon and dubcon stuff is wrong but I enjoy it. The noncon and dubcon elements add spice to the story. When asked why they wouldnt prefer Hentai over Yaoi, they said, In Hentai they dont represent women properly and thats why it makes me uncomfortable but I also havent explored Hentai much. If I find friends who read Hentai and are into it, I probably would read it as well.

Sneha, an occasional reader of Yaoi, says, I havent read many but I only read those that are considered unproblematic, like Cherry Blossoms After Winter because Im not comfortable reading noncon and dubcon comics.

Aakrithi says, I dont necessarily read Yaoi for the erotica, I read it for the romance. I like the yearning and the efforts both of them take in being together. I like the plots better than the sex.

Yaoi readers understand the problematic tropes that Yaoi projects but at the same time enjoy the comics due to their erotic nature, some also enjoy it just for the romance.

Yaoi readers just enjoy reading Yaoi as it objectifies men and this is what we call the female gaze. Due to the majority of the demographic who read Yaoi being feminine, we see that it is a product of feminine desires and not a representation of gay relationships.

Yaoi and Yuri have exploded onto the international Manga scene and become a commercial success. Thought to have been started by fan-fiction and early Doujinshi, these Japanese comics have amassed a cult following and become genres in their own right.

In a world where homosexuality is still fighting for equality and recognition, what is the attraction of these Manga and why are they gaining popularity today?

There are many reasons why these Manga could appeal to people. Its thought that Yaoi Manga gives women and girls an outlet to explore their sexuality.
ADA [ndash] Memorials services for Clifford Brent Hall, 63, of Ada are 10:00 A.M. Thursday, May 5, 2022 at Trinity Baptist Church, Doug Brewer will officiate. Mr. Hall passed away Monday, April 25, 2022 at a local nursing home surrounded by family. He was born August 8, 1958 in Shawnee, OK t
The atmosphere in the lobby of the Carnbeg Hotel in Dundalk last Wednesday, was reflective of the welcome that all the agencies participating were creating for the learners at the inter agency information day, organised by the LMETB Adult Educational Guidance Service .

There were ten agencies (Adult Learning Service LMETB, VTOS LMETB , BTEI LMETB, LMETB Adult Educational Guidance Service , Culture Connect, Failte Isteach, Dundalk Library, The Volunteer Centre, Money Advice & Budgeting Service (MABS), EmployAbility, O'Fiaich Institute of Further Education, Intero (DSP), Louth Leader Partnership, Local Employment Service) with information stands and staff to help the residents source information and courses.

Many people had only been in Dundalk for a few weeks, and this gave the staff present the opportunity to explain the opportunities available and answer any questions. This is the second visit to the centre for LMETB Adult Educational Guidance Service and LMETB Adult Leaning Service Dundalk, many learners have already been accessed for English languages classes and started their learning journey with us.

The one stop shop approach proved very successful as many people are new to the area and Ireland, and are lacking the information to access the various services. The agencies were gratefully received by the learners and the event went on for an additional hour as people were still registering for courses. The staff from the services were very knowledgeable about each others services and the collaboration between agencies was very evident. The learners moved seamless lee from one stand to the other.

At least 30 learners signed up and were assessed for appropriate courses with LMETB and most of these courses will be starting in the next three weeks. Stands were also able to provide promotional materials such as books and workbooks and these were greatly appreciated by the learners many of whom are looking for constructive activities to get involved in while they are in this temporary accommodation.

If you are looking for information about courses for adults available in the Dundalk area please contact LMETB Adult Educational Guidance Service, text (087) 2300195 or email laegis@lmetb.ie.
Loughs Agency and Woodland Trust Northern Ireland have officially announced the launch of their new biodiversity project TREES, within the Foyle and Carlingford catchment areas.

The primary aim of the TREES project is to protect and restore vital habitats for wildlife in rivers and trees. The project uses a nature-friendly solution of planting trees and creating a network of pond and dam systems which are specifically designed to manage flooding, potential pollution and nutrient run off from farms which border vital river networks. Ponds will be created on farmland, to hold an ample source of water which will provide a much-needed contingency, reducing the need for abstraction directly from the river. Ponds provide an additional benefit of retaining a water source on farms during periods of drought.

Areas of wet woodland are one of the most dynamic habitats and are important for a range of priority species, including salmon, otters, nesting birds, insects, bats, and amphibians. Biodiversity is a major focus for the project, with the planting of native trees sourced and grown in the UK and Ireland a priority to help ensure success. So far, over 24 schemes are underway with the TREES project which is on target to plant over 120,000 native broadleaf trees by the end of 2023.

Sharon McMahon, Loughs Agency CEO, said: We are delighted to be able to work with our esteemed colleagues at Woodland Trust NI on the TREES project, which will prove to be highly beneficial for the local farming community and the environment in the Foyle and Carlingford catchments.

We are proud to be taking this proactive approach to address issues that could potentially lead to catastrophic consequences for the fisheries if left neglected. This partnership with landowners, farmers, and other like-minded organisations will hopefully lead to the protection of our rivers and ecosystems for years to come.

With 8.7% tree cover in Northern Ireland and ancient woodland forming just 0.04% of that, the Woodland Trust works hard to create new woodland, and protect and restore our existing trees. The Faughan Valley has the largest concentration of fragmented ancient woodland in Northern Ireland and the Woodland Trust has been collaborating with the Loughs Agency to work with farmers whose land borders the River Faughan.

Ian McCurley, Director for Woodland Trust Northern Ireland, said: We are delighted to be working in partnership with Loughs Agency, combining our expertise for the benefit of nature and climate. With current tree cover at 8.7% the Woodland Trust has a vital job to restore and protect existing trees and woods and create new native woodlands across Northern Ireland.

We are planting trees and woods to create resilient landscapes and a sustainable tree landscape for the future. The TREES project creates new woodland to protect and connect fragmented ancient woodland and to enhance havens for wildlife all resulting in a more resilient landscape for the future. We aim to support and advise landowners and the farming community.

The new initiative will put the local farming community at its core, with involvement from the agricultural sector greatly encouraged to help deliver ecosystem services for the long-term benefit of rivers, habitats, environment, and nearby farms.

Further information on the TREES project can be found at loughs-agency.org
A Dundalk healthcare professional living with advanced breast cancer has urged the public to support cancer services through Daffodil Day on Friday March 25.

Mags Tuite [58] had been working as a physiotherapist in the Louth Hospital when she was first diagnosed with the condition in 2008.

Mags says she managed to take that first experience in her stride, and that being a physiotherapist was of great benefit.

She says she was treated like a fellow health professional, and was fortunate to have a greater understanding of the information she was given during treatment due to her background.

She returned to work afterwards and specialised in treating breast cancer and lymphoedema, and Mags says having experience of both following her own diagnosis made a big difference.

However, following her retirement in 2018 she began to notice a recurrence of symptoms. Amid a spiralling pandemic, she was given the incredibly hard news just two days after her birthday in June 2021 that the cancer had returned in her lungs and liver, and that it was now incurable.

Despite such a blow Mags has continued to be an inspirational advocate for crucial services for people going through cancer, including those provided by the Irish Cancer Society.

The staff in the Louth and the Lourdes have been absolutely brilliant, and they are treating me as well as they can. The term palliative care scared me, but they have been really supportive, said Mags, who has seen first-hand the difficulties that patients have been experiencing due to the effects of the pandemic.

I was due to have a gynaecological appointment in January which was postponed to April because of Covid, which is four months I will have to wait.

My main advice to others in my situation is: dont be afraid to stand up for yourself and ask questions.

Unfortunately in the current environment sometimes people need to shout to be heard, but you need to stand up for your own health.

I am a long-time supporter of the Irish Cancer Society, and with their biggest fundraising day of the year coming up on March 25 I would encourage people to take part or give in whatever they can for the many people in Louth who rely on their services.

On top of supporting life-changing cancer research, the Irish Cancer Society provides vital services to patients and their families in Louth each year, including nearly 400 counselling sessions, over 250 nights of in-home Night Nursing for patients in their final days, and more than 300 Volunteer Driving lifts to get patients safely to and from their hospital appointments in 2021.

As Daffodil Day returns to the streets of Ireland for the first time since 2019 on March 25, the Irish Cancer Society is calling on the public to take part in any way they can to show solidarity and support for anyone affected by cancer.

Every day cancer takes so much from so many families and Daffodil Day is a chance to come together and take something back, giving hope and raising funds so that one day cancer will take no more.

People are being asked to take part and take back from cancer in any way they can this Daffodil Day.

As well as donating at Cancer.ie and volunteering to help fundraise, they can purchase items from the Daffodil Day online shop and take part in a steps challenge.

Irish Cancer Society CEO Averil Power said:

We are so excited to be able to get out on the streets again to see the amazing support the people of Ireland show to anyone affected by cancer.

Daffodil Day is such a special and hopeful day for our entire community.

Throughout the pandemic weve been so lucky that people have found innovative ways to support us but we are looking forward to seeing Ireland turn yellow once again on March 25.

Daffodil Day is our most important fundraising event of the year and the money raised goes directly to funding crucial supports.
North Andover, MA (01845)

Today

Sunny along with a few clouds. High 69F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies in the evening, then becoming cloudy overnight. Low 46F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.




Thailand's CP Foods to export processed chicken to Saudi Arabia this month

Thailand-based major meat processor CP foods is set to restart exports of its processed chicken to Saudi Arabia this month after both countries restored full diplomatic relations, Nikkei Asia reported.

11 chicken processing plants in Thailand have been approved for exports including five that are owned by CP Foods. The Thai Commerce Ministry said these plants have received halal certification from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.

Poultry imports from Thailand were banned by Saudi Arabia in 2004 citing a bird flu outbreak in the Asian country.

Prasit Boondoungprasert, CEO of CP Foods, said chicken exports to Saudi Arabia will provide big opportunities to Thai exporters, and credited the Thai government for restoring diplomatic ties between both nations.

Saudi Arabia imports 590,000 tonnes of chicken annually.

CP Foods is a Bangkok-listed unit of leading Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group.

Thai media said Saudi Arabia buys 70% of its chicken from Brazil, with the remaining 30% imported from France and Ukraine.

- Nikkei Asia
Athens, AL (35611)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Isolated thunderstorms during the evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 66F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Photo taken on Jan. 22, 2021 shows a farmer tending melons and vegetables in Ding'an County, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

HAIKOU, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Over a vast field of chili plants, Wang Aiguo talks with villager Chen Laixing.

"How are the plants? Everything good?" Wang said.

"Not bad!" Chen replied.

Wang, 59, is an official assigned by the government to help with rural revitalization in Fuwen Township, south China's Hainan Province. He has worked in the township for more than two years, steering local villagers toward prosperity through a variety of measures.

China is continuing efforts for rural development, with the Report on the Work of the Government released this month emphasizing boosting agricultural production and promoting all-around rural revitalization in 2022.

"I want to do something to help make the villages become more beautiful and lead people toward prosperity," Wang said. "I want to prove my worth in the rural fields."

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY WRAPPED IN RICE DUMPLINGS

Wang is a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC). He previously worked in the provincial department of human resources and social security and was mainly in charge of the paperwork.

In 2019, he was appointed by the government to work in Nanbu Village of Fuwen Township to help locals cast off poverty.

"At first, villagers did not trust me because they did not know me well," he recalled. "They thought I was always doing paperwork, how could I know anything about the fields?"

Villagers' initial indifference made it difficult for Wang.

"I felt unwelcome," he said. "I felt like even the chickens and cows in the village did not like me."

To win people's trust, he began going door to door to talk to villagers, making friends with them and telling them about how to transform the fortunes there.

"We did many things," he said. "For example, there were no road lamps in the village before, so we built many."

Many young villagers in Nanbu had left for better-paying jobs in big cities, leaving behind women and seniors, who made ends meet by raising domestic animals such as ducks and pigs.

Seeing the duck eggs and pigs there, Wang and his poverty-relief team came up with an idea: to develop the glutinous rice dumpling industry there.

"Hainan glutinous rice dumplings have distinctive flavors, so we thought it would be a good idea to develop the industry there," he said. "The duck eggs and the pork can make perfect dumpling ingredients."

After discussions with villagers, a rice dumpling-making company was introduced, and a rural cooperative was established. Locals could receive dividends by joining the cooperative and making extra money by wrapping rice dumplings for the company. The villagers' duck eggs and pork were purchased as ingredients by the company.

The dumpling industry generated many jobs, and in the peak season of the Dragon Boat Festival, an individual villager could make more than 10,000 yuan (about 1,572 U.S. dollars).

In the off-season, Wang would lead his team members to help the villagers sell their agricultural products in downtown Haikou, the provincial capital.

By the end of 2019, the entire village shook off poverty.

GREEN SHOOTS OF PROSPERITY

After fulfilling his two-year tenure at Nanbu Village, Wang was about to go back to his original post. But he was not satisfied with his work in rural Hainan.

"After spending two years in the countryside, I became quite familiar with the rural areas, and I felt like I could do more," Wang said.

So Wang applied for a second term. This time around, he was assigned to the village of Jiusuo, also under Fuwen Township.

After careful research, Wang and his colleagues found the condition in Jiusuo great for growing Radix Fici Simplicissimae, a traditional Chinese herb and a popular ingredient for making soup in south China.

"Radix Fici Simplicissimae can fetch very high prices in the market and demand is quite high, and the tender leaves can be made into tea," Wang said. "Each kilogram of Radix Fici Simplicissimae is sold at 80 yuan. It has very high economic value."

The team then succeeded in persuading villagers to grow the plant, in addition to their typical plants such as chili, peanuts, sweet potatoes and betel nuts.

Currently, the villagers have grown more than 40,000 seedlings of Radix Fici Simplicissimae, and they expect a good harvest in the next two to three years.

Wang also helped build a "rural canteen," where the left-behind women, elderly and children can enjoy vegetables grown by themselves.

"The seniors love growing vegetables in their backyard, and they pick the vegetables and hand them over to our cook to prepare their meals," Wang said. "In this way, they have something to do, and their children working in big cities will feel relieved."

Wang also plans to develop rural tourism in the village.

"Jiusuo has ancient houses, trees and more than 600 years of history, which have laid a solid foundation for rural tourism," he said. "I see a bright future here." 
Starting today through to April 3rd, Epic Games will donate all of its Fortnite proceeds to humanitarian organizations providing on-the-ground relief to Ukrainians affected by the invasion of their country. Players can support the action by making in-game purchases involving real-world money.

That means should you buy V-Bucks, select cosmetic packs and other items, whatever money Epic would usually get will instead go to organizations like Direct Relief and UNICEF that are providing emergency aid, shelter and other forms of support to Ukrainians right now. Epic will also donate proceeds from gift card purchases, provided theyre redeemed during the two-week period.

At the moment, four relief organizations are taking part in the effort. Outside of the two mentioned above, the UNs Refugee Agency and Food Programme are also involved. Epic said more organizations would join in the coming weeks.

Great to see gaming community come together. In addition to joining with @FortniteGame and our Microsoft Rewards for UNICEF, our employee donations and matching contributions are focused on providing aid to Ukrainian families. https://t.co/a0sAYud9FQ  Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) March 20, 2022

Whats more, Microsoft is taking part in the initiative. The company has agreed to contribute net proceeds from sales of all Fortnite content made through the Microsoft Store until April 3rd. Epic notes it will attempt to send any relief funds it generates over the next two weeks as quickly as it can. To that end, the company wont wait to get the money from its platform and payment partners. Instead, it will send the funds as it logs transactions.
On Friday, cosmonauts Denis Matveyev, Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Korsakov arrived at the International Space Station wearing bright yellow and blue jumpsuits. They were the first Russian astronauts to travel to the ISS since the war in Ukraine began, and many saw their choice of uniform as a statement against their countrys invasion of its neighbor.

One day later, per Space.com , Russias Roscosmos space agency dismissed those suggestions. Sometimes yellow is just yellow, it said in a Telegram post spotted by the outlet. Roscosmos went on to claim the three cosmonauts were wearing the colors of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, their shared alma mater. And for what its worth, the schools crest, like Ukraines national flag, features plenty of blue and yellow.

      .    ,   -     ,      --,      (,    ),.. pic.twitter.com/7qFDtu11Dl   (@Rogozin) March 19, 2022

Under no circumstances will we force cosmonaut graduates of Bauman University not to wear the colors of the coat of arms of their alma mater, said Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos. The space agency also later shared a photo of Artemyev wearing a white jumpsuit with the colors of the Russian displayed prominently across the chest.

The cosmonauts didnt say too much about their choice of uniform. "It became our turn to pick a color," said Artemyev when asked about the subject during a subsequent press conference. We had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it. That's why we had to wear yellow."
Weather Alert

...FLOOD WATCH NOW IN EFFECT 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...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 thunderstorm chances will continue through Thursday morning, with 2-4 inches of storm total rainfall expected in the watch area. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood
ENID, Okla.  For years, the airmen of the 71st Flight Training Wing and their families have been able to continue their education at several institutions in Enid while they pursue their mission at Vance Air Force Base.

The COVID-19 pandemic, unsurprisingly, slowed down the bases several memorandums of understanding (MOUs) at Northwestern Oklahoma State University Enid, said Wayne McMillin, dean of the branch campus.

However, the four-year university slowly has been reestablishing those MOUs  and reopening doors for Northwestern students  as the pandemic has waxed and waned since 2020, McMillin said.

For the last five years, Vances base clinic staff have used the campus nursing simulation lab, the Ketterman Lab, which provides instructor-designed scenarios with half a dozen mannequin patients set up in hospital beds.

In return, Northwesterns nursing students in the bachelors degree-prepared RN program gain practical experience at Vances base clinic.

Psychology graduate students also have opportunities for mental health practicums.

We have tried to open up the door for our students to be able to go over there and work with their mental health system, said McMillin, a longtime psychology professor at Northwestern.

Paying for education

Transfer scholarships also are available for airmen and their family members, many of whom McMillin said already have college credit from elsewhere in the United States.

These spouses, he said, have a range of backgrounds that holistically enhance the classrooms, as well.

McMillin taught one Vance spouse student, Joy Wortham, who received a masters degree in psychology, presented research and won a state award, then became an adjunct virtual professor for the university.

Theyre amongst the brightest students youll get  they add a lot to classes  and motivation-wise theyre gung-ho, he said.

Autry Technology Center and Northern Oklahoma College offer scholarships for military tuition assistance.

NOC currently provides in-state Oklahoma tuition rates to non-resident airmen and their families. NOC Enid Vice President Jeremy Hise said the program has been in place for least nine years.

Its an excellent partnership, and its one were proud to be a part of with them, and thankful that theyre wiling to be a partner of ours, as well, Hise said.

At Autry, up to $500 in military assistance can be applied to one of the centers full-time or adult career development programs (not including books or supplies).

Military personnel and families living in the CareerTech district also can receive up to $10,000 per year in veterans military tuition assistance for up to three years. Applications are at www.autrytech.edu.

Autry has provided more than $12,500 in scholarships to 32 students since the 2020 school year.

Furthering education

Senior enlisted airmen often will take extra night courses at Autry to further their technical and medical degrees, as well as short-term courses for professional certifications, said MSgt. Jessica Dahmen, career assistance adviser at the bases professional development center.

Autry recently paired with Vances Airmen Family Readiness Center to post spouse-specific courses on learning the Microsoft Office software, she said.

Vance personnel also regularly use Autrys classrooms for base exercises. Dahmen said she brings Vances newly commissioned officers to Autry at least once a month for group course exercises. These include BreakoutEDU, a concept similar to an escape room, but the group has to solve clues to break into a box. This training typically is for team-building, communication and problem-solving.

Personnel also come to Autry for adult and pediatric Heartsaver CPR courses.

Dahmen said, due to budget cuts, some of the bases technology can be a little outdated; in comparison, she works with a dry-erase board in her office, while an Autry classroom has a whiteboard that can, for example, project traffic stop ticket forms to fill out for security forces.

So far in 2022, Vance has held 44 sessions for courses, the most in the last four years, according to Autry.

Dahmen said shes in regular contact with Autrys accelerator campus manager and corporate training specialist, Jesse Ashlock.

Ive never been to a base where weve had a partner like that, thats like, This is yours, said Dahmen, a 17-year enlisted officer. Even Enid in itself, the community has been amazing.
ENID, Okla.  Veterans are a natural fit at Koch Industries.

Thats because Koch Industries guiding principles and the core values of the military are closely aligned, said Mike Kleis, senior vice president of operations for Koch Fertilizer in Enid and Koch Methanol in St. James, La.

The knowledge and experience that military personnel have gained are recognized at Koch Fertilizer in Enid, Kleis added.

Many veterans come to us with leadership experience, which helps our team continue to grow and improve, he said.

Source of pride

Koch has been certified as military-friendly through VIQTORY  a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business  six times since 2015.

Klies quote Many veterans come to us with leadership experience, which helps our team continue to grow and improve. Mike Klies, senior vice president of operations, Koch Fertlizer, Enid, Koch Methanol, St. James, La.

Additionally, Koch has several mutually beneficial partnerships with other organizations, such as Heroes Make America and USO Pathfinder, and has received requests to participate in other certification programs.

On the path forward 2022: Bulding a resilient community: ALL MILITARY IMPACT STORIES On the path forward 2022: Building a resilient community is a special section that will publish in the Enid News & Eagle for eight Sundays

The military friendly recognition is something Koch is proud of, said Vic Dennis, talent solutions military leader at Koch.

The continued acknowledgment recognizes the great work being done, across all Koch businesses, to remove barriers and help veterans and other members of the military community enter the civilian workforce, Dennis said. Being a part of the military friendly employer list is important because it indicates our commitment to identify quality talent and continually improve our talent programs and initiatives to attract and retain them.

Outreach efforts

More than 9,000 military veterans and military spouses are employed across Koch Industries.

Approximately 7% of the employees at Koch Fertilizer in Enid identified themselves as veterans, serving in a variety of roles including maintenance, operations, engineering and leadership.

Several factors are involved in being a military-friendly employer, Dennis said, but a major component is ensuring development and outreach strategies are inclusive to military job seekers.

My team supports the military and outreach efforts to attract transitioning military, military spouses, veterans, disabled veterans, students veterans and members of the National Guard and Reserve for opportunities across Koch Industries, Dennis said.

In addition to being veteran advocates, Dennis said Koch assists job seekers, recruiters and hiring managers in removing barriers that may hinder stakeholders.

Removing barriers

To continue to be recognized as a military-friendly employer, Dennis said Koch will continue to streamline its processes and automate, optimize and increase collaboration to attract more military job seekers.

Kochs team will continue to drive cutting edge ideas, remove unnecessary requirements and adopt advanced technology to support hiring efforts.

Kleis said Koch Fertilizer will continue to build on its efforts to remove barriers for veterans and provide a strong support system. Locally, Kleis encouraged veteran employees to mentor and support new veteran employees.

Koch Fertilizer is proud to be part of a military friendly community, Kleis said. We appreciate the diverse experience and value military personnel bring to our organization.

Kleis also encouraged employees to share open roles with the veterans in their lives and encouraged veterans and their family members to join the Koch Fertilizer team.

A veteran transition guide with tips from Kochs military relations team and open roles can be found at www.kochcareers.com.
ENID, Okla.  Vance Air Force Base is the first stop in the Air Force for many of its personnel who come here, said Col. Jay A. Johnson, commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing.

Its their first stop on a journey to become Air Force pilots and really their first exposure to the Air Force.

The majority of students at Vance are second lieutenants, so they have just been commissioned through the Air Force Academy, Officer Training School or ROTC.

We make a first impression in their AF experience here but also that relationship off base with the local community. I think that is a huge first step for them, Johnson said. This is their first exposure to the relationship between a base and a town. Thats why (Enid) Mayor (George) Pankonin and I put so much emphasis on that relationship, because they dont know what they are going to be treated like when they go off base.

On the path forward 2022: Bulding a resilient community: ALL MILITARY IMPACT STORIES On the path forward 2022: Building a resilient community is a special section that will publish in the Enid News & Eagle for eight Sundays

A stable military assignment

From the instructor side, people love coming to Vance for a couple of reasons, Johnson said. They get a break from the faster, operational tempo of the Air Force.

A lot of people look forward to coming back to what we affectionately called white jets, because the majority of them are painted white, Johnson said. A white jet tour, they look forward to because it creates a pretty stable home life for folks. Yes, we work really hard here. Yes, you may be gone on a weekend cross country, but for the most part you are going home every night and getting to spend quality time with your family. Thats not what you get at every operational assignment in the Air Force.

The stability gives many of the non-students the opportunity to get involved in the community through schools, churches, charities, local government and volunteering, Johnson said.

The local district and the local community, in general, are absolutely fantastic at welcoming military families into the community, he said. Its not like that everywhere. Enid does a fantastic job, whether youre talking schools, jobs, churches, community activities, this local community is fantastic in integrating us into the local community.

Structure for airmen, families

At Vance and beyond, military life is not always easy, Johnson said. Its demanding, with long work hours and operational units that can be gone a lot. Col. Johnson and Chief Master Sgt. Kristy Earls strive to build those basic resiliency skills, working really hard to instill those in old and young military families.

As a dual military couple, Johnson and his wife, Kristin  a retired, 20-year Air Force critical care air transport nurse  know military life well. Johnson said about six months into his wifes retirement, she noticed how the structure of the military really impacts those in uniform.

So when I get to base, someone welcomes me and gives me a checklist, Johnson said. Here is your desk, here is what youre going to be doing. All of that stuff is built in, but its not built in for our families. That structure is not there.

Vance has organizations like the Airmen and Family Readiness Center that helps military spouses, public school liaisons and base representatives involved in school and municipal activities so that challenges of military families can be addressed.

That structure that you have as a military person is not built in as a family, Johnson said. So what Kristin has really been working hard on the spouse side is to try to build some of that structure in. We try to do that for our kids as well.

We are working to open back up tours of the base, Johnson said. I want people to see what goes on behind the gates here. I dont want it to be a mystery. You pay our salaries. Its your tax dollars at work. Ultimately, we are here to serve and protect your freedoms and our rights.

Training nations defenders

Vance is one of four training bases across the Air Force, three of which are similar: Vance, Columbus AFB in Mississippi and Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Texas.

We are a source of pilots for the USAF between those two other bases, Johnson said. Here at Vance, we produce about a third of the pilots for the USAF every year. We produced 438 pilots last year, which is way more than we are programmed to do, and thats all a part of this transition to this new form of pilot training that we are teaching.

There are numerous different paths pilots can take upon graduation from Vance, whether its choosing to fly helicopters or heavy airplanes, being a fighter or bomber pilot or coming back as instructor pilot, Johnson said.

Straight out of Vance, pilots go to a graduate training program before they get to their operational unit. Once there, it is still months before they are a mission ready pilot, Johnson said.

Before pilots are delivering humanitarian aide or dropping bombs, by the time they leave pilot training its a year and half to two years.

When we start to talk about the pilot shortages that exist, we are still about 1,900 pilots short in the Air Force. It takes a really long time to produce a pilot. On average it takes two years and by the time the Air Force gets someone to be an operational pilot they have spent about $2 million on them, Johnson said.

Life between Vance and Enid is a two-way street, Johnson said.

Johnson quote The local district and the local community, in general, are absolutely fantastic at welcoming military families into the community. Its not like that everywhere. Enid does a fantastic job, whether youre talking schools, jobs, churches, community activities, this local community is fantastic in integrating us into the local community. Col. Jay A. Johnson, commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing.

Economically, when taking payroll, real estate purchases and jobs, Vance has an impact of about $380 million a year on the community, Johnson said. On the flip side, the communitys support of Vance is strong.

The local economy does a fantastic job of supporting Vance and our families, he said, whether its providing jobs to spouses or helping us find a place for our folks to live.
HAIKOU, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Over a vast field of chili plants, Wang Aiguo talks with villager Chen Laixing.

"How are the plants? Everything good?" Wang said.

"Not bad!" Chen replied.

Wang, 59, is an official assigned by the government to help with rural revitalization in Fuwen Township, south China's Hainan Province. He has worked in the township for more than two years, steering local villagers toward prosperity through a variety of measures.

China is continuing efforts for rural development, with the Report on the Work of the Government released this month emphasizing boosting agricultural production and promoting all-around rural revitalization in 2022.

"I want to do something to help make the villages become more beautiful and lead people toward prosperity," Wang said. "I want to prove my worth in the rural fields."

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY WRAPPED IN RICE DUMPLINGS

Wang is a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC). He previously worked in the provincial department of human resources and social security and was mainly in charge of the paperwork.

In 2019, he was appointed by the government to work in Nanbu Village of Fuwen Township to help locals cast off poverty.

"At first, villagers did not trust me because they did not know me well," he recalled. "They thought I was always doing paperwork, how could I know anything about the fields?"

Villagers' initial indifference made it difficult for Wang.

"I felt unwelcome," he said. "I felt like even the chickens and cows in the village did not like me."

To win people's trust, he began going door to door to talk to villagers, making friends with them and telling them about how to transform the fortunes there.

"We did many things," he said. "For example, there were no road lamps in the village before, so we built many."

Many young villagers in Nanbu had left for better-paying jobs in big cities, leaving behind women and seniors, who made ends meet by raising domestic animals such as ducks and pigs.

Seeing the duck eggs and pigs there, Wang and his poverty-relief team came up with an idea: to develop the glutinous rice dumpling industry there.

"Hainan glutinous rice dumplings have distinctive flavors, so we thought it would be a good idea to develop the industry there," he said. "The duck eggs and the pork can make perfect dumpling ingredients."

After discussions with villagers, a rice dumpling-making company was introduced, and a rural cooperative was established. Locals could receive dividends by joining the cooperative and making extra money by wrapping rice dumplings for the company. The villagers' duck eggs and pork were purchased as ingredients by the company.

The dumpling industry generated many jobs, and in the peak season of the Dragon Boat Festival, an individual villager could make more than 10,000 yuan (about 1,572 U.S. dollars).

In the off-season, Wang would lead his team members to help the villagers sell their agricultural products in downtown Haikou, the provincial capital.

By the end of 2019, the entire village shook off poverty.

GREEN SHOOTS OF PROSPERITY

After fulfilling his two-year tenure at Nanbu Village, Wang was about to go back to his original post. But he was not satisfied with his work in rural Hainan.

"After spending two years in the countryside, I became quite familiar with the rural areas, and I felt like I could do more," Wang said.

So Wang applied for a second term. This time around, he was assigned to the village of Jiusuo, also under Fuwen Township.

After careful research, Wang and his colleagues found the condition in Jiusuo great for growing Radix Fici Simplicissimae, a traditional Chinese herb and a popular ingredient for making soup in south China.

"Radix Fici Simplicissimae can fetch very high prices in the market and demand is quite high, and the tender leaves can be made into tea," Wang said. "Each kilogram of Radix Fici Simplicissimae is sold at 80 yuan. It has very high economic value."

The team then succeeded in persuading villagers to grow the plant, in addition to their typical plants such as chili, peanuts, sweet potatoes and betel nuts.

Currently, the villagers have grown more than 40,000 seedlings of Radix Fici Simplicissimae, and they expect a good harvest in the next two to three years.

Wang also helped build a "rural canteen," where the left-behind women, elderly and children can enjoy vegetables grown by themselves.

"The seniors love growing vegetables in their backyard, and they pick the vegetables and hand them over to our cook to prepare their meals," Wang said. "In this way, they have something to do, and their children working in big cities will feel relieved."

Wang also plans to develop rural tourism in the village.

"Jiusuo has ancient houses, trees and more than 600 years of history, which have laid a solid foundation for rural tourism," he said. "I see a bright future here." 
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Mullin is an award-winning writer and columnist who retired in 2017 after 41 years with the News & Eagle. Email him at janjeff2002@yahoo.com or write him in care of the Enid News & Eagle at PO Box 1192, Enid, OK, 73702.

 The News & Eagle has traditionally published personal opinions of writers and readers through editorials, columns and letters to the editor on its Opinion Page. The opinions shared are those of the writers and not the newspaper.

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Attorney Maribel Cruz split her time last week between in-person and electronic proceedings in Bexar Countys presiding court, a convenient hybrid in a judiciary starting to emerge from pandemic restrictions.

As a mother of two children, she found the courts embrace of technology allowed her to take care of both her needs at home and run her family law practice. It also works out better for the people she represents.

I can go anywhere and do it, Cruz, 48, said of court proceedings during a break in Thursdays hearings  in person this time  at the Bexar County Courthouse. Frankly, it is better for clients, too.

But Hector Garza, who has his own law practice and shares office space with Cruz, never really embraced Zoom videoconferencing in the abrupt switch forced by the pandemic two years ago.

I have been foaming at the mouth for this day, Garza, 54, said Friday about the return to actual courtrooms, which started last week in Bexar County. I cant wait to get back in person.

On ExpressNews.com: Bexar County jury trials canceled amid omicron surge

COVID-19 slammed the brakes on in-person trials for 13 months, causing a backlog that at its height was about 50,000 cases. In the second half of 2021, a raft of plea bargains and some limited and brief trial activity reduced that number to about 30,000.

At the end of the year, state District Judge Ron Rangel suspended jury service for the first two weeks of January because of an omicron variant-fueled surge in COVID-19 cases. It was one of his last orders as administrative judge for the district courts.

Then in late January, Rangels successor, state District Judge Rosie Alvarado, suspended jury service until March 1, and extended the pause to March 11.

But the civil courts had experience with teleconferencing at the height of the pandemic and Alvarado implemented a plan in February encouraging them to hold remote and hybrid nonjury hearings. Participants who choose to appear in person were told to be prepared to introduce documents and evidence on Zoom. The proceedings have been very smooth, she said.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

We encourage people to bring a laptop or iPad and an air card to log into Zoom in courtrooms, Alvarado said, adding that each courtroom has its own media cart and devices to assist participants who dont have the technology.

The halls of the Bexar County Courthouse and the Cadena-Reeves Justice Center were buzzing with people called up for jury service last week  online as well as in person.

On ExpressNews.com: Unusual sightings at San Antonios courthouses  jurors and jury trials

Potential jurors still are allowed to check in and screen for disqualifications remotely, and some criminal court judges also are picking jurors on Zoom the day before the panel convenes in person.

Bexar County uses a presiding court system for its civil courts. Each of the 14 district judges rotate monthly to assign cases on dockets of nonjury and pretrial matters to the other judges. The dockets routinely contain more than 100 cases, and the sorting begins each day at 8:30 a.m.

The large courtroom in the historic courthouse only had about seven people in the gallery Thursday  four of them attorneys. State District Judge Laura Salinas, presiding for March, monitored the room and other participants on Zoom, calling out the cases as usual. Several TV monitors were placed in the courtroom so that those in person could see those on screen.

On ExpressNews.com: Its truly a new age - Bexar County administrative judge plans for virtual jury trials in October; in person in January

I was expecting more traffic, but it was very quiet, Salinas said, noting that it also was spring break, a vacation time at the justice center.

Alvarado said this hybrid test can last as long as the states judiciary is under emergency orders set by the Texas Supreme Court, which allowed for relaxed rules in all courtrooms during the pandemic.

On the criminal side, the district courts have designated days on which only three to four courts at a time are qualifying and picking juries.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

All of the courtrooms had been retrofitted during the pandemic with clear barriers in front of the judge, witness and court reporter stands. Some judges have removed them, some have not.

On Thursday, defendants in masks appeared before Judge Jennifer Pena in the 290th District Court. She kept the barriers on her bench.

Pena, who is up for re-election this year but drew no opponents, said there are pros and cons to using Zoom. She recognizes the convenience it presents to many  but not all.

I like it, the attorneys like it, but it puts added stress on the courts support staff, she said.

Rangel concurred  virtual proceedings take much more time than those conducted in person.

Virtual hearings arent necessarily a panacea; they take longer, he said, pointing to a recent example of a jury selection involving 70 people.

I had one who could not log on, Rangel said. Everyone else on the panel had to wait 45 minutes so he could drive to the courthouse.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

He also said human contact in the courts is still important, and you lose a lot of that with virtual proceedings.

Attorneys who practice both criminal and civil law agree that remote proceedings benefit them and their clients, especially by cutting travel expenses, because they can attend several Zoom hearings or proceedings held in different locations from the same chair, desk and laptop.

But they also agree that Zoom has taken away some important nuances experienced by attorneys when theyre physically present in a courtroom.

This is a different way of practicing law, said Cruz. The feel on Zoom is not anywhere near the same as we do in person. And family law is all about emotion.

The Texas Supreme Courts 47th emergency order for how courts operate during the pandemic expires April 1.

ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863
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On the corner of Santa Rosa Avenue and West Nueva Street, outside the headquarters of the San Antonio Police Department, over 60 people stand in a long line across the sidewalk, holding signs in complete silence.

Then a chant breaks out over the crowd.

We love -, shouts one man in the back. The crowd shouts back, Lina!

Another one. We miss -, he shouts. Lina!

Among smaller signs, several large banners are held up by two or three people. On them: an image of a little girl with a striped shirt, and in big red letters, Missing.

Its been three months since 3-year-old Lina Sardar Khil went missing from a playground at the Medical Center apartment complex where she lived with her family. Since then, the family and surrounding community have worked tirelessly to find Lina, whose fourth birthday was in February.

Kaylee C. Greenlee Beal /Contributor

On Sunday, in observance of Linas disappearance, the group urged the San Antonio Police Department: Dont give up; dont lose hope. Theres still no answer as to how she disappeared and where she might be.

Today, we ask for Lina and to get her back home, said Riaz Sardar Khil, Linas father, through translator Lawong Mangal. Its been three months now that shes missing, and we are here now to get help from the community and all the people to bring back Lina.

The Khil family immigrated to Texas from Afghanistan two years ago. The family members quickly were welcomed by San Antonios Afghan community. Now, this community and others from across San Antonio have joined to find Lina.

For many at the observance Sunday, Lina was not just the daughter of the Khil family, but a daughter of San Antonio.

Kaylee C. Greenlee Beal /Contributor

Signs read We miss you Lina and Bring Lina Home  both in English and Pashtu, the national language of Afghanistan.

We are reminding the authorities that we havent given up and we wont forget, said Noor Mohammad, the president of the Afghan Community of San Antonio. We want the authorities to keep searching and not to give up, too. We just want Lina back.

Lina was last seen Dec. 20 on a playground in the Villa del Cabo apartments, at 9400 Fredericksburg Road in San Antonio. Police immediately started searching the complex before eventually expanding the search throughout the San Antonio area. Police also searched in Fredericksburg after several tips came through in late January, and FBI divers searched the creeks about 2 miles from the familys home in February.

Kaylee C. Greenlee Beal /Contributor

The Amber Alert for Linas disappearance was discontinued in early January.

I still have so much hope, Khil said through the translator. I will never be hopeless even after one year has passed. We only want police and the FBI to increase their activities so we can find out as soon as possible.

Saturday, the group will join the Bexar County Clerks Office for the Cesar E. Chavez March for Justice, wearing T-shirts with Linas face and the phrase, We are you, you are us.

Kaylee C. Greenlee Beal /Contributor

These are our babies. I dont just have two children, I have millions of children, said Lucy Adame-Clark, county clerk for Bexar County, who attended the observance Sunday. This is a community effort. We all bleed red.

Police encourage anyone with any information about Lina to come forward and contact their missing persons unit at 210-207-7660.

Elena Bruess writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. elena.bruess@express-news.net
Associated Press /File photo

A man died from a gunshot wound to his abdomen Sunday morning after a shooting at a home southwest of San Antonio, according to the Bexar County Sheriffs Office.

About 5:40 a.m. three witnesses drove the man, 20, to University Hospital after a shooting southwest of San Antonio, in the 12400 block of Briggs Road, near Monarch Highway. The man has not been identified.
The residents in Herat Province in Afghanistan looked beleaguered. It was apparent they didnt have food  or not enough of it  for a long period of time. To see this during the holiday season was disheartening.

I was visiting a village as part of an emergency response in which parcels of food were distributed. This particular one was conducted by the nonprofit humanitarian organization I work for, Islamic Relief USA, or IRUSA.

While its been heartwarming to see the outreach of support from Americans toward Afghan refugees  including in San Antonio, where IRUSA worked with our friends at the local nonprofit Culturingua for the recent Welcome Walk, which included Mayor Ron Nirenberg, we cannot neglect the people still living in Afghanistan. Our dignity, national security and collective moral compass depend on it.

Hunger is a major problem throughout Afghanistan, which has over 40 million people. The United Nations estimates that 22.8 million Afghan people are experiencing acute food insecurity, and 8.7 million are facing faminelike conditions.

At the emergency distribution, residents I spoke with expressed gratitude for the jugs of cooking oil and bags of wheat they received, among other items. While the average person may not perceive this distribution as substantial, it makes a big difference. Its the difference between having one meal or two meals a day. Its the difference between feeding all of your children or making the agonizing choice of which child will be fed and which child will go hungry that day. Its the difference between life-sustaining food or lifesaving medicine. One man I met, Ali Muhammad, has a household of eight and struggles to get by on less than $50 a month.

These nutritional inequities cannot continue. Two things that must happen:

1. Increase financial assistance to Afghanistan. The United States will provide $308 million in additional funding. That will be $782 million in funding that has been provided since 2020. While not a minuscule figure by any measure, it is still woefully inadequate to help the millions facing starvation, health issues and other problems. The United Nations has said that it needs $4.4 billion to help people in Afghanistan.

We understand the international community has concerns about providing support to Afghanistan. However, we cannot continue to allow the Afghan people to suffer further.

2. Unfreeze the over $9 billion in Afghan government assets held in U.S. and foreign banks so the Afghan people can have unlimited access to their bank accounts and so nongovernmental organizations like IRUSA can send money to its Afghan partners to administer critical humanitarian projects. There has been some progress made recently in this area with President Joe Bidens executive order to unfreeze some of the assets. The freezing of these assets by the U.S. government in August has wreaked havoc on the Afghan banking sector, resulting in average citizens being unable to fully access their own money. While the Afghan people can now generally withdraw 30,000 Afghanis from their accounts, all restrictions should be removed.

The trouble in Afghanistans banking sector continues to reverberate through the country and impact the welfare of the Afghan people. For example, at IRUSA, we are unable to continue providing aid to 5,000 families headed by widows because of the challenges we and other NGOs face in getting money into the country. The U.S. government and financial institutions need to work together to make it easier to get crucial funding into Afghanistan so that our humanitarian efforts can continue.

We cannot stand by idly. We need to take action.

Anwar Khan is the president of Islamic Relief USA, a nonprofit humanitarian and advocacy organization, with offices in Texas. He can be reached at akhan@irusa.org.
Northern Ireland's farming minister has met with farmers to discuss the impacts the situation in Ukraine is having on food supply chains in the region.

Minister Edwin Poots has requested government officials to hold agri-food industry forum meetings on a weekly basis as the conflict continues.

Initially established to consider responses to Covid-19, the meetings will now focus on addressing the impacts caused by the current crisis in the Ukraine.

At the initial meeting on Friday, fears were raised over rising feed and fertiliser costs, labour supply problems, energy price hikes and supply chain disruption.

Mr Poots met the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) and representatives from the grain and fertiliser industry, where he warned that the crisis would 'get worse'.

"The main concerns expressed by the primary producers are the continued increase in energy, fuel and grain prices," he explained.

"There are concerns about the cost and availability of grain and fertiliser. I believe grain and fertiliser prices will remain high beyond this year into next year and perhaps into 2024.

"I am already lobbying the UK government to consider the 25% tariff on maize for export from the US and I will raise the issue of nitrogen application limits to agricultural land with my officials.

This week, the Minister also briefed the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee on the issues and told them: This is a UK wide problem and an issue for the UK government to take forward.

"I have written to the Secretary of State, George Eustice to urgently consider a range of measures, including financial assistance for UK farmers to support them through the crisis.

Mr Poots has also written to the Finance Minister asking for assistance for the agri-sector to enable it to deal with the rising costs that are impacting on their businesses.

Following the meeting, UFU president Victor Chestnutt said that the war had also stressed the importance and fragility of food security, both at home and abroad.

"We farmers stand ready to do all we can to ensure the public continues to have access to high-quality, affordable, climate-friendly food when they need it.

There are some clear short and long-term actions that government can take to maintain confidence and stability across the UKs food producing businesses.

"We have shared these with government and want to stress that were ready to take these forward together, to navigate the extreme volatility we see today, and which is expected to grow in the coming months.

"We will continue to work with DAERA regularly to address the situation.
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.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, March 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)

HEFEI, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday held talks with Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra and Tanzanian Foreign Minister Liberata Mulamula.

When holding talks with Lamamra, who is paying a visit to China, Wang said that apart from certain countries that are preoccupied with geographical games, there are many countries like China and Algeria that have long histories and favor peace and justice.

He called on such countries to join hands and enhance unity and coordination to promote the process of democracy in international relations.

Lamamra said that Algeria appreciates China's position on the Ukraine crisis and believes that China's approach, which stands for international fairness and justice, and eyes the promotion of peace, stability and security, is right and promising.

When holding talks with Mulamula via video link, Wang noted that the China-Tanzania friendship has taken root in people's hearts. He said China is willing to view its relations with Tanzania from a strategic and long-term perspective.

Wang said that China stands ready to continue to deepen comprehensive cooperative partnership with Tanzania and make greater contributions to Africa's self-reliant development capabilities.

Mulamula, who is paying a virtual visit to China, said that Tanzania is committed to building its relations with China into a new benchmark for Africa-China ties. 

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi holds talks with Tanzanian Foreign Minister Liberata Mulamula via video link in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province, March 20, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu)


Chef Akanksha Dean tells you what Bangkok has to offer vegetarian food enthusiasts  its going to be yummy!



Theres no denying that Thailand offers up some of the best food in the world. Bangkok can be considered one of the global culinary capitals  yes, even if you are a vegetarian, youll find that theres plenty to choose from

Here are a few must-try classics you can rely on



Som Tam

This fiery salad made in a mortar is one of Thailands best-known gastronomic exports. It is thought to have come from the Isaan province in the North-East part of Thailand, and originally from Laos, which shares a border with Isaan.





Today, you will find it all across Thailand; it is an extremely popular street food. Though green papaya is the most prevalent chief ingredient, it is by no means the only star in this dish. Som Tam can be addictively hot and pleasingly crunchy, always powerfully flavoursome and quite sour  in short, you get all the flavours of SouthEast Asia on a plate.





Tip: Remember to ask your server to not add the Nam Pla (fish sauce) and make it classic vegetarian. Also remind them to not add the dried shrimp that is sometimes a part of this dish.
There is a scene in Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui where Vaani Kapoors character, Maanvi, decides to go on a dating app. Her fingers tremble slightly as she is asked to fill her gender. The camera pans and you see Vaani Kapoors face, the trembling lips, the unsure eyes, the sorrow in those eyesIt isnt something grand that makes Vaani Kapoors Maanvi stand out. Maanvi steals your heart solely through these subtle gestures. And, perhaps, that is the mark of a good actress. To be able to tell a story like that of Maanvis without resorting to some booming background score or emotional dialogue. Few expected such a fine performance from Vaani Kapoor. She made her debut in 2013 and in these 10 years, shes done six movies. Her debut film, Shuddh Desi Romance earned her the Best Debut (Female) award at the Filmfare Awards but she went on to star in Befikre which didnt perform well and in movies like War and Bell Bottom where her skill set was woefully underused. With Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, Vaani has clearly shown that she is not just another pretty face and heres hoping filmmakers take note.

As a member of the LQBTQ+ community, when I saw the trailer for Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, I was worried if it would treat the community sensitively. I never thought a film like this would be possible...



I am so happy it resonated with you. Thank you for watching and thank you for acknowledging it

and loving it.

Yeah, a lot of people actually told me that. It was my biggest validation. I dont belong to the community so you want to do them right. You dont want to misrepresent anything. Sometimes you can go wrong even if your intentions are right. We were just hoping and keeping our fingers crossed that it doesnt do them injustice in any way. And Im happy that today Im talking to you and Ive talked to other people. And they felt that it didnt do injustice to the community, it didnt disrespect them in any way. Thats a big deal.



I was grateful. I wont deny the fact that it was a huge sigh of relief. I wouldnt probably have said yes if it werent for a filmmaker like Gattu (Abhishek Kapoor) who I knew had the right aesthetics to present this. Everything matters, from my co-actors to my filmmakers. They should possess the right sensibility for such a subject. Thankfully, we were all on the same page mentally. So, that gives you some comfort. Maanvis treatment in the movie really mattered. I dont think that a character like her has been depicted before on screen. I give the credit

to my director for making her the way she is.





See, I cannot be the decision-maker of who gets cast or not, that completely depends on the makers. This film is a conversation starter. Especially for people who arent aware of the LGBTQ community per se. I really hope in the future there can be many more films, different storylines, different narratives on the same subject, where trans people get to play these parts. And not just this, I hope someday, a trans girl should be able to play a cis girls part.



I make my own decisions when I am doing a film. I dont go around looking for any validation from the outside. Yes, some people can guide me when I am confused. But I genuinely wasnt confused with this one. When I read the script, I truly felt it was mind-blowing. And I called up Gattu and figured out what the treatment of Maanvi would be like. Talking to him cleared my head and then I just went ahead with my gut feeling.



There is no right or wrong over here. Whatever instinctively feels right, one follows that path. This just felt more comfortable and honest to me and feels truer to who I am. Do less work but good work and be a part of good cinema. And thats what my intention has been. I can also only pick from the handful of offers that come my way. And I tried to be honest to what felt right to me. There has been no calculation. Whatever felt right to me I went ahead with that.

Im also human at the end of the day. You do have low days and you do feel restless and you do question why isnt it coming to me. I guess I can either whine and mull over it or look at the brighter side and be grateful for the things that have worked in my favour. Do I hope that I had more projects like these? Yes, of course. Better late than never, right?



I dont know, I mean I hope they dont feel that way at least anymore because in Shuddh Desi Romance I was playing a small-town girl and I was getting those kinds of roles. At the end of the day, you are an actress and you should be able to pull off just about anything. I would love to challenge myself, I would love to do things I havent done before. After Befikre, which was uber cool and set in Paris, I started getting roles where I had to play an urban character. I think with every movie, people decide differently. But I am hoping that after Chandigarhpeople will have more faith in my versatility.



It was in a good way and I am just very happy that people have kind of given that respect to the film and me as an actor. So it does feel nice. I am just hoping that that can materialise into films and projects.



They all have been kind and generous with feedback. I dont know whom to quote but someone like Hrithik Roshan went all the way. He posted stories and he called us all up and he was pleased with the film. And he is someone whos honest and if he doesnt like something, he will say it. There were many filmmakers who I looked up to and they commented on the film and texted me and said lovely things. I am happy that it made Anurag Kashyap cry in the second half of the film. I told him that I am happy that you cried because that means you connected with the film. The most significant validation came from the community itself.

As an actor, everything you do is scrutinised. Has it gotten easier over the last few years?



In this industry, I am very aware that your success is loud but your failure is louder. Everybody gets to have a say and have a judgement about your work and life decisions. But I try to not get sucked into the negative energy and the trolls or in a conversation where people write you off. Those very same people will talk highly about you tomorrow if you achieve success. So, I think this is also temporary. Nothing is permanent - success is not permanent, we all will have ups and downs.



All I can say right now is that it is a period drama. I am thrilled about this one because its with people Ive always wanted to team up with. You have Ranbir Kapoor, you have Sanjay Dutt sir, you have Karan Malhotra. And its a big entertaining film and Im looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I really cant talk much about it but it is going to

be a different one.



I really hope I can do the unexpected. I am not trying to box myself right now and Im

also looking forward and feeling hopeful that something different is going to come my way and the energy is good about it. So, I am just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping it happens soon.
New Zealand's former deputy prime minister Winston Peters has said that if The Kashmir Files is not released in New Zealand when it has been released in other countries, it would be an attack on the freedom of New Zealanders. "To censor this film is tantamount to censoring information or images from the March 15th atrocities in New Zealand, or for that matter removing from public knowledge all images of the attack on 9/11. Mainstream Muslims have both in this country and around the world readily and rightly denounced all forms of terrorism on the basis that committing violence in the name of Islam is not Muslim. Neither should steps taken against Islamophobia mistakenly lead to the shielding of terrorists in the name of Islam," Winston Peters posted on his official Facebook page and received thanks from the movies director Vivek Agnihotri.

Earlier, Vivek Agnihotri had said that there was pressure on the New Zealand Censor Board to ban The Kashmir Files. However, media reports state that the chief censor has not banned the movie but is reviewing it following concerns from some members of the Muslim community. "These graphic and violent elements are based on real events that have been documented. The film is a medium to showcase that painful experience to the world, a petition in favour of the movie has been started in New Zealand.

"Letters have alleged that the film will lead to a 'rise in Islamophobia in New Zealand and hate toward Muslims in Aotearoa'. We reject this accusation due to responses from millions of people who have watched this film across the world and we can substantiate this by evidence that not a single incident has happened following the film," the online petition also states.
critic's rating: 2.5/5

Trailer : Bachchan Pandey

Bachchhan Paandey is a remake of Tamil film Jigarthanda (2014), which itself was a copy of the Korean film A Dirty Carnival (2006). It revolves around a newbie filmmaker Myra Devekars (Kriti Sanon) attempt to make a film on a dreaded gangster Bachchhan Paandey (Akshay Kumar), with the help of her longtime friend Vishu (Arshad Warsi). Bachchhan Paandey is a shoot first and ask questions later kind of a gangster operating out of a fictional place called Baghwa, which is a mix of UP, MP and Rajasthan. He gets a kick out of killing people and is made out to be a remorseless, ruthless man. Hes surrounded by oddly named henchmen like Virgin (Prateik Babbar), Pendulum (Abhimanyu Singh), Buffariya (Sanjay Mishra) and Kaandi (Saharsh Kumar)  an obvious nod to similarly named characters in Gangs Of Wasseypur. Many misadventures later, Myra and Vishu get to meet Bachchhan, who agrees to tell them his life story. Later, Vishu suggests that Bachchhan should play himself on screen and things get further complicated after that.The idea of a film being made on a gangster, was part of Welcomes (2009) plot as well, though Nana Patekar played the don there. The first half is devoted to setting the backstory. Despite all the killings, Bachchhan and his gang of misfits are painted as being buffoons. Were supposed to laugh as they kill, maim and torture people at random. The second half is devoted to the making of the film within the film. Thats when Pankaj Tripathys character Bhaves Guruji, who plays a Gujarati acting teacher, comes in. Bhaves starts giving them method acting lessons, basically teaching gangsters how to behave like gangsters. His antics and the shooting sequences are worth a certain amount of laughter. Its a nice break from the non-stop action weve been watching so far. In the end, we see a reformed Bachchhan actually becoming an actor in the Mumbai industry, while Myra goes on to make better filmsLets not forget Jacqueline Fernandezs character Sophie. In a flashback, were informed that she was a foreigner who fell in love with Bachchhan. They were all set to marry when tragedy struck. Jacqueline has been playing such cameos all her life and she can do them with her eyes closed now. Yes, she does add to the oomph factor but thats about it.Farhad Samji has filled his film with the Whatsapp jokes kind of comedy. It caters to the lowest common denominator and is way too loud and over the top. The action sequences too are massy. As said earlier, the film picks up pace only in the second half. Maybe a non-linear narrative would have worked better in its favour. In its present form, it looks too bloated and contrived.The film is filled with dependable actors, no doubt, who know how to do their jobs. Prateik is lucky to play a character with a twist and does a fine job of it. Sanjay Mishra, Abhimanyu Singh and even Pankaj Mishra play one-dimensional roles with characteristic professionalism. Arshad Warsi, who has made a career out of playing dependable second leads, makes fun of himself playing another such character. The self-deprecating humour he displays is endearing. The film rests on the shoulders of its two leads. Akshay Kumar, who by the by, played a character called Bachchhan Panday in his 2008 release Tashan, completely takes to the whack job role. He sincerely delivers all the absurdities expected from such a character and has a gala time of it all. His energy, dedication and sincerity is praiseworthy indeed. He has been known to elevate badly-written films with his charisma and towering presence and does it here as well. Kriti Sanon surprisingly gets a meaty role in an Akshay Kumar vehicle and runs away with the opportunity. Shes the very soul of a newbie filmmaker who hustles every step of the way in order to succeed. Her camaraderie with both Arshad Warsi and later Akshay Kumar is spot on and she endears herself to the audience.Bachchhan Panday is a case of opportunity missed. It survives because of Akshay and Kriti. Both deserve to be cast in a better film together
OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP, CP.TO) said Sunday that work stoppage was initiated on Saturday by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, not by CP. CP said that the company was still engaged in ongoing negotiations facilitated by federal mediators, but the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) withdrew its services and issued a news release misrepresenting the status of the talks. CP alleged that TCRC's release falsely claimed that CP had initiated a lockout. Contrary to the TCRC Negotiating Committee's claim, the work stoppage was initiated by the TCRC. In reality, it was CP, with the Director General, Federal and Conciliation Services, that remained waiting at the table with the desire to continue bargaining. CP noted that it is executing a safe and structured shutdown of its train operations across Canada and will work closely with customers to wind-down Canadian operations, as a result of the TCRC's action. TCRC represents about 3,000 locomotive engineers, conductors, train and yard workers across Canada. On Wednesday, Canadian Pacific Railway said that it had commenced its work stoppage contingency plan and would work closely with customers to achieve a smooth, efficient and safe wind-down of Canadian operations, if the union leadership and the company are unable to come to a negotiated settlement or agree to binding arbitration. Canadian Pacific had issued 72-hour notice to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC)-Train & Engine of its plan to lock-out employees at 00:01 ET on March 20, 2022, if there is no agreement with the union. 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.
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Emin Yogurtcuoglu watches birds at Lake Mogan in Ankara, Turkey, on March 18, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)



Beyond Turkey, Yogurtcuoglu has stepped foot on no fewer than six of the world's seven continents, including Antarctica, and seen 40 percent of the 10,000 bird species known to exist on the planet.

Now the man wants to go to China.

by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Emin Yogurtcuoglu, a Turkish self-proclaimed "bird detective," is constantly seeking new bird species around the world, and he wants to make his next trip to China, land of many species and home to abundant wildlife.

Started his bird observation at the age of 12, the 35-year-old bird watcher has traveled to almost every region of Turkey, and became famous in his country and abroad on social media through the vibrant pictures he took during his travels.

A bird is seen near Camlidere dam lake in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 6, 2021. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

"Among all animals, birds are the most accessible ones. They are the closest to humans. Birds are full of colors, they can fly, change countries and migrate," he told Xinhua in an interview on the shores of Lake Mogan, located 20 km of Turkey's capital Ankara.

"You can see hundreds, thousands of different species of birds in all corners of the world. They pushed me to travel to different zones of the globe," the man said.

Photo taken on May 12, 2021 shows a stork over the Nallihan Bird Sanctuary in Ankara, Turkey. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Beyond Turkey, Yogurtcuoglu has stepped foot on no fewer than six of the world's seven continents, including Antarctica, and seen 40 percent of the 10,000 bird species known to exist on the planet.

The wildlife expert wishes now to travel to China.

"I have extensively studied China's bird population, and there are over 1,300 species and I would like to go there, especially Sichuan and Yunnan provinces harboring endemic species," he said.

Yogurtcuoglu applauded China's push for animal conservation and scientific research.

Emin Yogurtcuoglu watches birds at Lake Mogan in Ankara, Turkey, on March 18, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

"When I go to China, I would like to learn on this issue from my counterparts and see what lessons we can pass on to my country. China has made very serious efforts on wildlife protection. They make considerable (scientific) studies on bird populations," he said.
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Partly cloudy skies with gusty winds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph..

Tonight

Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Low 77F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
You never let a serious crisis go to wasteits an opportunity to do things  Rahm Emmanuel

This could be the end.

The war in Ukraine could easily mushroom into a global nuclear conflict that ends the human experiment. Big wars usually start as small wars that grow in unpredictable ways  through accidents, mistakes, misinterpreted orders. Or, wars can grow as delusory expectations of early victory are dashed and the fighting escalates, spilling over borders and drawing in new combatants, spurring reciprocal escalations.

We must face this possibility before we can conceive a new world free of the nuclear threat. And then we must acknowledge that if we do manage to head off WWIII, well do so just in time to make our final, desperate attempt to keep global temperature rise below the critical 1.5C threshold.

And thats where hope returns, hope that we can turn the global crisis sparked by the Ukrainian war into an opportunity to save ourselves. Hope that, as the (nonnuclear) dust settles in Ukraine, we will finally learn the tragic conflicts lessons.

If we are to survive, we will learn that war is no longer a viable way to settle disputes; that fossil fuels are no longer a practicable source of energy; and that fossil fuels and war march side by side toward our mutually assured destruction.

Hearteningly, the global youth climate movement has already mastered these lessons. They see that the distributed nature of localized solar and wind energy production  who, after all, owns the sun and wind?  greatly reduces the impetus for conflict over energy reserves concentrated in specific locales. If Ireland runs on offshore wind and home-grown biogas, why does it need Russian fossil fuels?

One week after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Greta Thunberg-inspired movement Fridays for the Future called for global protests against the war, stating, This is an eye-opening moment for humanity to see the world is aflame with new and old wars caused by fossil fuels.

More than 100,000 mostly young people marched in Hamburg, Germany, and thousands protested in at least 60 other cities around the world. A tweet from the Sierra Leone chapter of Fridays for the Future read, No more wars for resources we no longer need!

But while youth climate protests have become a familiar part of the political landscape, whats new is that their message may finally be catching on in the corridors of power. In the summer of 2021, the European Commission endorsed a plan, hailed as the European Green New Deal, to substantially decarbonize the EUs energy sector by 2030. The strategy entails significantly upgrading energy efficiency and developing the full potential of Europes offshore wind energy, among other measures.

Sounds good. Lets get started sometime soon.

Then the war broke out, and the fossil-fuel cudgel Russia holds over Europe, particularly Germany  while using revenues from same to finance its war machine and corrupt oligarchy  became a primary obstacle to Europes ability to respond. In particular, the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, just completed and poised to deepen Germanys dependence on Russian gas, became a sticking point. Would Germany cancel the deal?

Germany did, of course, because the new, immediate emergency, the war, sprang up within the context of the ongoing emergency  climate change  and drastic measures had to be taken. Meanwhile, the E.U. has decided to supercharge its green energy transition, in what could be a harbinger of a fast-tracked Global Green Transformation. There will be setbacks, of course. Europe will still need some Russian gas this coming winter, but much less than it needs now, and even less after that.

And suddenly there is realistic hope that renewables could soon dominate the worlds energy sector  just in the nick of time at our ecological house.

Philip S. Wenz writes about the environment and related topics. Visit his blog at firebirdjournal.com.

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Gillette, WY (82718)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 38F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 38F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Most COVID-19 cases in China mild or asymptomatic: health official

Xinhua) 13:28, March 20, 2022

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- More than 95 percent of COVID-19 patients in the latest outbreak have been mild or asymptomatic cases, a Chinese health official told a press conference on Saturday.

Less then 0.1 percent were in a severe or critical condition, Jiao Yahui from the National Health Commission (NHC) said, noting that some provinces are seeing a rapidly rising number of infections, as the prevalent Omicron variant flares up in multiple locations across the country.

From March 1 to 18, more than 29,000 local infections were reported in 28 provincial-level regions across the Chinese mainland, NHC data showed.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
CHICAGO, March 19 (Xinhua) -- CBOT agricultural futures went into correction as grain futures fell, with the Russia-Ukraine conflict remaining a big player in the daily performance of commodity markets.

Chicago-based research company AgResource holds that CBOT will have a choppy trade in the weeks ahead to correct its overbought condition.

Corn futures ended lower as the market finds near-term equilibrium. Neither old nor new crop futures can break prior to summer amid record U.S. export disappearance. New bullish fuel is needed to propel May above 7.75 dollars ahead of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Stocks/Seeding report.

Additionally, broadly favorable weather in central Brazil will keep safrinha crop ratings high into late March or early April. Brazilian exporters will undoubtedly be more aggressive with export sales once supply becomes available in mid-summer.

AgResource maintains that Ukraine's old crop surplus has been lost to the world market. Production there is unlikely to exceed 20-22 million metric tons, as against 42 million metric tons in 2021-2022, amid input/logistics challenges. This will trigger a new bullish phase, but the length of the Black Sea conflict is not known yet. No exporting country can come close to replacing the potential loss of Ukrainian corn exports worth 15-20 million metric tons in 2022-2023. This will only be solved in the long run by favorable weather and record South American acreage.

U.S. and European wheat futures ended lower for the week as the volume of trading collapsed as few want to place large bets amid massive market volatility. Traders that remain are adding and subtracting geopolitical conflict premium on a nearly daily basis and risk management remains challenging.

However, AgResource doubts that the conflict in Ukraine will end by summer. Ongoing conflict will keep Ukrainian port shuttered while sanctions on Russia will stay in place. India is helping fill the gap left by the absence of Black Sea supplies, but should conflict/sanctions persist into the second half of 2022, no exporter can fully replace the Black Sea's 30 percent of global trade. The market can't yet confirm that Black Sea supplies remain absent from the market longer term, but this reflects the biggest risk to the world's exportable supplies.

Additionally, Plains drought remains probable to expand into late May, which further tightens the U.S. balance sheet and implies that U.S. markets will continue to work to prevent non-traditional export demand.

Soybean futures remain largely range-bound through a narrow week of trade. May soybeans have largely been stuck between 16.50-17.25 dollars for the last three weeks, and that range is expected to continue into the end of the USDA reports.

March CBOT contracts expired on Monday, with March soybean going out at 16.87 dollars as against 13.96 dollars last year. Meal of oil contracts also finished at significantly higher values.

Weekly soybean export inspections look to be stabilizing, and soybean bids at the Gulf are still holding at record levels. Demand remains elevated as Chinese and other world buyers continue to realize far lower than expected Brazilian crops. New crop barge freight rates are also holding at record levels as exporters book freight for fall deliveries.

The National Oilseed Processors Association reported a February soybean crush rate of 165 million bushels, which was generally in line with expectations and just below the record crush that was set two years ago. AgResource estimates that the cumulative U.S. soybean crush rate is 6 million bushels over last year and is now record large.

AgResource looks for broad-ranging soybean markets ahead of USDA March reports, and stays bullish in the long term, with key support expected below 16.00 dollars for May contract. 
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Sales for 2021: 449.0m, up 21% from 2020 and 3.4% from 2019

Sales for Q4 2021: 147.5m, up 45% from Q4 2020

Net margin for 2021: 44.3m (9.9% of sales), up 14.0m from 2020

Normalised profit before tax for 2021: 12.5m, up 7.5m from 2020

Normalised profit before tax in Q4 2021: 4.4m, up 2.3m from Q4 2020

Net profit for 2021: 8.8m compared to 0.8m in 2020

Basic earnings per share (EPS) for 2021 were 0.3337 cents per thousand shares compared to 0.0306 cents per thousand shares for 2020

Excellent results in VA S-Europe Division, driven by strong sales and margins from both Icelandic cod products and Argentinean shrimp

Good performance of the Irish operation, sales increased by 8% on a like for like basis from 2020

UK merger process and integration more complex and costly than anticipated, impacted by extreme external challenges. Glen Mathews starting as Managing Director at end of February

Improved sales and profitability in the S&D division, excellent sales in all product categories out of Iceland

Total assets of 279.4m at end of the year, increased by 37.9m from beginning of the year. Equity ratio of 32.8% compared to 31.2% at end of 2020, but still under the target ratio of 35%. Return on equity for 2021 is 10.5%.

Disruptions and cost increases in various supply chains will negatively impact results in the short term, especially in UK. Actions have been taken to pass on cost increases but it will take time, especially with retail customers

Outlook range for Normalised PBT 14.0-19.0m for the year 2022

Solid Group results for the year 2021, sales of 449m were 21% higher than last year and normalised PBT in the year was 12.5m, an increase of 7.5m from 2020. Excellent performance by the VA S-Europe division was the key driver for the results, with significant sales growth between years and strong margins from Icelandic cod products, Argentinean shrimp and other product categories. The S&D division also saw a significant increase in both sales and profitability, whilst results of the VA N-Europe were negatively impacted by a costly and complex integration process in the UK.

Total assets at the year-end of 279.4m were 37.9m higher than at the start of the year. The increase was driven by the acquisition of Ahumados Dominguez, which was completed at the end of September, as well as an increase in trade receivables due to higher sales. Net debt of 94.2m was 5.7m higher than the start of the year, driven by an increase in assets and the equity ratio was 32.8% compared to 31.2% at the start of the year. Cash position of 27.8m at the year end was above the optimal level. With less uncertainty the aim will be to decrease the cash position and increase the equity ratio.

Results of the VA S-Europe division were excellent during the period, with sales 44% up on last year and Normalised PBT 10.9m higher than 2020. Good market conditions both in terms of light salted cod products and Argentinean shrimp resulted in excellent sales and margins during the year. The integration after the merger of IS Spain and Icelandic Iberica (and Elba) was mostly completed in the year with positive effects on the results. All production is now in one place instead of three, reduction in overhead and admin has been fully implemented. Full integration of logistics has taken longer than anticipated due to Covid 19. The central cold store location will be in Barcelona from now on, which will generate synergies in logistics from 2022 onwards. Previously announced synergies of 3.0 - 3.5m will be fully achieved in 2022. The addition of Ahumados Dominguez will further strengthen the divisions position in the retail market and create a platform for selling high quality cod products from Iceland under a strong consumer brand.

The Irish operation was well prepared for Brexit from the start of the year and therefore was in a better position to service local customers than suppliers from the UK. This resulted in sales growth of 8% on like for like basis. Cost increases impacted profits in Ireland, especially at the back end of the year.

The integration process after the merger of IS Barraclough and Havelok in the UK, has proven to be more complex and costly than anticipated, severely impacted by both Brexit and Covid 19. Disruptions and cost increases in various supply chains and a difficult labour market have also impacted the process. Actions were taken at back end of 2021 and the start of 2022 to strengthen the local management team. Glen Mathews, the former production director of Hilton/Icelandic Seachill will be joining the business as Managing Director from end of February 2022.

The S&D division performed well in the year, driven by strong demand for Icelandic products, especially frozen at sea and pelagic products. Divisional sales increased by 12% from the previous year and normalised PBT of 2.9m increased by 1.3m from 2020. Supply chain disruption, especially related to transportation to and from Asia, positively impacted demand for certain Icelandic products both in Europe and the USA.

Iceland Seafoods outlook range for 2022 normalised PBT is set at 14.0m - 19.0m. Sales in the beginning of the year were impacted by the outbreak of the Omicron Covid 19 variant in key markets. With recent easing of restrictions and levels of herd immunity being reached, sales have started to pick up in the last few weeks. On the other hand, disruptions and cost increases in various supply chains and difficult labour markets will continue to negatively impact results, especially in the UK. Actions have been taken to pass on cost increases, but it takes time to get price increases through. Iceland Seafood is in a good position to manage its operations through these challenges and take advantage of opportunities that will come up. Investments in automation and energy projects, with short payback time are being implemented, which will help increase efficiencies and deal with labour shortages.

Bjarni Armannsson, Group CEO:

The full year 2021 results were overall at the lower end of our expectations , but given the highly volatile and rapidly changing external environment, we are satisfied to have navigated well in turbulent waters.

Our VA-S-Europe division had exceptionally strong results and we are reaping the benefits of the merger between IS Spain and Icelandic Iberica in 2019 as well as the acquisition of Elba in early 2020. This has created a strong entity that really shined in 2021 being a key driver for majority of the group profit generation. Similarly, our S&D division had its best year ever resembling the groups strong position in trading and its long-term relationship with suppliers, especially in Iceland.

In our VA-N-Europe division, UK merger of Barraclough and Havelok and the build-up of our facilities in Grimsby has proven to be more complex and costly than anticipated by group management.

We highly welcome Glen Mathews and have high expectations of him and the management team in the UK. We believe that in the long term, well be well positioned and that our investment will result in a strong market position for the future in UK retail and foodservice.

As of now, we are convinced that restrictions due to Covid-19 are being lifted, which supports our foodservice sector demand  a highly important factor to Iceland Seafood. The challenges we generally face at this moment are significant price increases of raw materials, packaging and logistics as well as labour issues in the form of insufficient supply. These, along with pushing price increases through onto our customers, will be a challenge in the coming months.

At the same time, we are very proud that we have throughout the pandemic continued to build up the company through organic growth as well as adding quality companies to the group. Our investment in Ahumados Dominguez at the end of Q3 last year was a milestone in having a premium brand in Spain, our key market in smoked salmon products, one of our key categories.

Our consequent investment in branding campaigns shows our seriousness and strong intention in investing in our brands and in our consumers share of mind.

Those investments, along with investments in automation in our processing units are a unique opportunity for us to be more efficient with the objective of increasing our sales and profitability. Those investments along with our increased focus in ESG matters  and related investments in for example power generation both in Ireland and Spain are important projects for 2022. All this helps to increase profitability, address labour shortages as well as reduce our carbon footprint.

Last year we saw our top line grow to 449m  a 21% increase. Our profitability rises to PBT of 12.5m. Our balance sheet is very strong giving us opportunities to continue to invest and fulfil our strategy. Q4 was acceptable with PBT of 4.4m up from 2.1m in 2020.

Finally, Id like to express my gratitude to all employees of Iceland Seafood, Im very proud of all the people who every day serve our customers and are the representation of our brand to the world. You are the bedrock for our future. Similarly, we are very grateful to our shareholders for their continued backing and to our suppliers and customers  the alfa and omega of our existence.

Looking towards 2022 we are mindful of current challenges, but see good opportunities in the market . 

Electronic investor meeting

Today at 4.15pm GMT, Iceland Seafood will host a meeting for investors and market participants, where management will present and discuss the 2021 results.

The meeting will be held at the companys premises at Kollunarklettsvegur 2 and also be webcasted live in Icelandic on https://vimeo.com/event/1846481/embed/c1e963e15f and recording will be available after the meeting on www.icelandseafood.com/investors

Participants to the meeting can send questions in writing prior and during the meeting to the email investors@icelandseafood.com.

Disclaimer

This announcement is furnished and intended for European market participants and should be viewed in that light.

Any potential forward looking statements contained in this announcement reflect the management's current views on future events and performance, whilst those views are based on positions that management believes are reasonable, there is no assurances that the stated events and views will be realized. Forward looking views naturally involve uncertainties and risks, and consequently actual results may differ from the statements or views expressed.

For more information:

Iceland Seafood International hf.

http://www.icelandseafood.com/Investors

Bjarni Armannsson, bjarni.armannsson@icelandseafood.com

Attachments
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD)(TSX:ABX) and the governments of Pakistan and Balochistan have reached agreement on a framework that provides for the reconstitution of the Reko Diq project in the countrys Balochistan province. The project, which was suspended in 2011 due to a dispute over the legality of its licensing process, hosts one of the worlds largest undeveloped open pit copper-gold porphyry deposits.



The reconstituted project will be held 50% by Barrick and 50% by Pakistan stakeholders, comprising a 10% free-carried, non-contributing share held by the government of Balochistan, an additional 15% held by a special purpose company owned by the government of Balochistan and 25% owned by other federal state-owned enterprises. A separate agreement provides for Barricks partner Antofagasta PLC to be replaced in the project by the Pakistani parties.

Barrick will be the operator of the project which will be granted a mining lease, exploration licence, surface rights and a mineral agreement stabilizing the fiscal regime applicable to the project for a specified period. The process to finalize and approve definitive agreements, including the stabilization of the fiscal regime pursuant to the mineral agreement, will be fully transparent and involve the federal and provincial governments, as well as the Supreme Court of Pakistan. If the definitive agreements are executed and the conditions to closing are satisfied, the project will be reconstituted including the resolution of the damages originally awarded by the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes and disputed in the International Chamber of Commerce.

Barricks president and chief executive officer Mark Bristow hailed the agreement as an important step towards the development and operation of Reko Diq and a tribute to the decisions of all parties to work towards a mutually beneficial outcome in a spirit of partnership.

Barrick has successfully partnered with host countries worldwide and our philosophy of sharing the economic benefits our mines generate equitably with core stakeholders is also evident in the ownership structure of the new Reko Diq. This is a unique opportunity for substantial foreign investment in the Balochistan province and will bring enormous direct and indirect benefits not only to this region but also to Pakistan for decades to come. In addition to local employment and skills development, local procurement, infrastructure upgrades and improved medical and education systems, Reko Diq could also be the springboard for further exploration and other mineral discoveries along the highly prospective Tethyan Metallogenic Belt, he said.

On closing, Barrick will start a full update of the projects 2010 feasibility and 2011 expansion prefeasibility studies, which envisaged a conventional truck-and-shovel open pit operation with comminution and flotation processing facilities producing a high-quality copper-gold concentrate. Bristow said that if all went according to plan, Reko Diq could be in production within five to six years.

Enquiries:

Investor and Media Relations

Kathy du Plessis

+44 20 7557 7738

Email: barrick@dpapr.com

Website: www.barrick.com



Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

Certain information contained or incorporated by reference in this press release, including any information as to our strategy, projects, plans or future financial or operating performance, constitutes forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The words framework, proposed, work towards, will, would, intend, future and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements including, without limitation, with respect to: the planned reconstitution of the Reko Diq project and the issuance of a mining lease therefor; the future development and operation of the Reko Diq project; the future ownership of the Reko Diq project; the proposed fiscal and governance terms applicable to the Reko Diq project and the joint venture through which it is held; the timeline and process for the execution of definitive agreements and the reconstitution of a joint venture to carry out the future development and operation of the Reko Diq project; and expectations regarding financial performance and other outlook or guidance.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions including material estimates and assumptions related to the factors set forth below that, while considered reasonable by Barrick as at the date of this press release in light of managements experience and perception of current conditions and expected developments, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements and information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold, copper or certain other commodities (such as silver, diesel fuel, natural gas and electricity); the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; changes in mineral production performance, exploitation and exploration successes; risks associated with projects in the early stages of evaluation and development and for which additional technical, engineering and other analysis is required; disruption of supply routes which may cause delays in development, construction and mining activities; diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; increased costs, delays, suspensions and technical challenges associated with the construction of capital projects; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities, including geotechnical challenges and disruptions in the maintenance or provision of required infrastructure and information technology systems; failure to comply with environmental and health and safety laws and regulations; the failure to obtain key licenses by governmental authorities, including the mining lease and exploration license for the Reko Diq project; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and/or changes in the administration of laws, policies and practices; expropriation or nationalization of property and political or economic developments in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan or the Province of Balochistan; timing of receipt of, or failure to comply with, necessary permits and approvals; lack of certainty with respect to foreign legal systems, corruption and other factors that are inconsistent with the rule of law; risks associated with illegal and artisanal mining; risks associated with new diseases, epidemics and pandemics, including the effects and potential effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic; damage to Barricks reputation due to the actual or perceived occurrence of any number of events, including negative publicity with respect to the Barricks handling of environmental matters or dealings with community groups, whether true or not; the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with Barricks expectations; risks that exploration data may be incomplete and considerable additional work may be required to complete further evaluation, including but not limited to drilling, engineering and socioeconomic studies and investment; risk of loss due to acts of war, terrorism, sabotage and civil disturbances; litigation; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties, or over access to water, power and other required infrastructure; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, Barrick; risks associated with working with partners in jointly controlled assets; employee relations including loss of key employees; increased costs and physical risks, including extreme weather events and resource shortages related to climate change; and availability and increased costs associated with mining inputs and labor. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and gold bullion, copper cathode or gold or copper concentrate losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks).

Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, us. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Specific reference is made to the most recent Form 40-F/Annual Information Form on file with the SEC and Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities for a more detailed discussion of some of the factors underlying forward-looking statements and the risks that may affect Barricks ability to achieve the expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) has arrested three people including a police officer, who masqueraded as their officials and duped a cross-border trader of US$2 000.

The trio, Superintendent Egdar Moyo of Gokwe district police headquarters, Cephas Phiri and Crispen Manda were arrested after one of them was caught red-handed wearing police uniform.

One of the accused, Manda, was caught with police uniforms and badges of rank  shoulder titles of the rank of chief inspector Supt Moyo is in police custody waiting to appear in court while Manda and Phiri were remanded in custody pending bail application, Zacc posted.

The anti-graft body lamented an increase in bogus characters who pretend to offer services on behalf of government agencies while extorting money from people.

The commission wishes to inform the public that its personnel does not receive or demand money from suspects or complainants to carry out their duty. Any such demands must be reported to the commission at any of its offices, Zacc said.

The commission also said it had intensified investigations to end these criminal activities.

Last month, Zacc arrested three men who impersonated Zacc officials and tried to open an illegal office within the port.

Mashonaland Central senator Angeline Tongogara has implored the government to come up with measures to deal with corruption.

She said the government established Zacc to deal with corruption, but such incidents continue to proliferate.

This Senate calls upon the Executive to introduce deterrent measures for those engaging in corrupt activities. The Judiciary should fast-track cases of corruption through courts that will be established to deal with such, Tongogara said.

The government through, the anti-corruption courts, must impose stiffer penalties on corruption as a mechanism of promoting restraint among public officials. All cases of corruption regardless of form must be treated as high-level criminal cases, thus attracting long and deterrent sentences, she added. Newsday
Goshen, IN (46526)

Today

Cloudy in the morning, then off and on rain showers during the afternoon hours. High 61F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low around 50F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
With Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz in the top 3 for the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix, it is safe to say that a new crop of drivers is emerging. Verstappen and Sainz started their F1 careers at the same time at Toro Rosso in 2015. So the two know each other well.

This was also evident at The post-qualifying press conference. When both were asked how they will handle the start, the Dutchman immediately looked back at their year at Red Bull Racing's sister team. "I know Carlos can start very well, that was already the case at Toro Rosso."

Sainz is still left with question marks

Sainz nuanced it a bit more himself. He expects the start to be very unpredictable, as there is a lot different with the new cars. The visibility is less and the car feels different.

If it's up to the Spaniard, he will go on the attack in the opening stages of the race."If we get a good start, then you do have to be ready in attack mode. But there is still a lot unknown about the start of the other, so it is still impossible to predict how the start will go," Sainz concluded.
Grand Haven, MI (49417)

Today

Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. High 63F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early with showers later at night. Low 51F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
SCORES of Zimbabwean women employed as domestic workers in Oman are being subjected to deplorable living and working conditions that include constant beatings, overwork, underpayment and forced labour, an official investigation has concluded.

The Zimbabwean Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, has established that some local employment agents working in collusion with criminal syndicates in the Middle East country were luring Zimbabwean women to the Sultanate through false promises of well-paying jobs before trading them off into virtual slavery.

The embassy recently dispatched senior officials on a consular visit to Muscat, the capital of Oman, after being inundated with calls from several Zimbabwean women employed as domestic workers raising alarm about their working conditions.

Counsellor Onismo Chigejo led an official delegation from the embassy on a two-day fact-finding mission to Muscat on February 18 where the team learnt of the harrowing conditions Zimbabwean expatriate workers were living under.

It was established that most of the women had their passports confiscated on arrival and were being forced to see out their two-year employment contracts in spite of poor working conditions.

Some of the employers are reportedly demanding up to US$2 500 from the women in return for their freedom.

Most of the domestic workers were earning between US$60 to US$80 per month.

A report from Zimbabwes Ambassador to the UAE, Lovemore Mazemo, addressed to Foreign Affairs and International Trade secretary, Ambassador James Manzou, in possession of The Sunday Mail, outlines in detail the appalling conditions some of the domestic workers are living under.

It says several women had developed suicidal tendencies on account of the harsh living conditions.

Ambassador Mazemo proposed a Government ban on migration by Zimbabweans to Oman to work as maids.

Government, reads the report, should assist the women with financial support to buy their freedom back.

Secretary, from the consular visit, the Embassy noted that Zimbabwean maids in Oman are working under conditions that they themselves consider to be forced labour or slavery, reads the report in part.

Some of the challenges that they are facing include working for between 15 to 18 hours per day with no rest; no off days even when one is sick; salaries are not paid in full or on time; being forced to work for large extended families; confiscation of passports by employers; physical assaults and verbal abuses; confinement to the house for long periods of time; denial of adequate food as well as the inability to leave an employer and work for another one before the end of their two-year contracts.

The Embassy, according to the report, also established that the workers communication with the outside world is severely restricted.

Some of the employees are not allowed to have cellphones with local numbers in order to prevent them from communicating with locals including the police.

As a way forward, the Embassy strongly recommends that the Department of Social Welfare should consider taking action to rescue some of the maids by raising the money which the employers of the maids are demanding back.

Two of the maids are now displaying suicidal mentalities much to the fear of Zimbabweans in Oman.

The two maids openly told consular officers that they were seriously considering committing suicide as a way to end their suffering and enslavement.

The Government may wish to consider banning Zimbabwean nationals from migrating to Oman to work as maids.

The Embassy said most of the women were unaware of labour laws in Oman.

Oman is one of the countries where the kafala labour system is religiously enforced.

The system is used to monitor migrant labourers, working primarily in the construction and domestic sectors in Gulf Co-operation Council member states and a few neighbouring countries.

It requires all migrant workers to have an in-country sponsor, usually their employer, who is responsible for their visa and legal status.

Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister David Musabayana said Government was seized with the matter.

We have heard about the story, it actually came through my desk. We have asked these workers to form groups so that we have an appreciation of the number of people affected.

We have since activated our systems and notified the Social Welfare Department, Home Affairs and all other Government institutions involved so that we can verify who these people are, he said.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Professor Paul Mavima said: Once we receive the report and go through it, we will make deliberations and intervene by engaging both governments to map a way forward.

It is imperative that those workers be brought back home if necessary and we will handle it the way we did those who were in Kuwait.

In 2016, Government repatriated dozens of Zimbabwean women who had been sold into slavery in Kuwait.

According to the Embassy report on the situation in Oman, most of the women were recruited by agents in Zimbabwe and South Africa while their sponsors were usually Nigerian nationals.

These agents work with sponsors in Oman.

The agents in Zimbabwe secure visas and air tickets for the maids by sending copies of the womens passports to sponsors in Oman.

When the women arrive in Oman, they are received by the sponsor who then sends them to families in need of domestic workers. Sunday Mail
For Daniel Radcliffe, it felt good to be bad.

The English actor, who rose to fame playing the heroic Harry Potter, embraced portraying an eccentric villain in the new adventure-comedy The Lost City.

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Its always nice to do something different. Its not something I do a lot of in my career, sort of as the bad guy, so its very, very fun, Radcliffe told the Daily News.

Theres great stuff about playing a hero ... but its lovely to spend a film not having to be the emotional center of the film or the eyes of the audience or anything like that, and just to kind of go, oh yeah, I dont even have to be sympathetic or likeable or any of those things. Theres something very freeing about that.

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Radcliffe stars in the movie, in theaters Friday, as Abigail Fairfax, a bombastic billionaire obsessed with recovering an ancient artifact from the Lost City of D.

He kidnaps romantic novelist Loretta Sage, played by Sandra Bullock, after she references the Lost City in her book, hoping she can help him find the treasure. Lorettas cover model, portrayed by Channing Tatum, then begins an ill-equipped rescue mission, kicking off chaos in the jungle.

Daniel Radcliffe (left) with Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock in "The Lost City." (Paramount Pictures/Kimberley French)

Its very, very heightened in situations and the characters are in danger all the time, but even in those situations everyones still very quippy and funny, Radcliffe said. Theres something very classic-feeling about that. The journey the audience should go on is really just fun. Theres great action and theres thriller elements, and it is a very compelling story, but ultimately youre kept hooked because you love the characters.

Radcliffe, 32, enjoyed playing a villain in a comedy, saying he approached the antagonist role differently than he would have in a straight drama.

He is the least favorite son of a media mogul, Radliffe said of his character. He is kind of amoral and villainous, but all of his villainy is motivated by a very human and slightly pathetic need to be liked, and (he) desperately wants his dad to be impressed by him. The evil actions are almost from a very mundane and human place, which I think was clever.

Production took place in the Dominican Republic, with many scenes shot in the actual jungle.

[ Channing Tatum shares the inspirations for his heartfelt directorial debut Dog ]

The setting provided extraordinary scenery thats featured throughout The Lost City, said Radcliffe, who appreciated the film using a helicopter unit rather than drones to capture the natural beauty.

We had a proper helicopter unit on this, so (with) some of those shots of the ocean and of the mountains, you really feel the scope of it in a different way, Radcliffe said. Its very, very cool.

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Daniel Radcliffe at the premiere of "The Lost City" at South by Southwest in Austin on March 12. (Rich Fury/Getty Images for SXSW)

The actor, who has also frequently starred on Broadway throughout his career, said it was a thrill to work with Bullock and Tatum.

I grew up obviously on the Potter films and working with extraordinary actors like Maggie Smith and Richard Harris, but I didnt as a young child really have an appreciation for who they were and what their work had been, he said. Whereas I grew up watching Sandras movies, so to be on set with her is incredibly special. Very nerve-wracking at first, but thankfully she puts you at ease pretty quickly.

The Lost City had its world premiere this month at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, marking Radcliffes first time at a cinema since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was just joyous, Radcliffe said. It was so nice to sit in there with an audience and listen to them react to stuff. It was very much a reminder, like, oh yeah, this is why cinemas are good and this is why Ive missed this.
GREENWICH  Chuck Royce, chairman and portfolio manager of Greenwich investment firm Royce & Associates, was the man of the hour recently when he was honored at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich as the 30th recipient of the Greenwich Librarys Peterson Business Award.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo presented Royce with the prestigious award via video from Washington, D.C.

By any measure, Chuck has been a huge success in business. But Chuck has also dedicated his life to building communities, philanthropy, historic preservation and education, Raimondo said in presenting the award.

In his speech, Royce recounted how he began his career by discovering the value in small capital market companies and said that for him, work isnt work  its a way of life.

The award was presented March 3 at the 2022 Peterson Business Award Dinner. About 285 business and community leaders attended the dinner, which is held every other year and is the librarys only major fundraiser. This year, the event raised $630,000.

Longtime business journalist and WealthTrack creator and host Consuelo Mack facilitated a conversation with Royce at the event.

Royce is entering his 60th year in the investing industry and his 50th with his namesake firm. Recognized as a pioneer in small-cap investment  businesses with market capitalizations less than $2 billion  Royce has built a career focusing on finding profitable futures for smaller companies.

He is a graduate of Brown University and has a masters degree in business administration from Columbia University. A longtime trustee at Brown, he established the Royce Fellowship in 1996 to help fund undergraduate research around the world.

Royce also enjoys historic restoration and revitalization projects; he led the award-winning renovation of a Victorian-era seaside hotel, Ocean House, in Rhode Island and a similar restoration of the Deer Mountain Inn in the Catskill village of Tannersville, N.Y.

Royce and his wife, Deborah, split their time between Greenwich; Watch Hill, R.I.; and Palm Beach, Fla. He has four children, two stepchildren, and numerous grandchildren.

The Peterson Business Award was established in 1997 by the Greenwich Library and the Peterson Foundation to recognize and honor an individual whose innovative thinking, leadership and sustained record of achievement has had a profound impact on the national and global economy and whose words and deeds have demonstrated a commitment to intellectual freedom and open access to information.

The award is named in honor of Clementine Lockwood Peterson, whose 1992 bequest of $25 million made possible a new 32,000-square-foot wing at the Greenwich Library. Designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli, the wing contains expanded business and music collections. Her gift was made in memory of her son, Jonathan, and her husband, J. Whitney Peterson.

The Peterson Business Award was conceived to celebrate her generosity and to recognize outstanding business leadership.

The Greenwich Library system consists of the Main Library and its Byram Shubert and Cos Cob branches. For more information, visit www.greenwichlibrary.org.
What do you think of the new Galaxy A-series phones that were unveiled earlier this week? Samsungs mid-range series has its advantages (e.g. flagship-level software support), but it is quite conservative in its design. Its strange to think that the series is descendant from the ambitious Galaxy Alpha.

The series has ventured out to the wild side on occasion  in 2019, for example, with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy A80. Every now and then we hear rumors that there will be a sequel, but none of them panned out. So, lets have a closer look at this phone that is unique in Samsungs line-up.

A while back phones with pop-up cameras became quite popular, with flip-up cameras being a rare alternative. Those disappeared almost as suddenly as they appeared, the world eventually decided that the punch hole design isnt that bad and it will make do until under display cameras become the norm.

The Galaxy A80 was advertised with an Infinity Display. Samsung uses the Infinity-O branding for phones with punch hole cameras, Infinity-V and Infinity-U for notched designs. But the A80 display was pure Infinity, no holes or cutouts of any sort (well, unless you count the rounded off corners).

This left the 6.7 Super AMOLED panel unblemished while still keeping bezels thin all around. For context, under display cameras were still in the prototype stages in 2019. The way the A80 flip its cameras was interesting too  part of the back was pushed up, then the camera module rotated around its axis. Here it is on video:

The flip-up camera design has another advantage, one that it holds over pop-up camera phones too  the high quality rear cameras can be used for selfies. There have been some great selfie cameras over the years, but rarely ones this good.



The Samsung Galaxy A80 used the same cameras for selfies as it did for regular photos and videos

The Galaxy A80 featured a 48 MP main camera with a 1/2.0 sensor. Not the largest, but it had decently-sized 0.8 m pixels (1.6 m with binning). And it fully supported autofocus with phase detection AF to boot.

Even better, there was an 8 MP ultra wide camera for group selfies, along with a 3D TOF sensor, which was leveraged for some fun effects. Trying to put all that on the front would have resulted in a wide notch or a pill-shaped hole.

Here are some selfies for you to enjoy:



Selfie samples, main camera, 12MP, HDR Auto

Next up, Portrait mode selfies (using the depth sensor):



Portrait samples

Also, some ultra wide camera selfies:



Selfie samples, ultra wide camera, HDR Auto

How about Live Focus video while walking? As you can probably tell, the main camera doesnt have OIS (most selfie cameras dont either).

Finally, some regular camera samples:







Daylight samples, main camera, 12MP, HDR Auto





Daylight samples, ultra wide camera, HDR Auto

The Galaxy A80 was one of the first Samsungs to use an under display fingerprint reader, an optical one rather than ultrasonic like on the Galaxy S10 5G and later S-series models. It was not the fastest, but at least it was always on, so you didnt have to tap the power button before unlocking the phone.

Samsung could have used a rear or side-mounted fingerprint reader, but the A80 was designed to impress, even when it wasn't practical. Or cheap (but more on price in a minute).

In case you were wondering, no, there was no face unlock. The camera flip mechanism wasnt particularly fast, so waiting on it every time you wanted to unlock the phone would have been a pain.

The Galaxy A80 was powered by the Snapdragon 730, a fairly powerful chipset for its day. It had two Kryo 470 Gold cores (2.2 GHz, based on Cortex-A76) and six 470 Silver cores (1.8 GHz, A55), plus an Adreno 618 GPU and a 4G modem (X15, 800/150 Mbps).

It couldnt compete with flagships, but it was faster than the typical mid-ranger. However, due to all the cutting edge features like the display, camera and FP reader, this was one pricey phone  it had a launch price of 650/$730, more than some flagships at the time.

And the phone had its limitations. The 25W fast charging support was rare on a Samsung back then, but the 3,700 mAh battery was on the small side. The Galaxy A70, a contemporary 6.7 phone, had a 4,500 mAh battery.

Also, there was only one memory configuration  8 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage  but no microSD slot to expand it (the A70 did have a slot). No 3.5 mm headphone jack either (again, the A70 had one).

We dont know how many Galaxy A80s Samsung managed to sell. But we do know that the profits werent enough to justify designing a sequel. Even so, we miss out of the box phones like the A80, most designs these days seem to boil down to the camera bump is shaped like X.
The new Galaxy A trio will receive four OS updates and up to five years of security patches  thats the same level of support as Samsung offers for its flagships and better than any Android vendor (yes, even Google). So if you bought one now, you can use it until 2027 while enjoying new features and up-to-date security. But will you buy one?

Right now we dont know the pricing of the Samsung Galaxy A73 5G. And it may not matter anyway, because theres no indication that the phone will be available in Europe, the US, India  the press release only mentioned that the A73 will launch on April 22, so it may be a month before we get answers.

Still, considering that the base A53 5G costs 450, while a Galaxy S21 FE 5G is 660 right now (and the older S20 FE 5G is 540), there isnt much room for the A73 5G to land on.

The phone offers a larger display than the FEs, 6.7 Super AMOLED+ 120 Hz, but is powered by an all new chipset, Exynos 1280, that doesnt seem as powerful as the Snapdragon 778G, let alone the Snapdragon 865 and 888 that the FEs have. It does offer 5G connectivity though, while the A72 never got a 5G variant.

The 108 MP main camera is another selling point, even compared to FE duo (which has 12 MP main cams). Samsung is making big promises about the image processing capabilities of the new chipset, but thats something that we will have to test. Also, the A73 doesnt have a telephoto camera (that was a key advantage of the A72 over the A52), so the high resolution sensor has to pull double duty.

The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is an odd one. How is it better than the Galaxy A52s 5G? As mentioned, the chipset seems less powerful than the 778G (two Cortex-A78 vs. four, but 5 nm vs. 6 nm) and the 3.5 mm headphone jack is gone. The battery has 500 mAh more capacity, but thats not much.

Also, the A52s 5G is cheaper, you can easily find it for just over 300 (6/128 GB unit), whereas the A53 5G starts at 450. Do note that the A52s 5G is officially eligible for only 3 OS updates (and 4 years of security patches) and it is already a year old (it launched with Android 11).

6.5" 120 Hz Super AMOLED display on the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G

But here is the real catch, the A52s 5G never officially launched in the US. There are some gray imports, but those have issues, so youre really only looking at the non-s A52 5G and that one has the weaker Snapdragon 750G. Plus, the non-s model costs $500 in the US vs. $450 for the Galaxy A53 5G, so its not really a contender.

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G camera setup

Theres also the matter of the Samsung Galaxy A33 5G, which is very similar to the A53 5G. It has slightly thicker bezels so its screen is 6.4 (instead of 6.5) and it refreshes at 90 Hz (instead of 120 Hz). The cameras are downgraded too with a 48 MP main and 8 MP ultra wide (vs. 64+12 MP), plus a 13 MP selfie camera (vs. 32 MP).

However, you get the same chipset, same 5,000 mAh battery with the same 25W fast charging support, same Gorilla Glass 5 and the same IP67. And the starting price is lower, 370/330 (vs. 450/400).

Samsung Galaxy A33 5G (left) and Samsung Galaxy A53 5G (right)

Unfortunately, it doesnt look like the Galaxy A33 5G will be launching in the US, so the A33 vs. A53 question is for the rest of the world to ponder.

So, do you see a Samsung Galaxy A73, A53 or A33 in your future?

PS. if you have trouble voting using the embedded poll above, try casting your vote here.
A date is set for oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority against Del. Michael San Nicolas and his father Miguel San Nicolas over money they received as Section 8 landlords.

The San Nicolases have asked the court to dismiss the matter.

The suit was filed last January and involves a contract that the delegate set up in 2011 to receive payments as a landlord under the Section 8 housing assistance program, prior to being elected to the Guam Legislature in 2013.

Public officials and their immediate family members are barred from the program due to conflict of interest, a clause that was included in the initial contract, GHURAs complaint states. Michael San Nicolas knowingly refrained from disclosing the conflict after being elected, the agency alleges.

The delegate has stated that he terminated the contracts in 2017, the year he was informed by GHURA that he had a conflict of interest.

In 2013, Miguel San Nicolas also obtained a contract under the same program for a Talofofo property. According documents filed by GHURA, Miguel San Nicolas subsequently disclosed his conflict and asked for a waiver after the delegate terminated his contract in 2017.

False claims

Both men knowingly made false claims, GHURA alleges. Michael San Nicolas while at the Legislature had oversight of GHURA and voted on the appointment of board members, while Miguel San Nicolas was involved in his sons political career and served as his campaign chairman in 2015, GHURA states.

Together, the San Nicolases received about $129,000 in subsidies from GHURA between 2013 and 2017, GHURA states. U.S. Housing and Urban Development told the agency to go after repayment for the money, and GHURA is seeking reimbursement plus damages, court costs, and the issuance of civil penalties.

Counsel for the delegate and his father argues that GHURA does not have the authority to sue, as only private persons or the attorney general can sue on behalf of the government of Guam under the Guam False Claims Act.

The Office of the Attorney General previously declined to intervene in the matter.

Makes no sense

According to the defendants, it makes no sense to allow GHURA to file with the court as a private person.

The government of Guam obviously cannot intervene in a case that they are already in as a party, the motion to dismiss states.

GHURA in response asserted that it was a person under the law, as Guam law recognizes corporations and organizations as persons. The Organic Act also established GHURA as an entity separate from the rest of the government of Guam, the agency argues.

Counsel for the San Nicolases replied last December, stating that GHURA could not sue them under the Guam False Claims Act as the law was not passed until 2018, after the contracts had been terminated.

Defendants requested the matter be dismissed and declared frivolous, and that the people of Guam be reimbursed for GHURAs attorney fees.

A hearing was scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed until June 20.
Core Tech International is gaming the system meant to benefit ancestral landowners, according to the Guam Waterworks Authority, which is seeking permission to bring an ongoing land dispute with Core Tech to the Supreme Court of Guam.

According to GWA, if Core Tech wins its case, GWA and its customers could be required to pay Core Tech as much as $220 million.

Superior Court of Guam Judge Elyze Iriarte last November ruled that Core Tech has an ownership interest in Dededo ancestral land that since 1980 has been used to operate GWAs Northern District Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Iriartes ruling is incorrect, according to GWA, which last Friday told Iriarte that Core Tech got the land through a series of questionable transfers. Guam law prohibits the transfer of the wastewater plant to private owners, according to GWA.

Although GWA has petitioned the Supreme Court to decide the question of land ownership, Iriarte has not yet agreed to pause the ongoing Superior Court case to allow GWA to appeal.

She instructed Core Tech and GWA to file additional briefs, arguing for or against a pause, and GWA filed its final brief Friday.

According to GWA, Iriartes decision that Core Tech owns the wastewater plant site, has stifled GWAs ability to effectively negotiate a consent decree with the U.S. EPA regarding necessary upgrades to the Hagatna wastewater treatment plant and the (Northern District Wastewater Treatment Plant).

Significant burden

If those negotiations fail, GWA could face millions of dollars in fines which would be a significant burden on ratepayers and put GWA at risk of federal receivership, GWA stated.

Core Tech earlier this month objected to a pause, stating it is in the public interest for the court to protect the rights of landowners. If GWA loses in Superior Court and a judgment is issued, it can appeal then, according to Core Tech.

According to Core Tech, GWA failed to assert interest in the property when it was transferred from the government to private ownership. It sued GWA for alleged inverse condemnation, which is when the government takes private property without paying for it.

The wastewater site is on ancestral land  part of a former Air Force communications annex which the federal government later declared excess and returned to the government of Guam. The military, when it owned the property, leased it to GovGuam for use as a wastewater plant.

The Guam Ancestral Lands Commission deeded 257 acres of excess federal land to the estate of Jose Martinez Torres, including part of the communications annex.

The Torres estate in September 2007 sold 252 acres of its ancestral land to Kil Yoo Yoon for $21.4 million. Yoon in January 2010 deeded the land to his company, Younex Enterprises Corporation.

Core Tech acquired the property in May 2015, for $178.1 million, after Younex defaulted on its mortgage with Core Tech, documents state.

GWA on Friday told the court the lands former owner, Yoon, in 2008 recorded a map which states the wastewater plant was not returned to owner.

Warranty deed

Despite this clear exclusion of the (wastewater plant) on the  map, Yoon deeded the wastewater treatment lot to his company through a warranty deed, GWA stated.

This warranty deed from Yoon essentially to himself is the first time the (wastewater plant) was ever purportedly transferred to any private party and serves as the sole basis for Core Techs claims of ownership, GWA stated.

According to GWA, pausing the Superior Court case, will result in no harm to Core Tech whatsoever.
While the Guam Department of Education supports the Period Poverty Act, education officials said theres not enough money to sufficiently supply schools with menstrual products.

Its something that is not funded and since its required of the department to do this, then it would be appreciated if we were able to get that funding to provide as much feminine hygiene products as possible to our female students, said Deputy Superintendent Erika Cruz.

The law requires all public school nursing or counselor offices to have menstrual products, such as tampons and sanitary pads, available for students free of charge.

School nurses have been providing those products for free, but have been buying them with their own money, Cruz said.

They try to provide free, feminine hygiene products to our students. Its something thats of great importance to our nurses. ... They go out of their way, said Cruz.

Since the bill became public law, the education agency must include menstrual products as part of its needed expenses in its budget for fiscal 2023.

Donations sought

Bureau of Womens Affairs Director Jayne Flores said she recently met with the Council of Womens Clubs and asked them to donate to schools until funding for menstrual products is budgeted for next fiscal year.

I asked clubs that have been supplying these products to the schools to please just do this for just one more time, so that we can get these girls through the school year, she said. We were doing that before the pandemic. We had not been doing that during the pandemic.

Some of the clubs that have donated include the Guam Womens Club, Soroptimist International of Guam, the Guam Womens Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Women In Construction and Daughters of the American Revolution Guam Chapter.

This is really an important piece of legislation and I just hope the Department of Education can set aside some (funds) for the nurses offices to provide menstrual products, said Flores. It is really important for girls to know if they start their period and they dont have anything at home, they can go to school and be safe.

The law also applies to Guam Community College and the University of Guam.

Like Guam public schools, the university was providing free menstrual products before the law was signed.

The supplies are provided through the Student Health Offices budget and through donations, according to UOG spokesman Jonas Macapinlac.
The STEM High School Summer internship program is accepting applications until April. 24 for high school sophomores and juniors looking for a paid science experience, according to a press release from the University of Guam.

Interns will receive a $1,000 stipend and will perform research in botany, ecology, marine biology and sustainability throughout the program.

Tanya Martinez, a student from John F. Kennedy High School participated in the program last summer.

She expressed that STEM fields were not as intimidating as she thought.

Before the program, I mainly concluded that STEM careers are extremely difficult and meant for intellectual geniuses that have had an affinity to the field and parents that are engineers or scientists, Martinez said.

STEM career possible

Through the month, however, I realized that I felt confident among my other peers and mentors within my observations and that pursuing a STEM career is something that is completely possible for me, she continued.

Pacific Islanders, women, those who are a part of the LGBTQ community, and other underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and math are encouraged to apply, according to the release.

The program is a partnership with UOGs School of Education and is overseen by the Center for Island Sustainability and the Sea Grant Program at the University of Guam.

The internship program is funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation through UOGs Inclusion Across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science and the Supporting Emerging Aquatic Scientists Islands Alliance Guam hub.
Natalia Voloshina, before fleeing her Ukrainian homeland, heard the first terrifying explosions of the Russian invasion from inside a hospital bomb shelter.

All the rockets, the 64-year-old woman recalled through translator Maxym Sopinka Saturday, barely a week after her arrival in Yonkers. All night there were airstrikes.

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Voloshina, hospitalized by a heart attack three days before the Feb. 24 invasion, launched a harrowing six-day odyssey to escape war-torn Ukraine in early March, eventually landing with friends just north of New York City.

The cardiac patient endured a 21-hour train ride from her home city of Dnipro, a six-hour minivan trip from Lviv to Warsaw in Poland, and finally a 9-hour flight into Newark International Airport.

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The minivan picked up Voloshina and several others after delivering supplies to Ukraine, including battle helmets and medicine.

Im very thankful for everything, she told the Daily News after entering the U.S. with a tourist visa. Im thankful for America helping Ukraine, and the soldiers helping in Ukraine ... I felt happy that I was leaving.

Natalia Voloshina is safe in New York after a long journey from her home in Dnipro, Ukraine. (Ellen Moynihan/New York Daily News)

According to Voloshina, there was a seven-hour wait to board the overcrowded train that began her journey on March 6  with mothers and their children given top priority. The riders brought their own food and were forced to sleep sitting up, she said.

It was really slow going because there were so many people on it, she recalled. Instead of four people on each bench, there was 10 to 12 people on each bench. In every womans hands, there were kids ... They were calling every Ukrainian woman and child to leave.

Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. >

Once in Poland, we rested our heads for a couple of days before heading to the U.S., she said. Voloshina had previously visited New York, and expressed thanks that her visa was enough to return.

Voloshinas nerve-wracking departure from her homeland was not without its own family angst: She left behind her 41-year-old son and 21-year-old grandson. She frets over whether the pair will be summoned to join the armed forces protecting their homeland.

Theyve gotten many soldiers, so they are not needed for now, she said. But that can change.

Metal barriers in front of the Interpipe Steel plant in Natalia Voloshina's hometown, Dnipro, Ukraine, Thursday, March 10, 2022. (Eugene Sabadyr/AP)

Since Russia launched its attacks, officials report more than 3 million people fled Ukraine  with more than half relocating to Poland. Most of the rest, said the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, landed in the surrounding countries of Eastern Europe.

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While few found new homes in the U.S., Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden Administration was working with European governments and humanitarian organizations to provide alternative havens.

Voloshina, who arrived in New Jersey on March 11, said she was following the crisis in her native land on television and speaking with family and friends still in Ukraine.

Theyve already bombed everything there, she said. The airport in Dnipro, some other towns around there.




Haiti - Social : Haiti in the TOP 10 of the least happy countries in the world





The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network has just released the "World Happiness Report 2022" an annual publication that assessed 146 countries in 2021.



Since 2002, the "World Happiness Report" has used statistical analysis to determine the happiest countries in the world. To determine the happiest country, the researchers analyze and take into account, among other things, 8 criteria:



1. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita;

2. Healthy life expectancy;

3. Social support (individual and collective);

4. The freedom to make life choices;

5. The generosity of individuals;

6. Levels of internal and external corruption. ;

7. Positive affect in a person's life;

8. Negative affect in a person's life;



In this report, Haiti is ranked in the Top 10 least happy countries with a score of 3.721 and ranks 140th out of 149 countries.



Our Dominican neighbors with a score of 5.545 ranks 72nd out of 149 countries.



TOP 10 happiest countries :

1st out of 146 - Finland: 7,842 points (2021), 7,809 pts (2020)

2nd out of 146 - Denmark 7,629 pts (2021), 7,646 pts (2020)

3rd out of 146 - Switzerland: 7,571 points (2021), 7,560 pts (2020)

4th out of 146 - Iceland: 7,554 points (2021), 7,504 pts (2020)

5th out of 146 - Netherlands: 7.464 points (2021), 7.449 pts (2020)

6th out of 146 - Norway: 7.392 points (2021), 7.488 pts (2020)

7th out of 146 - Sweden: 7.363 points (2021), 7.353 pts (2020

8th out of 146 - Luxembourg: 7.324 points (2021), 7.238 (2020)

9th out of 146 - New Zealand: 7,277 points (2021), 7,300 pts (2020)

10th out of 146 - Austria: 7.268 points (2021), 7.294 pts (2020)



TOP 10 least happy countries :

1st Afghanistan (146th out of 146): 2.523 points (2021), 2.567 pts (2020)

2nd Zimbabwe (145th out of 146): 3.145 points (2021), 3.299 pts (2020)

3rd Rwanda (144th out of 146): 3.415 points (2021), 3.312 pts (2020)

4th Bostwana (143 out of 146): 3.467 points (2021), 3.479 pts (2020

5th Lesotho (142nd out of 146): 3.512 points (2021), 3.653 pts (2020)

6th Malawi (141st out of 146): 3,600 points (2021), 3,538 pts (2020)

7th Haiti (140th out of 146): 3.615 points (2021), 3.721 pts (2020)

8th Tanzania (139 out of 146): 3.623 points (2021), 3.476 pts (2020)

9th Yemen (138th out of 146): 3.658 points (2021), 3.537 pts (2020)

10th Burundi (137th out of 146): 3.775 points (2021), 3.775 pts (2020



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27243-haiti-social-haiti-in-the-top-10-the-least-happy-countries-in-the-world.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23825-haiti-social-haiti-the-country-where-people-are-the-least-happy-of-the-caribbean-report.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-9448-haiti-news-some-news-here-and-there.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Diaspora Covid-19 : Daily Bulletin #730





GLOBAL SITUATION 2019-2022:

Epidemiological situation:



Sunday March 20, 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 470,109,898 cases (+1,623,176 in 24 hours ), the day before (+1,848,710)



Number of infected countries: 224



*Healings: 400,609,293 people have been cured of Covid-19 worldwide (+1,036,367 in 24 hours), the day before (+1,249,376)

*Deaths: 6,098,267 people have died of Covid-19 worldwide since the start of the pandemic (+3,810 in 24 hours), the day before (+5,608)

*Active cases (minus deaths and recoveries) in the world is currently 63,402,338 cases (+582,999 in 24 hours), the day before (+593,726)



Average cure rate in the world: 85.21% (-)



Average mortality rate in the world: 1.29% (-)



World: Number of daily confirmed cases:





(Day-1)



Vaccination: 11.11 billion doses of vaccine injected (+10 million doses injected in 24 hours. Updated March 19, 2022 (latest data available).



HAITI:

Epidemiological situation:

According to the Ministry of Public Health, +16 new cases of Covid-19 and its variants have been confirmed in Haiti as of March 16, 2022 (latest partial data available ) for a total of 30,494 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 (+17 cases as of March 13, 2022).



Healings: 27,337 (+298)



Cure rate: 89.64% (+)



Deaths: 827 deaths (+0) ()



Death rate: 2.71% (=)



5th Wave (Omicron Dominant):

Total of the 5th wave (starting December 27, 2021) 4,499 confirmed cases and 61 deaths



Haiti: Active Cases Trend: (less recoveries and deaths)







Screening since the start of the pandemic: 184,438 tests (+803 in 3 days) 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: 738 (+1); Petion-ville 616 (+1); Port-au-Prince 406 (+1); Tabarre 286 (+0); Cross-Bouquets 237 (+2)



Confirmed cases by department (2022 / 2021 / 2020):

West: 2022: 2,539 cases; (2021: 9.890); (2020: 6,945 cases)

North: 2022: 265 cases; (2021: 664); (2020: 677 cases)

Center: 2022: 225 cases; (2021: 1.001); (2020: 508 cases)

Artibonitis: 2022: 178 cases; (2021: 855); (2020: 593 cases)

Northeast: 2022: 148 cases; (2021: 404); (2020: 314 cases)

Southeast: 2022: 252 cases; (2021: 768); (2020: 274 cases)

South: 2022: 214 cases; (2021: 891); (2020: 262 cases)

North West: 2022: 249 cases; (2021: 383); (2020: 229 cases)

Grand'Anse: 2022: 163 cases; (2021: 861); (2020: 176 cases)

Nippes: 2022: 36 cases; (2021: 249) (2020: 149 cases)



Cumulative deaths by department (2022-2021):

West: 293 deaths (2020: 104 deaths)

North: 54 deaths (2020: 34 deaths)

Center: 78 deaths (2020: 13 deaths)

Artibonite: 40 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: 31 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: 137 deaths



Vaccination:

159,320 Haitians (1.37% of the population) +2,318 in 4 days have received a 1st dose of vaccine since July 16, 2021, date of the first injection through 149 open vaccination centers and 108,450 Haitians are fully vaccinated (2 doses, 0.93% of the population) +2.336 in 4 days. Update March 10, 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 first case (February 29, 2020): 81,404,135 cases (+15.545 in 24h), the day before (+37.707)

*Healings: 57,123,063 healings (+147,586 in 24 hours), the day before (+152,897)

National Cure Rate: 70.17% (+)

*Deaths: 997,845 deaths (+709), the day before (+1,064)

National death rate: 1.22% (=)

*Active cases (minus deaths and recoveries): 23,283,227 (-132,750 in 24 hours), the day before (-116,254)



USA: Number of daily confirmed cases





(Day-1)



Vaccination: 558.43 million doses of vaccine injected since December 14, 2020, date of the first injection in the United States (+220,000 doses in 24 hours). Updated March 18, 2022 (latest data available).



DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:

Confirmed cases since March 1, 2020: 577,241 cases (+171 in 24 hours) the day before (+166 in 24 hours). First case (March 1, 2020)

Healings: 572,289 healings (+11 in 24 hours), the day before (+87)

National Cure Rate: 99.14% (-)

Deaths: 4,375 deaths (+0), previous (+0)

Death rate: 0.75% (=)

Positivity rate over 4 epidemiological weeks: 1.28% (-)

Active cases: (excluding deaths and recoveries) 577 cases (+61 in 24 hours) the day before (+79)



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:

Santiago: +80 new cases in 24 hours (-)

National District: +33 new cases ()

Santo Domingo: +17 new cases in 24 hours (+)

Altagracia: +7 new cases ()

Azua: +6 new cases (-)



Vaccination: 15.41 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). Updated March 19, 2022 (latest data available).



QUEBEC:

Warning: Quebec health authorities no longer update data on the Covid situation on weekends. The figures below are therefore the latest available.



Confirmed cases since the first case (February 27, 2020): 942,282 (+1,170 in 24 hours), previous (+1,462)

Healings: 914,755 people (+1,113) previous (+909)

Cure rate: 97.07% (-)

Death: 14,245 (+13) previous (+19)

Death rate: 1.51% (=)

Active cases: (excluding death and recovery) 13,282 cases (+44 in 24 hours), previous (+534)



Quebec: Trend of daily confirmed cases:





(average weekly trend)



Vaccination: 18,549,998 doses of vaccine injected since December 14, 2020, date of the first injection (+6,623 doses in 24 hours), latest available data - MSSS dated March 18, 2022)



FRANCE:

*Confirmed cases since the first case (January 24, 2020): 24,055,877 cases (+98,104 cases in 24 hours), previous (+97,579)

*Healings: 22,548,429 healings (+42,538), previous (+53,511)

National Cure Rate: 93.73% (-)

Deaths: 140,903 (+62 in 24h), previous (+112)

Death rate: 0.58% (=)

Active Cases: 1,366,545 (+55,504), previous (+43,956)



France: Number of daily confirmed cases:





(Day-1)



Vaccination: 141.46 million doses of vaccine injected since December 27, 2020, date of the first injection in France (+30,000 doses injected in 24 hours. Update March 19, 2022 (latest data available)



Previous bulletin : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36217-haiti-diaspora-covid-19-daily-bulletin-729.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






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





The mandate of 58 judges renewed

Friday, March 18 in the Council of Ministers the Government, in order to avoid the dysfunction of the courts and tribunals renewed the mandate of 58 judges on a list of magistrates sent to the Executive.



USA : The Coast Guard rescues 189 Haitians

On Saturday, March 19, Coast Guard ships William Flores (homeport in Coast Guard District 7, Miami, Fla.) and Tahoma (homeport at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine) rescued approximately 20 miles off Cape Mole-Saint-Nicolas, 189 Haitians in bad weather, aboard a small, overcrowded sailboat. There were 126 males, 46 female, and 17 children aboard the sail freighter.



Covid : End of the safety net

The Economic and Social Assistance Fund (FAES) has informed that the "Safety net for vulnerable people affected by Covid" project, including cash and food transfers, will end in March 2022.



Taiwan alongside the disabled

Wen-jiann Ku the Ambassador of Taiwan (Republic of China) to the Office of the Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities (BSEIPH), on behalf of the Puhsein Buddhist Foundation and that of "Cao Zhong Zhi" Taiwan symbolically handed over a 20-foot container of equipment adapted to help people with reduced mobility regain more autonomy and comfort in their daily lives.



Dominicans reject their African ancestry

Only 8% of Dominicans identify as black according to the results of a study published Friday in Santo Domingo. 45% say they are Indian 18% white 16% brown 9% mulatto. This study shows, according to experts, that the Dominicans refuse to assume their African ancestry



Rhum Barbancourt soon back in France

Fabrice Mauries, the Ambassador of France in Haiti visited this week the Societe du Rhum Barbancourt S.A. and its philanthropic foundation. He said he was delighted to learn that France will once again become an export market for Rhum Barbancourt.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2022/03/19

On March 18th the drama film production company Urbanworks announced that they had entered a new partnership with the webtoon company JQ Comics. The memorandum of understanding between the two promises that JQ Comics will provide intellectual property in the form of the webtoons it publishes to serve as material for screen adaptations. The news comes as titles like "Semantic Error" and "Business Proposal" are showing massive synergy with webtoon-to-screen projects.

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JQ Comics is the production company responsible for such titles as "Fist of Legend" and "A Gentleman's Dignity" though neither of these titles are recent. Currently running titles for JQ Comics that seem likely candidates for dramatic adaptations are The Predator and Namjoo Search. The Predator is being distributed in five markets outside of South Korea- China, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States. Namjoo Search is new, but has been a quick hit in webtoon circles.

Urbanworks tends to be better known for their work producing variety shows than scripted content. "Bad Guys" and "Black Dog" are probably their best known television dramas. The memorandum of understanding between the two companies suggests greater ambitions in the worldwide market, as they explore new possibilities for expansion.
The promise of the American dream that brought Stephany Colon to this country was shattered in a New York minute on a hot night last summer.

The 24-year-old had carved a path for herself in Boston, after immigrating here from Honduras when she was 17. She was working at a sandwich factory. She had a girlfriend. She enjoyed dancing to raspe music, a wild offshoot of reggaeton from her home country.

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But everything changed in an instant for Colon  as quickly as the sound of gunfire on a summer night.

Stephany Colon before the shooting that left her paralyzed from the waist down. (Courtesy of Family)

During a typical weekend visit to her mothers place in the Bronx, Colon decided to go to Claremont Park with some friends to celebrate Central American Independence Day on Sept. 18. They drank, chatted casually and listened to music. Then the party exploded into a bloodbath.

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They started shooting. I didnt know what was going on, because Im not involved in anything bad. I was just there to enjoy myself, Colon told The Daily News in Spanish.

I caught a stray bullet It totally changed my life.

The scene at Claremont Park near Teller Avenue and Morris Avenue in the Bronx. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News)

When Colon woke up in Lincoln Hospital the next day, she learned she was collateral damage in a shooting sparked by a senseless argument that broke out. The gunmen opened fire indiscriminately, missing their intended targets. They killed an innocent 22-year-old man and wounded three others, including Colon and an 11-year-old boy.

While Colon knew she was lucky to be alive, she couldnt feel her legs. The bullet that went through her arm, perforated her lungs and finally lodged itself in her spine left her paralyzed from the waist down.

The hardest thing was when I (woke) up and I felt that I couldnt walk anymore, she recalled.

Stephany Colon hopes to one day regain her ability to walk after being struck by a stray bullet in a Bronx park. (Brittany Kriegstein/New York Daily News)

In the weeks that followed, Colon underwent five surgeries, including one to remove the bullet from her lower back. She spent five months at Lincoln Hospital and then was sent to a weeks-long rehab program at Bellevue Hospital, where she re-learned how to do all the basic things most people take for granted.

After the initial shock and pain of losing the use of her legs, Colon put all of her strength into adapting. It was OK, learning to live with what I had, she recalled of that period. I didnt want to stay stagnant there.

Facing the prospect of life in a wheelchair, Colons story is just one among the 1,877 people wounded or killed in shootings in New York City in 2021, according to NYPD statistics.

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Though they usually dont get as much spotlight as those who die of gun violence, wounded victims can be left with permanent disabilities that also leave scars on their families and communities.

Stephany Colon in Lincoln Hospital after the shooting left her in critical condition. (Courtesy of Family)

In December, Colons father, stepmother and several brothers all moved from Houston to New York to care for her  Colon couldnt stay with her mother, who wont accept the fact that she identifies as gay.

The family now lives in a homeless shelter in Brooklyn, where each new day is a process of figuring out how to help Colon live her life with as much freedom as possible.

It hasnt been easy but were making it happen, said stepmother Tania Colon, 40, who lovingly refers to her stepdaughter by the nickname Tefa.

I had to learn basically how to bathe her, how to change her, how to help her move from her bed to the wheelchair. I didnt know what to do, so we had to think about it. We had to brainstorm.

When its not happening to you, you think its normal, Tania said of gun violence. But when it happens to you, its an immense pain. Its hard to explain. Tefa doesnt walk anymore, she doesnt run anymore, she doesnt dance anymore.

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Since Stephany does not have legal permanent status in the U.S., her father, who works for a waste management company in the Bronx, has been footing her medical bills. The familyhas created a GoFundMe to help with the staggering costs and theyre trying to work with city agencies to be able to move out of the shelter.

Stephany Colon, 25, with her stepmother Tania Colon, 40. (Provided by family)

Leaning on her Christian faith to accept what happened to her, Stephany is trying to figure out what her future will look like. Right now, shes focused on finding a way to finish her high school education and would love to one day work in construction  she loves plumbing, painting, and carpentry.

But like this, I dont think I can work in construction. Well see what happens, she said. The doctor told me my probability of walking is minimal, so small that its almost no.

Despite the grim prognosis, Stephany remains hopeful shell find a way to walk again.

While there have been moments of heartbreak, there have also been little victories. The other day she was able to make herself orange juice. And shes slowly overcoming her fear of being outside, with her stepmoms help.

Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. >

Whenever she cries, we cry together, Tania said. We feel blessed because shes alive. Thats the reason we continue going. Because that person that died, that could have been her.

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Joseph Sanchez, the 22-year-old man killed in the spray of bullets that wounded Stephany, was also a Honduran immigrant visiting family in the Bronx from his home in New Orleans. He worked in construction.

Innocent bystander Joseph Sanchez, 22, was killed in the shooting that paralyzed Stephany Colon. (Provided by Daniel Espinosa)

Stephany didnt know Sanchez, though she now knows his story. Besides asking city officials for more security at parties, she said shed encourage young people to listen to grown ups who warn them to stay away from certain situations.

Adults tell us Dont go here, dont go there. But because were young and rebellious we say, Were going to go there! We have to learn to listen to our elders.

Stephany Colon, 25, with her father Rolvin Colon, 47. (Provided by family)

Police recovered a gun at the scene but have not arrested anyone for the shooting. The three suspects disappeared into the night in a white Nissan as terrified partygoers scrambled to leave the park.

To the people that did this, I just hope that God takes care of them. Even though it hurt me, Stephany said, wiping away tears. I had a beautiful life.

This is my new reality, she added. And I have to keep moving forward.
Korean Drama | 2012

 Drama

Directed by  Kwon Seok-jang ()  Lee Yoon-jeong ()

Written by Choi Hee-ra ()

TV Channel/Plateform: MBC (MBC)

Airing dates: 2012/07/09~2012/09/25

Link

23 episodes - Mon, Tue 21:55

Synopsis

It takes courage to believe in yourself as a first-year intern giving emergency treatment to a critically ill patient in ER without the guidance of an experienced doctor. This TV miniseries takes place in a hospital where doctors work hard to save lives despite the insurmountable odds that they face. And it centers around one man who is fighting a lone war to save patients lives amidst a rigid hospital system and society ridden with injustices.



Starring



Lee Min-woo (Actor: Lee Seon-gyoon)

After graduating from medical school, he skipped the specialist certification exam and took a hiatus from the medical profession. He then took a temporary teaching job at the best Oriental medicine hospital in the country and during his second year there he was unable to save the life of a critically injured patient due to his lack of experience. After this incident, he realized the folly of spending two years as an instructor and asks himself why he chose a career to become a doctor. To seek answers, he returns to a regular hospital to complete his unfinished internship.



Kang Jane (Actress: Hwang Jeong-eum)

IThe heiress of the Sejung Foundation chairman who owns five hospitals and founded one medical school. She chose to become a doctor because healing people comes natural to her. It was not her character to depend on her rich father for money all her life. And being a doctor also makes her financially secure in the case she marries and gets divorced. She merely wants to live an ordinary and fulfilling life. But she does not like working inside a rigid system and abhors the thought of lording over others in the system.



Choi In-hyuk (Actor: Lee Sung-min)

He is one of the few doctors in the country who will take the risk of accepting critically injured patients in ER and perform surgery. He will work at the hospital for three to four days without any sleep to the detriment of his health and still decide to return to the ER when he gets paged for an emergency. He has a sharp eye, being able to tell if someone has lost or gained one or two kilograms. And after getting to know doctors from different specialties, he developed a knack for matching personality types with specific medical fields, guiding young interns to a medical specialty that will best suit them.



Shin Eun-ah (Actress: Song Seon-mi)

Without her indefatigable energy and excellent organizational skills, the surgery department would have no way of operating efficiently. She handles all the surgery schedules at the hospital under Choi In-hyuks direction and arranges the transport of patients. She has eight years of experience in ER and has worked together with Choi In-hyuk for two years. She also has a suitor and has plans to leave for Canada soon. But despite this, she is constantly consumed with her work at the surgery department.

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Daisy Nelson is an alumnus of the ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. She was born and raised in Lake Havasu City. She is a multimedia journalist and layout designer. Follow her Twitter account @daisylaree_ to see her reporting process.
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SOHR has reported seeing the flight of armed drones over Maarat Masrin area in Idlib province. Meanwhile, the Turkish affiliated mercenaries have targeted Damascus forces positions in Kafruma frontlines in the southern sector of Idlib countryside, amid reports on casualties. Otherwise, the entire Putin-Erdogan area has seen a cautious calm.

The so-called de-escalation area witnessed a flight of reconnaissance aircraft over the Maaret Misrin area in the countryside of Idlib city. Without that, the entire so-called de-escalation area witnessed a cautious calm.

Yesterday, SOHR documented the death of 3 Damascus soldiers in a sneak operation by Al-Jabha Al-Wataniyah faction on Al-Fatatra frontline in Sahl Al-Ghab area, north-western of Hama.

On the other hand, Damascus forces fired heavy artillery shells on Al-Ankawy and Al-Fatatra villages in Sahl Al-Ghab area.

A.K
Cawthorn condemns voter fraud (unless it's by Mark Meadows)

U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn speaks to a Republican audience on Saturday at Cascades Resort.

The first question after U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn spoke to a Henderson County Republican breakfast Saturday morning was, "What do we do about the stolen election?"

In his expansive response to the softball, Cawthorn described an organization that his 11th District chief of staff, Hal Weatherman, had founded to uncover "voting irregularities" in North Carolina's elections. But when Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Joel Burgess asked Cawthorn about the recent revelation that former 11th District Congressman Mark Meadows had declared a trailer in the boondocks of Macon County as his residence for voting purposes, Cawthorn's deep well of knowledge about elections fraud suddenly ran dry.

Here's the exchange:

Burgess: "Can you talk about Mark Meadows and the investigation of his alleged voter fraud?"

Cawthorn: "I think Mark Meadows is a great American. Its my honor to take his place."

Burgess: "Should he be investigated?"

Cawthorn: Im honestly not exactly sure whats going on there."

Burgess: So hes being investigated because he told people that he lived in a singlewide mobile home in Macon County and nobody ever saw him there."

Cawthorn: "And there's nothing wrong with that."

Burgess: "But the question is  youre talking about voter fraud right now  I mean, do you think that thats a bit suspicious?

Cawthorn: Yeah, I have no  I dont know anything about that. But I will tell you, I think Mark Meadows is a great American, did a great job as chief of staff to the president United States. I do believe hell be chief of staff again when Donald Trump runs again because I have a feeling its going to be huge.





A spokeswoman for Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein confirmed to the Raleigh News & Observer confirmed that two agencies are conducting an investigation into the question of the residency Meadows declared when he registered to vote ahead of the 2020 election.

"We have requested that the (State Bureau of Investigation) investigate alongside the State Board of Elections," the spokeswoman, Nazneen Ahmed, told the N&O. "At the conclusion of the investigation, we'll review the findings."

Under North Carolina election law, intentionally providing false information on voter registration is a felony.
A pedestrian was fatally struck by a motorcyclist on Long Island, cops said Sunday.

The 42-year-old victim was crossing Merrick Road near North Forest Ave. in Rockville Centre when he was struck by a man riding east on a 2020 BMW motorcycle about 11:50 p.m. on Saturday, police said.

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The 36-year-old motorcyclist was ejected from his ride by the force of the impact.

The motorcycle went on to strike an eastbound 2012 Honda Civic. The car was damaged, but the 19-year-old man behind the wheel was not hurt.

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A motorcyclist is clinging to life in Rockville Center after mowing down a pedestrian and killing him Saturday just before midnight, Nassau County cops said. (Shutterstock)

The motorcyclist and the man he struck were taken to a local hospital, where the pedestrian died about two hours later. His name was not immediately released.

The motorcyclist is listed in serious condition.

No one has been charged.
TWO Henley businesses have been recognised for reducing plastic waste.

Zero-waste store the Willow Basket and Drifters coffee house have both received End Plastic Soup Awards from Henley Rotary Club.

The Willow Basket in Friday Street sells non-packaged food so customers bring their own jars and containers to fill with pasta, seeds, herbs, spices, rice and cereals.

Drifters in Duke Street has stopped using disposable coffee cups and instead gives customers mugs to take away and keep and bring back next time or donate to charity shops.

End Plastic Soup is a global campaign by Rotary to ensure there is no plastic in oceans, seas, lakes and rivers by 2050.

The Henley clubs president-elect Craig Wilson and environmental representative Jeremy Gaunt visited the businesses to present them with a framed certificate and a window sticker.

Jane Tutill, who opened the Willow basket five years ago, said: What an absolute privilege.

Im chuffed to bits and its going to raise awareness for everyone in Henley that we can all do our bit.

Everyone thinks they arent doing enough but if you just do a little bit then collectively we can reduce our single-use plastic.

Where does all our waste go? I look at the ducks and think that in their lives theyre not creating any waste but we live alongside them and produce so much.

Mums and dads bring children into the shop and they see it doesnt have to be like it is in the supermarket with everything thrown in and not really thought about. We can all cut down on our single-use plastic.

Millie Jeans said: We both feel over the moon to be recognised. Drifters hasnt used a takeaway cup for 12 months, which has stopped about 10,000 single-use cups from going into landfill.

It was a decision not taken lightly but someone has to put the planet over profit. Our view will touch a nerve with some but we believe if you havent got a reusable cup in 2022 then you are as much the problem as those companies producing them. Its all about supply and demand. Stop the demand and there will be no option but to cut down supply.

We arent stupid and know it goes much further than a cup but if you can change just one thing you do to make a difference then happy days.

Mr Wilson said: I hope this will show people that Rotary is trying to save us from using too much plastic. There is a lot of organisations in the town that are trying to work together now to improve the situation.

This award is just small recognition that people can see when they go into the shops and creates a starting point for conversations to spread the word.

Mr Gaunt said: We are supporting this global campaign by giving awards to local businesses which have done something specific to cut back on their plastic waste.

The Willow Basket has a long history of avoiding waste with reusable containers and Drifters has been very brave in getting rid of disposable coffee cups. We will be giving out more awards and would like nominations of people who would fit the criteria or companies to come forward to say what they have done to reduce plastic.
Weekends and holidays were prime time for correction officers to call in sick  exacerbating the staff shortage at Rikers Islands beleaguered jails, staffing records obtained by the Daily News show.

The daily records from Sept. 27, 2021 through Jan. 26, 2022 shed new light on the egregious abuse of the Correction Departments sick leave system. The staffing crisis, which is ongoing, is one of the main drivers of dysfunction in city jails, according to a court-appointed federal monitor.

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Across 17 weekends in the period examined by The News, sick calls rose every weekend but one compared to weekdays. The surge in sick calls ranged from dozens of officers to hundreds, even as posts went unstaffed and more officers worked triple tours, records show.

The number of correction officers calling in sick from work coincidentally surged on weekends and holidays, staffing records obtained by the Daily News show. (James Keivom/New York Daily News)

Former Correction Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi confirmed the pattern. He recalled that last year, more than twice as many officers were out sick on July 4 weekend compared to June 4. We always noticed the numbers rose on weekends and holidays, he said.

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When I discussed this with union leadership, I said, Sure some are sick, but it beggars belief that 2 1/2 times as many are sick. I dont want to paint too broad a brush but unlimited sick leave screams for abuse, and I think its being abused.

A source familiar with the staffing situation said some officers would call in sick  or bang in as its known  to avoid the possibility of getting stuck in Rikers working triples over a weekend.

On Columbus Day weekend, for example, a total of 1,544 officers were listed on sick leave Friday, Oct. 9. Another 35 more called out Saturday to push the total to 1,579. Then another 49 got sick that Sunday increasing the total to 1,628. Then 14 more on Columbus Day bumped the total to 1,642.

The daily records from Sept. 27, 2021 through Jan. 26, 2022 shed new light on the egregious abuse of the Correction Departments sick leave system. (Todd Maisel/New York Daily News)

In all, 98 more officers called out sick over the three-day weekend than that Friday. A whopping 296 posts went unstaffed that weekend and 128 officers had to work triple shifts, the records show.

On Christmas weekend, 1,696 were listed on sick leave on Dec. 22. On Christmas Day, the number shot up to 1,840 officers  a jump of 144. Two days after Christmas, the total was 2,012.

On Jan. 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 347 officers called in sick, after 247 had called in sick the day before, the records show.

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Under the union contract, correction officers have unlimited sick leave. The NYPD and FDNY have the same privileges, but do not face a similar staffing crisis.

FILE - A range of reasons have been cited for the high sick rate among correction officers over the past year, including the pandemic, violence in the jails and burnout. (wsmahar / Getty Images/Getty Images)

A range of reasons have been cited for the high sick rate among correction officers over the past year, including the pandemic, violence in the jails and burnout.

The staffing records, obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request, cover a period of 122 days during which an average of 1,648 officers were listed on sick leave each day. Another 777 officers a day on average were listed as medically unavailable to work with detainees.

On any typical day in that period, more than a third of uniformed staff was unavailable.

During the same period, 6,637 posts were unstaffed  or 54 a day. In addition, correction officers worked 1,625 triple shifts in that four-month period  or 13 a day.

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The trends held even though the Correction Department has a $1.25 billion budget, far larger per capita than any other jail agency in the country. The jails have a far better staffing ratio than other jail agencies roughly 7,900 officers for a detainee population of about 5,500  according to a report issued Wednesday by the federal monitor overseeing the system.

Correction officers refusal to do their jobs has left the Department incapable of performing the most basic of jail functions, including ensuring that our clients have access to medical care, recreation time, religious ceremonies and other services to which they are entitled, said Redmond Haskins, spokesman for the Legal Aid Society.

Equally troubling, this administration refuses to meaningfully address the staffing crisis, which has largely remained the same since last July, Haskins said.

Rikers Island (Seth Wenig/AP)

Correction Department staffing records show a decline in triples and unstaffed posts in 2022 under the tenure of current Commissioner Louis Molina, but the statistics provided to The News were incomplete and abruptly stop after Jan. 26 without explanation.

Figures for Fridays were often withheld by the department, which attributed those gaps to a delay in available data.

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Both the Board of Correction and the federal monitor have publicly complained in the past week that the department has been withholding staffing figures from them, as well.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

The collegiality that youre asking us from us is difficult when youre not providing us with the fundamental information we need, board member Bobby Cohen said during a March 8 meeting.

The monitors report said the Correction Department cant accurately identify where staff are assigned or their status at a given time.

The department recently refused to provide staffing data related to staff absenteeism, which had previously been shared on a routine basis, the report added.

Correction Department spokesman Jason Kersten said staffing data continues to be tracked and examined on a daily basis within the agency.

We inherited a deficit of staff able to work with people in custody from the previous administration. It will not be rectified overnight, but we are seeing improvements in the right direction in our average out sick numbers, he said. Since January 1, five facilities have returned to regular shifts.

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FILE - Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, said the problem was there arent enough correction officers. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News)

Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, said the problem was there arent enough correction officers.

Any staffing issues were magnified as a result of the previous administrations failure to hire more officers for three years, which would have better prepared the DOC to handle sick leave and officers being out after being assaulted or contracting COVID, he said in a statement.
Greenville, TX (75401)

Today

Thunderstorms likely in the morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 76F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Mostly clear skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 54F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Saint Joseph, MI (49085)

Today

Cloudy in the morning, then off and on rain showers during the afternoon hours. High 62F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Rain. Low around 50F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
At least 24 people, including several children, were shot Saturday night when gunfire broke out outside a car show in Dumas, Ark.

At least one of the victims has died, officials said.

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The shooting began around 7 p.m. Saturday at the 16th annual Hood-Nic, short for neighborhood picnic, event held by the Delta Neighborhood Empowerment Youth Organization, according to the Arkansas State Troopers.

Agents with the state polices Criminal Investigation Division are still questioning witnesses and victims and state troopers are assisting Dumas police officers restore calm to the community and securing the crime scene, according to the ASP.

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(Shutterstock)

Police said that one person of interest is in custody, but that there may have been more than one shooter.

Neither the suspect nor the victims have been publicly identified and their conditions have not been released.

The Hood-Nic event, held on the first weekend of spring break every year, raises money to pay for scholarships, school supplies and more to deserving individuals.

Dumas is located about 90 miles southeast of Little Rock.
Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who made headlines for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, has violated their constitutional rights, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Davis is the former clerk of Rowan County, Ky. who stopped issuing marriage licenses shortly after the 2015 landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry.

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On Friday, U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning of the Eastern District of Kentucky granted summary judgment in a civil lawsuit filed by two gay couples against her, according to the local television station WKTY-TV.

It is readily apparent that Obergefell recognizes Plaintiffs Fourteenth Amendment right to marry, the judge wrote, referencing the decision legalizing same-sex marriages.

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It is also readily apparent that Davis made a conscious decision to violate Plaintiffs right, he added.

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2018, file photo, Kim Davis, the county clerk for Rowan County in Kentucky, works with the county election board on Election Day, in Morehead, Ky. A federal judge has ruled, Friday, March 18, 2022, that the former Kentucky clerk violated the constitutional rights of two same-sex couples after she wouldn't issue them marriage licenses  a refusal that sparked international attention and briefly landed her in jail in 2015. (AP Photo/John Flavell, File) (John Flavell/AP)

She cannot use her own constitutional rights as a shield to violate the constitutional rights of others while performing her duties as an elected official, he wrote.

While the ruling settles that Davis violated the couples constitutional rights, a decision on whether she will be responsible for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees accrued over nearly seven years of litigation still needs to be reached.

That decision will go to a trial, and it will be ultimately decided by a jury.

Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. >

Michael Gartland, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told WKYT that they couldnt be any happier with the outcome.

As the court notes in the decision, this case has been pending since 2015. They couldnt be more happy that theyre finally going to get their day in court and theyre confident justice will be served, he added.

After Davis, who was an elected clerk, refused to comply with the marriage equality law  citing Gods authority as her justification  she ended up spending five nights in jail for contempt, a move that turned her into a martyr, and a star, in the eyes of evangelical Republicans.

When she was released from prison, then-presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee organized a rally to celebrate the occasion, later writing on Twitter that he was honored to meet a woman of such strong faith and conviction.

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She was called onto the stage as Survivors Eye of the Tiger the theme from the 1982 Sylvester Stallone film Rocky III  blasted from the speakers.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who was also vying for a chance to head the GOP ticket at the time, shared a picture of himself with Davis on Twitter, writing Praise God Kim has been released!

Davis was defeated in her quest for reelection in 2018.
There are two schools of thought on the curious spot at which the energy industry now sits.

One is that high crude oil prices will spur a new era of oil and gas exploration, especially as Russian oil and natural gas look like theyll remain a taboo commodity for some time to come. U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, who has championed pivoting away from fossil fuels since she took office last year, recently called on energy executives to boost production to help ease prices as the United States imposes a import ban on Russian oil and its European allies seek to end their reliance on Russian energy.

European countries will be clamoring to buy U.S.-produced natural gas as the intensifying war in Ukraine puts Russian supplies in peril and leads them to rethink their sources of energy over the long-term. Germany, for example, has blocked the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was built to transport Russian gas to Western Europe, and plans to build two liquefied natural gas import terminals.

The shift is helping to spur the expansion of the U.S. LNG industry, concentrated along the Gulf Coast. The Energy Department forecasts the United States this year will surpass Qatar and Australia to the become the largest exporter of natural gas this year.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Energy security overshadows transition at CERAWeek as oil shortages drive up prices

But on the other hand, the current energy crisis could be a watershed moment for clean sources of energy.

As the Houston Chronicles James Osborne reported recently, governments and companies often seek out alternative forms of energy when fossil fuel prices spike. During the energy crisis of the 1970s, power plants turned to nuclear and began to invest in developing solar and wind energy. Those renewable technologies have moved into the mainstream, generating cheaper electricity than traditional power plants and becoming the fastest growing segment of the power industry.

Electric vehicle technology has also reached the point where it is competitive with internal combustion engines, with the recent surge in gasoline prices leading to a jump in EV sales.

Think about the learning curves seen in wind and solar, said Steve Pattyn, founder and chief investment officer of Yaupon Capital Management at CERAWeek. People 10 years ago were asking wind and solar  do they even work? Theyre so expensive. Now, the cheapest electricity in the world comes from West Texas wind farms.

On HoustonChronicle.com: As oil spikes, clean energy firms see opening

Despite technological advances and declining costs, the clean energy future still faces hurdles, particularly building the infrastructure to support the electrification of the economy. The power grid needs to be modernized to handle increasing loads and new transmission must be built to move wind and solar energy from remote areas, such as West Texas, to population centers. Widespread adoption of electric vehicles is unlikely to happen until charging stations are as ubiquitous as gas stations.

All of the above

There was a third position championed by some at CERAWeek  an all of the above strategy that invests in getting energy wherever its available, whether it be from fossil fuels or sunlight. Speakers talked about continuing to pull oil and gas from the earth, and capturing methane and carbon dioxide, while continuing to invest in renewables. Senators Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, spoke about the need for a holistic approach to energy in their appearances at the conference.

We can get to a place and recognize that climate is still a very serious issue, Murkowski said, but we dont have to ignore what we can do to contribute to the safety and security and resiliency of people we care about, who are fighting for their own freedom and democracy.

shelby.webb@chron.com
The worlds two largest oil field services companies said they have stopped new investments and technology deployments to Russia, joining a growing list of companies that are backing away from the country as its war with Ukraine escalates.

Schlumberger, which has headquarters in Paris and Houston, said late Friday it will immediately suspend new investments and technology deployments to Russia. Houston-based Baker Hughes said Saturday that it also suspended new investments for operations in Russia.

Schlumberger, the largest oil field services company, and Baker Hughes, No. 2, each do business in about 120 countries.

The crisis in Ukraine is of grave concern and we strongly support a diplomatic solution, Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said Saturday in a statement, noting his company reached the decision to stop investing in its Russian operations earlier this week.

Pressure has been mounting on American energy companies to stop business with Russia, the worlds second-largest oil producer after the United States, as America and its allies look to cut off money that Russia can use to support its war against Ukraine.

Last week, President Joe Biden banned Russian oil and gas imports, asserting he was targeting the main artery of Russias economy.

We will not be part of subsidizing Putins war, Biden said.

Oil prices have soared since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine more than three weeks ago, surging at one point above $120 a barrel. Oil settled Friday at $104.70 a barrel in New York.

Some of the worlds biggest oil companies have already committed to pulling out of Russia  Exxon Mobil said it would cease oil production there. BP and Shell announced plans to withdraw from oil and gas partnerships in the country. Major companies such as Apple, Nike and Ikea have also pulled out.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian-American protesters stood in front of Schlumbergers Houston office and called on the worlds largest oil field services company to stop its business with Russian-owned energy companies.

Schlumberger and Baker Hughes said they would continue to meet their existing obligations in Russia.

We continue to actively monitor this dynamic situation and will fulfill any existing activity in full compliance with applicable international laws and sanctions, Schlumberger said in a statement.

Safety and security are at the core of who we are as a company, and we urge a cessation of the conflict and a restoration of safety and security in the region.

amanda.drane@chron.com

twitter.com/amandadrane
The San Jacinto County Sheriff's office confiscated 200 roosters and arrested seven people following a raid on a suspected cockfighting ring in Cleveland.

Deputies reported seizing $20,000 and several vehicles during the raid that followed a months-long investigation into organized criminal activity.
Around 1.24 billion people in China fully vaccinated against COVID-19

Xinhua) 13:28, March 20, 2022

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 1.24 billion people across the Chinese mainland had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday, a Chinese health official said Saturday.

Mi Feng, spokesperson for the National Health Commission (NHC), released the data at a press conference, adding that close to 3.22 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered on the mainland.

Lei Zhenglong, another NHC official, said that 649.16 million people had received a booster jab as of Friday. More than 80 percent of people aged 60 and above had taken at least two doses of the vaccine.

Studies show that a booster jab is effective in preventing death or severe conditions, Lei noted, advising elderly people who have not been vaccinated and those who meet the conditions for booster immunization to get inoculated as soon as possible.

Cautioning against relaxing precautions in the face of the still raging pandemic, Mi Feng called for earlier, faster and stricter implementation of the current measures for COVID-19 prevention and control.

China's population stood at around 1.41 billion people at the end of 2021, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
Five deputies and a doctor were aboard a Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department helicopter when it crashed in the Angeles National Forest Saturday night while on a rescue call.

All are expected to survive, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said during a press conference late Saturday. They were rushed to Pomona Valley Medical Center for treatment on injuries including fractures and broken ribs.

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They are in stable condition, some more banged up than others, but thankful to be alive, Villanueva said.

The five sheriffs department personnel made up the the pilot, the co-pilot, a crew chief and two paramedics. The sixth, a doctor from UCLA on a ride-along, was uninjured.

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(File) A Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department helicopter crashed in the Angeles National Forest Saturday evening. (Shutterstock)

None of the victims have been publicly identified.

The helicopter had been called to help the fire department with a rescue after a car rolled over. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have launched a joint investigation into the cause of the crash.

The fact that it did not roll over and go all the way down, or that there was no fire, is nothing short of a miracle, Villanueva said. So were very grateful for that.
Jay Jordan

A woman was killed and a man injured Sunday after their vehicle crashed in the front yard of a west Houston home.

The woman veered off the street about 3 a.m. and crashed into a tree in the yard of a home in the 1500 block of Chimney Rock, according to Houston Police Sgt. David Rose.
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From the sparkly unicorns to the tufted pineapples and pastel piglets, stuffed animals are as much a feature of RodeoHouston as corndogs and cowboy boots. They gaze, googly-eyed, from every fixture, imploring carnival-goers to take them home.

Half a million stuffed animals will be given out as prizes by the time the carnival concludes Sunday, organizers said, an enormous haul that was trucked in by 100 semi-trailers at the beginning of the three-week extravaganza. As many as 45,000 prizes were claimed on a single day during Houstons spring break week, the rodeos busiest period.

RECORD SET: Grand Champion Steer, Vanilla Ice, fetches record $1 million in Houston Rodeo auction

On Friday, Dani Santana, 19, took a seat at Water Gun Fun, shooting a stream of water at a target that propelled a plastic rabbit to the booths ceiling. She laid out 24 tickets  about $12  and won on her second attempt. The teen pointed at a velvet blobfish with exaggerated pink lips.

One ugly fish coming up, a carnival worker yelled out, pulling the plush animal from its hook.

Clutching her new companion, Santana said was glad she succeeded early in the night.

Once they accumulate, the tickets are worth more than the prize, she said, before wandering off to another game.

Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Spending a small fortune on carnival tickets

For the stuffed animals, the carnival is the culmination of a long journey. Organizers began ordering this years prizes from Chinese and American distributors about 10 months ago to avoid supply chain hold-ups, said Chris Lopez, vice president of RCS Fun, the company that puts on the rodeo.

To further reduce shipping hassles, some of the animals arrived as empty skins and polyester filling, and were assembled on site in what Lopez called a Build-A-Bear-type operation.

The most popular prizes are squishmallow pillows and old-fashioned teddy bears, he said.

The carnivals labyrinthine walkways hosted a parade of cuddly critters Friday evening, as children passed holding everything from green-hooved cows to silver-spouted whales and iridescent mushrooms.

Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Jayden Vo, 11, wore a giant husky slung over his small shoulders. The stuffed dog was nearly as tall as its owner, a fact that seemed to delight the boy more than his parents. They worried the husky, which Jayden won by tossing a red plastic ring around the mouth of a glass Coke bottle at the Ring-O-Bottle booth, would be an encumbrance at Marshmello's show later that evening.

Well have to find a seat for it at the concert, said Jaydens father, Davis Vo.

SAD GOODBYES: These Texas kids get seconds to show their pigs at RodeoHouston  then the tears start

Like so many other parents, Vo, 37, spent a small fortune buying tickets for the carnival. The Houston father of two said he and his extended family shelled out about $1,000 on pre-sale tickets.

By the end of the night, the carnival booths were looking empty, with large gaps where the now-claimed stuffed animals had once hung. At midnight, workers would begin restocking the booths with new animals from the warehouse.

Katy resident Kaitlyn Pham, 12, held a small menagerie of hard-won stuffed animals in her arms. Shed spent about $75 to win them, and planned to use her remaining tickets on carnival rides. She proclaimed herself satisfied with her haul  with a small caveat.

The big ones should be easier to win, Pham said.

nora.mishanec@chron.com
Two years ago, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order under Title 42 of the U.S. Code allowing the immediate expulsion of certain migrants arriving at U.S. land borders in the interest of public health. This includes persons seeking asylum in the United States due to a fear of persecution or torture in their home countries.

The government has effectively shut down asylum processing at the southern U.S. border and summarily expelled nearly two million migrants to imminent and foreseeable danger. The risks to which expelled migrants have been exposed are well documented. They include robbery, extortion, assault, sexual violence, injuries and trafficking. That this action has been taken in the name of public health is a travesty. Earlier this month, the CDC terminated the Title 42 order as it relates to unaccompanied children who arrive at the U.S. border. Its a step in the right direction. Now the Biden administration should rescind the policy for adults too. The evidence clearly shows that the Trump-era policy, maintained under President Biden, is doing more harm than good and must be completely rescinded.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts have masterfully critiqued the CDCs justification for the Title 42 order as scientifically baseless and politically motivated. In fact, the order exacerbates a different public health crisis: the epidemic of violence against migrants from the Global South, particularly girls and women.

The CDCs order was issued under a 1944 public health statute intended to give public health authorities the power to prohibit the entry of people and goods for the purpose of reducing spread of transmissible disease within the United States. It had never before been invoked. But since March 2020, this authority has been used by the Trump and Biden Administrations to circumvent the procedures designed to protect those who have suffered from or fear human rights abuses in their home countries.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court temporarily prohibited the administration from expelling migrants to countries where they would face persecution or torture, but did not require it to provide those migrants an opportunity to seek asylum.

While laudable, this development does not resolve the fundamental problem with the CDC order: That it will continue to permit the expulsion of vulnerable migrants to well-known dangers based on specious public health grounds. This goes against what the appellate judges ruling highlighted, that for expelled migrants, the record is replete with stomach-churning evidence of death, torture, and rape.

Many migrants who attempt to enter the United States without immigration documents at the southern U.S. border experience extreme risks during their journey. Sexual violence against women and girls, in particular, is pervasive along the entire route. Even if a migrant is not expelled to a country where she fears persecution or torture, expulsion to any country from South America to Mexico prolongs her journey, increasing her exposure to these risks. Even if they try to enter without the appropriate documents, they are still entitled to make a plea for asylum. The Title 42 order by the CDC denies them that opportunity.

In doing so, the order makes migrants into sitting ducks for organized crime and petty criminals alike. It is yet another reason to question the credibility of a public health authority that purports to address one global public health issue  the COVID-19 pandemic  at the expense of another: violence against migrants.

Officials need help processing the influx of migrants at the southern U.S. border, and immigration reform is necessary to help provide it. However, reform should not be based on an unfounded public health rationale. Migrants subject to the order make up only 0.1 percent of the hundreds of thousands of those who cross our borders each day for the purposes of work, education and tourism without any restriction aside from testing.

There is no public health reason to hold asylum seekers in congregate detention when there are viable community-based alternatives that have exceedingly high compliance rates with a fraction of the cost to the U.S. taxpayer. Continuing this policy in the name of public health when it is not supported by science and clearly motivated by politically opportunistic immigration policy only creates more skepticism and mistrust of both public health authorities and government actions.

The Title 42 order is a stain on the Biden administrations promise to revitalize the nations commitment to advancing human rights. Media reports on Saturday suggest the administration is listening. If true, thats welcome news. The order should be rescinded immediately. When we circumvent human rights laws and summarily expel people who come to our borders requesting asylum, we erode the very foundation of our country as a haven of freedom and fair laws and damage our own integrity.

Medha D. Makhlouf is an assistant professor of law and director of the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic at Penn State Dickinson Law. Sarah Battistich is an associate professor of emergency medicine in New York City, with expertise in global health, immigration and asylum.
As the primaries wrap up and we prepare for the November elections, Texas teachers suddenly find themselves in the headlines. Talk to any teacher, and we'll confess: the last two years in the classroom have been the most brutal of our careers. Our voices and our votes should be more important than ever as we try to fix the current teacher exodus.

Not only have we faced great challenges in our classrooms, but were suffering from wild whiplash. Two years ago this month, educators were hailed as heroes for our ability to adapt and overcome like the Marines.

Down my street, our local elementary school led a caravan of cars covered in balloons with teachers hanging out of windows and poking out of sun roofs holding posters with messages of hope and persistence. We miss you! they called to our children. As a mother and a high school English teacher, I struggled to keep my own classroom going while making sure my two daughters kept up with online and in-person classes.

Commercials celebrated us, families thanked us and we landed the plane despite the uncertainty of the end of that school year.

Today, Gov. Greg Abbott accuses us of distributing pornography. He introduced an adversarial Parents Bill of Rights  whose main tenets already exist in both law and practice  to pit parents against teachers.

Why, our Texas leaders have gone as far as calling university professors loony Marxists (to the shock of many of my conservative friends in education).

So when the news came out that Abbott wants to initiate a task force to investigate the teacher shortage in Texas, its no wonder so many of us laughed out loud.

For one, Abbotts task forces are simply political stunts. After countless mass and school shootings in Texas, his roundtables on gun violence amounted to nothing. Hes signed a bill allowing permitless carry despite the aggressive outcry of police officers and Texas License to Carry instructors. We educators see this task force as another empty gesture.

The wild whiplash of the last two years delivers a pain no chiropractor can fix.

One week, Abbott is threatening jail time and the next he wonders why teachers are leaving in droves. He need only reflect on his agenda to understand why educators have no patience for political games right now.

Before there was a vaccine to protect vulnerable adults, we were there. Despite a shortage of nurses, substitute teachers and mental health professionals, we were there. Texans with children were able to return to work and regain some normalcy during these turbulent times in large part because teachers were there while the governors mansion was still closed for tours and visitors.

Instead of supporting bans on books and threatening to defund schools, our governor could have thrown us a life jacket.

Any of your teacher friends or acquaintances can share the long list of resources that couldve made a difference in our classrooms during this crisis:

We needed more nurses to handle the influx of testing, contact tracing, and care our students and staff required.

We needed more mental health professionals. This year, Ive had multiple students drop out because of suicidal thoughts, self-harm and other heartbreaking diagnoses that we couldve helped treat or manage at school. We have more anxious (and even violent) students than ever before.

We needed more personnel: more teachers, more administrators, more support staff. But there was no plan to entice retired educators to come back and help, or propositions to encourage college students to get teaching experience by stepping up as teachers assistants or substitutes. From cost-of-living adjustments for retired teachers to student loan forgiveness for those studying to become teachers, our leaders had a buffet of options to help attract true educators to come to our aid instead of sending military personnel, police officers or anyone with a pulse to babysit the countless classrooms who had a teacher out with COVID.

But instead of a life jacket, we got thrown anchors: extra STAAR tests through House Bill 4545, bans on critical race theory curricula that arent taught until law or graduate school and attacks on our very character.

Framing educators as pornographers and indoctrinators is not a joke. Our state is hyper-aware of the consequences of rabid rhetoric. In August 2019, a Texas terrorist took to heart President Trumps propaganda repeating the decades-old Great Replacement theory and drove 650 miles to kill innocent people in El Paso. Just last week, the former president encouraged his supporters at a rally to lay down their very lives to fight CRT. American classrooms are already targets of terrorism, but Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick put a bullseye on Texas teachers when they perpetuate propaganda.

Maybe we need a task force on the effects of the GOPs demoralizing and dangerous attacks on educators and how that impacts teacher recruitment and retention.

A teachers true task: vote. The truth is that we Texas teachers can heal this whiplash. We can take the reigns from a mercurial governor who cant decide if he wants to attack us or play pretend and waste our time with task forces.

Teachers need to show a united front to save our profession. This week, educator Amy Lambert charted the backgrounds of the 28 members initially selected for the TEA task force: she exposed their experience, compensation and years since leaving the classroom (if these administrators spent any time there at all). After it was evident that only one of the two teachers selected actually spent time in a classroom during the last two turbulent years, TEA expanded the task force to include more teachers.

The truth is, teachers dont need a task force; we need a show of force at the ballot booth in November. We need leaders who will commit to raising teacher pay, update retired educators cost of living and stop the culture wars that do nothing to improve our classrooms and everything to drive good teachers away.

Research candidates, rally your peers to elect leaders who value educators and volunteer to support these campaigns to ensure that we build a future for Texas where our schools are a priority and our teachers are respected once again.

Gabriela Diaz is a high school English teacher in Houston. This is her 16th year in a Texas public school classroom.
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Earlier this week, a Houston-area mother of a 17-year-old transgender boy panicked when she heard a knock at her door.

She made sure her children were upstairs, then answered cautiously, fearful the woman outside could be an investigator with the states child welfare agency. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the agency last month to investigate parents who help their children transition as potential child abusers.

It was just like this elderly neighbor who wanted to ask what kind of tree we had in the front yard, said the mother, who asked not to be named out of fear of being targeted. But my immediate reaction was fight-or-flight mode. Because thats what were living in right now.

Its moments like these that have convinced her its time to move her family out of Texas.

We are at this point moving as soon as we can get our house sold, she said.

Families with transgender children across the state are weighing similar steps after months of increasing political attacks.

RELATED: Family of trans Texas teen sues Abbott, DFPS as state begins identifying gender-affirming care as child abuse

Some feel they have been left with an impossible choice: support their childrens gender identity and risk losing them to the state, or deny them treatments that the countrys largest physicians groups agree is medically necessary and in many cases lifesaving.

Katie Laird, a Houston-area woman who has a 15-year-old transgender son, has been consumed as her trans mom support group text thread blew up in recent weeks  first over Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtons assertion that gender-affirming care can be abuse, then over Abbotts directive to Child Protective Services.

This is now the rest of our year, Laird recalled thinking. She is looking to move her family to Colorado and hopes to return if Democrats can unseat Abbott in November.

National civil rights groups have sued to block the abuse investigations and won a temporary injunction. Paxton says the state is not bound by the ruling while it appeals.

Paxton and other Republicans argue that children are being stripped of their constitutional right to procreate, and that even providing gender-affirming medications may constitute abuse. The Legislature has considered bills to prohibit helping children transition in the last four legislative sessions, but none passed.

If I think of what it takes to be a loving, supportive parent of a transgender child, to me, everything about it is rooted in listening in love and acceptance, which is the opposite of child abuse, Laird said.

Her son, who asked to remain anonymous to protect his privacy, said it feels like my entire world is being ripped away from me.

I feel like after quarantine, especially, that I had a really hard time finding my people and those who actually love me and care for me and seemingly need me to still be alive, he wrote in an email. And leaving it all for potentially forever makes me cry and overthink and want to curl up in a ball.

Most prominent medical organizations support evidence-based care for treatment of gender dysphoria, which is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as psychological distress and anxiety due to a mismatch between a persons sense of their gender and their assigned sex at birth.

Fights over transgender rights erupted in Texas in 2017 when Republican lawmakers proposed a bill that would compel people to use bathrooms that match their sex assigned at birth.

The bill failed under pushback from LGBT advocates and businesses, but the number of anti-LGBT measures has since ballooned, with more than 70 bills in 2021, adding to a record high in state legislatures across the country, according to bill trackers from the American Civil Liberties Union and LGBT advocacy group Equality Texas.

A breaking point

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The 17-year-olds mother said she became more involved with advocacy after her son came out as transgender in 2017. Two years later, they met lawmakers at the Capitol during an event hosted by LGBT rights groups.

She was hopeful then, she said, and believed that if more people could just meet and hear from transgender children, they would think a little bit harder about the impact of these kinds of bills.

But that optimism quickly died. Some Republican lawmakers told her privately that they did not support bills attacking transgender families, but if one came to the floor, they would be under political pressure to vote for it.

It felt like it didnt matter what we did, the mother said. Even if they fully understood the harm they were doing.

As fourth-generation Texans and native Houstonians, she and her husband are reluctant to move, but on top of the threat of an abuse investigation, theyve now also found it difficult to obtain prescriptions for their son in the wake of Abbotts directive.

Some providers, including the states largest pediatric hospital, Texas Childrens, have paused services, and the ones that have continued have long waitlists.

This idea of you should just move, I kind of hate feeding into that, the mother said, noting that not everyone can. Shouldnt we all be equally safe in any part of the country we live in? she said.

For her family and others, it was the 2021 legislative session that pushed them to their breaking point. After initial resistance, Republicans leaders passed House Bill 25, which prevents transgender athletes from playing on the team that aligns with their gender identity.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas, said families of trans children are feeling the effects of compounded trauma after that bill took effect in January and Abbott came out with his directive in February.

We all have moments in time that we remember as pivotal moments that changed us, that made us feel less than, he said. Transgender kids have had that for 2 years. What worries me is how much its going to take for them to undo this damage as adults.

Martinez has been flooded with questions from parents over whether they should pull their kids out of traditional schooling, whether its safe to go to a doctors appointment, and whether its time to leave the state. On leaving, he says he tells them he understands they have to do what they feel is best.

There is a sense of relief on the horizon for the mother of the 17-year-old. She has a friend with a transgender child who already fled the state and looks with awe at the photos she posts online from her new home.

Heres us at the park with some friends or Look, today we went to the Childrens Museum, she said, describing the captions. Just normal life pictures, instead of: I had to hold my kid all night because he was crying. I dont even know if I ever saw her smile when she lived in Texas. Now I dont see any pictures where she isnt. I hope that can be us. I hope that can be us soon.

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com
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The signatories to this letter deplore Russias invasion of Ukraine, condemn in the strongest possible terms the grave violations committed by Russian forces there, and applaud efforts by the Biden Administration and other governments to respond with strong and targeted measures. However, we write to express our concerns about growing calls to interfere with the Russian peoples access to the internet, which we fear will hurt individuals attempting to organize in opposition to the war, report openly and honestly on events in Russia, and access information about what is happening in Ukraine and abroad. These measures could also unnecessarily facilitate further repression by the Russian government.

Some governments, including the U.S. government, may be considering disrupting internet access in Russia through new sanctions. There is also increasing pressure, internally and externally, on information and communications technology vendors like internet, telecommunications, and cloud service providers to voluntarily restrict or block access by users in Russia. Moreover, Ukraine has made repeated requests along these lines. (These include requests to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the International Telecommunication Union, and other bodies.)

We urge all actors considering steps that would limit internet access in the Russian Federation to carefully consider the full impact of such measures and their possible unintended consequences, and to act in a targeted, open, and strategic manner, consistent with international human rights principles of legality, legitimacy, necessity and proportionality. We also call upon the Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to act immediately to protect the free flow of information in Russia through issuing a General License authorizing the provision of services, software, and hardware necessary for personal communications over the internet, and robustly clarifying and disseminating notice of this license to relevant stakeholders.

On Friday March 4, Cogent, one of the largest providers of internet backbone services in Russia, cut service to customers in the country, citing Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and U.S. government sanctions. On March 8, Lumen, a second major internet carrier, also pulled out of Russia. Major U.S.-based software and internet platforms are banning sales and suspending services to Russia, citing compliance with U.S. sanctions as one reason. These actions and others by technology companies to cease sales and cut ties with Russia may be motivated in part by efforts to comply with sanctions that the United States, the European Union, and other governments imposed on Russian persons and entities, actions that we fear foreshadow more onerous restrictions on internet communications in Russia.

It is not clear whether the U.S. government explicitly authorizes the lawful provision of even the most simple internet applications, services, or software in Russia at the moment. However, past U.S. sanctions programs, including those applying to Iran, Cuba, and Syria, have included authorizations for personal communications, software services, software, and hardware offered at cost, based on the recognition that information technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for independent media, person-to-person exchange, and documentation of human rights violations. Through these actions, OFAC and the U.S. government set a precedent: it is within the public interest to ensure that access to digital platforms and modern communication technologies are, and remain, unaffected by sanctions.

These general licenses for personal communications have received wide support from civil society organizations and Congress, and do not contradict the overall objectives of the sanctions programs. Access to the internet is essential to the protection of freedom of expression, access to information, and free association, and is increasingly recognized as a human right. Journalism and independent media depend on access to secure and reliable information technologies to document events inside contested areas, and to enable people to bypass state controls on information. Overly broad restrictions on the access of the Russian people to the internet would further isolate the embattled pro-democracy and anti-war activists, and impede the ability of NGOs, human rights groups, journalists, and attorneys inside and outside Russia to provide critical information to citizens about the current state of affairs and their rights. These actions would inadvertently speed up what the Kremlin has set out to achieve through its sovereign internet tools  a complete and total control of information space inside Russia.

Moreover, restricting access to foreign technology and communications platforms could further isolate the region and force users to rely on alternative and available services provided by Russian companies. These services are highly controlled by Russian authorities and have actively stifled independent channels of information through aggressive censorship and surveillance. In addition, these steps can drive individuals toward unauthorized or pirated versions of software and services that are likely to be vulnerable to hacking and surveillance.

For its part, Russia is likewise ramping up efforts to block, throttle, and commandeer platforms and providers operating there. It has banned Facebook, Twitter, and over a dozen independent media, and has sent censorship notices to a number of foreign outlets including the Wikimedia Foundation, threatening to block those services within Russia. We should work in every capacity to counteract those authoritarian actions and ensure that sanctions and other steps meant to repudiate the Russian governments illegal actions do not backfire, by reinforcing Putins efforts to assert information control.

For these reasons, the Biden Administration and like-minded governments seeking to sanction the actions of the Russian Federation and its allies should take the following steps:

Immediately authorize the provision of services, software, and hardware incident to personal communications over the internet, while providers are still considering compliance strategies, rather than waiting until after individuals in Russia are cut off from these vital services;

Consult with civil society actors and technology companies to understand the likely ramifications of potential sanctions;

Ensure that sanctions are implemented in a smart and targeted manner, consistent with international human rights principles, including by providing clear guidance about how sanctions should be implemented in ways that protect human rights and humanitarian initiatives;

Be transparent about the justifications for and impacts of sanctions, clarify how they are developed, and enable stakeholders to provide evidence on current and potential targets and measures;

Pledge to regularly review and, if necessary, revise sanctions to ensure that they remain fit-for-purpose, in close consultation with civil society;

Include clearly articulated guidance about the possibility of sanctions removal and delisting, and the specific factors that will lead to the revision of sanctions; and

Apply a similar approach to any potential sanctions on Belarus, as its role in the conflict evolves.

Thank you for your consideration of these important points. We are available to discuss and assist with any further efforts along these lines, as appropriate.

Signatories:

Access Now

ARTICLE 19

Azerbaijan Internet Watch

Beam Reports

Center for Democracy & Technology

Committee to Protect Journalists

Dangerous Speech Project/Christchurch Call Advisory Network

Digital Democracy

Digital Impact and Governance Initiative (DIGI) @ New America

Digital Medusa

Digital Rights Kashmir

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

Free Belarus Coalition

Freedom House

Free Press Unlimited

Friends of Angola

Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)

Global Network Initiative

GreatFire.Org

Guardian Project

Guernica 37 Group

Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic at the Berkman Klein Center

Human Rights First

Human Rights Foundation

Human Rights Watch

Index on Censorship

International Senior Lawyers Project (ISLP)

Internet Society

Internet Without Borders

Kijiji Yeetu

Manushya Foundation

Mass Media Defence Centre

Media Diversity Institute  Armenia

Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)

Miaan Group

Net Freedoms Project

Paradigm Initiative (PIN)

PEN America

Project Expedite Justice

Ranking Digital Rights

Reporters Without Borders

RFK Human Rights

RosKomSvoboda

Taraaz

Teplitsa. Technologies for Social Good

The Tor Project

Ubunteam

US Ukrainian Activists

Wikimedia Foundation

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)

World Wide Web Foundation

Xnet  Spain
Americans shouldnt panic over the recent spike in COVID cases in Europe, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Sunday.

COVID numbers have been rising in Germany, which hit a new daily record of 300,000 cases on Friday, as well as in Austria, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland in recent weeks.

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When cases increase in one part of the world, that often leads to increases in other parts of the world, Murthy said on Fox News Sunday. We should be prepared that COVID hasnt gone away. There may be rises and falls in cases in the months ahead.

But heres the key: Our goal is to keep people out of the hospital. Its to save their lives, he added.

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Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh/AP)

We have more tools to do that than ever before. Our focus should be on preparation, not on panic.

In the U.K., daily case counts have more than doubled, and officials are blaming the increase on the BA.2 subvariant of the highly contagious omicron strain of the virus.

Over the last year or so, what happens in the U.K. usually happens here a few weeks later, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief White House medical adviser, recently told NPR.

On Sunday, Murthy said vaccines and booster shots will allow the U.S. to get through future waves as they come and go.

In the New York City, average daily case numbers rose about 20% during the two weeks ending Thursday, according to city Health Department data, though the figures are still well below the peak seen through the winter holidays.

Thats as Mayor Adams and Gov. Hochul dropped vaccine requirements for most indoor activities and the mask mandate for most public school students.

Statewide, 12 people died on Saturday, bringing the death toll to an estimated 69,958, according to Hochuls office.

New York has made tremendous progress in fighting the pandemic, but we must continue to do the right thing and protect ourselves and our community through vaccination, she said in a statement.
Big Y, Red Cross Partner for Ukraine Humanitarian Relief

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.  Big Y World Class Markets are partnering with the American Red Cross to raise donations to help provide humanitarian relief in response to the Ukraine crisis.

Starting Thursday, March 17 and continuing through Wednesday, March 30, Big Y customers and employees will have the opportunity to donate to the American Red Cross Relief Efforts at all Big Y World Class Markets throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut.

As fighting intensifies in and around Ukraine, the global Red Cross network is helping families impacted by conflict. The Ukrainian Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are supporting this humanitarian crisis. Our donation will support the global Red Cross movement response to provide humanitarian relief to people affected by the crisis in Ukraine.

Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine and their families locally and abroad. We are a local and trusted community partner that can provide our customers and employees a means to show their support to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine

through our partnership with the American Red Cross," said President and CEO Charles L. D'Amour.

Big Y, its customers and employees have worked with the Red Cross in the past. The 12-plus-year partnership has raised over $1.6 million to support international and domestic disasters.
Russian forces bombed an art school sheltering 400 people in the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.

The local city council told the BBC that the building housing women, children and elderly people was destroyed. The British news outlet could not immediately confirm the report.

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A man helps Ukrainian soldiers searching for bodies in the debris at the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19, 2022. (BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)

The Red Cross has been trying to gain access to the city, which has been cut off from the outside world, but conditions are very, very difficult, the charity agencys Steve McAndrew was quoted as saying.

Sundays reported attacked followed the widely condemned Russian bombing of a Mariupol theater sheltering 1,300 people on Thursday.

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Meanwhile, the invading forces are reportedly deporting thousands of Mariupol residents to Russia.

Ukrainian soldiers carry a dead soldier through debris at the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19, 2022. (BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)

As many as 4,500 people are feared to have been taken from the coastal city across the nearby Russian border, an adviser to Mariupols mayor told The New York Times.

What the occupiers are doing today is familiar to the older generation, who saw the horrific events of World War II, when the Nazis forcibly captured people, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko was quoted as saying.

It is hard to imagine that in the 21st century people will be forcibly deported to another country, he said.
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Since our founding in September of 1963, The Independent has been dedicated to giving Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Sunol readers the news they need to be in-the-know about what's going on in the Tri-Valley region.
Mayor Adams last week launched a new version of the NYPD gun-hunting unit, formerly known as Anti-Crime, that was both credited with helping bring down shootings and homicides and criticized for racial profiling. Just two hours into its first tour, one of the new teams snatched a gun-toting reputed gang member out on bail for attempted murder off a Bronx streetcorner. The units, which have been created in response to rising rates of violent crime that conservatives blame on progressive criminal justice reforms, will wear jackets identifying themselves as Neighborhood Safety teams and will reportedly be concentrated in high crime communities. While Adams insists that the cops in these special squads will not engage in illegal stops based on race, my experience tells me it is almost certain that sooner or later they will be asked to do just that.

I am one of the few civilians intimately familiar with tactics of the Anti-Crime units. For almost two years in the 1990s, I rode nightly with patrol Housing Police units in Brownsville to research my book, The Ville, Cops and Kids in Urban America. In 2005, I spent six weeks with the Anti-Crime teams in Crown Heights 77th Precinct for an article about a crusading commander there.

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First, we should understand that the new squads are not the first rebranding of such specialized units. Anti-Crime was itself a sanitized version of the Street Crime units created in 1971 and forged into a fearsome strike force in the 1990s. That 340-member team was recruited from the most active and streetwise patrol officers. They often rode in groups of four under the cover of silence, which meant they did not identify themselves on the police radio system. That, and the fact they operated citywide, wore street clothes and traveled in unmarked cars made them almost immune to accountability. More than once in the early 90s, I was on hand as patrol units arrived at a job to observe Street Crime leaving the scene with an injured suspect left behind.

The beatings were not the result of rogue individuals or outlaw squads, either. They were the articulated mission of the Street Crime unit, which was to take back the streets from the thugs by any means necessary. Their motto was We own the night. In 1999, in the Bronx, members of a Street Crime team fired at law-abiding African immigrant, Amadou Diallo, 41 times, hitting him 19 times and killing him as he was reaching for his wallet to show his ID. The NYPD tried to explain the incident and especially the number of shots as contagion shooting, but the outcry was too strong and the unit was disbanded in 2002.

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There is a legitimate argument about the effectiveness of such units. On one hand, their presence coincided with a sharp drop in crime which some say was attributable to the administrative efficiency of the NYPD in general under Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and to sheer zealousness of Street Crime in particular. There was certainly commendable personal commitment. Street Crime member Kevin Gillespie was killed a few days before his 34th birthday in a raging gun battle with career criminals on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. On the other side, is the argument that crime went down to a lesser degree all across the country in that time period, including in areas that did not set such gung-ho units loose.

Street Crime was no more, the task of searching for guns and reclaiming the streets fell to four-man Anti-Crime units, which had previously coexisted with Street Crime. There were differences. The scorched-earth tactics used by Street Crime were discouraged. To burnish its pirate image, Street Crime teams mustered at a shadowy dedicated site on Randalls Island. The more consumer-friendly Anti-Crime teams were made up of officers from the local precincts which made them more identifiable and theoretically more accountable.

But the focus and some of the methods remained similar. As with Street Crime, Anti-Crime units in high crime areas are all about guns. The precinct commander and the borough commander measure the effectiveness of each team and each individual officer on the simple rubric of guns confiscated. Commendations and interviews for detective units follow. Units compete with each other. The night boys are spurred on when they hear the day tour team got two guns that day.

At their best, just like Street Crime, Anti-Crime officers are experts at their jobs. As the rappers say, the streets is talkin  and these cops know how to listen. They can spot when someone is wearing too many layers of clothing for the weather or when a gangbanger is stepping into rival territory.

They employ ruses, saying things like, We have a report that someone dropped a gun around here. If you picked it up, just tell us and no problem. Sometimes they instigate an argument with the person they stopped so they can search him when he becomes belligerent.

The best officers rely on a blend of intuition and observation. That is, they can see and feel when someone is carrying a gun. There are psychological adjustments, veteran officers say, emotional changes in a person, especially a young person, when they carry a concealed weapon. There is a feeling of power that can affect their gait and posture, comingled with a fear of detection recognizable in the eyes or the voice by officers with the gift. Most bearers of illegal guns dont wear holsters, so gun squad officers note a hand in the pocket or a list to the side where a gun might be tucked in a waistband.

Sometimes its situational. A few hours after calls for shots fired on the turf of one neighborhood crew, an anti-crime team spots a group of young men from a rival group standing on a streetcorner. The experienced officer in the passenger seat tells the driver, Pull up quick. The first one to step off has the gun.

But to check their hunch they must conduct what may be an illegal search.

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Supervisors didnt directly exhort their cops to stop and frisk, they used curious phrases like how many people did you touch and are you touching the right people.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

Then, in 2020, came the George Floyd riots and the backlash against police. Stop and frisk had already been curtailed by court order. So, the NYPD reconstituted the Anti-Crime teams under the name Public Safety and discouraged all but justifiable sidewalk stops. Still, the searches went on. Failure to signal, temporary plates, any excuse to pull a car over. Once the driver rolls down his or her window, other opportunities for a search arise.

The new units will be better trained and wear body cameras, the mayor promises. Positive steps. But such quick and reactive racial sensitivity training is not an effective counter to widespread bias in our society and in the department. What is needed is state-of-the-art scenario-based training with scheduled follow-up in-service sessions. It may cost money but body cameras should be turned on as officers are deciding to make a stop, not just as the interaction begins. There should be a way for supervisors and monitors to see what the officer saw when they make the stop. In the end, though, neither training nor body cameras can control the actions or effectively measure the intent of ambitious officers expected and determined to find and confiscate guns with the fewest number of dangerous street interactions possible.

The golden era of New York City policing ushered in by Bratton and Deputy Commissioner Jack Maples in the early 1990s has been a model for departments across the country if not the world. But there is a fatal flaw at the heart of its heroic success. The so-called CompStat crime tracking system is based on numbers. Numbers of crimes, of citizen police interactions, gun confiscations. Attention to so-called quality of life infractions is as much or more about getting in peoples pockets as it is about assuring a pleasant stroll down Broadway.

The highly publicized arrest in the Bronx on Monday of a man carrying a loaded and untraceable 9mm ghost-gun was based on a search prompted, police sources say, by several factors that led (officers) to reasonable suspicion.

The new units will continue some of the old methods and even ramp them up because the car stops work. But wait and watch: Initial gratitude at safer streets will inevitably give way to irritation and then anger at such tactics. If such extra-legal methods are actually discontinued, rising crime will spark cries for more aggressive tactics and the cycle will repeat.

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It is time for the public to stop expecting the NYPD to keep crime at historic lows while observing every last letter of the law. High-crime neighborhoods are the result of social and economic policies that breed poverty and desperation. It will take starkly new public policies to change that equation. In the meantime, we continue to ask our police to contain crime the only way they reasonably can: by bending if not breaking the law themselves. Is that really what we want?

Donaldson is an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the author of The Ville: Cops and Kids in Urban America
Just a few days ago, actress Oksana Shvets was killed in a Russian rocket attack on a residential building in the capital city. A couple of weeks ago, actor Pasha Lee who took up arms to defend his country died fighting Russian troops.

Very recently, Ukrainian ballet star Artyom Datsishin who was a principal dancer with the National Opera of Ukraine has died three weeks after he was badly injured in Russian shelling.

The actress of the Young Theatre Oksana Shvets has been murdered in Kyiv during the war. pic.twitter.com/Rp3DcgSbge  KyivPost (@KyivPost) March 17, 2022

Artyom Datsishin passed away from wounds he suffered in Russian shelling weeks earlier. He was 43.

On February 24, Russia began a military operation in Ukraine, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in countering the aggression of Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only.

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, almost 600 civilians have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in Ukraine since the start of the conflict.

May they Rest In Peace, Ukrainian dancer Artem Datsyshyn and renowned Ukrainian actor Oksana Shvets. One caught under fire in Kyiv. One killed by a rocket attack. #OksanaShvets #artemdatsyshyn pic.twitter.com/ay0ggbdBQT  Che Marville (@CheMarvilleReal) March 20, 2022

Also Read: Ukrainian Security Staff Lauds Actor Ram Charan After He Sends Medicine And Money Amid War

(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.)


Their story started in 2015 when KhaaliJeb was born. As the name suggests, it is a payment and banking app for students and youth. It makes payment and banking for them  simple, fast, and extra rewarding. And, they used the trending dialogue from the movie 'Pushpa' to depict it.

"It is exactly what we feel like with all the difficulties and struggle. We could relate a lot with the dialogue Main Jhukega Nhi," one of the founding members Pratham Kumar told India Times.

khaalijeb-team

What is it exactly?

Their idea was to have UPI on KhaaliJeb through which one could make payments directly from their bank account to their friends or any merchants accepting UPI. And simply, scan UPI QR at nearby outlets to make payments.

When asked how is it extra-rewarding, Pratham Kumar told Indiatimes that KhaaliJeb runs a membership-based discount Program, where students and youths enjoy special discounts & deals from 100 + brands across categories.

He further added: Its a member only platform for students & youths below 29. To become a member of the discount program, they need to upload an ID and the verification happens within minutes. Its a one-time process, Pratham said.

khaalijeb-team

Their story

It all began when in early 2015 one of the co-founders during his college holidays was heading to his hometown Patna. He said he booked an Ola from Railway Station to his home and the money got deducted from Ola Money.

The whole payment experience was so smooth and seamless, it made me question  why this cant be everywhere? After a long time, something had intrigued me. Something evoked a sense of purpose in my life, said Pratham.

He then started researching about different payment systems all around the world and woke up the next day with the decision to give the placements a miss and made up his mind to start his own venture.

khaalijeb-team

He then discussed the idea with his friends and now co-founders Aman, Wilson, and Sudhanshu, all BTech graduates from IIT Allahabad. In 3 years time, they took the first step and launched the app on Play Store in October, 2018.

What about the Pushpa movie dialogue and their video?

Our journey has been full of failures and struggles, but we kept fighting like the main character in Pushpa" he added, We could connect with it so much and also wanted to inspire others to make videos depicting their journeys."



The struggle

Narrating their startup journey he said that they did a lot of rookie mistakes.

We kept waiting for UPI integration to get completed and kept delaying our launch thinking it will get completed in a month or a two. And it took around 18 months for the UPI integration. We could have launched the app with some other features in the meantime, but it was silly of us that we didnt.

khaalijeb-team

We started marketing the app with founders talking to students, youth, and early corporates, telling them about the app on the streets of Bengaluru. We personally spoke to 40,000 youths and distributed over 1 lakh stickers, he said.

He said they reached out to more than 6000 youtubers and spokz5;xe to more than 2000 over call. We tried convincing them to make videos about our app. With no money in hand and nothing in our pockets, we kept going with one idea and one aim. Today, we might succeed, if we dont, at least we can always say we tried.
Ukrainian authorities said that Russia had bombed a school sheltering 400 people in the besieged port of Mariupol, as Moscow claimed that it had again fired a hypersonic missile in Ukraine, the second time it had used the next-generation weapon on its neighbour.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the siege of Mariupol, a strategic mostly Russian-speaking port in the southeast where utilities and communications have been cut for days, would go down as a war crime, warning Russians that thousands of their soldiers had died in the conflict.

Agencies

The war in Ukraine, which Russian President Vladimir Putin launched on February 24 to stamp out the pro-Western bent in the ex-Soviet country, has sparked the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, felled Russia-West relations to Cold War-era lows, and is wreaking havoc in the world economy still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.

"Yesterday, the Russian occupiers dropped bombs on an art school No 12," the Mariupol city council said on messaging app Telegram on Sunday, adding that around 400 women, children and elderly people had been sheltering there from bombardments.

"Peaceful civilians are still under the rubble," it said, adding that the building had been destroyed.

AP

City authorities also claimed that some residents of Mariupol were being forcibly taken to Russia and stripped of their Ukrainian passports.

Russia fires hypersonic missile

Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that Moscow had again fired its newest Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missile, destroying a fuel storage site in the southern Mykolaiv region.

The strike came a day after it said it used the sophisticated weapon for the first time in combat to destroy an underground missile and ammunition storage site in western Ukraine close to the border with NATO member Romania.

Humanitarian conditions continued to go from bad to worse in the mostly Russian-speaking south and east of the country, where Russian forces have been pressing their advance, as well as in the north around the capital Kyiv.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.




Cover Image Attribute: Oil well and storage tanks in the Texas Panhandle / Source: The Al Attiyah Foundation, Qatar

Oil prices settled higher on Friday, but posted a second straight weekly loss, after a volatile trading week with no easy replacement for Russian barrels in a tight market. Brent crude futures settled up $1.29, or 1.2%, to $107.93 a barrel, a day after surging nearly 9% in the biggest daily percentage gain since mid-2020. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled up $1.72, or 1.7%, at $104.70 a barrel, adding to the previous session's 8% jump. Prices hit 14-year highs nearly two weeks ago, encouraging bouts of profit-taking since then. The volatility of crude prices has been boosted by the supply crunch from traders avoiding Russian barrels and dwindling oil stockpiles. However, prices have been pressured by worries about demand with COVID-19 cases surging in China while stumbling nuclear talks with Iran have been a wild card on the market. The volatility has scared some investors out of the oil market, which could exacerbate price swings. Meanwhile, output from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in February undershot targets even more than in the previous month, sources said. The International Energy Agency said oil markets could lose 3 million bpd of Russian oil from April.



Asian LNG Prices Slide as Concerns Over Supply Ease

Asian spot liquefied natural gas prices fell last week, tracking European gas prices, as concerns over disruptions of Russian gas slightly eased. The average LNG price for May delivery into north-east Asia was estimated at $35.50 per metric million British thermal units (mmBtu), down $2.50, or 6.6%, from the previous week, industry sources said. Asian demand is still muted with north-east Asia consuming an average of 54% of global LNG imports in the first two months of 2022, compared to 67% last year. In Europe, prices were calmer last week as both sides (Russia and Europe) toned down their rhetoric on cutting existing Russian gas exports to Europe. The Dutch TTF premium to Asian LNG prices should ensure Europe continues to pull LNG away from Asia for the time being. The European Commission last week published a blueprint to cut EU dependency on Russian gas by two-thirds this year and end all Russian fossil fuel imports well before 2030. Some experts say it will be hard to achieve and possibly trigger a competitive and costly dash for the fuel when energy prices are already inflicting economic pain. The Commission proposes importing around 50 billion cubic meters of liquified natural gas.







DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this insight piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the IndraStra Global.





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Culpeper, VA (22701)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun in the morning followed by cloudy skies during the afternoon. High 69F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy in the evening, then off and on rain showers after midnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin delivers his State of the Commonwealth address before a joint session of the Virginia General Assembly in the House chambers at the Capitol on Jan. 17, 2022, in Richmond, Va.
Union representatives are set to brief a Stormont committee on its plans to launch a legal challenge against ferry giant P&O after it sacked 800 workers.

Ulster Unionist Mike Nesbitt said unions will be given the opportunity to vent their anger against the Orwellian treatment of P&O workers.

Mr Nesbitt also said Stormont does not have the legislative power to compel senior management at P&O to appear before a committee before the Assembly dissolves.

The ferry operator, bought by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World in 2019, has insisted the decision to cut jobs was very difficult but necessary as it was not a viable business in its current state.

Mr Nesbitt said the treatment of workers was absolutely shocking and disgusting (PA)

The move has been met with concern in Northern Ireland and across the UK.

Mr Nesbitt said the treatment of workers was absolutely shocking and disgusting.

What we can do is hear from the unions, he told BBCNI.

I think we have to give them an opportunity to vent against this Orwellian treatment by P&O, and also brief us on their plans because they are thinking of a legal challenge.

We could also hear about the kind of logistical challenges, because a lot of the Larne to Cairnryan route is very important for freight as well as for carrying passengers and we need to consider the implications.

We had a look at that on Friday in terms of best and worst case scenarios. But it would not be sensible or appropriate to put the worst case into the public domain at this stage until we have certainty, because the last thing we want to do is create any form of panic.

Stewart Dickson, the Alliance Party MLA in East Antrim who also sits on the Assemblys economy committee, described the treatment of workers as absolutely brutal.

This is one of the most appalling incidents that Ive ever come across in my professional career in employment law and certainly as a local politician. I dont think I have seen worse either, he added.

People (were) just simply told in the most Orwellian fashion, Youre out of work. Youre fired.'

Mr Dickson said agency workers brought in to replace staff will be paid appallingly lower than the current rates of pay.

Regrettably, theyre not the only employer that has taken advantage of Brexit, that has taken advantage of the Covid, to do fire and rehire, he added.

Weve seen that with airlines and weve seen it with other businesses.

But 800 in one day, by this method, without consultation with the trade union, allegedly telling the Government 24 or 48 hours in advance, all of that is absolutely brutal stuff.

Scenes from the protest at Larne Port in Northern Ireland (PA)

A lot of it comes down to the way in which UK employment law actually operates. This company has factored in the real cost of this. Yes, of course, there are penalties for the unbelievably brutal behaviour that the company has taken against some employees.

But the reality is that many of them will have been asked to sign confidentiality agreements to get perhaps a slightly higher rate in their termination settlement.

Steve Hedley, assistant general secretary of the UK Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), which represents many of the P&O workers, called on the UK Government to introduce emergency legislation to seize the assets of the Dubai-based owners.

He said similar measures were brought in to freeze the assets of Russian billionaires after the invasion of Ukraine by Russias forces on February 24.

Were going to be asking the Government to do several things. First of all, if they can bring in emergency legislation to seize the assets of Russian billionaires, then they can bring in emergency legislation to take up the assets of the billionaires in the United Arab Emirates, Mr Hedley said.

These people own the ports, they own the ships  they are their assets.

Quite simply, the Government should seize those ports and seize the ships and renationalise P&O.
Thursday, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo continued his no-apology tour with a trip to the Bronx church of notorious homophobe Ruben Diaz Sr. Perhaps it was surprising to some that a former elected official who has claimed to champion LGBTQ rights would visit someone who has made his career by denying our communitys dignity. But as a queer leader whos witnessed Cuomos bullying and abuses of power for more than a decade, it wasnt surprising at all. This man has shown time and time again that his only concern is amassing and maintaining power, regardless of the harm he causes.

Let us begin with the facts: Eleven brave women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Cuomo. Their claims were found credible by an extensive and thorough investigation conducted by outside lawyers enlisted by Attorney General Tish James, a private law firm tapped by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, and by various district attorneys across the state (who generally said they believed the women even as they declined to prosecute Cuomo).

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In addition, as confirmed by an audit released by the state comptrollers office last week, Cuomos Health Department underreported COVID deaths of nursing home residents during the pandemic, as he sought to burnish his image as an effective leader and sell his pandemic memoir. As Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said, The public was misled by those at the highest level of state government through distortion and suppression of the facts when New Yorkers deserved the truth.

Cuomo abused his power when he harassed and groped women, and he abused his power when he sought to hide the truth about his disastrous pandemic policies.

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Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo listens to remarks while attending a New York Hispanic Clergy Organization meeting, Thursday, March 17, 2022, in New York. (Seth Wenig/AP)

Under immense pressure on both fronts, he resigned  a point worth noting given his self-serving claims that he was canceled, when in fact he stepped aside after the overwhelming evidence against him was being made public. Cuomo, who now says he was railroaded and the only reason he stepped down was to avoid an unwinnable conflict with the Legislature, simultaneously says good leaders never shrink from important fights.

Now, he is trying to make a comeback by gaslighting not only the women he victimized, but also New Yorkers who trusted him to serve their interests. Hes spending millions of dollars of his corporate buddies donations on television ads to project his grotesque message. And, in his desperation, hes seizing on any platform he can, including seeking validation from one of the loudest opponents of LGBTQ New Yorkers and women.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

I am intimately familiar with this type of behavior by powerful men who refuse to take responsibility for their actions.

In 2018, I was one of two women who confronted then-Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator to urge him to take seriously Dr. Christine Blasey Fords painful and detailed testimony about the attempted sexual assault she endured at the hands of Brett Kavanaugh. I called on Flake to consider the dangerous message he would be sending to the country by empowering a man who refused to take responsibility for the harm he had caused. During the Senates hearing, Kavanaugh refused to acknowledge what he had done to Ford, before swiftly and aggressively proceeding to claim the mantle of victimhood.

Cuomo is following that same playbook. His attempt to return to public office without accepting responsibility or facing real accountability is offensive and grotesque, and he must be stopped.

The good news is that theres a clear path to preventing his political return. The Assembly, which had begun the process of impeachment before he resigned, should now move immediately to impeach Cuomo. Once they have acted, the High Court of Impeachment, made up of all sitting senators save the majority leader, plus the members of the Court of Appeals, should then proceed with a trial. A Senate conviction could, and should, permanently bar Cuomo from holding state public office again.

While the process of impeachment after resignation has not been tested in New York before, and the ever-litigious Cuomo would likely challenge it, there is precedent in common law and practice that permits it. It is also just common sense; as many Americans understood after Donald Trumps actions before, during and after Jan. 6, simply resigning should not absolve a public official of facing consequences for abuses of power. That would make avoiding accountability all too easy.

Legislators should therefore resume their proceedings to ensure real accountability for Cuomos abuses of power. Every action he takes further demonstrates his refusal to accept responsibility for the harm hes caused. If lawmakers wont do it, no one will.

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Archila is a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor of New York.
EU and UK regulators have opened investigations into tech giants Google and Meta over concerns the firms broke competition rules for online display advertising services.

The British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and European Commission announced parallel probes into the Jedi Blue agreement between the firms, amid worries this impacted competition.

The CMA said it is specifically looking into whether the firms restricted or prevented the uptake of header bidding services.

Header bidding is a service which allows sellers, such as news publishers, to offer their online advertising space to multiple buyers at the same time, rather than receiving offers one by one.

Buyers or advertisers therefore compete against each other for advertising space, allowing publishers to compare bids from a range of bidders.

The watchdogs said they are scrutinising a September 2018 agreement, which Google code-named Jedi Blue, allowing Metas audience network to work alongside Googles open bidding programme.

The European Commission said it is concerned this link-up may have led to the exclusion of tech advertising services from competing with Googles bidding programme, and therefore restricting competition in the display advertising market.

Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president at the European Commission in charge of competition policy, said: Many publishers rely on online display advertising to fund online content for consumers.

Via the so-called Jedi Blue agreement between Google and Meta, a competing technology to Googles Open Bidding may have been targeted with the aim to weaken it and exclude it from the market for displaying ads on publisher websites and apps.

If confirmed by our investigation, this would restrict and distort competition in the already concentrated ad tech market, to the detriment of rival ad serving technologies, publishers and ultimately consumers.

Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, said: Were concerned that Google may have teamed up with Meta to put obstacles in the way of competitors who provide important online display advertising services to publishers.

If one company has a stranglehold over a certain area, it can make it hard for start-ups and smaller businesses to break into the market  and may ultimately reduce customer choice.

We will not shy away from scrutinising the behaviour of big tech firms while we await powers for the Digital Markets Unit, working closely with global regulators to get the best outcomes possible.
Leo Varadkar and his partner Matt Barrett have registered with the Irish Red Cross offering to take in refugees from Ukraine.

The Tanaiste said on Saturday accommodation will be the biggest challenge facing the state with talks ongoing now with the Army about Gomanstown Camp.

Accommodation is going to be the biggest challenge, that is fair to say, he said, speaking at Dublin Airport on his return on Columbia.

At the moment we are relying very much on hotels and B&B accommodation around the country, but if we are at 10,000 now, we are likely to be at 20,000 by the end of the month. This is more likely to continue than slow down.

He said his partner registered their house about three weeks ago with the Red Cross offering the spare bedroom for at least six months.

We got the acknowledgment, and what they are prioritising now is people who can provide a vacant property, own-door accommodation. That is going to be the priority for the Red Cross and the Refugee Council.

What they will do then is move onto people who can provide a room and are linked to public transport. We are in Category 2 in that regard.

He urged the 20,000 people who have similarly registered to be patient as the system works through the offers.

Group accommodation options are also being considered.

We are certainly talking to the Army about Gormanstown, he said, referring to the Army camp in Co Meath.

The Arena in Millstreet, Co Cork, is a possible destination for refugees from Ukraine. File Picture Dan Linehan

The Government is also talking with Millstreet Arena in Co Cork. He described these options as "not ideal" but said: thats the best we can do for now until we activate other mechanisms.

So far, Dublin Airport has received the majority of the refugees at 7,841 compared with 1,268 in other airports including Cork and Shannon.

A reception hub is now open in Cork city, and one will open in Limerick this week, he said. Staff from the departments of social protection, children and justice assist people with paperwork and supplies.

Mr Varadkar also said he was in touch on Friday with Taoiseach Micheal Martin who is suffering with Covid-19 in Washington.

He is in good spirits, in good form. He is working from Washington, we are in a very different world to two or three years ago, and he has been able to carry out almost all of his duties remotely, he said.

Where he cant, I will fill in for him or another minister will. He is still hoping it will be possible he can make it to Brussels for the EU Council.

The European Council meets in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

Mr Varadkar will be Taoiseach next year under the terms of an agreement between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

Asked if he would consider letting Mr Martin go in his place to the White House, he said: I think it is very possible there will be a White House visit before then, it is possible there will be a further White House visit later this year, and it is possible President Biden will come to Ireland.

The Tanaiste also said the Government is monitoring changes in fuel prices in Ireland, and he has had discussions about the prices of certain flights into Ireland from Eastern Europe.

He would not be drawn into saying whether Ryanair has been a specific focus of these discussions or not.
The leader of the DUP has accused Sinn Fein of pushing a radical all-Ireland agenda during a speech to the party executive.

Jeffrey Donaldson said Mary-Lou McDonald and Michelle ONeill should stop obsessing about a border poll.

He made the comments to the party executive and Assembly candidates on Saturday.

The DUP held a meeting to ratify their Assembly candidates for the election in May.

There are those who like to tell us it doesnt matter who wins this election. But they are wrong, Mr Donaldson said.

Current polls suggest there could be a Sinn Fein taoiseach in the Republic of Ireland and a Sinn Fein first minister of Northern Ireland after the next round of elections.

Anyone who thinks the prospect of Michelle ONeill and Mary-Lou McDonald touring around London, Brussels, and Washington pushing a radical all-Ireland agenda will be good for the Union, or help bring stability in Northern Ireland, is living in a fools paradise.

Just look at this week. Whilst all of Washington and New York were hailing their Irish ancestry and focused on Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein were not promoting Derry as a place to invest, they were taking out half-page adverts in the New York Times and Washington Post claiming now was the time for a border poll.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a message for Mary-Lou and Michelle ONeill and Nicola Sturgeon. Stop obsessing about a border poll and focus on what matters to people.

Northern Ireland will only move forward when we move forward together. Unionists and nationalists

Focus on fixing our NHS, keeping our schools world-class, growing our economy, helping working families with the cost of living, and removing the shadow of the protocol from our politics.

That is why this election is so important.

That is why the DUP is focused on winning the election. That is why Unionism must stand behind the DUP on May 5.

Mr Donaldson also revealed the partys slogan for the upcoming Assembly election as Moving Forward Together.

This is not about posts or titles, he added.

Its about determining where Northern Ireland is focused. Its about who sets the agenda."

Its about ensuring Northern Ireland moves forward, not backwards, and in the right direction, not the wrong one.

Northern Ireland will only move forward when we move forward together. Unionists and nationalists.

Unionism will only move forward when we move forward together and remember who we are really competing against.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said Northern Ireland has to move forward (Brian Lawless/PA)

Mr Donaldosn said that each voter will be faced with a stark choice.

Between a positive vision for Northern Ireland  focused on the issues that really matter  or one centred on the chaos and division of Sinn Feins border poll plans, he added.

History has proven that this partys success is Northern Irelands success.

When this party is strong, Unionism is strong.

So, in the days to come, let us collectively rise to the challenge.

Lets not be afraid to make our case on the doorsteps and lets seize the opportunity at this election to move forward together and ensure Northern Ireland moves in the right direction.

Paul Givan resigned earlier this year as part of the DUP protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol, a move which also removed deputy first minister Michelle ONeill from the joint office.
On March 10, Key Biscayne hosted its first TEDTalk, a nationally branded series in which presenters share unique and/or interesting ideas.

TEDxKey Biscayne was a self-organized local event that featured several speakers focusing on the concept of Community.

Community is the intersection of people and ideas, a press release about the event said. The sharing of common goals among neighbors creates an interconnectedness where community informs identity.

Community members hosted the event, spoke at it and listened to the insights. The event was organized by Gabriela Mino in partnership with the Key Biscayne Community foundation. Seven speakers addressed the crowd. They were:

Ramiro Almeida, discussing mobility and innovation.

Almeida is the co-founder and CEO of Tram, a distributed marketplace for carbon offsets and carbon credits. Tram is on a mission to reduce carbon emissions by incentivizing people around the world to change their mobility behaviors through digital tokens.

Beatriz Ayala-Muniz, discussing music and experience

Ayala-Muniz is the ultimate connector of people, experiences and ideas. She is the founder and CEO of Musicasa, a Techstars Music company, creating a community-powered marketplace connecting music lovers through highly personal home concerts.

Rosa & Carlos de la Cruz, discussing art and culture

The de la Cruzs art collection is not only highly acclaimed, it is a testament to a powerful civic vision. Rosa and Carlos started scholarship programs in partnership with the Knight Foundation for Art Education to benefit students from New World School of the Arts to travel to Europe and China. It also helps fund a Design and Architecture Senior High student to attend pre-college programs at SVA and Parsons in New York. They have helped over a thousand students pursue art education.

Billy Kimball, discussing reality and television

Kimball is a writer and producer, primarily for television. His credits include The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, and the Academy Awards telecast. He also co-wrote the education documentary Waiting for Superman.

Manny Rionda, discussing environment and engagement

Over the past 20+ years, Rionda has worked with school districts, representing organizations such as Rosetta Stone and Turnitin. In 2018, Manny co-founded FillABag; a non-profit beach-cleaning initiative that works with coastal area communities to bring awareness to the impact of marine debris and plastic pollution on the environment.

Ana Gloria Rivas-Vazquez, addressing community and philanthropy

Rivas-Vazquez has been working in the field of philanthropy for more than 25 years. She is the co-founder of the Key Biscayne Community Foundation. She co-founded Smart Women with Spare Change, a womens giving circle. She has earned awards from the Florida Association of Volunteer Agencies for Caribbean Action and was honored by Hispanics in Philanthropy as a HIP Giver for her longtime work and research in philanthropy.

Eugene Gene Stearns, discussing public policy and participation

Since returning to Miami in 1972 to begin the practice of law, Stearns has been actively involved in a host of public policy issues on both the state and federal level. On a pro bono basis, he successfully represented communities throughout South Florida who aspired to create new local governments, including the Village of Key Biscayne.

TheTED x Key Biscayne event culminated with a reception where the attendees and speakers could meet and talk while enjoying food and drinks.
Trinity, TX (77320)

Today

Strong thunderstorms likely. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High around 85F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms during the evening, then skies turning partly cloudy overnight. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
A new ransomware-as-a-service family, which has been christened LokiLocker, has been identified by Blackberry Threat Intelligence. As usual, it only affects Windows systems.

The company's Research and Intelligence team said in a blog post that LokiLocker did the usual ransomware things like encryption and stealing information. But it also wiped data from its victims' systems.

"However, like its namesake god Loki, this threat seems to have a few subtle tricks up its sleeve - not least being a potential 'false flag' tactic that points the finger at Iranian threat actors," the post said.

"In Norse mythology, Loki was the consummate trickster who had the ability to shapeshift at will. One of the many hot-headed fire gods, Loki was an enemy to the other gods themselves, often entering their banquets uninvited and demanding their food and drink. LokiLocker is similarly insistent on acquiring that to which it has no legitimate claim."

Don't call Loki Locker ransomware as new @BlackBerry, when even you write you saw it past August already...

Also, Loki Locker isn't a completely new ransomware family, I would suggest you to look into "Ziggy Ransomware"... And if you do so, you will find more "Iran relation" too. pic.twitter.com/tOxalIDv4l  MalwareHunterTeam (@malwrhunterteam) March 16, 2022

Though calling it new, the post claimed LokiLocker had first been spotted in mid-August 2021 and appeared to target mostly English-speaking victims and Windows PCs.

."Like the god it is named after, LokiLocker enters the victims life uninvited and starts looking for property to purloin. The threat then encrypts their files, and demands they pay a monetary ransom to restore access," the Blackberry team wrote.

"The malware is written in .NET and protected with NETGuard (modified ConfuserEX) using an additional virtualisation plugin called KoiVM. KoiVM used to be a licensed commercial protector for .NET applications, but around 2018 its code was open-sourced (or possibly leaked), and its now publicly available on GitHub. Although Koi seems to be popular with hacking tools and cracks, we havent seen a lot of other malware using it to date."

Satnam Narang, staff research engineer at security shop Tenable, said the data wiping function was another way to extract a ransom.

"Typically, when ransomware has included a data wiping component, the ransomware is merely a ruse and the intention from the onset is to wipe data from the systems all along," he said.

"With LokiLocker, it seems the data wiping component is now another new form of extortion if a victim refuses to pay. At the end of the day, ransomware groups want to get paid, the data-wiping tactic is just another option for these groups as a means to an end.

"The concern right now is whether or not the data wiping extortion tactic will be widely adopted by other ransomware groups just like the Maze group's double extortion tactic."

Narang said the ransomware ecosystem had grown over the years to become its own booming enterprise.

"Historically, holding files hostage has been enough to convince organisations to pay, but a few years ago, the Maze ransomware group pioneered a tactic of stealing sensitive data from victims and threatening to publish those files online. This tactic has been called double extortion and it has become widely adopted by most ransomware-as-a-service offerings today.

"Ransomware groups have begun experimenting with additional extortion techniques over the last few years, including performing distributed denial of service attacks against victims and even cold calling a victim's customers threatening to leak their data as well in hopes of convincing them to put pressure on the initial victims to pay the ransom demand."
Ketanji Brown Jacksons qualifications for the Supreme Court are exemplary. So why is Tucker Carlson asking about her LSAT score?

The U.S. Senate already confirmed Jackson three times for various appointments based upon her stunning credentials, most recently as an appellate judge on the prestigious United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. She received her college and law degrees from Harvard, with honors. She clerked for three notable members of the judiciary, including Justice Stephen Breyer, whose seat she will fill. Jacksons experience as a federal judge before becoming a justice rivals if not exceeds that of most of her soon-to-be colleagues, combined.

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The LSAT, an exam used for law school admissions consisting of logic games, word puzzles and reading comprehension questions, is widely viewed as an imperfect predictor of success. Carlson might as well be asking for the release of Jacksons Wordle statistics.

There is no evidence to suggest the LSAT score has any bearing on ones ability to serve as a justice. And whatever Jacksons score, it was sufficient to secure her admission to one of the nations top law schools...even despite the well-documented racial bias of the exam.

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A white, male nominee would never be scrutinized in this same way. We conducted a media study after observing radically gendered news coverage of justices Sonia Sotomayor in 2009 and Elena Kagan in 2010 when they were nominated. Both were critiqued for being unmarried. Their childless status became fodder for headlines like Then Comes the Marriage Question and The Supreme Court Needs More Mothers. Other wildly inappropriate topics included the justices wardrobe choices and their sexual preferences.

Perhaps the bizarre obsession with Sotomayor and Kagan as single women was a reaction against the two women who sat on the court before them. Both Sandra Day OConnor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg were known to the nation as heterosexual married mothers, in addition to being the first women to join the court. Despite their more traditional identities, they too experienced unwarranted intrusions into their gender and family life. OConnors voice was deemed too high pitched and her appointment was classified as politically cute. Ginsburgs lack of culinary skills factored into the assessment of her aptitude for the Supreme Court, with reports that she was replaced in the kitchen by her husband, whose cooking their children preferred.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

These inappropriate gendered appraisals sometimes lead qualified individuals to remove themselves from the selection pool. Harriet Miers, for example, withdrew from consideration just over three weeks after George W. Bush nominated her for the Court, though her qualifications were similar to those of Justice Lewis Powell. She was described as a pit bull in size 6 shoes with a fondness for girls nights out and engaging in a lot of girl talk with Condi and the other single girls, referencing then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. No mention was made of Samuel Alitos size or social life when he filled the seat Bush intended for Miers.

Amy Coney Barrett, the most recent woman to join the court, was asked during her Senate confirmation hearings about who does the laundry in her house. Her seven children were the subject of endless scrutiny. By contrast, Antonin Scalia, for whom Barrett clerked, was not grilled about household chores or how he cared for his nine children when he was nominated. For women, the absence of children and the abundance of children equally evoke skepticism about their qualifications, an example of the no-win double blinds female professionals must try to surmount.

Women are also held to different standards when describing their approach to judging. Both Sotomayor and Alito made public comments about how their personal life experiences might impact their judicial decisions. At a 2001 lecture, Sotomayor opined, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasnt lived that life. Sotomayor was vilified for the remark, and President Obama was condemned for selecting a nominee based upon qualities that included empathy. Years prior, Alito made similar remarks about his own background, telling senators that when deciding cases involving immigration he could not help but consider the experiences of his ancestors. Also notable is that George H.W. Bush celebrated the empathic values embodied by Clarence Thomas during his nomination, without pushback.

We are not suggesting that the unique qualities of any nominee be stripped from the conversation. Indeed, the wide-ranging diversity of identity, race, ethnicity and life experience help shape the Supreme Court to reflect the public it serves. But the emphasis on these facets of identity as proxies for qualification is harmful, signifying that there is but one mold from which a Supreme Court justice must emerge.

The persistent criticism leveraged against women who aspire to positions of leadership and power, including the Supreme Court, should not be tolerated. Carlsons recent query is more insidious than some of these past examples as it appears, on its face, to be grounded in Jacksons actual qualifications to serve as a justice when it really is just a thinly veiled example of bias that sits at the intersection of gender and race.

Jackson should be judged on the same professional metrics as all other justices before her, and those alone.

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Jefferson and Johnson are the authors of Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court. Jefferson is the Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics and Professor of Law at the University of Houston. Johnson is the vice dean and a professor at California Western School of Law.
Staff Writer

Jonathan Roberts is a reporter and photographer for the Johnson City Press covering Jonesborough, healthcare and higher education. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and has been with the Press since 2019.
Weather Alert

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 345 AM CDT EARLY THIS MORNING FOR CHEROKEE, BARTON, JASPER AND NEWTON COUNTIES... At 1221 AM CDT, Trained weather spotters reported thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the warned area. Between 2 and 4 inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts up to 1 inch are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing. HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms. SOURCE...Trained spotters reported. IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor drainage and low-lying areas. Some locations that will experience flash flooding include... Joplin, Carthage, Neosho, Lamar, Baxter Springs, Columbus, Webb City and Carl Junction. This includes the following low water crossings... Center Creek at Azalea Drive, North Indian Creek at Orchid Drive, East Fork Dry Wood Creek at NW 110th Lane, Dry Fork at Pine Road and Fidelity Branch at County Road 130. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Many flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding. && FLASH FLOOD...OBSERVED
A surprise visit by Syrias Bashar al-Assad to the oil-rich United Arab Emirates opens the door to his isolated regimes return to the embrace of the Arab world, analysts say.

The presidents trip also showed that a more assertive UAE is willing to upset its ally Washington with a rapprochement with Assad, whose Russia- and Iran-backed regime is accused of crimes against humanity.

The Syrian autocrats visit to the UAE capital Abu Dhabi last Friday was his first to an Arab state in more than a decade of brutal civil war that has killed close to half a million people.

Assad and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAEs de facto ruler, discussed the fraternal relations between the two countries, the official news agency WAM reported.

Washington was profoundly disappointed and troubled by this apparent attempt to legitimise Bashar al-Assad, said US State Department spokesman Ned Price, who stressed that we do not support efforts to rehabilitate Assad.

Badr al-Saif, a history professor at Kuwait University, said the UAE has pushed for Syrias return to the Arab fold regardless of the role of the regime in the death and displacement of many Syrians.

He said the bold move reflects the way the UAE  a wealthy state that has militarily intervened in conflicts in Libya, Yemen and elsewhere  now sees itself as a regional powerbroker.

The UAEs self-perception is at the heart of its policymaking, Saif said. It sees itself as the leader of the Arab world, where it initiates and hopes the rest will follow.

Its reception of Bashar al-Assad is best understood in this light.

 Overture to Damascus 

When Assad first launched his bloody crackdown on mostly peaceful demonstrations, plunging the country into civil war from 2011, most Arab countries severed ties with Syria.

Several Gulf states supported rebels fighting against Assads forces. The regime had all but lost the war when Russias military intervened on its side in 2015, allowing Damascus to regain most of the territory it had lost.

The UAE has made clear that it opposes the so-called Arab Spring movements, especially in Syria where Islamism, its biggest enemy, was gaining power through jihadist groups.

In recent years Abu Dhabi has led an Arab overture to Damascus as the Assad regime has consolidated power.

The UAE reopened its embassy there in 2018. Hours later, Bahrain said it planned to follow suit. Last November the UAE foreign minister, Abdullah bin Zayed, visited Damascus.

The Syrian government, for its part, is desperate to revive economic ties with wealthy Arab states after years of war and US sanctions. At least 90 per cent of Syrians live in poverty and more than half have been displaced by war.

Syria faces huge economic challenges and needs the support of Arab countries, said Bassam Abu Abdullah of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Damascus University.

 Quite a message 

The struggle over Syrias role is playing out in an era when the United States has signalled a strategic pivot to Asia, and weeks after Russia stunned the world by launching its Ukraine invasion.

Assads trip came shortly after a Moscow meeting between the Emirati foreign minister and his counterpart Sergei Lavrov, and weeks after Russia launched its war, which the Assad regime vocally supported.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have shied away from taking sides, despite calls by Western allies to condemn Moscow, and also resisted pleas to boost energy output to bring down global prices.

Nicholas Heras of the Newlines Institute said the UAE, by embracing Assad, is positioning itself as the powerbroker in the Middle East, and in wider Eurasia, that all sides to conflicts can turn to.

In fostering closer ties with Syria, the Emiratis see an opportunity to broker a future order in the Middle East that stabilises the region, because Assad won his civil war and a nuclear weapons power backs him fully, he said.

The UAE sees Russia as an important player in the Middle East for years to come, and a more predictable external power than the Americans, Heras added.

Al-Saif, the historian, said the UAEs moves are actually in line with US calls for its allies in the region to assume more responsibility for their own security.

The UAE has been engaging in just that, and it means there will not always be total alignment with the US as each state pursues its interests, he said.

He added that relations between the US and UAE, a strategic partner that has hosted American troops, will ultimately not suffer from the rapprochement with Syria.

Dalia Dassa Kaye, senior fellow at UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations, pointed out on Twitter that the UAE-Syria normalisation had been underway for some time.

But, she added, for the UAE to host this close Putin ally in the midst of the Ukraine war, where Russia is repeating its brutal Syria playbook, is quite a message.

elw/aya/fz

EURASIA GROUPE
A Greek diplomat who remained in the besieged Ukraine city of Mariupol during the bombardment said on Sunday the destruction would rank alongside Stalingrad and Aleppo.

Speaking after flying back to Athens, where he has been hailed a hero, Greek Consul General in Mariupol Manolis Androulakis called on people to unite their voices to ask for a truce, a ceasefire.

Mariupol will be included in a list of cities in the world that were completely destroyed by the war, such as Guernica, Stalingrad, Grozny, Aleppo, Androulakis, told reporters at the airport.

The diplomat, who has been hailed a hero in Greece, organised many succesful evacuations of Greek expatriates before finally leaving on Tuesday.

We tried to save as many expatriates as we could, Androulakis said, adding that the heroes are the people who stayed there and will try to make their lives from scratch.

Right now, civilians are hit blindly and helplessly, he said revealing that he witnessed scattered human limbs in the city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the siege of Mariupol, a strategic mostly Russian-speaking port in the southeast where utilities and communications have been cut for days, would go down as a war crime.

Our cities have turned into multi-storey ruins, every area is like a horror movie, Sergiy Gaiday, head of the Lugansk regional administration, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Athens last month said nearly a dozen members of the 100,000-strong Greek minority in Ukraine had died since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

The Greek minority in the country dates back to the 18th century.
An apparently planned, though unannounced, Kanye West performance at the Grammys has reportedly been scrapped over his concerning online behavior.

The rappers team was told late Friday that his performance had been pulled from the lineup, according to The Blast.

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West was not among the first group of performers announced by the Recording Academy last week, which included Brothers Osborne, BTS, Brandi Carlile, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X with Jack Harlow and Olivia Rodrigo.

Spokespeople for West, the Recording Academy and CBS, which airs the Grammys, did not immediately return a request from the Daily News Sunday, but The Blast reported that organizers were particularly concerned about his relationship with host Trevor Noah after the Daily Show host said on his show that West was harassing ex-wife Kim Kardashian.

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[ Kim Kardashian is taking the high road as Kanye Wests meltdown continues ]

A Grammy performance by Kanye West, pictured at the 2006 award show, has reportedly been canceled. (REED SAXON/AP Photo)

What (Kardashian is) going through is terrifying to watch, and it shines a spotlight on what so many women go through when they choose to leave, Noah said, citing how he watched his own mother face domestic violence.

If Kim Kardashian cannot escape this, then what chance do normal women have?

West responded in a since-deleted Instagram post that included several uses of a racial slur against the South African host, leading to the rappers temporary ban from the social media site.

The Georgia native has also faced criticism for gory music videos that show him attacking Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson, who is currently dating Kardashian, and burning him in effigy.
Let me see if I got this right, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos just awarded Michael Gableman a new contract to continue his probe into the 2020 presidential election.

This show of support comes on the heels of his interim report in which his allegations of election fraud and malfeasance were not supported by any hard evidence. His so-called proof was a mind boggling array of innuendo and speculation. Nevertheless, his main conclusion that the Wisconsin legislature could decertify the Biden electors was such a huge unconstitutional leap that only the staunchest Trump supporters offered support.

Michael Gableman was an early true believer in the "Big Lie" and thus his so-called investigation is nothing more than a partisan exercise designed to sow doubt.

It pales in comparison with the serious reviews of the election conducted first by various Wisconsin courts which dismissed all six lawsuits by Trump affiliated groups.

Next came a full audit by the State Legislative Audit Bureau and then a 10 month review by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), a staunchly conservative group, both concluding that Biden's win was entirely legitimate.

There were also recounts requested by the Trump campaign in Milwaukee and Dane Counties that actually added 131 votes to Biden's total.

This sham investigation is not only wasting our tax dollars but weakening public support for our election system.

By calling into question the integrity of government leaders and election procedures designed to encourage voter turnout, Gableman is tearing at the very fabric of American democracy.

John Neuenschwander, Kenosha

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I am a Veteran of the Vietnam war and I have a great deal of sympathy for the Ukrainian people. I believe that at this particular time, we should not involve our country's armed services in the Ukrainian/Russian war.

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979, the world condemned the Russians for their aggression, but the world was not as alarmed as it is today by Russia's invasion of the Ukraine.

Ten years later the Soviet forces departed Afghanistan with their tails between their legs. That was accomplished in large part by the USA and others supplying the Afghans with weaponry that the Afghans used with great success against their invaders. Much of that weaponry was transferred to the Afghans through some unsavory characters, but the end effect was what our foreign policy at the time desired.

We should have the same goals in the Ukraine and take whatever steps we need to help the Ukrainians who have shown that when properly armed can probably achieve that goal.

And, by the way, we found out for ourselves that we would have no more success in Afghanistan than did the Crusades, the British or the Soviets.

George Weiler, Randall

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Look left, right, up and down, but don't look at the money.

Why is Russia invading Ukraine? (It's the economy, stupid.)

Russia and OPEC countries will go to war over oil, gas and coal.

Who benefits from Russia's war with Ukraine?

It might be the best way for Putin to turns heads away from the real issue. "Stop alternative energy and draw as much money from fossil fuels now."

Future be damned if Ukrainian lives are lost in the process.

Publications and media appear to be falling for his ruse and politicians who accept money from fossil fuel companies promote false flags to keep their campaign coffers full.

If you want to punish Russia, purchase solar and wind generators along with electric vehicles. As a bonus you'll nail Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, UAE, Iran and Libya. Then raise taxes on U.S. big oil and use the money for clean utilities.

Mark White, Kenosha

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Since the start of the pandemic, local businesses and workplaces have had to adapt to a shifting work environment, one that puts more power in the hands of employees as labor shortages continue across Wisconsin.

As those changes continue to reverberate throughout the state, Dennis Kaufman, professor and Department Chair Economics Department at UW-Parkside, and Rebekkah Kowalski, vice president of Manpower Manufacturing at the workforce solutions company ManpowerGroup, weighed in on what the workplace looks like today and what businesses are doing, and should be doing, to attract workers.

Both Kaufman and Kowlaski said that the competition for workers had risen to a level they hadnt seen before.

This is one of the toughest labor markets, if not the toughest weve ever seen, Kowalski said.

Kaufman pointed to starting wages at shipping companies like Amazon and ULINE, where wages had seen a jump since the start of the pandemic.

Its a fierce competitive environment, Kaufman said. Certain firms have been fairly aggressive in meeting their employment needs.

Those with families

But simply raising pay doesnt necessarily bring in workers. Kaufman pointed out that many potential workers who may have stopped working during the pandemic were not rejoining because of child or elder care issues.

I think quite frankly it needs to get more attention than its been given, Kaufman said. We need to consider trying to do more to make it affordable for people to go back to work.

Kowalski said many companies have begun offering work schedules built around the schedules of families with children, something that she said would have been almost unheard of before.

This is the sacred cow being toppled, Kowalski said. You really have to look at how youre going to build flexibility into those roles that are traditionally considered non-flexible.

Remote working

According to Kaufman, online remote work, which had spiked so drastically during the pandemic, could have some staying power as businesses try to offer more creative options to entice workers.

We are moving towards looking at some changes that will be long-lasting, Kaufman said. There are some advantages to workers who can work from home and be just as productive.

Remote work has its benefits for the workers as well, including eliminating their commute and potentially improving quality of life factors by staying at home.

Kowalski and Kaufman both pointed out that businesses had to do more than simply increase pay to attract workers in this labor market.

My concern is that we just end up in a wage war, Kowalski said, so that people are just moving from company to company because we havent actually done an effective job at retaining talent.

Retaining talent

Instead, Kowalski said companies had to consider how to retain workers who may be considering a change in career.

What sometimes gets a little lost is keeping what you have, Kowalski said. Retaining talent is really as critical if not more so than attracting.

Offering child care programs, more flexible scheduling and remote work are all on the table in todays market. Some businesses have begun offering paid training courses to employees, as workers are realizing they need to future-proof their skill sets, Kaufman said.

If youre stuck with a set of skills that cant upgrade or change over time, then you can be obsolete before you know it, Kaufman said.

Kowalski said that Wisconsin has fared better over the pandemic than other parts of the country, thanks in part to its own flexibility.

Generally in Southeast Wisconsin, weve seen a lot of creativity around thinking about pay, about skills development, about certain rewards, Kowalski said. Were a pretty scrappy bunch.

In Kenosha, quality of life improvements for the area, such as the work on the lakefront, will have less tangible but still critical importance to attracting and retaining workers, Kaufman said.

Kenosha has done a pretty good job improving the lakefront area, Kaufman said,and making that a desirable location for people.

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So here I am. I just finished updating my CV so I can apply for associate professor this fall.

And I hadnt touched it since last year. It needed a lot of work.

I look at this, and I think, Wow.

And then I also think: What about all the stuff thats not on there?

The difficult pregnancies.

My sons struggles his first 36 months of life.

My husbands year-long deployment as a new mother of two.

My daughters recurrent hospitalizations as an infant.

My grandparents murder-suicide.

My leaving the Navy after ten years and never feeling like I belonged anywhere since.

Being married to a supportive man but who was raised in a traditional home. (Ive had to teach him everything on how to be a parent and contributing partner.)

The nights of sleeping on my kids floor during fellowship where I was working 100 hours a week.

The ripping apart of my family over COVID and politics over the past year.

The loss of my person, my maternal grandmother, who was the only one who ever saw me for me in our family.

The working a state away from my kids for 24 months so I can both do a job I love and allow my kids stability.

The abuse of a hospital system that I refused to be a part of leading to the need to work a state away.

The realization that the toxicity is everywhere.

And then getting a masters degree to deal with my rage and distress at our system of doctoring.

And to now: When I know that no matter what, I simply cannot work full time anymore.

I am about to become a statistica part of our story as women physicians.

I cannot be the mother my children need, and I want them to have and be 100 percent all the time in a system as corrupt and heartbreaking as our medical system.

Today I am raising the white flag.

So I can figure out what part of my life is working and what parts are not, and if they are salvageable.

And Im sad and angry and horrified that in 2022 it still comes down to this.

I wrote this about a month ago. I shared it with a group of female physicians and was asked to publish it, and one even offered me the name of the un-CV. But I sat with it for a while, and in that time, the world as we know it changed yet again. And I began to look at that white flag I was raising as weakness or an embarrassment. How could I back down when so many others in this world have no choice other than to keep going and keep fighting?

So I sat with it some more and then thought about something that my therapist says: Why does it have to be either, or? Why cant it be both, and?

And I landed at a place where I was ready to admit that the reason I am leaving full-time academic medicine is because there are things I want to do with my time that simply are not possible in that arena. And Im not talking about my free time, Im talking about time.

Advocating.

Writing.

Presenting.

Protesting.

Marching.

Volunteering.

Giving advice.

Listening.

Learning.

Reading.

Many think: Well, those are things you can do in your profession, and the answer is actually it really is not. We are a part of a system that values a product or quantity of billable work. Even within the construct of an academic setting, there is a box you have to check or fit yourself in to be taken seriously or applauded. This means that if you want to do any of the things I listed above and it does not meet a specific set of ideals/requirements, then it has to be done in your free time. And honestly, Ive worked 50 to 100 hours a week for decades at this point, and the time is now for me to do the things I always swore I would do when I decided to be a physician.

So really, the white flag isnt about me surrendering to a broken system but rather me admitting that my passions cannot be completely fulfilled within that same broken system from which I am withdrawing. Its both, and, not either, or. If it prevents promotion, so be it. But my life and my work are about so much more than me. Its about the sanctity of medicine and the representation and care for all in and out of the hospital.

While also occasionally taking my kids to school and getting the diagnostic mammogram I need without asking for permission.

Nicole M. King is an anesthesiologist and intensivist.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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While everyone faces some risk of experiencing a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, some studies have found that the problem is more common for women. Women are 50 percent more likely than men to receive an incorrect diagnosis when theyre having a heart attack and nearly 30 percent more likely to receive an incorrect diagnosis for stroke. They are also diagnosed with cancer more than two years later than men and diabetes four and a half years later than men according to one large study from Denmark. For diseases that are more commonly diagnosed or exclusively diagnosed in women, including multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disorders, fibroids, and endometriosis, getting an accurate diagnosis can take five to ten years and require seeing multiple health care providers. The problem is even more prevalent for women of color.

There are several factors linked to delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis in women:

Symptoms that are different than those men experience. Especially in the case of heart disease and heart attacks, womens symptoms can be different than mens, increasing the risk of misdiagnosis. While chest pain is common in men, women having heart attacks often report fatigue, shortness of breath, and jaw and arm pain as their main symptoms.

Male-focused medical research. It wasnt until 1993 that Congress passed a law that requires women to be included as clinical trial participants and some studies show that women are still under-represented in trials. This means that much of the information health care providers have as their knowledge base doesnt address the different symptoms, anatomy, and reactions of women to both diseases and treatments.

Bias. Some studies have found an association between being a woman and health care providers being more likely to believe the cause of symptoms, especially pain, is psychological rather than physical. This can increase the risk of delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis because the patient doesnt receive needed diagnostic testing.

How to lower the risk of misdiagnosis



To decrease the risk of a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, women should proactively advocate for themselves with their health care providers. These key steps are the foundation of effective self-advocacy:

Know and share your family and personal medical history. Provide all your health care providers with as complete a picture of your medical history as possible. Start by gathering and sharing your complete medical record with your providers. Its also important to share your family medical history. For example, if one of your parents had a heart attack at a young age, your provider will know youre at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and may monitor your heart health more closely and interpret the symptoms women experience during a heart attack more accurately with that background knowledge in hand.

Speak up and ask questions. If your doctor doesnt take your symptoms seriously or suggests its likely a psychological issue like anxiety instead of a physical health problem, ask what the top conditions that are associated with your symptoms are and why the doctor does not think one of those conditions is the cause of your symptoms. If youre not comfortable speaking up, bring a family member, friend, or someone else who can advocate for you to your appointments.

Prepare for your appointment. Come to your appointment with notes that include a description of your symptoms, when they started, when and how often you experience the symptoms, what makes them worse and better, and what concerns you about the symptoms. This is also a chance to highlight any relevant family medical history that could be related to your symptoms.

Seek a second opinion. If youre having difficulty getting an accurate diagnosis (or any diagnosis at all) with your current health care provider, get additional opinions from other providers. It may be helpful to seek your second opinion from a provider in a different medical specialty, for example, a cardiologist or neurologist, if youre not making headway towards a diagnosis with your primary care provider.

Find a new provider. If your symptoms and concerns are consistently not taken seriously, and your questions go unanswered, its time to find a new health care provider. You should also look for a new provider if your current one does not treat you with respect or treats you judgmentally.

Miles J. Varn is chief executive officer, PinnacleCare, and can be reached on LinkedIn.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
The Sussexes arent going anywhere.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markles Archewell Audio is staying at Spotify, even in the wake of the music streamers Joe Rogan-COVID misinformation debacle, a representative for the couples podcast studio told The Hollywood Reporter.

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Now, the Duchess first podcast is slated to drop this summer.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Matt Dunham/AP)

The studio, which previously mentioned its concerns to the service regarding its misinformation policies and practices  which came under fire in the wake of episodes of the controversial, albeit successful, Joe Rogan Experience on the platform promoted misinformation about the pandemic  has since had reassuring conversations with Spotify honchos, according to the magazine.

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The controversy surrounding Spotify led artists such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulling their music from the service.

Barry Manilow, on the other hand, shot down rumors that he was following in his peers footsteps.

Dozens of Joe Rogan Experience episodes were removed from Spotify last month due to the 54-year-old hosts repeated use of the N-word.

In the following days, Rogan apologized for a lot of s--t from the old episodes ... that I wish I hadnt said, or had said differently.

Im making this video to talk about the most regretful and shameful thing that Ive ever had to talk about publicly, he said at the time. There is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word.
Several of Oregon's U.S. lawmakers request federal funds for port of Coos Bay
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DELRAY BEACH  A Boynton Beach man was backing his car into his driveway Friday and mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brake, killing his wife, officials said.

Howard Feilich was backing into his driveway about 4:30 p.m. Friday, and Ilene Kesselhaut was standing on the sidewalk near the driveway on Coral Lake Drive, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office.

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Feilich, 82, hit Kesselhaut, 78, and continued driving in a circle until he came to a stop in a neighbors driveway across the street.

Kesselhaut was taken to Delray Medical Center, where she died.

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Deputies said there are no signs of foul play, and the crash doesnt appear to be intentional.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 57F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

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Light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers late. Low 49F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday said that the US has "seen a number of missteps" by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
Floridas affordable-housing crisis is accelerating so rapidly that its almost impossible to keep track. Hundreds of thousands of Floridians are living in housing they cant afford  with a significant percentage paying more than half their income just to have a place to call home.

In the recent legislative session, state lawmakers (for once) paid attention to the desperation of the hard-working people being crowded out of housing. But for too long, this burden has mostly fallen on local governments.

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City and county officials are the ones who watch rents rocketing skyward and hear about families crowded into apartments meant to house one or two people. They see the baby strollers parked outside homeless assistance centers. They cant look away.

And thus, almost by force, they have become the leaders in piecing together whatever resources they can gather. Its a heavy burden, but many local governments are striving to meet.

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Among them: The city of Orlando, which started a pilot program last week that rebates building fees for affordable-housing projects. The project is funded from a perfectly appropriate source  excess revenue pouring in from the frenzy of construction taking shape across the city. In a typically dictatorial move, the Legislature mandated in 2019 that local governments couldnt carry more than a years worth of expenses from building permits, even though many projects need more than a years worth of oversight.

Rather than reduce permit fees across the board, the city decided to put them to work, Economic Development Deputy Director Lillian Payne said. Developers who agree to dedicate a certain percentage of their project to affordable housing  and maintain its affordability 15 years  can get all or part of their permit fees back. The city is making the program retroactive for projects approved as far back as 2019, but Payne estimates that about half the $1.5 million the City Council approved last week will be left to incentivize new construction.

Political Pulse Weekly Get latest updates political news from Central Florida and across the state. >

By itself, this one program in one municipality wont solve the challenges of affordable housing. But all Florida cities are under the same mandate to keep their building-permit fee accounts below a certain level. Its a source other city and county governments could consider. Even better, they can be inspired to seek out their own sources of creative funding.

A shifted burden

None of this changes the fact that local governments are bearing the weight of a burden the state should be carrying. Thirty years ago, state leaders looked at Floridas economy  with a disproportionate number of people working low-income service jobs  and realized housing was going to be a challenge. So they authorized a small tax on real-estate transactions and directed a large portion of that funding to an affordable-housing trust fund.

A decade after the fund was established, lawmakers started raiding it. Sometimes they took the entire pot; other times they left a fraction behind for its intended purpose. Over the years, the raids swept away billions of dollars. Last year, lawmakers struck a bitter bargain: Theyd permanently reduce the amount of money allocated to housing by half  leaving a little more than $200 million a year  even though they knew Florida was already facing a desperate shortage of affordable homes. In exchange, they pledged they wouldnt raid the fund again.

Were not sure how long that half-off promise will be good, since lawmakers were always supposed to be spending all the money on housing. This year, lawmakers actually went over the mark they set for themselves, budgeting $262 million for housing  with the majority earmarked for local housing initiatives. Lawmakers also budgeted $100 million toward a program that targets relief toward a carefully selected group of Floridians, most of them public employees  teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and others.

Theres no doubt this group needs help: Modest three-bedroom homes in once-affordable neighborhoods in Casselberry, Apopka and Winter Springs are now renting for $2,000 or more, with purchase prices hovering around the quarter-million-dollar mark.

As those families are pushed into townhomes or apartment complexes, they are displacing the lower-income families that make up the backbone of Central Floridas service industry. At the bottom of the ladder are those who were once able to afford efficiencies or housing shared with roommates  the childcare workers, cashiers, hotel staff and theme-park employees  who are precariously close to being priced out of the market altogether. Even as the states minimum wage gradually rises to $15 an hour, housing prices are far outpacing that increase. As of 2020, the Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse showed that among all income levels, more than 86,000 Orange County households spent more than half their monthly income on housing, along with nearly 27,000 in Seminole County and more than 17,400 in Osceola County.

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Lawmakers may not see this desperation from their lofty perch in Tallahassee. But local city and county leaders have no choice: They must deal with it. When cities like Orlando look for innovative ways to provide more affordable housing, they are building stronger communities, and making progress on a duty that for too long, state lawmakers shirked.
LG Electronics' plant in Ruza, Russia / Korea Times file



By Kim Hyun-bin



LG Electronics has suspended all shipments of goods to Russia, following Samsung Electronics' decision to do so, due to the disruption in global maritime logistics that has worsened in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.



"LG Electronics is suspending all shipments to Russia and will continue to keep a close watch on the situation as it unfolds," LG Electronics said through its global newsroom. "We are deeply concerned for the health and safety of all people, and LG remains committed to supporting humanitarian relief efforts."



The company says the suspension of shipments to Russia came in response to global maritime logistics disruptions.



Global shipping companies such as Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, Denmark's Musk and Switzerland's MSC have suspended shipping to Russia due to their participation in sanctions against Russia.



Earlier this month, Samsung Electronics announced that all shipments to Russia had been suspended due to logistics disruptions.



However, neither company has declared a total boycott of sales to the Russian market. Nevertheless, analysts believe the companies have taken a position that satisfies the international community on sanctions against Russia.



After Russia invaded Ukraine last month, global companies such as Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Nike, Apple, GM, PayPal, FedEx, Boeing and Tesla have been taking part in the boycott of Russia.



Although public opinion on the international sanctions is strong, local companies are hesitant to take part in the boycott prematurely, as their large investments and leading sales in the Russian market could make them lose ground to pro-Russian countries such as China. This situation is why the companies have chosen to suspend their shipments to Russia instead of taking part in the boycott directly.



LG Electronics operates a home appliance and TV production plant at a factory outside of Moscow. Products produced at this plant are sold to Russia and the neighboring Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).



Although LG Electronics' Russian plant is currently in operation, disruptions are inevitable if the suspension prolongs and their stock of key parts is exhausted.



According to LG Electronics' business report, last year's sales in Russia and the neighboring region totaled 2.033 trillion won ($1.68 billion).




By Trudy Rubin





The Biden administration hoped it could focus on China and not worry about Russia. But the war in Ukraine has proved this was a fantasy as China considers sending military and economic aid to Russia.



The China factor is one more key reason why the White House must quit waffling about helping Kyiv and block attacks by Russian missiles and airplanes. Vladimir Putin cannot win his war on Ukraine if Western allies transfer the necessary weapons to Kyiv immediately. The U.S. must show Beijing it is backing a losing cause.



What does Russia want?



Putin has asked for armed drones, armored vehicles and surface-to-air missiles, along with military rations, according to news reports. This is a sign of how badly the invasion is proceeding for Russia. The Russian leader also seeks financial aid for an economy so devastated by Western sanctions that it may soon default on some of its debt.



What is China's response?



National security adviser Jake Sullivan held a seven-hour meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Monday, reportedly laying out the U.S. case against the invasion and the consequences if Chinese companies broke Western sanctions against Russia.



China's top foreign policy official Yang Jiechi responded that China was "not a party to the crisis" and warned of retaliation if the country were hit with Western sanctions (in retaliation for supposedly aiding Russia).



But the Chinese are attempting a very tricky balancing act, claiming neutrality while refusing to condemn the Russian invasion and blaming it on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Beijing is also endorsing Russia's war propaganda, including the gross lie that the United States is helping Ukraine make chemical and bioweapons to use against Russia.



Yet, there are also good reasons for Xi Jinping to be annoyed with Putin. The Russian leader, according to U.S. intelligence, informed Xi of his war plans when the two men met in Beijing on Feb. 4, at the beginning of the Winter Olympics. Given how he wholly miscalculated the strength of Ukrainian resistance, Putin probably told Xi the war would end quickly.



Xi can't be happy at the prospect of being dragged into another sanctions battle at a time when the country's economy is facing a severe slowdown, and when China's draconian shutdowns of whole cities to stanch omicron are further disrupting global supply chains.



Why is Xi still backing Putin on Ukraine, when the relationship could boomerang on Beijing?



The answer is made clear in a 5,364-word joint statement that Xi and Putin issued after their February meeting, which laid out the two nations' joint anti-Western position on global affairs. China backed Russia's efforts to "oppose further enlargement of NATO" while also critiquing U.S. military alliances in the Indo-Pacific (which have been put in place to stop Chinese expansion in those regions).



The statement does not mention a formal "alliance" between China and Russia but states that there are "no limits" or "forbidden" areas of cooperation between the two. It also does not mention Ukraine but makes clear their determination to shape a new global order, in which the West is a lesser player and autocracies play a major  or the major  role.



What does this alliance between China and Russia tell us about Putin?



In the anti-Western alliance, Russia is clearly the junior partner, showing Putin's weakness. Many Chinese leaders can recall the post-World War II era of great political and ideological tension between the two communist powers, including a 1969 border war. This tension, and the Chinese desire to escape from domination by their "big brother," was a major reason for China's opening to the United States in the early 1970s.



China's rapid growth and Russian economic stagnation have led to Chinese dismissiveness toward Russia that I have heard regularly on visits for decades.



China is the giant "big brother" now.



On my first trip to China, in 1986, at a new private nightclub in the major city of Guangzhou, I asked the manager why all the waitresses were Caucasian and blonde. His reply: "They are Russians. We like to have them serve us."



"It's more than a little ironic  and not lost on any Chinese leaders of a certain generation, I'm sure  that Mr. Putin's big plan for Making Russia Great Again seems now to rest on whether or not China feels like taking on Russia as its vassal state," said Neysun Mahboubi, a research scholar at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Study of Contemporary China.



I believe China now looks at Russia as Russia looks at Belarus, a country whose dictator leader now desperately needs help from a powerful sponsor. With his collapsed economy, Western sanctions and his disastrous war in Ukraine, Putin needs Xi far more than Xi needs Putin.



China mainly needs Russia as a gas and oil station. Indeed, in 20 years' time, it would not be so surprising if chunks of energy-rich Siberia were controlled by Beijing. And Putin's dependence on Xi for help with Ukraine practically guarantees that Russian energy supplies for China will come at a steep discount price.



What should the West do to dissuade Xi from helping Putin?



The question for Xi is whether helping Putin on Ukraine is worth it. Putin's desperation practically guarantees he will have to supply cheap energy to China, whether or not Xi embroils himself in the war in Ukraine.



If Western allies provide Ukraine with the planes and long-range missile defenses it needs to push back against Russia  and if they do so right now  they can help convince Xi he is backing a lost cause.





Trudy Rubin (trubin@phillynews.com) is a columnist and editorial-board member for the Philadelphia Inquirer. This article was distributed by Tribune Content Agency.




An advertisement for Kakao Piccoma in France. Courtesy of Kakao Piccoma



By Park Jae-hyuk



Competition is heating up between Naver and Kakao in Europe, not just in Japan, which was initially regarded as the major focus of their global expansion.



Kakao Piccoma, a Japanese subsidiary providing a webtoon subscription service, announced last Friday that it started offering services in France, a country that has shown rapid growth in the digital comics market and a great interest in Asian animation.



"We will enable subscriptions for digital comics produced in France and other European countries," said Piccoma Europe CEO Kim Hyung-rae, who joined Kakao Piccoma last September when it established the European subsidiary.



Kakao's announcement was made a few days after Naver preemptively reinforced its European operations, confirming last Wednesday that its outgoing CEO, Han Seong-sook, was assigned to manage the company's business strategies in Europe.





Former Naver CEO Han Seong-sook / Courtesy of Naver
By Kim Hyun-bin



The country's five major business lobby groups are set to hold a luncheon meeting with President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday, and all eyes are on which entity will be favored by the incoming administration.



Yoon's recently launched transition committee contacted the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) requesting that they arrange a meeting among the heads of business lobby groups and President-elect Yoon, Friday. The FKI contacted other economic groups on the same day and delivered their reply to the committee.



The five group heads  Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) Chairman Huh Chang-soo, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Chey Tae-won, Korea International Trade Association (KITA) President Koo Ja-yeol, Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises Chairman Kim Ki-moon and Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik  will attend a luncheon with Yoon.





KCCI Chairman Chey Tae-won

The first meeting between a president-elect and the business community is an event that the entire business community will pay attention to as it sets the direction for the new administration's economic policies.



In the past, Lee Myung-bak visited the FKI as president-elect as the first official meeting in his schedule, setting corporate friendliness as his key national policy. President-elect Park Geun-hye visited the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and tried to promote the image that she was a "small business-friendly president."



In the past, the FKI has been known as the center of Korea's business world. However, its prestige has waned due to its involvement in the national corruption scandal that led to the impeachment and imprisonment of former President Park Geun-hye on 16 charges of bribery and abuse of power. During the Moon Jae-in administration, the KCCI took the leading role in economic events related to the President.



"The mere fact that the FKI played a leading role in arranging the meeting between President-elect Yoon and the head of the economic groups could be a signal for the recovery of the FKI's status," an official from a business lobby group said.



FKI Chairman Huh Chang-soo
Kendallville, IN (46755)

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Increasing clouds with showers arriving sometime in the afternoon. High 59F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

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Rain likely. Low 49F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a half an inch.
George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy were honoured with the Milestone Award at the Producers Guild of America (PGA) Awards on Saturday (19.03.22).

Director Steven Spielberg handed over the accolade to the Lucasfilm bosses, who he has worked with for decades, and praised the pair for their "courage and utter lack of intimidation" when it comes to getting things done in order to make the best movies they can.

He said: I feel even in this room, we need to define what producers do. Producers do whatever the hell it takes. Courage and imagination and utter lack of intimidation, the producer needs to know everybodys jobs, and not how to do them, but how they are done well, which is what makes George and Kathy so deserving of this recognition.

In her acceptance speech, Kathleen, the company's president, noted she had met George and Steven at the "dawning of a new age" for the industry.

She added: "We worked side by side through one revolution in our industry after another  revolutions not only in the means of moviemaking, and in the ways movies reach audiences, but also in the composition of our business.

"As women, artists of colour, LGBTQ and differently labeled artists and producers who have fought for and won a place at the table, propelling our community toward a more inclusive, diverse, richer, more sophisticated and nuanced sense of our responsibilities for social, racial and economic justice.

"Theres no one that I would rather share this moment with more than my friend, my mentor and the greatest master Jedi of them all: George.

George thanked his former mentor, Francis Ford Coppola, and then delivered a passionate speech about the role of a producer.

He said: To me, thats the first and foremost job of a producer, which is to do the impossible. And you do it every single day. And then every single day, something comes along to destroy everything youve done. And you have to pick it all up at lunch, and figure out a new way to finish the movie, in conjunction with the director, and its daunting to say the least.

"But a producer never works alone. One, you have to have a great crew. Ive always had the best crews, he said. I couldnt have done it without them. And so I think my job also is to gather them all together and inspire them to be the best they can be.

Elsewhere at the ceremony - which took place at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles - 'Coda' won the night's biggest award, the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, taking the prize ahead of 'Being the Ricardos', 'Don't Look Up', 'Dune','King Richard', 'Belfast', 'Licorice Pizza', 'Tick, Tick... Boom!', 'The Power of the Dog', and 'West Side Story'.

Producer Philippe Rousselet - who was joined on stage by director Sian Heder and stars Marlee MAtlin, Daniel Durant and Troy Kotsur, as well as other members of the production team - said: "I think we will all agree that a good movie always starts with a good story. As a producer Ive always been drawn to stories that are filled with humanity and in a world where we see the lack of it every day, Ill take this award as a sign that theres still hope.

Denis Villeneuve presented Mary Parent with the David O. Selznick Award, while Rita Moreno received the Stanley Kramer Award from Jessica Chastain.

Issa Rae was honoured with the Visionary Award, and Greg Berlanti took home the Norman Lear Award.

Other winners on the night included 'Succession', 'Summer of Soul', and 'Encanto'.
Auburn, IN (46706)

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Cloudy early with showers for the afternoon hours. High 59F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

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MAMAMOO Solar is greeting fans and the media as she enters broadcasting station for SBS Radio Power FM "Cultwo Show," held in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul on March 17.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: MAMAMOO Solar Hilariously Reveals the One Thing She Is Embarrassed About
China details measures to support its time-honored brands

Xinhua) 13:39, March 20, 2022

BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have released a guideline aimed at making the country's time-honored brands glitter with new vitality, as part of efforts to boost consumption and fulfill people's need for a better life.

The guideline, jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce and seven other government departments, detailed measures to invigorate innovation on time-honored brands and unleash demands.

Time-honored brand enterprises are encouraged to develop creative cultural products together with relevant institutions, as well as hold culture experience activities and provide customized service, said the guideline.

Modern information technologies such as big data and cloud computing should empower time-honored brands to cultivate new business models and consumption scenarios, it said.

The guideline also noted that measures should be taken to establish business streets and scenic spots with characteristics of time-honored brands to better show their charm.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
President Joe Biden has completely abandoned Latin America.

That statement may shock some, but how else do you explain his complete silence on threats to our democratic partners in this critical region during his State of the Union? More than 7,700 words in an hour-long address, but none was about the importance of freedom in Latin America.

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Its another shameful example of Bidens willful ignorance of the threats posed by the dangerous regimes in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and his disconnection with millions of families impacted by those regimes.

Florida is blessed to be the United States gateway to Latin America. Our partnerships across the region produce significant trade and job creation. Latin American cultures and traditions enrich our communities and help bind us together.

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Unfortunately, socialist dictators, supported by the poisonous communist leadership of the illegitimate regime in Cuba, put all of this at risk.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. (XX)

Cubas illegitimate communist Castro/Diaz-Canel regime unjustly imprisons thousands of innocent Cubans, torturing democracy activists like Jose Daniel Ferrer, Sayli Navarro, and her father Felix Navarro. It blocks internet access to silence the peoples movement for freedom. In Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro is clinging to power by murdering his citizens, threatening and imprisoning the democratic opposition and holding sham elections. And in Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega is silencing dissenters, including the news media  taking political prisoners and subjecting his people to increased oppression.

These atrocities are happening in our hemisphere, yet Biden has barely done anything to hold these tyrannical communist regimes accountable.

Biden could use the full weight of the United States to support movements for freedom in these countries, but he hasnt given the region any serious attention outside of begging Maduros regime for more oil while demoralizing the pro-democracy movement of Venezuela.

The Senate recently unanimously passed my resolution condemning the illegitimate Cuban regime and supporting democracy activists. But Biden turned his back on brave Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans crying out for Americas support.

Why should the United States care about these countries? The atrocities occurring there arent happening in a vacuum. Socialist and communist regimes in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua fuel instability, violence and corruption throughout the region, threatening our southern border and our economy. Dictatorships directly influence the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs across our border.

Political Pulse Weekly Get latest updates political news from Central Florida and across the state. >

Authoritarians allow more existential threats, like Communist China, Iran and Russia, to have partnerships near our homeland. When allowed to operate in Latin America, Communist China can push out western democratic influence and eventually add military bases. Iranian terrorists can find safe harbor in Cuba and Venezuela, where Russia is threatening to station troops even as it invades Ukraine. In Colombia, considered one of Americas strongest allies, Russia is attempting to influence the outcome of the presidential elections.

Thats why Bidens do-nothing approach is so dangerous and irresponsible, and his silence on freedom for Latin America has been so deafening. Every time Biden has the chance to stand up for freedom, democracy and human rights on the world stage, he chooses appeasement  and hes done the same here at home.

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U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on March 1, 2022, in Washington, D.C.. (TNS)

Instead of defending Americas democratic institutions, Biden appeases socialist, woke radicals who control his party. Democrats are working to pack the Supreme Court, commit a federal takeover of state elections and abolish the filibuster. These actions confirm a sad truth  the Democratic Party has abandoned its principles, given up on democracy and embraced an un-American agenda.

Want to quickly understand just how wrong this path toward socialism is for America? Visit with families in South Florida from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. Theyve seen socialism and communism firsthand. Many still have family living under these oppressive tyrants. They wont hesitate to tell you how wrong Joe Bidens agenda is.

Americans expect the United States to be an unapologetic promoter of democracy and freedom. They expect our leaders to shine a light on tyranny, human rights abuses and other atrocities and demand change.

Freedom in Latin America is critical to the preservation of freedom in the western hemisphere. Joe Biden may have abandoned this cause, but we will never stop fighting.

Republican Rick Scott represents Florida in the U.S. Senate and is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).
MISSOULA, Mont. - As Russia continues its invasion on Ukraine, the Jeanette Rankin Peace Center (JRPC) hosted a community forum where people looked for new ways to help these people in need.

Known as one of the central hubs for many Missoulians to come together for peace and unity, everyone who came shared their thoughts on how we can best help those in Ukraine moving forward.

In the two-hour-long brainstorm, ideas filled up the board from fundraising, community engagement, education and lodging.

As those with the center expressed various ways, they could combine their knowledge and hopefully take it from Missoula and closer to Ukraine.

"There's a lot of cooking going on, on the ground especially on the border countries where refugees are landing so we could go there and volunteer for world central kitchen," said board member Leslie Burgess.

"Any events that we host here at the center we can be a Ukrainian donation table likewise if there are other events in town we as the JRPC could table there as a fundraiser," said treasurer Karen E. Concannon.

And for other members, they looked into creating more spiritual ways to help.

"A way to show our support is to have a lot of people holding flags and Ukrainian flags," said JRPC member, Ethel MacDonald.

"The act of acting against war and what that really means, that's the educational direction we would want to take," fair trade program coordinator, Conner Crawford.

By the end of the forum community, speakers say there are lots to think and strategize into turning these ideas into a reality, but they hope to nail down some of those possibilities soon to provide support for those affected by the Russian invasion.
PULLMAN, Wash. - Kenneth Downing, arrested for a string of home invasions and sexual assaults nearly two decades ago, plead not guilty in court Friday morning.

Downing was given a court-appointed attorney and his bail has been set at $5 million.

His next court appearance is set for March 25.

Last Updated on March 18 at 6 p.m.

A suspect in Pullman cold cases from the early 2000's was arrested in Spokane Thursday at a job site where he worked.

Kenneth Downing, 47, was wanted for a series of home invasions and sexual assaults occurring in Pullman between November 2003 and March 2004.

Pullman police said the arrest was possible through forensic genetic genealogy. Investigators matched DNA with evidence collected at the time the crimes occurred.

Funding for the DNA testing came from the Washington State Attorney Generals Office.

Downing was booked into Whitman County Jail and faces multiple felony charges.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, left, and Anoosheh Ashoori, who were freed from Iran, wave after landing at RAF Brize Norton in England on March 17. A third British-Iranian detainee who was released as part of deal with UK is sent back to jail.
Suzanne Muedini will be patrolling the streets of Lake Geneva a little more often.

Muedini recently was hired as a full-time officer to the Lake Geneva Police Department after working as a part-time reserve officer for the department during the past five years.

The citys 2022 budget includes hiring two full-time officers and five community service officers this year.

Muedini said she is looking forward to working in the City of Lake Geneva on a full-time basis.

I wanted to be out here more than just during the summer, primarily, she said.

Muedini started working as a reserve officer for the department in 2017, helping to patrol the city during Winterfest and other community events. She said she enjoys working in Lake Geneva during the summer, even though it becomes busy with tourists.

Lake Geneva gets so busy during the summer, and theres a lot of fun stuff going on, Muedini said. Theres a lot of people who come into town.

Muedini received her initial law enforcement training from the law enforcement academy at Gateway Technical College in Kenosha. She received more on-the-job training after joining the Lake Geneva Police Department as a reserve officer.

Muedini has to complete three months of field officer training now that she has been hired as a full-time officer. During the field officer training, Muedini will learn about the departments procedures and how to handle different situations.

We start from the beginning. My trainer will go through things and show me how to do it, Muedini said. Im responsible for doing that stuff while they sit there and grade me. I will get trained in all kinds of stuff that we do  everything from enforcement, investigating crimes, community service here in town and meeting people.

Muedini said she has received a lot of support from the other officers since joining the department.

They want you to succeed and be the best that you can be, Muedini said. Everyone brings something different to the table. They can all show you a different way to do something or give you a different perspective on something you didnt consider otherwise.

Muedini said since joining the department she has responded to several calls involving people who are suffering from dementia and other mental health issues.

Those are always sad and hard, because you see the family going through a lot of hard stuff, Muedini said. Theres a lot of that going on, unfortunately. Those calls kind of stick out sometimes.

Muedini has not worked for any other departments besides Lake Geneva. She became interested in law enforcement while working as juvenile crisis counselor in Kenosha.

As a juvenile crisis counselor, Muedini often responded to child abuse and child neglect cases with local police officers.

We worked as a really great team and did a lot of good work, Muedini said. I always thought what they do looks really interesting. I thought, I need to try this out for myself.

Muedini said she likes working in law enforcement because it gives her an opportunity to do something different every day.

What I like about the kind of work we do is its never the same thing twice, she said.

During her free time, Muedini enjoys hiking, swimming and other outdoor activities.

Pretty much any summer activity, Im all for. Im not a huge fan of winter, Muedini said. I get made fun of for all the layers that I wear, but I freeze during the winter.

Muedini currently lives in Racine, but is considering moving to Lake Geneva.

Considering the gas prices, it might be sooner than later, Muedini said.

Muedini said she enjoys working in the City of Lake Geneva.

With the lakes and parks that we have, its so beautiful, Muedini said. Its a really close-knit community, and everybody is really friendly and I like the feel of the small town. I like that it gets really, really busy, and the energy is good during the summer. I think its a good, safe place to be.

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The old milking shed, a favorite cow and rare trips into town with the family horse are some of columnist Carol Hardbarger's favorite memories of growing up on her family's farm.
Lancaster Farming's Tom Venesky discusses the benefits of whole milk  made even more delicious when it comes in the form of refreshing chocolate milk.
Kaziranga (Assam) [India], March 20 (ANI): Assam's Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve saw a tremendous rise in tourist footfall, the park authorities said on Sunday.

The globally renowned Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve received over two lakh visitors which was the highest in the last 12 years. The national park's revenue also topped up the charts, crossing a total of Rs 4.5 crores.

Also Read | Teachers, Trade Unions and Civilians Protest in Budapest, Demanding Higher Wages.

According to the park authorities, a total of 2,20,027 lakh Indian visitors and 733 foreign visitors had visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The number of foreign tourists visiting the national park had dipped in the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the recent relaxations in the COVID-19 regulations help soar the tourists in great numbers.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi, Scott Morrison to Hold Second India-Australia Virtual Summit Tomorrow.

Ramesh Gogoi, Divisional Forest Officer(DFO) said that compared to the previous year more tourists have visited the Kaziranga National Park this time.

"Over 2.20 lakh tourists have visited the Kaziranga National Park in 2021-22 so far and this is the highest number of tourists visiting the park. We have so far collected revenue of Rs 4.47 crore from tourists," Gogoi told ANI.

The average footfall is expected to be even higher as the national park remains open till the end of May month.

"Two more tourist months in this year are available for the tourists for visiting the park and we hope that the tourists in huge numbers will visit the park and we will be able to earn even more revenue. The number of visitors to the park this year is highest compared to previous years," Gogoi said. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 20 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his efforts in bringing to Bengaluru the mortal remains of Naveen Shekharappa Gyangoudar, an MBBS student who died in Kharkiv during Ukraine war.

The mortal remains of Naveen Shekharappa Gyangoudar will be reaching Bengaluru at 2:45 am on Monday, the Chief Minister said on Twitter.

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"Hon'ble Narendra Modi with your efforts the mortal remains of Naveen Shekharappa Gyangoudar is reaching Bengaluru at 2:45 am on Monday. Myself and the people of Karnataka are grateful for your deep concern," tweeted Bommai.

In his letter, Bommai expressed his sincere thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the concern about Naveen Shekharappa who died in the Kharkiv, Ukraine war and diligently pursued the repatriation of his mortal remains.

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"With the effort of your good self, the Naveen Shekharappa mortal remains are coming on Monday," Bommai wrote in the letter.

The news about his mortal remains coming to India has been appreciated by everybody in Karnataka which seemed to be impossible, he further wrote in the letter.

"I once again thank you on behalf of parents of Naveen and people of Karnataka for showing your deep concern. I will also mention special thanks for bringing thousands of students back to the country," he added.

Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, an MBBS student, was a resident of Karnataka's Haveri district. The 21-year-old student of Kharkiv National Medical University was reportedly standing in a queue to buy food when he was killed in Russian shelling.

The chief minister also handed over a cheque of Rs 25 lakh to the family of Naveen Shekharappa and promised a job for a family member. (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, March 20: Delhi University will consider a proposal for setting up a centre to offer job-oriented courses for students enrolled in its Campus of Open Learning. The discussion on establishing the centre will be taken up at the academic council meeting on March 22.

Payal Mago, director, Campus of Open Learning, said, This centre will house a media centre and will provide online and experiential learning courses to students. To enhance the employability of students of the School of Open Learning (SOL), these will be skills-based courses and tailored as per their needs. Delhi University Urges Telegram to Discontinue Group Formed to Help Students in Open Board Exam.

For instance, she said, many of the SOL students were pursuing graduation while also handling their family businesses and the centre might offer a course on how to run a family business and increase profitability. Students will also get to learn basic computer skills and some languages that will help them, she said.

To start with, the centre will offer three diploma courses --journalism (English and Hindi), post graduate diploma in library automation services, and mushroom cultivation. There will be a mix of online and offline classes  either 50-50 per cent or 60-40 per cent, she said.

Students will get hands-on learning. For instance, in journalism, they will have to do internships, and in mushroom cultivation, they will be taught how to cultivate five types of mushrooms, and for that, we have identified five nodal points, Mago said.

The journalism course will be carried out in collaboration with Delhi University's Hansraj College while for the other courses, experts have been identified. Nominal charges will be levied on the courses, Mago said, and they will be run on a no-profit basis, she said.

The courses will be in accordance with the National Education Policy, according to the agenda of the meeting. In a related development, the Delhi University Teachers' Association said its members will boycott classes on Tuesday to demand one-time regulation for the absorption of ad hoc and temporary teachers. It said they will stage a protest outside the venue of the academic council meeting.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Panaji, Mar 20 (PTI) With the BJP legislature party meeting in Goa yet to be convened even as the Assembly poll results were declared on March 10, state's caretaker chief minister Pramod Sawant and his party colleague Vishwajit Rane together met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.

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The meeting took place on Saturday evening, Rane said.

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Both Sawant and Rane are being seen as top contenders for the post of chief minister in the state. BJP sources confirmed that in the recent past, Rane had expressed his desire for the CM's post.

According to the party sources, Shah had asked Sawant and Rane to meet him together in New Delhi.

In the Goa Assembly polls, the BJP has won the majority by bagging 20 seats in the 40-member House. With two MLAs of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and three Independents extending their support to BJP, the saffron party appears to be in a comfortable position in the Assembly.

However, the BJP has not yet staked a claim to form a government in the state, which will be its third straight term. BJP's Goa unit chief Sadanand Shet Tanavade had told reporters earlier that the party will form the government after Holi celebrations.

"Both the leaders (Sawant and Rane) met Shah together and discussed various issues related to Goa," party sources said without elaborating.

BJP president J P Nadda was also present during the meeting.

When contacted, Rane confirmed that he met Shah along with Sawant.

"The meeting was about various issues related to Goa," he said.

Sawant was not available for comments.

The BJP's parliamentary board, the top decision-making body of the party, is yet to formally announce the name of the next Goa chief minister.

The party has appointed Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and L Murugan as the observer and co-observer, respectively, to oversee the selection of the chief minister and process to stake claim to form the next government.

On Wednesday, Sawant had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to discuss about formation of the next government. He was accompanied by BJP's Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadanavis, Goa desk in-charge C T Ravi, Tanavade and the party's state general secretary (organisation) Satish Dhone.

(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, Mar 20 (PTI) The government is planning to fortify sludge from the Ganga river to use it as fertiliser to promote organic farming and prevent chemicals from entering rivers, a senior official said.

Treated water, rich in phosphorus and nutrients, is good for crop growth and in the last two weeks various rounds of discussions have been held on ways to handle the sludge from the Ganga river, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Director General Asok Kumar said.

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According to him, efforts are underway to produce fortified sludge and provide it to farmers at subsidised rates.

"We found that treated sludge can be very similar to fertiliser. So, if we can add a little bit of fortification, then it (sludge) can be as good as a fertiliser and will help in organic farming," Kumar told PTI.

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"We are in talks with companies to produce fortified sludge that could be used as fertilisers and given to farmers at a subsidised rate," he added.

He said two objectives can be achieved through this -- first, the farmers will use natural fertilisers and second, the problem of piling of sludge will be solved.

"If I can make a fair deal with the farmers then they might prefer that also. We can also get farmers incentivised for taking up this deal. We are in talks with companies to produce good fortified fertilisers from the sludge," he said.

He said it will also prevent chemicals from entering rivers and causing pollution.

Chemical fertilisers contain phosphates and nitrates which are the main reason behind water pollution, he said.

Kumar said another major issue is of cow dung entering the rivers and advised farmers to use it in farming.

"If I can also convince the farmers to use gobar (cow dung) as it is a major problem in the Ganga basin due to the large bovine population in the area. If we can go for natural farming then we can use this cow dung as manure which again prevents E.coli from getting into the river," Kumar said.

Kumar said now the focus of the NMCG is on 'Arth Ganga', which aims to connect people with the river and establish an economic linkage between them for sustenance.

"For the last two months, we have been working extensively on Arth Ganga to make that economic connect," he said.

In 2015, the government launched the NMCG or 'Namami Gange', with an indicative cost of Rs 20,000 crore, as an umbrella programme with an aim to integrate previous and ongoing projects and new initiatives planned for cleaning the Ganga.

Under the programme, a total of 347 projects were sanctioned against a cost of Rs 30,255 crore.

The projects comprise infrastructure and non-infrastructure development towards rejuvenating the Ganga.

The projects directly related to the cleaning process include development of sewerage infrastructure, industrial effluent treatment plants, rural sanitation, and river surface cleaning. PTI UZM

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 20 (ANI): The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet has given its approval to excise policy for the financial year 2022-23 which envisages collection of Rs 2131 crore revenue during the year, which will be Rs 264 crores higher than the financial year 2021-22.

According to an official release by the state government, the State Cabinet meeting held here on Sunday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur gave its approval to excise policy for the financial year 2022-23 which envisages collection of Rs 2131 crore revenue during the year, which will be Rs 264 crores higher than the financial year 2021-22.

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This implies an overall growth of 14 per cent in state excise revenues.

Approval was also given for the renewal of retail excise vends in the state for the financial year 2022-23 at the renewal fees of 4 per cent of the value of unit/vend.

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The objective is to gain adequate enhancement in government revenue and curb smuggling of country liquor from the neighbouring states by a reduction in its price, the release said.

The brands of Country Liquor will be cheaper as license fees have been reduced. This will help in providing good quality liquor at a cheaper rate to the consumers and they won't be tempted towards the purchase of illicit liquor and evasion of duty will also be checked.

In the new excise policy, the 15 per cent fixed quota of country liquor for manufacturers and bottlers to be supplied to the retail licensees has been abolished. This step will give the retail licensees to lift their quota from the suppliers of their choice and further assure the supply of good quality country liquor at competitive prices. The MRP of country liquor will be cheaper by 16 per cent of existing price.

In this year's policy, to provide more funds for the welfare of "Gau Vansh", the Gaudhan Vikas Nidhi Fund has been enhanced by Rs 1 from the existing Rs 1.50 to Rs 2.50.

The fixed annual license fee of Bars has been rationalized by abolishing the area-specific slabs of license fee. Now throughout the State, there will be uniform license slabs based upon the room capacity in hotels.

As per the official release, to provide better facilities to the tourists visiting tribal areas and also provide relief to the hotel entrepreneurs, the rates of an annual fixed license fee of Bars in the tribal areas have been reduced considerably.

In order to monitor the manufacturing, operations of liquor, its dispatch to wholesalers, and subsequent sale to retailers, it has been made mandatory for all the above stakeholders to install CCTV cameras at their establishments.

Keeping in view recent irregularities detected by the department in liquor bottling plants, wholesale vends and retail vends, the penalty provisions under the H.P. Excise Act, 2011 have been made more stringent.

An effective end-to-end online Excise Administration System shall be set up in the State which shall include the facility of track and trace of liquor bottles besides other modules for real-time monitoring.

The Cabinet also gave its nod to HP State Toll Policy for the year 2022-23 which envisages auction cum tender for all the toll barriers in the State. During the year 2021-22, toll revenue has registered a growth of 20 percent of the previous year's revenue.

It gave its nod to amend Himachal Pradesh Disaster Relief Manual-2012 to include deaths due to biting of honey bees, hornet and wasps, accidental drowning and deaths due to accidents of vehicles (including land, water and air) under this Manual.

The Cabinet gave its approval for filling up 11 posts of 'A' Class Tehsildar in Revenue Department through direct recruitment on regular basis through Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Chandigarh, Mar 20 (PTI) AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday told the newly-appointed ministers in Punjab in no uncertain terms to perform or be ready to be replaced and said those unhappy with missing out on ministerial berth need to leave behind personal ambitions for the state's progress.

While he will be there "like an elder brother to guide" them, Kejriwal said the 92 MLAs have to work with honesty as a strong team under the leadership of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, whom he lauded for the decisions taken after assuming office.

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"Every minister will be given a target by Mann sahab regarding works they have to do. They will have to work round-the-clock.

''If your (ministers) targets are not met, then the public will say change this minister, bring another minister... work has to be done and whatever target given by Mann Sahab has to be met, the Aam Aadmi Party chief said in his first address to party legislators through videoconferencing after the formation of the new government in Punjab.

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Kejriwal also advised the MLAs to be polite and not to be rude or use objectionable language against anyone, including officials.

They would have to win the hearts of the people of Punjab with performance, the Delhi chief minister said and warned the party leaders of "'strict action" if they indulge in any wrongdoing.

I can tolerate anything but not dishonesty and theft of public money. If I come to know or Mann sahib comes to know that anybody has indulged in wrongdoing, then not even a single chance will be given, he said, adding people have shown faith in us and we cannot break their trust.

Pointing out that political stalwarts of rival parties lost in the elections, Kejriwal said, 'ghamand mat karna' (do not be arrogant). You did not defeat them. It is the people who defeated them.

Do not think I have become an MLA now and will become a minister and then CM. These things should not come into your mind, he said.

Kejriwal praised Mann for his decisions related to the announcement of 25,000 government jobs, withdrawal of security of former ministers and ex-MLAs and release of compensation for the damaged crops.

He claimed that while the AAP government is doing wonderful work in Punjab, the BJP, which won elections in four states, was still fighting over ministerial positions.

"In the last three days, Mann sahib, 'tussi kamaal kar ditta' we are really proud of you," said Kejriwal.

On Mann's announcement of launching an anti-corruption helpline number, Kejriwal said, "I will call it the anti-corruption action line. We are getting so many messages on social media about the impact it has already started to make."

"Employment is a big issue in Punjab, said Kejriwal adding, You have made a grand beginning.

He urged all the AAP MLAs in Punjab to work with dedication, saying people have reposed their faith and now it is our responsibility to deliver goods.

Seventy years have been wasted so time is very less, he said while referring to the previous governments.

"We have to work with full honesty," said Kejriwal as he reminded the MLAs that during the election campaign, he had said his party would give a fiercely honest government.

He praised Mann for telling his MLAs not to sit in Chandigarh and be among people, listen to their problems and resolve them.

Kejriwal said that he has heard that some MLAs who did not become ministers are unhappy. We won 92 seats and only 17 can become ministers. It is not that those MLAs who did not become ministers are any lesser. All our MLAs are jewels, he said.

All 92 of us have to work as a team and leave behind our personal ambitions and interests, then Punjab will progress and move ahead. But if these personal ambitions, greed come in the way then Punjab will lose. For Punjab's progress, it is important that all 92 work as a strong team under Bhagwant Mann, said Kejriwal.

I am there like an elder brother to guide you. But you will have to work as a team under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann. Everyone will be given responsibility, said Kejriwal.

Kejriwal also asked the legislators not to meet the CM or ministers for posting of officers.

You meet the CM and ministers if you want to get people's work done, said Kejriwal, adding that they will appoint honest officers.

If any officer does not get the work of people done then you can lodge a complaint, he said. Without naming anyone, Kejriwal said he has seen a person telling a cop that he will hang him upside down.

He said that such language should not be used. We have to respect everyone, opponents, rivals and all employees, he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 20 (PTI) Kerala on Sunday recorded 596 fresh COVID-19 infections which raised the total caseload to 65,27,194.

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The southern State reported 24 deaths and took the fatalities to 67,339 so far, according to an official press release.

Of the deaths, four occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 20 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, the release said.

No deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, it said.

With 908 more people recovering from the virus since Saturday, the total recoveries reached 64,53,172 and the active cases dropped to 5,812, the release said.

As many as 18,590 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

Among the 14 districts, Ernakulam recorded the most with 122 cases followed by Thiruvananthapuram (75) and Kozhikode (55), the release said.

Of the new cases, three were those of health workers and 568 got infected through contact with the source of it not being clear in 25, the release said.

There are 18,746 people now under surveillance in various districts, of whom 18,073 are in home or institutional quarantine and 673 in hospitals, it added. PTI

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Pune, Mar 20 (PTI) NCP president Sharad Pawar on Sunday said his party was not inclined to ally with AIMIM, a day after AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel proposed an alliance with tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), headed by Shiv Sena.

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The Shiv Sena has already rejected Jaleel's suggestion for an alliance.

"I have been reading about this statement (of Jaleel) but I want to clarify that this is not our party's stand (to ally with AIMIM), Pawar told reporters at Baramati in the Pune district.

"They (AIMIM) can talk about alliances but the parties they are talking about should accept such proposal in the first place," the former Union minister said.

Pawar said though the AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) proposed a tie-up at the state level, the formation of such an alliance has to be approved by the national committee of political parties.

Speaking at another event, Pawar spoke about a possible meeting with authorities regarding another Pune airport, the location for which is yet to be finalised.

"Various defence establishments are located in and around Pune. Every morning, IAF conducts training sorties in these areas. We need to understand their (defence's) views and for that, we will hold a meeting in the next fortnight," Pawar said.

AIMIM MP Jaleel had said in Aurangabad on Saturday that his party was wrongly termed as the 'B' team of BJP.

"There is no power left in them (Shiv Sena) to defeat the BJP single-handed. That's why they need the support of Congress and NCP. I propose that let's add another wheel to the (three-wheeled) autorickshaw and make it a comfortable car. We have expelled the corporator who had opposed the singing of 'Vande Mataram' (in the Aurangabad municipal corporation) and he has joined the NCP now," he had told a Marathi news channel.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], March 20 (ANI): The BJP legislature party meeting to decide the new chief minister of Uttarakhand is likely to be held on Sunday.

The party's central observers for Uttarakhand Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi will also be present in the meeting.

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BJP President Madan Kaushik informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government in the state.

Speaking to reporters briefly today, Kaushik confirmed the information and said that chief ministers of various states will also attend the induction.

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The political future of Pushkar Singh Dhami, the current caretaker Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, is likely to be decided at a crucial BJP legislature party meeting which is to be held on March 20, sources earlier said to ANI.

Giving information to ANI on Wednesday, a senior state BJP leader on anonymity had said that there is a festival of Holi in the Kumaon division on March 19, due to which the meeting of the legislature party will be held on March 20. He told that in this meeting, apart from the party observer, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi, who was the party's election in-charge, will also be present.

According to the party's state president Madan Kaushik, all the party MLAs have been asked to reach Dehradun after Holi.

Uttarakhand outgoing Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami resigned to pave way for the formation of the new government in the state after the conclusion of the Assembly elections.

Following his resignation, around seven MLAs have met Dhami to offer to vacate their seats for him to contest for re-election in the event he's elected leader of the legislature party of the BJP in the state. In addition, Ganesh Joshi and Arvind Pandey, who were Dhami's Cabinet colleagues, also announced their support to him.

Dhami was defeated by the Congress candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri by a margin of 6,579 votes. Dhami got a total of 41,598 votes with a vote share of 44.8 per cent as against Kapri who got 48,177 with a huge vote share of 51.89 per cent.

The BJP won the popular mandate for the second consecutive term in Uttarakhand, bagging 47 seats in the 70-member Assembly. (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], March 20 (ANI): Saints and the bhakti movement had played a major role in laying the foundation of the freedom movement, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

His remarks came while addressing Bhav Vandna Parv at SGVP Gurukul in Ahmedabad, Gujarat today. The event was organized on the occasion of the release of Shastriji Maharaj's biography - 'Shri Dharmajivan Gatha'.

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Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that the deeds and stories of great personalities, often, remain only in memory and oral tradition instead of being recorded in writing. The biography of Shastriji Maharaj will present a selfless life of a personality that remained devoted to the quest of knowledge and service of the society, in the written form, he said.

Referring to Shastriji Maharaj's dictum of welfare of all, the Prime Minister said his vision of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas' draws inspiration from the greats like Shastriji Maharaj and is based on the philosophy of 'Sarvjan Hitay and Sarvjan Sukhay'.

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The Prime Minister said, "The Gurukul tradition of ancient India was the embodiment of 'sarvjan hitay' as in the Gurukul pupil from all walks of life used to study together. This tradition carries in it the seeds of connecting the grand past and glorious future. This tradition gives religious, cultural, and social inspiration to the common people of the country. Shastri ji shaped many lives all over the globe through his gurukul. His life was not mere preaching or orders but a continuous stream of discipline and tapasaya....and he continues to guide us on the path of duty."

Recalling his personal association with SGVP Gurukul, the Prime Minister noted the elements of modernity in the ancient wisdom of the great institution. Shastriji emphasized adapting ancient wisdom as per the needs of the time and avoiding stagnation, the Prime Minister said.

He said that the Gurukul family may come forward to contribute to the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and Amrit Kaal. Referring to the uncertainties caused by the pandemic and crises like the Ukraine situation, the Prime Minister reiterated the importance of Aatmnirbharta.

He asked the Gurukul family to be Vocal for Local. He asked them to make a list of things of everyday use and gauge the extent of dependence on the imported objects. If a thing is available which is made with the sweat of an Indian, that should always be preferred.

Similarly, the family can contribute to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, avoiding single-use plastic. He asked them to regularly go out in groups to places like the Statue of Unity or local statues for improving cleanliness. He also stressed the need to promote natural farming to protect mother earth from chemical and other damage. The Gurukul can play a major role in this, the Prime Minister said.

He concluded by requesting the Gurukul family to celebrate the 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' in a novel way following the teachings of Shastriji Maharaj. (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, Mar 20 (PTI) Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) on Sunday announced the acquisition of a majority 89 per cent equity stake in Clovia, an industry leader in the bridge-to-premium intimate wear category, with an investment of Rs 950 crore.

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RRVL has acquired 89 per cent equity stake in Purple Panda Fashions Pvt Ltd, which owns and operates the Clovia business, through a combination of secondary stake purchase and primary investment, said a joint statement.

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The founding team and management will own the balance stake in the company, it added.

With this acquisition, RRVL will further strengthen its portfolio in the inner wear segment, as it already has acquired Zivame and Amante brands in the past.

Launched in 2013 by Pankaj Vermani, Neha Kant & Suman Choudhary, Clovia is India's leading bridge-to-premium D2C brand in inner wear and lounge wear for millennial women.

It commands a strong customer following in the intimate wear space and is known for its design led fresh styles and sharply-priced offerings to customers.

Commenting over the development, RRVL Director Isha Ambani said, "Reliance has always been at the forefront of enhancing choices and offering best value proposition to consumers. We are pleased to add style, quality and design-led intimate wear brand Clovia' to our portfolio. We look forward to working with the strong management team at Clovia to take the business to greater heights."

Clovia Founder & CEO Pankaj Vermani said, "Clovia is excited to become a part of the Reliance Retail family. Through this partnership, we will benefit from Reliance's scale and retail expertise, extending the presence of the brand and bring together stronger value proposition through world class quality, design and fashion in the intimate wear category. We look forward to making Clovia the most loved brand in this category."

RRVL is a subsidiary of oil-to-chemical conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd.

Last year, in November RRVL acquired the retail lingerie businesses under the amante' umbrella brand from MAS Brands, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sri Lanka-based MAS Holdings, for an undisclosed amount. It had also acquired a minority stake in Actoserba Active Wholesale, which owns and operates online lingerie store Zivame.

In October, RRVL acquired a 52 per cent stake in veteran couturier Ritu Kumar's firm Ritika Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed amount. Besides, Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL) has announced picking up a 40 per cent minority stake in renowned fashion designer Manish Malhotra's MM Styles Pvt Ltd.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kabul [Afghanistan], March 20 (ANI): Nearly 13 million children in Afghanistan are in dire need of international assistance, said communications chief for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Afghanistan, Sam Mort, according to a media report.

"Afghanistan is a tough place to be a child, there are huge challenges right now in being a child. There are 13 million in need of humanitarian aid, there are 4 million out of school. We know that 8 out of 10 people in Afghanistan are drinking water that is infected with bacteria. We need to do better for the children of Afghanistan," Tolo News quoted Mort as saying.

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The UNICEF communications chief called on donors to provide USD 2 billion in aid as soon as possible for providing educational and health services for Afghan children. However, she added that it is only 15 per cent funded.

Meanwhile, Afghan brother-sister duo-- Ahmad and Zainab-- have expressed worries that they might have to leave school to be the breadwinners of their family.

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"I do not have the money to buy pen and a notebook to go to school, I work to find bread for my family. My father has a disability and cannot work," the media outlet quoted Ahmad, a child labourer as saying.

"Some nights we sleep hungry, we do not have anything to eat," said Zainab, who is also a child labourer.

Notably, children's rights institutions have expressed concern regarding the challenges faced by Afghan children, which, according to UNICEF, have risen to unprecedented levels due to the recent developments in the country and the economic crisis in Afghanistan, according to Tolo News.

Mass poverty in Afghanistan that is triggered by people's displacement, unemployment, conflicts, and now political transformation have led millions of people to starve.

Children are the most affected among them as they are now suffering from the spread of measles in the country, Khaama Press reported.

The international aid agencies have been calling on the World Community to support the Afghan people at a time when they are experiencing the worst humanitarian situation in decades, the media outlet added. (ANI)

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Dhaka, Mar 20 (PTI) At least four persons died and dozens remain missing as a boat with over 50 passengers onboard capsized on Sunday after it was hit by a cargo vessel in Shitalakshya River on the outskirts of Bangladesh capital.

MV Afsar Uddin with at least 50 passengers on board, on the way to Munshiganj, sank after being hit by MV Ruposhi-9 at the Syedpur Al Amin Nagar area around 2:20pm on Sunday, officials said.

Also Read | Pakistan Blast: Accidental Fire Triggers Powerful Explosions at Military Depot in Sialkot.

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) along with the river police, navy and the coast guard have started rescue operations in the area following the accident.

"Four bodies have been retrieved so far, three of them women The rescue campaign is underway for the missing ones, a fire service official was quoted as saying by the private Independent TV channel.

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Another official said several more passengers were feared drowned and some of them could be trapped inside the ferry.

Video footage, which went viral on social media and was carried by the TV channels, showed the small ferry appear in front of an advancing huge cargo ship that carried it forward a few yards before it sank quickly.

Nearly 20 passengers were seen jumping off the ferry, known as launch, and some managed to swim ashore or rescued by nearby boats.

Narayanganj district administration officials said fire service divers launched the search campaign with volunteers in the neighbourhood immediately and they were subsequently joined by coast guard personnel.

A ferry sank in Dhaka in June last year after a collision with another vessel, killing at least 32 people.

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Beijing [China], March 20 (ANI): China has imposed stay-at-home orders on millions of more people in the country's northeast, as the nation is facing its worst COVID-19 surge since the pandemic first emerged in the city of Wuhan, Al Jazeera reported.

The country has largely kept the virus at bay since it controlled its initial outbreak in 2020 using targeted lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions.

Also Read | Russia Fires Kalibr Cruise Missiles To Destroy Ukraine Facility.

China on Saturday reported its first deaths from the virus in more than a year.

The two deaths were in the northeastern province of Jilin, according to China's national health commission. This week, Jilin banned its 24 million residents from leaving the province or travelling between cities because of the surging case numbers there, according to Al Jazeera.

Also Read | Pakistan Blast: Accidental Fire Triggers Powerful Explosions at Military Depot in Sialkot.

Beijing is facing mounting pressure to guard against imported infections amid a recent surge in cases throughout the country.

"On the whole, the local epidemic situation in China is still in the development stage, and many provinces and regions are fighting against the Omicron epidemic in multiple cities at the same time," a Chinese official was quoted as saying by state media outlet Global Times.

The official added that China's epidemic prevention and control situation "remains grim and complex." "Epidemic prevention and control is a priority for the country," Mi Feng, a spokesperson from the National Health Commission (NHC), said.

Further, Mi urged that the public and the relevant departments resist a "relax, rest, wait and see," attitude and not show fatigue in the face of the epidemic battle, no fluking, slacking, noting persistence is victory.

Since the beginning of this year, the epidemic situation in China's neighbouring countries and regions has been increasingly volatile. Since March this year, the average number of daily imported cases in China has exceeded 200. (ANI)

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New Delhi [India], March 20 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg held delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House in Delhi on Sunday.

Earlier Jaishankar welcomed the Austrian Foreign Minister said that he "looks forward to productive discussions".

Also Read | Russia Fires Kalibr Cruise Missiles To Destroy Ukraine Facility.

"A warm welcome back to Austrian FM @a_schallenberg to India. Look forward to productive discussions today," Jaishankar tweeted.

Alexander Schallenberg arrived here in India on Saturday. Schallenberg's India visit comes amid the Ukraine crisis.

Also Read | Pakistan Blast: Accidental Fire Triggers Powerful Explosions at Military Depot in Sialkot.

Earlier, on Friday, India and Austria held the sixth round of Foreign Office Consultations virtually and discussed various aspects of bilateral relations including political, economic, commercial ties as well as cultural and academic linkages.

The Indian side was led by Dammu Ravi, Additional Secretary (Europe and COVID19), and the Austrian side was led by Ambassador Gregor Koessler, Director General for Political Affairs in the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, according to the MEA.

"India and Austria have warm and cordial relations which are based on shared values of democracy, freedom, rule of law and equality. Our bilateral relations are marked by strong linkages across institutions, academia, culture, and people-to-people ties," MEA said in a statement.

The talks covered the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including political, economic, and commercial ties as well as cultural and academic linkages, the ministry said.

It further stated that two sides exchanged views on the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic recovery including vaccines. Regional and global issues including developments in the Indo-Pacific, neighbourhood policy, terrorism, and India-EU Relations, amongst others, were discussed.

The ministry added that the deliberations also covered multilateral issues such as United Nations reforms and India's priorities during its term in the United Nations Security Council. (ANI)

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Tel Aviv, March 20: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett expressed delight over his first scheduled official visit to India on April 2 this year at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, an Israeli government press release informed on Saturday.

"I am delighted to pay my first official visit to India at the invitation of my friend, Prime Minister Modi, and together we will continue leading the way for our countries' relations," Prime Minister Bennett said.

The purpose of the visit is to advance and strengthen the strategic alliance between the countries, and to expand bilateral ties. In addition, the leaders will discuss the strengthening of cooperation in a variety of areas, including innovation, economy, research and development, agriculture and more," the Press release by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of Israel informed. China Boosting Pakistan's Air Defence Capabilities, Fighter Jet Deal Pulls Islamabad Closer to Beijing.

The Israeli PM will meet Prime Minister Modi and other senior government officials, as well as visit the Jewish community in the country. This visit will reaffirm the important connection between the countries and the leaders and will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Israel and India, the press release further said.

The leaders first met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow last October, at which Prime Minister Modi invited Prime Minister Bennett to pay an official visit to the country. PM Narendra Modi, Japan PM Fumio Kishida Meet To Discuss Nuclear Threats in Indo-Pacific Region.

"The relations between our two unique cultures -- the Indian culture and the Jewish culture -- are deep, and they rely on deep appreciation and meaningful collaborations. There are many things we can learn from the Indians, and this is what we strive to do. Together we will expand our cooperation to other areas, from innovation and technology, security and cyber, to agriculture and climate change," Bennett said while crediting PM Modi with "restarting relations between India and Israel."

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Islamabad [Pakistan], March 20 (ANI): Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has summoned a session of the Lower House at the Parliament in Islamabad on March 25 for a no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

"Pakistan's National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has summoned a session of the Lower House at the Parliament House in Islamabad on Friday at 11 a.m," Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday.

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The leadership of Pakistan opposition parties has asked their parliamentarians to stay put in Islamabad to ensure their presence in the National Assembly session ahead of the voting for the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

According to the opposition leaders, the speaker of the lower house of the parliament could convene the assembly session any time and directed the lawmakers belonging to their parties to stay put in Islamabad, ARY News reported.

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The Opposition parties in Pakistan are jettisoning mutual hatred to oust Imran Khan as they submitted the no-trust motion in the National Assembly secretariat on March 8.

While the Imran Khan government has exuded confidence to defeat the no-trust motion, the Opposition is sure that they will oust Khan.

On Saturday, Pakistan Opposition Leader Shahbaz Sharif slammed National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser for siding with Prime Minister Imran Khan stating that the former should "come to his senses".

Addressing a joint press conference with Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Sharif who is the PML-N President chided the Speaker saying, "Don't let democracy derail, otherwise neither history nor the people of Pakistan would forgive you," reported The News International.

Sharif also condemned the recent attack on the Sindh House saying, "Whatever happened at the Sindh House was not a trivial matter." He said that the attack was not only about the integrity of Sindh but was an assault on Pakistan.

Earlier, the opposition parties rejected the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government's offer for withdrawing the no-trust motion against Prime Minister, the opposition has made it clear that the resolution will only be withdrawn if the premier announces his resignation, reported local media. (ANI)

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Pyongyang [North Korea], March 20 (ANI/Sputnik): North Korea has allegedly fired four shots from multiple rocket launch systems into the western waters of the Yellow Sea, the Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday, citing South Korean military officials.

According to the news agency, four projectiles fell into the sea within the hour from 7:20 a.m. local time on Sunday (22:00 GMT on Saturday). The South Korean National Security Council reportedly convened an emergency meeting to discuss the incident.

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"There were shots believed to be that of North Korea's multiple rocket launchers this morning," an official in the South Korean armed forces said, as quoted by the news agency.

In addition, the official reportedly stressed that Seoul was monitoring developments in the region and maintaining the country's defense preparedness.

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Since the end of 2017, Pyongyang had maintained a voluntary moratorium on nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) systems. However, in January, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un decided to consider the resumption of "all temporarily suspended activities" due to what he described as hostile policy on the part of the United States. A number of media and experts regarded this statement as Pyongyang's intention to stop complying with the moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests amid the stalled dialogue with Washington

On February 27 and March 5, North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles as part of the reconnaissance satellite project. On Wednesday, media reported that Pyongyang had fired another alleged projectile, but the launch had ended in failure.

Seoul and Washington accused Pyongyang of having tested the new Hwasong-17 ICBM under the pretext of developing satellite systems. The South Korean National Security Council regarded the launches as violation of UN Security Council resolutions and condemned Pyongyang for raising tensions in the region. (ANI/Sputnik)

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Islamabad, Mar 20 (PTI) Pakistan said on Sunday that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi would attend the conference of foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) here.

Pakistan is hosting the 48th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the OIC here on March 22-23, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Also Read | China Releases Guidelines To Strengthen Governance Over Ethics in Science, Technology.

Foreign Ministers and high-level dignitaries from OIC Member and Observer States are attending the CFM. They will also witness the Pakistan Day Parade on March 23 as Guests of Honour.

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi of the People's Republic of China will attend as a Special Guest, said the FO.

Also Read | Pakistan PM Imran Khan Says He Wants To Emulate Indias Foreign Policy.

Senior officials from non-OIC countries, senior representatives from the United Nations system, regional and international organisations, including the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council will also participate in the conference.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will deliver the keynote address at the Inaugural Session on March 22.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will chair the CFM.

The FO said that the CFM assumes special significance given the backdrop of opportunities and challenges before the Muslim world in the political, security, social and economic spheres.

Apart from an appraisal of the global and regional landscapes, the CFM will inter alia reaffirm the long-standing solidarity and support of its membership with the people of Palestine; reiterate its resolve to combat rising Islamophobia; and discuss strategies to counter the effects of climate change, vaccine inequity and erosion in progress towards SDGs.

The Ministerial meeting will take stock of the decisions taken at the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC-CFM held in Islamabad in December 2021 to address the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

The Islamabad Ministerial will consider and adopt over 100 resolutions on a broad range of issues, including peace and security; economic development; cultural and scientific cooperation; and humanitarian, legal, administrative and financial matters.

The thematic focus of the Ministerial Conference is on Partnering for Unity, Justice and Development'.

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Kyiv [Ukraine], March 20 (ANI): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if his country would have been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to a media report.

"If we were a NATO member, a war wouldn't have started. I'd like to receive security guarantees for my country, for my people. If NATO members are ready to see us in the alliance, then do it immediately because people are dying on a daily basis," CNN quoted Zelenskyy as saying during an exclusive interview.

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"But if you are not ready to preserve the lives of our people, if you just want to see us straddle two worlds, if you want to see us in this dubious position where we don't understand whether you can accept us or not -- you cannot place us in this situation, you cannot force us to be in this limbo," he added.

The Ukrainian President said that he demanded clarity on NATO's stance on accepting Ukraine in the alliance. "I requested them personally to say directly that we are going to accept you into NATO in a year or two or five, just say it directly and clearly, or just say no. And the response was very clear, you're not going to be a NATO member, but publicly, the doors will remain open," he said.

Also Read | Pakistan Blast: Accidental Fire Triggers Powerful Explosions at Military Depot in Sialkot.

Zelenskyy further said that he was ready for negotiation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but warned that the failure of such attempts could lead to a "Third World War".

"I'm ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations, we cannot end this war. If there's just one per cent chance for us to stop this war, I think that we need to take this chance," he said, according to the media outlet.

"Russian forces have come to exterminate us, to kill us. And we can demonstrate that the dignity of our people and our army that we are able to deal a powerful blow, we are able to strike back. But, unfortunately, our dignity is not going to preserve the lives. So, I think we have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War," he added.

However, Zelenskyy clarified that there are "compromises" that Ukraine cannot make in negotiations with Putin.

"Any compromises related to our territorial integrity and our sovereignty and the Ukrainian people have spoken about it, they have not greeted Russian soldiers with a bunch of flowers, they have greeted them with bravery, they have greeted them with weapons in their hands," the media outlet quoted him as saying.

On February 24, Russia began a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics requested help in defending themselves. (ANI)

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Jerusalem, Mar 20 (AP) Ukraine's president on Sunday called on Israel to take a stronger stand against Russia, delivering an emotional appeal that compared Russia's invasion of his country to the actions of Nazi Germany.

In a speech to Israeli lawmakers, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was time for Israel, which has emerged as a key mediator between Ukraine and Russia, to finally take sides. He said Israel should follow its Western allies by imposing sanctions and providing arms to Ukraine.

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One can ask for a long time why we can't accept weapons from you or why Israel didn't impose sanctions against Russia, why you are not putting pressure on Russian business, he said. It is your choice, dear brothers and sisters.

Zelenskyy, who has carefully catered a series of similar parliamentary speeches to his audiences, made frequent references to the Holocaust as he tried to rally support. The comparisons drew an angry condemnation from Israel's national Holocaust memorial, which said Zelenskyy was trivializing the Holocaust.

Also Read | China Releases Guidelines To Strengthen Governance Over Ethics in Science, Technology.

Zelenskyy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to carry out a final solution against Ukraine -- using the Nazi term for its planned genocide of 6 million Jews during World War II. Zelenskyy, who himself is Jewish, also noted that a Russian missile slammed into Babi Yar -- the spot of a notorious Nazi massacre in 1941 that now hosts Ukraine's main Holocaust memorial.

The people of Israel, you saw how Russian rockets hit Babi Yar. You know what this place means, where the victims of the Holocaust are buried, he said.

The use of such sensitive language was a clear attempt by Zelenskyy to connect with his audience. Israel was founded in 1948 as a refugee for Jews in the wake of the Holocaust. The country is home to tens of thousands of elderly survivors, and many of its leaders are children of survivors.

Putin has also has sought to paint his enemies in Ukraine as neo-Nazis as he tries to legitimize his war in Ukraine. But historians, noting that Ukraine is a democracy led by a Jewish president, have condemned his use of such terminology as disinformation and a cynical ploy to further the Russian leader's aims.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, whose late father was a Holocaust survivor, thanked Zelenskyy for the speech.

We will continue to assist the Ukrainian people as much as we can and we will never turn our backs to the plight of people who know the horrors of war, Lapid said.

But Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust memorial, which had previously condemned Putin's Nazi references, also harshly criticized Zelenskyy, without naming him.

Propagandist discourse accompanying the current hostilities is saturated with irresponsible statements and completely inaccurate comparisons with Nazi ideology and actions before and during the Holocaust, it said. "Yad Vashem condemns this trivialization and distortion of the historical facts of the Holocaust.

The Israeli public has been largely supportive of Ukraine since Russia invaded its western neighbor on Feb. 24. Several thousand people, many holding Ukrainian flags, gathered in a central Tel Aviv square to watch his speech on a large screen.

But Israel's government has been much more cautious as it carves out a role as a mediator in the war. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett paid a surprise visit to Moscow to meet with Putin on March 5. Since then, he has spoken to the Russian leader at least twice and to Zelenskyy at least six times, according to his office.

While Israel's foreign minister has strongly condemned the invasion, Bennett has used more tepid language to maintain an air of neutrality.

With large Jewish populations in both Ukraine and Russia, Israel is wary of antagonizing either side. Israel also has good working relations with the Russian military in neighboring Syria -- where both sides' maintain a special hotline to make sure their air forces do not come into conflict.

Israel has delivered tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and is set to open a special field hospital in western Ukraine later this week. But it has rejected pleas to provide arms or impose sanctions against Russia or its oligarchs, some of whom are Jewish and have strong ties to Israel.

Zelenskyy said it was time for this to change.

Everyone in Israel knows that your missile defense is the best, everyone knows that your weapons are strong, everyone knows that you are great and you know how to defend your national interests, interests of your people and you can definitely help defend ours, he said. (AP)

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He maintained that like India -- which imported oil from Russia despite American sanctions and despite being an ally of the US -- his foreign policy would also favour the people of Pakistan, the report said. "I haven't bowed before anyone and will not let my nation bow either," Imran said.

The Pakistan premier maintained that he said "absolutely not" to the European Union envoy who sought Pakistan's support against Russia in the Russia-Ukraine conflict because "they broke protocol by making the request".

He added that Pakistan would have gained nothing by complying with the EU's request. "We became part of America's war against terror in Afghanistan and lost 80,000 people and $100 billion," he said, asking Shehbaz Sharif what did Pakistan gain from the war on terror, Express Tribune reported. Pakistan Army Asks Imran Khan to Resign After OIC Conference, Say Reports.

Khan has once again urged the dissident lawmakers to return to the ruling PTI's fold, saying that he was ready to forgive them like a 'compassionate father' amid looming vote on no-trust motion against him, Express Tribune reported. "Return to the party's fold or face social boycott," he warned the dissenting PTI members while addressing a public gathering in Dargai -- a small town in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Malaknad district on Sunday. "People will not trust you -- youth are aware of whatever happening in the country, this is the age of social media where it is difficult to hide anything," he said. Pakistan Blast: Accidental Fire Triggers Powerful Explosions at Military Depot in Sialkot.

The Pakistan premier also warned the estranged lawmakers of dire consequences if they "sold their conscience" and cast vote against the party line in the National Assembly.
#Iraq has condemned the latest attacks that targeted energy facilities in #SaudiArabia, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said. The ministry reiterated its stance calling for the adoption of dialogue to end these actions between the parties to the conflict. pic.twitter.com/u2CYl70jER IANS (@ians_india) March 20, 2022

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Moscow, March 20: The Russian military says it has carried out a new series of strikes on Ukrainian military facilities with long-range hypersonic and cruise missiles. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Sunday that the Kinzhal hypersonic missile hit a Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv.

The strike marked the second day in a row that Russia used the Kinzhal, a weapon capable of striking targets 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) away at a speed 10 times the speed of sound.

The previous day, the Russian military said the Kinzhal was used for the first time in combat to destroy an ammunition depot in Diliatyn in the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine. Russia-Ukraine War Latest Updates: Mariupol Residents Taken to 'Remote Parts' of Russia; 228 People Killed in Kyiv Since Start of War, Including 4 Children, Says Official.

Konashenkov noted that the Kalibr cruise missiles launched by Russian warships from the Caspian Sea were also involved in the strike on the fuel depot in Kostiantynivka. He said Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea were used to destroy an armor repair plant in Nizhyn in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine.

Konashenkov added that another strike by air-launched missiles hit a Ukrainian facility in Ovruch in the northern Zhytomyr region where foreign fighters and Ukrainian special forces were based.
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A sulkie racer breached Covid restrictions, Portlaoise District Court heard recently.

Timmy McDonagh, 22, of Bungalow, Rathealy Road, Fermoy, Cork was charged with breach of Covid regulations at Clonad on January 24, 2021. He pleaded guilty.

Sgt JJ Kirby told the court that at 8.05am on that date at Clonad there was a report of a sulkie race. Gardai attended the scene and encountered the race. Mr McDonagh was one of the participants and he refused to stop for them.

This was at the time of the five mile travel restriction.

Mr McDonagh had no excuse for being there.

Mr McDonagh said he was a carer for his father. He had two children and a fiance.

Judge John King asked Mr McDonagh what made him think he could go sulkie racing when no one else could move. The Judge noted he had not stopped for the gardai.

Mr McDonagh said there were 20 cars behind him at the time and he could not stop. He was one of three racers. He did stop when the race finished.

Judge King fined him 400.
New environment guidelines will help Laois County Council drawing up development plans for the county and its towns that will be sustainable and help the battle against climate change, according to the Government.

The Minister of State for Local Government and Planning at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Peter Burke, TD, has published updated Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) guidelines which it is claimed will assist Laois planners in carrying out efficient and effective SEAs.

His Department said the guidelines will help Laois County Council integrate environmental issues into Development Plans and contribute towards achieving national and international sustainable development goals, important in the context of national and international action against climate change and biodiversity loss. The Department has written to Laois County Council and all planning authorities, advising them of the updated SEA Guidelines.

A statement said the European Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency have reviewed the operation of the SEA process and its guidelines, first issued in 2004. It is claimed that the updated guidelines address some of the weaknesses in the SEA process that were highlighted by these studies.

For example, the Department says the Guidelines provide clarity on the statutory requirement for monitoring the effects of implementing a relevant plan (e.g. County Development Plan) on the environment. This aspect of SEA has been implemented with limited effectiveness in Ireland and across the EU.

It is stated that the SEA guidelines must be taken into account by Regional Assemblies and Planning Authorities during the preparation of Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, County Development Plans and Local Area Plans. The SEA process also provides the public with greater opportunities to participate in the plan-making process.

A statement said it provides transparency into how certain decisions are made. SEA has been an important process in ensuring that plans and programmes produced in Laois are compliant with the relevant national, regional and local environmental objectives and targets.

Under Housing for All, the Governments national housing plan to 2030, the Government committed to updating guidance on Strategic Environmental Assessment. This is to improve the functioning of the planning system in order to increase new housing supply in a sustainable manner.

Publishing the updated SEA guidelines, Minister Burke said: These updated SEA Guidelines will help ensure Development Plans and other important planning frameworks for Laois protect both Laois's and the national environment. With these guidelines the learnings of national and European evaluations of the SEA process are being put into practice in our planning system. Given European and international focus on actions against climate change and biodiversity loss, SEA will continue to have an important role in ensuring that Laois's Development Plans and programmes comply with relevant environmental objectives and targets, therefore contributing towards a more environmentally sustainable future.

The update to Strategic Environmental Assessment Guidelines was been carried out alongside the review of the Departments separate Development Plan Guidelines for Local Authorities.

SEA in Ireland occurs at all levels of land use plan-making and accounts for over three quarters of all SEA activity in Ireland, including the National Planning Framework, Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, County Development Plans and Local Area Plans.

The Departments original SEA Guidelines date from 2004. They were published just after the transposition of the SEA Directive into Irish law and the introduction of its formal implementation into the Irish land use planning system.

The updated Guidelines (and contact details for statutory consultees in the SEA process) are available here: https://www.gov.ie/en/ publication/7e1aa-strategic- environmental-assessment- guidelines-for-regional- assemblies-and-planning- authorities/
A Garda community bus based in Naas helped transport a family from a domestic violence situation, it was revealed at the latest Joint Policing Committee meeting.

The vehicle, attached to the fleet of vehicles at Naas Garda Station, is believed to be the only marked police bus in the EU which is wheelchair accessible.

Refuge

Chief Supt John Scanlan revealed the community bus was recently used to transfer a family seeking refuge from doestic violence.

No further information was given about the incident from the senior officer.

It is believed a parent and a number of young children were carried in the bus rather than separated in different patrol cars.

Maintaining social distance between gardai and the family due to Covid-19 concerns may also have been a factor.

The community bus is usually used to assist wheelchair users to attend events and is also available to other groups in the community who cannot afford to hire a private transport. The bus also ferries players to late night football leagues organised by An Garda Siochana and the FAI for young people in communities.

It was also used to bring young people to a boxing event in the National Stadium organised by Kildare boxer Eric Donovan

Launched

The community bus was launched in December after an initial idea by Community Garda Gary Cogan.

Councillors in Naas Municipal District agreed to allocate money from local property tax to buy the vehicle and handed it over to Naas gardai.

Gardai insisted that the vehicle must be accessible to all sectors of the community, including wheelchair users or people with mobility issues.
The Government is to start the process of moving Ukrainian refugees in with Irish families, Minister Roderic OGorman said.

The Minister for Children said that vacant properties will be used first to house Ukrainians fleeing the war.

Around 20,000 offers of accommodation have been pledged by Irish people, including from Tanaiste Leo Varadkar.

Mr OGorman said that 9,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Ireland, and the vast majority are staying in hotels.

Flowers and messages of support left outside Ukraines embassy in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

He also said that EU countries are expected to receive tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees in the weeks ahead.

Its certainly those numbers that were preparing for, he added.

Were continuing to look to book hotel accommodation to deal with short-term accommodation needs and as of this weekend, weve begun to draw down accommodation from the pledges provided by the Irish people.

Over 20,000 offers have come in from Irish people across the country, a huge show of generosity, and my department are looking to start to activate some of those accommodation options now, starting initially with options of vacant housing.

Mr OGorman said the Government is looking to block-book hotels.

I think thats necessary to ensure that we have rooms for people when they arrive in the country and weve been doing that over the last two weeks, he added.

I think we have to be ready in case theres a sudden surge of people arriving at our ports and airports and in a crisis situation like this.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar and his partner Matt Barrett are among those who registered through the Irish Refugee Council.

Mr Varadkar said he has a spare room in his house.

From our point of view, watching the news every night of Ukraine, its very hard to watch what were witnessing on our continent, in our neighbourhood and wanted to help out in some way, he said.

Opening your home for a few months to somebody fleeing war, its just something were able to do at the moment. Im happy to do.

He also said there has been some discussion in providing funding to those who open their homes to refugees, but is not something we are going to do.

What were really saying to people is that this is an altruistic thing, not something we would intend to pay people to do, he added.
A YEAR after work on a vital 58m road restarted, concern has now been expressed over the future of the scheme.

It comes after Roadbridge, the main contractor on the Coonagh to Knockalisheen Road, which will open up the Moyross estate, announced its to appoint receivers in a move which will put at least 150 Limerick jobs at risk.

The Build our Road coalition, which lobbied Transport Minister Eamon Ryan to get the multi-million euro scheme, the first phase of the Northern Distributor Road, back on track, has described the news as horrible, while Sinn Feins two City North councillors are seeking an urgent meeting with local authority bosses on contingency plans for the project.

Horrible news today regarding Roadbridge, the Build our Road campaign stated in a Tweet. A massive blow to jobs across Limerick and the wider region. Its imperative that the Northern Distributor Road is completed as soon as possible. Theres also a direct knock-on to the housing developments in Delmege causing a lot of worry. A sad day for many in Limerick.

Horrible news today regarding #roadbridge. A massive blow to jobs across Limerick and the wider region. Its imperative that the #NDR is completed ASAP. Theres also a direct knock on to the housing developments in Delmege causing a lot of worry. A sad day for many in Limerick.  Build-our-road (@buildourroad) March 11, 2022

In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, the board of Roadbridge said as a result of insurmountable financial challenges, it has requested Bank of Ireland to appoint receivers.

The receivers are Stephen Tennant and Nicholas ODwyer of Grant Thornton.

Founded in 1967, and headquartered in the Ballysimon Road in Limerick, Roadbridge is a civil engineering and construction company which directly employs 630 people in Ireland, Britain and Sweden.

It's understood approximately 150 staff are employed by Roadbridge here.

But like many big firms, a number of downstream jobs are dependent on the company. Just before the news was announced, construction equipment was removed from the site of the road project.

Tanaiste and Minster for Enterprise, Leo Varadkar, described last week's development as extremely concerning. "My thoughts are with the employees, many of whom I know dedicated their entire careers to the company," said adding that he has asked officials at the his department and those in Enterprise Ireland to engage with the company as a matter of urgency.
A NEW Limerick start-up founded by senior All-Ireland and Munster minor hurling winners is on track for big success.

Pat Ryan Simon, Barry Murphy, and Adam English, from Doon, and Pallasgreen's Colin Ryan have teamed up with another Doon man - Francis Cummins - to form TrackNow.

They are also delighted to be associated with Limerick Suicide Watch and supporting Barry Lenahan in fundraising efforts for the charity.

Barry is climbing the 26 highest peaks in Ireland for Limerick Suicide Watch. TrackNow is supplying him with a safety tracking device that ensures he completes his climbs in the safest environment possible.

Backing this new venture, Francis Cummins, the CEO and a seasoned IT professional, said that some people believe that GPS is just about tracking.

With TrackNow we believe in talking to our customers and building a solution with them to alleviate the high costs around fuel consumption and best driver practices and give them the insights they need to improve their business, said Francis.

The GPS tracking device being given to Barry has built in fall detection, SOS alarms, periodic check-ins, location services and many more safety features. It can be used in a number of environments such as lone-workers, medicare staff or even for protection while walking or exercising alone, said Francis.

Founded at the start of this year, Pat Ryan Simon and Barry Murphy, who graduated from UL with business degrees, said they are delighted with the reception so far and not just for the products but for the goodwill to us and the company.

UL student Adam English, the youngest member of the team, will be actively working with schools and TY students on safety initiatives for parents and young drivers and establish partnerships with schools and TY mini companies.

To support Barry and Limerick Suicide Watch, please visit his GoFundMe page. To find out more about TrackNow see tracknow.ie or call their office in Pallasgreen on (061) 574 574.
A MOTORIST who admitted undertaking traffic on one of the busiest roads in Limerick was 500 after he pleaded guilty to careless driving.

Patrick Flynn, aged 34 of Hillview, Fairhill, Rathkeale was prosecuted under the Road Traffic Act following an incident which occurred on the main N21 road on January 4, 2021.

Inspector Sandra Heelan told Newcastle West Court the incident, which occurred at Castlematrix, Rathkeale at around 9.30pm, was observed by gardai who were on patrol in the area.

She said a silver Volkswagen  being driven by the defendant  was seen undertaking another vehicle by entering the hard shoulder of the main Limerick to Kerry road.

It was dark, there was a hard frost and the road was not gritted, she added.

While the defendant was initially charged with dangerous driving, Judge Carol Anne Coolican indicated she was willing to accept a plea to the lesser change of careless driving.

Solicitor Michael ODonnell said his client, who was travelling from Newcastle West towards Rathkeale and that the garda patrol car was travelling in the opposite direction.

He said his client had activated his indicator light but that it could not be seen by the gardai on the night,

Mr ODonnell added that Mr Flynn has performed the undertaking manoeuvre on a wide stretch of the road.

He further asked the court to note there was no collision or impact and that the driver of the other vehicle did not have to take any form of evasive action because of his clients actions.

After recording a conviction, Judge Coolican imposed a 500 fine. A disqualification was not imposed.

While not a matter for the court, the defendant will receive penalty points on his licence as a consequence of his conviction.
A GROUP of people who are considered to be the unsung heroes of the health service during the Covid-19 pandemic, have been named the Limerick Persons of the Month.

HSE Mid West Community Healthcares Home Support Service predominantly serves people in the community aged over 65 years of age, and helps them to live longer in their own homes.

Its dedicated team of health care support assistants (HCSAs) support clients with everyday tasks and assist them to continue living independently.

The three of us are here today but this is being accepted on behalf of the entire HSE team who provide community support to families to assist them in maintaining their family member at home, commented Emma Doyle, Home Care Package Coordinator.

We also deal with hospital discharges, provide support for hospital step-down and we also provide support for hospital avoidance, she added.

Emma was accompanied at the award presentation at the Clayton Hotel by Catherine Gleeson, Home Help Coordinator, and Nancy Barrett, Health Care Support Assistant.

There are 568 HCSAs directly employed by the HSE in the Mid West region of Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary, with 289 of those based in Limerick.

They are the front-line staff of the Community Older Persons services and together with Home Support Agencies who provide services on behalf of the HSE they supported nearly over 4,600 people throughout the Mid West last year, almost 1,800 of those in Limerick. The team also works with other community supports such as the meals on wheels and public health nursing services.

The last two years with Covid have been a massive challenge in the community, Catherine Gleeson pointed out.

There is a lot of emphasis put on the frontline staff in the hospitals but the assistants are the frontline staff who are out in the community who are both vulnerable themselves and with vulnerable clients. It was a time when older people, as well as being vulnerable, were terrified, she explained.

There is no doubt about it, only for the particular services, older people would not be able to stay at home. The client's first choice is they want to be in their home environment, they want to be at home, Catherine pointed out.

The health care support assistants have a different routine to suit each individuals needs. They do the practical things like the shopping and cooking, assisting the client with their personal care such as washing or going to the bathroom, and they assist them with their medications.

As well as providing this practical assistance and support, HCSAs also found themselves, during the pandemic, providing a much valued listening ear and reassurance to vulnerable older people as some of them had no family members to support them.

These HCSAs are lone workers, who continue to look after their clients without the structures and support of hospital or nursing home settings.

They continued to look after people who had contracted Covid, and went above and beyond the call of duty, Catherine said, even during periods when there were high levels of the disease in the community, prior to the rollout of the vaccination programme.

For some of the clients, we were the only person they would see in a day, explained Nancy Barrett, Health Care Support Assistant,

One man I go to is 98. First thing I do is go into the room to check on him and have a chat. I come out then and put on the fire. I give him his wash, get him up, get him dressed and get him out to his sitting area and he has his breakfast. Youd be chatting away and when youd be going hed say, Oh, I never told you this, so you wouldnt go.

According to Nancy, the clients were initially terrified of Covid.

As time went on they became less so.

All the time the assistants are chatting to the client, they are also doing their work as they have specific times to be in and out of houses as they have their next client to attend to. Every client has their own individual care plan.

Nancy found herself assisting a palliative care client during the pandemic.

Her wish was to stay at home, Catherine explained of the client.

She had a small family and she died at a time when there were only 10 allowed at a funeral and Nancy was one of the people she listed, on her deathbed, to attend. She asked for Nancy to attend, said Catherine.

That, to me, says it all!

The Limerick Person of the Month Awards are supported by the Limerick Leader, Southern and The Clayton Hotel.
FORTY eight Ukrainians arrived in County Limerick late on Saturday night.

They will be staying at Cahermoyle House in Ardagh. St Kieran's GAA Club and Ardagh Development Association are leading a drive for donations which has been backed by the whole community.

One of the volunteers, Deirdre Ambrose, said the Ukrainians - mostly women and children - are being very well looked after by the owners of Cahermoyle.

"They have lovely rooms, new mattresses, new bed linen. We made up the beds last night. It is a lovely setting and they have come into a great community," said Deirdre.

However, she says donations of essential supplies will be most welcome. They ask for new basic clothing items - socks, underwear, pyjamas; pet food as there are dogs and a cat; toys for boys and girls from three-months-old to 13. Due to the Greenway if anyone had bicycles they would also be welcome.

Deirdre said they will assess what else they require as they settle in. Donations will be accepted at Ardagh Community Centre this Sunday until noon.

If you would like to donate items please contact one of the phone numbers below and a drop off point will be arranged. People are asked not to go to Cahermoyle House as the Ukrainians need to rest and get used to their new surroundings.

"They are absolutely exhausted. Some of them had traveled for seven days. They were beautiful people that arrived last night and we will make them as welcome as we possibly can," said Deirdre.

Minister for State Niall Collins said that West Limerick and the parish of Ardagh will make their new residents most welcome and look forward to having them at the very heart of the community. He encouraged anyone who can donate the items requested to help out in any way they can.

To offer donations please contact any of these numbers Deirdre Ambrose 087 9509218; David Woulfe 086 2205572; Moira O'Donovan 086 8255473; John Aherne 087 2155019.
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VISITING restrictions on inpatient wards in University Hospital Limerick are being put in place this Sunday.

A spokesperson for UHL said this is due to "very high levels of Covid positive patients in the hospital and the high level of community transmission".

"We regret the imposition of visiting restrictions so soon after we began to lift them. The decision has been taken to help keep all patients and staff safe, and to ensure that the hospitals essential services can remain open at this time," said the spokesperson.

The only exceptions are parents visiting children in hospital; people assisting confused patients; for example, dementia; visiting on compassionate grounds; for example, for patients who are critically unwell or at end of life.

Exemptions are limited to one person per patient and will be looked at on a case by case basis.

"In cases where exemptions apply, we strongly recommend that you are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before coming to the hospital, to minimise risks to you, our patients and staff.

"We advise also that people should not visit relatives or loved ones outdoors in the grounds of the hospital, as this can also present a Covid-19 transmission risk," said the spokesperson.
NEW DELHI : Egypt, Israel, Oman, Nigeria and South Africa have approached India to secure wheat supplies, two government officials said, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict entered its fourth week, threatening a global food crisis.

Supply disruptions because of the war between Russia and Ukraine, known as Europes breadbasket, have triggered panic among wheat-importing nations.

These countries are rushing to secure supplies amid shortages and high prices.

India is also pursuing wheat-importing nations that have traditionally not relied on Indian wheat such as Turkey, Azerbaijan, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon.

View Full Image High freight rates and a shortage of shipping containers could hold up Indias attempts to expand exports, according to some government officials

Russia and Ukraine export nearly one-third of global wheat every year.

The Indian government is also looking at measures to boost exports, including addressing logistical bottlenecks related to ports and railways and ensuring the produce meets global quality standards.

The commerce ministry is in talks with the railways and port authorities to meet immediate demand for additional wheat transport.

Countries such as Egypt, Israel, Oman, Nigeria and South Africa have already placed requests for wheat from India," said one of the government officials cited above, requesting anonymity.

The government is working closely with the Indian Railways and port authorities to smoothen the process."

While India is the second-largest wheat producer with a share of around 14.14% of the worlds production in 2020, it accounted for less than 1% of global wheat exports. In 2020-21, India entered new wheat markets such as Yemen, Afghanistan, Qatar and Indonesia.

India is in final talks to start wheat exports to Egyptone of the largest importers of wheat from Ukraine and Russia, the ministry of commerce and industry said on Saturday.

Queries emailed to spokesperson for ministry of commerce and industry on Sunday wasnt immediately answered.

India is looking at exporting nearly 10 million tonnes of wheat in FY23 to bridge the supply gaps arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. India has so far exported 6.6 million tonnes of wheat in 2021-22, which is triple the 2.15 million tonnes exported in 2020-21.

Efforts are underway to check that sub-standard quality is not exported so that India remains a long-term exporter to these countries. The department of agriculture, co-operation and farmers welfare could conduct pest risk analysis and then take up market access requests, the first official cited above said.

However, the government officials pointed out that high freight rates and a shortage of shipping containers could hold up Indias attempts to expand exports.

These issues, if not addressed, may restrict Indian wheat exports to nearly 8 million tonnes in FY23, short of 10 million tonnes estimated in the best-case scenario.

Indias wheat export share increased from 0.14% in 2016 to 0.54% in 2020. India produces around 107.59 million tonnes of wheat annually, of which a major chunk goes for domestic consumption. According to the commerce ministry, Indias wheat exports are mainly to neighbouring countries, with Bangladesh having the largest share of more than 54% in both volume and value terms in 2020-21.

The second official stated that certain WTO norms which prohibit exports of commodities bought at minimum support price (MSP) may also hinder exports. Also, the shipping ministry will have to ensure the availability of containers in line with the requirements of exporters.

Experts said several policy-related calls need to be made to facilitate wheat exports, and prolonged escalation in tension between Russia and Ukraine could mean that the net food-importing countries will be pushed to the wall. This, in turn, would make them look towards large producers of wheat such as India.

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Bank of Baroda, said that India would have to iron out a number of policy-related hurdles to gain market access which they have not been able to do in the past, adding that India has enough wheat stockpile to cool down wheat prices.

India was never a significant exporter of wheat, but in the last two years, the country was able to export large quantities of wheat, said Biswajit Dhar, Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, JNU.

According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, the top 10 importing countries for Indian wheat in 2020-21 were Bangladesh, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Afghanistan, Qatar, Indonesia, Oman and Malaysia.
Ukrainian authorities said the Russian military bombed an art school where about 400 people had taken refuge in the port city of Mariupol , where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said an unrelenting siege by Russian troops would go down in history for what he said were war crimes.

Local authorities said the schools building was destroyed and people could remain under the rubble. There was no immediate word on casualties. Russian forces on Wednesday also bombed a theater in Mariupol where civilians were sheltering, authorities have said.

To do this to a peaceful city, what the occupiers did, is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation.

Mariupol, a strategic port on the Azov Sea, has been under bombardment for at least three weeks and become a symbol of the horror of Russia's war in Ukraine. Local authorities have said the siege has cut off food, water and energy supplies, and killed at least 2,300 people, some of whom had to be buried in mass graves.

Russian forces have surrounded the battered city and pushed deeper into it in recent days. Heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help Saturday.

Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth," Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said from a rubble-strewn street in a video addressed to Western leaders that was authenticated by The Associated Press.

The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the wars worst suffering, would mark a major battlefield advance for the Russians, whose advance is largely stalled outside other major cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II.

In the capital, Kyiv, at least 20 babies carried by Ukrainian surrogate mothers are stuck in a makeshift bomb shelter, waiting for parents to travel into the war zone to pick them up. Some just days old, the babies are being cared for by nurses who cannot leave the shelter because of constant shelling by Russian troops who are trying to encircle the city.

Details also began to emerge about a rocket attack that killed as many as 40 marines in the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv on Friday, according to a Ukrainian military official who spoke to The New York Times. It wasnt clear how many marines were inside at the time, and rescuers continued searching the rubble of the barracks.

A senior Ukrainian military official, who spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity to reveal sensitive information, estimated that as many as 40 marines were killed, which would make it one of the deadliest known attacks on Ukrainian forces during the war.

Meanwhile the Russian military reported Sunday that it had carried out a new series of strikes on Ukrainian military facilities with long-range hypersonic and cruise missiles.

The Russian Defense Ministry's spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said a Kinzhal hypersonic missile hit a Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka, a city near Mykolaiv. The Russian military said Saturday that it used a Kinzhal for the first time in combat to destroy an ammunition depot in Diliatyn in the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine.

Russia has said the Kinzhal, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Saturday that the U.S. couldnt confirm the use of a hypersonic missile in Ukraine.

Konashenkov said Kalibr cruise missiles launched by Russian warships from the Caspian Sea were also involved in the strike on the fuel depot in Kostiantynivka and were used to destroy an armor repair plant in Nizhyn in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine.

Despite the siege in Mariupol and the geographic scope of Russia's assault, many remained struck by Ukraines ability to hold back its much bigger, better-armed foe. The United Kingdoms Defense Ministry said Ukraines airspace continued to be effectively defended.

Gaining control of the air was one of Russias principal objectives for the opening days of the conflict and their continued failure to do so has significantly blunted their operational progress," the ministry said on Twitter.

Russia is now relying on stand-off weapons launched from the relative safety of Russian airspace to strike targets within Ukraine, the British ministry said.

Estimates of Russian deaths vary widely, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands. Russia had 64 deaths in five days of fighting during its 2008 war with Georgia. It lost about 15,000 in Afghanistan over 10 years, and more than 11,000 in years of fighting in Chechnya.

Russias number of dead and wounded in Ukraine is nearing the 10% benchmark of diminished combat effectiveness, said Dmitry Gorenburg, a researcher on Russias security at the Virginia-based CNA think tank. The reported battlefield deaths of four Russian generals  out of an estimated 20 in the fight  signal impaired command, Gorenburg said.

Russia would need 800,000 troops  almost equal to its entire active-duty military  to control Ukraine long-term in the face of armed opposition, said Michael Clarke, former head of the British-based Royal United Services Institute, a defense think tank.

Unless the Russians intend to be completely genocidal  they could flatten all the major cities, and Ukrainians will rise up against Russian occupation  there will be just constant guerrilla war," said Clarke.

U.N. bodies have confirmed more than 847 civilian deaths since the war began, though they concede the actual toll is likely much higher. The U.N. says more than 3.3 million people have fled Ukraine as refugees.

Evacuations from Mariupol and other besieged cities proceeded along eight of 10 humanitarian corridors that Ukraine and Russia agreed to on Saturday Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, and a total of 6,623 people left.

Vereshchuk said planned humanitarian aid for the southern city of Kherson, which Russia seized early in the war, could not be delivered because the trucks were stopped along the way by Russian troops.

Ukraine and Russia have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict but remain divided over several issues, with Moscow pressing for its neighbors demilitarization and Kyiv demanding security guarantees.

Around Ukraine, hospitals, schools and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked.

A satellite image from Maxar Technologies released Saturday confirmed earlier reports that much of the theater in Mariupol was destroyed. It also showed the word CHILDREN" written in Russian in large white letters outside the building.

Russian forces fired on eight cities and villages in the eastern Donetsk region between Friday and Saturday, Ukraines national police said. Dozens of civilians were killed or wounded, and at least 37 residential buildings and facilities were damaged including a school, a museum and a shopping center.

In the western city of Lviv, Ukraines cultural capital, which was hit by Russian missiles on Friday, military veterans were training dozens of civilians on how to handle firearms and grenades.

Its hard, because I have really weak hands, but I can manage it," said one trainee, 22-year-old Katarina Ishchenko.

The Mariupol city council claimed Saturday that Russian soldiers had forcibly relocated several thousand city residents, mostly women and children, to Russia. It didnt say where, and AP could not immediately confirm the claim.

Zelenskyy adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the nearest forces that could assist Mariupol were already struggling against the overwhelming force of the enemy" and that there is currently no military solution to Mariupol."

Zelenskyy on Sunday ordered 11 political parties with links to Russia, the largest of which has 44 out of 450 seats in the countrys parliament, to suspend activities during the period of martial law.

Activities by politicians aimed at discord and collaboration will not succeed," he said in the address.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
Russia-Ukraine war: China and Russias trade relationship has become more complicated since the war started more than three weeks ago, raising questions about the future flow of energy, metals and crops between the two powerhouses.

Before the war in Ukraine, Russias importance to China as a supplier of raw materials was only growing. That was solidified in the no-limits" friendship announced between the two nations ahead of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, which was celebrated with the signing of new deals to furnish China with Russian oil, gas and wheat.

Immediately after the invasion, Chinese officials said they disagreed with unilateral sanctions and would continue normal trade relations with Russia. But since then banks have paused financing purchases and traders are grappling with logistics, while more recently Chinas foreign minister said Beijing doesnt want to be affected by sanctions.

Heres a look at where commodities trading with Russia stands and how it might play out.

Energy

The biggest trade opportunities may be in energy. The growth in its economy means China has an ever-expanding need for coal and gas to heat homes and power factories. The nation is coal-rich but still prone to shortages, and relatively gas-poor, making imports crucial for keeping up with demand.

Russia is now the second-largest shipper of coal to China after Indonesia, while its gas exports have grown considerably since the Power of Siberia pipeline began flowing in 2019. Crude shipments have also ticked higher in recent years -- including pipeline oil, Russia was the No. 2 supplier to China in 2021, behind only Saudi Arabia.

Russian coal has helped fill the gap caused by Chinas ban on Australian shipments since late 2020, and more recent disruptions to cargoes from Mongolia and Indonesia. Moreover, the U.S. and Australia supply China with a little over half of its imports of liquefied natural gas, which move by ship, and thats a dependency which Beijing has been trying to break.

But following the invasion, Chinese buyers, and the lenders that finance their purchases, have largely shunned Russian shipments of coal and LNG as well as crude. That hesitancy may be temporary given the unknown end-point of international action against Moscow. But it could also reflect companies deeper concerns about becoming ensnared in sanctions that could affect global banking arrangements, as well as the governments fears over getting shut out of far more important markets for Chinese goods.

For any Chinese firm with substantial operations abroad, continued access to the U.S. financial system is more valuable than any deals it can do with Russia, though some small firms may be willing to run the risk," Capital Economics said in a note last week.

Yellen Says China Moves Not Diluting Russia Sanctions Sting

Logistics are also an issue. Several Chinese coal importers and Russian miners met this month to discuss boosting volumes, but cited several obstacles, including whether China's yuan-based cross-border payment system will be usable, as well as issues with transportation capacity and coal quality, according to the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association.

For sure, China is committed to the long-term success of Russias biggest energy projects. Another gas pipeline is under discussion, and Wood Mackenzie Ltd. estimates Chinas oil and gas investments in its neighbor at $24 billion, including stakes in the Yamal and Arctic LNG projects in Russia.

Theres no way that China would follow international companies and exit its Russian energy assets, said Neil Beveridge, a Hong Kong-based senior energy analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. China has this huge growth opportunity for Russia."

Under those circumstances, itd be odd for China to cut back on Russian LNG purchases over the longer term. But the outlook for coal is entirely different. Russian sales are almost a rounding error compared to the 4 billion tons of fuel thats mined domestically, and Beijings plan to raise the capacity of its coal industry by 300 million tons would suggest its seeking to enhance its energy security by doing away with imports entirely.

For crude, the calculation also revolves around freight rates, and the high premiums attached to Russian shipments because of the war. There are a lot of nations supplying China with oil, and even when prices are sky-high, that allows buyers to be a bit more picky.

Russian Oil Sales Going Underground as Cheap Crude Tempts Buyers

Grains

Rising transportation costs are also the likely impediment to Moscow expanding its grain sales. Russia sells wheat to more than 100 countries, but China has been one of the few big markets its struggled to crack. Until recently, shipments were limited because most Russian wheat was banned due to fungus concerns.

In February, China gave the green light to import wheat from all over Russia as part of the raft of deals sealed during Vladimir Putins visit to Beijing. The move was expected to challenge sales from the likes of France, Australia, Canada and the U.S.

But even though the restrictions have been lifted, China is likely to continue importing from its usual sources, said Darin Friedrichs, co-founder and market research director of Sitonia Consulting in Shanghai.

I dont think its feasible to import huge amounts from new sources like Russia. They will have to pay more," he said.

Metals

For some metals, Chinas dependency on Russia has only weakened in recent years. Indonesia has emerged as its main supplier of nickel. And even though Russias share of refined copper imports has risen, the expansion of Chinas smelting industry means that the import of ore directly from miners in places such as South America has become more important.

In any case, China is already buying most of Russias refined copper exports, according to a note from UBS AG this week, which suggests the upside is limited.

For palladium, which is chiefly used to cut car pollution, Russias exports to China have increased in recent years, and could theoretically rise further. A potential obstacle, according to UBS, is that companies listed in Europe produce most of the catalytic converters sold in China, and they may not want Russian supply.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
On his first official visit abroad, the new senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, was taken to a facility in Ukraine where the U.S. helped scientists working with dangerous biological materials. But rather than produce biological weapons, U.S. officials in that ramshackle building were trying to prevent lethal pathogens from falling into the hands of terrorists.

I removed a tray of glass vials containing Bacillus anthracis, which is the bacterium that causes the anthrax," recalls Andrew Weber, the Pentagon official who was in charge of the US-funded program that worked with the Ukrainian government. Mr. Weber said he showed the tray to a very concerned-looking young senator."

Mr. Obama himself recalled seeing in his 2005 trip to Ukraine test tubes filled with anthrax and the plague lying virtually unlocked and unguarded."

A decades-old Pentagon program that was used to secure biological weapons across the former Soviet Unionand to build trust between Washington and Moscow after the Cold Warhas instead become a new flashpoint in an information war between the two countries in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow has accused the Pentagon of funding weapons work in Ukraines biological laboratories. These were not peaceful experiments," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this month.

China, whose leader Xi Jinping has cultivated a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has echoed those allegations. Russia has found during its military operations that the U.S. uses these facilities to conduct bio-military plans," the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman told reporters.

U.S. officials have flatly denied those claims and warned that Moscow could use its allegations to justify its own use of weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine.

We believe that Moscow may be setting the stage to use a chemical weapon and then falsely blame Ukraine to justify escalating its attacks on the Ukrainian people," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week. Manufacturing events and creating false narratives of genocide to justify greater use of military force is a tactic that Russia has used before."

The allegations have shocked those who are most familiar with the Pentagons post-Cold War initiative, called the Cooperative Threat Reduction program. That is because not only has Russia been aware of the Pentagons work securing chemical, biological and nuclear facilities across the former Soviet Union, but it had also been its beneficiary for many years.

Theyre outrageous claims," said Robert Pope, the head of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, or DTRA, the arm of the Pentagon in charge of running the program. We were created 30 years ago to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, and Russia knows well we eliminate weapons of mass destruction."

The program, which dates back to 1991 and continues today, stretches across the former Soviet Union. Since the program started, the Pentagon has spent approximately $12 billion on securing material used in weapons of mass destruction in post-Soviet republics, according to a DTRA spokeswoman. Of those funds, about $200 million has been spent on the biological work in Ukraine since 2005. The funds have supported dozens of labs, health facilities and diagnostic sites around the country, the DTRA spokeswoman said.

Mr. Weber, who was in charge of negotiating the initial agreement with Kyiv to work on securing the countrys biological materials and facilities, said that work expanded to Ukraine after the 9/11 attacks, when al Qaeda terrorists hijacked aircraft and crashed them into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. U.S. policy makers grew worried about the potential for terrorists to steal biological materialsfears that were heightened after letters containing anthrax were sent in the U.S. mail to congressional offices and media outlets. The FBI eventually concluded that an American scientist employed at a military lab sent the letters.

The president of Ukraine at the time, Leonid Kuchma, concerned about the threat of terrorism in his own country, asked the U.S. for help. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union a decade earlier, Ukraine had been starved of the funds needed to secure its biological facilities.

Mr. Weber put together a team that visited Ukraines biological and chemical facilities, which ranged from large laboratories to small veterinary research centers. We found that a number of them had dangerous pathogen collections left over from Soviet days," he said. They were in pretty bad shape."

Ukraines laboratoriesunlike some in other former Soviet republicswerent directly involved in the Cold War biological-weapons program, but they did have pathogens that fed into offensive work, according to Mr. Weber.

Those pathogens, like anthrax, could pose a threat if released, whether accidentally or on purpose. The focus of U.S. work in Ukraine was to consolidate that biological material, much of it related to agriculture, into secure facilities, which the U.S. would pay to build or upgrade.

Paul McNelly, who from 1995 to 2003 directed the Defense Departments chemical and biological elimination programs in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, said he was stunned with what he saw inside the former Soviet facilities.

You would walk into these places and the refrigerators that stored these dangerous pathogens, they had no locks on them at all," Mr. McNelly said. There would be vials that were labeled tularemia, plague, different things like that. And these people, most of them, werent masked. Their gowns were antiquated." He added: It was horrible."

As part of the program, the Pentagon spent $1 billion to build the Russians a facility in Shchuchye, Siberia, to demilitarize some two million chemical weapons. By the time it was done in 2009, ties with Moscow were growing tense. The price of oil was going up, giving Russia more revenue to wean itself off foreign assistance. At the same time, Mr. Putin was consolidating power.

As a result, the Russian government became a less-willing partner to the Pentagons drive to secure the deadly materials, according to James Tegnelia, who served as the head of DTRA from 2005 to 2009. They wanted our money, but they didnt want to admit that we built the facility," Mr. Tegnelia said. You could see that they were getting ready to pull back."

Russias Foreign Ministry had in the past praised the program. But by 2012, Moscow declined to renew cooperation, saying it could pay for the work on its own.

In 2014, the year Moscow illegally annexed Crimea and began backing separatists in Ukraines Donbas region, the program in Russia drew to a close.

A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., didnt respond to a request for comment on the Pentagon program.

Yet even with that chapter of its cooperation over, the Russian claims about the Pentagon conducting secret weapons work in Ukraine came as a surprise not only to those who have worked on the program but also to other Western officials. The Kremlin has in the past used such charges as cover for its own actions, they say.

We are concerned that Moscow could stage a false-flag operation, possibly including chemical weapons," North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said last week.

U.S. officials have declined to discuss what specific intelligence, if any, they have to indicate Russia might be preparing to deploy chemical or other unconventional weapons to Ukraine. But they say Russia has a history of using chemical weapons, including against Mr. Putins domestic political opponents, and it has encouraged their use in Syria by President Bashar al-Assads government.

The Russian government shot back against the U.S. allegations, denying plans to use chemical weapons. In a post last week on its official Telegram channel, the Russian Defense Ministry said the units fighting in Ukraine do not have chemical munitions."

Mr. Tegnelia, the former DTRA director, views Russias allegations as a path to an even more dangerous escalation. If you see them using chemical weapons in Ukraine, watch out," he said, because theyre only one step away from nuclear weapons."
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Dune and Encanto topped the winners at the 58th CAS Awards for outstanding achievement in sound mixing.

Other winners included Mare of Easttown, while Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) took home the awards for Motion Pictures: Documentary, and Ted Lasso scooped Television Series  Half Hour.

As previously announced, Paul Massey received the CAS Career Achievement Award, and Ridley Scott was honored with the CAS Filmmaker Award.

Massey, unable to attend in-person, accepted the award virtually. However, his mother Bernice, flew in from England to accept his award, alongside his son Sean. Pauls father and I knew from a very early age he was going to revolve around music. He was that kind of a kid. He could hear the nuances in the sound of music, said Bernice Massey in a heartfelt introduction. I am his mum and. I am totally in awe of my son. The dearest privilege I have is the gift of knowing you.

Scott also accepted his award remotely sending in a video message thanking his sound team. The filmmaker is on location filming Napoleon starring Joaquin Phoenix.

These wins add momentum to the best sound Oscar category, which now combines sound mixing and sound editing. Last year, Sound of Metal won best motion picture  live-action and went on to take home the best sound Oscar. It remains to be seen if Dune will maintain its momentum as the sound frontrunner, and take home gold at the 94th Academy Awards next weekend.

The 58th annual Cinema Audio Society awards was hosted by Kirsten Vangsness and held at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown.

Full list of winners below.

Motion Pictures: Live-Action

Dune

Production Mixer: Mac Ruth CAS

Re-Recording Mixer: Ron Bartlett CAS

Re-Recording Mixer: Douglas Hemphill CAS

Scoring Mixer: Alan Meyerson CAS

ADR Mixer: Tommy OConnell

Foley Mixer: Don White

Motion Pictures: Animated

Encanto

Original Dialogue Mixer: Paul McGrath CAS

Re-Recording Mixer: David E. Fluhr CAS

Re-Recording Mixer: Gabriel Guy CAS

Re-Recording Mixer: David Boucher CAS

Scoring Mixer: Alvin Wee

ADR Mixer: Doc Kane CAS

Foley Mixer: Scott Curtis

Motion Pictures: Documentary

Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Re-Recording Mixer: Paul Hsu

Re-Recording Mixer: Roberto Fernandez CAS

Re-Recording Mixer: Paul Massey CAS

Non-Theatrical Motion Pictures or Limited Series

Mare of Easttown Ep6 Sore Must Be The Storm

Production Mixer: Richard Bullock

Re-Recording Mixer: Joseph DeAngelis CAS

Re-Recording Mixer: Chris Carpenter

Television Series: One Hour

Yellowstone S4 Ep1 Half the Money

Production Mixer: Andrejs Prokopenko

Re-Recording Mixer: Diego Gat CAS

Re-Recording Mixer: Samuel Ejnes CAS

ADR Mixer: Michael Miller CAS

ADR Mixer: Chris Navarro CAS

Television Series: 1/2 Hour

Ted Lasso S2 Ep5 Rainbow

Production Mixer: David Lascelles AMPS

Re-Recording Mixer: Ryan Kennedy

Re-Recording Mixer: Sean Byrne CAS

ADR Mixer: Brent Findley CAS MPSE

ADR Mixer: Jamison Rabbe

Foley Mixer: Arno Stephanian CAS MPSE

Television Non-Fiction, Variety or Music  Series or Specials

The Beatles Get Back:Part 3

Production Mixer: Peter Sutton (D)

Re-Recording Mixer: Michael Hedges CAS

Re-Recording Mixer: Brent Burge

Re-Recording Mixer: Alexis Feodoroff

Music Mixer: Sam Okell

Foley Mixer: Michael Donaldson

Outstanding Product  Production

Shure Incorporated: Axient Digital ADX5D Dual-Channel Wireless Receiver

Outstanding Product  Post Production

Dolby Laboratories: Dolby Atmos Renderer 3.7

Student Recognition Award Finalists

SRA Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Lily Adams

Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning Bernice Chu

Chapman University Lindsey Ellis

Universidade Lusofona Shehryar Khan

Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Chapman University Karthik Vijaymohan

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West Side Story breakout star Rachel Zegler revealed in an Instagram post on Sunday that she doesnt have a ticket to attend the 94th Academy Awards, sparking a wave of outrage on social media from fans.

Idk yall, I have tried it all, but it doesnt seem to be happening, Zegler wrote in a comment to a user on Instagram. I will root for West Side Story from my couch and be proud of the work we so tirelessly did three years ago. I hope some last minute miracle occurs and I can celebrate our film in person, but hey, thats how it goes sometimes, I guess. Thanks for all the shock and outrage  Im disappointed too. But thats okay. So proud of our movie.

Zegler made her debut film performance as Maria in Steven Spielbergs adaptation of the stage musical. Her portrayal kicked off the awards season by winning best actress at the National Board of Review, making her only the second Latina to ever win the prize (behind Fernanda Montenegro in Central Station, 1998) and the youngest. She also won the Golden Globe for lead actress in a comedy or musical, along with the film triumphing in best comedy or musical.

The miracle shes requesting is in the hands of The Walt Disney Company themselves, which owns 20th Century Studios, the distributor behind West Side Story.

The Walt Disney Company could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for Zegler pointed to a post shared by the actress on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.

Appreciate all the support, I really really do, Zegler wrote. We live in such unprecedented times and a lot of work behind the scenes goes into making movie magic happen [and] awards shows alike Lets all just respect the process and Ill get off my phone.

my goodness, folks!! appreciate all the support, i really really do. we live in such unprecedented times, and a lot of work behind the scenes goes into making movie magic happen. that goes for film productions (like the one I am so lucky to be currently shooting in london)  rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) March 20, 2022

In February, the Academy announced a reduction in seating capacity for the Dolby Theatre, which can typically hold 3,300 individuals. Due to remaining concerns regarding COVID-19, and in an effort to keep attendees safe, they are only inviting around 2,500. As a result, the Academy did not hold its annual lottery for the nearly 10,000 person membership to attend. The main orchestra level of the Dolby normally seats about 1,460, which includes the parterre. That area will be reduced to around 600, with the main level holding around 212 attendees. There are approximately 216 individual nominees for this years Oscars, and all nominees, with their guests, presenters and performers, will be seated on the main level. All other attendees will sit in the mezzanine.

Traditionally, movie studios are given an undefined allotment of tickets to the Oscars. So the question becomes why didnt someone at Disney ensure the leading lady of its best picture-nominated film would be in attendance?

Each nominated individual receives a plus one to the ceremony, for each category in which they are nominated. For example, triple-nominee Paul Thomas Anderson for Licorice Pizza (best picture, director and original screenplay) gets a guest for each of the categories hes nominated in  in this case, three.

It would be up to the team at 20th Century Studios, which is owned by Disney (which also owns ABC, the broadcaster for the Oscars) to coordinate Zeglers attendance through any of its nominees, spread across seven categories. Many of these additional plus ones are often used as a method to bring some of the top executives to the Oscars, which is essentially an exercise in massaging egos.

West Side Story is the frontrunner in the best supporting actress race for Ariana DeBose, which would make her the second Latina to ever win an acting Oscar. Her Latina co-star should not be excluded from the celebration, as she is one of the key factors for the movies success.

The Academy has announced a slew of presenters for this years telecast which includes Kevin Costner, Lady Gaga, Youn Yuh-jung, Rosie Perez, Chris Rock, Zoe Kravitz, Daniel Kaluuya, Lupita Nyongo, John Travolta, Mila Kunis, Naomi Scott and Wesley Snipes, with more to come. Its an eclectic and diverse mix of presenters that run the gamut from former winners to some of the biggest and most legendary names in Hollywood. One could argue that Zegler should be among the names given her breakout year, especially with two big upcoming projects in Shazam! Fury of the Gods and the live-action version of Disneys Snow White.

Will Disney do the right thing?

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Its not unusual for a film to be nominated in multiple categories at the Oscars  a big movie like, say, Dune is up for 10 awards this year, ranging from Best Picture to a slew of technical categories (how many or how much of those likely wins well actually get to watch during the broadcast, however, remains to be seen). Its a hell of a lot rarer for something to get nominated in a trio of disparate major categories like Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary and Best International Feature. Or, for that matter, rightfully deserve to win all three of those slots.

Deserve, as a wise man once said in a far different Oscar-winning movie, has nothing to do with it. But in a perfect world, Jonas Poher Rasmussens Flee would walk away next weekend with multiple statues to its name and, hopefully, the potential to reach a far bigger audience than it already has. It is nothing if not a unicorn: An extraordinary portrait of a childhood friend from Afghanistan who recounts his story to the Danish filmmaker via long, winding interviews conducted over a four-year period  and whose therapy-like backstories are rendered via animation, all the better to protect the subjects identity  the film made an instant impact after premiering at Sundance in 2021. Neon, the boutique distributor who previously helped usher Bong Joon-hos Parasite into multiple Oscar victories, picked up the film and begin platform-releasing it in early December. It graced numerous best-of lists (ours included) and was recognized by a host of critics groups. The question wasnt whether it would get recognized by the Academy so much as where it was likely to end up in terms of contention. The animation section was almost assuredly a lock. The competition in Best Documentary was a little stiffer. Denmark had put the film forward as its Best International Feature submission, but the thinking behind what gets picked and what gets omitted for the final round in this particular category has always been on par with the Riddle of the Sphinx.

But when the 2022 Oscar nominations were announced this past February, Flee showed up in all three sections  and while it will still be considered a vital, urgent, masterful work of art even if it leaves the Dolby Theatre empty-handed on Sunday, theres a case to be made for why it should stroll away with every one of those statues.

Lets start with Best Animated Feature, a relatively new category (the first award was handed out in 2002) and one thats long been dominated by heavy corporate hitters: your Disneys, your Pixars, your Dreamworks. That said, entries from outside of the U.S. arent atypical, especially if the names Ghibli, Aardman or Cartoon Saloon are present in the credits. And while the majority of nominees have tended toward bigger, more family-friendly fare as a default mode, a complex work like 2007s Persepolis  Marjane Satrapis adaptation of her own autobiographical comic, co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud  do manage to sneak in. Flee closely resembles that earlier work in a number of ways, from its personal, almost diaristic sense of reportage from a country where repression is the norm to the sketch-like simplicity of the animations style. It looks and feels more like a Drawn & Quarterly graphic novel come to life than a Disney toon.

But unlike most of the Academy-anointed contenders, Flee is a film that uses its format in a way that reflects both a narrative necessity and an opportunity. Wanting to protect the identity of the subject and his family, who are spread throughout Europe  the man telling his life story onscreen is referred to as Amin  Rasmussen decided to animate the story as a way of making his friend feel safe enough to speak his truth. Yet the aesthetic qualities that the team of Danish animators and French colorists bring to Amins tale of being forced to leave his home in Kabul in 1989, when civil war raged throughout the country and the Mujahideen began recruiting young men, enhance the film in a variety of different ways. An early sequence involving running away from captors takes on a blurry, hastily rendered quality; when Amin later recounts a barely remembered attempt to leave Russia, where he and his family had been forced to relocate under duress, the screen fills with dark, pulsing gray smears that occasionally let hellish reds peek through. Its a completely expressive way of sifting through Amins painful memories, and rather than giving Flee a sense of distance, it somehow makes this confessional piece feel more intimate. Its almost as if the sometimes childlike drawing style is reflecting and refracting his traumatic past through the prism of the scared, confused youngster he once was.

And this true story of one immigrants journey  as a political exile, as a stranger in a several strange lands, as a refugee learning to live and assimilate in Europe  doubles as a testament to a situation that remains frighteningly common throughout the world. Flee is as much a documentary about the often nightmarish experience that Amin was forced to go through as it is his attempt to reckon with what happened years after the fact. Yet its also a chronicle of a worldwide phenomenon, and while it is very much Amins tale, there are undoubtedly millions more like his. Creative masterstroke or not, the animation is ultimately at the service of nonfiction filmmaking even as it blurs the lines (literally, in some scenes) between his personal story and the larger history lessons about war, Russian corruption, human trafficking, and the mass displacement of entire populations. Like all great documentaries, Rasmussens movie is about more than one thing; the way hes able to filter all of these concepts through the perspective of a single, harrowing narrative is, frankly, astounding. Neither the big picture nor the far more personal one gets short shrift here.

So while the Best Documentary Feature category is filled with extremely tough competition  notably Summer of Soul, Ahmir Questlove Thompsons absolute banger of a look back at the Harlem Cultural Festival concerts, and Stanley Nelsons portrait of prison riot/sociopolitical tragedy Attica  it would be an incredible statement to reward Flee with this honor as well. Were thankfully past the point where documentaries are considered the cinematic equivalent of steamed broccoli, where the phrase itself is synonymous with nothing more than just-the-verite-maam journalism or Dateline-with-benefits formulae. Rasmussens movie nonetheless pushes the boundaries of what we recognize as a certain form of nonfiction storytelling, and makes the form itself all the better for it. To acknowledge Flee for this, as well as its use of animation as a way of connecting history and the human who are caught up in its tides, is to encourage both artists and viewers to reconsider not just what stories get told but how theyre told.

Which brings us to Best International Feature, and what is the hardest of the three categories to imagine Flee walking away with a victory. It is still impossible to believe that the three-hour Japanese drama that so many of us ride-or-die film lovers deemed the best picture of 2021  Ryusuke Hamaguchis brilliant, devastating, exhilarating Drive My Car  might also be the Academys choice for Best Picture. Its also hard at this stage to see his masterpiece beating Jane Campions equally deserving The Power of the Dog for that prize, surprise crossover hit or not. Voters will likely feel more comfortable giving it this award, assuming that Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Triers equally deserving, equally popular The Worst Person in the World does not get a last-minute bump before ballots are turned in. (The fact that the movies lead, Renate Reinsve, will not be among the names mentioned for the Best Actress award on Sunday is indeed a crime, but thats a whole other article.) The bad news is that this places Flee in a potential third-place slot. The good news is that no matter who walks up the podium when that envelope is opened, we win as well. Every category should be so lucky to have such strong, worthy contenders.

And yet  if you consider that fact that movies are machines of empathy, to quote the late Roger Ebert  and that international cinema in particular doubles as a sort of passport that collapses the boundaries between the similar and the other  then Flee arguably stands animated head and shoulders above its peers here as well. Its a coming-of-age story about life during wartime, at a moment when were watching an imperialist power brutally, senselessly invade a neighboring country. Its a coming-out story, with Amin finally able to both open up and embrace his sexuality, at a moment when Texas is waging its own war against trans kids and Floridas dont say gay bill wants to turn back the clock on LGBTQ rights. Its a coming-clean story, in which a person whos suffered an incredible, extended period of trauma finally emerges on the other side and can begin the long process of healing, at a point when so many of us feel spiritually battered, physically isolated, and existentially scared for the future of our nations and our world. Its representing its country of origin while reminding us that were all on this Earth together. Amin, cest moi. Should the Academy voters deem it fit to hand Rasmussens beautiful story this award as well, it would be a fitting way to recognize that Flee is a work that feels both international and universal  both timely and, as with all great art, timeless.
Coming off two years since the start of the pandemic, the City of Laredo, as well as the rest of the world, continues to be under pressure from COVID-19. However, with some of that eased and case numbers on a downward trend, it is important to note historical data on how to move forward.

According to Dr. Richard Chamberlain, Laredo Health Department Director, when compared to January 2022s 25,112 active cases due to the omicron variant, between March 13-17, 78 new active cases were recorded with less than 50 a day. He said a large factor in the low cases was the communitys positive response to the vaccination and infection mitigation guidelines.

He acknowledged there have been lower testing results, which may also lower the number of active cases reported, but overall the city was placed in a green level based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tier list. It will also be important to see how many cases result from the past weeks spring break.

Chamberlain noted while numbers are low, there are over hundreds of thousands of variants that are currently not of any concern. Still, they will be out in the world and variants of concern may crop up that will require further monitoring. But, like influenza, COVID will ultimately become endemic.

He explained and emphasized COVID-19 is and will continue to be more severe than influenza, but its endemicity is currently being monitored.

Weve only had two full years of data, (while) we do have decades worth of data from influenza, he said.

The influenza data can be easily viewed in the flu seasons, in which scientists and medical professionals understand the winter season will see higher numbers of cases of influenza.

Still, with COVID right now, we know its going to become endemic. Its here with us, its not a virus that is going to go away, Chamberlain said.

As with influenza, people can expect similar vaccination and booster campaigns during periods of high infection. Chamberlain said further updates are expected to come to the vaccines that will address specific variants in circulation.

The property of how we are going to be battling it going into the future is going to be similar, yes, Chamberlain said. We are going to need to be keeping up to date with our vaccines, be more concerned with our hygiene and we know when we are in heavy traffic areas that it could be recommended to use a face mask just to make sure you are protected and you are protecting others, especially in a time when there might be an increase of infections.



Pandemic parallels

The modern age of medicine has altered the landscape of how to address a pandemic, as Chamberlain said the COVID-19 vaccine was created in almost the blink of an eye. This was a far cry from the March 1918 start of the flu pandemic that saw approximately 500 million people across the world infected.

To put it into perspective, 16 million lives were lost amid World War I, while the influenza pandemic killed approximately 50 million worldwide. Additionally that same year, the U.S. average life expectancy dropped by 12 years.

The CDC stated that over 100 soldiers at Camp Funston in Kansas became ill before the virus surged throughout the world within weeks. In May, and as the U.S. entered World War I, the flu had already infected hundreds of thousands of soldiers a month as they were deployed.

With such a widespread pandemic ravaging the world, the U.S. saw approximately 675,000 deaths as mortality was high in people younger than 5 years old, 20-40 years old and 65 years and older, the CDC stated. They added the high mortality in healthy people, including those in the 20- to 40-year-old age group, was a unique feature of the pandemic.

Chamberlain reiterated COVID-19 and Influenza are not the same, but in 1918 through 1919, similar guidelines were pushed to the public to mitigate infections. Photos during the time show a barber and street sweeper wearing a mask as they continue to work, while Cincinnati, Ohio saw signs posted on how to prevent infection.

Furthermore, public health departments and the Red Cross gathered to provide much needed aid to help the community during the times pandemic. This was parallel to the ongoing support by city partners including institutions of higher education, private doctors and residents who received their vaccines and masked up.

In spite of the support, the waves and surges of cases also peaked at certain times during the year. As January 2022 saw the highest number of active cases reported in Laredo, many peaks of the current pandemic have been associated with high profile holidays and getaways. In both 2021 and 2022, weeks after the Christmas and New Year holidays saw an increase in cases reported.

According to the U.S. National Archives, there were two phases to the influenza pandemic. They stated that in late spring of 1918, the first phase  known as the "three-day fever"  appeared without warning. Few deaths were reported, and victims recovered after a few days. When the disease surfaced again that fall, it was far more severe. Scientists, doctors and health officials could not identify this disease which was striking so fast and so viciously, eluding treatment and defying control. Some victims died within hours of their first symptoms. Others succumbed after a few days, their lungs filled with fluid and ultimately suffocating to death.

In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a heightened sense of urgency to care for senior citizens as early reports indicated that older members of the public were at an elevated risk for severe cases of COVID-19. There was some reprieve after the vaccine was administered to those in high-risk categories, but demand was high in Laredo. Over time, the demand/supply issue was quelled as additional doses were procured and the federal government authorized vaccines for younger age groups.

In contrast, in 1918, the CDC stated that the properties of the influenza virus that made it so devastating are not well understood. They added that with no vaccine to protect against influenza infection and no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections that can be associated with influenza infections, control efforts worldwide were limited to non-pharmaceutical interventions such as isolation, quarantine, good personal hygiene, use of disinfectants and limitations of public gatherings, which were applied unevenly.

During 2020, the start of a new decade would see schools and businesses shut down to prevent further infection. Laredos death toll rose starting in 2021 until the vaccine was authorized for public use and residents, starting from older and at-risk residents, received their dose in December and January. With less than a year to develop the vaccine, it was a sign of improvement during a difficult time.



A future with COVID-19

As Chamberlain said, health and science experts are still monitoring COVID-19 and its endemic properties. Despite seeing a dip in cases, it will take years to observe a normal pattern of infection that will result in a flu season.

The CDCs data indicated that while the influenza pandemic subsided in 1919, it continued to circulate seasonally for 38 years. Between those years, the H2N2 flu virus emerged into a new pandemic in 1957, before the U.S. Public Health Service recommended annual flu vaccines for people at high risk of serious flu complications. Regardless, a distant relative of the 1918 H1N1 virus triggered a new pandemic in 2009 after the original viruss genome was fully sequenced in 2005.

But as the world adapted to the new environment set by the 1918 pandemic, both it and Chamberlain continue to reinforce the message that better hygiene procedures and masking while sick or in high-traffic areas are ways to prevent further infections of endemic viruses such as the flu and COVID-19. Other endemic viruses include, rhinovirus, norovirus and salmonella, to name a few.

As such, the multi-year review will work on finding average number of reported cases throughout the upcoming years, their correlation with seasons, events and many other variables. Once an average is observed, medical health professionals can have a base to work from and monitor surges from that point forward.

But as the flu seasons show, once an average number of cases is established, experts will be able to better indicate how many waves per year will become the norm. However, it is unclear how modern advancements will expedite this phase of monitoring.

Unfortunately, there wasnt the technology or the knowledge translation that was captured from the 1919 Spanish flu pandemic that lasted three years after it initially began, but of course we did learn that from that time, the non-pharmaceutical intervention knew at that time, that hygiene was really important; that is something that continues to be practiced, Chamberlain said.

The National Archives noted that it is odd that the 1918 influenza epidemic was overlooked in American History as it does contain a large number of records about the global crisis. Still, Chamberlain said reviewing in records from 2009 it was observed that during pandemics, individual contributions were what helped the world move past them.

Everybody doing their part with what was the non-pharmaceutical interventions and everybody doing their part with vaccines, he added. SARS-COV-2 pandemic was something very new to all of us. A lot of us wrote new standard operating procedures, new guidelines, we even got a new vaccine out in the blink of an eye that has been so effective. There has been so much that has been learned from this pandemic that we have been currently experiencing and there is still a lot of data that needs to be captured and finalized and shared.

Chamberlain did say the pandemic can be considered over the day that stakeholders; local, state, federal and global get together with their respective peers for a hot wash debrief. This is done over several weeks and will see discussions regarding operating procedures, guidelines, successes, obstacles, communication techniques, etc. It will be at that point in time where the community can gather to generally discuss each aspect of the pandemic.

Ultimately, while it is unclear how COVID-19 will be covered in future history books, the U.S. government has addressed how it has impacted students today. While remote learning was a staple in the first year and a half, learning loss was still experienced throughout the country.

According to a report by the U.S. Department of Educations Suzanne Goldberg, students and families experienced deepening divides in educational opportunities throughout the nation. It will be important to ensure that all students understand the importance of coming together amid a global crisis and ensure they all have access to learn more about previous events to prepare for the future, she said.

Although the pandemics effects will be studied for many years to come, we know from early studies that for many students, the educational gaps that existed before the pandemic  in access, opportunities, achievement, and outcomes  are widening, Goldberg wrote. And we can see already that many of these impacts are falling disproportionately on students who went into the pandemic with the greatest educational needs and fewest opportunities  many of them from historically marginalized and underserved groups.
A Laredo woman is jumping from the bench to the political arena as she runs for the office of Harris County Commissioner Pct. 4.

Lesly Garcia Mitchell Briones previously served as Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 4 before resigning her post to run for commissioner and founding the organization Texas Latinx Judges. However, she continues to serve as a judge as under Texas law she must remain on the bench until a replacement has been confirmed.

Briones fared well in her bid for Harris County Commissioner Pct. 4 as she came out in the top of an eight-person race. She received 33% of the vote, or 9,290 votes. Her closest opponent, Benjamin Ben Chou, had 25%, or 6,867 votes.

The runoff for Harris County and all of the state of Texas will be on Tuesday, May 24.

Briones says the opportunity to run for county commissioner came at a good time as she was still scheduled to run for her seat on the bench in 2022.

I want to be a part of the solution, and this is a new district after the Census and redistricting. There is a huge opportunity to be able to flip the seat, Briones said. As commissioner, you get to work on everything from flooding, roads, sidewalks, neighborhood parks and health care, to education, criminal justice reform, running the jail, homelessness and human trafficking -- basically addressing every single issue that affects the lives of members of our communities.

Briones said she decided to run for the position to be more active in the community, as she understands how the role of a judge in a community is to be reactive instead of pursuing things head-on like someone with a connection to the people in a community would have. She hopes to be much more proactive if she wins the nomination this May and the seat in November.

The precinct she aims to represent has over 1.2 million people. That makes the county itself bigger than 26 states within the country in terms of population.

Briones said she is extremely excited to win the position, as the district she is running for is 40% Latino. And she feels she can connect with the people and their needs.

She also hopes to flip the seat to Democratic hands as the Republican incumbent, Jack Cagle, has held it for over a decade.

Briones said she believes turning the state blue would mean winning in areas like Harris County that are already Democratic. However, she predicts there are many years still left before that happens, as still Harris is one of the areas in which there is a balance of Democrats and Republicans in office -- of the four commissioners, there are two from each party.

If elected, Briones said she will also make history because she would be the first mother to ever serve.

When elected, God-willing, I will be the very first mother ever, ever in Harris County history, to be elected into the countys commissioner court, and only the third woman ever elected, Briones said. It is already 2022, and we are barely breaking these ceilings. And I want to take my experience from the classroom, as I am an educator, from the courtroom as a judge and as a nonprofit executive for eight years as well, and as a mother and as a Latina.

Briones said her campaign is made up of several facets that include delivering information through mail, digital, canvassing, and going door to door, as she says her campaign has knocked at over 40,000 residences and made many calls and texts in efforts to help win the runoff and eventually November's general election.

Briones says during all this, she never forgets her roots and is proud of being a Laredoan.

I am so deeply proud to be a Laredoan. I will always be a Laredoan, and I carry Laredo with me, Briones said. Growing up on the border made me who I am, and my values are from Laredo, and as a community (member), valuing family made me who I am. When they ask me where I am from, I always say Laredo, even though I live in Houston now.

She says she has gotten plenty of support from Laredoans for the race she is in, including moral, tactical and financial support in her bid to win the nomination.

Briones says there are various parts in Harris County that remind her of Laredo. Even people she knows there include many who were originally from the Gateway City, and that allows her to feel much more at home.

When I am in Harris County, there are many parts that remind me of Laredo and those are my favorite parts because it is home and it will always be home, Briones said. I am just so grateful to be from such a wonderful place that taught me the values that I have and where I am headed.
After a two-year interruption to the much-needed service, the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center returned this year to address the areas ongoing blood shortage and established a partnership with Medline and held a donation drive on their facility on Wednesday morning through the afternoon.

According to Laredo Donor Recruitment Consultant Jesse Cortez, the blood supply was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the current blood shortage. As the center returned to hosting blood drives, he said that they are working on recuperating all the blood lost during the past two years.

We are picking it up little by little, thats what we are trying to do to get more blood out there, Cortez said.

The center encourages willing donors to participate to help with the blood shortage. Cortez said that for every 30 donors, three lives are saved. With drives being held every day, he believes good progress will be made over time as more donors reach out to help. Furthermore, he explained a donation process regarding whole blood and double red cells blood.

Whole blood donations will include everything including platelets, plasma and red blood cells, while the double red cells procedure only takes red blood cells. As for donor criteria, the donor must be at least 16 years old, weigh 120 pounds and a present a signed parental consent form if not older than 17. The center adds that they must be in good general health and present a valid photo ID.

Cortez elaborated saying that while rare, iron deficiency may cause a donor to be prevented from donating blood. He recommends eating a good breakfast and dinner a day prior to donating and stay well hydrated. For potential donors with medical conditions, asking a doctor about donating is important and should be done before donating.

According to Medline, donating blood can make a difference for the lives affected by trauma, transplant patients, diabetics, newborns and mothers. It can also help those in emergencies and many more.

As per the Medline donation drive, the partnership allowed the center to easily connect with the 300 employees at the facility, which would be a large boon to the center if even half of them donated blood. Laredo Medline HR Manager Kavita Idnani-Ramos said that after seeing a national blood shortage, she wanted to put her part in addressing the issue and facilitate further employee engagement.

Cortez emphasized that if every Medline employee donated, multiplied by the three lives saved per 30, it would be a lot of lives saved. He added that all the blood received is then sent throughout Laredo hospitals and the South Texas region, so he encouraged donors to go out and donate.

I really wanted to do something where we are all saving lives, she said. Medline specifically thats what we are all about, is saving lives, and I thought this would be a great partnership.

I strongly believe in saving lives and I think this is a great opportunity for everyone to be a part of drives.

This outlook seemed to have resonated with her family as Idnani-Ramos aunt, Sushma Mahbubani, said that after experiencing some troubling times, it was important to help those who are still struggling. When one looks after another, the burden of the troubling experiences is alleviated.

If you are going through something, its good to have someone there for you. I would love it if someone was out there for me if I ever needed someone and I would like to be there someone for someone, Mahbubani said.

As family has always been an integral pillar of the Laredo community, she said that her family looked out after each other during tough times. Whatever may be the case, donating money or blood to those in need is a power action and Mahbubani believes that giving to those less fortunate is a strong value to have.

Businesses interested in partnering with the center can reach out to Cortez to find more information on available dates. As for the future, more drives will be made available in Laredo and returning and new donors can find the dates through the centers website.

Blood is very valuable, most of the people we usually get are people that have gone through it with family members and thats when they spread the word, Cortez said. Last week, I had somebody that called me and said, I want to do a blood drive because I know how valuable the blood is, because I had one of my family members involved in an accident and they used so much blood with him, so we want to give back to the community.

It is valuable, it is meant for everybody that do need the blood, and its very good to be spreading it out to tell everyone that it is valuable.
US officials confirm Russia launched powerful hypersonic missiles against Ukraine. Here's what we know
Zelensky: 'I'm ready for negotiations' with Putin, but if they fail, it could mean 'a third World War'
A Longford man who punched and kicked a dog in the head in front of gardai has been told he shouldnt even be in charge of a goldfish.

William McDonnell (48), Ballyminion, Athlone Road, Longford said he was sorry after gardai charged him with cruelty to an animal during an incident in a Longford housing estate on May 2, 2020.

The court heard gardai came across a German shepherd dog lying on the ground next to a house without a collar or muzzle.

Sgt Mark Mahon said Mr McDonnell appeared and attempted to fasten a chain to the dog despite a number of attempts.

Presiding Judge Marie Keane said as the accused man continued to grapple with the dog, he turned before punching and kicking it in the head.

Pensioner slams 100 road traffic fine in Longford as a farce A retired old age pensioner has branded being fined 100 for the non display of tax on his car in Longford town over two years ago as a farce.

Sgt Mahon said the dog cried and cowered away as the incident unfolded with Mr McDonnell also being heard saying he should have struck the dog with a bar instead to stop him escaping.

The dog was later seized by the ISPCA.

Asked about Mr McDonnells criminal past, Judge Keane was told the accused had 118 previous convictions.

He has a number of drug offences, he has other public order matters and criminal damage, he said.

He would be a known drug user and has drug addiction problems.

John Quinn, defending, said Mr McDonnell was a man who was down on his luck and effectively homeless with his family having all but deserted him.

He is in a serious situation and has separated from his wife and children, he said.

They are all gone from him and he is now living in a caravan.

Mr Quinn said his client who struggled at times to stand on a crutch, was someone who came before the court with a plethora of medical problems.

In addition to his physical situation, he is seriously depressed living alone, added Mr Quinn.

Judge Keane said it was quite apparent to the court Mr McDonnell was man with a violent disposition as she referenced a separate charge in which the accused allegedly committed violent disorder in the foyer of Longford Courthouse in May 2019.

She described the attack on the dog as the most appalling cruelty, telling him: You shouldnt have a goldfish, never mind a dog in your care.

Judge Keane said she would be seeking a probation report before indicating her intention to adjourn the case pending its completion.

If you so much as kill a fly between now and then, you will come back here and you will be going to jail, she warned him.

You are an appalling man.

The case is due to return before Longford District Court on May 24.
A new tender for music performance services across Ireland worth 1.5million over three years has been launched.

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, announced news of the tender today (Saturday March 19).

It will provide a series of interlinked musician performances, with both online and live audience-based events (subject to Covid restrictions), to broadcast free-of charge across a wide variety of media and social media.

The performances will be in celebration of modern Irish music, music of Irish origin and music with strong heritage links to Irish culture.

A number of musical initiatives - including the Ireland in Music series, and the Hot Press Young and Emerging Artists Series - were previously funded by the government during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tender contract will reportedly be awarded initially for a three-year period with maximum available funding of 500,000 per annum.

The vast majority - 70% to 80% - will be provided to artists and creative workers.

Tender documentation can be found here and queries on the process can be directed via email to csu@tcagsm.gov.ie with 'Music Services Tender Query' listed as the subject.
Local News, Crime

By Long Island Published: March 19 2022

Maria Carballo, 29, of Patchogue, NY, was found to be intoxicated. with an infant in the car.

On 03/19/2022 at approximately 12:03 AM, Suffolk County Sheriffs Deputies stopped a car on North Ocean Avenue, south of the Long Island Expressway for failure to maintain lane. The driver, Maria Carballo, 29, of Patchogue, NY, was found to be intoxicated. In the rear of the vehicle, in an infant car seat, was the only other occupant, Ms. Carballo's ten-month old son. Ms. Carballo was arrested for Leandra's Law DWI and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. She consented to a blood test. The results of the blood test are pending from the Crime Lab. The infant was released into the custody of his father who came to the scene and the vehicle was impounded as evidence.

Leandras Law (the Child Passenger Protection Act) is a NYS law making it an automatic felony on the first offense to drive drunk with a person age 15 or younger inside the vehicle. It was named after 11 year-old Leandra Rosado who was killed on the Henry Hudson Parkway on October 11, 2009, when she was the passenger in a car accident, driven by a driver who was allegedly driving while intoxicated.

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. commends his deputies. Suffolk County Deputy Sheriffs are out patrolling our countys roads to keep the public safe. In this case, they not only prevented an intoxicated driver from causing an accident with another driver or a pedestrian, but they potentially saved the life of an infant in the vehicle. I am proud of their ongoing vigilance in protecting the residents of Suffolk County..
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Today

Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 89F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms in the evening, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low around 70F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.

Tomorrow

Thunderstorms in the morning, then partly cloudy late. High 88F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
I bumped into Lotta at a friends house some months ago. We had a little chat there and we agreed to meet again. Last week we had a coffee in a hotel in Palma. Like a true Swede, she texts me when she knows she will be four minutes late. Im really sorry, I misjudged the distance she says and smiles apologetically when she bounces down on the chair in front of me and orders her cafe con leche. She is not new in Palma.

She has already been here for a couple of years. Without knowing her very well I can gather that Lotta is a classic workaholic. The conversation runs smoothly, and soon I feel like Im chatting to an old friend. Lotta mentions her career steps from spa and venue manager at the famous Sturebadet in Stockholm to a restaurant owner, to even having several businesses running at the same time and then having to let all of them go and finally how she ended up and started a new life in Mallorca.

The island is very special to me, I love beautiful environments and Palma is full of them. I think Mallorca is one of the most amazing places in the world. Spain is one of my favourite countries and my best friend has lived in Barcelona for many years and we have travelled around on many occasions to get to know Spain better, she explains.

Lotta was a successful entrepreneur in Stockholm where at the start of 2002, she co-owned one of the most popular concept restaurants in the Swedish capital, a lakeview villa in Arstaviken. The project included rebuilding and adapting the villa to host BBQ dinners where the clients themselves cooked their dinners over outdoor BBQs. The restaurant was a huge success, and Lotta was enjoying running her business with a couple of friends.

The summer season was extremely busy and working around the clock for a long time took its toll. Lottas husband became ill and Lotta decided that the situation was unbearable and sold the restaurant. Soon she had replaced the buzzing evening job to be an owner of a cute bakery in the archipelago of Stockholm where she baked the goods herself. I remember I said to my husband, water and flour thats all I need to succeed, and the bakery was doing very well. Soon after that a second business opened in the centre of Stockholm, Cafe Guapa.

Life was very busy, but she loved it. Work hard, play hard.

I was on a long weekend with some girlfriends in Palma, when the first attack hit me without any warning, she remembers. We decided to go shopping and I was in El Corte Ingles when I blacked out. An ambulance was called, and I have never been so scared in my life. The doctor who attended decided to take me in for observation, and the attack continued for another four hours. I was sure I was going to die. Soon they understood it was a severe panic attack and not a heart attack.

But after that, more panic attacks followed. I have big memory gaps of the following three months and most days I did not make it out of bed at all, I felt complete powerless, I had no idea stress could do that to me. Thankfully I got fantastic help in Sweden after my breakdown. I went to a course called stress school where we learnt how to handle and avoid stress and we also got to understand what stress can do to your body. I also understood very fast that I could not continue the way I had been working before. I spoke to my husband and asked him to come with me to Majorca for a couple of months. I needed to heal and to see if I could find a future there. He was not keen at all but came with me.

Lotta loved living in Mallorca, nature helped her to heal, she started to play padel from the first week and after a couple of weeks she knew this was where she wanted to stay. Social life was so much easier here than in Sweden where everyone is booked up months in advance. Here everyone has time for a coffee. Her husband was not so sure that Palma was the right place to be and was splitting his time between Palma and Stockholm. Soon Lotta had a new plan, she wanted to start a Cafe Guapa in Cas Catala.

Said and done, together with a new friend she opened up Guapa. The place was not a challenge, but the business plan was not 100% watertight, and the competition was brutal in the area. We soon realised most people who went to the beach next to the shop came with an icebox and where not interested in buying picnics to take away. I got requests to do catering but the licence for the cafe was not the right one and the space was not adapted to do that. We sold again in February 2020. We did not realise how lucky we were with the pandemic about to hit us.

Lotta wanted to find a calmer place to work in and has now found her happy place as a restaurant manager at the Swedish-owned Hotel Feliz in El Terreno, the city part that is on the move for full renovation. Yes, its a lovely boutique hotel where we focus on making our clients happy, the mentality is also Feliz and I think you can tell when you see the team I work with, we really enjoy ourselves at work. Lovely hearty breakfasts, and the BBQ evenings with live music are very popular among guests and locals. I am so ready to work again and it will be a lovely season at Feliz, she says.
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Trade between China's Hunan, B&R countries surges in first 2 months

Xinhua) 13:42, March 20, 2022

CHANGSHA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hunan Province saw its trade with countries along the Belt and Road increase by 31.2 percent in the first two months of this year, Changsha customs said Saturday.

The total volume of trade between Hunan and those countries reached 25.5 billion yuan (about 4 billion U.S. dollars) during the period, accounting for 33.2 percent of Hunan's total foreign trade.

Hunan's main trade partners were the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), India and Russia. Of them, the trade volume between Hunan and ASEAN totaled 14.84 billion yuan, an increase of 46.4 percent from the same period last year.

In the first two months, Hunan exported 3.77 billion yuan of equipment manufacturing products to Belt and Road countries, an increase of 29.8 percent from a year ago. The export of rail transit equipment to these economies during the period was 130 million yuan, an increase of 435.4 percent.

According to Changsha customs, the trade growth with Belt and Road countries was driven by Hunan's efforts to promote the development of machinery, rail transit equipment and other industries.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
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The study included data from around 3,000 students who participated in a longitudinal study conducted in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between 2010 and 2014. The same data had also been used in the previous study, the results of which the researchers had published in 2017. At that time, they had compared two cohorts, one of which had started English lessons in grade one, the other in grade three. In grades five and seven, they had compared both cohorts in terms of English reading and listening comprehension. The new analysis incorporated another set of data collected in 2016 to measure the English performance of the same children in grade nine.The previous study had found: Children who had started English lessons earlier in primary school performed worse in reading and listening comprehension in grade seven than children who had not started English lessons until grade three.Additional background variables such as gender, language of origin or cognitive abilities could not account for the difference between the poorer performance in the seventh grade and the late learning gains in the ninth grade."We believe the most plausible explanation is that lessons following the transition period in secondary school have been increasingly adapted to the needs of children who start to take English lessons at an early stage," concludes Nils Jakel, formerly at RUB, now at the University of Oulu. "This explanation is in line with research that considers the transition between school types to play a key role in the long-term success of English language education across school boundaries." With this in mind, it is crucial to optimize the didactic coordination and alignment of English classes at the intersection of school types. In addition, it may be that pupils benefit in the long run from more implicit language lessons in primary school."We see a high need for research to elaborate factors for successful language education, and we recommend well-coordinated, evidence-based measures in educational policy overall," say the researchers.Source: Newswise
Recently, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services added guidelines for a bill that was passed in February related to allowing long-term care facility residents an essential caregiver during times of emergency.

Via the bill that was passed in both the Kentucky House of representatives and Senate, and signed late-February by Gov. Andy Beshear, long-term care facility residents would have a right to designate an essential caregiver that would be able to visit residents in-person, regardless of emergency status or visitation restrictions.

The bill arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many long-term care facilities shut their doors to visitors to prevent spread of infection, to allow caregivers of residents to regularly visit with residents to ensure proper care.

An essential caregiver would be able to provide personal care assistance to the resident.

Guidelines released by the Cabinet define personal care, specifically as, assisting a resident with essential everyday activities, which may include grooming, dressing and eating.

However, new guidelines released in late-February by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services would once again allow facilities to limit caregiver visits, specifically stating that a facility may restrict essential caregiver visits based on a clinical or safety factors, including a facility outbreak, which is determined as one individual, staff or resident testing positive for COVID-19 or any other communicable disease.

The issue with this, according to Marla Carter, local advocate and senior ombudsman for the Green River Area Development District, is that if one person is diagnosed with any contagious illness within the facility, it could shut the whole facility down for two weeks.

Defining an outbreak as one case is very problematic, she said. Youre always going to have someone positive for something. One person could be positive, and it would shut the whole thing down, which is part of the issue that weve had during COVID.

Additionally, she said, the wording is vague, leaving too much up to the facility to determine what safety factors are at hand.

A facility has the option, through the guidelines, to limit movement within the facility, as well as access to the residents room or visit times within the room for more than 15 minutes, unless agreed upon by the residents roommate.

While that sounds pretty easy, thats not going to be a simple knock on the door, Carter said.

A resident, she said, could have all kinds of limitations that would impair them from making a cognitive decision to agree to an essential caregiver visit for their roommate, including not having full cognitive abilities, not being legally able to agree based on that residents guardianship, meaning that persons caregiver or legal representation would have to be contacted prior to the visit.

She said 15 minutes is also not an effective amount of time to perform essential caregiver duties.

Furthermore, the guidelines limit who can be an essential caregiver based on training provided by the facility, as well as individuals who are designated as being important to the mental, physical or social wellbeing of the resident and meets an essential need of the resident, including companionship, assisting with personal care or positively influencing the behavior of the resident.

Carter said this guideline could open up opportunities to determine who gets access to a caregiver based on what that persons essential needs are, as well as allows the facility to determine whether or not to allow the visit based on the behavior of the resident.

Why does the facility get to decide if my visit meets an essential need? The resident gets to decide that, she said. They already get the right to visitors anyway  any visitors they choose, as it should be up to the resident or their guardian and legal representative whether or not theyre important to that resident.

This guidance, she said, could open the facility up to discrimination if they have to determine what is an essential need that would constitute having someone come in to help. The facility should not get to determine that.

Following the updated guidelines from the Cabinet, Sen. Stephen Meredith, serving Ohio, Meade, Grayson, Butler and Breckinridge counties, introduced an amendment, Senate Bill 222, that would further define what a facility is and the description of a caregiver, as well as specify communicable disease outbreaks and resident disease status to when an essential personal care visitor is permitted.

The amendment was introduced in the Senate on Feb. 24 and resides within the Health and Welfare Committee.

A public hearing of the guidelines, if requested, will be held on April 28 via Zoom. Anyone interested in commenting may request an invitation by contacting the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Office of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs in writing by April 22 by emailing CHFSregs@Ky.gov.

Christie Netherton, cnetherton@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7360
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is part of a series featuring local women in leadership in honor of March being Women's History Month.

MANISTEE -- Manistee County Council on Aging Executive Director Sarah Howard's thoughts instantly go to her granddaughters when contemplating the importance of Womens History Month.

Howard feels sending out a positive message to young females on how they can accomplish anything in life that they set their mind to is of incredible importance. She said a big part of her being successful comes from approaching life in a positive manner and how she interacts with others.

The one thing I tell my granddaughters is smile, always be kind and helpful, said Howard. As a child I was always very shy, but if I saw someone and smiled at them it would brighten their day, which is important. By smiling at them it shows people they matter.

Howard has been the director at the council on aging for nine years and still uses that philosophy on a daily basis when she meets people at the Wagoner Community Center. Like many other accomplished women, her road to the directors position took her to many different places before finding what has become her dream job at the local senior center.

I worked in home care for a long time as the director down in Ann Arbor, said Howard. My grandparents both passed away within a couple of years, and I really wanted to come home so my husband and I moved the kids up here.

When a job came open for a program coordinator at the senior center, it first caught the eye of her husband.

He saw it in the newspaper and said, Sarah you would be perfect for this', said Howard. So I applied and Lora Laurain was the director at the time; (she) interviewed me. By the time I got home from the interview, she called and said the job was mine. It was a job that Carol Greve had done forever before she got sick.

Interviews for the director position were held after Laurain left the position when she moved to Florida with her family, but it wasn't something that was on Howards radar at the time.

I wasnt interested, but they hired someone and it didnt work out. They came to me and wanted to know if I was interested, said Howard. I told them only if it let me still do some of the fun stuff I like to do.

The things she enjoyed doing were the history trips and related things because the real draw to the job was having fun with the people. It is something she still enjoys very much about the position.

So when they said that was fine, I took the job and here I am nine years later, said Howard.

Howard said they do a little bit of everything at the senior center, and she loves the variety.

I am so busy doing the day-to-day business stuff and with this building (Wagoner Center) and my office is on the opposite side of the building so I am not always where all the action is taking place, she said. But I also do some things like today when I did two routes of the Meals on Wheels just because I like to see people at home and it is nice to do things like that.

On the day before she did meal routes, she was in meetings in Traverse City with the Area Agencies on Aging. The day before that, her activities including celebrating International Womens Day by printing cards and giving them with flowers to women who came into the center.

We are always just trying to find ways to connect with our population who comes in, she said. Every day there is something different going on and we are always thinking of different things to do.

She said a good example of that is she doesnt consider herself to be a crafty person, but she has taught a wreath making class.

I saw it being done and thought it was something cute I could do, she said.

Other outings the senior center is working on include a movie and popcorn event at the Vogue Theatre. She said it is important to keep busy and do different things.

Howard said the idea of working with senior citizens in a creative manner as a career wasnt something she thought she would be doing years ago, but is thrilled at how great it all worked out.

I never thought this is what I would be doing, but working with older people was always fun for me, said Howard. I still joke with people about not knowing what I want to be when I grow up. There are still so many things I would like to accomplish in life, so who knows.

Howard said a good example of doing new things is the weekly columns she writes for the News Advocate about events at the senior center. However, it has become one of her favorite parts of the job.

I am not a writer and its just a matter of me putting things down like I talk and just being me, she said. I can be anywhere and people come up to me and say, Youre Sarah from senior center who does that article for the newspaper, and I love reading those.

Howard said it is just a matter of treating people like she would like to be treated herself.

Even as a kid I would invite the whole class and never singled out just a handful of people, she said. I think it is important to be inclusive, welcoming and to want people to come back.

Its something she learned from her mother, who is her role model.

My mom was a school teacher and she still is an amazing woman who raised three kids on her own, and she just did everything she could that was best for us, said Howard. That is how I raised my kids and they mean more to me than anything. Its the same with people as I want them to know I truly do care. .
LANSING  Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared March 20-26 as Michigans Severe Weather Awareness Week.

The Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division is calling on residents to take action by participating in a voluntary statewide tornado drill at 1 p.m. on March 23.

Last summer in Michigan, we saw the devastating impacts of severe weather, from flooding to tornadoes and straight-line winds, said Whitmer in a news release. Taking steps to prepare now can protect your home, your family and your pets. We ask that all Michiganders do their part to keep our communities safe.

Businesses, organizations, families and individuals are encouraged to engage in this statewide preparedness activity but are not required to do so. During the drill residents will observe or hear alerts on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio, television and radio stations. To learn how local alerts are administrated in your community and if your community is participating, contact your local emergency management agency.

With an average of 15 tornadoes each year, this is a very real threat to our Michigan communities, said Col. Joe Gasper, state director of emergency management and homeland security and director of the Michigan State Police, in the release. This drill will give people a chance to make a plan and put it to the test. By planning now, you can be better prepared when a disaster happens.

The average lead time for tornadoes to develop is 10 to 15 minutes, which means residents need to be ready to react quickly when a warning is issued.

To be ready for a tornado:

 Know the difference: Tornado Watch means conditions exist for a tornado to develop; Tornado Warning means a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar.

 Know the signs of an approaching tornado: dark, often greenish sky; large hail; a large, dark low-lying cloud; and loud roar, like a freight train.

 Develop an emergency preparedness kit with essential items such as a three-day supply of water and food, a NOAA Weather Radio, important family documents and items that satisfy unique family needs.

 Conduct regular tornado drills. Make sure each household member knows where to go and what to do in the event of a tornado.

 Stay tuned to commercial radio or television broadcasts for news on changing weather conditions or approaching storms.

For more information about being safe before, during and after a tornado, follow the MSP/EMHSD on Twitter at @MichEMHS or go to michigan.gov/miready.
PORTLAND  Robert A. Baines Sr. leaves a lasting legacy in town, both as Portlands possibly last remaining WWII veteran, and 75-year fire department member, two of those as chief.

Baines died on March 12, a few days after his 98th birthday.

He lived in Portland for nearly 100 years. Growing up, Baines helped his mother make her old-fashioned donuts, which were then sold at the Gildersleeve Store where his father worked.

After graduating from Portland High School in 1942, Baines entered the U.S. Army, where he served throughout France, Italy and North Africa in WWII.

His daughter, Portland resident Peggy Tierney, said that even while serving, her father found time for his hobbies  hunting and fishing. He would often prepare and cook what he caught, much to the surprise of others serving with him.

He always said that the city boys didnt know how to do it, Tierney said.

Eventually, they started bringing back game they had caught for him to cook for them. This was one of the many anecdotes he would often tell his children and grandchildren.

We always listened to his stories, Tierney said.

At 19, he was on the front line in Italy when he was wounded by a machine gun bullet. It was never removed from his hip. A few days later, he was wounded again by bomb fragments.

For this, Baines received two Purple Hearts.

One of Tierneys sons Patrick said his grandfather almost missed his own medal ceremony, she said. The day of the medal presentation, he was out fishing, so the MPs had to go find him, he added.

After returning from the service, Baines married Margaret Hale, and, in 1949, they purchased a home on Cox Road where he until his death.

It was shortly after returning from the war that Baines joined the Portland Volunteer Fire Department. Throughout his 75 years as a member, was a captain at Co. 2, deputy chief for several years, and chief from 1972 to 1974.

In 1986, he served as the chairman of the building committee that oversaw the construction of the new Co. 2 firehouse.

Even in his later years, Peggy Tierney said, her father did everything he could to help the department, often leading mutual aid crews from other towns who came to assist.

Even when he couldnt go out fighting fires, hed go to the station to help, Tierney said.

His deep connection with the fire department carried on after his death. As part of the funeral services, Baines was transported on one of the departments old fire engines to his final resting place in Center Cemetery.

The services, which were held on Friday, also included full military honors.

Baines, known to many by his nickname Chick, worked for Jarvis Manufacturing in Middletown for 36 years before retiring in 1988. After retiring, Baines spent most of his time traveling and exploring with his wife.

In 2017, he was selected to serve as the grand marshal in the towns Memorial Day Parade.

His love for Portland has seemingly been passed down to his children and grandchildren. Tierney, as well as both of her sons and their families, still live in town. I dont think any of us want to leave Portland, she said.

In fact, one of Baines grandsons, Michael Tierney, was recently appointed Portlands new town clerk. He said he and his brother always looked forward to trips to grandma and grandpas house, where they could play with train sets or ride one of the tractors that Baines loved to tinker with.

You never knew what grandpa would be up to, and that would be the fun of it, Michael Tierney said. To Pat and I, Chick was the best grandpa we ever knew.

Memorial donations can be made to the Portland Volunteer Fire Department, Co. 2, PO Box 132, Portland, CT 06480. Funds will go toward restoration of the departments 1947 Mack Engine 3.
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Scene... Actors Scott Foley and Marika Dominczyk, who are married and live in Westport, were seen dining at Gabrieles of Westport last week. Both Foley and Dominczyk starred in Greys Anatomy, although not at the same time. Foley is also known for his roles in Scandal and Felicity, while Dominczyk recently appeared in the Netflix miniseries Inventing Anna.

Scene... ESPN Analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky was also spotted dining at Gabrieles of Westport on a separate occasion.

Out there... To celebrate Greenwich Emergency Medical Services 35th anniversary, GEMS is hosting a Back to the Eighties bash on April 1 at Greenwich Country Club from 6 to 11 p.m. at Greenwich Country Club. To purchase tickets, go to https://e.givesmart.com/events/k17/.

Scene... Lisa Wexler, a Connecticut probate judge and award-winning talk radio host on WICC 600, was seen hanging with Al Jardine of the Beach Boys after a performance at the Wall Street Theater on March 6. With them was Carnie and Wendy Wilson, who make up two-thirds of the pop group Wilson Phillips. The Wilsons, the daughters of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, also performed at the Norwalk venue.

Out there... Emmy Award-winning actress Susan Lucci, of All My Children fame, and her husband, chef Helmut Huber, are involved in the new ownership of Homestead Inn in Greenwich. Not surprising since the popular restaurant previously owned by chef Thomas Henkelmann and Theresa Carroll was one of Luccis favorites. The Inn is going through a complete renovation before re-opening.

Out there... Christ Church Greenwich is holding an Emergency Packathon for Ukraine Refugees on March 26 at 10 a.m. in the Parish Hall. The food-packing event will provide 36,000+ packages of nutritional meals for Ukrainian refugees on the border of Poland. Volunteers will pack four complete nutritious ingredients  a carbohydrate, dehydrated vegetables, vitamin powder and a bean protein then weigh the packages, seal them and box them for distribution to children and families who have fled their homes. In coordination with the Ukrainian Cultural Center in New Jersey, these meals will be transported to the docks loaded onto a ship headed to Gdansk, Poland. The total cost for the supplies and food for this packathon is $12,600. Christ Church Greenwich is asking the community to donate whatever they can to help underwrite these expenses. To donate and to volunteer, go to christchurchgreenwich.org or Text To Give 73256 and enter CCGCTGIVE.

Scene... Greenwichs David Pecker, the former CEO of American Media and publisher of National Enquirer, was seen having lunch at Carens Cos Cobber in Greenwich last week.

Out there... 70s rock band America, celebrating their 50th anniversary, are performing live in concert at The Palace Theatre in Stamford on March 26. For tickets ($50-$85) and more info, go to palacestamford.org.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others And if you cant help them at least dont hurt them.

Dalai Lama

And thats all for now.

Later

Got a tip? Seen a celebrity? Email Susie Costaregni at thedish2@yahoo.com.
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MILFORD  Local church youth group members rocked the day  and night  away Saturday, maintaining a fundraising tradition that extends more than four decades.

Ten members of the First United Church of Christ's Junior Pilgrim Fellowship group participated in the annual Rock-a-Thon, in which these middle school aged children spend 24 hours in rocking chairs to raise money for nonprofits, and had a good time doing it.

Ive participated for the past two years, and its been fun, said middle schooler Joey Kaminski, so, I wanted to do it again.

Junior Pilgrim Fellowship is a service-based fellowship group who meet regularly and consists of middle school aged youth from Milford and surrounding towns, not all of which attend the First United Church of Christ.

When I was in sixth grade, I successfully rocked in a chair for 24 hours by making sure I always have something to do  like playing a game, enjoying a presentation, doing a craft, Kaminski said. To prepare, Ill be packing all the things I need to stay occupied during the time that were rocking. This year, Ill be knitting and making bracelets with embroidery floss.

Kelsey DeCarlo, the churchs Minister of Faith Formation, said this rocking chair event has been a tradition for 45 years.

Its truly a hallmark of the program and of this church, DeCarlo said.

DeCarlo said church staff and volunteers transformed the buildings large Fellowship Hall, taping carpet to the floor so the chairs will not slip, bringing in the rocking chairs and some tables for the children to use while rocking the time away. The rocking began at 11 a.m. Saturday, ending Sunday.

This does involve staying up for 24 hours, and it is a fundraising effort, DeCarlo said.

This year, the Rock-a-Thon was fundraising for The Trevor Project and Silver Lake Camp and Retreat Center. Over the years, the Rock-a-Thon has raised between $2,500 and $3,000 annually for various charities and organizations.

Rev. Adam E. Eckhart, the churchs senior pastor, said the Rock-a-Thon has been a fixture of the churchs middle school youth group, going back to the 1970s.

It has changed in many ways over the years according to the times and the ways that youth function, Eckhart said. The coordinators have had to, for instance, deal with the increasing tendency of youth to retreat into themselves, with individual screens, by encouraging interaction. But at the same time, screens also helped us have a virtual rock-a-thon last year.

Eckhart said that after several years of the youth eating lots of potato chips and downing increasingly pervasive caffeine drinks through the night, we shifted the emphasis more toward food moderation.

Over the last several years, presenters have come in to teach and encourage creativity and teamwork among the youth, Eckhart added.

DeCarlo said this year there were speakers on budgeting and software development. The rest of the time, she said the kids enjoyed snacks and water while doing crafts and playing board games.

They just have fun in the moment  it is such a great event, DeCarlo added.

The Trevor Project is the worlds largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people. The organization focuses on crisis services, education, advocacy and research.

Silver Lake is a summer camp in Sharon used annually by First United Church of Christs youth. The site offers camps throughout the summer and opportunities to hold retreats for churches and other organizations.

It feels good, and it makes me happy to help others, said Kaminski.

Throughout the rock-a-thons history, raising funds has been a constant, Eckhart said. This year Im proud that JPF chose to support the Trevor Project to resource LGBTQ+ people in crisis.

Our church is now open and affirming, and our open and affirming covenant includes the commitment to welcome and affirm people of a diversity of identities, including of any gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation, he added. We also commit to work against prejudice and discrimination. So, by supporting the Trevor Project, the youth are doing crucial ministry to further our Christian commitments to honor the full humanity of all of Gods children and creation.

brian.gioiele@hearstmediact.com
A security consultant, Richard Kumadoe has said the number of students who have been evacuated from war torn Ukraine is not reassuring.

He noted that government may have to be more aggressive in mobilizing these persons in order to get them evacuated.

Speaking on Joy News The Pulse on March 18, he said as a result of some people refusing to come back to Ghana, governments efforts in evacuating its citizens from Ukraine has been unyielding.

He indicated that the 226 out of 1200 evacuated definitely not encouraging and you can understand the insurgency of the issue here that the complexity of what we are looking at makes it more difficult for government agencies to be able to coordinate their activities in Ukraine very effectively. The only way to mobilize these people is to coordinate their activities and bring them to a centralized position."

He continued,  there must be a decision on the part of individual Ghanaians there as to whether they would want to come home or they have some other plans put in place beyond what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can do. I think we would need to be a bit more aggressive in mobilizing them and we need to be more strategic in where we place them so that we can airlift them if that becomes an option on the table. Other than that 200 out of the 1000 we are talking about might not sound good.

He urged government to collaborate more with countries where some Ghanaians have taken refuge to ensure their safety and security. Should we record a death, government would be held accountable.

Out of one thousand two hundred (1200) compatriots in Ukraine of which 947 are registered students with the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) only 226 have been evacuated from the war torn country to Ghana.

527 of them have been safely evacuated from Ukraine into neighboring European countries like Romania, Belarus and others.
20.03.2022 LISTEN

A former government spokesperson on finance for the NPP , Daniel Aboagye has described a comeback of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) as the most frightening thing to happen.

He said the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) must do whatever it takes legally to show good governance, restore the confidence of Ghanaians and retain power come 2024.

Speaking on The Pulse on Joy News on March 18, 2022, he intimated that the economy will collapse in the hands of NDC which is something Ghanaians must be afraid of.

The most fearful thing that I labor over every day is to have the NDC come back to power anytime soon. Ghana is not at the point where we can experiment again.

We in NPP have to do whatever it takes legally to deliver on our promise, show good progress, and unite the party more and crossover the eight. The NDC will mess up this country if they get a second opportunity. I do not have any single trust in their ability to fix the challenge, he stated.

He argued that the ruling NPP has what it takes to fix the economy and the ongoing cabinet retreat was proof some pragmatic steps would be roll out to restore the economy.

According to him, NPP has the men and would execute the job perfectly without running to the IMF like the NDC did under the Mahama administration.

He contended that given the conditionalities that come with it, it would be a bad idea for the country to go to the IMF now. He added that it was time the country try something internal.

The signs were there because we were getting out of NDCs mess and we were just on a trajectory to continue to well and sustain, what you do is that you come in, you determine the extent of the problem and then you begin to solve it and we had begun to solve it and the numbers were turning around and eight of NDCs term you cannot use one term to change it," he emphasised.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, India has abstained on every United Nations vote condemning Moscow's actions until this week, when it voted to condemn Russia at the International Court of Justice.

Dalveer Bhandari, a former Indian Supreme Court judge and one of the 15 judges on the ICJ  the UN's highest court  joined the majority to call on Russia to stop its military operations in Ukraine.

The ICJ on Wednesday ordered Russia to suspend its military operations in Ukraine, saying it was "profoundly concerned" by Moscow's use of force.

Ukraine, which has previously brought a case to the ICJ against Russia, introduced this case shortly after Russia took action on 24 February.

Ukraine argued that Moscow was falsely alleging genocide in Ukraine's Donetsk and Lugansk regions to justify its attack.

The court's response condemning Russia was approved by 13 votes to 2, with the Russian and Chinese judges voting against it.

In his second term at the ICJ, Bhandari went against the Indian government's approach of abstaining when it comes to UN votes on Russia, including votes at the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and at the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"India's position was spelt out clearly after the first UN Security Council resolution, where we abstained," former diplomat Deepa Wadhwa told RFI.

India has historical and strategic ties with Russia, and a core tenet of its foreign policy has been the desire to maintain good, stable relations with all major powers, including Russia.

Although the ICJ's rulings are binding, the court has no direct means of enforcing them, and countries have rarely ignored them.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the ruling as a complete victory in its case against Russia.

(with AFP)
The Tamale Central Member of Parliament (MP), Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, says Ghanaians should be circumspect in their expectations of President Akufo-Addo to deliver a better economy.

This according to him is because Mr Akufo-Addo, even when he served as a Minister under the erstwhile Kufuor administration, failed to effectively manage the sectors that were assigned him.

Although he admitted that it is difficult to manage government affairs, Murtala Mohammed argued that the Akufo-Addo-led administration should have performed better, considering the campaign promises it made.

In an interview on Prime Morning, Friday, the MP claimed the President has poor leadership record, which he said is manifest in the current handling of the economic hardships and the difficulties in the country.

It was particularly instructive that you had someone who had been in government before. He was a Minister under President Kufuors administration and we ought to know that even at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, two ministries he served; he performed abysmally and the evidences are there.

Its very clear that as a Minister for Justice, we saw what happened when there were a lot of disastrous cases; cases that bother on his professionalism. He ought to have known that managing even a Ministry was difficult. His record, the verdict at the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General was a disaster and everybody knows that he lost several cases he even supervised, Murtala Mohammed told Jay Foley.

According to him, some of us knew that he wont perform because I had dealt with him as the Secretary-General of the All African Students Union when he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ive had several encounters with him. It is not about speaking English in a funny way; it is about delivering and it is very clear [that] we are in a disaster.

He contended that President Akufo-Addo may have won the favour and interest of Ghanaians to lead the country due to his public speaking skills and juicy promises.

He stated that several policies embarked on by the ruling party have been messed up as there is nothing to show to the citizenry.

The sad aspect of it is that in this country, when you speak English in a funny way, people tend to listen to you. When you try to slang, people tend to listen to youthose things matter.

I have been a student leader; if you observed elections in various campuses, many people tend to vote for those who speak very well. Either they try to desperately manage a slang or those who look cute, he added.

Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed urged politicians to be mindful of the things they say during their campaigns because they would be held responsible for them.

Meanwhile, the government is expected to hold a crunch cabinet meeting to find solutions to the raging economic challenges.

The meeting is expected to take place at the Peduase Lodge, from Thursday, March 17, to Sunday, March 20, 2022.

The deliberations will be chaired by President Akufo-Addo, together with all NPP MPs, ministers, government appointees, and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) leadership.

According to JoyNews sources, the meeting will discuss whether government should continue to push through with the E-levy Bill or resort to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in the face of the current fiscal hurdles.

---myjoyonline.com
20.03.2022 LISTEN

The Chairman of Amenfi Central electoral area coordinators committee for Amenfi Central in the Western Region, Mr. Ignatius Kwasi Afrifa has said the NPP is the only party that has Ghanaians at heart.

He noted that all the social interventions infrastructure Ghanaians are enjoying only happen under an NPP government.

"We are proud of our achievements in every sector of our national life. Our policies are non-discriminatory and have touched every home, from NHIS, Free Maternal health care, free SHS, to planting for food and jobs.

"It is inarguably that the New Patriotic Party is the sole bearer of all the pro-poor policies, programmes and projects in Ghana as compared to its political rivals the NDC that claims to socialist but cannot boast of a single of such interventions in all their 27 long years of governance," he stated.

Mr. Ignatius Kwasi Afrifa, made this call at Amuni on Saturday, March 19 2022 in an interview with the media after the successful swearing in of Isaac Hansen Arthur as the Electoral Area Coordinator for the Amuni electoral area.

Mr. Afrifa expressed utmost satisfaction on the polling station and electoral area coordinators elections which ended successfully across the Constituency.

He described the exercise as very successful and commended his team and all the winners and losers for exhibiting a high sense of maturity, orderliness, necessary, mutual respect before and during the elections.

"We have toured the entire 23 electoral areas in the last one month as mandated by the Western Regional party hierarchy to lead the team as Chairman of the polling station and electoral area coordinators election in the Amenfi Central constituency to conduct vetting, election and monitoring of the electoral process in Amenfi Central, he mentioned.

The orderly manner in which our party people have conducted themselves in this exercise is highly appreciated, the momentum is high, our grassroot is charged and poised to break the eight, I am able to confidently say that my team and I are satisfied with the conduct of the exercise thus far."

Mr. Afrifa hinted that the forthcoming NPP constituency, Regional and National delegates conference polls would even be more peaceful and Calmer.

He was also optimistic of a massive victory for the NPP in Parliamentary polls in Amenfi Central in 2024.
India, which refuses to take sides in the Ukrainian conflict, was importing Russian crude oil at discounted rates, resisting pressure from the West to avoid such purchases. Local media say it could buy up to 15 million barrels of cheap fuel to meet the country's enormous energy demands.

Indian Oil Corp, the country's largest oil refiner, bought three million barrels of Russian crude oil through a Dutch energy and commodity trading firm late last week at a discount of up to 22.7 euros a barrel to dated Brent, media reports said.

The delivery is scheduled by the month of May, newspapers quoting unnamed Indian officials said.

A second refiner too made a rare purchase of two million barrels of the Ural brand of Russian oil while a third has floated tenders seeking one million barrels of similar crude, added Press Trust of India (PTI) official news wire agency.

India trawls oil markets

The government in Delhi has not commented on the reported deals but Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri said India would examine Russian offers to sell discounted oil including issues of insurance and transportation.

"In a situation like the one characterised by the pandemic in the last two years and in the last few weeks by a war or a military action taking place between Russia and Ukraine, the government will explore all options which are available," he added.

White House press secretary Jennifer Psaki has said the purchases of Russian oil wouldn't violate US sanctions but she urged India to think about where you want to stand when history books are written.

Western sanctions

The United States said it was banning Russian oil and gas imports while Britain announced plans to phase out Russian fuel by the end of 2022 as part of wider Western sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine.

The European Union promises to make the 27-nation region independent from Russian energy well before 2030, while Germany has acted against the opening of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from the Communist state.

In Delhi, foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said India, world's third biggest oil consumer, was trawling international markets.

We are always exploring all possibilities in global energy markets because of the situation of importing our oil requirements, he told a news conference on Thursday.

A number of countries are importing energy from Russia, especially in Europe. I will leave it at that, Bagchi said when asked if India planned to buy more oil from Russia.

Iraq is India's top supplier with a 27 percent share, with Saudi Arabia second at 17 percent, followed by the United Arab Emirates at 13 percent and the US at 9 percent, according to PTI.

National interest

Analysts and diplomats said it will be perhaps unfair to judge energy-dependent India, which imports up to 85 percent of its daily need of 4.5 million barrels of oil.

And so it does not matter from where we get our oil supplies but we must safeguard our national interests, Shivaji Sarkar, dean of Mangalayatan University, told RFI.

Sarkar also argued that since India has not taken sides in the war on Ukraine, it can have ties with both the US and Russia, Delhi's long-term weapons supplier.

It is not the ideal situation to be in but India's independent decisions have to be, must be respected, a Delhi-based European diplomat added.

On Friday, Ali Chegeni, Iranian ambassador in Delhi, said Tehran was ready to meet India's needs through a rupee-rial trade regime for oil and gas.
On Wednesday, March 16, 2022, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky teleported his boyish charm and growing authenticity as a brave leader in war-time into the auditorium of the United States Congress.

He addressed the leadership of the U.S., for about 15 minutes, from a location in the Russian war-devastated Ukraine.

Appealing with anguish and an impressive sense of dignity, the former comedian and television star Zelensky, raised the crucial question:

"Is this a lot to ask for, to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people? Is this too much to ask for?"

But American President Joe Biden had stated many days earlier that such an action might lead to a direct confrontation with Russia and the likelihood of a WWIII (World War 3). Biden will not do it.

Zelensky knows communication and the power of visual, videographic intervention. During his virtual address to the U.S Congress, he played a very brief but emotionally persuasive montrage of the unrelenting destruction and indiscriminate killing of children, pregnant women and traumatized elderly people and dead children. Many of the members, across party lines had tears in the ears and anguish written all over their faces.

"In your history, you have pages that would enable you to understand Ukrainians," Zelensky pointed out and made some references to the attack on Pearl Harbor, 9/11 terror attacks, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

Biden will not engage the Russian President Vladimir Putin in the no-fly-zone action. He wants to avoid what could escalate into super fighter jets showdown in the skies of Ukraine, and potentially a nuclear showdown! It will not happen under his watch as Americas Commander-in-Chief.

So, Putin has the range and capacity to pound Ukraine until the courageous Ukrainians beg for remedial ceasefire and cessation of the Russian assault!

Biden argues hes dealing with Putin, the Oligarchs and Russia severe blows through sanctions and isolation, believing and hoping (as he does) that it will asphyxiate the big, ruthless Kremlin political economy. Meanwhile, he announced shortly after Zelenskys speech additional military aid of more than $800 million.

The day before, Zelensky spoke to the U.S Congress, this past Tuesday, March 15, 2022, he addressed the Canadian Parliament. In a friendly cordiality and friendliness fit for the younger generation, he called Canadas charismatic Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, by his first name "Justin. Justin is 50 years (born December 25, 1971) while the endangered hero of the traumatized Ukrainians is only 45 years young!

Meanwhile, the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican of Kentucky) has alleged that Biden is guilty of "hesitancy and weakness and Republican Senator James Risch (Idaho) has dismissed Bidens aid to Ukraine as being too little, too late, too slow."

Biden will be at the extraordinary meeting of NATO members in Brussels, next week.

On March 17, too, Biden categorically called Russian President Putin a war criminal  a characterization the Russian government has with dramatic emphasis described as unforgiveable. The war crimes court intends to go after Putin.

But the name tagging is growing, too. On Thursday March 10, 2022, North Carolinas Trump Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn called Ukraines globally popular but embattled President Zelensky a thug! Yes; amidst the brutal, devastating war levied (into the 4th hellish week) on Ukraine by their super-power neighbour Russia.

Remember that Zelensky is a thug, Mr Cawthorn said in a video which he did not plan to make public that his supporters should Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil. Republican Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, countered her fellow Republican Cawthorn by arguing that an actual murderous thug called Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney (of Wyoming) dismissed Cawthorn as another member of the Putin wing of the GOP

There are rules of engagement which forbid certain levels of violence, such as deliberate attacks and starvation of civilian populations, deliberate decimation of hospitals, and other vicious actions.

Sadly, wars are not pretty and engaging to behold. They are not like beauty pageants or moonlight dances. They are bloody.

Wars are ugly and destructive.

The facts of the punitive and merciless killing of children, bombardment of previously vibrant residential apartments, formerly prosperous cities across the entire Ukraine by the armed forces of Russia continue to raise legitimate humanitarian concerns and the criminal overreach in war and conflict.

Putin, beware of overreach!

 *Dr. Chido Nwangwu, the author of the forthcoming 2022 book, MLK, Mandela & Achebe: Power, Leadership and Identity, serves as Founder & Publisher of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com , and established USAfrica in 1992 in Houston. He has appeared as an analyst on CNN, SKYnews, VOA, BET news, SABC, and served as an adviser on Africa business to Houstons former Mayor Lee Brown.

@Chido247
AMSAT at Dayton Hamvention - call for volunteers

Phil Smith, W1EME, AMSAT Hamvention Team Leader, reports, In 2019, we had about 40 people assist with the AMSAT booth at the Hamvention. It was the efforts of those volunteers that made the 2019 Dayton Hamvention a success for AMSAT. The interaction with AMSAT members, satellite operators, designers, and builders makes the whole experience a lot of fun.

"The 2022 Hamvention is May 20-22 at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia, Ohio. Would you consider helping AMSAT at the Hamvention this year? Whether you're available for only a couple of hours or if you can spend the entire weekend with us, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Please send an e-mail to me at w1eme (at) amsat (dot) org if you can help.

Phil Smith, W1EME

AMSAT Hamvention Team Leader

ANS
20.03.2022 LISTEN

Like the previous days of the week, Wednesday, March 16th 2022 started like any normal day for my son, Alamin Saleh Bature, a National Youth Service Corps member and graduate of Information Communications Technology from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.

His mother revealed the news of his Kidnapping to me at a time I was about to retire to bed by 9:30pm. It was like a dream. How my wife came into the room, her countenance and the way she was breathing, holding a cellphone to her ear showed that there was something amiss about that telephone conversation. Visibly disturbed and disoriented, she looked at me and said, Alamin has been abducted, but thankfully, the man I have spoken with told me he is safe at Garki police station and one kidnapper was arrested.

Ordinarily, Maitama Amusement park (MAP) should be the last place to expect a kidnapping operation in Abuja. The park is a bustling resort full of family fun, excitement and an array of activities and eateries. Unfortunately, it was at this spot that the three young men who were camouflaged as police men abducted him. The incident occurred around 7:30 pm.

The kidnappers accosted him and accused him of thievery and dope pedaling. They handcuffed him and forced him into a waiting Toyota corolla car. As soon as they sped off and out of the sight of the people at the park, they asked their captive to give them N1000,000 to bail himself and go scot-free. They stopped at the access bank branch at Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse 2 where they forced him to empty his account by withdrawing the last N30,000 in the account.

To frighten and compel him to succumb to their demand, they took him to a dark spot near the former SARS office, a notorious Nigerian police detention cell equivalent to the former USSR prison camp at Serbaria. It was at this point that the urgency to escape and save his life from from the captivity of those wolves dawned on him. He told them that the transfer he was expecting must have entered his account. Unknown to the greedy and wicked criminals, it was this attempt to get more money from their abductor that led to freedom for my son and the arrest of one kidnapper who incidentally owned the vehicle with which they committed the crime.

At the Zenith back branch on Lagos Crescent, he ran away to save his life. They pursued him until he fell to the ground because of exhaustion. A commotion broke out when Alamin told the crowd about what had transpired and showed the receipt of the N30,000 they forced him to withdraw from his account and give them. As the commotion ensured, an ambush team of security men arrived the scene. Two of the kidnappers escaped with the vehicle but one was arrested.

On reaching the Garki Divisional Police station on Lagos Crescent, Garki II, two armed police officers at the gate showed me to a parking space and led me to the office where my son was writing his statement. On the floor near the entrance to the office, I saw a young man, light in complexion handcuffed to a steel column (who was obviously the kidnapper), some armed police officers in uniform, two men in traditional Hausa attire and a light-skinned, well-built man with a thick and full moustache in a jeans trouser and a T-shirt who was later introduced to me as God Power Chinaechrem.

God Power, a Christian of Igbo extraction and the other 2 Hausa men I mentioned earlier were the good Samaritans God used to rescue my son. When one kidnapper showed his fake police identity card and were about to go with Alamin, he held God Powers hand firmly and said, I am not a thief. Dont allow them to go with me, please. Like a revelation from above, God Power felt that the victim was innocent of the spurious charges against him.

God power said, he saw the innocence in the eyes of the hapless and helpless young man and he empathized with him immediately. He questioned why they did not detain their alleged criminal at the Maitama Police station? He therefore insisted that the boy must be taken to the Garki police station which was not more than 100 meters away from them. It was at this point the security men arrived the spot and God helped them to arrest one of the three kidnappers.

It is important to share this unpleasant experience for people to know that there is now no safe place in Nigeria. We should not take our personal security for granted. kidnappers can operate with ease and impunity anywhere in Nigeria. They have changed tactics with which they can easily deceive gullible people. They have the audacity to move around with handcuffs, pepper spray, fake id cards, uniforms, guns, duty belt, badges and other police officer equipment and accessories to deceive and arrest innocent bystanders in public places. It has happened to my son. It is really a traumatizing experience and trial that could happen to anybody at an anytime.

May the supreme lord of the worlds, who has power over all things protect us from the evils of kidnappers. May He also expose and punish them for their crime.

  wrote in this piece from Abuja.
20.03.2022 LISTEN

So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for me. - Ezekiel 33:7 (New King James Version)

I will treat this topic by focusing on three main groups in Ghana, namely, the church, the government and institutions (both public and private).

Why the church comes first

It is imperative for me to start by looking at the church in Ghana first. I cannot talk about the government and institutions without starting from the church in Ghana. The church in Ghana is my first point of interest because the Scripture says For the time has come for judgement to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what shall be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17 NKJV).

Again, Im a Christian and I must have the courage to remove the speck in the eyes of the church in Ghana by talking about the ills that characterize it. This is why Jesus said Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye. (Matthew 7:5 NKJV).

Lastly, according to the Ghana Statistical Service, the 2021 Population and Housing Census revealed that 71.3% of the Ghanaian population of 30.8 million are Christians. If the majority of Ghanaians are Christians, then it is just reasonable to start with the church in Ghana. There is something absolutely wrong with our country and the church must be concerned about it. The church in Ghana cannot look on and do nothing whilst the nation is sinking, and corruption has become the bane of our country. It has become a norm to be corrupt than to oppose it. This country is really sick!

1. The church in Ghana

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.

Matthew 28:19-20 (New King James Version)

The church in Ghana started with the message of repentance. It was the message of repentance that brought people to the saving knowledge of Jesus. In those days, the church focused on the message of repentance that convicted men of sin, righteousness and judgment. The message was so strong that men couldnt resist its potency. It was the power in the message that made men turn to Christ. Discipline, morality and respect for the elderly was prevalent in our society.

Social contributions of the church

The church didnt end with the salvation of people. She ventured into education and built a lot of schools to develop the intellectual capacity of the people. The idea was for believers to gain employable skills or to learn a trade. In fact, most of the schools that we hold in high esteem in Ghana are schools that were built by the church.

Again, the church in Ghana built many hospitals to help treat sick people in the society. Also, the church created jobs for many people in Ghana. Please remember, at that point, what really mattered to the church in Ghana was the salvation, and then welfare of the people. So, the church did everything possible to ensure that people were not just saved, as they contributed to their general welfare too. Cleary, the church complimented the efforts of successive governments.

The church in Ghana has contributed immensely to the growth and development of the country. Therefore, the essence of this essay is not to discount the contribution of the church. It is to identify areas where the church is going astray so it can quickly find the right way back to God. This is why Paul said Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you ( 2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV ). The church in Ghana must regularly examine herself. After this is done, she can attempt to put in corrective measures, where and when necessary. But when the church doesnt examine herself, then it becomes difficult to see if she is going wrong or not.

Money, numbers and titles

The church in Ghana must remind herself of her mandate as given by Jesus. She must be obsessed with the mandate to preach to all the nations of the world. It is the preaching of Gods word that is backed by His life-transforming power which impacts the lives of people. The church must remain with that mandate. The repentance of perishing souls must be her concern.

Unfortunately, the church in Ghana has now corrupted her mandate with the love of money, titles and numbers. The church in Ghana seems to be much more interested in raising money, bestowing titles and the number of people that attend her meetings. This can be seen in the messages that we hear today. The messages that are preached are messages that make people comfortable and happy with the status quo. They are not messages that convict. However, the church must remember that the power to transform people is not in messages that generate excitement but in messages that convict. And this has little or nothing to do with money, numbers and titles.

Tithes and offerings

Money (Tithes and offerings) has captured the thinking of the church. This is evident in the strategies that are deployed to increase the finances of the church. Almost all decisions by the church are taken based on money. Financial targets for tithes and offerings have become the order of the day. Today, many churches task their pastors with the responsibility of raking in money. Sometimes, people are coerced into giving with all manner of strategies when, indeed, their hearts are not ready to give. A hand that is forced to give whilst the heart is not in support of it will never be blessed. Money plays a critical role in the life of a church but the church cannot allow her attention to be seized by money.

Its a numbers game

Also, the church appears to be more interested in the number of people that attend her meetings than in the physical and spiritual wellbeing of their members. This is because the church loves to measure her strength by her numbers. If the church has the numbers yet it cannot have any influence on the government and the institutions in the country then what is her gain in the numbers? The church must bear in mind that she cannot put her trust in her numbers. Numbers are important but when it becomes more important than the people then its a big problem.

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, Do you also want to go away?

John 6:66-67 (New King James Version)

From the above scripture, it is clear that Jesus lost some of his followers. However, this didnt disturb Him nor did it distract His focus from pursuing His ministry. The church must learn from Jesus. The church must keep her focus irrespective of peoples reactions.

We love titles, dont we?

Lastly, the church sees titles as though they were necessities for ministry. To tell you the truth, we can improve and transform the lives of people without necessarily having titles. What the church needs is men who have developed enough capacity to fulfill her mandate. Titles are not bad in any way but there are more important things for the church to focus on than titles.

2. The church in Ghana and politics

The church must properly represent the voice of the people and align itself to the truth and not the government. Unfortunately, the leaders of the church have become unduly partisan. Politics has polarized the church in Ghana. Today, the church is divided into two factions with each supporting one of the two major political parties. The situation is so bad that we have prophets in the church who prophesy victory for the two major political parties in the same general election. But, the question is, how can God reveal that two political parties will win the same general elections? Obviously, something does not add up and some of these prophets only prophesy according to their party lines. However, this is not to insinuate that there are no genuine prophets in Ghana. In fact, Ghana has some of the finest prophets in the world.

The truth or political alliance?

Again, the polarization of the church can be seen in the fact that some of the church leaders speak on national issues according to their party lines. They only speak the truth when their political parties are in opposition. Even in the face of bad decision-making, they would still support the incumbent government as long as it is their party. The church and its leaders cannot continue in this manner. The church and its leaders must learn to speak the truth to the powers that be. I, personally, believe that it must be done in the open without any fear whatsoever. This is because the masses would want the church and its leaders to understand their plight and to stand by them in whatever situation they find themselves in.

I call the church in Ghana to repent! The mandate of the church is to make disciples for Jesus and she must stay with it. She must make disciples without focusing on the benefit she would get. My prayer is that the transformation of lives will be the focus of the church and not money, titles, numbers or alliance with political parties for power.

3. The government

All over the world, governments are elected to oversee the affairs of their respective nations. Yet, the situation seems to be different in Ghana. The ruling class in Ghana offer themselves for election to serve their own interest and not that of the nation. Since independence, the various governments that ruled the country have been plagued with nepotism, corruption, broken promises, luxurious living, wasteful spending, misappropriation of public funds among others. The majority of Ghanaians live in poverty and are unemployed but the government doesnt care. The economy, educational system and healthcare systems are collapsing. Many dont have any hope of having a better life in this country and emmigration has become the order of the day. We live in a country where nobody cares about anybody. The gap between the ruling class and grassroots keeps widening.

The ruling class versus the masses

The rich ruling class keeps on getting richer and impoverishing the masses. For this reason, many now see politics as a money-making venture or an avenue to get wealth. Indeed, there are cases of people who have never worked in their lives even for a month yet shortly after entering into politics, they look very good and comfortable in life. Others have worked in the public or civil service for many years but are still struggling with what to eat, wear and where to sleep. These human necessities of life have become a luxury in Ghana. Surprisingly, most of the people in government are Christians yet nothing seems to work!

I call on Christians within the government to uphold their values and help the nation to grow and develop. Christians working in the government must not keep quiet when things are going wrong. They must work, bearing in mind that they are Christians and for that matter have the name of Jesus to defend in their various offices. Indeed, they must stand for the truth and nothing else. If all the Christians within the government would be ambassadors of Christ in their offices, the impact would not go unnoticed. The effect would be seen by all men and the government would do things, being mindful of the welfare of its peopleits purpose.

4. Institutions (both public and private)

Most institutions in Ghana are plagued by favoritism, nepotism, abuse of office, wasteful spending, misappropriation of financial resources, contracts not being awarded on merit, stealing, bribery and extortion. Many of the people working within these institutions are Christians, yet they participate in some of these evil acts. Where are the Christians in these institutions and why are they not upholding their Christians values?

As believers, we must reflect the life of Christ everywhere we find ourselves. Our failure to hold on to the principles of our faith in our place of work will make us conform to the standards of the world which leads to death. We must be transformed to emit the life of Christ in us and be Christians not only at home or on Sundays but everywhere we find ourselves. We cannot condone corruption or connive in such activities. This is why Jesus admonished us to let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16 NKJV). As believers, we have a responsibility to affect the people around us and the country, at large, in a positive way. The testimony of the Jews concerning the early disciples was that These who have turned the world upside down have come here too ( Acts 17:6 NKJV ). We can also change our country.

Lets keep the fire burning until the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!

By Charles Amponsah Brako
20.03.2022 LISTEN

Many Christians begin to lose their faith and hope in God when they encounter troubles, such as sickness, failure, pain etc. They run from church to church and pastor to pastor expecting instant healings and other miracles. If they do not get exactly what they want, they think God has abandoned them, or the pastor is not anointed or powerful enough, or they have done something wrong. Then, they consult shrines, fetish priests, and other unchristian sources and methods.

They forget that Jesus Christ warned his followers to expect trouble in this world, but that he has given us his peace and he has overcome the world (See John 16:33). Using the examples of Trophimus and others, this article shows that God handles each persons sickness or trouble in His own way.

No one wants to be sick or ill. Sickness or illness brings hardships, pains, and deaths. Sickness also brings loneliness as it limits our ability to participate with others in performing our routine or normal activities. That is why we should do all we can to stay strong and healthy and avoid things that may contribute to sickness, including sin.

Also, in general many people do not want to be left behind. We want to be included rather than excluded. We want to be where the action is or among the group that is causing the action to happen. Unfortunately, every once in a while, someone is left behind against his or her wish. A common occurrence is when we miss the bus, train, or airplane due to circumstances beyond our control. Sometimes, we are left behind or excluded from important activities because we are not part of the in crowd. Other times, we are left behind due to health reasons, as it happened to Trophimus.

In sickness and in health, the work of God must go on. And so the Apostle Paul left Trophimus behind in Miletus at a time when Trophimus was sick (see 2 Timothy 4:20). Trophimus is not a popular household name in our part of the world, but he was one of our Christian brothers in the early days of the Church. He was Pauls travel companion during part of his third missionary journey (see Acts 20: 4 and Acts 21:29). He was important enough to Paul and the early Church for Paul to have specifically mentioned his name in his second letter to Timothy.

Why did Paul think it necessary to point out that Trophimus was sick? Perhaps, Paul was supposed to go on a missionary journey with him and so he needed to explain to Timothy and the Church why Trophimus was not with him. Or, it could be Pauls way of calling on Timothy and the Church to join in prayers for the healing of Trophimus. The appeal to the Christian community for prayers would be consistent with our Christian belief that it is the Almighty God who heals us (Jehovah Rapha), and that by the wounds or stripes of His Son Jesus Christ we are healed (see Exodus 15:26; and 1 Peter 2:24).

In any case, it is reasonable to assume that Paul and the other Christians (including Trophimus himself) had prayed for Trophimus, but he had not been healed. Paul, the great miracle worker who healed many sick people (see, for example, Acts 14:8-10; Acts 28:7-9), and raised the dead (Acts 20:7-12)), left behind his Christian co-worker who was sick. Paul healed people who were not of direct or immediate help to his ministry, but did not or could not heal his co-worker with whom he was about to embark on a mission.

The Bible does not provide the reason why Trophimus was not healed which prevented him from accompanying Paul on the mission. However, the Bible points out that the last time Trophimus was with Paul in Jerusalem, riot broke out because some Jews accused Paul of defiling the temple by assuming that he had brought Trophimus the Ephesian (a Gentile) to the temple. They seized Paul and wanted to kill him (see Acts 21:27-36). Could it be that the non-healing of Trophimus at that time was the way God used to prevent him from accompanying Paul in order to avoid the wrath of the people against Paul and him?

At some point in his ministry, Paul himself said he had a thorn in his flesh which would not go away. He pleaded with God three times but God told him His grace was sufficient for him and that His power was made perfect in weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Compare that to when Jesus prayed three times at Gethsemane in what appears to be a plea for the cup of pain and suffering of his impending crucifixion and punishment for the sins of the whole world, to be taken away from him, according to Gods will. The cup was not taken away, he submitted to Gods will and the painful suffering, and God gave him grace and strength to endure and conquer death (see Matthew 26:36-46). Sometimes, the answer to our prayers may be more grace, peace, and strength.

Hezekiah, king of Judah, had a different experience. He was sick to the point of death, and the Prophet Isaiah visited him with a sad message from God that he should put his house in order because he was going to die. Like many of us, Hezekiah did not want to die. He turned to God in prayer and God answered him. He recovered and God promised to add fifteen years to his life. (see 2 Kings 20:1-11). Note the remarkable exercise of personal responsibility and self-reliance regarding how Hezekiah handled his personal, life-and-death matter. Although Isaiah was still in the courtyard of the palace, Hezekiah did not ask him to pray for him. His life was too important to be delegated to another person, even if the other person was the Prophet Isaiah. Instead, he took ownership of his fate and prayed directly to God and God answered him.

Some readers may recall that the Prophet Elisha inherited a double portion of Prophet Elijahs spirit (see 2 Kings 2:9-14). Those who believe that all their sicknesses must be healed by God by all means and quickly should note that the great Prophet Elisha died from an undisclosed illness. Yet, after Elishas burial, a dead man came back to life when the dead mans body touched Elishas bones in the tomb (see 2 Kings 13:14 and 20-21). And when Elisha was alive, he raised the Shunammite womans son from the dead by praying and stretching himself on him twice (2 Kings 4:18-37), and healed Naaman of leprosy by sending his servant to tell Naaman to go and wash himself seven times in the River Jordan (2 Kings 5:1-19).

Our faith in God plays a big role. Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17 NIV). It is alright to expect miracles when we pray. After all, we serve the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17 NIV), and God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20 NIV). However, our faith and hope should be moderated by the Word of God as found in the Bible. Therefore, knowing what happened to fellow men and women of God such as Trophimus, Paul, Hezekiah, and Elisha should guide our faith, hopes, and expectations accordingly.

Few people may have the Hezekiah experience, but many may likely receive Elishas and die from our sicknesses, or experience something in-between such as Trophimus or Pauls situations of enduring long-term sickness or suffering, or other trouble.

This is not limited to sickness or illness. Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble. Trouble comes in many forms, and some forms may teach us to endure suffering as part of the Christian life. What kind of trouble do you have? In all things about which we pray to God, we should have strong faith and high hopes, but at the same time, we should be reasonable and measured in our expectations. More importantly, we should leave room for Gods will to be done. God knows best.

We do not always get what we pray for, and that causes some people to begin to lose faith and hope in God. Some of us have experienced situations where Gods refusal to answer our prayer exactly the way we wanted it, in hindsight, was a blessing in disguise because the desired answer would have had disastrous consequences for us or others; or would have caused us to miss better opportunities. God determines the best time and manner to answer our prayers.

We may never know why Paul left Trophimus behind sick. The absence of healing or miracle concerning Trophimus sickness does not in any way diminish the power of the Word of God or anyone. God is our Jehovah Rapha. Miracles have their place, and that was why Jesus said that with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26 NIV). However, the death of Jesus Christ on the cross to save sinners was not for us to indulge in spectacle of miracles. Salvation by Gods grace through faith in Jesus Christ; establishing everlasting relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit; and receiving an inheritance in heaven, remain the true essence of the Word of God. No miracle is greater than these because they fulfill Gods purpose for mankind and cause heaven to rejoice (see Luke 15:7, 10; and Luke 10:20). May the grace and peace of God be with us and help us to overcome any sickness or trouble that comes our way.

Prayer is the key. May God grant us the grace to seek Him daily through our prayers.

Dr. Daniel Gyebi, Attorney-at-Law, Texas, U.S.A., and Founder, PrayerHouse Ministry, Kumasi, Ghana.

PrayerHouse Ministry is dedicated to providing a quiet facility for Christians to pray individually by themselves without any intermediary priest, pastor or any other person. This is a free service. No money is demanded or accepted. One facility is located at Kyerekrom / Fumesua, near Building and Road Research Institute Offices, one mile off the Kumasi-Accra Road and next to a house called Grace Castle. If you are interested, please contact Agnes at 054-7498653. Another is located at Kantinkyiren, at the junction of Kantinkyiren and Konkori, off the Kumasi-Obuasi Road, branching left at Trede junction. Contact Kwadwo at 0246989413 / 0557627875.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly and thoroughly investigate how over N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply has been allegedly squandered by governments since 1999.

SERAP said: Anyone suspected to be responsible should face prosecution as appropriate, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and any missing public funds should be traced and fully recovered.

SERAP also urges him to refer to the International Criminal Court all unimplemented reports of corruption in the electricity sector gathering dust on the shelves, and to arrest and surrender those named in the reports to the court for prosecution.

SERAPs letter followed the collapse of the national grid, which has plunged the country into total darkness. Generation capacity has dropped to 2,000 megawatts with about 14 power plants shutting down.

In the letter dated 19 March, 2022 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: Nigerians have for far too long been denied justice and the opportunity to get to the bottom of why they continue to pay the price for corruption in the electricity sector--staying in darkness, but still made to pay crazy electricity bills.

SERAP said: The staggering amounts of public funds alleged to have been stolen over the years in the electricity sector have had catastrophic effects on the lives of millions of Nigerians, akin to crimes against humanity against the Nigerian people.

According to SERAP, Investigating the allegations of missing N11 trillion electricity funds, prosecuting suspected perpetrators and recovering any missing public funds would end a culture of impunity. It would also address persistent collapse of the electricity grid, and improve access to and affordability of electricity in the country.

The letter, read in part: The situation will not improve unless you fulfil your campaign promises to probe corruption in the electricity sector, prosecute perpetrators, and recover any missing public funds.

Corruption in the electricity sector and the lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds to support the operations of DISCOS have resulted in regular blackouts, electricity grid collapse, and unlawful hike in electricity tariffs.

Corruption in the electricity sector has also continued to disproportionately affect the most disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors of the population who cannot readily afford expensive generators in order to have a reliable power supply.

Your government has constitutional and international obligations to ensure regular and uninterrupted supply of electricity, even in times of resource constraints.

SERAP urges you to urgently implement documented reports of cases of corruption in the electricity sector, and ensure full accountability and restitution.

We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.

The failure of successive governments and high-ranking government officials to prevent corruption in the electricity sector and to bring suspected perpetrators to justice is the primary cause of the persistent crisis in the electricity sector, including the exploitation of electricity consumers, and collapse of the electricity grid.

SERAP notes that in your inaugural speech on May 29, 2015 you stated that, it is a national shame that an economy of 180 million generates only 4,000MW, and distributes even less. We will not allow this to go on. The national grid collapse suggests that this promise remains unfulfilled.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights has adjudged the failure of the States to provide basic services such as electricity as violating the right to health.

Corrupt officials and corrupt contractors in the electricity sector know well that their conduct is criminal and injurious, and the denial of human dignity coupled with a radical breach of solemn trust, aggravate their alleged crime.

Citizens are frustrated at persistent allegations of corruption in the sector, and the impacts on their human rights. Prosecuting perpetrators would address the grave travesty that has for many years occurred in the power sector.

Impunity for corruption in the electricity sector has for many years forced ordinary Nigerians to stay in darkness, but still made to pay crazy electricity bills.

Successive governments have failed to increase power generation and provide Nigerians with regular and uninterrupted electricity supply, with many electricity contracts shrouded in secrecy, and trillions of Naira going down the drain.

Impunity for corruption in the electricity sector will continue as long as high-ranking public officials go largely unpunished for their alleged crimes. It is by pursuing these allegations and taking the evidence before the court that the truth will be revealed and justice best served.

The failure by successive governments to tell Nigerians the truth about allegations of corruption in the power sector amounts to a failure to ensure that electricity services are progressively made available, on the basis of equality and non-discrimination.

The details of the missing N11 trillion electricity funds are contained in a SERAP report titled: From Darkness to Darkness: How Nigerians are paying the Price for Corruption in the Electricity Sector.

According to the report, the total estimated financial loss to Nigeria from corruption in the electricity sector starting from the return to democracy in 1999 to date is over N11 trillion. This represents public funds, private equity and social investment (or divestments) in the power sector.

It is estimated that the loss may reach over N20 trillion in the next decade given the rate of Government investment and funding in the power sector amidst dwindling fortune and recurrent revenue shortfalls.

SERAP also urges you to immediately implement the judgment by Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor in suit number FHC/L/CS/105/19 which ordered your government to immediately publish the names of companies and the whereabouts of the contractors paid by governments since 1999 to carry out electricity projects across the country but disappeared with the money without executing any projects.

The enforcement of the judgment could potentially reveal individuals, contractors, and companies allegedly responsible for squandering over N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply under successive governments, lead to the prosecution of suspected perpetrators, and recovery of any missing public funds.

The letter was copied to Mr Malami.

19 March, 2022

His Excellency

Muhammadu Buhari GCFR

President, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Aso Rock Presidential Villa

Abuja

C/O

Professor Ibrahim Gambari

Chief of Staff to the President

Aso Rock Presidential Villa

Abuja

Your Excellency,

Re: Request to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to urgently thoroughly investigate how over N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply has been allegedly squandered by successive governments since 1999

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) is writing to request you to use your good offices and leadership position to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly and thoroughly investigate how over N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply has been allegedly squandered by successive governments since 1999.

Anyone suspected to be responsible should face prosecution as appropriate, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and any missing public funds should be traced and fully recovered.

SERAP urges you to urgently implement documented reports of cases of corruption in the electricity sector, and the cases and ensure full accountability and restitution.

SERAP also urges you to refer to the International Criminal Court all unimplemented reports of corruption in the electricity sector gathering dust on the shelves, and to arrest and surrender those named in the reports to the court for prosecution.

Our requests are brought in the public interest, and in keeping with the requirements of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], and the countrys international obligations including under African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the UN Convention against Corruption; the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to which Nigeria is a state party.

SERAP is a non-profit, nonpartisan, legal and advocacy organization devoted to promoting transparency, accountability and respect for socio-economic rights in Nigeria. SERAP received the Wole Soyinka Anti-Corruption Defender Award in 2014, and was nominated for the UN Civil Society Award and Ford Foundations Jubilee Transparency Award. SERAP is a member of the UNCAC Coalition, a global anti-corruption network of over 350 civil society organizations (CSOs) in over 100 countries, which is committed to promoting the ratification, implementation and monitoring of the UN Convention against Corruption. SERAP previously served as one of two Sub-Saharan African civil society representatives on the governing Committee of the Coalition.

The failure of successive governments and high-ranking government officials to prevent widespread and systematic corruption in the electricity sector and to bring suspected perpetrators to justice is the primary cause of the persistent crisis in the electricity sector, including the exploitation of electricity consumers, and collapse of the electricity grid.

Your government has constitutional and international obligations to ensure regular and uninterrupted supply of electricity, even in times of resource constraints. The situation will not improve unless you fulfil your campaign promises to probe corruption in the electricity sector, prosecute perpetrators, and recover any missing public funds.

Under Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) dealing with Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, high-level public officials have a clear obligation to eradicate all corrupt practices and abuse of power.

Furthermore, the constitution prohibits the exploitation of Nigerias human and natural resources for any reasons other than for the good of the community. This position is well supported by the provisions of the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.

Specifically, articles 5 and 9 of the UN Convention against Corruption also impose legal obligations on your government to ensure proper management of public affairs and public funds, and to promote sound and transparent administration of public affairs.

SERAP notes that in your inaugural speech on May 29, 2015 you stated that, it is a national shame that an economy of 180 million generates only 4,000MW, and distributes even less. We will not allow this to go on. The national grid collapse suggests that this promise remains unfulfilled.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights has adjudged the failure of the States to provide basic services such as electricity as violating the right to health.

SERAP is seriously concerned that staggering amounts of public funds alleged to have been stolen over the years in the electricity sector have had catastrophic effects on the lives of millions of Nigerians, akin to crimes against humanity as contemplated under the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court to which Nigeria is a state party.

Corrupt officials and corrupt contractors in the electricity sector know well that their conduct is criminal and injurious, and the denial of human dignity coupled with a radical breach of solemn trust, aggravate their alleged crime.

Investigating the allegations of missing N11 trillion electricity funds, prosecuting suspected perpetrators and recovering missing public funds would end a culture of impunity. It would also improve access to and affordability of electricity in Nigeria.

Widespread, systemic and large-scale corruption in the electricity sector and the lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds to support the operations of DISCOS have resulted in regular blackouts, electricity grid collapse, and unlawful hike in electricity tariffs.

Allegations of corruption in the energy sector have resulted in the epileptic and interrupted supply of electricity and corresponding deprivation and denial of the citizens access to quality healthcare, adequate food, shelter, clothing, water, sanitation, medical care, schooling, and access to information.

Corruption in the electricity sector has continued to disproportionately affect the most disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors of the population who cannot readily afford expensive generators in order to have a reliable power supply.

Nigerians have for far too long been denied justice and the opportunity to get to the bottom of why they continue to pay the price for corruption in the electricity sector--staying in darkness, but still made to pay crazy electricity bills.

Citizens are frustrated at persistent allegations of corruption in the sector, and the impacts on their human rights. Prosecuting perpetrators would address the grave travesty that has for many years occurred in the power sector. Impunity for corruption in the electricity sector has for many years forced ordinary Nigerians to stay in darkness, but still made to pay crazy electricity bills.

Successive governments have failed to increase power generation and provide Nigerians with regular and uninterrupted electricity supply, with many electricity contracts shrouded in secrecy, and trillions of Naira going down the drain.

Impunity for corruption in the electricity sector will continue as long as high-ranking public officials go largely unpunished for their alleged crimes. It is by pursuing these allegations and taking the evidence before the court that the truth will be revealed and justice best served.

The failure by successive governments to tell Nigerians the truth about allegations of corruption in the power sector amounts to a failure to ensure that electricity services are progressively made available, on the basis of equality and non-discrimination.

Lack of access to uninterrupted energy/electricity services has forced many citizens to use and collect frequently contaminated surface water for drinking and household uses; and denied the citizens the ability and services for boiling, purifying, disinfecting, and storing water, as well as for irrigation to increase the productivity of lands, thereby decreasing the availability of food supplies and undermining employment opportunities.

The details of the missing N11 trillion electricity funds are contained in our report titled: From Darkness to Darkness: How Nigerians are paying the Price for Corruption in the Electricity Sector.

According to the report, the total estimated financial loss to Nigeria from corruption in the electricity sector starting from the return to democracy in 1999 to date is over N11 trillion. This represents public funds, private equity and social investment (or divestments) in the power sector. It is estimated that may reach over N20 trillion in the next decade given the rate of Government investment and funding in the power sector amidst dwindling fortune and recurrent revenue shortfalls.

SERAP also urges you to immediately implement the judgment by Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor, in suit number FHC/L/CS/105/19 which ordered your government to immediately publish the names of companies and the whereabouts of the contractors paid by governments since 1999 to carry out electricity projects across the country but disappeared with the money without executing any projects.

The enforcement of the judgment could potentially reveal individuals, contractors, and companies allegedly responsible for squandering over N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply under successive governments, lead to the prosecution of suspected perpetrators, and recovery of missing public funds.

We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, the Incorporated Trustees of SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.

Please accept the expression of our highest consideration. Thanking you in advance of your attention to the matter.

Yours sincerely,

Kolawole Oluwadare

Deputy Director

CC

Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN

Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice

Federal Ministry of Justice

Shehu Shagari Way,

Central Area

Abuja


Ten years after France was rocked by a series of Islamist shootings targeting Jewish children and French soldiers, President Emmanuel Macron will on Sunday join two of his predecessors  Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Holland  along with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Toulouse for a sombre ceremony to remember the victims.

Seven people were slain in March 2012 when radicalised scooter killer Mohamed Merah, 23, opened fire on uniformed soldiers before fronting up at a Jewish school, where he shot dead a rabbi and his two children. He then turned his weapon on a third child.

The shooting spree  the first of a wave of terrorist attacks that have since traumatised France  began on 11 March in the south-western city of Toulouse, where 30-year-old soldier Imad Ibn-Ziaten was murdered after placing an online ad to sell a motorbike.

Four days later, off-duty soldiers Abel Chennouf, 24, and Mohamed Legouad, 26, were killed in a drive-by attack while withdrawing money outside their barracks in the nearby town of Montauban. Another soldier suffered debilitating injuries.

Merah, still at large, on 19 March then drove his Yamaha scooter to Toulouse's Ozar Hatorah Jewish school, where he murdered 30-year-old teacher Jonathan Sandler and his sons, six-year-old Arie and three-year-old Gabriel.

The headmaster's daughter, eight-year-old Miriam Monsonego, was also gunned down at point-blank range outside the school gates as she arrived for class. Merah shot her repeatedly. A 17-year-old boy was wounded but survived.

The week of horror culminated in Merah's death at the hands of France's elite special RAID forces, who shot him dead on 22 March following a 32-hour siege at his Toulouse home.

Enduring pain

The tragic events of 2012  which came well before the attacks on Charlie Hebdo journalists, a Hypercacher supermarket in Paris and the atrocities of November 2015 that killed 130 people  left a deep scar on France's Jewish community.

"We must do everything possible to ensure it doesn't happen again," Laurent Raynaud, a teacher at the since renamed Ohr Torah school told France Info radio, adding that issues of discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism must no longer be considered taboo subjects.

As part of a day of commemorations Sunday, some 2,000 people were expected to attend ceremonies organised by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (Crif).

A small tribute is to take place at the Ohr Torah school, where Yaacov Monsenego, Miriam's father, is still the headmaster.

He's to meet with Macron, Herzog and their wives following a wreath-laying ceremony at the foot of the school's Tree of Life, a monument to the victims.

Elsewhere in Toulouse, round table talks involving Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo are to be held to discuss secularism and the values of the French republic.

A large-scale commemorative ceremony is to take place later in the afternoon, opening with a series of readings interspersed with music.
President Nana Akufo-Addo, has reiterated that the surest way to transform Ghana's economy and reduce unemployment is by paying critical regard to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

Citing the success stories of countries like Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea with whom Ghana began its independence journey, he observed that Ghana could only attain a global giant status with deliberate and heavy investment in TVET, the area for the development of skills needed for a modern economy.

Consequently, he said the government had adopted a strategy to expand technical and vocational opportunities at both secondary and tertiary levels to strengthen the linkages between education and industry and empower the youth to deploy their skills and employ themselves and others.

This is the reason why the government has placed such importance on guaranteeing access to a minimum of Senior High School education for all Ghanaian children and is laying emphasis in particular on technical and vocational training as a major pillar for development, he added.

The President was speaking at the 92nd speech day durbar of the St Augustine's College in Cape Coast on Saturday under the theme: Redefining Education Delivery in Technological Aid: The Role of St Augustine's College.

The event was marked by the commissioning of the school's renovated and expanded computer laboratory by the President donated by alumni of the school.

He indicated that concrete efforts were underway to disabuse misconceptions that technical and vocational education was inferior and only patronised by financially or intellectually less endowed students.

Among other measures, President Akufo-Addo averred that the government had officially rolled out a 'Free TVET For All' programme in addition to its Free Senior High School (SHS) policy which had catered for some 1.6 million students since inception.

He added that the Ministry of Education was currently undertaking cutting-edge policies to achieve it object of 60:40 Science-Humanities ratio enrolment in secondary schools for its transformation agenda.

The construction of eight model Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) high schools and 20 STEM Centres across the country are at various stages of completion together with the construction of Accra STEM Academy are some of the pragmatic steps the government is taking to promote the advancement of science and technology education in Ghana, he explained.

The President further announced that the government's goal of furthering and facilitating the use of technology in the promotion of education in the country was on course.

While the government does its utmost best to ensure that it provides the requisite tools and environment for learning especially of the model science, heads of schools must supervise teaching and learning, check absenteeism of the teachers and students, and develop any effective strategies to monitor the activities of the school, he charged.

He also admonished teachers to bear in mind that they were role models to the students and must therefore project excellence to the students.

Addressing the students, he urged them to learn hard, imbibe the values of honesty and integrity, and refrain from acts that could jeopardize their prospects of a bright future.

Parents and guardians too have the responsibility to advise their wards to exhibit good behaviour in school or wherever they may be. They are partners with the school in educating their children, he said.

Responding to some requests earlier made by the school, the President pledged the government's commitment to satisfy all reasonable requests including the demand for new science equipment.

And to commemorate this occasion, I am taking as my personal responsibility, to provide a new 60-seater school bus for the school, he pledged.

Mr Henry Arthur-Gyan, the headmaster of the school, while presenting a report on the school indicated that St Augustine's, with the exclusion of first-year students, had a student population of 1,470 comprising 750 in form two and 720 in form three.

He added that the school had a staff strength of 123 regular teaching staff, 12 temporary teaching staff, and 78 non-teaching staff.

Touching on performance, he announced that the school scored 99.36 per cent in the 2021 West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), describing the school as a pacesetter.

While expressing appreciation to the government and all other stakeholders, Mr Arthur-Gyan highlighted some challenges of the school and called for immediate support.

A bigger bus, musical instrument for the regimental band, ceremonial dress for the cadet, renovation of teachers' bungalows and laboratory equipment for robotic activities were among the challenges he outlined.

For his part, Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Member of Parliament for Effutu and an alumnus of the school, recounted his difficult experience during his days in school as motivation to the students and urged them to be determined in life.

He discouraged any thought of committing suicide or other self-harm owing to hardships, stressing that they could make it through hard work.

You can be the best businessman you want to be, you can be the richest man you want to be, you can be the most respected politician you want to be, you can be a good teacher and an excellent one for that matter. You have no excuse to disappoint yourself, he urged.

GNA
For Mozambican artist Euridice Zaituna Kala, history is not something you lock away in a book or a museum. It is a fragile, living discipline that needs interaction with humans so it can be nurtured and passed down through the generations. The discovery of a slave ship that sank off the coast of South Africa in the 18th century is the point of departure for her latest immersive project.

Kala's most recent solo exhibition "Sea(E)scapes DNA: Don't (N)ever Ask", showing in Paris at the Salon H gallery, brings together photography, sculpture and sound installations that reflect on seven years of research.

It all began with the discovery of a wreck of the Portugese slave ship Sao Jose Paquete-d'Africa in 2015, which piqued Kala's imagination.

Loaded with 400 slaves, the ship left Ilha de Mocambique, a small island from where the Portugese administered their east African colonies, for Sao Luis do Maranho in Brazil. This was in 1794.

When it sank off the coast of Cape Town, 210 people perished. The others were picked up and delivered to their destination.

Kala was intrigued by the circumstances and began to look for information, but she could only find records from the Portuguese side, and nothing from Mozambique's records.

"It was a project that chose me," she told RFI, adding it was a chance for her to "reappropriate history", so often written by those in powerful positions.

Embodying history

Born in Maputo in 1978, Kala trained as a photographer at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has lived abroad for some 15 years, the last six of those based in Paris, but her heart is still in Africa.

Although it is impossible to know exactly what happened on board the Sao Jose Paquete-d'Africa, what is known is that she set out on a journey to retrace the steps of the ship's trajectory. She visited Lisbon, the Ila de Mocambique and Cape Town.

She explains how the shackles and other remains of the wreck were sent to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, opened by former US president Barack Obama in 2016.

Kala was surprised that "all this information was leaving African shores without having passed through Mozambican institutions, historical sites ... without having done the tour."

What about the lives lost in the journey? What did those people think, feel, hear?

"Through this journey I was to become the archive," the artist told RFI, focusing on the conditions these people found themselves in, but taking it a step further by incorporating her own memories and souvenirs.

The sea is a canvas, a membrane

The sea, as a character itself, provides a canvas for Kala to explore the gaps in history, and present the 'unofficial soundtrack' for those who travelled across it long ago.

The second part of the project's title, "DNA: Don't (N)ever Ask", reflects the constantly evolving nature of her work as an artist, always weaving threads of the past together with the present, asking questions, challenging history.

It's about memory, it's about viewing the sea as a living membrane, a space for reference but also identifying that the human body has 70 percent of water, so we are the sea, we are part of this element," she says.

Just as she does with all her projects, Kala dives deep into the archives first to draw out bits of information, then creates what she calls "a space for sharing" where the personal and the public can meet.

"Even though I come from this country (Mozambique) that does not have a highly developed history of slavery, we still feel it, it's still entrenched in our DNA; these memories are still there, and how do we deal with them, what kind of symptoms arise in daily life? We're still dealing with this history."

To draw the audience into the conversation with this dark chapter of history, Kala has concocted a soundscape with the help of Romain Mascagni, taking liberal inspiration from the sounds of the sea, the noises of the ship, of what she imagines to be the experience of these bodies transported across the waves.

Forgotten sounds, vibrations

The sounds evoke fear, longing, hunger, waiting  the unknown.

"I really want the public to be immersed, submerged within the narrative. Within this composition, we are travelling around different textures of sound; the sea, the vessel, the body, and how we perceive certain vibrations and certain frequencies."

The walls and the floor of the gallery are covered with objects  transparent glass domes, engraved metal plates, glass sheets with black and white photos. We could easily imagine they are remnants of a wreck washed up upon some distant shore.

Many of the items have small speakers attached, a voice to emit sound. The loops of sound start and stop intermittently, while overhead, the main speakers pulse out different sound sequences, taking the visitor into what feels very much like the hull of a ship, or the belly of a whale.

"History is a fragile discipline and my personal history is a fragile discipline, so I'm interested in moulding this and constructing narratives around these two spaces, the macro and the micro. This is my kind of methodology that I'm working around."

"Sea(E)scapes DNA: Don't (N)ever Ask" is at the Le Salon H gallery in Paris until 26 March 2022.

Euridice Zaituna Kala is to exhibit work as part of a group show during the first Fata Morgana festival at the Jeu de Paume gallery in Paris from 22 March  29 May.
20.03.2022 LISTEN

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has taken over investigations into the shooting incident which occurred in Wa in the Upper West Region, which led to the death of a lecturer, on March 17, 2022.

The CID Headquarters has taken over the investigation into circumstances leading to a shooting incident that occurred on Thursday, March 17, 2022, in Wa, that claimed one life.

The police in a statement dated March 19, 2022, and signed by the Director-General Public Affairs, DCOP Kwesi Ofori, assured the bereaved families that a full-scale and thorough investigation will be done into the matter, and culprits will be dealt with.

The Police Administration wishes to assure the family of a full-scale thorough investigation into the incident. Anyone found to be complicit in the incident will be dealt with according to the law.

The police further added that patrol has been tightened in the area to prevent any of such happenings.

The Administration further wishes to state that day and night patrol have been intensified in the area to ward off any criminal-minded elements.

The shooting incident which took place a few metres away from the Wa SSNIT Flat killing 64-years-old Stephen Mani, a retired lecturer of Dr Hilla Limann Technical University, is said to have occurred following a scuffle over a parcel of family land.

Mr Mani was hit by a stray bullet shot during the scuffle. On arrival at the Wa Municipal Hospital, he was pronounced dead.

Four other people were also hit by stray bullets and are in the same hospital. They are said to be in a critical state.

These five are however reported to be in no connection with the alleged family land dispute.

The police also revealed that the IGP has spoken with the deceased family and has assured them of bringing to justice every culprit in the matter while commiserating with them.

citinewsroom
Government is taking steps to deal with the rampant fuel increment in the country, according to this portal sources close to the Cabinet retreat at the Peduase Lodge.

The Ministers of Energy and Finance have been tasked by government to find ways of addressing the escalating fuel prices in the country although it is global phenomena.

Another topic discussed was a concrete decision to raise capital in order to bring the economy back on track with injection of over $2 billion and to check the depreciation of the cedi.

The source whispered that government has decided to review existing protocols imposed on arriving passengers at the airport.

Government is considering scrapping COVID 19 test for vaccinated travelers especially the mandatory testing either before one boards an incoming flight or when one arrives at the Kotoka International Airport.

Also, Government has decided to reopen all land borders in the country. The borders which were closed to human traffic over 2 years ago following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana will be reopened based on some conditions which will be spelt out.

Reopening of the borders was as a result of a recommendation by the COVID-19 taskforce to the President and Cabinet as a whole following three months of studies and analysis of Covid-19 vaccination and infection trends in Ghana and neighbouring West African countries.

The President is expected to address the nation on some of the issues addressed at the retreat shortly.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo chaired the meeting which was aimed at finding solutions to the recent economic challenges confronting the nation.

The cabinet retreat was held from Thursday March 17 to Sunday, March 20, 2022.

Government is optimistic that some of the decisions taken will go a long way to address the continuous depreciation of the cedi, stabilize the economy and the recent increments in fuel prices as well as reduce burden on Ghanaians.

The meeting was attended by Majority Caucus in Parliament, ministers, government appointees, and the leadership of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

However, one of the issues which was not tabled before the deliberation was government going to the International Monetary Fund for bailout as government was hopeful that the passage of the Electronic Transaction Levy commonly called E-levy which has been tabled before Parliament will help deal with the majority of the problems confronting the economy.

DGN online
Shortwave radio making a comeback

The New York Times carries an interesting article about shortwave radio which reads: As Russia is trying to cut off the flow of information in Ukraine by attacking its communications infrastructure British news outlet BBC is revisiting a broadcasting tactic popularized during World War II:

shortwave radio.

Shortwave radio has been a go-to vehicle to reach listeners in conflict zones for decades, used to deliver crackling dispatches to soldiers in the Persian Gulf war, send codes to spies in North Korea and pontificate through the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. But more modern forms of radio along with the internet eventually pushed shortwave out of favour; the BBC retired its shortwave transmissions in Europe 14 years ago.

Now talking Shortwave, listen on 4625 kHz.

This has for many years been the location on the dial for the Buzzer a Russian military transmitter whose nickname describes its monotonous on/off buzzing transmission perfectly. As the current Ukrainian situation has taken shape it has become a minor battleground, and the Buzzer now shares its frequency with a variety of other stations broadcasting music, spectrograms, and other radio junk intended to disrupt it.

For the curious this can be watched unfolding on a spectrogram or through headphones by anyone within range who has an HF receiver, or for everyone else, with a WebSDR. Over the time monitoring it heard has been overlaying speech, and music varying from the Soviet and American anthems through dance music and K-pop to 1960s British rock and of course Boney Ms Rasputin, with a few slightly macabre choices such as Final Countdown and an air raid siren. Even intros from the Benny Hill Show, the A-Team and Mission Impossible, so whoever is doing this has a wide taste.

Alongside the music at about 4628kHz seen has been a series of spectrogram messages scroll past in Ukrainian, Russian, and English, ranging from Stop war to lewd suggestions about the Russian President. Its fair to say that none of these transmissions have obscured the Buzzer, but they have had the effect of significantly increasing the noise on the channel.
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Harrisburg, Pa.  A judge last week scolded the Pennsylvania State Police for the agencys poor response to a reporter seeking trooper emails, text messages, and voicemails  some of which may no longer exist.

At issue was whether the State Police had the power to provide their own phone records to a freelance journalist requesting trooper communications about protests of Sunocos 350-mile Mariner East pipeline.

Attorneys for the State Police argued the agency didnt have the records or the authority to request them from Verizon, its cell phone contractor.

After the hearing, attorneys for the reporter wrote in a filing that the Verizon contract includes a provision that makes it clear that such records must be released under the states Right-to-Know Law and the State Police should provide them.

Verizon told Spotlight PA that providing the voicemails and texts from years ago is now impossible  they no longer exist.

At this point, we do not have access to any customer emails or voicemails, wrote Rich Young, a corporate communications director for Verizon. Our retention periods for text message data (and especially message content) are very brief.

The hearing, which was often contentious, started with Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler questioning Emily Rodriguez, an attorney for the State Police, about the blacking out of emails sent to reporter Dan Schwartz.

They did get it eventually, Rodriguez said of the unredacted emails.

Yeah, I understand, but it is still glaring to see every piece of information blacked out, Ceisler said, adding that there was no clear explanation for the State Polices redactions.

Schwartz filed his request for emails, text messages, and voicemails in March 2021. The State Police initially provided emails, many of which were heavily blacked out. They said no text messages or voicemails existed but failed to provide an affidavit, a legally required document explaining that.

Schwartz then filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, which prompted the State Police to produce less redacted copies of the emails. Still, troopers did not produce voicemails, text messages, or a full account of how they searched for the records, as required by law.

Rodriguez told the judge that the State Police could not produce voicemails and texts because Verizon would not release them without a court order or a subpoena.

Ultimately the records were not in the possession or control of the Pennsylvania State Police and that was the bottom line, she said. I appreciate the state of the law hasnt caught up with the technology and they dont like it, but thats where we are.

Paula Knudsen Burke, one of Schwartzs attorneys and counsel for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a journalism-focused legal services group, told the judge the case had serious implications for similar public records requests of phone records. Most requesters dont have the means to take their cases to court.

There has to be some additional recourse, Burke said. Government agencies cant place records with a third-party vendor and say they cant get those records.

Rodriguez said that there was no legal way to file a subpoena under the Right-to-Know Law and that the State Police could not file one for the phone records. She also said the Verizon contract was held by another state agency.

Ceisler questioned why the issue of needing a subpoena had not come up earlier.

You could have included all this [in responses to the request], which would have put us all in the position of not being blindsided by this, she said to Rodriguez.

The judge had planned on filing a court order compelling Verizon to produce the State Police voicemails and text messages in the coming weeks. Its not clear what will happen now that Schwartzs lawyers filed a petition that included the contract, which states Verizon must comply with records requests. Ceisler also still has to rule on whether the State Police must pay attorneys fees to Schwartzs lawyers.

Cases like this are rare because of the way the states Right-to-Know Law is set up, said Melissa Melewsky, in-house counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, of which Spotlight PA is a member.

Taking a public records case to court can be expensive, and even if a petitioner wins, theres no guarantee the state will have to pay their attorneys fees. That means most cases are taken by lawyers from places like the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which took Schwartzs case, or never make it in front of a judge.

In most cases, if you take a state agency to court and win you will not be reimbursed, Melewsky said. Youll get your records, but youll also be out likely thousands of dollars. Thats a significant barrier to access and a significant deterrent to people pursuing public access rights under Pennsylvania law.

Schwartz, a freelance journalist based in Colorado, said it was reassuring to hear the judges comments and her order to release information.

I think as a journalist and a member of the public it is easy to lose faith, he said. Its beyond nice to have faith in the judiciary in matters of public records.

WHILE YOURE HERE... If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
David Schmalz here, thinking about what it would feel like to grow up in a country that is actively being taken over by another country.

Its on my mind because thats what happened to outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez, who was born in Monterey in 1835, and then starting in 1847, saw Americaand white peoplestart to take over California.

Whether or not thats part of why Vasquez embarked on a life of crime by age 19 is unknowable, but author John Boessnecker seems to think it was not.

The reality is, he probably would have been an outlaw [anyway], he says.

Boessneckers 2010 book Bandido: The LIfe and Times of Tiburcio Vasquez, is the definitive account of Vasquezs life, and is packed with more than 400 pages of fascinating details. Boessenecker, who has authored 11 Western history books in the last 33 years and is at work on number 12, says hed been collecting information about Vasquez for almost 40 years by the time he sat down to write Bandido.

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

Vasquez is a layered character who lived an eventful lifehis criminal career spanned two decadesand in this weeks cover story I seek to distill the essence of who he was as a man. As a native Caifornian, I was struck by how little I knew about him when I set out to work on this story, especially given that in life (and even more so in death) many in the Hispanic community came to consider him a folk hero of the Robin Hood archetype.

Whether Vasquez was a hero, villain, or some part of both is a question I wrestle with in this story. Its also a journey through his lifeI think its a pretty wild ride.

As always, Id love to hear your thoughts on the matter, and I hope you enjoy the story.

Read full newsletter here.
The New Idria mine and ghost town, tucked away in the southern Diablo Range, isnt far from Monterey County as the crow flies, but its a journey to get there. Thats in part why, in the mid-1800s, it was a favored haunt for outlaws.
March 20, 2022 Ukraine Open Thread 2022-32 Only news & views related to the Ukraine conflict ... Posted by b on March 20, 2022 at 13:01 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
If your relative lived at Trinity Towers on West Illinois as ours did, you may have noticed that the buildings seem to be derelict structures and home to vagrants and cats. It wasnt always so; in fact, at the turn of the century, it was still a thriving assisted living facility owned by Presbyterian Homes in the heart of the city.

Its ambience gave it a vibe like a sorority house for the elderly. Birthday parties occurred frequently in the dining room and rousing games of canasta and chickenfoot in the lobby.

Once Manor Parks assisted living facility, Helen Greathouse Manor, was completed in 2005, remaining residents were transferred there. Former Manor Park Inc. President and CEO Alan Hale recalls, Trinity Towers had a wonderful history and valued purpose from its opening in 1970 to its closing. We sold it to a group of local investors who soon flipped it to the Midland County Housing Authority, which had hoped to rehabilitate it for low-income elderly.

Staff there said government funding fell through, so in 2018 the housing authority sold the property, appraised by MCAD at $1.725 million to 2800 W. Illinois LLC, based out of town. The entitys agent is a veteran real estate investor, who says he has a big local team and maintains more than 100 other units in our area. With a stated penchant for these types of projects, he filed plans with the city which showed renovations to Tower 1 (facing Illinois) to provide affordable housing.

City staff explained approved plans included the purchase of an adjoining lot for more parking spaces. The lobby was to be refurbished to hold a catering space, retail area for lease as well as office area. The second floor living accommodations were to be reconfigured by sealing some doorways to turn individual rooms into two-bedroom units. Open balconies would become private terraces, and each apartment would have a highly-efficient Mitsubishi HVAC unit.

The contractor brought in a crew from El Paso who moved into some of the adjoining empty fourplexes to perform asbestos abatement in Tower 1 and a gut rehab. A couple of floors were finished, the owners representative confirmed. Some of the problems identified by Hale included a worn-out roof, old elevators and cast-iron pipes that broke continually.

After what the agent estimates to be an investment of a few million dollars, the work paused because of the local economy downturn and COVID-19 pandemic.

The ultimate goal is to offer affordable housing in Tower 1, rent those units to get some cash flowing and then fix up Tower 2, which apparently does not contain asbestos. The owner didnt budge from the project when a potential buyer approached him because, he says, The buildings are structurally sound, so why would I give it up? I intend to complete it. He may look into local, state and federal programs for assistance, he added.

Despite the earlier remodel, today many windows are broken and a barbed-wire, chain-link fence surrounds the two towers. A vandalized car (left behind by a worker) sits in the former courtyard, and the fence has a breach large enough for people and animals to crawl through. (When apprised of this, the owner directed some of his team to re-secure the property.)

Hopefully, as 2022 brings high oil prices, less severe COVID infections, and more growth in Midland, well see a brighter future for the old Trinity Towers and another location with affordable rental units for Midlanders in a year or two.
South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC

The March meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday, the 28th of March 2022, at 8.00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford, Eircode X91 H588. New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.

With less than a month to go to the 89th IRTS AGM Weekend which will be held on Saturday and Sunday, the 9th and 10th of April at the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Carlow. People are reminded to please prebook your dinner tickets. Dinner tickets for the Gala Dinner on the Saturday evening can be prebooked from John EI7IG. Tickets cost 35 and must be prebooked before the 4th of April.

The SEARG radio rally will take place on Sunday, the 10th of April, starting at 10:30 a.m. sharp and closing at 2:00 p.m. There will be no admittance to the rally for the public until 10:30 a.m. The rally promises to be a great day with Irelands main radio dealers and equipment suppliers in attendance. There will also be many individual traders in attendance so come early to grab a bargain! The entry fee to the rally will be 5 Euro.

The Irish Radio Transmitters Society's 2022 Annual General Meeting will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, the 10th of April 2022 in the Morrison Suite at the Woodford Dolmen Hotel. Entry to the AGM will only be permitted to fully paid-up IRTS members and in line with previous practice membership will be checked prior to entry. EI2WRC are looking forward to welcoming everyone to Carlow over the weekend for the event. For more information about the event please see www.irtsagm2022cw.blogspot.com

For anyone that wishes to find out more about the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group and their activities you can drop them an email to southeasternarg /at/ gmail.com or please feel free to go along to any of their meetings. You can check their website www.searg.ie and you can also join them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

IRTS
U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, speaks on the opening day of the 117th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 3, 2021.
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From government bans to customers pouring it in gutters by the gallon, Americans are saying nyet to Russian vodka, expressing their anger over the Kremlins unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Politicians have known since the republics founding that folks love taking out their frustrations at the ballot box. And in a capitalist economy like ours, Americans arent shy about doing it with their pocketbooks, either.

In fact, American independence actually grew out of one such economic protest.

Britain shelled out big bucks (or pounds, as it were) on the French-Indian War from 1754 to 1763. To recoup that money, Parliament imposed the Stamp Act in 1765. Everything from playing cards to magazines to newspapers required the hated tax stamp. And get this  it had to be paid in actual British pounds, not with the colonials own cheaper paper money.

Taxes being every bit as popular then as they are now, the colonials werent too merry about sending their income back to Merry Olde England.

It led to the famous rallying cry, Taxation without representation! It also produced an economic boycott. Colonists suddenly found they could do without new playing cards, magazines and newspapers. That hurt businesses bottom line back in Britain, and King George III put the kibosh on the hated tax a year later.

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, many patriotic people boycotted eating Germanys signature dish, sauerkraut. Those who couldnt go without the tart treat justified it by rebranding it Liberty Cabbage for the duration.

In more recent times, Russias best-known brand of booze, Stolichnaya Vodka, was also the target of a widespread boycott. On Sept. 1, 1983, Korean Air Lines flight 007 veered off course and was shot down over Soviet airspace. All 269 people on board, including Georgia Congressman Larry McDonald, were killed.

That prompted an immediate and intense pushback from furious American consumers. At its height, 15 state liquor agencies banned Stoli sales. But the bottles were back on most store shelves in less than a year. And in some places the boycott boomeranged. In Iowa, for example, sales shot up from an average of 34 cases sold before the crisis to 68 afterward.

Another Cold War relic, the Cuban Trade Embargo, didnt go entirely as planned, either. The Kennedy administration announced a major extension of existing embargoes to punish the islands communist government. Cutting off exports of legendary Cuban cigars turned them into highly prized forbidden fruit relished by stogie connoisseurs. It should also be noted that President John F. Kennedy secretly ordered 1,200 of those very cigars for his personal use just hours before announcing the embargo on Feb. 7, 1962. Talk about insider trading.

A mini-backlash against France in general and a famous food item in particular came in 2001. France opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. That prompted some eateries (including congressional restaurants on Capitol Hill) to stop selling French fries and offer Freedom fries instead.

The current crackdown on Russian booze is part of a proud tradition. When Americans are miffed, they view cash registers as voting booths and their dollars as their ballot.

A parting point worth noting: Like so many words in our vocabulary (sandwich, cardigan, Braille, and even Graham crackers), boycott comes from someones name.

After retiring from the British army, Capt. Charles Boycott worked as a landlord in Ireland. Times were hard on the Emerald Isle in the late 19th century. Tenants demanded their rent be lowered. It came down a little, but not enough to help the impoverished Irishmen. Boycott was ordered to evict people in 1880.

That didnt go over well in the close-knit Irish community. His employees stopped working for him, store owners wouldnt take his money, and even his postal carrier refused to deliver his mail. In short, they boycotted Boycott. Which was how that proper noun became a verb.

It's a verb American vodka vendors are hearing quite often these days.
Algiers, 20 March 2022 (SPS) - Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Ramtane Lamamra, and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, welcomed the convergence of views on issues of common interest, including the Western Sahara issue, and the unwavering mutual support to issues inherent to their fundamental interests and concerns.



The two FMs affirmed their support for efforts aimed at reaching a lasting and just solution within the framework of international legitimacy, especially the relevant United Nations (UN) resolutions on Western Sahara.



Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, Ramtane Lamamra, paid a working and friendship visit to the Peoples Republic of China on 19-21 March 2022, at the invitation of Chinas Minister of Foreign Affairs, State Councilor, Wang Yi. The two FMs thoroughly exchanged views on China-Algeria relations and regional and international issues of common concern.



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Tracey Talley of Arnold submitted this picture for last year's contest. The photo was taken in Mexico during a 10-year anniversary trip with her husband, Damon, in September 2013. We flew to Cabo San Lucas, she says. The little boats in the picture took us over to Lands End (El Arco), where we were able to stay on the beach and take in the beauty. That was our favorite vacation ever.
An Ocean Drive shooting minutes into Sunday sent three people to hospitals, Miami Beach police said. It appears to be the first incident of gun violence resulting in injuries this Spring Break.

Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez said when officers got to the 800 block of Ocean Drive, which is bookended by the News Cafes longtime spot on the south and the Waldorf Towers Hotel on the north, they found two people shot.

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[ Photos: Spring Break 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and across South Florida ]

As Miami Beach Fire Rescue took the two people to Jackson Memorial Hospital across the bay in Miami, Miami Beachs Mount Sinai Hospital informed police about a man who arrived there with a gunshot injury. An early investigation, Rodriguez said, put him with the other two people hit with gunfire around 12:15 a.m. All three had non-life threatening injuries, he said.

Read more at Miami Herald.
SOUTHINGTON  110 Grill in Southington opened this week, offering patrons a variety of allergy friendly meals and both indoor and outdoor dining.

Located at 99 Executive Blvd. the restaurant is in the same plaza as Home Goods and Michaels, near Interstate 84.

There is a large indoor eating section, a horseshoe shaped bar area and an outdoor patio. Customers were enjoying the afternoon sun on the patio as they dined on Friday.

Jeni, Beverly and Paige Fletcher, all from the Bristol and Plymouth area, stopped in for appetizers and drinks Friday afternoon. Beverly Fletcher said she was at Target nearby with her daughters and they decided to stop in after hearing about the opening from her son.

I actually heard about it from my son and his wife because they are gluten-free, dairy-free, Beverly Fletcher said. They cant wait to come here and we drive by here all the time.

The women said the location is convenient for Bristol residents and they were happy with the food and service.

The restaurants entire core menu can be prepared gluten free and they are able to accommodate a large range of other allergies, said Rachel Berr, general manager. The entire staff was trained on proper food preparation and if a meal is made for someone with an allergy, a manager will deliver it to the patron, Berr said.

The kitchen is open, allowing chefs to communicate with customers. she said.

Berr feels the price range is able to suit many budgets and will appeal to families, business outings and date nights.

Our company is interested in Connecticut overall, Marketing Director Alicia Puputti said. The new location is in a great spot because its right off the highway and in the shopping plaza so it seems like a great place for our second location.

The Southington location serves a diverse menu of wines, beers, seasonal cocktails and mocktails. Puputti said the chefs create their own take on popular American cuisine.

One of our biggest highlights at 110 Grill is our commitment to allergy awareness, Puputti said. We have been named one of the top 10 allergy friendly restaurant brands for the last several years.

The restaurant is open Sunday to Thursday 11:30 a.m.  8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m.  9 p.m.

lsellew@record-journal.com203-317-2225Twitter: @LaurenSellewRJ
When I think of Buc-ee's, I think of barbecue-drenched pulled pork sandwiches, walls of beef jerky, and sweet, sweet fudge. For as many times as I have been to the famous Texas pit stop, I've never taken the time to go through the store and really take a deep dive into each aisle.

This last trip to Buc-ee's changed all of that. I went searching for some of the most unique items that I could find. Jeff Nadalo, Buc-ee's general counsel, returned my call about the new Buc-ee's in Boerne, which is expected to be completed in 2025. During our conversation I asked him about his go-to Buc-ee's snacks. He shared a few of his go-to items as well. Although, he did note Texas-shaped cutting boards, I was more interested in the food  my new goal was to try these goodies.

Gabriel Romero

Wasabi Peas

When I started my quest, I figured some of the items might test my heat threshold and boy was I right. Buc-ee's has sweet and sour gummies, multiple trail mixes, and a variety of chips and popcorn, but it also has some interesting choices as well. A $4 bag of wasabi peas caught my eye.

I usually get wasabi when I eat sushi, but I never eat the stuff. In my youth, I worked at a sushi restaurant. I remember when the chefs would mix up the wasabi package in the back kitchen and the dust would literally choke you out if you got caught in the cloud. I knew these small green peas were nothing to mess with.

I cracked open the pouch and my 20s hit me right in the face. I mistakenly got about 10 or 12 wasabi peas and crunched them up. As soon as the wasabi hit the moisture from my mouth, I could feel that cloud of spicy dust scratching my throat. Now here's a tip. Don't touch your eyes when eating them or your eyes will feel the heat too.

After the initial taste test, I was apprehensive to try them again. I grabbed just one time and while it does pack a kick, the actual pea was really good and left a great aftertaste. You definitely have to try them once, but I'm still debating if I'll pick them up again.

Buc-ee's in Boerne: New store expected almost 10 years from announcement

Gabriel Romero

Pastrami Reuben

Buc-ee's has multiple barbecue sandwiches for people to grab and go, but people can also go to the kiosk counter to place an order for a grilled cheese, club sandwich, tacos and burritos. One item that jumped off the screen was the $7 pastrami Reuben sandwich. This bad boy had a pile of pastrami, bacon, pepper jack cheese, sauerkraut, mustard, and French onion pieces all on a pretzel bun.

I've been having a hard time finding pastrami sandwiches that really hit the spot. Though non-traditional, Buc-ee's pastrami Reuben hit the spot. Different isn't a bad thing. In this case, it was a great thing. I felt like I needed to unhook my jaw just to eat the sandwich, but when I bit the sandwich I took a second to compute the vast amount of flavors I tasted.

Usually, when I eat a pastrami they tend to be on the greasy side, but this one was the opposite. The thick cut of bacon was a first in a pastrami for me and I was not upset about that. It had a great spice and the mustard complimented the saltiness of the meat perfectly. The sandwich is a must have for a reason, and I'll order it again because it rivals the other barbecue sandwiches in taste.

"Damn Good Tacos": Torchy's Tacos building first New Braunfels location

Gabriel Romero

Candied Jalapenos

I've never heard of candied jalapenos, which is one of the reasons I ventured down this rabbit hole. There are a few shelves with various seasoning, spices, jams, and jellies. This $7 treat took me a long time to figure out where to place it and what food to eat them with. I figured the best way to figure this out was to eat the jalapenos by themselves.

I was expecting something hot, but there was too much sugar hitting the tip of my tongue that I had to eat another one just to see. I honestly can see myself drinking an ice cold michelada with an elote in a cup and these candied jalapenos right on top. I think they would be perfect on salty and buttery popcorn. They are sold by the jar and worth the $7 dollar price tag.

Tiktok pit stop: International TikTok star makes a pit stop at Buc-ee's

Gabriel Romero

Carolina Reaper hot sauce

This was the worst one to try for me. It brought back too many painful memories to one of my trips to the San Antonio River Walk in 2015. Inside of the Shops at Rivercenter, there used to be a hot sauce store right above the food court. They had a chili challenge where you tasted one drop of their hottest sauce. Now the $6 Buc-ee's Carolina Reaper hot sauce was tame compared to that experience, but it was the second hottest thing I've ever eaten.

I do enjoy hot chili, but this was stupid hot. I learned from the wasabi peas not to touch my face. I drank two cups of water, a large glass of milk, and about 15 scoops of H-E-B Creamy Creation ice cream, none of which seemed to help me out. Ever breath felt like I had taken another dab of the sauce. I felt like I didn't have any taste buds after the test and I'm still feeling the after effects this morning. I made the mistake of doing research while my mouth was on fire, instead of before.

According to the Scoville Scale, which measures the degree of heat in peppers. The Carolina Reaper is the hottest pepper on the planet. Coming in at between 1.5 million and 2.2 million Scoville heat units (SHU). To put it in perspective, a jalapeno falls between 2,500 and 8,000 SHU. So, while my wife was laughing at me in the corner, I saw my son walk by with a little bit of Rico's nacho cheese on a tortilla chip. As he walked out of the kitchen, through my tear-filled vision, I saw him waving his hand over his mouth to say "hot hot." I was envious of my 20-month-old son.

This one will sit in my cupboard for a few years or at least until my little brother visits the 210. If I don't see this sauce on the show "Hot Ones" then I know they aren't doing it right.

Buc-ee's in Tennessee: Texas' record-holding Buc-ee's is about to be dethroned by Tennessee

Gabriel Romero

Pickled Quail Eggs

I traveled to New Braunfels to start this taste test journey because Nadalo brought up this item during our conversation. I don't think of pickled eggs when I picture gas station food. I like deviled eggs and eggs in my Cobb salad, so this couldn't be any different. I put the jar upside down for a few hours, hoping the pepper, jalapenos and vinegar could give it a little extra kick.

I opened the jar and the smell of vinegar hit my nose. It reminded me of Easter and dying eggs. The egg was the size of a chicken nugget from Chick-fil-A.

I threw the egg into my mouth and took one bite. I felt a pop and that texture of a hard boiled egg. It was slightly rubbery, like the same grit of undercooked bacon. It wasn't bad. I never had pickled eggs, let alone quail eggs. So, next time I grab a bag of Hot Cheetos for a snack in between articles, I might grab one of these little guys out of the fridge.
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A man in East Texas has taken his mobile home and turned it into a large tin castle, with more than 20 rooms and most of it made out of tin and other pieces of salvage.

Wayne Fisher, 68, first started working on this project 45 years ago, according to KLTV.

Fisher said he started reading some do-it-yourself magazines and began reclaiming salvage from across the city of Tyler and fixing it up to add to his home. The home is located in the 13000 block of Highway 155, south of Loop 323.

He made friends with people who dealt with salvage and lumber across the city, and he was able to purchase those items from them.

It turned out to be a life-long hobby, Fisher told mySA.com. It captivated my interest and I just went from there.

Eighty percent of the home is taken from those pieces of salvage, he told KLTV, a project hes done all by himself.

He used primarily corrugated barn tin on the outside, which makes the home look like a tin castle, he said. His goal was to make the outside of the building look like a barn.

I've often been caught working up in the yard and somebody comes by and says that they would love to have a copy of my blueprints, Fisher told KLTV, saying that all those blueprints are inside his head.

He said hes now finished adding extra rooms to the property, but is now focused on finishing and furnishing the rest of the home. Fisher said maintenance on the home is an everyday job.

The Smith County Appraisal District website said the assessed value of the home is about $69,000, but the market value of the home is $101,654, according to data from the 2015 tax year.

Fisher lives in this East Texas "castle" with his Boston terrier, who's named Tyler.

Click through the slideshow to see more photos of the home.

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @tylerlwhite
For those who know the children's nursery song "Old MacDonald Had A Farm," well, he does in real life, and it's in Texas, y'all.

In 1991, Donald Wilkerson launched Old MacDonald's Farm in Humble after realizing there wasn't an official petting zoo or farm with that name, his son Mitchell told MySA.com.

READ ALSO: Texas' newest state park just a four-hour drive from San Antonio

Mitchell, who took over operations seven years ago, said his father decided to call the attraction Old MacDonald's Farm in tribute to the famous song and as a nod to Donald's first name. Mitchell said his father was always interested in safari drive-thru parks and petting zoos, so it was natural for him to start his own.

Old MacDonald's Farm is located at 3203 FM 1960 Rd. in Humble, which is about a three-and-half hour drive east of San Antonio (so plan ahead before heading out). The 15-acre property is pretty much a children's paradise with several petting zoos, playgrounds, picnic areas, and more.

Scroll below for more details about Old MacDonald's Farm.
CARBON, Texas - All Raquel Robles could do was watch the video on her phone, horrified and helpless, as first smoke, then fire, moved up her driveway and then destroyed the house she and her family had lived in for 13 years.

Flames raced through the front yard and caught on to a tree on the edge of her property in this small ranching town in north-central Texas.

"I was devastated but still very hopeful, praying that it wouldn't be too bad," she said.

Then the wind-swept smoke got even thicker, small debris flew by and orange bursts appeared. Robles knew the house, and everything in it, was turning to ash.

The Eastland Complex fire - made up of three smaller wildfires in northern Central Texas - has incinerated more than 45,000 acres of land since sparking Thursday, destroying hundreds of homes and killing a deputy sheriff who was helping evacuate residents. Deputy Sgt. Barbara Fenley, 51, was evacuating homes in Carbon, the Eastland County Sheriff's Office said, when, because of poor visibility and deteriorating conditions, she steered her vehicle off the road and into flames.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, R, declared a disaster in 11 counties affected by the blaze. Smoke on Friday drifted into skies above Houston, some 300 miles away. Only 15% of the fire was contained as of Saturday afternoon, officials said.

And conditions could worsen. Large swaths of Texas - from the Dallas and Fort Worth suburbs in the east to Lubbock in the north and Odessa and Midland in the west - are suffering extreme drought conditions. Meteorological officials expect winds from the arid southwest to kick up Sunday and Monday, fueling the fire's spread.

The National Weather Service on Saturday posted a "critical" fire weather outlook for nearly all of West Texas, half of New Mexico, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska.

"When it's as dry as it is out here and as windy as it is, that really allows that fire to spread, and that's what we've seen with the Eastland Complex," Adam Wiley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service field office in San Angelo, Texas, told The Washington Post.

Rapidly warming temperatures around the globe threaten to exacerbate wildfires, international climate experts say, lengthening fire seasons and making the blazes more harmful.

Researchers and meteorologists in Texas have worried about spring and summer fires for months after the Lone Star State experienced one of its driest and warmest summers on record, developments closely linked with global warming.

Temperatures in December in Texas averaged 5 to 12 degrees above normal, experts at Texas A&M University found, worsening the state's drought and setting the stage for a catastrophic fire season.

Meanwhile, said John Nielsen-Gammon, a Texas A&M atmospheric sciences professor, rainfall in Central Texas has increased by 10% over the past century, and the last six months of 2021 were wetter than usual.

Both developments, he said, are caused by rising global temperatures, which intensify storms during some seasons, then parch the landscape during others.

The result, he said, was that the grasses and bushes that fuel wildfires grew larger during the summer and fall, then dried out over the winter. Now those parched plants are acting as kindling to the Eastland Complex blaze.

"Rain is becoming more intense and erratic, which allows for greater periods for things to dry out," Nielsen-Gammon said. "The scientists that have looked at it carefully say we'll have increased likelihood of wildfire throughout Texas, especially in Central and East Texas. It's possible that in West Texas the drier climate may limit the amount of plant growth, leading to less fuel to burn. But in the wetter parts of Texas, there will be more fuel, and things will dry out more rapidly."

Even as the fire raged, residents began to pick up the pieces of their lives. Robles on Thursday tried to dash home from across town to grab some belongings from her home before the flames closed in. A few miles from her house, she had to turn back. First responders had blocked the roads.

Her children, ages 5, 13 and 19, are usually home at 4 p.m. during the week, she said, when the blaze approached her neighborhood. By chance, they were out of the house that day.

"For whatever reason," Robles said, "God made sure that no one was home."

Jackie Juarez left Carbon on Thursday to visit her 21-year-old daughter near Dallas. The home in which she and her family lived for 17 years had been spared from other fires in recent years. She said she tried not to worry her daughter as they visited, even as her husband texted and called her with updates.

"This is not good," he said at first. "Everything is burning."

Then in a text message minutes later: "Our house is down . . . gone."

She returned to her neighborhood on Saturday to assess the damage to what was once her five-bedroom, double-wide trailer. The family's fire-gutted pickup sat on wheel rims, the tires melted away and paint burned off. The surrounding trees were scorched but standing. The metal siding from her home was warped and covered in a layer of soot.

"This is all we have left," she said.

Across the street, three school-aged children played on a swing set and a brightly-colored toy boat and firetruck. Their grandfather Terry Alsabrook sorted through the rubble of his home behind them.

The Eastland Complex fire ravaged the entire neighborhood. It killed Alsabrook's two beagles; his Shih Tzu is gone and presumed dead. His Harley-Davidson motorcycle was destroyed.

Only his grandchildren's play area was left intact. Eight of his 14 domesticated ducks survived by jumping in a small children's pool.

"They've got some burnt feet, but they'll survive," he said.

His 84-year-old father, James Alsabrook, was trapped in the home, his son said, unaware of the impending danger. The son sped home from out of town to rescue his father from the house, but police at a roadblock told Terry Alsabrook that Carbon was too dangerous to enter.

Emergency officials dispatched a state trooper to the Alsabrook home to bring James, who uses a walker, to safety.
Dear patient readers,

Lambert and I, and many readers, agree that Ukraine has prompted the worst informational environment ever. We hope readers will collaborate in mitigating the fog of war  both real fog and stage fog  in comments. None of us need more cheerleading and link-free repetition of memes; there are platforms for that. Low-value, link-free pom pom-wavers will be summarily whacked.

And for those who are new here, this is not a mere polite request. We have written site Policies and those who comment have accepted those terms. To prevent having to resort to the nuclear option of shutting comments down entirely until more sanity prevails, as we did during the 2015 Greek bailout negotiations and shortly after the 2020 election, we are going to be ruthless about moderating and blacklisting offenders.

Yves

P.S. Also, before further stressing our already stressed moderators, read our site policies:

Please do not write us to ask why a comment has not appeared. We do not have the bandwidth to investigate and reply. Using the comments section to complain about moderation decisions/tripwires earns that commenter troll points. Please dont do it. Those comments will also be removed if we encounter them.

P.P.S. One of our mods is on holiday till the end of the month, so comment liberation may take longer than usual. We are very sorry! Please be patient.

* * *

Too Specific and Too Vague London Review of Books

The New Neurasthenia The Baffler

Africas global biodiversity hotspot BBC

Weird Science Los Angeles Review of Books

Largest Aztec temple was decorated with over 100 starfish Ars Technica

Holy Roman Administrator Literary Review

May I Quote? Los Angeles Review of Books

Inside the plan to fix Americas never-ending cybersecurity failures MIT Technology Review

He Teaches Police Witching To Find Corpses. Experts Are Alarmed. Marshall Project

Indian farmers use tech solutions to keep away marauding monkeys Deutsche Welle

#COVID-19

New Not-So-Cold War

When we say Kyiv is winning the information war, far too often we only mean information spaces we inhabit. Pulling apart the most obvious RU info op to date (as we did using semantic modelling), very clear it is targeting BRICS, Africa, Asia. Not the West really at all. pic.twitter.com/GA5KUQo77S  Carl Miller (@carljackmiller) March 18, 2022

C.I.A. officers are helping to ensure that crates of weapons are delivered into the hands of vetted Ukrainian military units, according to American officials. https://t.co/g4O0LyBqDm  Corey Pein  (@coreypein) March 19, 2022

We are taxing a part of the extraordinary profits that producers have been made thanks to the higher cost of raw material, and we are redistributing these funds to companies and families which are struggling, Draghi said. https://t.co/Y9Kr6hreJl  Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) March 19, 2022

Climate Change

Oil and Gas Industry Heavily Outspends Clean Energy and Environmental Groups on Lobbying in California Capital & Main

Free-range eggs unavailable in Britain from Monday Guardian

Waste Watch

Groves of Academe

Why Are Scholars Such Snitches? Chronicle of Higher Education

New York cannabis regulations are in limbo. But the pot industry is booming on reservations. Politico

Class Warfare

FIRST up on #FridayNightZillow, a fun home in Cleveland, Wisconsin (?) thats full of quirks.

All tables benches and barrel shelves are floor joists from a Johnsonville Brat smokehouse!

*Wine room door from a Battleship

And much much more $1.25M.https://t.co/IVWNGgRDOG pic.twitter.com/NjGxJopCm5  Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) March 19, 2022

Planners Battle Over Marking U.S. 250th Anniversary WSJ

Biden Administration

Republicans demand new probe into Hunter Biden laptop, coverup NY Post

Chile

Gabriel Boric: Democracy Is Built by All of Us Together Jacobin. Translation of the inaugural address of Chiles new socialist president.

India

The plot thickens Telegraph

Syraqistan

Antidote du Jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
By Jerri-Lynn Scofield, who has worked as a securities lawyer and a derivatives trader. She is currently writing a book about textile artisans.

Three U.S. Senators  Ron Wyden, Cynthia Lummis, and Ben Ray Lujan  introduced legislation last week to ensure the right to repair.

The Fair Repair Act of 2022 would require manufacturers of digital electronic equipment to make tools, parts, and documentation available to owners and independent repair providers. This is the first right to repair measure introduced into the Senate that would apply broadly to several industries, including consumer electronics, farm equipment, medical equipment, and motor vehicles.

Previously, narrower initiatives have been considered, limited to single industries. In 2020, Wyden introduced a measure that would have established a right to repair for medical equipment only. Similarly, earlier this year, Senator Jon Tester introduced legislation to cover farm equipment.

Biden issued a right to repair executive order last year and reaffirmed his support in January. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also undertaken separate initiatives to advance the concept (see Biden Taps Lina Khan to Chair the FTC, FTC Votes 5-0 to Crack Down on Companies For Thwarting Right to Repair, and FTC, Where Art Thou?: Appliance Manufacturers Routinely Invalidate Warranties if Customers Use Third-Party Repair Services).

Despite this activity, its not altogether clear to me whether the Biden team will make passing legislation a priority at this time  especially as a powerful array of corporations opposes the right to repair, including Apple and John Deere (see, e.g., my recent post, Failing the Fix: Grading Apple, Dell, Google, Microsoft on the Ease of Repair of Their Products). Their business models rely on thwarting the ability of consumers or third-party repair shops to fix things when they break.

A broad coalition of disparate interests groups supports the Fair Repair Act of 2022, including the National Farmers Union, the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, the New Mexico Chile Association, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge, the Repair Association, Consumer Reports, The Public Interest Research Group, and iFixit, according to the Sierra Sun Times.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Groups (US PIRG) senior right to repair campaign director Nathan Proctor sounded an upbeat note and noted, our rag-tag band of repair shops, tinkerers, farmers, makers, DIYers, environmentalists and consumer advocates are taking on some of the most powerful companies in the world  and we continue to make progress. The time has come to just let people fix their stuff.

One factor that might factor in heavily in calculations as to whether to support right to repair measures now is the impact of the computer chips shortage  exacerbated by the crisis in Ukraine. and likely to be a problem for industries dependent on such chips. As the Sierra Sun Times observed, This bipartisan effort to increase access to repair for consumer goods would greatly reduce waste, reliance on foreign-manufactured chips, and empower small-businesses and farmers to repair their own equipment [Jerri-Lynn here: emphasis added]..

Litigation Will Proceed Regardless of Progress on Pending State and Federal Legislation

Litigation hasnt waited on the enactment of any state or federal right to repair legislationmay result in prod enactment of a right to repair, as attorneys from the law firm Troutman Pepper recognized Friday in Right-to-Repair Movement Without Right-to-Repair Laws:

The right-to-repair movement continues to gain momentum, and as predicted, litigation has started even in the absence of enacted right-to-repair laws. In a recently filed class-action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the plaintiff alleges that the equipment manufacturer deliberately prevents farmers from repairing their own equipment or using independent repair shops, which the plaintiff argues are antitrust violations under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C.  1, 2. See Eagle Lake Farms Partnership v. Deere & Co., No. 3:22-cv-50078 (N.D. Ill.).

Noting that as of end 2021, more than half of all U.S. states had pending right to repair legislation and that the Biden administration supports right to repair rules, they observed:

Even in the absence of such laws though, we anticipated that litigants and regulators would use existing antitrust laws and consumer protection laws to increase scrutiny of practices that restrict consumers right to repair. [Jerri-Lynn here: emphasis added]. The recently filed Eagle Lake Farms lawsuit is one such example. In that case, the complaint alleges that farmers traditionally had the ability to repair and maintain their own tractors, or at least had the option to bring their tractors to an independent mechanic for repairs. However, the complaint alleges that John Deere deliberately monopolizes the repair and maintenance market by making crucial software and repair tools inaccessible to farmers and independent repair shops. The complaint further alleges that John Deere also prevents its network of highly consolidated dealerships (Dealerships) from providing farmers and repair shops with access to the same software and tools used by the Dealerships, which provides John Deere and the Dealerships with supracompetitive profits from the sale of repair and maintenance services. The complaint brings eight counts under the Sherman Act for antitrust violations, as well as counts for promissory estoppel and unjust enrichment. The complaints proposed nationwide class includes [a]ll persons and entities residing in the United States who, during the Class Period of January 10, 2018 to the present, purchased Deere Repair Services for Deere Tractors from Defendant or Deeres authorized Dealers and/or technicians.

The Troutman Pepper attorneys are optimistic that some state and/ or federal right to repair measures will be enacted this year.Im not so sure this battle will be won quite so soon. Nonetheless, they:

anticipate an increase in investigations, enforcement proceedings, and lawsuits from private litigants and regulators using existing antitrust laws in the absence of right-to-repair legislation. The Eagle Lake Farms lawsuit provides but one example of such a strategy. As courts interpret the scope of antitrust enforcement in the context of the right-to-repair movement, we anticipate that regulators will proceed with their own enforcement actions to shape the right-to-repair jurisprudence.

In other words, theres more than one mechanism by which to achieve right to repair goals. Legislation isnt necessarily the be-all and end-all. Whether or not the Biden administration gets behind the Wyden et al bill, other regulators, both federal (e.g, the FTC) and state, will proceed independently with their own enforcement initiatives.
(Natural News) In The Art of War, Sun Tzu stated, All warfare is based in deception.

The timeless truth of that observation from a Chinese strategist of the 6th Century B.C. is on full display in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, with the discovery of a dangerous example of deception in contemporary warfare.

(Article by Richard Bledsoe republished from WesternJournal.com)

To counter Ukrainian air defenses, Russia has been using short-range ballistic missiles that launch decoy munitions while carrying their deadly payloads. This innovation surprised Western observers, The New York Times reported on Monday.

Identifying the 16-inch long, dart-shaped objects recovered in Ukraine as part of a decoy system solved a mystery that began shortly after the invasion started in late February. At first, the strange recovered munitions were puzzling, as demonstrated in a Twitter post by CAT-UXO, a site identified by the Times as intended for military and civilian bomb disposal experts.

This is an unidentified munition currently being found in Ukraine. At the moment an official identification has not been made. Any additional images, technical information or identification is very much appreciated: https://t.co/dtWwdIJaV3 pic.twitter.com/p2lWFeljYd  CAT-UXO (@CAT_UXO) March 5, 2022

As reported by the U.K. Daily Mail, missile decoys are known in military jargon as penetration aids, or PENAIDs, and were developed during the Cold War.

According to The Drive, an automotive website with extensive coverage of military matters, PENAIDS were originally deployed on long-range missiles carrying nuclear warheads. They were created in response to the development of anti-missile defense systems.

The idea is to overwhelm enemy air defenses with multiple potential threats, so the real devices have better odds of striking their targets.

The Russian innovation has been to add the decoys to their short-range Iskander-M missiles, according to the Times, which noted, The incorporation of the devices into weapons like the Iskander-M that have conventional warheads has not been previously documented in military arsenals.

These so-called short-range weapons still have a range of 310 miles, according to The Drive.

The rockets are fired from mobile launchers, which increases their reach and unpredictability. Both The Drive and the Daily Mail reported that some Iskander-Ms were launched into Ukraine from the Russian-friendly country of Belarus.

The decoys launch when the Iskander-M detects it has been targeted by air defense systems, according to The Times.

Iskander-Ms were already hard to defend against, as the highly elusive missiles fly at a low trajectory. The PENAIDS add multiple ways for them to counter antimissile systems.

In the Daily Mail report, Michael Duitsman, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, explained three ways PENAIDs can work:

As physical objects, they clutter up radar. They can use flares to create hotspots for heat-seeking weapons. Electronically, they can transmit signals disrupting radar and other electronics.

The Iskander-M PENAID does all three, Duitsman said.

Professor Jeffrey Lewis, a non-proliferation expert at the James Martin Center, believes he identified how the missile releases the decoys.

The Iskander can release PENAIDS from six ports in the base of the missile. You can see the ports in this image  they are the big circles around the base on this training dummy. pic.twitter.com/uie74C6Zbe  Dr. Jeffrey Lewis (@ArmsControlWonk) March 15, 2022

Lewis told the Times that Russia has now given away a secret of its military abilities because the Russian military has to know that the missiles will be studied by Western experts to devise effective countermeasures.

We must hope so. The Daily Mail noted that Ukraine has not been effective in countering the ballistic missiles. It is unknown how much of that failure is due to the use of PENAIDs.

According to The Drive, Iskander-Ms can be fitted with nuclear warheads. It would only take one such missile introduced into the Ukrainian conflict to cause catastrophic results.

Despite pressure from many nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin has persisted with the invasion. The response from the West has been inconsistent at best.

As the combat continues, Russia will give away more of its secret abilities and technology. We must learn to counter them before its too late.

Read more at: WesternJournal.com
A broken drawbridge has been in the upright position for the past two weeks in Delray Beach and will stay stuck that way for at least six more weeks  posing a big headache for frustrated neighbors and commuters.

The George Bush bridge on Saturday drew a visit from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other officials, who used it as a symbol to illustrate what could be fixed or improved through the $19 billion that Florida is set to receive from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, known as the infrastructure bill.

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The Palm Beach County bridge wont be fixed instantly: Engineers built a new shaft, but they need to replace the machinery parts, which takes time.

The Democratic politicians made speeches and took victory laps regarding the infrastructure bill, but Pelosi and others also noted the malfunctioning bridge makes the two-mile journey to a nearby hospital much longer and reduces revenue for mom-and-pop businesses. They say President Joe Bidens plan, and funding included in the plan, will address those issues.

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Pretty soon people will have a direct route and not to have to go miles around, Pelosi said. Thats pretty important.

A host of elected officials flanked Pelosi and spoke about the significance of the infrastructure bill, including U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, who represents Floridas 21st District, which includes parts Palm Beach County; U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, who represents Floridas 24th District, which includes parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties; U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents Floridas 20th District, which includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties; Palm Beach County Mayor Robert Weinroth and Delray Beach Mayor Shelly Petrolia.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with local elected officials and supporters behind her talks about the recently-signed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law while standing in front of the drawbridge on George Bush Boulevard in Delray Beach on Saturday, March 19, 2022. The drawbridge got stuck in the upright position - and it will be at least another six weeks before it's working again. The new bridge funding in the bill will assist in repairing this bridge and others. (Mike Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark, D-Mass., said the infrastructure bill, and specifically the bridge repair allocation, is about investing in people in the affected communities.

[ RELATED: George Bush Bridge will remain closed another six weeks ]

Gov. Ron DeSantis said in November he detected a lot of pork-barrel spending in the bill and spokesperson Christina Pushaw said the governors office hadnt yet decided whether it would decline any specific federal funding.

We are still reviewing the allocations of funding and programs in the bill and have not made a determination on specific portions of the funding at this time, Pushaw said.

Pelosi responded to a question Saturday about critics who say the work is debt-financed and coming from COVID-19 funds. She said those criticisms come from people who didnt support the bill. Its just vote no, and take the dough, she said. What we have been doing has been paid for.

[ Fentanyl strips could help if Legislature would allow them ]

Pelosi focused on the myriads ways the infrastructure bill would help. Its about safety. Its about commerce. Its about health care. Its about a better America, she said.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spoke about the recently-signed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law while standing in front of the drawbridge on George Bush Boulevard in Delray Beach on Saturday, March 19, 2022. The drawbridge got stuck in the upright position - and it will be at least another six weeks before it's working again. The new bridge funding in the bill will assist in repairing this bridge and others. (Mike Stocker / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Some of Floridas $19 billion allotment has been earmarked for the following improvement projects:

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$13.1 billion for highways.

$2.6 billion for public transportation.

$1.2 billion for airports.

$1.6 billion for drinking water.

$100 million to expand broadband coverage.

The politicians spoke about the impact of the infrastructure bill and the broken bridge.

This is about the infrastructure in our community, and we are welcoming this infrastructure money because we have a lot to do in our county, Weinroth said.

Petrolia said the bridge malfunction has made for a tough time for people and businesses. Its been very, very devastating for many of them, she said.

Part of the hope for the infrastructure bill is it will allow communities to do maintenance on bridges.

We know the most expensive maintenance is no maintenance, Pelosi said. We see that here.
(Natural News) One of the most successful disinformation campaigns in modern American electoral history occurred in the weeks prior to the 2020 presidential election. On October 14, 2020  less than three weeks before Americans were set to vote  the nations oldest newspaper, The New York Post, began publishing a series of reports about the business dealings of the Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, in countries in which Biden, as Vice President, wielded considerable influence (including Ukraine and China) and would again if elected president.

(Article by Glenn Greenwald republished from Greenwald.Substack.com)

The backlash against this reporting was immediate and intense, leading to suppression of the story by U.S. corporate media outlets and censorship of the story by leading Silicon Valley monopolies. The disinformation campaign against this reporting was led by the CIAs all-but-official spokesperson Natasha Bertrand (then of Politico, now with CNN), whose article on October 19 appeared under this headline: Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say.

These former intel officials did not actually say that the Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo. Indeed, they stressed in their letter the opposite: namely, that they had no evidence to suggest the emails were falsified or that Russia had anything to do them, but, instead, they had merely intuited this suspicion based on their experience:

We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails, provided to the New York Post by President Trumps personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, are genuine or not and that we do not have evidence of Russian involvement  just that our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.

But a media that was overwhelmingly desperate to ensure Trumps defeat had no time for facts or annoying details such as what these former officials actually said or whether it was in fact true. They had an election to manipulate. As a result, that these emails were Russian disinformation  meaning that they were fake and that Russia manufactured them  became an article of faith among the U.S.s justifiably despised class of media employees.

Very few even included the crucial caveat that the intelligence officials themselves stressed: namely, that they had no evidence at all to corroborate this claim. Instead, as I noted last September, virtually every media outlet  CNN, NBC News, PBS, Huffington Post, The Intercept, and too many others to count  began completely ignoring the substance of the reporting and instead spread the lie over and over that these documents were the by-product of Russian disinformation. The Huffington Post even published a must-be-seen-to-be-believed campaign ad for Joe Biden, masquerading as reporting, that spread this lie that the emails were Russian disinformation.



This disinformation campaign about the Biden emails was then used by Big Tech to justify brute censorship of any reporting on or discussion of this story: easily the most severe case of pre-election censorship in modern American political history. Twitter locked The New York Posts Twitter account for close to two weeks due to its refusal to obey Twitters orders to delete any reference to its reporting. The social media site also blocked any and all references to the reporting by all users; Twitter users were barred even from linking to the story in private chats with one another. Facebook, through its spokesman, the life-long DNC operative Andy Stone, announced that they would algorithmically suppress discussion of the reporting to ensure it did not spread, pending a fact check[] by Facebooks third-party fact checking partners which, needless to say, never came  precisely because the archive was indisputably authentic.

The archives authenticity, as I documented in a video report from September, was clear from the start. Indeed, as I described in that report, I staked my career on its authenticity when I demanded that The Intercept publish my analysis of these revelations, and then resigned when its vehemently anti-Trump editors censored any discussion of those emails precisely because it was indisputable that the archive was authentic (The Intercepts former New York Times reporter James Risen was given the green light by these same editors to spread and endorse the CIAs lie, as he insisted that laptop should be ignored because a group of former intelligence officials issued a letter saying that the Giuliani laptop story has the classic trademarks of Russian disinformation.) I knew the archive was real because all the relevant journalistic metrics that one evaluates to verify large archives of this type  including the Snowden archive and the Brazil archive which I used to report a series of investigative exposes  left no doubt that it was genuine (that includes documented verification from third parties who were included in the email chains and who showed that the emails they had in their possession matched the ones in the archive word-for-word).

Any residual doubts that the Biden archive was genuine  and there should have been none  were shattered when a reporter from Politico, Ben Schreckinger, published a book last September, entitled The Bidens: Inside the First Familys Fifty-Year Rise to Power, in which his new reporting proved that the key emails on which The New York Post relied were entirely authentic. Among other things, Schreckinger interviewed several people included in the email chains who provided confirmation that the emails in their possession matched the ones in the Posts archive word for word. He also obtained documents from the Swedish government that were identical to key documents in the archive. His own outlet, Politico, was one of the few to even acknowledge his book. While ignoring the fact that they were the first to spread the lie that the emails were Russian disinformation, Politico editors  under the headline Double Trouble for Biden admitted that the book finds evidence that some of the purported Hunter Biden laptop material is genuine, including two emails at the center of last Octobers controversy.

The vital revelations in Schreckingers book were almost completely ignored by the very same corporate media outlets that published the CIAs now-debunked lies. They just pretended it never happened. Grappling with it would have forced them to acknowledge a fact quite devastating to whatever remaining credibility they have: namely, that they all ratified and spread a coordinated disinformation campaign in order to elect Joe Biden and defeat Donald Trump. With strength in numbers, and knowing that they speak only to and for liberals who are happy if they lie to help Democrats, they all joined hands in an implicit vow of silence and simply ignored the new proof in Schreckingers book that, in the days leading up to the 2020 election, they all endorsed a disinformation campaign.

It will now be much harder to avoid confronting the reality of what they did, though it is highly likely that they will continue to do so. This morning, The New York Times published an article about the broad, ongoing FBI criminal investigation into Hunter Bidens international business and tax activities. Prior to the election, the Times, to their credit, was one of the few to apply skepticism to the CIAs pre-election lie, noting on October 22 that no concrete evidence has emerged that the laptop contains Russian disinformation. Because the activities of Hunter Biden now under FBI investigation directly pertain to the emails first revealed by The Post, the reporters needed to rely upon the laptops archive to amplify and inform their reporting. That, in turn, required The New York Times to verify the authenticity of this laptop and its origins  exactly what, according to their reporters, they successfully did:

People familiar with the investigation said prosecutors had examined emails between Mr. Biden, Mr. Archer and others about Burisma and other foreign business activity. Those emails were obtained by The New York Times from a cache of files that appears to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop. The email and others in the cache were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation.

That this cache of emails was authentic was clear from the start. Any doubts were obliterated by publication of Schreckingers book six months ago. Now the Paper of Record itself explicitly states not only that the emails were authenticated but also that the original story from The Post about how they obtained these materials  they come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop  appears to be true.

What this means is that, in the crucial days leading up to the 2020 presidential election, most of the corporate media spread an absolute lie about The New York Posts reporting in order to mislead and manipulate the American electorate. It means that Big Tech monopolies, along with Twitter, censored this story based on a lie from the intelligence community. It means that Facebooks promise from its DNC operative that it would suppress discussion of the reporting in order to conduct a fact-check of these documents was a fraud because if an honest one had been conducted, it would have proven that Facebooks censorship decree was based on a lie. It means that millions of Americans were denied the ability to hear about reporting on the candidate leading all polls to become the next president, and instead were subjected to a barrage of lies about the provenance (Russia did it) and authenticity (disinformation!) of these documents.

The objections to noting all of this today are drearily predictable. Reporting on Hunter Biden is irrelevant since he was not himself a candidate (what made the reporting relevant was what it revealed about the involvement of Joe Biden in these deals). Given the war in Ukraine, now is not the time to discuss all of this (despite the fact that they are usually ignored, there are always horrific wars being waged even if the victims are not as sympathetic as European Ukrainians and the perpetrators are the films Good Guys and not the Bad Guys). The real reason most liberals and their media allies do not want to hear about any of this is because they believe that the means they used (deliberately lying to the public with CIA disinformation) are justified by their noble ends (defeating Trump).

Whatever else is true, both the CIA/media disinformation campaign in the weeks before the 2020 election and the resulting regime of brute censorship imposed by Big Tech are of historic significance. Democrats and their new allies in the establishment wing of the Republican Party may be more excited by war in Ukraine than the subversion of their own election by the unholy trinity of the intelligence community, the corporate press, and Big Tech. But todays admission by The New York Times that this archive and the emails in it were real all along proves that a gigantic fraud was perpetrated by the countrys most powerful institutions. What matters far more than the interest level of various partisan factions is the core truths about U.S. democracy revealed by this tawdry spectacle.

Read more at: Greenwald.Substack.com
(Natural News) The New York Times has finally admitted Hunter Bidens laptop is real  more than a year after DailyMail.com authenticated its contents with top experts.

(Article republished from En-Volve.com)

When files from the laptop were published before the 2020 presidential election, the newspaper cast doubt on its provenance, linked it to Russian disinformation, and made no public attempt to obtain and verify it.

After leading the push to squash Biden emails as Russian disinfo, the NYT later just casually mentioned in passing that they were real and not the product of a Russian disinformation campaign after all.

In an editorial published on Thursday, the New York Post said: Forgive the profanity, but you have got to be sh*tting us, before adding: First, the New York Times decides more than a year later that Hunter Bidens business woes are worthy of a story. Then, deep in the piece, in passing, it notes that Hunters laptop is legitimate.

The editorial was in reponse to an article on Wednesday in which the NYTimes reported about a criminal investigation into the tax filings of Presidents son, Hunter Biden.

The newspaper said that emails between Hunter Biden and business associates about Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma and other overseas dealings had been authenticated by people familiar with the messages and the tax probe.

The NYPost reports: First, the New York Times decides more than a year later that Hunter Bidens business woes are worthy of a story. Then, deep in the piece, in passing, it notes that Hunters laptop is legitimate.

People familiar with the investigation said prosecutors had examined emails between Mr. Biden, Mr. Archer and others about Burisma and other foreign business activity, the Times writes. Those emails were obtained by The New York Times from a cache of files that appears to have come from a laptop abandoned by Mr. Biden in a Delaware repair shop. The email and others in the cache were authenticated by people familiar with them and with the investigation.

Authenticated!!! You dont say. You mean, when a newspaper actually does reporting on a topic and doesnt just try to whitewash coverage for Joe Biden, it discovers its actually true?

But wait, it doesnt end there. In October 2020, the Times cast doubt that there was a meeting between Joe Biden and an official from Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company for which Hunter was a board member. A Biden campaign spokesman said Mr. Bidens official schedules did not show a meeting between the two men, the Times wrote, acting as a perfect stenographer.

Yet in the latest report, published Wednesday night, the Times said the meeting likely did happen. Biden had attended the dinner in question. Funny how this works when you dont just take someones word for it.

In the heat of the presidential race of 2020, the Times never missed a chance to cast doubt on the laptop, saying the information was purported and quoting a letter from former Democratic officials who claimed  with no evidence  that it was Russian disinformation. As recently as September 2021, the Times called the laptop unsubstantiated in a news story.

Why was it unsubstantiated? Because of willful ignorance and the Times curious lack of curiosity. Hunters business partner Tony Bobulinski came forward immediately after The Posts reports and confirmed that the emails bearing his name were legitimate. The Bidens didnt even deny it was true! They just deflected, with the medias help, saying it was a dirty trick or not a story. Mostly, the press just ignored it.

Now were 16 months away from the 2020 election, Joe Bidens safely in the White House, and the Times finally decides to report on the news rather than carry the Biden campaigns water. And they find that hey, Hunter Bidens business interests benefited from Joe Bidens political status to a suspicious degree. Perhaps this is a topic worthy of examination.

How did the Times authenticate the laptop? It doesnt say. Unlike The Posts reporting, which detailed exactly how we got the files and where they came from, the Times does a hand wave to anonymous sources. No facts have changed since fall 2020. They knew the laptop was real from the start. They just didnt want to say so.

Theres never any shame with these 180s. Sorry that we wrote a fact check that turned out to be bull! Sorry we wrote a piece claiming something wasnt a story and you were stupid for thinking so!

Twitter banned us for supposedly publishing hacked materials that werent hacked. The companys CEO apologized, but by that point, they had accomplished what they wanted. Like the Times, they cast enough doubt to avoid making their preferred candidate look bad.

Read more at: En-Volve.com
(Natural News) The price of oil worldwide surged once again on Thursday, March 17, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that the world could experience a massive shortage in the global oil supply by next month.

According to the IEA, Russian oil production could shrink by nearly three million barrels per day (bpd) while Russian oil exports could fall by 2.5 million bpd next month.

The IEA described this massive loss in oil supply as the biggest supply crisis in decades, and that the loss would be far greater than the expected drop in demand for oil of one million bpd due to the surge in fuel prices all over the world.

The prospect of large-scale disruptions to Russian oil production is threatening to create a global oil supply shock, wrote the IEA.

Oil benchmarks in recent weeks have undergone their most volatile period since early 2020 when the massive drop in demand affected global oil prices.

Prices in recent weeks have been surging following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the sanctions and embargoes on Russian oil and the expectations of analysts that shortages will soon squeeze the energy market. (Related: Russian Deputy PM: Rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for global market.)

Oil price to remain volatile for some time

Brent crude futures, one of the main benchmarks for gauging the price of crude oil, surged by $8.62, or 8.79 percent, to rest at $106.64 per barrel. This is Brent crudes largest single-day percentage gain since mid-2020.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose by $7.94, or 8.35 percent, to $102.98 per barrel.

Investors have warned that the price of oil will remain volatile for some time, especially if the war in Ukraine continues and the sanctions and embargoes on Russian oil remain in place.

In the last eight trading sessions, the price of a barrel of Brent crude has traded for as high as $139 and as low as $98. This is a spread of more than $40, and this volatility has frightened many investors, causing them to exit.

Unfortunately, traders, bankers and financial analysts have pointed out that the sudden departure of many crude futures investors is creating the conditions for more wild swings to occur in the weeks ahead.

Investment bank and financial services company Morgan Stanley predicted that the price of Brent crude during the third quarter of the year could reach as high as $120 a barrel. This is a $20 increase from its previous forecast. The company further predicted the Russian oil production industry to shrink in output by one million bpd starting in April.

Swedish financial company SEB, meanwhile, predicted that the next two quarters will be difficult for the global oil supply.

Both supply and demand are hurting, but supply is currently hurting more and a tight oil market for the coming two quarters is to be expected, wrote SEB in a report.

There are renewed worries again in the market that we could lose some more Russian oil, said John Kilduff, a partner at investment consulting company Again Capital LLC.

Morgan Stanley noted that while demand for Russian oil has been restricted due to sanctions and embargoes, Russian ports continue to load crude and refined products into Russian tankers, but most of them are heading out into international waters with uncertain destinations.

On Wednesday, March 16, prices dropped slightly after the market reacted to recently released United States government data showing crude oil inventories climbing to 4.3 million barrels last week, contrary to the expectations of analysts that the country would post an inventory decline of 1.4 million barrels.

Power.news has the latest information on the global oil supply crisis and other breaking news reports on the energy market.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about how the current oil crisis is heralding the coming collapse of the U.S. dollar.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

DIESEL DEMOLITION: As early as April, diesel could be rationed in the U.K. as authorities phase out Russian oil imports.

Biden mulls deals with Iran, Venezuela after announcing ban on Russian oil imports.

Oil prices soar as Russian sanctions stir supply chain concerns.

Biden bans U.S. imports of Russian oil in ongoing war on AMERICAN consumers as gas prices skyrocket further.

Oil heading to eye-popping $200 a barrel, with $10 gas coming to America thanks to energy policies made worse by Biden, Dems.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

FT.com

Reuters.com

Investopedia.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the U.S. Congress via video link and implored the Legislative Branch to do more to help him save his country.

While Zelenskyy did not ask for American boots on the ground, he did press for a no-fly zone or, in lieu of that, the transfer of Soviet-era fighter planes to his air force and additional anti-aircraft batteries, as well as additional offensive and defensive weapons.

He got a standing ovation from attending American lawmakers, as well as a pledge for an additional aid package worth $200 million, bringing the total U.S. commitment to around $1 billion since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in late February.

But a growing number of Americans want their government to do more, even at the risk of provoking a nuclear exchange with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In fact, according to a Pew Research survey released on the heels of Zelenskyys speech, more than one-third of Americans support action by the U.S. military even at the risk of nuclear war.

New Pew poll on Ukraine war: Thirty-five percent of Americans support the US taking military action even if it risks a nuclear conflict with Russia. (62 percent oppose.), The Washington Examiners chief political correspondent Byron York wrote on Twitter noting the surveys results.

New Pew poll on Ukraine war: Thirty-five percent of Americans support the US taking military action even if it risks a nuclear conflict with Russia. (62 percent oppose.) https://t.co/7TcpmEHkc7 pic.twitter.com/JsDoi2r09H  Byron York (@ByronYork) March 16, 2022

Roughly a third of Americans (32%) say that the United States is providing about the right amount of support to Ukraine as it fights to hold off the Russian invasion, noted Pew Research in a report on the surveys findings.

A larger share  42%  say the U.S. should be providing more support to Ukraine, while just 7% say it is providing too much support. About one-in-five (19%) say they are not sure, the report continued.

However, virtually identical shares in both parties  51% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and 50% of Democrats and Democratic leaners  regard the Russian invasion as a major threat to U.S. interests, Pew Research noted further.

While just one-third of respondents favored U.S. military action at the risk of a nuclear exchange, about the same number of Republicans and Democrats (36% of Republicans, 35% of Democrats) held that view.

Also, a large majority favors allowing Ukrainian refugees into the U.S., though Democratic respondents favored that more than did Republicans (80% vs. 57%).

The survey also found that most Americans are paying attention to whats going on in Ukraine and have been for months. About seven-in-ten adults (69%) now report having read or heard a lot about the Russian invasion, compared with 23% who said they had read or heard a lot about Russias military buildup on its border with Ukraine in a January survey, Pew Research noted.

Today, nearly identical shares of Republicans (70%) and Democrats (71%) say they have heard or read a lot about the invasion, the report added.

Meanwhile, the fallout from the war will have long-term  and devastating  implications for the entire planet, given that Russia and Ukraine account for nearly one-third of the worlds grain supplies. In addition, both are top fertilizer producers, and with Ukraine in flames and Western sanctions in place for Russia-produced goods, it is becoming clear that other countries that produce lots of food, like the United States, will suffer from decreased production at least this year and likely into next year as well.

The dearth of food production is coming at a time when food prices have been steadily rising for months in the age of Joe Biden and the leftist-induced global supply chain crisis following a years worth of pandemic lockdowns.

The point is, the conflict in Ukraine will only compound the economic downturn that was already underway. Plan accordingly.

Sources include:

PewResearch.org

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Investment advisor Edward Dowd, who used to work for BlackRock, told Naomi Wolf in a recent interview that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer colluded with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to hide unfavorable clinical trial data showing that the Pfizer-BioNTech Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is not safe and effective.

As the truth comes out, Dowd said, investors are pulling out of COVID jab manufacturer stocks, which include not just Pfizer but also Moderna and others.

From 2002 to 2012, just to give you a background into his expertise on the subject, Dowd grew BlackRocks growth strategy from $2 billion to $14 billion.

After being introduced by Wolf as a courageous, well-informed whistleblower, Dowd proceeded to explain how his initial concerns about taking the experimental injections himself led him down a research path that uncovered major fraud and corruption.

I learned from a friend in the biotech industry that Pfizer had failed its all-cause mortality endpoint in the initial trial, Dowd said. All-cause mortality is the gold standard in any drug trial at the FDA. When you fail that endpoint, the drug is not approved.

When Big Pharma and the FDA both expressed unwillingness to release any safety data for the injections, Dowd grew even more skeptical about them. This compelled him to come out publicly to reveal his discoveries.

I got [louder] about fraud when the FDA decided to hide the clinical data for 75 years, Dowd explained.

Im an investor, so let me just say how I think about the world. I dont wait for people to tell me what just happened. My job was to come up with an analysis, mosaic and investment thesis, and then over time Id be proven right.

So, I dont wait for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post to tell me anything. Because by the time that happens, the opportunity to make money is lost. So, I started screaming fraud as soon as I saw that  because its unprecedented to hide data from the public.

Global economy is about to go up in flames

Earlier in the year, Dowd also spoke with Steve Bannon about the impending global debt bubble collapse, declaring that were at the end.

Pfizer and Moderna, Dowd revealed during that appearance, are modern-day versions of Enron in that they are both inherently fraudulent companies.

I also have a thesis as to what is going on at Pfizer and Moderna, and how those companies are probably fraudulent, Dowd said at that time. These vaccines were pushed through and I think the clinical trial data is fraud.

I want to liken whats gone on here to what happened during the great financial crisis. We had rating agencies, third-party verification sources that were able to perpetuate the fraud because the money got too big. Their institutions became corrupted with the institutional imperative and they got AAA ratings, which we all know in hindsight those were not AAA ratings.

Dowd said that many on Wall Street are listening to him, albeit fearfully, because they know he knows what he is talking about. Many of them are also fully jabbed, and are now concerned about the long-term health effects of what they have done to their bodies.

Neither the mainstream media nor the government, Dowd said, are going to save anyone from what is currently unfolding. The truth is being revealed at breakneck speed, and soon it will be impossible for those who committed crimes against humanity to hide any longer from the consequences.

To keep up with the latest news coverage about the COVID-19 vaccine fraud, be sure to visit ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The moderators at Cornell Universitys arXiv server, an open-access archive and free distribution service for scientific material, have been censoring scientific studies that they claim contain inflammatory content and unprofessional language.

A preprint server for preliminary versions of scientific studies that are moderated but not yet peer-reviewed or published, arXiv is supposed to be neutral when it comes to what gets published. The reality, however, is that arXiv is selectively censoring studies and even banning scientists for publishing work with controversial viewpoints.

In one instance, researchers tried to publish a study presenting an opposing viewpoint to another study about room temperature superconductivity. Those researchers aligned with the opposing point of view study are reportedly now in hot water on arXiv for daring to buck the consensus.

The server also proceeded to ban University of California San Diego (UCSD) theoretical physicist Jorge Hirsch from posting anything on the platform for six months as punishment for his conflicting viewpoints.

Hirsch was the author of a number of the papers that sought to represent a different point of view on a particular topic  from a paper published in October 2020 in Nature, authored by a team led by University of Rochester physicist Ranga Dias, reported Reclaim the Net.

As scientists do, Hirsch was skeptical of the results of the study and asked for raw data from Dias, some of which was, after many rejections, eventually provided by a co-author. The relationship between the scientists soured, and it became evident in their subsequent papers.

Hirsch would go on to produce two papers of his own based on the data, only to have both of them blocked by arXiv administrators, who also removed another one by Dias. Many studies have also been retracted due to fake peer reviews.

The explanation for the latter was inflammatory content and bad language  but Hirsch says both he and Dias should not be prevented from publishing papers, since that means preventing scientists from working, Reclaim the Net added.

Hirsch thinks the bans and removals are very unfair and has called on arXiv not to put its arbitrary self-righteous decorum standards above scientists right to conduct unstifled debate and have their arguments judged on their merits.'

How much published science is actually real science?

In its defense, arXiv, which hosts over two million preprints, and its 200 moderators say that censorship is necessary to ensure that only papers with the correct conclusions get published.

If we allow this stuff, what is the difference between arXiv and Twitter? asked University of Oxford physicist Paul Fendley, who sits on arXivs advisory committee.

Concerning fraudulent peer reviews and other problematic elements of modern science, Dr. Marcia Angell, M.D., gave a lecture unpacking how special interests tamper with science to ensure that only certain narratives go public.

Angell attended Harvard Medical School and is a retired editor-in-chief of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). She has been blowing the whistle on this subject for many years, even when it was unpopular and conspiratorial to do so.

Science these days is more about the art of lying than about verifiable truth and facts, wrote someone at Natural News.

So much for the belief in peer review and the honesty and integrity of journals, expressed another.

As for arXiv, that repository is following in the footsteps of Big Tech by flat-out censoring controversial science while apparently propping up status quo pseudoscience.

The moral of the story: be careful what you accept as science because it might not be what it seems.

You will find more stories like this one at Censorship.news.

Sources include:

ReclaimTheNet.org

NaturalNews.com

YouTu.be
For the first time, the dodo's whole genome has been sequenced, increasing hopes that the bird might be saved from extinction.

Beth Shapiro, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, stated at a Royal Society webinar that her lab will soon disclose the full DNA of a specimen housed in Copenhagen's Natural History Museum.

The 3ft-tall flightless bird was wiped off in the 17th century, barely 100 years after it was found on the island of Mauritius.

Dodo birds and mammoths for DNA sequencing

However, in addition to being persecuted by humans, dogs, cats, and pigs preyed on the birds, with sailors carrying the predators with them on their Indian Ocean journeys, as per Express.

"The dodo genome is completely sequenced because we sequenced it; it hasn't been published yet, but it exists and we're working on it right now," she explained.

She spent a long time attempting to get DNA from an Oxford specimen. They also obtained a trace amount of DNA, but it was not adequately well-preserved.

She said that the group had discovered a "wonderful specimen" in Denmark, as per The Telegraph.

So we have a really high quality, high coverage dodo genome that will be released shortly, she continued, but she cautioned that bringing the bird back may be difficult.

"Mammals are easier," she explained. "How can I change a cell that is residing in a dish in the lab that has a piece of Dodo DNA into a full live, breathing, genuine animal?"

Similar prospects exist for such woolly mammoth, which DNA has also been entirely sequenced owing to well-preserved remains discovered in Siberian permafrost.

Colossal, a new gene-editing startup founded by entrepreneur Ben Lamm and Harvard scientist George Church, aims to resurrect the woolly mammoth.

Cloning woolly mammoth DNA with that of a modern Asian elephant would result in the creation of an embryo that could be developed in an artificial womb or a surrogate elephant.

Read more: Dodo Birds Weren't as Dumb as You Think, Study Finds

The dodo clone may not resemble as the one in the past

The dodo gets its name from either the Portuguese term for "fool," because sailors insulted it for its seeming lack of inhibition of armed hunters.

It is genetically linked to the Nicobar pigeon, and it is conceivable that scientists would alter pigeon DNA to incorporate Dodo DNA if they wished to reintroduce the species.

Mike Benton, Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Bristol, believes it would have been better to bring back a dodo instead of an animal from even further backward in time since it could live in today's environment.

"The dodo is indeed a famous bird that you can make a case for reintroducing," he added. If they bring T-Rex back to life, it could not be a popular thing since it would wreak devastation.

Bringing back something that wasn't so ancient, on the other hand, would be lot more doable. The dodo has a well-known and easily accessible habitat.

Through aspects of engineering the dodo, professionals will indeed face all of the problems people had also faced, as well as the reality of creating a whole new species.

Whether you could infuse sections of that dodo DNA into an advanced pigeon but somehow start generating a dodo, it would most likely not look any of it with what we'd anticipate a dodo to look like.

Related article: New Secrets of the Dodo Revealed
Snow can still accumulate in spite of the arrival of the spring season in the United States on Sunday, March 20.

Weather forecasts indicated that 66% of the country is still prone to moderate to severe snowfall during the spring months; which usually brings warm and temperate weather conditions.

Meteorologists have predicted that multiple states in the northern and central parts of the country will be affected by winter-like weather conditions in the coming weeks until April.

The southern half of the US will reportedly have to wait for the next winter season in December to receive snow.

Over the past months, the US went through a rollercoaster of severe weather conditions, ranging between widespread winter storms, extreme thunderstorms, record-breaking heat, and deadly tornadoes.

As spring is officially starting soon, winter weather is still having its last run until April.

Spring with Winter Conditions

According to AccuWeather meteorologists, the US spring season will officially start at 11:33 a.m. EDT (local time) on Sunday.

However, their weather forecast warned that two-thirds of the US is still subjected to winter weather, including winter storms, snowstorms, and cold air.

A few more storms that resemble that of the winter season are still possible in the regions of the Pacific Northwest, southern Rockies, the Great Plains, and the Ohio Valley, said AccuWeather.

This indicated that the upper and middle parts of the country will be affected.

Meanwhile, waves of cold air will cover the cities of Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts; and New York City, New York.

This weather phenomenon can reach even as far as the states of Oregon and Washington.

On the other hand, any areas below Philadelphia to D.C., as well as people living farther south such as in the Carolinas and the Gulf Coast are likely to be safe from winter storms and cold air.

Also Read: Another Wave of Snow Squall to Hit Northeastern US "Hard and Fast"

Rainfall and Water Reservoir

Not only snow will occur in the coming weeks but moderate to heavy rainfall is also possible in most of the country, notably in the West and South.

This can be a chance for states with dry weather conditions and those prone to drought to fill up their water reservoirs before the summer season.

In August 2021, the US government declared its first official water shortage in the Lake Mead reservoir, which caused a large-scale lack of water supply in the Southwest, as per Reuters.

The announcement came after 10 state governors sought for federal drought disaster aid.

Lake Mead is the country's largest reservoir. As a result, its water shortage led to a series of major water cuts in Arizona and other states in the West in 2021.

One of the contributing factors for the shortage is the lack of sufficient rainfall during the summer season.

Drought is Getting Worse

There is mounting data from the latest prediction of US weather authorities and previous research on the worsening of drought and increasing warm temperatures because of climate change and global warming.

With this, the West and other parts of the US are at risk of another water shortage this year.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - National Centers for Environment Information (NCEI) on Tuesday, March 15, 167 million people, or 53.7% of the US population are currently facing drought or abnormal dryness.

The NOAA - NCEI, during their March 15 report, showed that drought intensity is worsening and that "severe to exceptional drought" is increasing.

Related Article: Warmer Temperatures Expected in the Northeast as Spring Weather is Coming This Weekend
Benton County Fire District #1 units responded to a one vehicle rollover accident in the median of I 82 at mile marker 109, Saturday morning.

The driver had no seatbelt on and was driving under the influence. He was transported to Trios Health.

He's being charged with DUI, driving with a suspended license and not wearing a seatbelt.
RTHK: Hypersonic missiles fired again: Russia

Russia said on Sunday it has again fired its newest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, destroying a fuel storage site in the country's south.

The Russian defence ministry also said it killed more than 100 members of Ukrainian special forces and "foreign mercenaries" when it targeted a training centre in the town of Ovruch in northern Ukraine with sea-based missiles.

"Kinzhal aviation missile systems with hypersonic ballistic missiles destroyed a large storage site for fuels and lubricants of the Ukrainian armed forces near the settlement of Kostyantynivka in the Mykolaiv region," the defence ministry said.

The ministry said the base had been used for the main supplies of fuel for Ukrainian armoured vehicles in the country's south.

The Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missiles were fired from airspace over Russian-controlled Crimea, the ministry said, adding that Kalibr cruise missiles launched from the Caspian Sea had also targeted the depot.

On Saturday, Russia said it had used the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles to destroy an underground missile and ammunition storage site in western Ukraine close to the border with Nato member Romania.

Russian analysts said the use on Friday of the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in Deliatyn, a village in the foothills of the Carpathian mountains, was the first combat use of such weapons in the world.

The Russian defence ministry said that it also used long-range precision weapons against other facilities in Ukraine on Saturday evening and early Sunday.

Russian forces fired the Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea to target a plant in the northern city of Nizhyn used to repair armoured vehicles, the ministry said. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2022-03-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Russian parliament leader demands NATO stop supplying arms, mercenaries to Ukraine

Xinhua) 13:44, March 20, 2022

MOSCOW, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) must stop supplying weapons and sending mercenaries to Ukraine, Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's lower house of parliament, said Saturday.

"Weapons and ammunition are supplied by NATO countries. Mercenaries who fill the ranks of (Ukraine's) nationalist battalions are recruited in the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance with the consent of their leadership," Volodin posted on Telegram.

"So when (U.S. President Joe) Biden and his NATO colleagues call for peace, they must first start with themselves. It is their fault that the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, its demilitarization and denazification are being delayed," the State Duma leader wrote.

If Western countries want peace, they should channel funds not to military supplies, but to humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people, he said.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
People gather in a basement, used as a bomb shelter, during an air raid in Lviv, Western Ukraine, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Lviv has been a refuge since the war began nearly a month ago, the last outpost before Poland and host to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians streaming through or staying on. (Bernat Armangue/AP)

Russian forces pushed deeper into Ukraines besieged and battered port city of Mariupol on Saturday, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help.

The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the wars worst suffering, would mark a major battlefield advance for the Russians, who are largely bogged down outside major cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II.

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Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth, Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said from a rubble-strewn street in a video addressed to Western leaders that was authenticated by The Associated Press.

Russian forces have already cut the city off from the Sea of Azov, and its fall would link Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, to territories controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in the east. It would mark a rare advance in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance that has dashed Russias hopes for a quick victory and galvanized the West.

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Ukrainian and Russian forces battled over the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraines interior minister, said Saturday. One of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe is actually being destroyed, Denysenko said in televised remarks.

Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukraines president, said the nearest forces that could assist Mariupols defenders were already struggling against the overwhelming force of the enemy or at least 60 miles away.

There is currently no military solution to Mariupol, he said late Friday. That is not only my opinion, that is the opinion of the military.

Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelenskyy has remained defiant, appearing in a video early Saturday shot on the streets of the capital, Kyiv, to denounce a huge Friday rally in Moscow that Russian President Vladimir Putin attended.

Zelenskyy said Russia is trying to starve Ukraines cities into submission but warned that continuing the invasion would exact a heavy toll on Russia. He also repeated his call for Putin to meet with him to prevent more bloodshed.

The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russias costs will be so high that you will not be able to rise again for several generations, he said.

Putin lavished praise on his countrys military during the rally, which took place on the anniversary of Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea. The event included patriotic songs such as Made in the U.S.S.R., with its opening line of Ukraine and Crimea, Belarus and Moldova, its all my country.

We have not had unity like this for a long time, Putin told the cheering crowd.

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The rally took place as Russia has faced heavier-than-expected losses on the battlefield and increasingly authoritarian rule at home, where Russian police have detained thousands of antiwar protesters.

Estimates of Russian deaths vary widely, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands. Russia had 64 deaths in five days of fighting during its 2008 war with Georgia. It lost about 15,000 in Afghanistan over 10 years, and more than 11,000 over years of fighting in Chechnya.

The Russian military said Saturday that it used its latest hypersonic missile for the first time in combat. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Kinzhal missiles destroyed an underground warehouse storing Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine.

Russia has said the Kinzhal, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, has a range of up to about 1,250 miles and flies at 10 times the speed of sound.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Saturday the U.S. couldnt confirm that the Russians used a hypersonic missile in the attack.

Meanwhile, fighting raged on multiple fronts in Ukraine. U.N. bodies have confirmed more than 847 civilian deaths since the war began, though they concede the actual toll is likely much higher. The U.N. says more than 3.3 million people have fled Ukraine as refugees.

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Waiting to board a bus at a triage center near the Moldova-Ukraine border on Saturday, a Ukrainian woman named Irina said she decided to leave home in Mykolaiv this week after a loud explosion shook the walls, waking her young daughter.

Can you imagine the fear I had, not for me but for my child? said Irina, who didnt provide her last name. So we made decision to arrive here, but I dont know where we are going, where well stay.

The northwestern Kyiv suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin and Moshchun were under fire on Saturday, the Kyiv regional administration reported. It said Slavutich, located 103 miles north of the capital, was completely isolated.

Police of the Kyiv region said seven people were killed and five were wounded in a mortar attack on Friday in Makariv, a town roughly 30 miles west of the capital. They said the attack destroyed homes and damaged other buildings.

Ukrainian and Russian officials agreed to establish 10 humanitarian corridors for bringing aid in and residents out of besieged cities  one from Mariupol and several around Kyiv and in the eastern Luhansk region, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday.

She also announced plans to deliver humanitarian aid to the southern city of Kherson, which Russia seized early in the war.

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Ukraine and Russia have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict but remain divided over several issues, with Russia pressing for its neighbors demilitarization and Kyiv demanding security guarantees.

In a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, Putin said Ukraine was trying to drag the negotiations by making a series of new, unrealistic proposals, according to the Kremlin.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, meanwhile, accused Putin of using the talks as a smokescreen while his forces regroup. We dont see any serious withdrawal of Russian troops or any serious proposals on the table, she told the Times of London.

The British Department of Defense said in its latest intelligence assessment that the Kremlin has been surprised by the scale and ferocity of Ukrainian resistance and is now pursuing a strategy of attrition that is likely to involve indiscriminate attacks.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, during a Saturday visit to NATO ally Bulgaria, said the Russian invasion had stalled on a number of fronts but the U.S. had not yet seen signs that Putin was deploying additional forces.

Around Ukraine, hospitals, schools and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked.

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At least 130 people survived the Wednesday bombing of a Mariupol theater that was being used a shelter, but another 1,300 were believed to be still inside, Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliaments human rights commissioner, said Friday.

We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them, Denisova told Ukrainian television.

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed a long line of cars leaving Mariupol as people tried to evacuate. Zelenskyy said more than 9,000 people were able to leave Friday along a route that leads 141 miles away to the city of Zaporizhzhia  which is also under attack.

The governor of southern Ukraines Zaporizhzhia region, Oleksandr Starukh, announced a 38-hour curfew after two missile strikes on Zaporizhzhias suburbs killed nine people Friday.

Russian forces have fired on eight cities and villages in the eastern Donetsk region in the past 24 hours, including Mariupol, Ukraines national police said Saturday.

The attacks with rockets and heavy artillery killed and wounded dozens of civilians, and damaged at least 37 residential buildings and facilities, including a school, a museum and a shopping center, it said.

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In the western city of Lviv, Ukraines cultural capital, which was hit by Russian missiles on Friday, military veterans were training dozens of civilians on how to handle firearms and grenades.

Its hard, because I have really weak hands, but I can manage it, said one trainee, 22-year-old Katarina Ishchenko.
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Ron DeSantis after giving a speech to his supporters at the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center in The Villages, Florida. (Octavio Jones/Tampa Bay Times/TNS)

There are no second chances. Its well known you cant go against him. If you cross him once, youre dead.

This might be a description of a Mafia boss or former President Donald Trump. Instead, its how a former Florida legislator, speaking anonymously to Politico, describes the bullying leadership style of current Gov. Ron DeSantis, whos busy turning his state into an illiberal stronghold.

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As the Republican Party adopts an authoritarian political culture and rejects democratic norms and ideals, the embrace of extremist ideologies has become a way for ambitious GOP politicians to stand out and capture media attention. Florida, Texas, and other Republican-governed states are becoming laboratories of American autocracy, passing legislation that institutionalizes homophobia and racism.

Yet DeSantis is a particularly dangerous individual. He may be up for re-election as governor in Florida, but he has designs on the White House as soon as two years from now. Its not hard to see what he is doing in Florida as a rehearsal for illiberalism on a national scale.

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Ruth Ben-Ghiat (New York University )

Hes very popular within the GOP. In a June 2021 poll of possible 2024 contenders, he topped the list and bested Trump in approval, 74% to 71%. And hes following a playbook that prioritizes not public welfare, but rather the intimidation and polarization of citizens  the better to facilitate the accumulation of the leaders personal power.

DeSantis ran for governor as a pit bull Trump defender and has clearly absorbed Trumps lessons, down to his mimicry of the former presidents body language. Yet hes younger and smoother and at first could seem a more palatable figure  a Trump with far less legal and other baggage. Judging from his policies in Florida, the effects on America if he held national power would be almost as brutal.

Trumps relentless attempts to discredit our national election apparatus and the success of his Big Lie showed other unscrupulous politicians, DeSantis among them, the gains to be made through making fake claims of election fraud.

Cue the governors new Office of Election Crimes and Security, housed within the Florida Department of State. It will have 15 investigators to pursue election crimes, including those reported to a voter fraud hotline.

Since such violations would now be deemed felonies, rather than misdemeanors, anyone who gets in the way of electoral outcomes needed by DeSantis political machine could potentially be jailed, including election workers, officials, and judges  categories of people already targeted round the country for threats by Republicans and their grass-roots followers.

DeSantis also seeks to disempower and punish Floridians he sees as political enemies. This ever-expanding category of people includes Black voters (a new redistricting map would cut heavily Black districts from four to two); protesters (an April 2021 anti-riot law grants civil immunity to people who drive cars into protesters blocking roads); and the LGBTQ community. The so-called Dont Say Gay Bill limits K-3 classroom discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation and allows parents to potentially sue schools or teachers that engage in these topics.

The authoritarian goals of censorship and encouraging citizens to turn on each other also motivate the various anti-critical race theory bills, like the Stop WOKE Act, that censor anti-racist content and workplace training. DeSantis calls such information state-sanctioned racism. Yet he refused to denounce actual Nazi activists who assaulted a Jewish college student in the Orlando area.

Thats because the normalization of extremism is key to the success of illiberal politics. DeSantis has begun to populate state government with far-right sympathizers and conspiracy theorists. He appointed a Jan. 6 and Proud Boys apologist, Esther Byrd, to Floridas Board of Education. There are only 2 teams ... With Us [or] Against Us, Byrd posted on Facebook, displaying the spirit needed to do away with democratic pedagogy.

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DeSantiss cynical crusades gainst vaccine mandates are another example. His surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Lapado, has spread disinformation about Covid-19 prevention, with tragic consequences for Floridians. According to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Floridas excess death rate was four times higher than Massachusetts and three times higher than New Yorks in August-December 2021.

Democratic frames of reasoning dont help us to understand decisions that fly in the face of good governance and heighten the possibility of harmful outcomes. Who benefits from increased polarization, from ideologues replacing experts, from turning citizens into informers?

A leader like DeSantis, who seems intent on creating his own mini-autocracy in Florida, to be scaled up in 2024. The governor is essentially the speaker of the House, the president of the Senate, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court right now, says a sitting Republican state legislator, speaking anonymously.

DeSantis may cast himself as the savior of freedom in Florida, but the real meaning of his idea of liberty is clear. He wants to be free of any constraints on his ability to govern in ways that benefit the consolidation of his personal power. Thats how autocrats think.

His defeat in 2022, and if it comes to it, in 2024, is imperative for the future of American democracy.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a historian, cultural critic and professor of history and Italian at New York University.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain. High 58F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch..

Tonight

Thundershowers following a period of rain early. Low around 55F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
"Im tired of sending these messages and Im angry that such smallminded people continue these stupid and futile attempts to foster division in our community," Robert Jones wrote in a Thursday evening mass mail. "But I will never tire of speaking loudly and publicly in defense of the values that guide us here."
The Liberian Peoples Party (LPP), in September of 2021, published a letter addressed to the United States Ambassador to Liberia, His Excellency, honorable Michael A. McCarthy in which the Party appealed for his help to get Liberia Electricity Corporations 2014-2019 Financial Statements.



Again, the Liberian Electricity Corporation (LEC) and its agents, including ESBI Engineering & Facility Management Ltd. l should provide information on the following

1. Administrative costs:

a) Management fees $4,712,849 (11/08/2017 Page # 119)

b) Milestone Fees $310,000 (11/08/2017 Page # 121)

c) Performance Fees $3,000,000 (11/08/2017 Page # 122)

d) Consultant (AZOROM) $1,500,000 (Estimate)

e) Compensation for local managers, including members of the Board of Directors

f) Compensation for Millennium Challenge Account-Liberia

2. Disbursement schedule of USD 350M from the USA.

3. Disbursement schedule of the loans: $314 M from the W/B and USD 103 From ADB (See 2019 Debt management Unit- page # 14-16).

4. LEC generated Rev: $27M, $21M, $23M in 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20. (See LEC annual report as per Liberia National Budget-2081/19)

5. Governments Subsidy: $6M, $6M, $6M, $8M, $4M, and $5M in 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, and 2022/23. (See National Budget of 2021/22).

The public, after reviewing LECs financial statements, might understand why Millennium Challenge Account-Liberia (MCA-Liberia) stated in 2017, that it had installed all four turbinesand rehabilitated MCHPP, including the 88 megawatts. Further, it stated that LEC has increased connections, improved reliability, and provided more affordable electricity because it purchased transformers, meters, surge arrestors, specialized vehicles, spare parts for generators, utility poles, conductors, tools, and personal protective equipment. Also, in January of 2021, MCA-Liberia stated that.  LEC has reduced the average number of electricity outages by 45 percent since the start of the Compact in 2016.



The exercise to review LECs previous activities might help the public in understanding if replacing government-appointed managers with private-hired managers (i.e., the initial path to privatization) minimized corruption and LEC provided affordable electricity to many Liberians. Presumably, the belief that profiteers are less corrupt than government managers was pivotal in encouraging former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to reject offers from China and Brazil to build electric power, according to Dr. Christopher Neyor, former LEC managing director.

The change from public managers to profit-making managers has not improved LEC services. In fact, customers are worse off now than ever before. From power theft to power outages to limited power supply. The Ministerial Complexs employees use generators because LEC is not providing electricity.



For now, let us review some data (i.e., facts about Liberia) and stories of three African countries to analyze the theory that private investors may provide accessible and affordable electricity without subsidy.



Liberian data:

(1) Are there enough citizens (5,000) within settlements (cities, towns, or villages) to buy the services of LEC? The 2008 report by Modi Group of Columbia University stated no. It stated that Liberia has 21 settlements have between 5,000 and over 100,000 (i.e., presumably, the number of clients needed for electricity to make money), while the remaining clients are residing within79 cities and villages. In essence, LEC might operate within the fifteen capital cities of the fifteen Counties plus six other cities without subsidy, study indicated.



(2) Unlike Ivory Coast where cocoa farmers used electricity for businesses, Liberia has limited agricultural activities that use electricity, and it has a limited number of industrial and commercial customers. For instance, there are 60 registered businesses within four Counties, (Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, River Cess, River Gee, and Grand Geddeh) while one County (Margibi County) has 108 registered businesses, according to the 2015 United Nation Development Program report. If the money-lending institution cant find clients in these four Counties, can LEC?



(3) The Central Bank of Liberia, 2020 Annual Report, stated that six Counties had no commercial banks, meaning that those Counties dont have enough clients for a bank. If commercial banks cant find clients within six Counties, can LEC find? I dont think so.



Lets review the electricity stories in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Sudan: Ivorian Electricity Company (CIE), privatized in 1990, holds a monopoly on the operation of the system of production, transport, distribution of electricity. In 2020 it sold electricity to six neighboring countries, including Liberia - according to the Ministry of Energy. Yet, CIE is facing customers revolt, because of increases in tariff and outages of electric power. CIE customers are paying $0.121per KWH, while it is $0.002 in Sudan and $0.054 in Ghana. Why is CIE (i.e., a private entity) failing to make energy affordable and accessible in the Ivory Coast?



In Ghana, the state-owned energy entity is not only providing electricity at a lower cost as compared to CIE. Energy is accessible to 83 percent of its 31M population, while the Ivorian-private-entity provides energy to 68 percent of the 26.3M people. In order to achieve affordability and accessibility, the Ghanaian state-owned energy entity, I guess, reduced its desire for profits and allowed entry into the energy sector two profit-making (local and foreign). When profit is the bottom line, the theory of affordability and accessibility is irrelevant. CIE didnt just charge a higher price of $0.067 more than Ghanas; it also didnt provide energy to 32% of its population but rather sold its services to clients in neighboring countries.



Another country where the state-owned entity provides electricity at a lower cost than Ivory Coast is Sudan. Energy cost is $0.002 per KWH, which is the lowest cost of electricity in Africa. Its population (43.5M) is almost twice the population of Ivory Coast 26.3M people, yet it provides electricity to 56 percent of its population.



I suggest that LEC managers should focus on seeking alternatives, including offers made by China and Brazil. Liberias data indicate that there are countless challenges for any investors to provide energy that is affordable and accessible: (1) in each of the 79% of the settlements (cities and villages) residents are than 5,000, (2) industrial and commercial clients are at a minimum, and (3) Liberia has limited number of technical human resources and inadequate infrastructure. Additionally, an investor cant estimate reasonable revenue from 4.5M Liberians, since 60% of them live on USD 5 per day, (my estimate)? Predictably, our international partners might find it difficult to reject proposals from Liberia if the Millennium Challenge Account-Liberia (MCA-Liberia) can reconcile its rosy picture of LEC as reported on January 1, 2021, against stories of power theft, outages of electricity, and zero electricity at Liberias ministerial Complex, for example.

J. Yanqui Zaza

New York State Certified Public Accountant (NYS-CPA), MPS

VOA Paynesville, Liberia

011-231-776-491-322

jyanqui@aol.com
Longview, TX (75601)

Today

Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 78F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms before midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 57F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Longview, TX (75601)

Today

Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 78F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, then partly cloudy overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 59F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
A University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center researcher has found, through extensive data analysis, that the youngest patients with brain tumors  those ages birth to 3 months  have about half the five-year survival rate as children ages 1 to 19.

In research findings recently published in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology, Adam Green, MD, an associate professor of pediatric hematology/oncology in the CU School of Medicine, and his co-researchers analyzed population-based data for almost 14,500 children ages 0 to 19 who were diagnosed with brain tumors. They found significantly poorer outcomes among the youngest patients.

It's unusual to see infants or babies with brain tumors, but we do see them. We generally just don't have the same standards of treatment that we do for older children. We also know that infants can't report their own symptoms like older kids often can." Adam Green, MD, associate professor of pediatric hematology/oncology, CU School of Medicine

Analyzing nationwide cancer data

Green and his co-researchers used data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, a national cancer registry that covers more than a quarter of the U.S. population and represents the extensive diversity of the country.

The researchers extracted SEER data relating to childhood brain tumors and divided it into three age groups  0 to 3 months, 3 to 6 months, and 6 to 12 months. They compared data in these three groups with brain tumor data in people ages 1 to 19.

What they discovered, Green says, is that "the types of brain tumors that babies get are different than in older patients, and that's an important finding in and of itself. The most important findings we had were that the survival that babies have from brain tumors is worse than older kids for almost all of the types of brain tumors we study."

Further data analysis showed that five-year survival in the 0 to 3 months age group is between 30 and 35%, whereas five-year survival in the 1 to 19 age group is about 70 percent. Five-year survival in the 3 to 6 month and 6 to 12 month age groups was also significantly lower than in older children.

Decreased survival rates for youngest brain tumor patients

This stark contrast in five-year survival rates "suggests that there may be just a lot of confusion and concern and reluctance in the pediatric neuro-oncology community to give these infants treatment or to perform surgery," Green says. "That may be a major cause of why these kids don't do as well. Also, they're more likely to present with metastatic disease when they do present with cancer, partly because they can't report their own symptoms so their diagnosis may be delayed."

The youngest patients' tumors show a different biology than tumors in older children and are often diagnosed in prenatal ultrasounds. Symptoms are different between age groups as well. Older children may present with headaches or vomiting, whereas "babies obviously aren't reporting headaches, but they may be inconsolably fussy over long periods of time or have a rapidly expanding head circumference that's off the growth charts," Green says. "They may not be meeting developmental milestones or may have abnormalities in the way their eyes move. The symptoms may be more subtle and not typical of the usual brain tumor symptoms in older children."

A particular challenge in treating the youngest patients with brain tumors is that though there are established standards of care and treatment for pediatric brain tumors, health care providers may be reluctant to use them on very young babies.

"We have radiation-sparing regimens that we use for children under 5, and we know those work well, but when it gets down to patients this young, it may be coming from the parents or from parents and medical teams thinking that it's going to be too toxic," Green explains. "There may be concern that patients this young are not going to tolerate surgery."

A goal of increased awareness

Green says he hopes an immediate effect of the study is to inform the health care community of the decreased five-year survival rates for children younger than 1 who develop brain tumors. In turn, he hopes this awareness will lead to an increased willingness to apply standard-of-care therapies to the youngest patients with brain tumors.

"Taking the longer view, we still need to understand the biology of these tumors better," Green says. "We have some understanding now of how a certain type of brain tumor in an infant is different than that same type of brain tumor in an older child and we may need dedicated, specialized treatment protocols for these youngest children."

Also, because many brain tumors in the youngest patients already are metastatic at diagnosis, "hopefully it will drive home the message in the general pediatrics community that there needs to be vigilance for this possibility," Green says. "These tumors are rare, but primary care pediatricians and other folks in primary care need to be aware that these tumors can occur in infants. The biggest take-away is that these patients just aren't getting the treatment that would be considered standard in older kids."
Medical conditions that affect the brain and the nerves in the human body  called neurological disorders  contribute greatly to the global burden of diseases, but even more so in low- and middle-income countries.

As the world celebrates Brain Awareness Week on 14-20 March, Zul Merali, a neuroscientist and founding director of the Brain and Mind Institute at Aga Khan University in Kenya, speaks to SciDev.Net on why brain science should be embraced to tackle mental health issues in Sub-Saharan Africa.

What is Brain Awareness Week about?

The Brain Awareness Week is a global campaign to foster public understanding, enthusiasm and support for brain science or neuroscience.

The brain is sort of an ignored organ because it is encased in the skull, and you can't see it or feel it. In my estimation, it is the most important organ in the body. This is the time to discuss how a normal or abnormal functioning of the brain impacts individuals, communities and countries.

Why is neuroscience an important subject in the African medical context?

Neuroscience is a science that examines the structure and function of the human brain and nervous system.

Neuroscientists use different types of techniques and technologies to get a view of what is happening inside the brain. We are able to study how the brain cells use different chemicals to talk to each other. Neuroscience is very complicated as there are numerous nerve cells in the brain, and each has thousands of connections. The brain is a very complex organ and we are learning more about it.

From a health perspective, if anything goes awry in the brain, it will impact the physical body and therefore it is important to understand the science of the brain.

When the brain is not functioning properly, you might develop neurological or mental health conditions which hugely impact one's productivity and life all round.

What are mental disorders and how do they manifest themselves?

Mental illness arises when brain circuits fail to function properly.

Mental illnesses are triggered by stresses in life. Our communities face more severe chronic stresses than might be seen in most developed countries. These impacts the functioning of our brain, and we experience chronic stresses which put us more at risk.

Women also face more stresses in life such as emotional pressures. Such stresses cause wear and tear on the functioning of the brain, making women more vulnerable to developing mental illness.

The most common forms of mental illnesses include depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, bipolar disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders and schizophrenia.

Global estimates indicate that one out of four individuals will be directly impacted by mental illness sometime in their lives.

This spreads down to friends and families of people directly impacted and therefore it becomes a bigger cycle of populations directly and indirectly impacted.

How serious are mental disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Most younger populations in their youth years from the age of 20 and 21 are impacted, and this coincides with the age where mental illnesses normally manifest.

The impacts are quite huge whether the individuals are going to properly engage in the educational system and get the training they need or be engaged in the workforce.

Mental illnesses do not only impact on the individual's wellbeing but also a country's economy as they are all intertwined.

Do we have the capacity to deal with brain disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa?

No. We have a huge gap in terms of capacity to adequately deal with everybody in our job. I think that there is a huge shortage of psychiatrists and psychologists.

There is often a brain drain where educated individuals such as psychiatrists leave for North America or Europe to practice.

We need to build capacity and think differently on how to approach mental health. We do not have resources and capacity like countries in Europe.

There is a need to figure out models that suit our situation.

There is also the need to train and empower other members of the community who can step up and provide some level of care with the support of highly trained individuals to enhance capacity.

At the Brain and Mind Institute, we are using mobile technology platforms to enable people who might not be specialists to solve mental health problems in their communities.

What is the way forward for Sub-Saharan Africa in dealing with brain disorders?

Stigma, taboos and myths about mental illnesses are common in many communities in Sub-Sharan Africa. There is a need to educate the public on the need for seeking medical attention other than relying on community interventions tied to beliefs and myths associated with mental illnesses.

Treatment of mental illnesses should be integrated into primary healthcare. Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa also need to invest much in research and development to find better solutions for the future.
(Newser)  Alexander Sammon's gripping piece on threats to one of the biggest remaining old-growth forests in the worldit's in Romaniafor the New Republic begins with a disturbing story about logging thugs who smash a documentary film crews equipment and nearly kill an activist. It's even worse than that sounds. "The attackers were attempting to push the vehicle off the mountainside [with the activist in it], hoisting the chassis up on two wheels. When he agreed to get out, they bludgeoned him, stripped him naked, and posted photos of him online." A former foreign correspondent who now works as an environmental investigator echoes that: "I felt safer in Iraq, in Mosul, in 2016." Knowing all that, Sammon sets out to investigate the illegal logging there himself, assisted by a guide who had been documenting it for the European Commission.

Today, over half the lumber leaving Romania is illegally harvested. Sammon provides the backstory: While only 4% of EU forestland is still standing, Romania's forests were protected during its communist decades. That safeguarded much of its forests, whose wood is now in huge demand. When Romania joined the EU in 2007, it found "a massive, liberated market for the countrys cheap, abundant timber." IKEA, the single largest consumer of wood in the world, is singled out repeatedly throughout the report. It gets up to 10% of its wood from Romania and is the largest private landowner in the country. The report details a complex and corrupt landscape surrounding IKEAs opaque global supply chain, and is absolutely worth a read in full, if only to sweat as Sammon recounts being chased by loggers while trying to both escape and retrieve a drone surveying the illegal activity. (Read more IKEA stories.)
Economic growth is a measure of the increase of production, services, and the output of value of anything with quantifiable indicators. It is heavily influenced by targeted decisions that enable growth to be realized. This does not materialize in a vacuum; it must be intentional or at least pushed in the direction of upward mobility. This upward growth can be felt through an increase in profit by businesses, increase in local investments and uptake in hiring decisions, increase in purchases by consumers thus further driving up growth  it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy especially when government austerity measures are in full swing to boost efforts in this area. Economic growth requires expert minds to steer this process however; it must be balanced with objective conservative fiscal policy and aggressive interventionist decision-making strategies. In essence, growth must be planned, targeted, and guided throughout to get the desired results.



Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is arguably the best way to measure true economic growth  it encapsulates the countrys entire economic output and reflects the true measure of its value, this includes goods and services. Keep this in mind however, the higher your imports, the lower your economic growth hence the lower your GDP. It is worth noting that total GPD is not usually exhaustive; it only includes things that society measures and values at a given point in time. The adverse effect of environmental costs, the psychological costs of poor governance, the impact of family separation due to the lack of local jobs  seeking greener pasture elsewhere, etc., are not taken into account and in most instances negatively affect overall growth.

A foundational part of growing your budget is to first understand those indicators that bring down the budget from the onset. The budget does not accumulate in isolation; several mitigating factors play into how much budget a country is going to generate. Consider your national debt to GDP ratio, national exports and local production, local consumption, tax base and how aggressively the government is working to expand that base, how favorable are local conditions for investments; macro poverty outlook indicators are a good gauge to future budget determinations and accumulations.



Secondly, is your current budget designed and targeted at economic growth drivers such as human capital, specialization, trade, local productivity, financial capital, entrepreneurship, etc.? Are your fiscal policies and strategies targeted at local job creators such as small businesses, farmers, and in our case, a scheme to bring in diaspora monies? Are you creating the environment to keep your most skilled citizens or are they leaving? Does government hire the most prepared  the best and brightest the country has to offer? Have you maximized every potential source of revenue generation? What is the governments revenue collection strategy? Make it public and let it be scrutinized.

See World Bank and Statista breakdown/projections below on our debt ratio and other outlooks to give us a better insight:

Table 1 Liberia: National debt in relation to (GDP) from 2016 to 2026



It is important to stress that debt is not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, the national debt can actually be beneficial in the long-term if the following are taken into consideration: 1) Is it being incurred as an expansionary fiscal policy tool for long-term benefits; 2) Is it for job creation purposes; 3) Does it lower taxes and expand the tax base; 4) Is it not being seen as a source of salary payment but rather as an economic tool that creates infrastructure to increase government intake? What is the cost/benefit analysis on the debt? The key question here is: Why are we taking on this debt? You will have a good debt when the debt pays for itself in the short-term while continuing to increase the government revenue in the long term. When debt is used appropriately, it stimulates the long-term growth and prosperity of a nation and creates the environment that keeps on giving  a sustained, higher intake of revenue. Furthermore, when the debt is moderate, it can boost GDP enough to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio thus increasing our GDP and hence decreasing our debt burden.

On the other hand, after taking into account the above-listed recommendations and fitting them into your fiscal policy strategy, here are a few targeted moves you can employ to drastically increase revenue intake and ramp up government expenditures for national development  debt is optional!



Moreover, a conservative figure using basic analysis is going to be attached to some areas considered below to give the reader an idea of what Liberia can generate from these areas to get our national budget growing for development  the numbers will vary depending on how the strategy is applied. All of this will be achieved using currently available resources.



Nevertheless, Liberia must start this by redesigning the budget, having the lions share going directly to growth drivers listed above. First, the leader (Google A Guide to Picking Liberias Next President) must make a Liberia-centered decision and find $200 million in the current budget to go to programs described below. This is how s/he finds that money: Issue an emergency order (because we are in an emergency and have been in one for the last 50 years!) stating that no official in government will make more than $1000/month, inclusive of every benefit  the government is about service not getting rich! Want to get rich? Go start a business!



End all personal purchases for officials except those exclusively restricted to the job duties. This includes transport, loan payments, scratch cards, gas slips, rent payments, overseas medical bills (let them use JFK or personal dime), constituency visits, extra sittings, etc. Government is not responsible for officials upkeep. Restrict all government travels  use your already existing foreign ministry. This is fair and equitable given that our per capita income is roughly $600 per annum! Why paid the living expenses of someone youre paying a salary? This is theft and must be stopped.



Ram this through the legislature  yes you can  and ensure no official makes more than 5 times the average civil servants salary. Make the tough, but the easy decision by taking the peoples monies from the pockets of overpaid politicians and giving it back  the people will stand by you! Focus on these tasks and do not be sidetracked by any artificial barriers  blast through them:

1. Strengthen the Judiciary  The foundational basis of attracting and maintaining anything of value is to first up your protection capabilities to the level or greater than the value to be protected  a state cannot protect something of greater value than itself! A responsible judiciary ensures security. This phrase is common throughout Liberia but it is entirely true: Good money is afraid of bad environment. To attract the kind of resources and investments we need to increase our budget intake, the government must provide judicial security that secures that money. The executive should instruct our anti-graft institutions to set up a special judicial monitoring task force under the justice ministry to report to the president on a quarterly basis. Give full prosecutorial powers and separate courts to these institutions and publically reprimand, prosecute and heavily punish judges who fall outside the guidelines of the law. Aggressively enforce all judicial mandates especially when it is against government officials. Establish trust in the system and give investors the comfort to bring their money back. Protect their money as if it were your own. The potential exists to take in hundreds of millions of dollars if the judiciary is strengthened. 2. Specialization and Trade  A developing countrys greatest output will not come from worthless degrees issued by glorified high schools masquerading as universities. Shift most of your resources from these so-called universities to trade and entrepreneurial skill development. Cut your university applicants to only a quarter of what it currently is, only accepting the very best and pushing them towards the skills we need to develop. Tighten your university standards and weed out those undeserving and wasting limited resources. Stop pushing this ridiculous narrative that everyone must go to college. Instead, change the message that everyone must specialize and learn a trade. Make grades 1 through 12 truly free and put quality in the high schools. This will give Liberia the greatest output and quicken our efforts towards development. As our trade folks apply their skills, expansionary opportunities will be created and there will be new windows for tax collections. Think a rising tide lifts all boat kind of scenario. There is no better way to improve your human capital index than to get people practicing what they learned, and as they grow and perfect their skills, so will our economy and by default our national budget  potential intake, $1B+! 3. Liberian Revenue Authority (LRA)  Revisit your current revenue collection laws and applications. Where are the leakages? Have you plugged all the holes? Are the revenue collections reaching all, especially those who benefit most from the system? Why are we still having field agents doing door-to-door revenue collections/enforcements in 2021? The LRA is bleeding tens of millions of dollars every month because it has not plugged the holes and positioned a team whose sole task will be to look into expanding Liberias revenue collections. To grow the budget, we must grow our capacity and collection techniques. Refocus revenue generation efforts and categorize some payers with special makers for special review. Why is the Freeport of Monrovia open only 8 hours a day and not on weekends? There is no reason why the Freeport, one of the largest generators of taxes, is not open 24/7! There is a huge potential that government could double and possibly triple revenue intake from the ports if they operated efficiently and effectively without closing  were talking almost over a billion dollars annually in revenue if you plugged the holes and operated the ports like any other serious ports! Secondly, find a way to end any lopsided contracts or ensure Liberia gets a bigger share from these foreign managers who take a huge share of port revenue  we can do this ourselves. Revisit the contracts and if there are any breaches  which is certain there are  go-to arbitration and immediately fully nationalize the posts or entirely privatize it with an open profit-sharing option that does not harm the public and benefits Liberia the greatest. Make arrangements with government entities in similar categories. Find a way to fairly standardize, tax, and enforce every transaction in the economy  capture a piece of every transaction especially money transfers between individuals.

Why are there no addresses and a database of owners of all the real estate around the country? Just having all the structures (this is to make a point; some structures require more payment based on their valuation) in Monrovia pay $30/quarter and assuming there are two hundred thousand of them, the government can increase its tax intake by $24M/years! This is excluding the rest of the country and lands. If the government wants to increase its tax intake, it must create the infrastructure that supports such endeavor. 4. Agriculture, Fisheries, and Roads  Agriculture is arguably our best option to quickly develop and increase the national budget. A lot of time has been spent on this area. Read Common Sense Economics for Liberia to explore some of the options presented. This piece is not going to say a lot given the recommendations already out there on agriculture but will re-echo the following: places like Ecuador are exporting $4B in bananas each year  thats two times our entire GDP; Costa Rica exports over a billion dollars in bananas! Nigeria and Ghana are among the top 5 producers of cassava worldwide; this is a multi-billion dollar industry with thousands of jobs opportunities. Government can encourage people to grow cassava and strategically place cassava collection hubs across the country for export. Rice, poultry, pig farming, the list is long. Why Liberia is not taking full advantage of these opportunities to put our people to work and grow the budget? Why are we not planting to cut out our share? Liberia could literally shut down all the mines  there is a little benefit coming from concessions given our poor governance institutions and widespread corruption  focus on agriculture, triple our GDP, and also our budget in 10 years! This space has the greatest potential for GDP growth and budget increase. Moreover, we have about 350 miles of coastline  lots of fish, and two-thirds of the population is protein deficient! How is this possible? Why are we giving unchecked access to foreigners to fish in our waters at little to no benefit to us? These people are taking billions from us each year  this is lunacy! Fix this. To start, invest in 20 mid-size commercial fishing boats at a cost of a hundred thousand dollars apiece. Build four offloading hubs: one in Robertsport, Monrovia, River Cess, and Harper. These hubs will double as mini-factories to package catch for shipment to market  here at home and abroad. Seek out professionals to run this area and get outside help if you must, but no matter what you do, ensure Liberians are the main engines that run this industry. Gradually grow this area for national development. This industry will create thousands of direct and indirect jobs; expand government reach and most importantly, give our people hope and a belief in themselves once again. On the other hand, roads are a whole lot easier to incorporate than Liberians are led to believe. The government does not need five billion dollars to pave all the roads for national development! Do what others have done to get their economies growing and when you can, pave the roads using the revenue intake opportunities you have created. In the intern, you can make our highways accessible year-round by doing some basic road work that works. Heres how: set aside $100M and recondition our highways in specific areas with the greatest delays. We must be practical and tailor our solutions to local conditions. Hire 100 thousand Liberians for 6 months and pay each $75/month (total wages $45M  note that the average monthly income in the country is about $65!). Buy shovels, diggers, wheelbarrows, rock drills, and dynamite to blast through available granite along these roadways to fill problem areas (about $10M). Invest $20M in compactors, dump trucks, mobile rock crushers, front-end loaders, and other road-building equipment. Set aside $15M for fuel and repairs, $5M for food, and use the balance of $5M for discretionary purposes. Get the engineers and supervisory team from Public Works and the AFL (no need to pay them; they are already getting salaries)  government should also enlist voluntary prison labor. Now position these workers in crucial areas around the country and prepare our roads for year-round usage. If properly done, these roads will be good for 15-20 years! In this time, charge a toll and use that money to gradually pave the roads a few miles at a time each year. Yes, its that simple. Remember, always find a way to expand your tax base on a larger portion of the population and not burden a few people with heavier tax liabilities. 5. Shipping, Export/Import  Invest in a mid-size, fairly used cargo ship for $20M and put it under our maritime program  yes you can find used container ships at cheaper prices. Use this ship to bring goods home to Liberia and take our exports to the rest of the world. You can put this under an established shipping line initially and gradually develop the skills and organization to do it ourselves. Cheapen our exports/imports, expand this industry, grow your tax base and make our people's lives better. Keep in mind that the economy is about growth and directional mobility  keep it moving. 6. Diaspora and Airline  Visit with major airlines and present them with this proposal. Liberia is not in the position to run and maintain an airline. However, Liberia does have the traffic to be a profitable destination. Negotiate with a company like Delta Airlines and present a profit-sharing arrangement where the airline maintains and operates the plane but designate Liberia as the primary destination. The plane will be painted with a Liberian Logo (say, Air Liberia), serve Liberian foods, and carries a Liberian Crew (hopefully Liberian Pilots if not yet we can settle for the rest of the crew for now) and Liberia can lease/buy the plane and put it under the management of this major airline.

The arrangement can start with one plane and two trips a week and gradually work its way up. All travel arrangements will be made through this airline until we develop the knowhow to do this ourselves. Similar arrangements can be applied to power and electrification, sanitation, transportation, etc., either locally or internationally  think privatization. In order to grow your budget, you must bring in people who have the money. A direct flight between New York and Roberts International will go a long way and bring in millions in tax revenue and expansionary opportunities.

Remember the economy is a living entity; you must constantly breathe life into it to keep it alive and vibrant. This is why it is crucially important to have a leadership team that has the skills, experience, and commitment to actualize this national vision. In the end, to grow your intake opportunities, you must improve your peoples lives and by default grow your economy and revenue.

About the Author: Ansu O.Dualu is the author of a series of articles on how to improve Liberias current desperate conditions. Some of those articles include: Common Sense Economics for Liberia, and Leveraging Liberias Resources to Lift the Pro-Poor Agenda. The author works as a financial professional out of Massachusetts.
(Newser)  "Being a survivor of a homicide victim has a pain for which there arent any words," said Robert "Renny" Cushing during a 2019 discussion with the Death Penalty Information Center. Earlier that year, New Hampshire became the 21st state to outlaw capital punishment, after its House and Senate overrode a veto by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu. That only happened thanks to a "relentless" 20-year campaign by Cushing, a Democrat, to build a bipartisan majority around the issue, per his obituary in the New York Times. Cushing died March 7 at the age of 69. His impressive political achievement was rooted in the murder of his father, Robert Cushing Sr., who was gunned down by a deranged off-duty police officer in 1988.

While some lobbied for the murderer to "fry," the younger Cushing found another way to honor his fathers memory. "If we let those who kill turn us into killers, then evil triumphs and we lose," he once said. As executive director of Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation and cofounder of Murder Victims Families for Human Rights, Cushing focused on healing, as well as ending what he viewed as a human rights violation. He served for decades in the New Hampshire House, including a nearly 10-year run that ended when he took leave from his role as Minority Leader just days before his death due to advanced prostate cancer. Colleagues remembered him as "a master parliamentarian" and "the most effective legislator in the past 25 years," per the Seacoastonline. (Read more obituary stories.)
(Newser)  By centurys end, if worse-case models prove accurate, pollen season could start 40 days earlier and last 19 days longer than it does now. For many people, that means two extra months of sneezes, runny noses, hives, and itchy eyes. For people with asthma, it means more shortness of breath, more wheezing, and the need for more medicines and therapies. According to a recent peer-reviewed study published in Nature Communications, this is an ongoing 30-year trend toward longer, more intense pollen seasons.

Per NBC News, "using historical pollen data and predictive climate models, the researchers were able to paint a picture of how and when plants and trees could release pollen in the coming decades. Lead author Yingxiao Zhang of the University of Michigan explained that increased levels of carbon dioxide can boost pollen output in two ways. First and foremost, carbon and other greenhouse gases are raising temperatures on the planet, and scientists know warmer temperatures can accelerate pollen production. Also, bigger plants tend to produce more pollen, and the more water and carbon dioxide plants get, the more they can gorge themselves on sugars derived through photosynthesis.

NBC also points to EPA research showing variations from one place to another, with northern states seeing some of the biggest changes so far, as in Minnesota and North Dakota, where ragweed season lengthened by 21 days from 1995 to 2015." Allergy symptoms vary from person to person, as well, and those who dont suffer now arent necessarily in the clear forever. An allergy doctor interviewed on NBCs Today show said everyones immune system responds a little differently to different pollens, and environmental factors can change how allergy cells react to various pollens. For relief, experts suggest shopping around for an effective antihistamine because individuals may respond differently to those, too. An NIH study says standard medical masks used to control the spread of COVID are effective at filtering pollen. (Read more pollen stories.)
(Newser)  The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk is on its way to a scrapyard in Texas. Too large to slip through the Panama Canal, the ship must sail around South America, a 16,000-mile trip from Washington state, where it has been docked since its retirement in 2009. According to the Navy Times, Kitty Hawk was the first carrier of its class, launched in 1961 with a heap of improvements over its WWII-era predecessors. It completed six tours in Vietnam and was the first carrier to be awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for heroism. The ship saw action all over the Pacific, including the Iraq War, where its planes expended nearly a million pounds of ordnance, per a detailed history posted by Kitty Hawk Vets.

Many histories do not mention the race riot that occurred below decks in 1972. Nobody is quite sure how it started, but things got bad fast, per CNN, citing a scholars account. "The fighting spread rapidly throughout the ship, with bands of Blacks and Whites marauding through the decks and attacking each other with fists, chains, wrenches, and pipes," per that account by David Cortwright, now with the Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame. CNN notes that the incident was reflective of stark racial inequality in US society at the time.

When news broke of the ships scrapyard fate, many of the 280,000 sailors who served on the Kitty Hawk over the years lobbied to save it. Veteran David Cook of North Carolina told tells ABC13 he would be devastated if they turned it into razor blades. He and other vets say the ship would make a fine museum, especially docked alongside the battleship USS North Carolina in Wilmington, not far from town where the Wright brothers made their names. Unless the Navy changes its mind, however, the ship will be cut up and sold for scrap once it reaches its Texas destination. (Read more USS Kitty Hawk stories.)
(Newser)  For years Americans have been told that driverless vehicles were just around the corner. Finally theyre here, but to catch a glimpse, you'll need to go to a farm rather than a city street, per the AP. Beginning this fall, 14-ton tractors that can plow day or night with no one sitting in the cab, or even watching nearby, will come off the John Deere factory assembly line in Waterloo, Iowa, harkening the age of autonomous farming. The development follows more than a decade-long effort by the worlds largest farm equipment manufacturer, and marks a milestone for automation advocates, who for years have been explaining why driverless cars arent quite ready for prime time.

Im glad to see theyre coming out and will stimulate the other technologies, said Raj Rajkumar, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and an expert in autonomous cars. Deere isnt saying yet how much the autonomous tractors will cost, but the new technology will be added onto tractors that sell for about $500,000, said Ben Haber, a company spokesman. The company plans to operate the autonomous tractors on 10 to 50 farms by this fall before significantly increasing the number in following years. Modern tractors already have GPS guides that handle steering and turning to ensure optimum plowing, seeding and harvesting.

They also use real-time streams of data to make changes if needed because of soil conditions, the amount of fertilizer applied, or other factors. The autonomous tractor will now let farmers hook up a plow behind a tractor, start the machine with a swipe of a smart phone, and then leave it to rumble up and down a field on its own. The driverless tractors are equipped with six pairs of cameras that work like human eyes and can provide a 360-degree image. When filtered through computer algorithms, the tractor is able to determine where it is in the field and will abruptly stop if there is anything unfamiliar in its path.

(Read more farming stories.)
(Newser)  A strange shooting took place on a lake in South Carolina this week, one in which a man was rescued from the watertwicebefore being killed by his rescuer. But police say it's a clear case of self-defense, and no charges are being filed, reports WYFF4. The shooting took place Tuesday on Lake Keowee, per the AP. Police say a man and a woman were on a pontoon boat when they came across another couple struggling in the water, having been thrown from their jet ski. The couple on the boat brought the other pair aboard, but police say the rescued manidentified as 29-year-old Nathan Drew Morganbecame belligerent and began assaulting the couple on the boat.

"Investigators have been told that the man may have wanted to get back to the jet ski," says a news release from the Oconee County Sheriffs Office. Morgan's partner then pushed him back into the water in what police say was an attempt to defuse the situation. The couple on the pontoon boat pulled him back aboard for a second time, but police say he began assaulting them again. The man from the boat, "fearing for his and his wife's life," fatally shot Morgan in the chest, says the sheriff's office. The 10th Circuit Solicitors Office concluded that the shooting was justified under the state's stand-your-ground law, per Newsweek. (Read more self defense stories.)
(Newser)  Miami police are investigating a brazen daylight shooting that took the life of an aspiring rapper who had been released from jail only minutes earlier. The Miami Herald reports that 20-year-old Timothy Starks, aka Baby Cino, was gunned down in a car in rush-hour traffic as the vehicle he was in entered the Palmetto Expressway. A friend had just picked him up from a Miami-Dade jail. Starks had been arrested Tuesday during a traffic stop and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, per Local10. He bonded out Wednesday, and friend Dante Banks picked him up, say police. Banks was wounded in the shooting, though his injuries are not life-threatening. Police say the gunman or gunmen in another car fired about 40 rounds.

Starks did not have a big following as a rapper, but he was working on it. People notes he was best known for the song and video "Big Haiti Shottas." Law enforcement sources tell the Herald that Starks was affiliated with a local gang known as Boss Life, and his shooting may be connected to a series of fatal ambushes in recent months. Driver Banks was shot in the abdomen but has since been released from the hospital. My son was OK, Banks' mother tells WSVN. She was actually speaking with him on the phone when the shooting took place. He was talking. He was just shook up cause his friend got shot. (Read more rapper stories.)
(Newser)  The intense battle between Ukrainian and Russian forces for Mariupol has moved to the streets in the center of the city, officials said Saturday. "The fighting is already in the city itself," an official in the mayor's office texted, the Wall Street Journal reports. "But Mariupol remains a Ukrainian city." Russian troops were on the advance, per the Washington Post, which was complicating the search for hundreds of people missing in the rubble of a theater Russia bombed on Wednesday.

A city police officer posted a video telling the US and French presidents that the aid the city has received from their countries falls short of their promises. "Give us that help," Michail Vershnin said, per the AP. His city, he said, has been "wiped off the face of the Earth." With its Russian-speaking population, Mariupol is a strategically important port city that Russia thought it would take quickly, allowing many of its troops to move on. That didn't happen. Azov Battalion, a Ukrainian volunteer group, reported that "the military is repulsing the enemy, which isnt stopping its attack on Mariupol with artillery and aircraft." A former CIA analyst said that, by now, "the commanders on the Russian side have to be desperate for a win."

Mariupol officials said that more than 4,000 residents were forced to cross the border into Russia, where they feared the forced labor awaited the Ukrainians. Russia claimed Friday night that thousands of Ukrainians have "expressed their desire to escape to the Russian Federation." The Russian forces have had new successes elsewhere. Crews were searching for survivors in the remains of the 36th Ukrainian Naval Infantry Brigade headquarters in Mykolaiv, which was struck by a Russian rocket while marines slept. The death toll was reported to be at least 40, per the New York Times. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.)
(Newser)  It appears that Russia has achieved a first in modern combat, reports the New York Times: Moscow says it deployed a hypersonic missile to destroy a fuel depot in western Ukraine. Hypersonic missiles can fly at more than five times the speed of sound and are a big new focus of not only the Russian military, but the American and Chinese militaries as well. (North Korea is testing them as well.) Russia says it fired a Kinzhal missile from an MiG-31 fighter jet that struck the depot in Kostiantynivka, per the AP. The Pentagon has not confirmed.

One big fear of such weapons is their potential to carry nuclear warheads, and while the use of one in combat is a milestone, it was not clear how much advantage they would be to Russia in the Ukraine war, notes the BBC. "I don't view it as that significant," James Acton, nuclear policy specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "I don't know how much of an advantage Russia is getting from using hypersonic missiles."

While Russia's advance on most cities has largely stalled, it appears that constant bombardment of the southern port city of Mariupol has brought the city to the brink of Russian control. Ukraine officials accused Russia of bombing an art school in the city where hundreds of people were taking refuge, days after the same happened to a theater. No immediate reports of casualties were available. To do this to a peaceful city, what the occupiers did, is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address to his nation. "The more Russia uses terror against Ukraine, the worse the consequences for it. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.)
(Newser)  One of the men plotting to kidnap Michigan's governor also had ideas for heading off COVID-19 vaccine mandates, an informant has testified: Kill the police officers who would enforce the mandates, cut off the heads of lawyers who support the vaccines, and blow up the places where vaccines are made. The FBI informant took the stand Friday in the trial of four men on kidnapping conspiracy charges; three of them also face weapons of mass destruction charges, the Detroit Free Press reports. The jury heard recordings of Brandon Caserta, one of the defendants, making the vaccine comments to the informant.

Caserta was angered by the vaccine's development and also wanted to target doctors and contact tracers, the witness said. "We create a dynamic where no one wants to be a contact tracer because they might f****** die," Caserta said in an August 2020 recording. The informant said he had joined Wolverine Watchmen after becoming interested in the militia after a suggestion from Facebook, per MLive. He testified that he contacted the FBI when members started talking about killing police; they'd discussed finding officers' home addresses and killing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's security detail, the informant said.

Defense lawyers argue that much of the plotting was conducted when the members were drunk or high and that though they may have talked about how to kidnap the governor, they couldn't have pulled it off. They were unable to find Whitmer's house the first time they tried to do reconnaissance, the lawyers said; they had the wrong address. In total, 14 men face state and federal charges in the case. The four on trial now in federal court are Caserta, Barry Croft Jr., Adam Fox, and Daniel Harris. Ty Garbin and Kaleb James Franks will testify in the case after pleading guilty to a federal charge conspiracy to kidnap. (Read more conspiracy stories.)
(Newser)  With the Russian battle plan a failure but Ukraine unable to defeat the invasion, the fighting in Ukraine could be nearing a stalemate, analysts say. Ukraine won the first round, the Institute for the Study of War said Saturdayfrustrating Russia's "airborne and mechanized operations to seize Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, and other major Ukrainian cities to force a change of government in Ukraine," Axios reports. Other experts see it the same way. "I don't think Ukraine forces can push Russian forces out of Ukraine," said Rob Lee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. "But I also don't think Russian forces can take that much more of Ukraine."

But a stalemate is not going to feel like success for Ukraine, analysts said. Russian troops are digging in outside Kyiv and other places, resupplying and reinforcing their front lines, the institute said, per the New York Times. Their sieges of citiessuch as Mariupolwill exact a high toll on the surrounded Ukrainians as Russian forces keep shelling them, adding the use of long-range rockets against other infrastructure and targets. "Stalemate is not armistice or ceasefire," the institute's report said, adding that stalled Russian forces would "continue to bomb and bombard Ukrainian cities, devastating them and killing civilians." Major World War I battles including the Somme were stalemates, the report points out, that stayed that way.

Russian leaders seem to have realized their predicament, looking elsewhere, including China, for military equipment and fresh troops. "Just that theyre talking about resupply and re-sourcing tells you they are beginning to get concerned about longevity here," a US defense official said, per the Washington Post. Heavy Russian losses would drive that home. At least 7,000 Russians have been killed and possibly 20,000 injured, Western intelligence agencies estimate. That might indicate as much as one-third of the main combat force in Ukraine is lost, Lee said. "That's a huge loss, and you can't readily replace that," he said; troops can be added, but that would water down the abilities of the main force. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.)
The Perspective

Atlanta, Georgia

March 20, 2022

The phrase right back, right back is a local slang and a euphemistic way of referring to corruption at a higher level where unscrupulous government officials give ridiculous tax breaks to multi-national corporations or contractors and those businesses surreptitiously deposit huge amounts into bank accounts that belong to these officials. The distributions are divvied up across several accounts scattered around the globe. These offshore accounts usually belong to the very government officials who grant these fabulous tax breaks to the detriment of ordinary Liberians living in bone-crushing poverty. Sometimes family members accounts are used. Think boomerang  right back, right back!



Concession tax breaks in Liberia are the next level of corruption! Legislations are no longer designed to protect society and build governing institutions but rather to enrich and protect a very small band of thieves masquerading as government officials  nearly every president has been the ringleader in this pillage. These officials design everything around their wellbeing, their immediate families, and their interests! The lawless environment which these officials maintain in Liberia is the perfect breeding ground for their unchecked crimes against the people  Western Banks facilitate all of this!



Liberias corporate tax rate ranges between 25%-30%. These rates hardly ever apply to any company in the country because of the way initial negotiations are orchestrated. The Liberian Revenue Authority which is statutorily charged with tax matters and has the hands-on expertise to understand these issues is usually overshadowed by mostly inept legislators and members from the executive branch who know nothing about financial matters. They overstep their constitutional roles for the singular purpose of getting kickbacks from these concession/contract deals.



When these multinationals realize how weak and corrupt our system is, they exhaust the benefits of their unearned tax breaks and then sell off the companies before any interests accrue to the Liberian Government. Sometimes they even change the names of their companies and resell to a subsidiary simply to avoid meeting the contractual obligations of the original agreement. This is done with the full acquiescence of sitting government officials who willingly participate in these deceptive schemes. This so-called new buyer renegotiates the original deal with favorable terms leaving the Liberian people holding the empty bag  this is repeated concession after concession and Liberia never gets any benefit! Our government officials are a party to these shenanigans further worsening the economic and social conditions of the Liberian people. From regime to regime, these criminal tactics are repeated over and over and again. In the end, Liberia bleeds and no one tends to her wounds.



Sometimes the very government officials who are negotiating these deals on behalf of the government, use their law firms to represent the very companies the government is negotiating against. They see zero conflict of interest with such illegal practice, and no one enforces this blatant violation of the law. The criminals who are doing these deals are the very people charged with enforcing the law in the first place!

Senator Varney Sherman, a notorious right back, right back implementer who is currently on a U. S. Sanction list for financial crimes, has been doing such deals for over a quarter of a century! Also, Senator Morris Saytumah, who once served as minister, was accused of changing obligatory phrases/words in very important concession agreements thus relieving foreign firms of their legal commitments to the state  this is after these contracts have been approved by the legislature! There were no legal consequences for his crimes; in fact, Mr. Saytumah was rewarded with a senatorial seat from Bomi County! From the president to judges, nearly every single legislator partakes in this criminal enterprise. They operate like a cartel. Its like an organized crime syndicate set up to rob the people blind.

What is truly baffling in this whole thing is that Liberia has the institutional framework to protect itself from these predatory maneuvering both from foreign divestors and local government leeches. There remains one question: How can these institutions work when the president and the very officials who are charged with following these institutional guidelines refuse to do so and become the very thieves who are looting the country? The answer is equally simple: The people must compel them to live up to the Liberian Constitution and force a national vision of total development through non-negotiable demands or forever continue to suffer in abject poverty! An organized force from the people is the only way forward  belly-driven thieves do not comply with speeches or subtleties!



The Public Procurement and Concession Act (PPCA) was critical for the revitalization of Liberia. This act was exclusively designed with the help of our international partners to protect us against these predatory investors and criminal government officials. It seems we have deliberately refused to follow its guidelines. Moreover, this act was meant to maximize economic outcomes, efficiency in procurements and obtain the optimum value for public assets. These measures were instituted to promote (a) economic development, (b) build local capacity and strengthen institutional guidelines, (c) promote competitive participation in procurement, (d) concession agreements with qualified suppliers, contractors, and consultants.



These acts aim to promote integrity, fairness, accountability, and public confidence in the procurement process. The core of this act was to promote the economic and developmental growth of indigenous Liberians and birth a private sector dominated by local Liberians. In the end, the act was to eradicate monopolies, decentralize public procurements, and ensure local assets benefited Liberians and not foreigners, which is the case today. Under the Johnson-Sirleaf administration, these guidelines were not regularly followed; now under the Weah-led administration, none is followed at all! The entire institution is in name only, thus causing a total collapse in the system and allowing corruption to run amok.



Companies like Golden Veroleum (GVL), APM Terminals, Bopolu Development Cooperation (BOBECO), Sime Darby, China Union Mining Cooperation, Bea Mountain, Buchanan Renewable, Mittal Steel, and now Mano Manufacturing Company (MONCO) are all foreign firms who got some sort of fabulous tax suspensions ranging from 10 years to 25 years! How is this possible in a country that so desperately needs every single resource? Moreover, many of these tax suspensions are usually renegotiated where suspended years are further extended by these foreign firms who typically circumvent our corrupt system to their benefit! Firestone/Bridgestone is notorious for this.



Liberia seems to be the only country that is handing out these unchecked, multiple tax concessions, exemptions, reduced rates, and incentives that only favor these firms. When will Liberians get to benefit? Or is the organized right back, right back gang too strong to be stopped?



The Liberian Domestic Revenue Mobilization Policy frowns on these kinds of tax breaks, especially for such prolonged periods. The Houses Specialized Committee on Contracts and Concessions and Compliance unanimously voted to halt or temporarily suspend the granting of tax breaks to all concessions and contractors. This decision was quickly reversed for reasons best known to the right back, right back gang.



Liberia has a very narrow tax base and there is a lack of adequate oversight on how these tax incentives are monitored. There have been recommendations from this author to create an agency to monitor and enforce contract agreements in real-time. Please look up Leveraging Liberias Resources to Lift the Pro Poor Agenda to consider some of the proposed suggestions.



The fiscal implications on poor resource management are far-reaching; these economically irrational decisions and unnecessary tax breaks deny the entire country much-needed revenue for social and infrastructure development, increase real costs in the form of foregone revenue, weaken the entire country and negatively impact every national program. It seems the legislatures only goal is to rob Liberia at every turn.



Moreover, Liberia continues to beg our international partners for help while at the same time our corrupt and greedy officials are foolishly giving away hundreds of millions of dollars in lopsided concession agreements that heavily favor these foreign firms. Our resources are going fast and yet we get no benefit. How can people knowingly and consistently mortgage their and their childrens futures without any protection? Google and read Close the Mines in Liberia  All of Them to know how these depletions are adversely affecting the country and all of posterity.



To add insult to injury, the government has also gifted its surrogate duty-free privileges that further rob the Liberian people of vital tax revenue. These duty-free tax breaks have also been extended to:

*The Legislature (and anyone they can lease out their privileges to)

*Ministries and Agencies

*Religious Institutions

*Concessions and Investments (who have already been gifted additional concession tax breaks)

*Executive Orders (whoever the president chooses to extend the tax break to)

*Diplomatic Missions

*Non- Governmental Institutions

Everything these government officials do is to enrich themselves to the detriment of our people  the government cares less about the peoples wellbeing!



To put these tax break incentives into perspective, it is important to attach some monetary value to these waivers, environmental costs, cost to local people, especially when the agreed benefit to the country is not implemented which is ALWAYS the case. Considering what should have been paid to the Liberian Government and the additional costs associated with not receiving these monies, the Liberian people are shouldering a financial burden that ranges between $700M to as high as $1B annually in lost tax revenue! This is a very conservative figure; when you weigh the environmental degradation the likes of GVL continues to inflict on entire ecosystems in the Southeast, and Bea Mountain continues to destroy our waterways with heavy chemicals such as mercury, lead, heavy metal, illegal miners scattered all over the countryside, and other such operations across the country, the costs to Liberia and its people could be as high as $10B annually!



There is an illusion in the warped minds of right backers that the consequences of their thieving ways are not going to affect them even as they continue to live in the very place theyre destroying. Government officials believe they can move abroad and go enjoy their loot in peace with full protection from their host countries. New flash thieves: Things are changing! Over the last 10 years, there has been a concerted effort from powerful countries like the United States, Australia, and the European Union to stop the transfer of these illicit funds to their countries. The U.S. has beefed-up sanctions against corrupt officials and everyone down the chain. Soon, these state criminals may have nowhere to hide, and maybe, just maybe, this may bring some relief to our people and force these heartless officials to live up to the oath they swore to the country: Liberia above all else!

About the Author: Ansu O.Dualu is the author of a series of articles on how to improve Liberias current desperate conditions. Some of those articles include: Common Sense Economics for Liberia, and Leveraging Liberias Resources to Lift the Pro-Poor Agenda. The author works as a financial professional out of Massachusetts.
(Newser)  From the time he bought Starbucks in 1987 to the time he stepped down as chairman in 2018, Howard Schultz consistentlyand successfullyfought attempts to unionize Starbucks US stores and roasting plants, per the AP. But Schultzwho was just named Starbucks interim chief executivenever confronted a unionization movement as big and fast-growing as the current one. Six US Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since December, and at least 140 more in 27 states have filed petitions for union elections. Its unclear how Schultz will tackle the issue when he returns to the company in April.

He took it really personally that his workers wanted to be part of a union, because he thought with him in charge they wouldnt need it, said Pam Blauman-Schmitz, a retired union representative who worked to organize Starbucks first stores in the early 1980s. He would say stuff like, Maybe you need unions in the coal mines, but not at Starbucks stores.'" Starbucks announced this week that its CEO of five years, Kevin Johnson, was retiring. The company tapped Schultz to serve as interim CEO until it finds a permanent replacement by this fall. Schultz, 68, who has held the honorary title of chairman emeritus since 2018, is also rejoining the companys board.

It is not yet clear if Schultz will try to amp up the fight against unionization. But Timothy Hubbard of Notre Dames Mendoza College of Business said he is well-positioned to do so. My sense is that if they want to shut down the unions, this is the best course of action, Hubbard said. Schultz has what it takes to tackle a hard topic like unions. Read the full story, which details Schultz's push against unions when he was CEO and afterward. "I am saddened and concerned to hear anyone thinks that is needed now, he wrote in November. But to many union organizers, who complain of inconsistent hours, poor training, understaffing, and low wages, Shultzs words fell flat.

(Read more Starbucks stories.)
(Newser)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday he's prepared to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the fighting. "I was ready for the last two years," Zelensky told Fareed Zakaria in an interview on CNN. Negotiations are the only way to end the war, Zelensky said. At the same time, he warned that the price of failure could be a "third world war." The president also set limits on possible concessions. Ukraine won't concede its "territorial integrity and our sovereignty," per the Washington Post.

That applies to the issue of recognizing two separatist regions in the Donbas as independent, as Russia wants. "You cannot just demand from Ukraine to recognize some territories as independent republics," Zelensky said. "These compromises are simply wrong." Although he said he's appreciative of the aid his country has received from NATO, Zelensky expressed irritation on the subject of NATO membership, saying Russia wouldn't have attacked Ukraine if it was part of the alliance. Zelensky called for a clear decision from NATO about whether it will be invited to join. "You cant force us to be in this limbo," he said.

"Russian forces have come to exterminate us, to kill us," Zelensky said in discussing whether to negotiate. Ukraine and its army have their dignity intact, he said, after successfully fighting back against the adversary. "But, unfortunately, our dignity is not going to preserve the lives" of innocent people, he said. So if there's even a 1% chance that sitting down with the Russians to negotiate can end the fighting, Zelensky said, "I think that we need to take this chance." The two sides have met four times so far since the invasion began. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.)
(Newser)  A car slammed at high speed into Carnival revelers in a small town in southern Belgium early Sunday, killing six people and leaving 10 more with life-threatening injuries, authorities said. Many others were slightly injured, the AP reports. "What should have been a great party turned into a tragedy," said Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden. The prosecutor's office, which gave the death toll, also said two local people in their thirties were arrested at the scene in Strepy-Bracquegnies, 30 miles south of Brussels. Prosecutors said, in the early stages of their investigation, there were no elements to suspect a terror motive.

In an age-old tradition, Carnival revelers had gathered at dawn, intending to pick up others at their homes along the way, to finally hold their famous festivity again after it was banned for the past two years to counter the spread of COVID-19. Some dressed in colorful garb with bells attached, walking behind the beat of drums. It was supposed to be a day of deliverance. Instead, said Mayor Jacques Gobert, "what happened turned it into a national catastrophe." More than 150 people of all ages had gathered around 5am and were standing in a thick crowd along a long, straight road. Suddenly, "a car drove from the back at high speed, Gobert said.

The driver and a second person were arrested when their car came to a halt a few hundred yards further on. Since Belgium was hit with twin terror attacks in Brussels and Zaventem that killed 32 civilians six years ago, thoughts of terrorism are never far away. But the prosecutor said there's no reason to suspect that. The prosecutor's office also denied media reports that the crash may have been caused by a car being chased by police. King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo were expected to visit Strepy-Bracquegnies later Sunday to express support for the families of the victims. Carnival is extremely popular in the area; festivities in nearby Binche have been declared a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

(Read more Belgium stories.)
(Newser)  "I know that its the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom every time," UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a speech Saturday. "I can give you a couple of famous recent examples." One of those examplesthe British vote approving Brexitfell flat, the BBC reports. Johnson said he doesn't believe Brexit was approved because voters were disapproving of foreigners. "It's because they wanted to be free to do things differently and for this country to be able to run itself," he said.

The speech was delivered to a Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool. Among a wider audience, there was criticism in the UK and Europe of likening the decision to withdraw from the EU to the decision to pick up arms to fight off an invading army. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called Johnson's comments an insult to Ukrainians, and a former president of the European Council said they were offensive. Rachel Reeves, the UK's shadow chancellor, called for an apology and pointed out that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has applied for admittance to the EU, so "he clearly sees no such parallel."

There was pushback from Johnson's party, as well, per the Insider. Gavin Barwell, a former member of the UK Parliament, tweeted: "Apart from the bit where voting in a free and fair referendum isn't in any way comparable with risking your life to defend your country against invasion + the awkward fact the Ukrainians are fighting for the freedom to join the EU, this comparison is bang on." In his speech, Johnson also reinforced his government's support of the Ukrainian people in the war, per Politico. The UK is attractive to Ukrainian refugees and Russians trying to get away from the political oppression in Russia, Johnson said. "We just want to be free, and thats why talented people are fleeing Russia right now," he said. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.)
(Newser)  Authorities on Sunday were investigating the crash of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department rescue helicopter in Southern California mountains that left six people injured. The department's Air Rescue 5 helicopter crashed shortly before 5pm Saturday while responding to a vehicle that rolled over on a winding road in Angeles National Forest, the county's fire department said. The six people on board were airlifted to a hospital with a variety of injuries, including fractures and broken ribs, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Saturday night, per the AP.

"They are in stable condition, some more banged up than others, but thankful to be alive," Villanueva told reporters outside Pomona Valley Medical Center. Photos of the scene showed the damaged Super Puma helicopter on its side along a cliffside roadway in Azusa Canyon near the San Gabriel Dam. "The fact that it did not roll over and go all the way down (the cliff), or that there was no fire, is nothing short of a miracle," Villanueva said. Five occupants were part of a sheriff's department crew, and the sixth was a doctor on a ride-along from UCLA. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash, spokesman Eric Weiss said.

Two paramedics aboard the helicopter extracted the pilot and co-pilot after the crash. Firefighters who were already on the scene to assist the rolled-over vehicle were able to treat the injured as well, Villanueva said, the AP reports. The rescue helicopter makes hundreds of flights annually into tough terrain, often flying into narrow canyons and dealing with difficult topography. The helicopter crew has "saved thousands of lives over the years," Villanueva said.

(Read more helicopter crash stories.)
(Newser)  The fighting in Ukraine has killed at least 900 civilians so far, the United Nations human rights agency estimated Sunday. A statement said that 1,459 were reported injured, and that those killed included 179 men, 134 women, 11 girls, and 25 boys, per CNN. Another 39 children and 514 adults were killed, but their sex isn't known. Most of the casualties were inflicted by explosive weapons, the UN said, during shelling from heavy artillery and airstrikes. Other developments included:

Evacuations : Seven humanitarian corridors were set up Sunday for civilians fleeing Mariupol and other cities, Ukrainian officials said. At one point, Mariupol's city council reported that 789 residents had reached Zaporizhzhia, a city about 140 miles north, on 11 buses, per the Washington Post. More buses were headed to pick up evacuees in Berdyansk, the officials said. President Volodymyr Zelensky said about 4,000 people were evacuated Saturday from Mariupol and more than 2,600 from other places.

: Seven humanitarian corridors were set up Sunday for civilians fleeing Mariupol and other cities, Ukrainian officials said. At one point, Mariupol's city council reported that 789 residents had reached Zaporizhzhia, a city about 140 miles north, on 11 buses, per the Washington Post. More buses were headed to pick up evacuees in Berdyansk, the officials said. President Volodymyr Zelensky said about 4,000 people were evacuated Saturday from Mariupol and more than 2,600 from other places. Pleas to Israel : Zelensky gave a video address to Israeli lawmakers that thanked Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for his intervention with Russia but criticized the nation for not taking a strong moral stand supporting Ukraine. Zelensky, who is Jewish, upset some officials by seeming to compare Jewish history to Ukraine's current plight when he asked that Israel accept more refugees, per the New York Times. "Our people are now wandering in the world, seeking security," he said, "as you once did."

: Zelensky gave a video address to Israeli lawmakers that thanked Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for his intervention with Russia but criticized the nation for not taking a strong moral stand supporting Ukraine. Zelensky, who is Jewish, upset some officials by seeming to compare Jewish history to Ukraine's current plight when he asked that Israel accept more refugees, per the New York Times. "Our people are now wandering in the world, seeking security," he said, "as you once did." No Ukraine visit : President Biden's trip to Europe this week will not include a stop in Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. The president plans to attend NATO and European Union summits, per the Hill. He will work "to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against President Putin's invasion of Ukraine" on his trip, Psaki said.

: President Biden's trip to Europe this week will not include a stop in Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. The president plans to attend NATO and European Union summits, per the Hill. He will work "to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against President Putin's invasion of Ukraine" on his trip, Psaki said. Peacekeeping force: One summit topic could be Poland's proposal for a NATO peacekeeping force in Ukraine. A Biden administration official said Sunday that US troops would not be part of such a mission.

(Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.)
David James is a fr eelance writer who lives in Fairbanks. Creating Alaska is an ongoing series documenting the lives of artists and creators in Fairbanks. Feedback and suggestions for future interviews can be emailed to nobugsinak@gmail.com.
MBABANE  Over 7 000 members of the Lutsango regiment showed great zeal and excitement in this years Buganu Ceremony at Buhleni Royal Residence.

Members of the regiment started arriving for the ceremony on Friday morning from across all the four regions of the Kingdom of Eswatini. Some members of the regiment camped at the royal residence in tents as they eagerly waited for the main day of the ceremony yesterday. From as early as 7am, more members of the regiment cascaded to the palace to join His Majesty KingMswati III and the Indlovukazi in the celebration. As soon as the Indvuna yeLutsango, Lontfombi Ndzimandze started announcing that the regiment should prepare to enter the arena at about 2pm, the excitement grew in anticipation of the song and dance. At about 4pm the regiments in their different groups entered the arena (umkhumbi) in song and dance. Each regiment was given enough time to dance and showcase before their Majesties and they showed great energy and excitement until 6pm. Libutfo from His Majestys Correctional Services (HMCS) stole the show in the arena and got everyone off their seats.

Worth mentioning is that, songs that were sung by the regiment which varied from the known to freshly composed songs, which were mostly sung outside the arena. The new songs were mostly satiric and were casting shade on individuals and entities over the political unrests. The King also welcomed international guests which included Prince Hlungu of Msogwaba, Ngomane Royalty, Prince Nathi of Sandleni, Bantfwabenkhosi from eMbhuleni and Mampondweni Kingdom among others. Also in attendance this year, were members of the Ministry of Arts and Culture from South Africa, Mpumalanga Province who were led by Eswatini National Arts and Culture Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stanley Dlamini. The weather presented a beautiful and conducive environment for the women regiments to dance and sing and they brought their best formations as they danced in regional segments. Lutsango showed great excitement when His Majesty and the Queen Mother arrived at the arena as they sang and did a special dance for Their Majesties.

The Buganu ceremony is known among the nation as the celebration of the first fruit which comes after the Incwala ceremony. The celebration is essentially viewed to be about cleansing and renewal in a new year. During the ceremony women get to network and showcase the various products they produce within their communities. It has over the years evolved into a session where business ideas are shared and markets for products are availed, not only within the premises, but beyond the festival itself. His Majesty, the Indlovukazi, Royal family, emabutfo (regiments), the nation and international guests from neigbouring countries and abroad participated in the ceremony.
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.
MBABANE  Potential investors who wanted to develop King Mswati III International Airport into the largest cargo hub in Africa have cancelled the investment out of anger.

Douglas Berry, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company styled Crowne Aeroplace said the decision came as a direct and exclusive result of what he described as disgusting actions of the Director General (DG) of Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority (ESWACAA) Andile Mtetwa on January 26, 2022. Berry made the allegations in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister (PM) Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, dated January 31, 2022. However, Mtetwa has refuted Berrys allegations; pointing out that she was being made a scapegoat as she, in the first place, was not aware of the meeting and its agenda, but attended it with interest and dedication.

She said cameras were installed in the boardroom where the meeting was held, and she could prove that Berry was economical with the truth as she briefly stepped out of the meeting to attend to her stranded school-going daughter. She said her daughter called her to report that she had no transport to take her home, and as a parent, she asked to be excused for a moment to attend to the frustrated child. Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport Thulani Mkhaliphi who chaired the meeting said he found the reason for Mtetwas stepping out of the meeting to be genuine and acceptable. Mkhaliphi said the meeting shifted from discussing the presentation to arguing over the DGs stepping out of the boardroom. He explained that the DGs presence was administrative as the technical experts representing ESWACAA and the ministry were present and paying attention to the sophisticated issues.

Giving background of the debacle, Berry, the Crowne Aerospace CEO, alleged that a delegation from his company consisting of himself, Adrian Hollenbach, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Lord Shaun Vanderpool, a majority shareholder and investor, travelled from Johannesburg to meet the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe at his offices. This was on January 26, 2022. He said they then proceeded to the offices of ESWACAA on the same day for a meeting scheduled for 2pm with the DG in order to bring the Authority up to speed on planning changes and to seek input from them as per their requirements. Berry explained to the pm that the receptionist ushered them into the boardroom where they were seated. He alleged that the DG entered the boardroom and asked who they were and why they were there.

He said the attitude took him aback immediately, and he offered to leave and abandon the meeting. Her response was, no, Im here now so I may as well hear what this is about. This on its own was highly unprofessional and borderline insulting, further alleged Berry in the letter addressed to the prime minister. As a result of this attitude, he said the directors and shareholders of the company took the decision to no longer invest in the Kingdom of Eswatini. He disclosed that the cargo airline direct foreign investment totalled to E91.7 billion, the equivalent of US$6.2 billion according to yesterdays foreign exchange rate.

We hereby bring to your attention the decision taken by the Board of Directors as well as the majority shareholder in the holding company to no longer continue with our plans to invest in the kingdom and to develop King Mswati III International Airport into the largest cargo hub on the continent of Africa. We have instead commenced with negotiations with other countries to host this lucrative and prestigious project, he stated in the letter. This decision comes as a direct and exclusive result of the disgusting actions of the Director General of ESWACAA on Wednesday 26, January.

He said while they waited for the PS from the ministers office to arrive, so that they could commence with a detailed presentation on the project. Berry added that the detailed presentation included the company structure, route network; fleet composition, architectural plans for the development of the western side of KMIII International Airport, the administrative offices, and crew accommodation. To my absolute surprise, he said the DG walked out of the meeting without making any attempt to communicate with them, five minutes after the presentation began and only to return after it was completed. Once again without any explanation, I told her that I and the team felt insulted by her actions and that we considered them to be rude, impertinent and disgusting, he said.

He said it was their considered opinion that arrogance played a major role in her attitude towards us. Only then did she respond by telling us that, we had to understand that her seven-year-old daughter was stranded outside of her school with no way to get home, and I am a single mother with two kids, alleged Berry. This was a contrived and pathetic attempt to divert the attention away from the preceding actions. He also informed the prime minister that the DG entered the meeting and did not proffer her calling cards to the delegation. He described this act as lack of professionalism on her behalf and certainly contravened accepted and expected business etiquette. It was only after the DG asked us to send her a list of requirements and I told her that we had no idea who she was or how to communicate with her as she went to collect calling cards, he told the prime minister.

The potential investor said the reality of the situation was that the kingdom had effectively lost E91.7 billion (US$ 6.2 billion) in investment. He said the kingdom has also lost the following 

The creation of 630 permanent job opportunities;

The creation of approximately 2 000 temporary jobs during construction;

Increase in the utilisation of KMIII International Airport;

Commitment to skill transfer and training, pilot training, internship programmes;

Commitment to school programmes in the rural areas, and several other business opportunities which Lord Vanderpool intended to establish in the kingdom. Berry said there was no doubt in his mind whatsoever that this was a disaster for the economy particularly in the light of the current unrest and challenges being experienced in the kingdom. He said there was no doubt in his mind that this was bound to be repeated in future by the bureaucracy.

DGs response

DG Mtetwa said it was a pity the director penned an emotional letter which had a lot of inconsistencies that did not make any sense to her. For starters, she denied that she said she was single and had two children. She said she has three children, and is a married woman. She is Mrs. Amaeshi. The DG said her superior was in attendance when she reasonably and respectfully stepped out of the meeting to attend to a pressing personal matter that distracted her attention. In her recollections, she said the investors became uncomfortable when the principal secretary said there was to be a need for government, as usual, to do due diligence. In this context, due diligence means conducting comprehensive appraisal of a business to be undertaken by the prospective investor to establish its assets and liabilities and to further evaluate its commercial potential.

Asked why they wanted to do due digilence, Mtetwa said it was essential because the company claimed to have been registered in the United Kingdom (UK) and later Bermuda.

She said it was neat to check how it operated in the UK and Bermuda. She added that the capital they talked about was a massive amount of money that could have required expertise in the civil aviation to assist the country and the company itself put facts together to form an impression. She said the investment part of the deal could not be handled by ESWACAA, as it was not its responsibility. She explained that she had assembled a technical team that followed the presentation with interest. This team, she said was going to advise her on what should be done to realise the investment.

Pertaining to the calling cards, she said she was used to taking them out at the end of the meeting. I have to first know the persons I am talking to. At the end of the meeting, we can then exchange the business cards, she said. She said she also didnt know that they were coming. The DG said she remained calm even when some of the members of the delegation would harshly direct one of them to remove a face mask because they did not hear him as it muffled the sound. She said there was a time when phrases such as who do you think you are, were used. Even then, she said they remained calm, polite and professional.

Pressed further on revelations that the Director General (DG) of Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority (ESWACAA) Andile Mtetwa stepped out of the meeting and left behind her superior who happens to be the PS, Berry responded that there was nobody more senior to the DG at ESWACAA. He said the PS was new to the post, and had no insight whatsoever into matters concerning civil aviation, its regulatory standards (CARS) or technical standards (CATS). Asked to respond to reports that it was not clear in Crowne Aerospaces presentation what it wanted ESWACAA to do, he said what was required from the Authority would have been presented had the DG not left the room. He said had she been there she would have heard the reference to the need for Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs) to be concluded across the network. Berry pointed out that the issue was that the DG did not ask to be excused from the presentation before leaving the room, thereby, creating the impression that either she had no interest in what was being tabled or alternatively was opposed to what was being presented.
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Ahh, spring has arrived  a reminder that I prefer going to the beach in the winter.

Exactly 10 years ago, I spent a day at Greenwich Point that is the high water mark of my many beach days. I strapped The Kid (then on the edge of 5 months) to my chest and introduced him to vistas of Stamford and Manhattan along the 2.25-mile loop. At the tip of the Point, I opened our Yellow Submarine diaper bag containing lunch in the form of sandwiches and unidentifiable mush the color of camouflage.

He wore a cap like he was selling newspapers to Bogie in 1943, along with a look that muttered, this is embarrassing. Which is exactly how he reflected on the matter when I showed him a tin-anniversary selfie Friday.

A Facebook posting of the image drew inevitable wisecracks about whether The Kid had a pass to get into the park. He doesnt live in Greenwich, after all.

Greenwich will never shake its reputation for trying to keep outsiders from entering Greenwich Point. No one bothers to notice that most of the other beaches along the Gold Coast might as well be Fort Knox.

If you want to buy a one-time, prime time summer pass to Greenwich Point as a nonresident, it costs a reasonable $9, and an unreasonable $40 to park. You also cant buy tickets at the door. Those are sold at the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center 21/2miles away.

Passes are needed from May 1 through Oct. 31. The rest of the year, the beach is free to everyone.

A state lawmakers efforts to make fees more reasonable is a reminder of the sticker shock at Connecticuts shores. Westport not only dings nonresidents with a season pass of $775, but limits sales to 335 buyers.

At $292.46, Stamfords season pass for nonresidents is a bargain by comparison. But a daily pass is $42.50 per car on a weekday, jacked up to $69 on a weekend.

Those prices were raised two years ago to discourage out-of-towners crowding beaches during the early months of COVID. As a result, many visitors simply parked in surrounding neighborhoods to dodge the fee, drawing fire from residents.

A few years ago, I was taking a dawn walk around Cove Island Park in Stamford when I met a guy from the Bronx who arrived early to claim shade beneath a tree to host a birthday party for his daughter. The Kid wanted to know when he could crash the party. The dad was ecstatic that he skipped the entrance fee by arriving at daybreak. I crashed the party instead with the news that he was guaranteed to get pinched with an $80 ticket.

Today, beach access remains a Catch-2022. Raise the price too high and the neighborhoods get slammed. Offer an affordable rate and there may be no room left in the lots, or on the sand.

Greenwichs reputation reached a low in July 1995, when filmmaker Michael Moores Fox show TV Nation mocked what was then a residents-only beach policy. Serendipitously, it aired five days after a quintet of Greenwich students were suspended for hiding a stealth and cowardly racist message beneath their yearbook photos.

Comedian Janeane Garofalo framed her TV Nation segment with the words I always thought the ocean belonged to everyone. No one could actually own the beach. Even in Greenwich, where they own a lot of things.

What if residents in Arizona turned the Grand Canyon into a residents-only Grand Canyon? she reasoned.

After her busload of New Yorkers were turned away at the gate, she returned with a flotilla to storm the beach under watch from the Coast Guard and Greenwich police. She and a few others swam to shore, only to be escorted to the exit.

Enjoy your private beach, while it lasts, Garofalo warned.

It did not. Before that autumn arrived, a court decision ruled against the policy. Appeals followed before the matter seemed to finally be settled for good in 2001, when the state Supreme Court determined resident-only beach ordinances were unconstitutional.

The courts did not address the matter of fees, leaving it to percolate for 22 years.

Ive always felt a little defensive about Greenwichs quandary. There is not much parking on those 147.3 acres and theres only a single lane leading to the peninsula.

But the prices everywhere should be more reasonable. Lets face it, there are no Connecticut rivals for Jones Beach ($10 to park), let alone Hanalei Bay.

Norwalks $40 per car rate for Calf Pasture is better than most. But I trained The Kid well. On Valentines Day 2016, temperatures dipped into the single digits. We went to Greenwich Point, where we were the only people there to see something youll never see in July: The surf was frozen.

The Kid, then 4, hurled a stone at the icy foam.

It didnt break, he mused.

He tried again. Then he stomped on it. No luck. Finally, he declared for the only time in his life, Im cold, and we returned to the car.

A year later, in 2017, The Kid, now 5, got me up before 7 on an April Sunday to take a walk. We drifted 2 miles to the Stamford station, jumped aboard a random train, and walked 2 more miles from the East Norwalk station to Calf Pasture, where we enjoyed a car show and a day roaming the beach. By the time we got home, wed been on our feet for most of 10 hours.

We returned to Greenwich Point Thursday afternoon. The booth was empty, but warned that the causeway was closed. A mist cloaked the parks treasures. Now that The Kid is 10, Id have had to strap him to my chest again to get him to put down his screen and contemplate winters climax.

Still, it was better than seeking solace among the distractions of jellyfish, loud music, skeeters, sunburn and sand in my shorts. And it was free.

The beach in winter. You should try it sometime.

Better yet, dont bother. When it comes to the beach, I prefer social isolation.

John Breunig is editorial page editor of the Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time. jbreunig@scni.com; twitter.com/johnbreunig.
DANBURY  When he speaks to his students about Ukraine, Valentin Dumitrascu says theyre united in their shock and see the tragedy in the war.

But their discussions have only led to more questions.

We, as humans, look at this type of aggression and you right of way know it is not fair, said Dumitrascu, head of the humanities and social sciences department at Marvelwood School in Kent. The tragedy is, why? Just because you have an AK-47 you think that allows you to impose your will on me?

Dumitrascu, who is also an associate professor of international relations at Western Connecticut State University, cherishes the opportunity to teach his students. Although his methods are a far cry from the curriculum he encountered as a student growing up in the 1980s in Moldova, there are some overlapping themes.

In some ways, for example, the baseline arms training he acquired from his teachers helps to explain the effective recruiting effort seen in the quick formation of a civilian volunteer army in Ukraine  battalions filled with generations of citizens with at least basic weapons skills.

Each and every one of us, especially male students in high school, was prepared to serve in the Soviet Unions army, Dumitrascu recalled.

Imagine if you are an American high school student and then you have to learn a couple of things such as how to put together and take apart an AK-47? he added. That was part of the mandatory classes, actually, for us.

Independent thought

Ukraine and Moldova declared independence from the Soviet Union three days apart in August 1991.

Promoted under Mikhail Gorbachev, perestroika, or, restructuring, refers to the policy changes that began taking shape in the 1980s and opened economic and political opportunities for eastern European countries to build ties with western European countries, the U.S., Canada and others. The push toward independence also allowed countries to reclaim aspects of national identity lost under communist rule.

That is when the shift happened and I started to see a shift as a Moldovan, when we started to use Romanian language because that is considered our national language  that is when you see the shift a little bit to preserve your own identity, Dumitrascu said.

Before that, the only inkling of thinking outside of the communist box occurred in select cities in Russia. In Moldova, one or two official radio stations and television channels provided government manicured information, everything was controlled, hush hush, and any form of independent thought, we would not have been privy, the professor recalled.

We were cut off from the rest of the world and its a lot easier to be brainwashed in this way, you have only one source of information  which was the official [one], he said.

Less tangible than military training, Dumitrascu explained how the lack of independent thought and access to information holds a more enduring legacy of the former Soviet Unions influence in eastern Europe, factors helping to provide context to how Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained power for more than 20 years.

You could not express your opinions freely in the Soviet Union, its the same that, if you watch the news right now, is happening in Russia, he said. In the Russia Federation right now you can be put in jail for freely expressing your opinion.

Leaving Moldova

Moldova holds deep ties with Romania and was part of that country until the former Soviet Union staked out Moldovas borders during the years of World War II.

With a land area roughly equivalent to the state of Maryland, the landlocked country is sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania near the northwest corner of the Black Sea, with its southeastern reaches falling within 30 miles of Ukraines embattled Black Sea port city of Odessa.

By 1991, perestroika brought an official declaration of independence to Moldova, meaning Dumitrascu, a senior in high school at the time, would not be forced to enlist in the army. He went to college, first in Moldova and later commuting to study in neighboring Romania.

That was a rough time actually, to be honest, because a lot of people were state employees and my mother was a state employee, she was a teacher and sometimes state employees did not get paid for six months, Dumitrascu said.

After the Soviet Union, there was also corruption in Moldova, graft, instability and the so called 'transition to the market economy' was not well implemented, it needed to be far better. Then, eventually the economy improved slowly, though it is hard to say to what extent.

After signing an associate agreement with the European Union in 2014, Moldova applied officially for full membership in the days after Russias invasion. The country remains neutral in the conflict along its Ukraine border and is not a member of the U.S. North Atlantic Trade Organization, or, NATO.

The current president is pro-Western, pro-European and, obviously, Moldova is a neutral state, but that, as we can see, does not guarantee anything these days, said Dumitrascu.

Without any guarantees in Moldova by the late 1990s, Dumitrascu became one of the hundreds of thousands to find opportunity beyond their countrys borders in the years after gaining independence.

The population of Moldova has declined since the country gained independence, going from 2.97 million in 1991 to 2.62 million in 2020, according to data from the World Bank Group.

After getting degrees in history and law in Romania, the then-Moldovan citizen visited the U.S. in 1999 as part of an exchange program that landed him in Connecticut without speaking a word of English. As he learned the language, one his initial observations of American life stood out at the individual level.

It was like people mind their own business in the United States, everyone is occupied because we work, we worry about our jobs, our kids and everything else, he said.

During the more than two decades he has lived in the U.S., Dumitrascu attended the University of Connecticut where he got his masters in international studies. In no particular order, launched his career in education; he met his wife, raised two children, became a U.S. citizen and a Fulbright Scholar.

Growing up in the Soviet Union we used to think that the United States is the enemy, and I think looking from the U.S. today and some of the speeches that the current president of Russia is making that put so much blame on the Americans. When you look at the reality, its like most, of us, we care about foreign relations but we are concerned with the day to day, mundane, things, he said.

Recognizing, of course, the U.S. has its problems, the professor pointed to the best qualities in America: like freedom of speech, access to information, and a society that offers legal avenues for non-violent options to pursue justice and change without relying on intimidation.

In the states, you take that for granted where in other countries you get put in jail for just criticizing or saying something about the president so thats why we have to have great respect for what we have in this country and make it better, Dumitrascu said.

In the days after the Russian invasion started, he contacted a U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, representative from Moldova for a list of organizations supporting victims of the conflict in Ukraine and those affected in surrounding countries.

Now, he can only watch and reflect on the escalating conflict from afar  through media reports and some contact with anxious colleagues, friends, and family in Moldova and across Europe.

An inadvertent firing shot can turn the world upside down, Dumitrascu said. You dont know Putins agenda.
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RIDGEFIELD  At the height of the decades-long fight for womens voting rights, a few movers and shakers in the movement called Ridgefield home in the early-20th Century.

The most well-known of them was part-time Ridgefield resident Alice Stokes Paul.

When she wasnt fighting for womens equality in Washington, D.C., Paul spent time at the Branchville Road home she and her sister, Helen, purchased in the 1930s.

The cottage overlooked Johns Pond and was a retreat where she could rest from her busy work schedule, according to Ridgefield historian Jack Sanders.

Born into a New Jersey Quaker family in January 1885, Paul dedicated her life to womens equality.

After studying biology at Pennsylvanias Swarthmore College, she relocated to New York to study and work in the field of social work  an experience that opened her eyes to economic and gender disparities within society.

It also inspired Paul to continue her social work studies in England, where she was introduced to the British suffrage movement.

After returning to the United States, Paul joined the National American Womens Suffrage Association and was appointed to its congressional committee in 1912. A few years later, she and fellow suffragist Lucy Burns left the organization and founded the National Womans Party in 1916 to push for womens enfranchisement at the federal, rather than state, level.

As part of the partys efforts, Paul led a group of female picketers in six-day-a-week demonstrations outside the White House. Although many of the Silent Sentinels were arrested for the demonstrations, their efforts were not in vain.

Following President Woodrow Wilsons 1918 endorsement of a federal woman suffrage amendment and its subsequent congressional approval, the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920.

After that, Paul co-authored a new constitutional amendment  one for absolute equality  that was introduced as the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923.

She spent the next 40-plus years working and waiting for the proposed amendment to become law  something that has still yet to happen.

Paul kept her Branchville residence until 1976, when she moved into a nursing home on High Ridge Road, according to Sanders.

In 1977  five years after the Equal Rights Amendment passed both the House and Senate  she died at the age of 92.

At the time of her death, 35 states had ratified the Equal Rights Amendment  three shy of the 38 needed in order for it to become law.

A seven-year time limit was initially set for states to ratify the amendment, but Congress voted to extend the deadline three more years in 1979. However, the second deadline rolled around in 1982 with no additional state ratifications.

It wasnt until 2017 that Nevada became the 36th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, with Illinois following suit in 2018 and Virginia becoming the 38th and final necessary state to do so in 2020.

Though the House passed legislation to remove the amendments original time limit, it has yet to be brought for a vote on the Senate floor.

One of Ridgefields other early suffragists was Laura Curie Allee Shields who, like Paul, was originally from New Jersey.

Born Laura Curie in December 1870, she and her first husband, Dr. William Allee, moved into a house on the corner of Ridgefields Main and Market streets in 1906.

Five years later, she became one of the founding members of the Ridgefield Equal Franchise League  now called the Ridgefield League of Women Voters.

Following its first meeting in July 1911, the Ridgefield league grew and eventually teamed up with leagues from surrounding towns to push for the passage of the 19th Amendment.

At the request of the National American Womans Suffrage Association, Allee and fellow Ridgefielders and womens rights supporters Mary Olcott and Florence Stokes went to Ohio in July 1920 to convince presidential candidate Warren G. Harding to urge the neighboring state of Tennessee to ratify the amendment.

After Olcott  who was known for her strong personality  clashed with Hardings aide, the women were told to leave before even explaining why they came.

Shortly after leaving the office, though, Allee realized she left her gloves behind and the trio went back to retrieve them.

According to Sanders, the aide had apparently calmed down by the time they returned and after explaining the original purpose of their visit, the Ridgefielders accomplished what they had set out to do. On July 21, 1920, Harding publicly urged Tennessee to ratify the 19th Amendment and the state did so three months later  becoming the 36th and final ratification needed to make it constitutional law.

Allee married James Van Allen Shields in 1933 following the death of her first husband and remained in Ridgefield for the remainder of her life. She died in June 1968, at the age of 97.

This story is part of a series of pieces on historical women who lived in the Danbury area in honor of Womens History Month.
Caretaker Chief Minister and BJP leader Pramod Sawant met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday night. Sawant's meeting with Shah carries much significance as the BJP is yet to announce the next chief minister of Goa.

Ahead of the Goa legislature party meeting, interim Chief Minister and BJP leader Pramod Sawant met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday night. Pramod Sawants meeting with Shah carries much significance as the BJP is yet to announce the next chief minister of Goa. In the recently concluded state Assembly polls, the BJP managed to win 20 out of the 40 seats in Goa, emerging as the largest party but falling one seat short of the majority figure. Congress party won the second most number of seats by winning in 11 constituencies.

The BJP had announced on the result day that it will form a government in Goa with the support of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party(MGP) and independent candidates.

After the BJP Parliamentary Boards appointment of Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and L Murugan as the central observer and co-observer for Goa, the next Chief Ministers name will be announced in the BJPs state legislature party meeting.

Amit Shah also met interim Manipur CM N Biren Singh on Saturday. BJP national president JP Nadda was also present in the meeting, sources cited by ANI said. The BJP leaders have been discussing the government formation in Manipur after the BJP won an absolute majority in the state for the first time. It will be the second successive government of the party in the state.
The leadership of Pakistan opposition parties has asked their parliamentarians to stay put in Islamabad to ensure their presence in the National Assembly session ahead of the voting for the no-trust motion.

Pakistan opposition leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidari has claimed that Prime Minister Imran Khan has lost the majority in the parliament and the nation would soon listen to good news. Addressing a graduates conference on Saturday in Peshawar, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) general secretary said that a total of 34 disgruntled Members of National Assembly (MNAs) from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had expressed their no-confidence in the Prime Minister, The Frontier Post reported. He said that the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf leadership had lost its moral authority to rule over the country any more. He asked the Prime Minister to step down and announce a fresh general election for face saving, the media outlet reported.

Meanwhile, countrys National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has summoned a session of the Lower House at the Parliament in Islamabad on March 25 for a no-trust motion against Imran Khan. Pakistans National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has summoned a session of the Lower House at the Parliament House in Islamabad on Friday at 11 a.m, Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday.

The leadership of Pakistan opposition parties has asked their parliamentarians to stay put in Islamabad to ensure their presence in the National Assembly session ahead of the voting for the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.



Earlier on Friday, Imran Khan met Pak Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. It is being speculated that the meeting is Imran Khans attempt to bolster his ties with the Pak military and deep state that is believed to be the actual ruling establishment in the country.
Police on Friday said that the Thowheed Jamath had organised a public meeting in Koripalayam area against the court's verdict on the hijab during which, the organisers allegedly made derogatory remarks on the verdict.

Three persons associated with the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ) have been booked for allegedly issuing death threats against Karnataka high courts verdict on the hijab row, police said. Police on Friday said that the body had organised a public meeting in Koripalayam area against the courts ruling on the hijab matter during which the organisers allegedly made derogatory remarks on the verdict and issued death threats against the judges on the bench that delivered the judgement.

Soon after, a complaint was filed against the functionaries of TNTJ, alleging that the organisers issued threats to the judges who gave the verdict in favour of banning the hijab in educational institutions. Following the complaint, the Madurai police have booked three TNTJ functionaries under sections 153 (a) (promoting enmity between groups), 505 (1) (c) (intent to incite violence), 505(2), 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that prescription of uniform is a reasonable restriction which students could not object to and dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on Hijab in education institutions.
Japan's Press Secretary on Saturday said that India and Japan are on the same page on Ukraine and stressed for peaceful resolution of the conflict.

India and Japan are on the same page on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, said Japans Press Secretary Hikariko Ono on Saturday. This comes after a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that is part of Kishidas India tour. The Japanese Press Secretary also said that India and Japan stressed for peaceful resolution of the conflict. She emphasized that the meeting between the two leaders lasted for 110 minutes with the Japanese PM underscoring Russian aggression as a clear violation of international law. Hikariko Ono stated, India and Japan are on the same page. PM Kishida and PM Modi agreed to jointly cooperate with Ukraine. Any attempt to change the status quo cannot be tolerated anywhere in the world.

Both leaders discussed important issues including China and Ukraine, however, Ukraines situation dominated the talks. Lengthy and intense discussion took place on Ukraine, said Hikariko, adding, PM Kishida said Russian aggression is a clear violation of international law, the international community should take definitive action against Russia regarding oil sanctions. The summit meeting started around 5 oclock and lasted till 6:56 pm. They had a very long summit meeting of 110 minutes, said Hikariko.

Hikariko said, Japanese PM Kishida also asked PM Modi to cooperate further including working precisely with Russian President Vladimir Putin for oil orders amid rising energy prices. She added, We need to seek peaceful resolution of conflict, the two countries (Russia and Ukraine) will tackle the situation and break the deadlock. Hikariko also said that the two leaders discussed nuclear disarmament amid reports of the attack on Ukrainian nuclear power plants  Zaporozhskaya and Chernobyl by Russia. The two leaders discussed nuclear disarmament as Kishida from Hiroshima which was hit by the nuclear bomb. They also agreed to promote people to people exchange, tourism, sports, said Hikariko.

Regarding China, both leaders discussed the realisation of the Indo-Pacific and the issues both countries are facing. Both leaders agreed to strongly oppose any attempt to disturb status quo by force. Regarding political and security cooperation, India and Japan agreed to hold 2+ 2 meetings, implement Malabar Exercise among Quad member states. They also agreed on a memorandum of cyber security cooperation said Japan Press Secy.
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EAST HAVEN  It wasnt a typical day at D.H. Ferrara Elementary School.

Students clad in chef toques and waxed mustaches sat at red-checkered tablecloths as teachers and staff bustled among them. French accordion music filtered through the cafeteria. There was palpable excitement in the air.

Welcoming each student at the entrance was hostess Nicole Cassella, Ferraras reading specialist, as well as maitre d of the daylong book tasting event.

The week also featured guest readings from Mayor Joe Carfora and police Officer Ryan Michalowski, as well as a flashlight reading in each classroom to simulate a campfire, among other events.

It all was part of the National Education Associations Read Across America initiative, a weeklong reading and motivation awareness program to help kids get excited about reading, according to the NEA.

The objective of the book tasting: to introduce kids to genres they otherwise might not sample.

Typically, when kids go to the library, they pick books that they know, said Cassella, who led students to tables for fiction, mystery, fantasy and biography. We wanted to open their eyes to different types of books that might pique their interest.

To that end, teachers and staff serving as waiters invited groups of eight to taste-test the offerings on each table. After 15 minutes, a bell rang, prompting the students to rotate to the next table.

You might like to read, or love to read, but if youre not that interested in what youre reading, you put the book down, said Cassella, who credited special education teacher Somaly Chhean for her assistance in the event. That was our goal, to get the kids to find what theyre interested in so theyre more likely to read on their own.

That matters, particularly for elementary school-age students.

According to research from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the National Assessment of Educational Progress, children who cant read proficiently by the 4th grade are up to 15 times more likely to dropout of school.

That has long-lasting effects. Children who dont finish high school are not qualified for 90% of jobs and will earn an average of $23,000 a year. Their peers who do go to college will earn an average of $48,000 a year, that research showed.

The event earned several five-star ratings.

The engagement level was through the roof, said Ferrara Principal Paul DeBernardo. We had 40-plus kids in there, and there were times, with each of them with their noses in a book, you could hear a pin drop.

He said the soft introduction would serve students as they progress in their education. Some of these kids might never otherwise pick up a biography on their own until theyre required to read one for a high school assignment, he said. With this, it wont be so overwhelming.

Superintendent of Schools Erica Forti had a similar take. Study after study shows a correlation between engaged reading and success, both academic success and life success, regardless of socioeconomic background, she said. This event will help set our younger students on that path to success.

Count fourth-grader Gianna Natale among the converted.

I never knew I liked mysteries, she said, adding that she was planning to take out School of Fear, by Gitty Daneshvari, from the school library.

I cant wait to read it, she said with a smile.
Roshn, a real estate development company wholly-owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is showcasing its expertise at the International Real Estate Exhibition (MIPIM) being held in Cannes, France, until March 18.

Roshn, which is taking part in the big event under under the umbrella of Invest in Saudi, will be meeting the leaders of the world's real estate development sector, present its vision to develop integrated residential communities through an integrated pavilion with the latest technologies, and participate in five dialogue sessions and lectures at the exhibition, designed to introduce the company to contribute to achieving its goals.

It will be one of six Saudi entities participating in the exhibition, reviewing the company's story and vision for developing residential communities, raising the quality of life in the kingdom, and international partnerships in the exhibition, which covers an area of 22,000 sq m and attracts 480 speakers and 3800 exhibitors from 100 countries, providing unparalleled access to the largest number of development projects and real estate developers from around the world.

Investors represent 24% of the participants, while 15% are leaders and CEOs.

Roschen Group CEO David Grover said the Cannes expo is providing them an ideal platform to highlight the distinguished work that Roshn is doing.

"Our goal is to become one of the largest developers of residential communities in the world, through partnerships and exchange of ideas with international partners," remarked Grover.

According to him, Roshn seeks to build integrated residential communities on an area of 200 million sq m in various regions of the kingdom, inspired by the Saudi architectural heritage and modernity in the design of its residential communities.

Its first project, Sidra, is located south of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

The residential community was engineered upon the integrated Salmani-style, in line with the latest technologies, and with the support of smart city technologies, sustainability and the humanization of residential communities in order to achieve the aspirations of Saudi society, he added.
Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

ANSONIA A New Haven man was hospitalized after being shot multiple times in Ansoina early Saturday, police said.

The Ansonia Police Department was dispatched to the area of West Main and Bridge streets for multiple complaints of shots fired at approximately 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
Contributed / Getty

MILFORD  Police are asking residents to avoid the area of Housatonic Drive after a shooting on Sunday morning.

Milford police said officers received a report of a shooting on Housatonic Drive around 10 a.m.
The luxury, residential skyscraper buildings of "Billionaire's Row" in Manhattan are visible from Central Park in New York City. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari has narrated how bandits deceived him twice using the Quran in his office. Masari said he re...





The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari has narrated how bandits deceived him twice using the Quran in his office.





Masari said he regrets the trust reposed in bandits to have a change of heart during negotiations after they swore with the Quran.





The Governor vowed never to trust them again, stressing that they deceived his government into believing that they had surrendered their weapons by swearing with the Quran.





He disclosed this while hosting the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, in Katsina over the weekend.





According to Masari: Because they (terrorists) said they are Muslims, we went as far as asking them to swear to the Holy Quran that they will never participate in banditry again.





All of them did it in this office, but even those that have been in jail for over two years that were brought out are today bandits leaders.





Anybody who says he is going to engage them on anything is free. I will pray for him but I will not do it again.
One Fwangshak Plang, a step-brother of the Special Adviser on Public Affairs to the Plateau State Governor, Diket Plang has been assassinate...





One Fwangshak Plang, a step-brother of the Special Adviser on Public Affairs to the Plateau State Governor, Diket Plang has been assassinated in Pankshin Local Government Area of the State.





It was gathered that the assailants, suspected to be kidnappers, invaded Takas village on Friday night, seriously wounded late Plang, leading to his death.





A source in the community explained that the attackers invaded the home of the governors aide and kidnapped his step-mother and a girl.





According to the source, the late Plang, who was asleep when the attackers came, was woken up by the noise in the compound and was immediately attacked when he came out to see what was happening.





The source added, It was on Friday night that the gunmen came and attacked the house of Diket Plang, who is a special adviser to the governor.





When they (kidnappers) arrived at his house in Takas that night, the governors aide was not in the house at the time.





So, they broke into the apartment where his step-mother and a young girl staying with her were sleeping and abducted them.





He further explained that the step-brother, Fwangshak Plang, who was woken up by the noise in the compound from another apartment where he was sleeping, came out to know what was happening, adding that the kidnappers, on sighting him, attacked him and wounded him badly.





He stated that Plang died from the injury inflicted on him, adding that they have not seen the step-mother of the governors aide and the young girl staying with her since they were taken away by the kidnappers on Friday night.





We dont know where they have taken them to. The incident is really very unfortunate, he said.





The Police Public Relations Officer in the State, Ubah Ogaba could not respond to phone calls as of the time of filing this report.
The Osun State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reiterated its commitment to the candidacy of Senator Ademola Adeleke. Acco...





The Osun State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reiterated its commitment to the candidacy of Senator Ademola Adeleke.





According to the Osun PDP, the Appeal court has reaffirmed the expiration of an Osun High Court ex parte order.





The party in a statement signed by Ayodeji Areola, its Publicity Secretary and obtained by newsmen in Osogbo, on Sunday, said the Appellate Courts ruling had cemented the position of the party in electing Senator Ademola Adeleke as its gubernatorial candidate for the July 16 election.





The party also stated that, In line with our pledge to constantly update members of the public about workings of our party, especially within this time of intense electioneering towards the fast approaching governorship election in our dear State, we are today obligated to offer the good people of our State the progress report concerning our great party in Osun State, the PDP.





Today, we are glad to report that the Court of Appeal in Akure has further cemented the position of our great party in electing Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke as the Governorship Candidate of our party in Osun State. The learned jurists earlier on Friday expressly affirmed that the ex parte injunction of the lower court in Osun State presided over by justice A.A Aderibigbe had lapsed by force of operations of the law. The appellate court stated that setting aside the order is mere academic as the said order had outlived its lifespan.





The Appeal Court also granted prayers of our legal team to put other parties on notice for the hearing of substantive matters before it, through publication in a reputable national daily.





The court also warned counsel to Hon Soji Adagunodo, the National Vice Chairman of our party in the Southwest, who instituted the case at the lower court in Osun State to desist from parading any other person as candidate of the party or making statements against the position of the court. It gave our legal team express permission to report appropriately, counsel to Hon Adagunodo, Barrister Z Buriomoni in case of further affront on the position of the court.





With this, we are glad to reiterate that all legal encumbrances concerning the emergence of our candidate, Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, at our Special State Congress, have been set aside and that our great party is good to go without recourse to induced distractions.





While appreciating the party members for their love and concern, the Osun PDP also enjoined them to turn out en masse and vote for their candidate.
Grohe, a leading global brand for innovative and sustainable bathroom solutions and kitchen fittings, has embarked on an ambitious growth strategy in Saudi Arabia.

As part of its strategic expansion in one of the GCCs most vibrant markets, Grohe will be striking new partnerships to strengthen its presence in the kingdoms SR3.1 trillion ($830 billion) construction sector and introducing its world-class products and smart solutions incorporating proprietary water-saving technology.

The growth of the Saudi construction market is driven by ambitious national agendas and stimulated by regulatory reforms and significant investment in housing and infrastructure development.

According to Mordor Intelligence, Saudi Arabia has more than 5,200 ongoing construction projects valued at $819 billion, approximately 35% of the total value of active projects across the GCC. The companys focus is aligned with Saudi national agendas, such as Vision 2030 and National Transformation Project.

Renu Misra, Leader Mena, LIXIL EMena, said: We look forward to actively supporting Saudi Arabias transformation and contributing to its vibrant economic diversification. Our new strategic initiatives and loyal partners will build the capacity required to support our strong growth projections for Grohe in the kingdom.

She added: We see significant opportunities to make a positive impact on climate change mitigation through our business operation, products, and services. Grohe offers a differentiated product portfolio and dedicated services for each of our target groups - wholesalers and installers, architects, designers, and planners, as well as retail customers.

Fawzi Dernaika, Leader, KSA, Mena, LIXIL EMena, said: Saudi Arabia is one of our most important markets. Grohe is proud to support the Kingdoms ongoing transformation, guided by the ambitious Vision 2030. We see tremendous potential for growth in Saudi Arabias federal housing program and its robust hotel supply pipeline.

He added: We look forward to leveraging the opportunities offered by Saudi Arabias booming construction sector, and pave the way to creating new innovations, new career opportunities and new market growth through one of the most emerging industries in the kingdom.

Grohes top executives in the region were speaking on the sidelines of the Grohe Journey, The Desert Edition event in Jeddah, with leading officials, architects, designers, and representatives from the construction sector in Saudi Arabia. Attendees got to experience Grohes latest designs and innovations and learned how they could benefit from the companys expertise and products.

Grohe is seeking long-term partnerships within the Saudi public and private sectors, to support the nation with products that deliver sustainability, profitability, and efficiency.-- TradeArabia News Service
Biden mourns passing of U.S. Congressman Don Young

Xinhua) 13:46, March 20, 2022

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday mourned the death of Don Young, the longest-serving House Republican and the dean of the House.

In a statement, Biden said he had known Young "for a long time."

"He always stayed true to who he was and the people of Alaska he represented," the statement read. "Tough. Loyal. A consensus builder."

Biden highlighted Young's contribution to Alaska's infrastructure projects and the protection of native tribes.

Young's office confirmed on Friday night that he had died at the age of 88 after serving in the lower chamber for close to 50 years.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
The 26th Home Textile and Accessories Fair (Hometex) will bring together a diverse range of participant profiles, including exporters, wholesalers, retail store owners and suppliers.

To be held at the Istanbul Expo Centre from May 17 to 21, over an exhibition area of 200,000 sq m in 11 halls of the Expo, Hometex will feature national and international prominent manufacturers of curtains, towels, blankets, carpets, upholstery fabrics, and other home-textile products this year.

As one of the most important trade fairs in home textile sector, the Expo is expected to draw leading home-textile producers around the world.

Ibrahim Burkay, the President of Bursa CCI, says: We invite all home-textile manufacturers to attend the event, which represents one of the most significant expositions of the sector.

The expo will showcase textile products from numerous countries, including Turkey, France, Italy, India, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Spain and the US.

According to Burkay, the highly-anticipated event is the perfect opportunity to forge new ties and promote the sectoral development in international level.

Besides, Hometex is an ideal venue for networking where both national and international movers and shakers will converge in upon Home Textile Sector.

The event will also feature a dedicated Trend Area where all the latest home-textile trends will be showcased, B2Bs and seminars attended by prominent designers and innovators.

According to Hasan Huseyin Bayram, president of the Turkish Home-Textile Industrialists and Business People Association (Tetsiad), the event will be the first major sectoral trade fair in the post-pandemic period. Global industry leaders have expressed their eagerness to take part, he says.

Bayram states that Hometex, to be held under the motto Stronger and More Inclusive, would have profound implications for the home-textile sector globally and foster lucrative economic ties between participants.

Organised by Tetsiad and the Global Fair Agency, the five-day event will kick off in Yesilkoy.-- TradeArabia News Service
No. The money should go to something that would benefit all citizens of the county, not just Watertown.

Yes. The community would benefit from the indoor pools the project would provide.

Vote

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From playing shows, booking music events and hosting his Tuesday afternoon show, Soul Serenade, on WWOZ 90.7 FM, guitarist Marc Stone knows a lot of New Orleans musicians. That comes in handy when recording an album, and it helps explain the roster of contributors on his new album, Shining Like a Diamond.

I take a paint-by-numbers approach to making records, Stone says. You close your eyes and say, Whos going to sound right on this? People around here are gracious and cool and supportive. I had prior relationships with almost everyone on the record.

On the album, Stone shines on guitar and lap steel, and hes joined by longtime band members Keiko Komaki on keyboards and Terry Scott Jr. on drums. There also are members of Stones New Soul Finders  vocalist Marilyn Barbarin, longtime Radiator Reggie Scanlon and Papa Mali. Guests include George Porter Jr. and members of his trio, Leo Nocentelli, James Singleton, Mike Dillon, Bruce Sunpie Barnes, Meschiya Lake and more. Theres also a contribution from percussionist Alfred Uganda Roberts, who died in 2020.

Many of the contributors will be at the release party Friday, March 25, at d.b.a. "Shining Like a Diamond will be available on Bandcamp and CD. There will be another release party for the vinyl edition when its available in fall.

Most of the albums eight tracks were recorded during the pandemic, with the help of a Threadhead Cultural Foundation grant in 2020. The title song is a reworking of a tune from Stones 2010 album. Stone had turned to Alizah Starr for some vocal arrangements, thinking shed add choruses and echo the lead vocals, he says, but when he heard what she had in mind for the whole song, he decided to rework it. The tune is still built on the original guitar riff, but hes added new solos and built out the track.

The track Digitized also was previously released, as an acoustic tune about the complications of the online world. Stone takes the lead on his National Steel guitar, and Leo Nocentelli adds an energizing guitar part. Alvin Youngblood Hart contributes harmonica and vocals, Richard Moten plays upright bass and the song swells with vocal harmonies.

I wanted it to have that swampy kind of feel, and with Richard Motens beautiful liquid sounding upright bass and that big vocal sound, something like Terry Evans, Bobby King or Benny Turner on his albums  the great blues bass player who came out of late 50s and 60s gospel circuit.

Stone sometimes focuses on the blues, but stretches across genres, incorporating a blend of classic R&B, soul, gospel quartet singing and more.

Meschiya Lake sings on two tracks, and When We Were Cheating is a standout duet channeling soulful, retro country sounds with a dose of cello from Daniel Lelchuk of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

Stone also enlisted musicians he hadnt worked with before. He asked George Porter Jr. to play on Love is Everything, and he got Porters trio. Porter shares vocal duties and keyboardist Michael Lemmler and drummer Terrence Houston give the song a soft funk.

+4 'Break the ice': BUKU Music + Art Project returns Friday and Saturday BUKU will kick the spring music festival season in New Orleans into high gear when it returns this weekend after a long, quiet two years.

While putting together the album necessitated staying distant in the studio and remotely recorded contributions, the release party is a big gathering. Its also Stones birthday party.

Were going to play tunes from the record, Stone says. Then I am going to turn the mic over to Sunpie and (John) Mooney and Marilyn (Barbarin) and maybe Papa Mali, and the boys from Bakeys Brew, who do an amazing instrumental psychedelic thing  Will Brown and Bryan Evans are going to come, and were going to do some three-guitar madness.

The album release party is at 10 p.m. Friday, March 25, at d.b.a. Tickets are $10 in advance on Eventbrite. Admission is $15 at the door.
Ashley Green paid $1,000 for private patient information from a Metairie medical clinic where her cousin worked, then used it to siphon $205,863 from the patients' bank accounts. Now she's going to prison for 15 months.

U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance handed down the sentence Wednesday to Green, 39, a New Orleans resident who, along with her cousin and her boyfriend, had pleaded guilty to bank larceny. The judge, appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton, also ordered Green to pay restitution and put her on three years of supervised release when she gets out of prison.

The crime dates from 2015, when a patient of the unidentified clinic noticed suspicious withdrawals from his bank account. An investigation by detective Chad Mackie of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, along with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, determined that Green had traded a $1,000 gift card to her cousin, Royale Lassai, 32, of New Orleans, for patients' names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, authorities said.

Green and her boyfriend, Brandon Livas, 37, of New Orleans, used the data to obtain debit cards from Capital One and Hancock Whitney banks, then ran up cash withdrawals from ATMs and purchases from restaurants and stores, according to court records.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter Guice Jr. prosecuted the case.

Earlier, Vance gave Livas a sentence identical to Green's, and sentenced Lassai to three years' probation plus restitution.
A 9-year-old girl was wounded by a stray bullet to her leg early Saturday in the 7th Ward, New Orleans police said.

Someone drove the girl to a hospital after the shooting, which was reported to police at 12:55 a.m. in the 1900 block of North Prieur Street.

The Police Department did not immediately release more information.
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.
The Royal Saudi Air Defense Force and Royal Saudi Air Force have intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched towards Jazan City, in addition to nine bomb-laden drones launched towards Jazan, Khamis Mushait, Taif, Yanbu and Dhahran Al Janub, said a statement by the official spokesperson of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.

The terrorist, Iran backed Houthi militia has escalated its hostile, cross-border attacks towards the Kingdom last night and earlier this morning, targeting civilian objects and economic installations in a deliberate, systematic manner," said Brigadier General Turki Al-Malki.

These hostile attacks by the terrorist Houthi militia is deliberately targeting civilian objects and economic installations, that are protected under the customary International Humanitarian Law, using ballistic missiles and bomb-laden drones. Initial investigations indicate that the militia has used (Iranian) cruise missiles that targeted Al Shuqaiq Water Desalination Plant and Aramcos Jizan Bulk Plant, a Saudi Press Agency report said quoting the satement.

The targeted locations also include the power transmission station in Dhahran Al Janub, the National Gas and Industrialization Companys Khamis Mushait Gas Station and Aramcos Liquified Gas Plant in Yanbu. These hostile attacks and scattered debris as a result of their interception caused some material damages to the facilities, civilian vehicles and civilian houses, and no loss of life was recorded until the issuance of the statement.

"These brutal attacks are a dangerous escalation. They also represent the terrorist Houthi militias position in regards to the invitation extended by the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council in order to host inclusive Yemeni-Yemeni consultations, and underline the militias approach of rejection towards all international efforts and initiatives, including the Saudi Initiative, and reaching a comprehensive and sustainable political resolution to end the Yemeni crisis," he said.

An official spokesman at the Ministry of Energy said two drone attacks were made today (March 20) at around 5:30am on Yanbus natural gas plant and on the facilities of Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company (Yasref).

The assault on Yasref facilities led to a temporary reduction in the refinerys production, which will be compensated for from the inventory. The assaults resulted in no casualties, it said.

On Saturday, at around 11:30pm a drone assault was made on the petroleum products distribution terminal in Jizan in the south east of the kingdom.

The spokesman stressed that the kingdom strongly condemns these attacks and said that such acts of sabotage and terrorism, repeatedly committed against vital installations and civilian facilities, including, for example, the recent attack on the Riyadh refinery, are cowardly assaults that violate international laws and norms and do not just target the kingdom alone, but the security and stability of energy supply to the world, therefore targeting the global economy.

In addition, some of these attacks affect maritime traffic in a important area - the Red Sea and its important coasts and territorial waters, with potentially serious environmental consequences.

The spokesman renewed the kingdom's call to all nations and organizations of the world to stand together against such acts of sabotage and terrorism by groups perpetrating or supporting these attacks.

An official source at the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) stated that a terrorist attack by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist militia targeting the water desalination system in Al-Shaqeeq did not affect the production and supply of desalinated water.

The source added that the damage is currently being repaired by the specialized maintenance teams who dealt with the incident with full professionalism.
I was all set to write about it when I received an email from a friend and former colleague (who is now a professor at Georgetown University in Washington DC). He told me hed been reading these columns and appreciated the good news that Ive tried to convey.
Williamsport, Pa. -- As a child, Dillon J. DeWitt spent countless hours playing with Legos, reveling in the design and assembly challenges and possibilities. As a Pennsylvania College of Technology student, hes traded the plastic bricks for components of renowned luxury vehicles.

DeWitt, of Oakland, Maryland, is now a product engineering intern for BMW Manufacturing Co. at its facility near Spartanburg, South Carolina, the company's first full manufacturing facility outside of Germany which produces over 1,500 automobiles every day.

The junior is juggling the full-time paid internship with online courses so he can graduate with a bachelors degree in engineering design technology in May 2023.

The automotive industry is my dream field after graduation. I love working on cars, said DeWitt, who is also restoring his fathers 1974 Volkswagen Beetle on the side.

The Deans List student is assigned to BMWs interior group, which is responsible for all components housed within vehicles: seats, arm rests, door panels, and so-on.

When a problem is identified, I am tasked with going down to the assembly line and locating the bad, defective parts. I have also been tasked with checking gaps when parts are being fitted together and have dealt with other alignment issues, DeWitt explained. Thats what I love about this job. Im not confined to one project for the semester. Im able to work on something different every day.

Most of his quality assurance duties are for new models manufactured on-site, including the BMW motorsports series. His work also involves prerelease models that he is contractually forbidden from discussing in detail.

About 90% of my work is confidential, DeWitt explained. Being able to work on projects that are confidential and unknown to even other employees within BMW has been my favorite experience thus far.

Initially, DeWitt sought success in mechanical engineering. He spent a year in that major at Frostburg State University before the lack of computer-aided design classes prompted him to switch career tracks.

I loved doing CAD in high school. I realized the design aspect of the profession was what I was in love with, not the complex testing side, he said. He found Penn College's engineering design program through internet research.

Complementing those classroom challenges with real-world experience via internships has been a priority for DeWitt since he arrived at Penn College.

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Harrisburg, Pa.  A judge last week scolded the Pennsylvania State Police for the agencys poor response to a reporter seeking trooper emails, text messages, and voicemails  some of which may no longer exist.

At issue was whether the State Police had the power to provide their own phone records to a freelance journalist requesting trooper communications about protests of Sunocos 350-mile Mariner East pipeline.

Attorneys for the State Police argued the agency didnt have the records or the authority to request them from Verizon, its cell phone contractor.

After the hearing, attorneys for the reporter wrote in a filing that the Verizon contract includes a provision that makes it clear that such records must be released under the states Right-to-Know Law and the State Police should provide them.

Verizon told Spotlight PA that providing the voicemails and texts from years ago is now impossible  they no longer exist.

At this point, we do not have access to any customer emails or voicemails, wrote Rich Young, a corporate communications director for Verizon. Our retention periods for text message data (and especially message content) are very brief.

The hearing, which was often contentious, started with Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler questioning Emily Rodriguez, an attorney for the State Police, about the blacking out of emails sent to reporter Dan Schwartz.

They did get it eventually, Rodriguez said of the unredacted emails.

Yeah, I understand, but it is still glaring to see every piece of information blacked out, Ceisler said, adding that there was no clear explanation for the State Polices redactions.

Schwartz filed his request for emails, text messages, and voicemails in March 2021. The State Police initially provided emails, many of which were heavily blacked out. They said no text messages or voicemails existed but failed to provide an affidavit, a legally required document explaining that.

Schwartz then filed a petition with the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, which prompted the State Police to produce less redacted copies of the emails. Still, troopers did not produce voicemails, text messages, or a full account of how they searched for the records, as required by law.

Rodriguez told the judge that the State Police could not produce voicemails and texts because Verizon would not release them without a court order or a subpoena.

Ultimately the records were not in the possession or control of the Pennsylvania State Police and that was the bottom line, she said. I appreciate the state of the law hasnt caught up with the technology and they dont like it, but thats where we are.

Paula Knudsen Burke, one of Schwartzs attorneys and counsel for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a journalism-focused legal services group, told the judge the case had serious implications for similar public records requests of phone records. Most requesters dont have the means to take their cases to court.

There has to be some additional recourse, Burke said. Government agencies cant place records with a third-party vendor and say they cant get those records.

Rodriguez said that there was no legal way to file a subpoena under the Right-to-Know Law and that the State Police could not file one for the phone records. She also said the Verizon contract was held by another state agency.

Ceisler questioned why the issue of needing a subpoena had not come up earlier.

You could have included all this [in responses to the request], which would have put us all in the position of not being blindsided by this, she said to Rodriguez.

The judge had planned on filing a court order compelling Verizon to produce the State Police voicemails and text messages in the coming weeks. Its not clear what will happen now that Schwartzs lawyers filed a petition that included the contract, which states Verizon must comply with records requests. Ceisler also still has to rule on whether the State Police must pay attorneys fees to Schwartzs lawyers.

Cases like this are rare because of the way the states Right-to-Know Law is set up, said Melissa Melewsky, in-house counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, of which Spotlight PA is a member.

Taking a public records case to court can be expensive, and even if a petitioner wins, theres no guarantee the state will have to pay their attorneys fees. That means most cases are taken by lawyers from places like the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which took Schwartzs case, or never make it in front of a judge.

In most cases, if you take a state agency to court and win you will not be reimbursed, Melewsky said. Youll get your records, but youll also be out likely thousands of dollars. Thats a significant barrier to access and a significant deterrent to people pursuing public access rights under Pennsylvania law.

Schwartz, a freelance journalist based in Colorado, said it was reassuring to hear the judges comments and her order to release information.

I think as a journalist and a member of the public it is easy to lose faith, he said. Its beyond nice to have faith in the judiciary in matters of public records.

WHILE YOURE HERE... If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.

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Bloomsburg, Pa.  A Berwick man was charged with several felonies and misdemeanors after State Police completed a lengthy investigation into the theft of a car.

According to a police affidavit, Wesley Richard Sutton, 28, of Berwick was viewed on surveillance video as he got into a vehicle at the Unity Food Mart on September 19 and drove off.

State Police spoke with the vehicle's owner, who was allegedly thrown to the ground after Sutton reversed the car and hit a gas pump and concrete barrier.

Sutton allegedly drove off before police arrived at the store near the 300 block of East 7th Street. Troopers said they observed bruises and a swollen knee as they spoke with the accuser.

Surveillance video showed a white male with a dark hoodie enter the vehicle as it was parked outside the store. Police said the man in the video, later identified as Sutton, couldnt start the vehicle immediately which allowed the owner to leave the store and grab the drivers side door.

During their investigation, police discovered a scrape in the parking lot asphalt. According to the report, they followed the scrape mark that led the to the discovery of the vehicle abandoned a few blocks away.

According to the report, a search of the vehicle turned up a black Samsung cellphone police said did not belong to the owner of the vehicle. A trace of the phone led to a woman who was allegedly in a former relationship with Sutton.

A forensic exam was conducted on the vehicle and several areas were tested for the presence of DNA. State Police said they took a sample from the vehicles owner, as well.

Sutton was questioned at the Columbia County Prison on March 6 and refused to speak with authorities without the presence of an attorney. Despite the refusal, officers said they were allowed to take a sample of DNA from Sutton. According to the report, the swab containing Suttons DNA was sent to the Wyoming Valley Crime Lab.

Sutton was charged with first-degree felony robbery of a motor vehicle and three third-degree felonies that included criminal mischief, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property. He was also charged with two second-degree misdemeanors that included simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

A preliminary arraignment was held on March 18 and Sutton was given $25,000 monetary bail. Sutton, who was incarcerated on separate charges after the incident, will remain at the Columbia County Prison until a March 30 preliminary hearing.

Docket sheet

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GUEST COLUMNIST|Russ Mitchell

How to buy and install an EV home charger

Russ Mitchell/Los Angeles Times/TNS A Wallbox home charger in a garage at night. The light blinks while charging, holds steady when battery is full.

Gas prices? Pah! A few months ago, my family bought an electric car, used. A little 2018 BMW i3s. It looks weird but it drives great. Every time I pass long lines of cars and trucks waiting to fill up on $6-a-gallon gas, I admit, I feel a schadenfreude smile coming on.

But buying the car, it turns out, was a lot easier than buying a home charger and getting it installed, which was a serious hassle. Worth it in the end, but a hassle. And that government rebate I thought Id been promised? Yeah, right.

You can get by without a home charger but I wouldnt advise it. There are too few public chargers available at present for dependable refueling. And the price you pay is significantly higher than your cost of electricity at home.

A home charger isnt cheap, though. Including installation, depending on what model you buy, the cost can top $1,500.

Hunting for a home charger is a bit of a hassle too. The hassle can be small or large depending on variables that include the age of your home, the state of its electrical system and how easy it is to find an installer in your area.

If stories about $7-a-gallon gasoline have you thinking its time for an EV, though, here are some hard-won tips that might save you some headaches.

The basics

The first step is deciding whether you want a Level 1 or Level 2 charger.

Level 1 operates at 120 volts. Thats the voltage you use to run your toaster and most of your homes electricity. Level 2 is 240 volts, what an electric dryer requires. Level 2 chargers will fill your EV a lot faster from empty than a Level 1: a couple hours or so, depending on the size of your battery, versus overnight.

Youll probably get a portable Level 1 charger included when you get your car. If most of your trips are local, or you can charge at work, or buy a plug-in hybrid instead of a battery-only electric, a Level 1 might work just fine.

If you want the flexibility of a relatively fast fill-up and more freedom from range anxiety, youre a candidate for a more expensive but more powerful Level 2. Thats what we chose.

Level 2 chargers require 240 volts and a socket like an electric dryer might use. If you have a 240-volt outlet near where youll park your car, good for you. Installation will be a lot easier. (A charger also can be connected directly to your electric panel, obviating the need for an outlet.)

Chargers come with cords of different lengths. Youll want to measure the distance from where you put your charger to where youll park your car. Shorter cords make for less expensive chargers. Id rather have too much than not enough and went for a 25-foot cord. If youll always be parking in a tight garage space, you can get by with something shorter and cheaper.

Portable 240-volt chargers are available, but youll get only about 10 miles of range per hour. If you want to fill up fairly fast and have your car ready to go when you need it, a stationary charger is the way to go.

Buying

An internet search will turn up loads of sites that rank home chargers. For a comprehensive overview of whats available, Veloz, an EV advocacy site, is a good first step.

Level 2 charger prices range from nearly $300 to well over $1,000. The bigger your car battery, the more expensive your charger is likely to be. Veloz pegs the typical cost of installation around $500. It can be lower or it can cost several thousand dollars, depending on how your homes electrical system is configured and whether you need a 240v outlet installed.

Unless you are well versed in volts and amps and kilowatts and kilowatt hours, you should ask an electrician or someone with expertise in the area for advice before you choose your charger. The requirements of your cars battery and the configuration of your home electrical system are major factors in charger choice.

Youll also have to ask yourself how important it is to be able to control charging times through a chargers software, allowing you to take advantage of your utilitys variable time-of-day electric rates and potentially prolong your batterys life. Many experts suggest you not fill your battery all the way full because that can degrade performance. Charger software can set a limit at, say, 90% full.

Youll also need to know whether you want to install the charger inside a garage or outdoors  many chargers are advertised as weatherproof.

Which brand is best? After spending much time comparing models online, I found a ChargePoint model that topped many best-of lists and tried to buy one. Alas, ChargePoint told me I couldnt expect the charger to arrive for at least several weeks. Popularity has its price.

My neighbor bought a charger from Wallbox and got it in a couple of days. I did too. The reviews were good. Its working fine so far, although the software interface could be much improved. I paid $649 plus tax.

Installing

Wallbox posts an excellent installation guide online that can apply to any charger make or model. With any luck, youll be able to hire an electrician at a reasonable price and he or she will take care of everything for you.

I wasnt so lucky. Our Berkeley house was built 60 years ago. No 240v outlet in the garage. Worse, the house is fed by a 100-amp Pacific Gas & Electric power line; the lines to modern houses are rated at 200 amps. Practically speaking, the 100-amp line means that adding an electric car to the houses load could overpower the whole system. The situation would demand some changes to our electric supply panel.

Finding an electrician to help was tough. Its hard to find a tradesman to do anything lately  too few workers with the proper skills, too much home improvement demand. One electrician informed us our electric panel is way out of date, and that building codes would require a new one. Wed also need a 200-amp line to the house. Total cost, he said, would top $2,000.

With the help of a neighbor whos a lighting architect and ace handyman, I was able to get the job done for the price of materials and a nice dinner.

If you have an older home, do some research on home electric load capacities to better communicate with the professional electricians you might hire.

The rebate

Rebates from the government or electric utilities depend on where you live. Put your ZIP Code into the Veloz site and then click on a charger model to find out whats available to you. If your electricity comes from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the utility says you can get up to $1,000 back, even more if you qualify as low-income. But the actual amount, based on numerous Veloz searches, is likely to be a few hundred dollars. Residents of the South Coast Air Quality Management District can get another several hundred dollars, but the money is available first come first served, so you cant count on funds being there.

The city of Anaheim says charger buyers can qualify for $400 to $1,000 in rebates, subject to the availability of funds. The city of Burbank advertises rebates up to $500.

If you bought a charger in 2021, you may be eligible for a federal income tax credit for 30% of the chargers cost. If you waited until 2022, youre out of luck.

Here in Berkeley, I qualified for rebates totaling $0. My utility, the financially troubled Pacific Gas & Electric, offers no home EV charger incentives at all.

But driving an EV can save $800 or more a year for an average driver, and the warm feeling I get driving past those gas station price signs makes up for a zero rebate, and then some.
Public Health Advice for Visitors to Gibraltar

Passengers arriving to Gibraltar by air are no longer required to complete a passenger locator form or take a COVID-19 test on entry into Gibraltar, regardless of their vaccination status.

This follows the announcement made by the Chief Minister on 4th March 2020 regarding Gibraltars COVID-19 Exit Strategy.

In the event of any visitor developing symptoms of Covid-19, they should immediately report symptoms that develop to the Gibraltar Health Authority. If not using a local mobile phone, they are able to call St Bernards Hospital on +350 200 72266 and ask to be put through to the 111 information helpline.

The Director of Public Health, Dr Helen Carter, said: Gibraltar continues to experience low-levels of COVID-19 hospitalisations and as such, it is appropriate that related entry restrictions are now removed in line with the wider Exit Strategy. It is important to stress, however, that all visitors in Gibraltar who develop any symptoms associated with COVID-19 should immediately report these to the GHA to arrange testing.
In her new NBC limited series, The Thing About Pam, Renee Zellweger wears prosthetics and padding to appear heavier in the role of a convicted killer. It's a decision that some critics have questioned, arguing a larger actor could have filled the role.

Zellweger famously gained weight twice for Bridget Jones's Diary in 2001 and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in 2004. The character had settled into her goal weight (or Zellweger's natural size) for Bridget Jones's Baby in 2016.

The two-time Oscar winner chose prosthetics this time rather than to gain weight because her character is a real person whose looks, Zellweger believes, factored in to why she was initially not a suspect.

Were talking about a person who looks like somebody who we easily project our own beliefs onto about who she is: Well, shes clearly kind, and shes clearly sweet and fun and funny and warm and thoughtful and a great friend because shes always there and shes always so generous.' And we more easily dismiss anything that might be thought of in another circumstances, peculiar behavior.

Zellweger says to match Hupp's appearance this way left nothing to chance.

I know the results of a Bridget Jones experience and this is not a fictional character whos up to my interpretation and just seeing what happens.

The prosthetics process wasn't an easier one because Zellweger also says she's allergic to adhesive. Theres a lot of chemicals involved in the application and removal of these prosthetics. You feel it.

Zellweger portrays Pam Hupp, the best friend of Betsy Faria, a Missouri woman who was stabbed to death in her home in 2011. Police arrested Farias husband for the crime and he was found guilty after Hupp testified against him in court. He served three years and was exonerated in a second trial. Meantime, investigators circled around Hupp who was the last person to see Faria alive. She had convinced Faria to sign over a life insurance policy to her just days before she was killed.

To create a diversion for police, Hupp then posed as a producer for the NBC true crime series Dateline and paid a disabled man named Louis Gumpenberger to come to her house to create a fake 911 call. Hupp shot and killed Gumpenberger and told police he was an intruder. She tried to make it look like Gumpenberger was working with Betsy's husband to steal her insurance money.

Hupp is now serving life in prison without parole for Gumpenberger's murder. She was charged in 2021 with killing Faria and is under investigation in the murder of her own mother.

Dateline first produced an episode on the case, fronted by Keith Morrison, and later turned into a podcast. That's how Zellweger first heard of the story. She was sent the podcast by a business partner and listened while on a long drive to the vet with her rescue dog, Chester.

I binged that sucker, Zellweger said. I was talking to (the podcast) as if I was watching television and screaming at the news. I was talking to the radio and Chester kept lifting his head up, like, Eh? because Id be like, No, no, no. And Chesters like, What? Im just sitting here. Like, what? It was insane. At the end of it, you know, you find that youve asked yourself why and how a hundred times. I was really curious to explore that further. It just seemed like a really interesting project to dive into.

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The COVID-19 pandemic of the past two years has taught us many lessons. The critical importance of a strong health care system to the vitality and wellbeing of the community at large is a valuable lesson that should be remembered long after this pandemic is over.

For Methodist Hospitals, the last two years have caused us to rededicate ourselves to the mission we have fulfilled for nearly a century  to deliver high-quality health care to all those in need.

And if we learned anything else from the COVID-19 pandemic its that while we must work in the moment to the very best of our abilities while balancing that perspective with an eye toward the future. We believe that Methodist Hospitals best path to future success is to maintain its standing as The Regions only truly independent health care system. Its also clear that Methodist Hospitals can best serve the community as an independent institution. From our perspective thats a win-win  for Methodist Hospitals, and for the communities we serve.

A healthy Northwest Indiana means a healthier Indiana. The future of this diverse and powerful engine of commerce, industry and culture depends, in large part, upon the health and wellness of those who call Northwest Indiana home. At Methodist Hospitals, were determined to help everyone in Northwest Indiana make that happen as a truly independent voice focused solely on Northwest Indiana health and wellness.

For example, Methodist Hospitals has been at the forefront in the fight against COVID-19. We established dedicated units to treat COVID-19 patients at both hospital campuses, then multiple drive-up testing sites followed by COVID-19 vaccine sites throughout Northwest Indiana. Because thats what was needed here. I am immensely proud of our doctors, nurses, and staff, who have courageously served the community through two very difficult years. We owe them our gratitude and our support.

Remarkably, that same group of dedicated healthcare heroes has also played key roles in a wide range of other accomplishments that have contributed to the ongoing effort to make Methodist Hospitals an even better, independent institution. Some of the accomplishments of the last year that were made possible by their innovation, effort and teamwork include:

Growth in our network of outpatient facilities. Our new clinic in Valparaiso expands our network of CareFirst clinics to four, including Crown Point, Merrillville and Schererville. The Valparaiso clinic offers immediate care, as well as primary and specialty care under one roof.

The introduction of new, advanced technologies and treatments. Methodist Hospitals has acquired the most advanced da Vinci surgical system and greatly expanded our roster of surgeons who are certified to perform minimally invasive robotic surgery. Our Orthopedic and Spine Center now offers total knee and hip replacements with same-day discharge to motivated and qualified patients. These less invasive procedures with advanced pain management allow patients to recover in their own homes. And we have acquired new systems for diagnosing and treating Peripheral Artery disease and other forms of heart disease.

Expanded telehealth and chronic disease management capabilities. Thanks to a grant from the Federal Communications Commission, Methodist Hospitals is expanding its digital telehealth platform to enable our clinicians to help their Northwest Indiana patients manage chronic disease remotely.

Engagement of new physicians and specialties. We welcomed the board certified gastroenterology specialists of the Centers for Digestive Health to their new Merrillville offices on Methodists Southlake Campus, and we have expanded our network of physicians with new primary care providers, as well as specialists in spine surgery, endocrinology, heart and vascular surgery and interventional cardiology.

Meanwhile, Methodist Hospitals maintained its commitment to outreach beyond the walls of our hospitals. We continued to bring our expertise and services into the community despite the pandemic with virtual education seminars and COVID-safe health fairs and screening events in 2021.

Now, as we prepare to begin our second century of delivering quality healthcare to the families of our Region, Methodist Hospitals has developed a comprehensive strategic plan designed to continue to move us forward as a successful, independent health care system.

After exhaustive research and with input from dozens of interviews with respected stakeholders within and outside our organization, we have identified strategies that take a wide range of factors into consideration, including achieving excellence in quality, safety and patient experience; capturing greater market share and optimizing financial performance to fund additional investments in facilities, technology, staff and services.

The work to develop and implement these key strategies has already begun. Dozens of interconnected programs have been developed with carefully considered benchmarks spread over a three-year implementation period.

These programs include the opening of more new outpatient clinics, the construction and modernization of inpatient and procedural facilities, the development of clinical partnerships with physician groups, academic medical centers and employers and the development of new payer relationships and financial products.

With this plan, we aim to deliver to you more physicians in more specialties, who will provide more and better services, over a wider geographic footprint in Northwest Indiana. In short, we are committed to bringing you better access to higher quality care. Next year, in 2023, Methodist Hospitals will celebrate 100 years of service to the Northwest Indiana region. We hope you will join us as we strive to become Healthier Together in our second century of care.

Matt Doyle is president and CEO of Methodist Hospitals.

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Smoking in New Iberia bars is now a thing of the past after the New Iberia City Council passed a smoking ordinance banning the activity inside businesses.

The ordinance passed 4-3 with council members Ricky Gonsoulin, Dustin Suire and David Broussard voting against the measure.

Although public opinion has been quiet compared to the last time the council tried to pass an anti-smoking ordinance in 2015, Tuesdays meeting was met with a large group of anti-smoking advocates as well as business owners speaking on both sides of the issue.

Business owners opposing the ban included Desiree Sherville, owner of the Lazy Lounge, and owner of Emeralds Billiards, Keith Hulin.

Sherville said that the passage of the smoking ban at the same time that many businesses were still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic would bring extra harm to her business.

There are choices, people dont have to come to my bar if they dont want to smoke, Sherville said.

Hulin agreed that business owners should be the ones that decide whether or not they want to allow smoking in their establishments.

I bought that building, you cant tell me somebody cant smoke if they want to, Hulin said. You dont have to come to my place if you dont smoke.

Reagan Carter, with the American Non-Smokers Rights Foundation, said there were 30 cities and parishes in Louisiana that have passed smoke-free ordinances, including Lafayette Parish.

Louisiana rates last nationwide in health outcomes, Carter said. The parish of Iberia is among the last half of those health outcomes.

Rene Stansbury, Region IV manager for The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, read the testimony of a pool league organizer who has dealt with the health effects of secondhand smoking for years.

Following numerous testimonies, all council members reiterated the positions they have all held since talks began for an anti-smoking ordinance.

Legal counsel Jeff Simon clarified a concern among many business owners about a part of the ordinance that would obligate smokers to smoke 20 feet away from an establishment.

Simon said the 20 feet rule only applied to public buildings or buildings owned by the city of New Iberia.

I think thats the only place its in the ordinance, Simon said. I dont think it applies to all doors.

Following a brief discussion, the measure passed for adoption.
Crystal Ridley, a kindergarten teacher at Duneland School Corp., says that at the start of this academic year, it seemed some students were on survival mode.

Many had missed out on pre-school and had no understanding of a school environment.

Teaching was difficult, she said, especially with subjects like reading. Students struggled with oral activities due to masks, as it was hard to understand and hear when language was muffled. Initially, there was limited ability to put books in students hands.

"So much of where they are developmentally is hands-on. When everything is virtual, on a screen, their brains and bodies are not ready for that," Ridley said.

The issues Ridley faced were similar across the Region, as students in the area struggled to learn to read.

A challenge amid the pandemic

Kimberly Ramsey, a kindergarten teacher for the Gary Community School Corp., said some students did not respond well to virtual learning and were missing crucial foundations.

"It was a struggle for (our parents) who were not tech-savvy, so a lot of our students did not receive virtual learning well," Ramsey said.

Betsy Kazmierczak, a kindergarten teacher in the Duneland School Corp., said early on one of the biggest challenges was the lack of interaction. Even when schools moved back in-person, there was limited ability to touch items or share.

Kazmierczak said when students are 5 and 6 years old, learning often comes in touching and feeling things like magnet letters, or writing out words in sand or shaving cream. She said over time the district has slowly been able to bring these types of activities back, especially by individualizing them or adding additional supplies.

Esther Goodes, director of elementary education for Gary public schools, said absences due to COVID-19 are a huge challenge. She said in reading, one of the most important aspects is consistency.

When it is unclear if a student will be there, it can be hard to get them caught up and continuing to read. Goodes said when students are home, to get them motivated to be online is a challenge.

"They need routine and procedure," Goodes said. "Reading needs to be an everyday event, as much as possible. When you have interruptions and are battling those inconsistencies, it is a big hurdle."

Debbie Snedden, assistant superintendent for the Hanover Community School Corp., said the district was only online for the period of March 2020 to the end of that semester, allowing them to see less lag for students.

She said teachers have been great at dealing with these issues through a very tough time for education.

Angela Torabi, a first-grade teacher for the School Town of Munster, said it was difficult to teach reading last year, as a lot of strategies had to do with small group work  something the pandemic made difficult. She said one of the ongoing difficulties are students who are sick or out due to COVID-19, though the opportunity to teach virtually helps.

Phonics is one of the major concerns teachers have dealt with. Phonics is a method of teaching reading that correlates sounds with letters. When a lot of schools had mask requirements, it was hard to have students connect sounds with letters, as it often helps to look at how a teachers mouth is moving.

Students fall behind

According to the Indiana Department of Education, ILEARN results from spring 2021 show only 40.5% of students in grades 3-8 are proficient in English language arts. In Gary Community School Corp., only 7.8% of students in grades 3-8 are proficient. School Town of Munster sees one of the highest ILEARN scores in ELA in Lake County, with 58.4% of students being proficient in ELA in spring 2021.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only about one-third of the nations fourth-graders were able to read proficiently in 2019. And according to a multitude of studies, the pandemic made things worse.

Consulting firm McKinsey & Company indicated that U.S. students were behind on average four months in reading due to the pandemic. An analysis of test scores in California and South Carolina saw a learning lag for students in ELA during the 2020-21 school year.

Kazmierczak said teaching reading is one of the biggest foundations students can have at a young age. She emphasized how important it is to prepare students from a young age to read, as it sets them up for success in future grades.

Torabi said she has seen more students behind and struggling, especially those who were e-learning longer.

"It was really hard to do skill levels amid the pandemic," Torabi said. She said they could not use a lot of regular strategies and are now trying to close the gap.

Schools brainstorm solutions

Kazmierczak said kindergarten teachers across the Duneland district created a bank of videos to use for children who are quarantined, for any e-learning days and to enhance material in the classroom. She also said she makes use of more apps and technology to help teach students in new ways.

For example, Kazmierczak said, she may use a virtual app to let children move letters around instead of having them move physical magnets.

Goodes said, especially for phonics, teachers use videos so children can see their mouths move. Some also may use masks that have plastic in the middle so lips can be seen. Goodes also said the school corporation works with the Gary Literacy Coalition, an organization that supports and coordinates accessibility toward reading opportunities.

Goodes said kids are adaptable and may not struggle as much as adults think they will. She said she sees students reading with masks on with no concern, and they are rebounding from the issues caused by the pandemic.

Snedden said Hanover builds in enrichment and intervention into every school day, with students being pulled out if they need additional help.

Ramsey, of Gary, said one of the major ways to find more success in reading is to encourage consistency. She said she makes students want to come to school and celebrate their success every week.

She said she has high attendance rates due to her method. She said this year has been tiring, but it is rewarding to see students success.

"This is prime-time. The kids' brains are like sponges," Kazmierczak said.

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Indiana University Northwest is prepared to support and advance the relevancy of our region through increased community partnership.

In its landmark publication, Stepping Forward as Stewards of Place, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities defined a publicly engaged institution as one that is fully committed to direct, two-way interaction with communities and other external constituencies through the development, exchange, and application of knowledge, information, and expertise for mutual benefit.

When I arrived at IU Northwest in the summer of 2020, I made the commitment to lead the university into a new era of meaningful collaborations with our communities to improve the overall welfare of the Region. We are now at a pivotal moment of our legacy, presented with the unparalleled opportunity to leverage our vast economic, intellectual, and inclusive power to fully realize our place as a publicly engaged institution of higher learning in Northwest Indiana.

Our confidence in making this vision a reality arises from the strong value proposition IU Northwest has already established, starting with its direct economic impact upon the Region. Indiana University recently commissioned Emsi, a leading provider of economic impact studies for educational institutions in the U.S. and internationally, to assess its statewide contribution in fiscal year 2018-19. The report determined that IU Northwest had a $264 million impact on Northwest Indiana.

While this total was due, in part, to our investment in local operations and construction as well as the pending power of our employees, students, and campus visitors, our largest contribution was derived from our graduates whose increased earnings, and those of the businesses for which they work, added $220 million to our local economy. Notably, IU Northwest activities supported one of every 98 jobs in the Region  more than 4,000 in total.

We view this impact as only a starting point, with the goal of substantially increasing our economic support to the region. Among other efforts, IU Northwest will focus its procurement strategies on increasing business relationships with local companies.

Additionally, because our graduates have the most significant influence upon the local economy, we are building upon our successful student retention rates  currently among highest of Indiana University regional campuses  to support timely degree attainment, launching more of our graduates from all academic and professional disciplines into successful careers while simultaneously addressing local workforce needs.

IU Northwests value proposition is further driven by our stellar faculty. We have fostered an academic culture in which faculty not only engage in the highest levels of research, scholarship, and creative activities, but also apply their expertise to address critical issues confronting our communities.

As an example of our most recent community-aligned research, IU Northwest is undertaking a comprehensive study, as part of the Northwest Indiana Forums successful $50 million Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grant award, to determine housing availability and needs in the region.

Our Center for Urban and Regional Excellence is similarly engaged in a collaborative, eight-part study with the Lake County Commissioners to map the more than 9,000 tax sale properties which chronically do not receive any purchase bids and do not generate any tax revenues.

Among other outcomes, the study will provide county political units with usable data to strategically incorporate these stagnant properties into their respective master plans. These correlated housing studies are vital in informing sound economic development planning in the Region.

Equally vital is our ongoing research with shoreline erosion, water quality, and restoration ecology which will inform the effect of local development and industry on the Indiana Dunes, Lake Michigan, and other key natural resources essential to the quality of life in Northwest Indiana.

To scale this great intellectual energy for the greater good of the region, IU Northwest is now envisioning the creation of a regional data analytics center. Such a center would serve as a gateway for economic development associations, nonprofits, political representatives, government entities, and community-based organizations in need of research and analysis support to more effectively utilize data in their respective decision-making and planning.

The center will not only be able to capitalize on the expertise of our own faculty and students, but it will also be able to facilitate collaborations with talent across multiple disciplines from all Indiana University campuses to benefit Northwest Indiana.

Ultimately, however, our greatest value-added dynamic to the region is the increasingly diverse student body that we serve. IU Northwest has long been an engine of social mobility as one of the most diverse campuses in the state. Approximately 40% of our students are first generation, meaning they are among the first in their families to attend college, and half of our students come to us from traditionally underserved communities.

Recently, we became the first and only comprehensive, public higher education institution in the state to be recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education, providing new opportunities for enhanced funding and resources for the entire campus.

IU Northwest will serve as a place of higher learning where all students can actively engage in an environment where critical thoughts and ideas are welcomed, tested, and challenged through diverse viewpoints and experiences.

As the region continues to become increasingly diverse, our role will become even more valuable in developing future leaders who are prepared to navigate and leverage the growing complexities of our workplaces and communities and to stem the rising tide of social and political discord across the nation which will impede our collective progress.

During the throes of the pandemic, the phrase, We are in this together, became IU Northwests enduring theme reflecting how students, faculty, and staff came together to successfully advance our noble mission in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. As a publicly engaged university, we look forward to carrying this same theme forward to be in this together with all of Northwest Indiana in advancing the Region and beyond.

Ken Iwama is Indiana University Northwest chancellor.

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The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane. For Franciscan Health, our mission  continuing Christs ministry in our Franciscan tradition  informs our strategy in tackling the difficult socioeconomic challenges facing society today.

Simply put, the ministry of Jesus is one founded upon love of others. Our decisions are guided every day by the principle that every human being is formed in the image and likeness of God, and thus, deserves treatment with dignity and respect. When operating within this framework, there is no room for disparities in care or in health outcomes. As the leader in healthcare in northern Indiana, Franciscan Health embraces its role in leading efforts to eliminate these disparities.

The year 2020 was like no other, with the pandemic and social issues dominating attention. While Franciscan Health has always had a focus on serving the poor and disenfranchised, in mid-2020, Franciscan Health Michigan City formalized its efforts through a multipoint plan to address disparities by race and ethnicity in the communities we serve. Although the plan relies on internal education and training to effect change internally, a large part of the effort is focused on community health improvement. Out of this effort grew a focused strategy to positively impact disparities in health outcomes across our region.

Late in 2020, we established a new position, community health improvement coordinator, to help plan and lead our efforts. The obvious starting point was COVID. Since delivering the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in LaPorte County on Dec. 18, 2020, the staff at Franciscan Health Michigan City administered tens of thousands of shots at its COVID-19 vaccine clinic. Staff has also continued its tireless work to treat COVID-19 patients as the pandemic has surged, relying on a dedication to the Franciscan mission.

Our community health improvement team in conjunction with our vaccination team conducted walking education and vaccinations rounds in targeted neighborhoods in Michigan City. From there, the effort moved to education and awareness sessions on Sundays at several local Baptist churches. This year, through a grant via our partnership with Beacon Health, a mobile vaccine clinic will be started with three community health workers providing education and vaccinations to underserved populations in the county.

From the success of these efforts, we quickly pivoted to another leading chronic condition in the black community: diabetes. Our Fan Out Diabetes initiative presented education, blood glucose screening and follow up to parishioners. This new outreach was a natural fit to our existing Food Prescription Program, which provides healthy and nutritious foods to low-income diabetic patients and their families through a partnership with The Salvation Army of Michigan City. Franciscan is targeting food insecurity in Lake County as well through Mobile Food Markets with the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana.

Other needs of the community have not been ignored. In 2021, the hospital celebrated the reimagination of its former home on Homer Street, welcoming new services. The Prenatal Assistance Program opened its doors in December as a hub for prenatal/postpartum services; enhanced access and navigation of public assistance programs, connection to doctors and educational programming, clinical health and wellness education, peer support and the opportunity to work with a clinical therapist. This service joins Prenatal Assistance Programs already operating in Crown Point and Hammond.

The program takes a holistic approach to mitigate the health, economic and social risk factors that contribute to high infant mortality rates in LaPorte County. Prenatal programing will expand in 2022 with a two-year, $500,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Health to further reduce infant mortality by establishing Project Swaddle, a program that utilizes paramedicine to improve prenatal access to education and care for expecting moms in remote parts of LaPorte County.

Early this year, a Health Equity Advisory Committee was established with representatives from across the community. The group will help guide efforts to close disparity gaps in health access and outcomes by race and ethnicity. Another health outreach event that will restart this year after a pandemic-caused hiatus is the Black Barbershop Initiative, where Franciscan Health will once again partner to provide education and health screenings to barbershop customers. Additionally, Franciscan collaborated with the Michigan City YMCA and Michigan City Police Department to sponsor Walk with a Doc, a walk/run every Wednesday for 19 weeks that provided educational information from a health care professional.

Franciscan Health partnered with other community organizations to deliver assistance, too, providing new linens to PADS Sacred Heart Homeless Shelter and diapers to Womens Care Center, Dunebrook and the Salvation Army. Franciscans annual Diaper Drive continues to expand with the planned creation of the Regions National Diaper Bank Network site in Hammond.

Franciscan supports the Open Door Community Alliance (ODCA) by providing office space and collaboration. The ODCA provides medication and medical device assistance to those in need. The Franciscan Health Occupational Health and Working Well departments also met with local business leaders and local schools to support and review reopening plans amid the pandemic.

At the start of the 2021-22 school year, Franciscan purchased backpacks and school supplies to provide 500 stocked backpacks to the Michigan City Area Schools and 100 stocked backpacks to the local Catholic elementary schools. Additionally, 50 stocked backpacks were donated to children at Sandcastle Shelter and Stepping Stone Shelter For Women.

As you can see, we have taken our responsibility to address disparities in health access and outcomes in our community very seriously. We remain committed to closing these gaps and eliminating these shocking and inhuman injustices, as described by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., for the betterment of our entire Region.

Dean Mazzoni is president and CEO for Franciscan Health Michigan City.

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LOWELL  After being airlifted to an Illinois hospital, an 18-year-old woman died from serious injuries following wreck on U.S. 41 Thursday, police said.

Aaleah Morales, of Chicago, was pronounced dead at 4:27 p.m. Thursday at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. Morales had been airlifted with serious injuries from the crash Tuesday morning.

The condition of the second individual described as a Chicago man in his 20's is unknown. He was also airlifted to Advocate Christ Medical Center following the wreck.

Around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday the Lake County Sheriffs Department Traffic Unit was called to a crash on U.S. 41 at Belshaw Road on the outskirts of Lowell, Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said.

Officers arrived to find a wreck involving a semitrailer and car.

A 2005 Nissan Altima was traveling north on U.S. 41 when it struck a semi that was waiting to turn left onto Belshaw Road. Police said that preliminary investigations also suggests the speed of the Nissan was a factor in the crash.

Two people inside the car suffered life-threatening injuries.

The driver was taken to Franciscan Health Crown Point and was then airlifted to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The passenger was airlifted from the crash to Advocate Christ as well.

The investigation is ongoing.

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RENSSELAER  Authorities are seeking clues leading to a suspect who shot an individual in Rensselaer on Friday night.

At 11:18 p.m. officers responded to a report of several gunshots fired near Grove Street and Augusta Street, according to the Rensselaer Police Department.

One person was found injured by the gunfire and suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.

Witnesses told police the shooter was a white male who was about 5 feet, 8 inches tall to 5 feet, 10 inches tall. He was described as having a thin build and a goatee, and he was wearing a yellow long-sleeve shirt and dark pants.

Anyone with security cameras in the immediate area or along College Avenue is asked to check video footage around the time of the shooting in case the suspect was captured on camera.

Those with information are asked to contact the Rensselaer Police Department at 219-866-7602.

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The Indiana Court of Appeals has declined to reduce the 30-year sentence of a Gary man involved in the June 2019 shooting death of a Merrillville teen trying to sell his Xbox video game system.

Garry Lee Higgins IV, 20, pleaded guilty last year to attempted robbery resulting in serious bodily injury in connection with the death of 16-year-old Johnny Peluyera in the 5000 block of Maryland Street in Gary, according to court records.

Records show Higgins arranged online to meet Peluyera at the Gary address so Higgins ostensibly could purchase an Xbox Peluyera was selling.

When Peluyera arrived with his father, Higgins said he wanted proof the Xbox worked properly. Higgins and Peluyera, along with Higgins' friend, tried an outdoor outlet at a nearby house until being asked to leave, went to another home across the street, and then Peluyera was shot once in the arm and torso, according to court records.

Records show Peluyera walked back to his father's car after he was shot, slumped in the passenger seat and died in his father's arms.

Higgins initially was charged with murder and a variety of other crimes in connection with the incident. He later pleaded guilty to the single level 2 felony in exchange for prosecutors dismissing several other pending felonies from separate incidents, including two counts of burglary and carrying a handgun without a license, according to court records.

Records show Lake Superior Judge Natalie Bokota sentenced Higgins to the maximum term of 30 years, with Higgins to serve 28 years in state prison and two years on probation.

In his appeal, Higgins argued his sentence was inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and his character. He suggested instead ten years in prison, five years in community corrections and five years on probation.

After reviewing the facts of the case, along with Higgins' criminal record, the appellate court was unpersuaded Higgins deserved any time off his sentence.

Appeals Judge Elaine Brown, writing for the court, said the stipulated facts of the case show the attempted robbery was premeditated and Peluyera posed no threat to either Higgins or his friend.

"The shooting and (Peluyera's) death were senseless," Brown said.

As to Higgins' character, Brown noted Higgins' record includes resisting law enforcement, criminal trespass, criminal recklessness and theft, as well as the other charges dismissed as part of his plea agreement.

She said Higgins received the benefit of probation four times, failed to successfully complete his probation three times, never has been gainfully employed, and while in jail fought with other inmates, assaulted jail staff and threw feces.

Brown also noted Bokota commented on Higginss history by stating: "When I look at your total history, it really is rather frightening. Its disturbing and its frightening. Your character, based on what Ive seen, is violent and is antisocial. And is deceitful."

As a result, Brown said, the three-judge appeals court unanimously concluded Higgins has failed to establish his sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense resulting in Peluyera's death and Higgins' character.

Higgins still can ask the Indiana Supreme Court to consider reviewing his case and adjusting his sentence accordingly.

Otherwise, Higgins' earliest possible release date from prison, assuming good behavior, is July 1, 2040, according to the Indiana Department of Correction.

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RENSSELAER  Officers arrested an armed woman with cocaine in her purse following a domestic dispute, police said.

Around 10 a.m. March 11 police were alerted of a domestic dispute in the 100 block of West Grace, according to a release from the Rensselaer Police Department.

A man alleged that 38-year-old Marjana Washington, of Rensselaer, came to this residence and pulled a firearm from her purse.

When she began pounding on the door with the firearm, a struggle ensued over the weapon, police said. The man was eventually able to get the gun away from her.

Authorities arrested Washington and searched her purse before she and her belongings were transported to the jail.

Inside her purse, police found another loaded magazine, suspected drug paraphernalia and a white powder residue suspected to be cocaine, police said.

Washington was taken to Jasper County Jail and faces charges of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, possession of cocaine and possession of paraphernalia.

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CEDAR LAKE  Firefighters saved a home from destruction as they worked to contain a garage fire in Cedar Lake on Saturday morning.

Around 11 a.m., first responders were alerted of a structure fire in the 8600 block of W. 132nd Avenue, according to the Cedar Lake Professional Firefighters Association IAFF Local 5141.

Firefighters from the Cedar Lake Local 5141 B-shift were dispatched to the scene to find heavy flames and smoke coming from a detached garage.

Surrounding departments came to aid Cedar Lake firefighters, and the flames were extinguished in less than an hour.

Firefighters stated the quick response and containment of the fire stopped the flames from spreading to the residence. There were no injures reported on scene; however the garage was badly damaged.

The Cedar Lake Fire Department thanked the mutual aid companies who assisted, including St. John Fire Department, Lowell Fire Department, Tri-Creek EMS, Lake Dale Fire Department and Lake Hills Fire Department.

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VALPARAISO  Porter County is losing ground on maintaining roads, the Board of Commissioners has been warned.

Matt Gavelek, the countys senior highway engineer, said the county maintains 781 miles of roads  enough to stretch from here to southern Georgia. On the states PASER system, Porter Countys roads have an average rating of 5.1, which is low.

Were slightly losing ground on our PASER value, Gavelek said. Our current strategy does not keep up with our road condition.

Over the next five years, 70% of the countys roads will require heavy rehabilitation and reconstruction, he said.

Last year, the county spent an additional $4 million from the Porter County Community Foundation  tapping the interest on its nest egg  to pave roads in the 20 worst subdivisions, some of which hadnt been paved in 40 to 50 years, Board of Commissioners President Jeff Good, R-Center, said.

Gavelek looked at dozens of potential strategies for addressing the problem.

Currently, the county is spending $1.5 million for chip-and-seal work and crack sealing plus $1 million on asphalt with hopes of gaining a $1 million matching Community Crossing grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Spending an additional $2 million a year would help the county gain ground on improving road conditions, while an additional $4 million would improve roads faster, Gavelek said.

The more money we add to it, were going to add to our road conditions, he said.

Roads in unincorporated areas, especially in the center of the county, have taken a beating over the last five years with back-to-back detours for construction on major highways. Our roads took a tremendous amount of punishment as drivers sought alternate routes, Good said.

The state gives a little money to the county to compensate for the extra wear and tear on roads. Its not rebuild your roads money, Commissioner Laura Blaney, D-South, said.

Roads adjacent to retail areas, which are primarily concentrated in central Porter County and near Portage, get the most use, Commissioner Jim Biggs, R-North, said.

Lest anyone think the county could tap some of its $33 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, thats specifically prohibited by the federal government. None of it goes toward paving. Zero. Nada. None, Good said.

Were going to have to do something a little different, Biggs said. Anyone who has lived in the county for 10 years has seen the increase in traffic and the difference in road conditions, he said.

Gavelek said he and Jim Polarek from the county highway department will take their road show to the County Council in April as they attempt to stimulate a conversation on how to fund additional roadwork each year.

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INDIANAPOLIS  The Russian invasion of Ukraine has once more brought journalists to the front lines, in Kyiv, Odessa, and even Moscow. Freelancer Brent Renaud, Fox News videographer Pierre Zakrzewski and Fox News consultant Oleksandra Sasha Kuvshynova were killed by snipers and shells, while Fox correspondent Benjamin Hall was injured.

And in the belly of the beast, a television producer named Marina Ovsyannikova burst onto a live broadcast Monday on the Kremlins Channel One, holding a sign reading Stop the war! Theyre lying to you here. It was witnessed by millions of Russian viewers. She was quickly arrested, fined about $300 after a court appearance on Tuesday, but could face 15 years in prison for this act of civil disobedience.

I got a lesson in the difference between American and Russian journalists on my 2007 trip with Sen. Richard Lugar to Moscow. He and Sam Nunn went to the Foreign Ministry Building to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. We entered huge, heavy metal doors adorned with the Soviet-era hammer and sickle emblem and went up to the fifth floor. Down the hallway were framed portraits of Soviet era ministers  Trotsky, Molotov, Gromyko. I was warned by a U.S. State Department official not to take any photos in the hallway. Valuing my Nikon, I obeyed.

American and Russian press gathered around a large conference table where Lugar and Nunn sat face to face with Lavrov for a photo spray. After a few minutes, Lavrov clicked his thumb and fingers, and our Russian media counterparts suddenly packed up and left on the cue. The American journalists stood in place. That moment crystallized for me the vast differences between free America and this autocratic regime that has reimposed a new Iron Curtain.

Preparing for this trip, I read Anna Politkovskayas book, Putins Russia, published in 2004, with much of the focus on Russias dirty war in Chechnya. We didnt understand at the time that Putins decimation of Grozny was a preview to the destruction of cosmopolitan Kyiv and other cities we are witnessing today. Politkovskaya was murdered by Putins henchmen two years later, one of dozens of Russian journalists to meet such a fate.

In the foreward to Politkovskayas book, Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic observed, At the time of her murder ... she was at the pinnacle of her influence. She was proof  and more is always needed  that there is still nothing quite so powerful as the written word.

For the past two weeks, half of the world has been watching Putins genocidal war on cable and nightly news as well as social media. We witnessed the pregnant woman being carried from a bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol, or the Ukrainian family killed at an Irpin intersection, the work of New York Times photographer Lynsey Addario, herself dodging shells and bullets.

It prompted me to revisit the legacy of Hoosier war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who for three years documented America in World War II. Pyle was killed by a sniper a few weeks before World War II ended in August 1945.

In Fort Wayne native Dave Nichols book Ernies War, legendary Chicago journalist Studs Terkel wrote in the foreward, Ernie Pyle covered World War II the way the way the infantry soldier fought it: On the ground and on the move, subject to fear, filth and the capricious fates that dealt death to one man, life to another. Pyle also explained (and decried) the moral changes the war forced upon its participants, the rapid conversion of the boy next door into a trained and enthusiastic killer.

That is what ordinary Ukrainian men and women are turning to over the past two weeks. In February, they were leading normal lives; now many are dropping their kids off at the Polish border and returning to fight for freedom and democracy.

Pyle described a fellow Hoosier named Tommy Clayton, who found himself under fire one moonlit night in the days following the D-Day invasion of Normandy. All his experiences seemed to have no effect on this mild soldier from Indiana, except perhaps to make him even quieter than before, Pyle observed. The worst experience of all is just the accumulated blur, and the hurting vagueness of being too long in the lines, the everlasting alertness, the noise and fear, the cell-by-cell exhaustion, the thinning of the surrounding ranks as day follows nameless day. And the constant march into eternity of ones own small quota of chances for survival.

Pyle described the vacuum left behind the battlefield after the war had moved on: From all these things we could tell that the battle had been recent  from these and from the men so newly dead that they seemed to be merely asleep. An amateur who wandered into this vacuum at the rear of a battle had a terrible sense of loneliness. Everything was dead  the men, the machines, the animals  and he alone was left alive.

We are in for a riveting couple of months as Putins war decimates Ukraine and, perhaps, his own regime, perhaps because of the brave audacity of people like Marina Ovsyannikova. There will be brave and dedicated journalists there, telling the stories of our time.

Brian Howey is publisher of Howey Politics Indiana. Follow him on Twitter @hwypol. The opinions are the writer's.

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Staff members of ZTO Express load a truck with produce in Linyi County of Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province, Sept. 27, 2020. (Xinhua)

TAIYUAN, March 19 (Xinhua) -- For years, China has widely set up express service spots and offered logistics services in rural areas, providing a modern lifestyle for the villagers.

Jia Xiaofeng, 58, finally no longer has to worry about difficulties receiving express delivery.

Living in Xiaotunzhuang Village, Yangqu County, north China's Shanxi Province, Jia frequently receives parcels sent by his son who works in Beijing, which is about 500 kilometers away.

The son's goodwill was a "sweet burden" for the aged man as he had to go to the town to fetch packages, which is 5 kilometers away from his home in the village.

Besides the long distance, the fruits and fresh goods could easily spoil when they were not retrieved in time.

However, with the completion of the new express delivery site in the village, Jia does not need to worry anymore. "Now the courier delivers the goods directly to my door."

The city of Taiyuan, where Jia's village belongs, has gradually accelerated the pace of the program "packages into villages." The country's major express companies have extended their services to 636 villages in the city, according to the city's postal administration.

The express service centers not only facilitate villagers to receive deliveries but also provide more convenient logistics services for e-commerce in rural areas.

Zhang Xin is a grower in Beishe Village. He makes a living in the e-commerce business.

During the harvest seasons, the courier would come directly to his home to collect agricultural products and send them to his customers.

"Before the express service spots were built, the millet we planted could only be sold to wholesalers. Now the couriers pick up the products right at my door and transport directly to customers," Zhang said.

Without a middleman, Zhang's income has increased by 30 percent compared with before.

The evolving express service network effectively connects farmers with the market, boosting both the supply and demand of farm products, and is of great significance to promoting rural revitalization.

At the just-concluded "two sessions," the government work report said that China will strengthen county-level commercial systems and develop e-commerce and express delivery services in rural areas, aiming to promote all-round rural vitalization.

It is the ninth consecutive year since 2014 that the government work report has mentioned the express industry.

The data from the Shanxi provincial management center of ZTO Express shows that the business volume in rural areas in the province increased significantly from January to February this year. The growth rate is about 50 percent higher than that of the urban area.

Since September 2020, express delivery carts have been rolled into villages in Yangqu County, allowing rural residents to receive and send parcels without leaving home.

With the emergence of express services, villagers who seldom use the Internet have started learning to shop online.

"At present, our express service covers more than 60 villages in the county, including 17 remote ones," said Zhou Zijian, manager of the Yangqu County branch of ZTO Express.

"We will further optimize routes into the village and reduce logistics costs in the future, so as to allow more rural residents to enjoy the same express delivery services like that in urban areas," Zhou said. 
Binge more Vows columns here and read all our wedding, relationship and divorce coverage here.

Kyra Friedell and Alexander Fernandez disagree about what constituted their first actual date.

But the couple can pinpoint with certainty when they fell in love. It was Presidents Day weekend in 2018, most of which Ms. Friedell spent with chipped front teeth because hers were hit by a bottle while the two were at a bar.

By then, the pair had been getting to know each other for about six months. They met in August 2017, when Ms. Friedell, 32, appeared on an episode of a now-defunct dating podcast that was co-hosted by her friends and produced by Mr. Fernandez, 35, in Oakland, Calif.

He grew up in San Francisco and San Leandro, Calif., before graduating from the University of California, San Diego, and later receiving a masters of public administration degree from the University of San Francisco. Ms. Friedell was raised in Golden Valley, Minn., and moved West after graduating from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.
SYDNEY, Australia  Hillsong, the global megachurch that cultivated an image of cool, urban Christianity for years, has apologized unreservedly to two women who had accused the churchs Australian founder, Brian Houston, of inappropriate behavior.

Mr. Houston, 67, stepped away from all ministry duties in January. He declared at the time that he needed time to fight a criminal charge of concealing child sexual abuse that the Australian police say his late father, who was also a pastor, committed decades ago.

But in a statement published late Friday, Hillsongs board said that Mr. Houston had been under investigation by the church for his own actions and that he had breached the churchs code of conduct at least twice over the past decade.

The revelation further tarnishes the reputation of a church that had attracted celebrities like Justin Bieber with compelling music and an upbeat message that many described as if it were a brand: comforting Christianity, adorned with pop music and chic fashion.
Russian forces made significant gains in Ukraine, advancing into the port of Mariupol, destroying an underground weapons depot and leaving a barracks in ruins following one of the deadliest rocket strikes on Ukraines military in the nearly month-old war.

Amid the bloodshed, President Volodymyr Zelensky repeated his calls for meaningful peace negotiations with Russia. I want everyone to hear me now, especially in Moscow. Its time to meet. Time to talk, Mr. Zelensky said in his nightly address.

As the fighting raged, Ukraine faced a worsening humanitarian crisis, and military losses mounted on both sides. A senior Ukrainian military official said on Saturday that the strike on the barracks, which happened Friday in the southern city of Mykolaiv, had killed more than 40 marines.

At the city morgue, the bodies of dozens of marines in uniform were laid out side by side in a storage area. A morgue employee would not specify the number of dead brought from the site of the attack.
The expansion of targets to the west, he said, was a pretty obvious strategy: fighting the troops in front of you while trying to cut their supply lines and communications systems.

In recent days, Russian cruise missiles fired from the Black Sea have struck a sprawling training base just 12 miles from the Polish border and, separately, a location near the Lviv airport used to repair MiG fighter jets  a staple of what is left of the Ukrainian air force. In both instances, the Russians did not fire a single missile but barrages.

The Ukrainians claimed to have shot down more than a dozen, but a number got through. The same is true regarding recent missile strikes on airports in other parts of western and central Ukraine.

At the same time, Russia claimed on Saturday that it had used a hypersonic missile to hit an underground warehouse for missiles and aviation ammunition in a western Ukrainian village. If confirmed, that would be the first battlefield use of the weapon that flies at superfast speeds and can easily evade American missile defense systems.

The Ukrainians said that the type of missile had yet to be determined and a video of the strike released by the Russian ministry of defense did not clearly demonstrate that it was indeed a hypersonic missile.

Also on Saturday, an adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Anton Gerashchenko, claimed that Russia, for the first time in Kyiv, was using projectiles that descend on parachutes. Those bombs, unlike laser targeted long-range missiles, are designed to inflict maximum damage.

Benjamin Hodges, the former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, said that the recent strikes underscore how Russias targeting of civilians is part of their strategy.
The novels emotional crescendo comes at Robin and Mercys 50th-anniversary party. (Twenty years after she moved out, they still havent told the kids.) Watching home movies with his disconnected, taciturn brood, Robin reflects: Had there been some kind of limit, in those days, on how long a scene could last? Each one was so brief.  Pouf! And then goodbye. Goodbye to all of it.  It had flown by way too fast, he thought as the screen went blank. And he didnt mean only the movie.

French Braid is a novel about what is remembered, what were left with when all the choices have been made, the children raised, the dreams realized or abandoned. It is a moving meditation on the passage of time.

The novel ends on a poignant note, as David, now retired, finds himself unexpectedly awash in family intimacy when his son moves in with him during the pandemic. He is startled to recognize Garrett family traits in his 5-year-old grandson. Davids father had raised his shoulders like that whenever he was intent on some task  a man Benny had never laid eyes on. It leads him to recall the French braids his daughter wore as a child: When she undid them, her hair would still be in ripples.

David tells his wife: Thats how families work, too. You think youre free of them, but youre never really free; the ripples are crimped in forever.

The moment is vintage Tyler: the epiphany that will surprise no one, a clever rephrasing of conventional wisdom that merely affirms what we already believe. Its why some (mostly male) critics have, over the years, dismissed her work as sentimental  the defining characteristic of the genre known as womens fiction. Its a publishing euphemism that carries more than a whiff of misogyny, implying that fiction written by and about women is by definition something less than literature  heartwarming rather than cerebral, reassuring rather than challenging. To be sure, over her long career Tyler has occasionally fallen into these traps. (See A Patchwork Planet.) But French Braid is the opposite of reassuring. The novel is imbued with an old-school feminism of a kind currently unfashionable. It looks squarely at the consequences of stifled female ambition  to the woman herself, and to those in her orbit.

For all its charm, French Braid is a quietly subversive novel, tackling fundamental assumptions about womanhood, motherhood and female aging. Contrary to the message of a thousand self-help books, Mercys efforts to begin a career at midlife are fruitless. She advertises her services in neighborhood grocery stores, on laundromat bulletin boards: Let a Professional Artist Paint Your Houses Portrait. After decades as a housewife, domestic life is her only subject.

In mourning the lost possibilities of Mercys life, Tyler takes aim at a sentimental trope deeply embedded in American culture. The feminist movement notwithstanding, popular culture (not to mention womens fiction) still clings to the notion of motherhood as the ultimate emotional fulfillment, the great and crowning satisfaction of a womans life. For Mercy Garrett, that simply isnt the case.
With war at a stalemate, Russia keeps bombing Mariupol

With Russia failing to seize major Ukrainian cities, appearing to lose ground around Kyiv and beset by significant losses, there is an emerging consensus in the West that the war has reached a stalemate. However, the fierce fighting in Mariupol continued on Sunday from the land, air and sea.

Russian forces bombarded the coastal city, including a drama school where 400 people were hiding, and forcibly deported thousands of residents to Russia against their will, according to city officials and witnesses.

Satellite images of Mariupol found evidence of widespread damage across residential neighborhoods. At least 391 buildings were observed to have been damaged or destroyed in a part of the city that is dotted with schools and health facilities.

Diplomacy: Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraines president, has repeatedly called for direct negotiations with Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader. But Putin does not think the time is right, according to a senior Turkish official who was on a recent call between Putin and Turkeys president.
Because Russias invasion has gone poorly, Chinese officials are likely to be more cautious about sending troops into Taiwan, said Liang-chih Evans Chen at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taiwan.

That would be a relief for Taiwan, an island of almost 24 million people with a strong liberal democracy  it is the only Asian government to legally allow same-sex marriages  and a modern economy.

Taiwan does not expect that it could outright defeat Chinas powerful military, especially without direct help from the U.S. Taiwans aim, instead, is to make a war look so costly for China that it is deterred from invading.

The war in Ukraine has shown how this could play out. Ukrainian resistance has been fiercer than anyone expected  killing thousands of Russian troops, according to U.S. estimates. The same could prove true in Taiwan, where polls find that nearly three-quarters of the population is willing to fight a Chinese invasion.

The Wests sweeping sanctions on Russia also suggest that an invasion of Taiwan could result in economic pain for China. Along with the weapons shipped to Ukraine, the sanctions show Western countries willingness to support democracies that are under attack.

The Wests resolve could go even further in Taiwan, with the possibility of U.S. forces directly intervening against an invasion. Biden has said American troops will not fight in Ukraine, but the U.S. keeps a deliberately vague line on Taiwan.

Chinas advantages

China has strengths that Russia does not. Its economy is far bigger and more diversified, cushioning the damage that sanctions could inflict. The countries that would stand to impose sanctions on China, from the U.S. to European nations to Japan, are generally more reliant on trade with China than they are on trade with Russia.
Curran brings her in for questioning, resulting in the films most famous (and most frequently parodied) sequence: an interrogation in which Tramell uses her feminine wiles and lack of undergarments to fully intimidate every man in the room. (In her memoir, Stone said she was tricked into the scenes immediately notorious frontal nudity.) Clad in a sleek white dress, her icy blond hair pulled back tight, Stone is the very picture of the 90s-era femme fatale; she lights up a cigarette, and when shes warned that smoking is prohibited, she replies, sinfully, What are you gonna do, charge me with smoking?

Her back-and-forth with Curran isnt exactly James M. Cain, but its played the right way: Douglas steams and stammers, a typical film noir heel, while Stone delivers her dialogue with the devilish gleam of a sly actor having a great time. Its easy to see how the picture made her a star  and how it would have failed without her, both in terms of her outrageous beauty (the entire film hinges on the belief that Curran would literally risk his life to get into her bed) and her deft playing.

Without the dazzle of Stones performance, theres not much of lasting worth in Basic Instinct. Its so overwrought in its execution  the showiness of Jan de Bonts camerawork, the thundering strings of Jerry Goldsmiths score, the absurd plotting of the Eszterhas screenplay  that it almost plays like a goof. (And maybe it is; many critics, then and now, missed the satirical angles of Verhoevens dystopian sci-fi films RoboCop and Starship Troopers.) In the films embrace and amplification of the conventions of suspense thrillers, Verhoeven steps into the Dressed to Kill director Brian De Palmas territory. But like De Palma, Verhoeven has some trouble overcoming the ugliest aspects of his story.

After all, protesters were not wrong about its offenses. The lipstick lesbian material is played solely for the straight thrills of the male gaze, while bisexuality is framed as a symptom of mental instability, if not outright psychopathy; the cruelty with which Curran treats Roxy (Leilani Sarelle), Tramells girl on the side, is played for crowd-pleasing, homophobic laughs (Tell me something, Rocky, man to man). And the scene in which Curran escalates consensual rough sex with Dr. Garner to explicitly nonconsensual assault is inexcusable and abhorrent, not only for the way we continue to see an unapologetic date rapist as a sympathetic protagonist, but also for how it is shrugged off afterward (by both perpetrator and victim) as a byproduct of the heat of the moment.

Perhaps that, then, is the value of Basic Instinct: as a time capsule. It speaks volumes about its era, and the strides (minuscule though they may seem) that weve made since, that such a reprehensible character as Nick Curran was intended as an audience surrogate, the good guy of a big-budget thriller, simply because he was a straight, white, male cop.

Or maybe theres a more direct contrast to note. In the April 28, 1992, issue of The Village Voice, an attack on the film by the writer C. Carr was published alongside a defense of it from the eminent critic Amy Taubin, who thought it was a gas to see a woman on the screen in a powerful enough position to let it all hang out and not be punished for it in the end.

Moreover, its not just that it was novel, in 1992, to see a female character framed as unapologetically and frankly sexual; its that its still uncommon now. And so is the notion of a major motion picture made by, for and about adults, messy, imperfect and insensitive though they may be. Basic Instinct is a leftover from an era when filmmakers, even working with big budgets, could take big risks. It makes this slick, provocative dirty movie something its creators could have never imagined: quaint.
Though he typically stood alone, he was one of many around the country engaged in similar protests, motivated by concerns about what they saw as unjust laws and prosecutorial overreach and convinced that jurors willing to take the law into their own hands were the last barrier to tyranny.

Dr. Heicklens protests at the Pearl Street courthouse were drawing the attention of law enforcement by his second week. When officers moved to arrest him, which they did several times, he would fall to the ground, limp, forcing them to carry him away to St. Vincents Hospital where he would be given a psychiatric evaluation and let go. He signed his release forms Ayn Rand, after the philosopher and novelist, or John Galt, a character from her book Atlas Shrugged.

Finally, prosecutors had had enough, and arranged a sting operation. An F.B.I. agent, posing as a jury member, approached Dr. Heicklen in 2010 and asked about jury nullification. He got an earful, and a few days later, Dr. Heicklen was charged with jury tampering.

Prosecutors said that by targeting jurors, he was outside his constitutional rights, and that he posed a risk to the operations inside the courthouse.
The South Bronx Community Charter High School is one example of a school that embodies these characteristics  where each student has access to an adviser, and where students move ahead when theyve mastered content, not when theyve reached a certain birthday or sat in a classroom for a certain amount of time.

For decades, fewer than half of U.S. students have read at grade level. Its 2022, yet our education system is still designed in a factory-like model, culling and sorting students.

Ringing alarmist bells about learning loss seems to place the blame on students  so many of whom have experienced trauma over the last few years, yet have shown resilience.

Lets start by redesigning our system based on what we know about how students learn best  engaged in relevant learning experiences.

By simply focusing on catching students up, we fail to examine the problematic ways were measuring progress and delivering instruction. Lets move the conversation from loss to learning that meets students where they are and gives every child the opportunity to thrive any time, any pace, any path and any place.

Susan Patrick

Arlington, Va.

The writer is the president and chief executive at the Aurora Institute, an education nonprofit.

To the Editor:

Its alarming but hardly surprising; just ask any teacher. Your article resonated with me and many of my teacher friends. As a reading specialist in an urban school in East Hartford, Conn., I have witnessed firsthand the tragedy that Covid has inflicted upon our students.
People visit a cultural exhibition in Capital Governorate, Kuwait, on March 19, 2022. The cultural exhibition was held here on Saturday with the participation of embassies of more than 30 countries in Kuwait. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)

Artists perform during a cultural exhibition in Capital Governorate, Kuwait, on March 19, 2022. The cultural exhibition was held here on Saturday with the participation of embassies of more than 30 countries in Kuwait. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)

Artists perform during a cultural exhibition in Capital Governorate, Kuwait, on March 19, 2022. The cultural exhibition was held here on Saturday with the participation of embassies of more than 30 countries in Kuwait. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)

Artists perform during a cultural exhibition in Capital Governorate, Kuwait, on March 19, 2022. The cultural exhibition was held here on Saturday with the participation of embassies of more than 30 countries in Kuwait. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)

An exhibitor wearing a traditional dress is seen during a cultural exhibition in Capital Governorate, Kuwait, on March 19, 2022. The cultural exhibition was held here on Saturday with the participation of embassies of more than 30 countries in Kuwait. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)
The Times reported on Sunday that the war in Ukraine has reached a stalemate after more than three weeks of fighting, with Russia making only marginal gains and increasingly targeting civilians, according to analysts and U.S. officials. Ukrainian forces have defeated the initial Russian campaign of this war, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research institute, said in an analysis. Russians do not have the manpower or the equipment to seize Kyiv, the capital, or other major cities like Kharkiv and Odessa, the study concluded.

Bidens plan A, which he explicitly warned Putin of before the war started in an effort to deter him, was to impose economic sanctions on Russia the likes of which have never been imposed before by the West  with the aim of grinding the Russian economy to a halt. Bidens strategy  which also involved sending arms to the Ukrainians to pressure Russia militarily as well  is doing just that. It is succeeding probably beyond Bidens expectations because it was amplified by hundreds of foreign businesses operating in Russia also suspending their operations there  voluntarily or under pressure from their employees.

Russian factories are now having to shut down because they cannot get microchips and other raw materials they need from the West; air travel to and around Russia is being curtailed because many of its commercial planes were actually owned by Irish leasing companies, and Airbus and Boeing wont service the ones that Russia owns outright. Meanwhile, thousands of young Russian tech workers are voting against the war with their feet, and just leaving the country  all within only a month of Putin starting this misbegotten war.

More than half of the goods and services flowing into Russia come from 46 or more countries that have levied sanctions or trade restrictions, with the United States and European Union leading the way, The Washington Post reported, citing the economic research firm Castellum.ai.

The Post story added: In a televised speech Thursday, a defiant Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to acknowledge the countrys challenges. He said the widespread sanctions would force difficult deep structural changes in our economy but vowed that Russia would overcome the attempts to organize an economic blitzkrieg.

The Post continued, It is difficult for us at the moment, Putin said. Russian financial companies, major enterprises, small- and medium-sized businesses are facing unprecedented pressure.

So, there you have the question of the hour: Will the pressure on NATO countries from all the refugees that Putins war machine is creating  more and more each day  trump the pressure being created on his stalled army on the ground in Ukraine and on his economy back home  more and more each day?
ARTS & LEISURE

An article on Page 5 this weekend about composer Heather Christians choral piece Oratorio for Living Things misstates Christians age. She is 40, not 41.

Because of an editing error, an article on Page 8 this weekend about the movie comedy The Lost City starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum and Daniel Radcliffe misstates the films release date. It is scheduled to be in theaters on March 25, not this weekend.

SUNDAY STYLES

An article last Sunday about the Colombian pop star Malumas move into fashion misstated his age. He is 28, not 26. The article also misstated the name of his clothing collection. It is Royalty by Maluma, not Royalty.

MAGAZINE

An article on Feb. 27 about the Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis described imprecisely how the virus spreads. It replicates itself; it does not only produce proteins which its host sheds.
DUMAS, Ark.  A community event and car show in a small Arkansas farming community became a scene of horror on Saturday night, as two people engaged in a gunfight and sprayed the crowd with bullets, killing one bystander and injuring 27 other people, including six children.

Survivors said the violence erupted with a startling suddenness. You went from laughing and talking and eating and everything to random firing, said Candace McKinzie, 26, one of the organizers of the event. Ms. McKinzie said that she was eating a funnel cake at a booth when she heard a series of pops, and soon saw a stampede of people running and tripping over one another, including elderly people falling, trying to hide under tables.

Saturdays incident was the largest mass shooting event in the United States in 2022 so far, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit data collection organization. It came on a particularly bloody weekend in the region: In Dallas, 10 people were injured and one shot in the head, during a shooting on Saturday night, according to a local TV station.

Around the same time in Austin, four people were injured in a shooting in the vicinity of the citys Sixth Street entertainment district on the last weekend of South by Southwest, Austins famous arts and technology conference.
Judge Jacksons service as a federal public defender, and her work for some detainees held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was always going to be an issue in her confirmation. But Mr. Hawleys accusation added a new element to the debate, focusing more on her time as a federal district court judge and a member of the sentencing commission. Other Republican members have said they intend to pursue the issue with Judge Jackson.

The days of broad bipartisan support for Supreme Court nominees are long gone, but Democrats have held out hope that Judge Jackson could get at least a handful of Republican votes given her experience and the possibility that some would want to be counted in support of placing a Black woman on the court.

But just three Republicans backed her last year when she was confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and persuading senators to support a candidate for a higher court after opposing her for a lower one is a difficult task.

Still, Judge Jackson, with her White House entourage in tow, has engaged in a charm offensive in the Senate, meeting with 44 senators of both parties and all 22 members of the evenly divided Judiciary Committee.

Democrats have been effusive in their praise and support of Judge Jackson, calling her an ideal candidate for the court with the capacity to work with other justices to try to develop more consensus rulings.

Republicans who have met with her report privately that she is very engaging, presents a memorable life story of achievement and speaks admiringly of Justice Antonin Scalias view that judges should interpret, not make the law. But they say they have also been frustrated by her unwillingness to lay out a specific judicial philosophy and her refusal to take a stance on whether the Supreme Court should be expanded, as progressive groups have proposed.

She will be pressed on those subjects and many more during questioning by senators on Tuesday and Wednesday, after a session on Monday in which each of them will deliver statements, Judge Jackson will be introduced, and she will make opening remarks.
A month before the 2020 election, Joseph R. Biden Jr.s daughter, Ashley, received a call from a man offering help. Striking a friendly tone, the man said that he had found a diary that he believed belonged to Ms. Biden and that he wanted to return it to her.

Ms. Biden had in fact kept a diary the previous year as she recovered from addiction and had stored it and some other belongings at a friends home in Florida where she had been living until a few months earlier. The diarys highly personal contents, if publicly disclosed, could prove an embarrassment or a distraction to her father at a critical moment in the campaign.

She agreed with the caller to send someone to retrieve the diary the next day.

But Ms. Biden was not dealing with a good Samaritan.

The man on the other end of the phone worked for Project Veritas, a conservative group that had become a favorite of President Donald J. Trump, according to interviews with people familiar with the sequence of events. From a conference room at the groups headquarters in Westchester County, N.Y., surrounded by other top members of the group, the caller was seeking to trick Ms. Biden into confirming the authenticity of the diary, which Project Veritas was about to purchase from two intermediaries for $40,000.
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba  Pentagon prosecutors have struggled for more than a dozen years to hold the death-penalty trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and his four co-defendants at Guantanamo Bay.

They have litigated everything from Mr. Mohammeds choice of court attire  he sometimes dons a paramilitary camouflage vest  to how much evidence of C.I.A. torture the defense teams and, ultimately, a military jury should be allowed to see.

Now a trial prosecutor who has been on the case since the George W. Bush administration, Clayton G. Trivett Jr., is in talks with defense lawyers about trading guilty pleas for at most life in prison without parole.

Why are the two sides talking? Here is a rundown.

Delays, Delays, Delays

Between stalled litigation during the coronavirus pandemic and the pace of discovery and pretrial hearings, jury selection cannot start before mid-2024  and that is according to the most optimistic estimate.
Mayor Eric Adams has used his public appearances, including ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, to signal New Yorks return.

Mayor Eric Adams has made no secret of his desire to fast-track New York Citys recovery from the coronavirus, and in his regular briefings with health officials, he has been encouraged by the latest metrics: Cases have greatly receded while vaccination rates have hit nearly 90 percent for adults.

But Mr. Adams wanted input from another key sector.

Earlier this month, the mayor entertained a dozen business leaders at his official residence, Gracie Mansion. Over vegan mushroom couscous and wine, Mr. Adams asked what it would take to get people back to offices, according to several participants. The leaders talked about the difficulty of persuading workers to return five days a week  and whether three days was more realistic  and the importance of making the subway safe.

The mayor and his team left the event with a to-do list, including creating a marketing campaign to highlight the citys comeback.

If the get-together at Gracie Mansion seemed unusual, thats because it was: Most of the business leaders had never been inside the mayoral residence.

Mr. Adams, a Democrat, has had regular conversations with some of the citys most influential business leaders, including David Solomon, chief executive at the banking firm Goldman Sachs, and Jonathan Gray, president of the private equity firm Blackstone, to seek their advice  a stark contrast to Mr. Adamss predecessor, Bill de Blasio, who had a fraught relationship with the business community.

The meetings have underscored not just Mr. Adamss focus on reopening the city, whose economy has been devastated by the pandemic and is only now slowly rebounding toward health, but also his determination to work with the citys business leaders in making it happen.

Since taking office in January, Mr. Adams, a former police captain, has had to respond to a series of high-profile crimes, including the shooting deaths of two police officers and violent attacks against Asian Americans. That continued last weekend, with the stabbing of two workers at the Museum of Modern Art, the death of an 87-year-old vocal coach who was shoved to the ground on a Chelsea sidewalk and the disclosure that a gunman targeted homeless men in the streets of Lower Manhattan and Washington, D.C.

But in recent weeks, Mr. Adams  who had made addressing crime a central theme of his mayoral bid  has also begun emphasizing another core campaign message: New York needs to return to normal, and the mayor believes that time is now.

The mayor recently ended the mask mandate in schools and lifted proof-of-vaccination requirements for indoor activities. He has crisscrossed the city to convey the importance for the city to shed its pandemic way of life, making it a point to be seen at high-profile events like ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange and attending Fashion Week with Anna Wintour. He has even adopted a scolding tone toward those who are reluctant to return to the bustling streets of Manhattan.

You cant stay home in your pajamas all day, Mr. Adams said at an event to announce his economic development team. That is not who we are as a city. You need to be out cross-pollinating ideas, interacting with humans.

Image New Yorks tourism numbers are not expected to return to normal until 2025. Credit... John Taggart for The New York Times

The citys financial challenges are harrowing: The unemployment rate has remained high at about 7.5 percent, roughly double the national average; office vacancy rates rose to 20 percent, the highest level in four decades; tourism is not expected to recover until 2025; the citys budget relies on billions of dollars in federal aid that wont last forever.

Last week, Mr. Adams released a 59-page blueprint for the citys recovery that focused on reducing gun violence, removing homeless people from the subway and making outdoor dining permanent  reflecting the guidance of business leaders.

Job No. 1: You have to address the safety issue, said Charles Phillips, the founder of a private-equity firm who organized the Gracie Mansion event. The mayor understands that obviously, with his background. You have to make the city appealing from a safety standpoint.

The business leaders told the mayor that the timing of New York Citys recovery was urgent.

We just had our best week since Covid began in 2020  occupancy last week was over 30 percent, said Scott Rechler, chairman and chief executive of RXR Realty, a major commercial real estate firm and another adviser to the mayor. Thats not a number Im thrilled with  its usually in the 90s  but every CEO and head of H.R. has a plan in place to bring people back in the next 60 to 90 days.

Two years into the pandemic, the citys economy faces numerous challenges. With many employers expected to adopt a hybrid approach where workers would come in three days a week, sales tax revenue is expected to drop by $111 million a year. The occupancy rate for hotels, which had plunged as low as 40 percent in January when the Omicron variant hit, was at 67 percent in mid-March, according to STR, a hospitality analytics company.

Subway ridership is at about 60 percent of its prepandemic levels, and transit leaders have suggested that they can no longer rely heavily on fares to fund the system. On Broadway, just 20 shows are running at 41 houses, though attendance has been around 85 percent, and many more shows are expected to open by the end of April.

Mary Ann Tighe, chief executive of the real estate firm CBRE for the New York region, said she had spoken with Mr. Adams several times since he took office, and has told him that it was important to make people feel comfortable returning.

Its about getting the basics right, she said. People will come back to a city that they feel safe in and that is clean, and those two conditions allow the city to do much of what it does organically  make great art, make great food, make great business deals.

Image The city has stepped up police patrols in the subway system after a handful of high-profile crimes. Credit... David Dee Delgado for The New York Times

In Mr. de Blasios final days as mayor, he continued to deliver near daily news briefings on the virus that consumed his last two years in office, claiming 40,000 lives in New York City.

Mr. Adams did not continue the practice. He regularly takes questions from journalists, but his last news conference dedicated to the virus and the citys health care system  and not focused on relaxing restrictions or on economic recovery  was on Feb. 11 at a health center in Brooklyn, the same day he announced a $100 incentive for people who receive a booster shot.

He has not discussed the growing concerns in recent days over the BA.2 subvariant that is fueling a rise in cases in the United Kingdom. Instead, the mayor seems devoted to delivering a different message.

At a recent event in Times Square, Mr. Adams approached random pedestrians in search of a tourist. Finding one from Canada, he delivered a simple message: Spend money.

Three days later, Mr. Adams made the same pitch at the Blue Note jazz club in Greenwich Village: Some of you are from out of town, and I have one request of you: Spend money.

Beyond being the citys cheerleader, Mr. Adams has also embraced the role of city psychologist, encouraging New Yorkers to move past the trauma of the pandemic and to stop wallowing. Mr. Adams said that removing masks in schools was an important step.

The return to normalcy is about substantive things we have to do and symbolic things, Mr. Adams said in an interview. As much as we say things are normal, the face mask is a symbol that things are not. Its time to see our faces again, particularly our children.

Some elected officials were alarmed by Mr. Adamss decision to remove masks at schools, pointing to low vaccination rates among some children. They also took issue with lifting the proof-of-vaccination requirement for restaurants, movie theaters and other indoor activities, arguing that the mandate made diners feel safer.

I am worried that this is going to be interpreted as the pandemic is over, and that people are really just going to let their guard down, said Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president, a Democrat.

Image The mayor ended mask mandates at public schools on March 7, but has kept vaccine mandates for some private sector employees. Credit... Ahmed Gaber for The New York Times

But even as Mr. Adams has lifted some pandemic rules, he has also kept vaccine mandates for municipal workers and for employees of private companies who are working in person. The mayors health advisers insisted that those mandates be preserved and were comfortable relaxing the other rules once transmission fell to levels that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers low, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

Mr. Adams said he kept the employer mandates because people spend more time in workplaces and have a longer risk of exposure over an eight-hour workday.

The doctors feel strongly that thats where the most susceptibility is in terms of passing on Covid, he said in the interview.

Mr. Adams has also acknowledged that workers might not return to offices five days a week. He said he is open to converting office buildings in Midtown Manhattan to housing, and after visiting an office with water views recently, he mused, I could put my kitchen here; Id love to live here.

Some critics, including Joseph Borelli, the Republican minority leader in the City Council who recently dined with Mr. Adams at Angelinas restaurant in Staten Island, want the mayor to end the private sector mandates.

Theyre a barrier for those who may want to return to work in New York, Mr. Borelli said, adding that a friend who was unvaccinated and worked in finance was working from an office in New Jersey to avoid complying with the city mandate.

Similar criticism has mounted over the status of another unvaccinated New York employee: Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets star point guard who is barred from playing in New York City. Mr. Irvings teammate, Kevin Durant, suggested that Mr. Adams was looking for attention; LeBron James wrote on Twitter that banning Irving makes absolutely zero sense, adding the hashtag #FreeKyrie.

FACTS FACTS FACTS!! It literally makes ABSOLUTELY ZERO SENSE!!! They say if common sense was common then wed all have it. Aint that the truth.  #FreeKyrie https://t.co/EhAcjuMrsL  LeBron James (@KingJames) March 13, 2022

Mr. Adams suggested a simple solution.

Kyrie can play tomorrow, the mayor said at a recent news conference. Get vaccinated.

Sharon Otterman contributed reporting.
Though commonly referred to as toad venom, herpetologists point out that the secretions are technically a poison, because they are ingested, rather than injected by the toad through a bite or a sting.

The toad itself, found primarily in the Sonoran desert, which straddles parts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, is already thought to have been extirpated in California, where it hasnt been found in the wild in decades. Authorities in New Mexico list it as threatened, citing excessive collection among factors.

The Sonoran desert toad can still be found in parts of Arizona and Sonora in northwest Mexico. One of the largest toads native to North America and remarkably long-lived with a life span reaching 20 years, it hibernates underground for most of the year, resurfacing to breed around the summer monsoon rains.

Herpetologists say the toad seems to have adapted to human-modified landscapes like irrigation ditches, suburban yards and water tanks on cattle ranches.

But risks abound. Motorists already kill many of the toads, and predators such as raccoons also target them.

When the toad is threatened, it excretes toxins strong enough to kill full-grown dogs. A substance found in these toxins, 5-MeO-DMT, can be dried into crystals and smoked in a pipe, producing an intense experience generally lasting 15 to 30 minutes, in contrast to other psychedelic substances that can involve hours of hallucinating and vomiting.
RIO DE JANEIRO  Brazils Congress, Supreme Court, election officials and federal police have been trying to get a response from Telegram, the fast-growing messaging app, for months. It turned out, all they had to do was ban it.

On Friday, Brazils Supreme Court blocked Telegram in the country because the company behind the app had been ignoring the courts orders.

Then, suddenly, Telegrams chief executive responded  with a pedestrian excuse: his company had missed the courts emails. I apologize to the Brazilian Supreme Court for our negligence, said the executive, Pavel Durov.

Telegram worked quickly over the weekend to comply with the courts orders, including by deleting classified information shared by the account of President Jair Bolsonaro and removing the accounts of a prominent supporter of Mr. Bolsonaro who has been accused of spreading misinformation.
When the coronavirus first swept across China in early 2020, the countrys leader, Xi Jinping, declared a peoples war against the epidemic, launching what would become a no-holds-barred strategy to eliminate infections.

Now, in year three of the pandemic, and faced with the rise of a stealthy and rapidly spreading variant, Mr. Xi is trying to fine-tune the playbook, ordering officials to quash outbreaks  but also to limit the economic pain involved.

As China grapples with the countrys largest outbreak since the pandemic began in Wuhan more than two years ago, Beijing says its measures should be more precise in scope. Officials are now promoting policies that to much of the world might either seem obvious, such as allowing the use of at-home test kits, or still extreme, such as sending people to centralized isolated facilities instead of hospitals.

But in China, where no effort has been spared to stamp out the virus, these point to a notable shift. Last week, for the first time, Mr. Xi urged officials to reduce the impact of the countrys Covid response on peoples livelihoods.
DUBAI, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The Nas Summit, compared by its organizers to the Davos for international content creators, concluded its first edition on Saturday in Dubai, where participants urge social media content creators, especially influencers producing short-form content, to assume responsibility for bigger positive impact in society.

"The format is getting shorter and shorter. The attention span is getting shorter ... We were going from two-hour videos, to 20-minute videos, to one-minute videos," Nuseir Yassin, organizer of the three-day summit as CEO of Nas Academy and creator of Nas Daily, told Xinhua.

"I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow we end up with a six-second video," the Israeli-born Arab vlogger noted.

Yassin rose to fame for posting one minute-long video on a daily basis for 1,000 days in a row under the Facebook page Nas Daily (Nas means people in Arabic). He now has more than 48 million followers across all social media platforms.

In addition to creating videos, he also teaches content through his Nas Academy, an online digital learning platform launched in 2020.

Despite being a beneficiary of social media and content creation, Yassin has warned against the social risks they may bring along without proper guidance.

"The more crazy you are, the more views you get. That's a fundamental problem right now with algorithms. We need to fix that," he explained.

"Social media has destroyed many lives and has also made many lives better, but we need to make it less polarized," the organizer added, citing the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine as "a complicated topic."

Qupanuk Olsen, another content creator who runs a YouTube channel called Q's Greenland that posts short videos about everyday life on the island, expressed contentment about spreading happiness to the rest of the world through his videos.

"I make videos very excited, happy so it's very important for me to share positivity to the rest of the world as well," Olsen said.

Jordan Matter, an American photographer and author of several best-selling books, also highlighted the social responsibility a creator should take.

"Everybody should be aware of their role and responsibility," said Matter, who has a social media following of more than 18.3 million. "We have a responsibility to do everything we possibly can to make the world a better place."

Running from March 17-19, the Nas Summit gathered some of the world's most followed content creators, including 50 speakers and 700 attendees, to discuss the right way to monetize and develop content creation.

According to the 2021 Creator Economy Report by the Influencer Marketing Factory, more than 50 million people consider themselves content creators, of whom over 2 million consider themselves professional ones. 
KARACHI, Pakistan  Last month, a man named Muhammad Mushtaq was accused of burning pages of the Quran inside a mosque in central Pakistan. A mob armed with sticks, bricks and axes gathered at the mosque and dragged him out.

Mr. Mushtaq was tortured for hours and eventually killed, his body hung from a tree. A handful of police officers were among those who watched.

The Feb. 12 killing in the district of Khanewal was denounced across Pakistan. Prime Minister Imran Khan said the government had zero tolerance for such mob violence and promised that the police officers would be punished.

But lynchings over offenses to Islam, real or imagined, are far from new in Pakistan, where blasphemy is punishable by death. Rights activists say lynch mobs exploit anti-blasphemy laws to take matters into their own hands.
In the tense weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian officials denied that it planned anything of the sort, denouncing the United States and its NATO allies for stoking panic and anti-Russian hatred. When it did invade, the officials denied it was at war.

Since then, the Kremlin has cycled through a torrent of lies to explain why it had to wage a special military operation against a sovereign neighbor. Drug-addled neo-Nazis. Genocide. American biological weapons factories. Birds and reptiles trained to carry pathogens into Russia. Ukrainian forces bombing their own cities, including theaters sheltering children.

Disinformation in wartime is as old as war itself, but today war unfolds in the age of social media and digital diplomacy. That has given Russia  and its allies in China and elsewhere  powerful means to prop up the claim that the invasion is justified, exploiting disinformation to rally its citizens at home and to discredit its enemies abroad. Truth has simply become another front in Russias war.

Using a barrage of increasingly outlandish falsehoods, President Vladimir V. Putin has created an alternative reality, one in which Russia is at war not with Ukraine but with a larger, more pernicious enemy in the West. Even since the war began, the lies have gotten more and more bizarre, transforming from claims that true sovereignty for Ukraine was possible only under Russia, made before the attacks, to those about migratory birds carrying bioweapons.
JERUSALEM  Hundreds of thousands of Israelis gathered on Sunday at the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, a spiritual leader in ultra-Orthodox Judaism, in one of the largest public gatherings in Israeli history. Rabbi Kanievsky died on Friday, aged 94.

Estimates suggested that 400,000 to 750,000 mourners attended the funeral or filled nearby streets, balconies and rooftops, hoping to get as close as possible to the rabbis bier. The crowds shut down not only Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox enclave on the eastern edge of Tel Aviv where the rabbi lived, but also large parts of central Israel, where hundreds of schools stayed closed on Sunday, the first day of the Israeli workweek, to prevent students from being stuck in traffic jams.

The estimated crowd numbers were still short of the 850,000 who were said to have attended the funeral of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, another ultra-Orthodox leader, who died in 2013.

But the size of Rabbi Kanievskys funeral on Sunday nevertheless reflected the veneration with which he was held by Israels ultra-Orthodox Jews  or Haredim, as the communitys members prefer to be known.
technology The Latecomers Guide to Crypto What are NFTs?

This is part of The Latecomers Guide to Crypto, a mega-F.A.Q. about cryptocurrency and its offshoots. Kevin Roose, a Times technology columnist, is answering some of the most frequently asked questions he gets about DAOs, DeFi, web3 and other crypto concepts.

OK, I know NFT stands for nonfungible token. But what does it actually mean?

Lets start with the words themselves. In economics, fungible is a term used for things that can be exchanged for other things of exactly the same kind. The U.S. dollar is fungible, because you and a friend can trade $1 bills, and each of you will still have the exact same spending power. Most cryptocurrencies are fungible, too  a Bitcoin is a Bitcoin, and it doesnt really matter which Bitcoin you have.

But most objects in the physical world, such as cars and houses, are nonfungible  meaning they have unique qualities, and you cant just exchange them for others of the same type. (You might be willing to swap your 2020 Honda Civic for another 2020 Honda Civic, but the cars wouldnt be exactly the same, and youd want to know what condition the other car was in before youd agree to the trade.)

Tokens, in crypto speak, are units of value stored on a blockchain. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether and Dogecoin are tokens, but not all tokens are meant to be used as money. Tokens can be attached to tangible goods  Nike, for example, is experimenting with crypto tokens that are linked to the ownership of physical shoes  but they can also represent intangible goods, like access to a private chat room or storage space on a cloud server.

So nonfungible tokens are sort of like cryptocurrencies, except they have unique qualities and they arent necessarily used as money. Why is that important?

Well, until pretty recently, nonfungible goods didnt really exist on the internet.

The internet essentially works like a giant copy machine  any digital file can be duplicated an infinite number of times, and every copy is exactly the same as the original.

The infinite copy-making quality of the internet was great for making digital objects abundant. But it was horrible for making them scarce. If you were an artist who wanted to make only 100 first editions of your digital artwork, or a professional athlete who wanted to sell digital trading cards to your fans (and have those cards retain value the same way that physical trading cards would), your options werent great.

Several years ago, people realized that blockchains (the shared, decentralized databases that power Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies) could be used to create unique, uncopyable digital files. And because these files were simply entries on a public database, anyone could verify who owned them, or track them as they changed hands.

That realization prompted the creation of the first NFTs.

But arent most NFTs just JPEG files that you can copy by right-clicking them and saving them to your computer? How does that solve the file-copying problem?

Correct. NFTs dont make it impossible to copy JPEGs. But they make it possible to create an uncopyable digital asset linked to a JPEG, which can be used to mark that particular copy of the JPEG as the real one.

If it helps, you can think of NFTs as like the certificate of authenticity you might get if you bought an expensive sculpture. The sculpture could be copied or forged  or someone could break into your house and steal it  but because you have the certificate of authenticity, you can prove that you are the owner of the original.

Im starting to get it. So NFTs are basically a way to claim ownership of a digital file?

Yes. Which might not sound like a big deal. (And maybe it will turn out not to be!) But people who are into NFTs think that this idea of being able to claim ownership of digital files is a radically important concept.

They argue that scarcity is what gives a lot of objects in the offline world their value. And bringing this quality to the internet through NFTs, they believe, will unlock a whole new market for scarce digital goods.

I can see why NFTs are an interesting technology. But why would someone pay millions of dollars for one? You can at least drive a fancy car or appreciate a Picasso painting hanging on the wall  you cant drive a JPEG.

Its true that most NFTs arent valuable because theyre useful. And at the high end of the market  like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, or the NFT collections being auctioned off by Sothebys for millions of dollars  a lot of the value boils down to speculation and bragging rights.

But a defense of NFTs Ive heard from people in the industry  or, at least, an explanation for their popularity  is that NFTs arent unique in their uselessness. People spend money on objects of no practical value all the time  maybe to feel good, maybe to show off to their friends, maybe to signal membership in a group. Some objects we buy are tangible (designer clothes, expensive jewelry) and some are digital objects (Fortnite skins, short Instagram usernames). Empires have been built selling useless luxuries to rich people, and even if all that NFTs represented was a new class of luxury digital good, they would still be worth taking seriously as an emerging industry.

And whats with all these cartoon apes and penguins I see crypto people using as their Twitter avatars?

Those are what are known as community or pfp (profile picture) NFTs. Basically, theyre a series of unique but thematically related NFTs, released in limited batches.

Once theyre released or minted, these NFTs become a kind of digital collectible, and a membership card to an exclusive club. Many NFT groups have their own chat rooms on the Discord messaging app, where owners hang out and talk among themselves. Some community NFT projects even organize offline events and parties, which you can only get into by proving that you own one of their NFTs.

These community NFTs signal a kind of in-group status, and its become customary for owners to display them as their Twitter profile picture, marking themselves as a Bored Ape or a Cool Cat, or whatever. And everyone in crypto world knows that NFTs from the most valuable collections sell for millions of dollars apiece, which is why you see celebrities like Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg showing off theirs on Twitter.

But NFTs are just digital Beanie Babies, right? Arent most of them going to end up being worthless?

That is the million-dollar question. (Or, to be more precise, $40 billion, the estimated size of the NFT market.) Its possible that the people investing in NFTs are right  that were on the cusp of a revolution in the way digital goods are bought and sold, and that early NFTs will one day become as valuable as original Picassos and Monets.

But the NFT market appears to be cooling off these days, with falling transaction values and canceled auctions of high-dollar NFTs. Even some zealous NFT supporters are worried that the market has gotten oversaturated. Gary Vaynerchuk, the online marketer and a NFT mogul himself, recently predicted that 98 percent of NFTs would lose money.

98 percent!

Yeah. NFTs are controversial, even inside the crypto community. Some investors wont go near them, while others treat them as speculative gambles or buy them purely for fun.

And inside the NFT world, theres now an increasing focus on utility  basically, bundling other things with an NFT purchase (like concert tickets, signed memorabilia or early access to future releases) to ensure theres something of value included, even if the value of the NFT itself goes to zero.

That still sounds kind of shady. Are there lots of scams in NFTs? What about money laundering?

Yes, there are tons of scams in NFTs. Rug pulls  when a crypto developer abruptly abandons a project and runs away with buyers money  are a common experience. Several hyped projects have turned out to be rug pulls  including Evolved Apes, an NFT scheme whose creator vanished along with $2.7 million.

In addition, many projects are corrupted by a practice called whitelisting, in which certain people are invited to buy their NFTs before theyre available to the general public. Whitelisting means that many profits flow to well-connected insiders, who get their NFTs at a discount and can sell them for more once theyre released publicly. A study by Chainalysis found that whitelisted users who resold their NFTs made a profit 75 percent of the time, versus 20 percent of the time for nonwhitelisted users.

Money laundering, wash trading  a scheme that involves selling something to yourself in order to inflate its perceived value  and other shady practices are almost certainly happening in the NFT market, too. Its not clear how often this happens, but its a big enough risk that financial regulators in several countries, including China, have warned about the potential use of NFTs and other crypto assets for money laundering.

Of course, an NFT fan might argue that scams and money laundering happen in the regular economy, too. (The traditional art market, for example, is rife with money laundering, a Senate investigation found.) Crypto might just make it easier.

Lets back up for a minute, because I still have questions about NFTs and how they work. I saw a thread on Twitter that compared NFTs to those name a star gift collectibles, where all you get is an entry in a database saying that a star is named after you  not any official claim to the star itself. Do NFTs actually include ownership or usage rights?

Not necessarily. In many NFT sales, what the buyer gets is simply the unique entry in the blockchain database that identifies them as the owner of the digital good  the token, rather than the thing the token represents.

The person who bought the famous Nyan Cat NFT, for example, doesnt actually own the copyright to the Nyan Cat image, or the right to turn it into Nyan Cat merchandise. Its creator, Chris Torres, reserved those rights. All the NFT buyer got, in essence, was an official copy of the image that was cryptographically signed by Mr. Torres.

NFT creators can choose to include additional rights in an NFT sale. But they dont have to. And there have already been high-profile copyright disputes over NFTs, such as the lawsuit filed by Miramax against Quentin Tarantino last year, after Mr. Tarantino announced he would be auctioning off unpublished excerpts from the Pulp Fiction screenplay as NFTs.

Ive also heard that NFTs get stolen a lot. Is that true?

Yes, there have been a number of NFT thefts in recent months, as the price of popular NFTs has climbed. Thieves recently targeted several members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club  whose NFT cartoons of ennui-stricken apes often sell for six or seven figures apiece  by tricking them into giving up the passwords to their crypto wallets. And hackers recently stole $1.7 million worth of NFTs from users of OpenSea, the largest NFT trading platform.

Another kind of theft  the kind that involves creating NFTs out of copyrighted or protected material  is also common. Many artists have complained about their work being turned into NFTs and sold as official versions without their permission. And while many platforms have tried to clamp down on the sale of stolen NFTs, some theft is probably inevitable given the lack of oversight in the market.

If NFTs are so flawed, why do so many people seem to be obsessed with them? Whats the optimistic take that Im missing?

Ive spent a lot of time talking to NFT creators and collectors, and their pro-NFT argument generally boils down to a few main points:

 The existing internet is too centralized, and NFTs could help decentralize it. Right now, most people who make media on the internet (artists, musicians, video game streamers, etc.) put their work on giant platforms like Spotify, YouTube and Facebook. Those platforms are great for building an audience, but theyre not great for making money. NFTs, they say, make it possible for creators to sell unique digital objects directly to their fans, keeping a much bigger chunk of the revenue for themselves. An artist like 3LAU might sell one album NFT to a superfan for $3.6 million, and make more money than they would have from a lifetimes worth of Spotify streams.

 Were entering the metaverse era  an age in which more of our daily interactions and experiences will take place inside immersive digital worlds, rather than in offline physical spaces. Just as many kids today spend real dollars on Fortnite skins and Roblox accessories, adults who spend more of their days interacting in virtual spaces will buy all kinds of digital objects to enhance their lives, and many of those objects will take the form of NFTs.

 NFTs are still a brand-new technology, and we cant yet see all of the ways in which they will be used. Digital scarcity is a genuinely important concept that will open up an entirely new economy of unique digital goods, and we should be patient and open-minded while we wait to see whats going to be built with them.

Didnt we hear a lot of this creator economy stuff years ago, when people were optimistic about how platforms like YouTube and Twitter would make it possible for all these vloggers, gamers and musicians to make money online? Couldnt the NFT market end up consolidating under a few big companies, the way social media did?

Its certainly true that there are large platforms in the NFT world. (The biggest, OpenSea, is valued at $13.3 billion.) And some crypto fans have criticized these platforms for engaging in behavior that undermines their claims of decentralization, such as OpenSeas decision to delist certain NFTs that it deems stolen or fraudulent.

Its also true that NFT ownership is relatively centralized, in the sense that a small number of people appear to control the majority of high-value NFTs.

But a market with concentrated ownership is different from a market that runs on centralized technology. And there are some structural forces that could make it harder for big companies to seize control of the NFT market.

For starters, NFTs are personal property, in a way most other digital goods arent. When you upload a video to YouTube, YouTube hosts that video on its servers and effectively makes all of the decisions related to that video  whether it violates community guidelines, whether its eligible to run ads, whether it gets recommended by the algorithm, and so on. But NFTs live in their owners crypto wallets, which arent chained to any particular platform, and they can use them any way they choose.

Theres also the idea of interoperability. One feature of NFTs is that they can be made interoperable  that is, unlike buying a skin in Fortnite that can only be used inside Fortnite, you can theoretically take NFTs with you from one virtual environment to another. An NFT sword you purchase in one video game might come in handy in a different game. Or a cartoon animal youve bought as an NFT could become your avatar in a V.R. metaverse app. And if you get mad at OpenSea, you can easily take your NFTs (which live in your crypto wallet, not on OpenSeas servers) and trade them on a different platform.

That kind of thing doesnt happen in social media. If you have a YouTube channel, you cant simply port your subscribers over to TikTok when you feel like it.

Im an artist myself, actually. What if I want to switch from crafting to NFTs? Can I get in on this?

You can indeed go from selling knitwear on Etsy to selling an NFT of your wares on OpenSea, although theres no guarantee youll make more money doing so. (And a substantial chance you wont.) Any digital file, more or less, can be turned into an NFT.

My experience as a seller is limited, but heres how it went for me: First, I used a browser extension called MetaMask to set up an empty crypto wallet. I used that wallet to open an account on Foundation, a NFT trading platform. Through Foundation, I minted, or created, my NFT, which involved uploading my file to a decentralized hosting service and creating a blockchain-based asset pointing to that file. Then I listed it for sale.

The whole process took a few hours, from start to finish  not counting the many, many hours I spent convincing my bosses it wasnt a terrible idea  although it did cost me roughly $100 in gas fees to mint the NFT.

I get the theoretical benefits of NFTs. But none of this is actually all that deep, right? Like, nobody is using NFTs in video games  theyre just buying them and hoping the price goes up.

I wouldnt say nobody. There are a few big NFT-based-games, like Axie Infinity, that allow players to earn real money by winning in-game battles using their NFT characters.

But its reasonable to conclude that most of todays NFT activity is speculative, and that if another type of digital asset was routinely making people rich (or giving them fun communities of like-minded people to join), some people might stop trading NFTs and go trade those items instead.

Ultimately, the big selling point for NFTs isnt that they make trading digital goods easy and cheap (they dont), or that theyre permanent and indestructible (the tokens may be, but the digital files they link to typically arent), or even that they represent the future of intellectual property (well still need lawyers to hash out copyright disputes).

Its that they allow people to create and trade scarce digital objects  for better or worse.

Go deeper:

What Critics Dont Understand About NFTs This article from The Atlantic, by Jonathan Zittrain and Will Marks of Harvards Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, raises the question of what NFT investors are really buying, and unpacks the age-old philosophical question of why we value things.

How NFTs Are Building the Internet of the Future This 2021 TED Talk by Kayvon Tehranian  the founder of the NFT platform Foundation  makes the case that NFTs are the building blocks of an internet where economic control rests in the hands of creators, not platforms.

Why NFTs Are Bad: The Long Version This 2021 blog post by the pseudonymous programmer Antsstyle is a novella-length takedown of NFTs, based on the claim that no system can ever prove ownership of anything.

Line Goes Up: The Problem With NFTs If you prefer your NFT takedowns in video form, this YouTube video by Dan Olson is a two-hour exegesis on the flaws with NFTs and crypto more broadly, which went viral and racked up millions of views.
technology The Latecomers Guide to Crypto What are DAOs?

This is part of The Latecomers Guide to Crypto, a mega-F.A.Q. about cryptocurrency and its offshoots. Kevin Roose, a Times technology columnist, is answering some of the most frequently asked questions he gets about NFTs, DeFi, web3 and other crypto concepts.

OK, start me off gently. What is a DAO?

DAO stands for decentralized autonomous organization.

Thats a mouthful.

Sure is.

What does it mean?

A DAO (pronounced dow) is a new kind of organizational structure, built with blockchain technology, that is often described as a sort of crypto co-op. (Or, alternatively, as a financial flash mob or a group chat with a bank account.)

In their purest form, DAOs are groups that form for a common purpose, like investing in start-ups, managing a stablecoin or buying a bunch of NFTs. ConsenSys, a blockchain organization, defines DAOs as governing bodies that oversee the allocation of resources tied to the projects they are associated with and are also tasked with ensuring the long term success of the project they support.

Once its formed, a DAO is run by its members, often through the use of crypto tokens. These tokens often come with certain rights attached, such as the ability to manage a common treasury or vote on certain decisions.

This sounds kind of vague. Can you give me an example?

Sure. The best-known DAO is probably ConstitutionDAO, a group of thousands of crypto fans who raised more than $45 million in the span of a week to bid on a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution that was being auctioned by Sothebys. But since that group disbanded after losing the auction (and was mired in controversy as it sought to return money to investors), its probably not the best example.

A better example might be PleasrDAO, a group of dozens of crypto artists, entrepreneurs and investors that was formed to bid on works by high-profile digital artists. The group spent $5.4 million on an NFT affiliated with the whistleblower and activist Edward Snowden, and also bought the Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for $4 million.

Once they were purchased, these works became the property of the DAOs members, who can manage them as they see fit. They can vote to exhibit them somewhere, or break them into 1,000 NFTs and sell the pieces to the public, or simply keep them locked away in a physical or virtual vault. In a classic DAO model, all of these decisions would be made on-chain, through a system of token-based voting.

I get why people might want to pool their money to buy stuff. But why is a completely new, crypto-based governance structure necessary for that? Couldnt they just use a normal crowdfunding site?

They could. And, in some cases, a DAO might be better off using a platform like Kickstarter, because using crypto to raise large amounts of money can result in users paying exorbitant transaction fees. When ConstitutionDAO raised $47 million, for example, its users paid roughly $1.2 million in fees to the Ethereum network.

Ouch. Are there any other drawbacks to DAOs?

Some DAOs have found that decentralized, blockchain-based governance is messier than it looks. The first-ever DAO, which was simply called The DAO, raised more than $150 million to build a kind of crowdfunded investment firm, then went up in flames amid a host of legal, governance and security problems. Similar issues have plagued other DAOs since then.

DAOs may also run into legal trouble if regulators decide that the tokens they issue are securities, thus requiring them to go through the same registration process as a company selling stocks or bonds. In 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission found that DAO Tokens, the native token of The DAO, were in fact securities, and should have been subject to securities law.

The recent DAO boom has also raised eyebrows among regulators and law enforcement agencies, who are concerned that some DAOs may simply be fronts for fraud.

In some cases, crypto investors and regulators say, the ventures amount to Ponzi schemes intended to do little more than bolster the value of the digital tokens they sell, my colleagues Eric Lipton and Ephrat Livni wrote in a recent piece on some of the problems facing DAOs.

Even some crypto fans have argued that DAOs havent yet proved that they can do more than allocating cryptocurrency to crypto-related projects.

Grace Rebecca Rachmany, a DAO leadership consultant (yes, those exist), wrote in a 2020 article for the crypto news site CoinDesk that DAO technologists have failed to create compelling technology for the problems that society is facing.

Why would people choose to join a DAO, then?

Well, its all a bit new and unexplored. DAOs are still  to borrow a favorite phrase of crypto fans  in the dial-up phase, and proponents argue that better, more powerful examples will arrive in the next few years.

But if you ask believers, theyll tell you that DAOs are capable of doing a few things better than traditionally run organizations:

 In theory, DAOs can be more transparent than traditional organizations, because the groups important decisions get made on-chain, using governance tokens and votes that appear on the permanent blockchain ledger.

 In theory, DAOs can be more democratic than traditional organizations because every participant can vote on group decisions, not just boards or executives.

 In theory, DAOs can be more nimble and fast-moving than traditional companies, because theyre often project-specific and you can set them up and wind them down quickly, with significantly less red tape than forming a traditional start-up.

Why are you saying in theory so much?

Because there arent a lot of DAO success stories yet, and most of the benefits are still unproven. Some people are skeptical that DAOs can make more complex business decisions, while others think they amount to little more than thinly-veiled pyramid schemes.

Some DAOs, in fact, have allegedly been outright rug pulls  like AnubisDAO, a dog themed DeFi project whose creator is accused of stealing $60 million from investors.

In addition, leaderless corporate structures havent really worked outside of crypto, and most of todays successful DAOs are what are known as protocol DAOs  meaning theyre designed to manage infrastructure-type projects for crypto itself. We dont really know how the DAO model would work if applied to a regular, noncrypto business.

Im not a blockchain engineer or a crypto investor. Im just a normal person with a normal job, living a normal life. Why should I care about DAOs?

Right now, most people dont encounter DAOs on a daily basis. But Id argue that its important, in general, to know what kinds of problems technologists are trying to solve. And a lot of well-funded technologists are looking for ways to turn all kinds of organizations  including ones you might belong to or care deeply about  into DAOs.

Some people have even predicted that DAOs could become a force in politics, enabling a kind of loose, unregulated crypto PAC that could swarm campaigns and lobbying efforts with money and organizing support.

In its most basic form, a DAO is a new way for a group of people to aim a large amount of money and organizing energy at a project  whether its buying the Constitution, building a new social network, or influencing an election. Thats a big, transformative idea, and it would be wise to pay attention while its taking shape.

What are the most interesting uses of DAOs right now?

Crypto buffs are starting to experiment with social DAOs, which are a kind of community-owned social club that you have to pay (in the form of buying tokens) to join.

The best known social DAO is Friends With Benefits, which has thousands of members and recently raised $10 million from investors including the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Friends With Benefits has been compared to a decentralized Soho House, and it works a bit like an online country club. Members have to buy a certain number of so-called $FWB tokens to get in. (Currently, a full membership costs 75 $FWB tokens, or about $4,000.) Once theyre in, they get invited to a Discord chat room where members chat about crypto, trade job leads and investing tips, and hold town halls to talk about the groups future plans. The group hosts members-only parties at major crypto conferences, and members organize local meet-ups in their home cities.

Wait, I thought crypto was all about decentralizing power and leveling the playing field. An exclusive club that you have to pay $4,000 to join sounds like the opposite of that. What gives?

Its a good question. And I posed it to Alex Zhang, one of the leaders of Friends With Benefits. He responded:

In most cases, and with FWB in particular, the token price was initially quite low, and it grew as the value of being a member  real or perceived  increased over time.Its important, then, to remember that tokens are an asset, instead of the typical recurring fees youd pay to belong to other kinds of social organizations. At any point in time, if necessary or desirable, someone can sell their tokens. Nevertheless, it will be important for DAOs to continue to create onboarding opportunities for people who cant afford to acquire tokens. For instance, we pay FWB tokens to writers, curators, designers, event volunteers, and other roles that benefit our mission and allow these contributors to earn their way into having an ownership stake in the community.

So it sounds like DAOs can get messy and complicated, and some are outright scams, and even the ones that are doing something interesting might be expensive to join. So  whats the good part? If DAOs are so useless, why are investors funding them, and why are people joining them?

As with any crypto project, DAOs have attracted people for all kinds of reasons: speculative gambling, trend-chasing and utopian true belief among them.

Among the more serious-minded DAO advocates, a common theme is collective ownership. Like believers in web3, DAO proponents believe that we need a radically different ownership model for the next phase of the internet. DAOs, they argue, could allow us to build a new set of organizations and platforms that are owned by their users, governed in fair and transparent ways, and native to the internet.

You could have, for example, a DAO-governed social network, where users could vote to take down certain types of inflammatory posts, or award tokens to people who posted lots of valuable or enlightening content. Or a DAO-ified version of Amazon Web Services that was run like a co-op, with members pitching in to build new features and keep the network humming.

Chris Dixon, a venture capitalist and crypto investor, recently argued that DAOs can help course correct the internet back to its original, idealistic vision: power and money pushed to the edges, networks growing and flourishing together, a level playing field for talent anywhere in the world, a thriving creative middle class, and a generally diverse and interesting place.

But, of course, it could also become an expensive, unruly mess, as DAOs confront the challenges involved in corralling any group of people toward a common goal, regardless of whether crypto is involved or not.

Go deeper:

The Dao of DAOs In this 2021 essay, Packy McCormick, a crypto investor, offers a lengthy analysis of DAOs and their potential future applications, from a pro-DAO perspective.

Crypto Cities A 2021 blog post in which Vitalik Buterin, the co-creator of Ethereum, sketches a vision of how DAOs could be used to govern entire cities.

The Biggest Crowdfunding Project Ever  the DAO  Is Kind of a Mess This 2016 Wired article about the collapse of The DAO, the original decentralized autonomous organization, is a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of decentralized governance.
AN Irish language movie made by a Tullamore man has hit the big screen.

Sean Breathnach, a past pupil of Colaiste Choilm, Tullamore directed the award winning Foscadh (Shelter) which was released in some Irish cinemas at the weekend.

Foscadh won an award at last year's Galway Film Fleadh and was also screened at the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain.

Sean Breathnach (also known as Sean Og) is a son of Sean Breathnach, an Irish teacher at Colaiste Choilm (then known as Tullamore CBS).

Sean Og completed his Leaving Certificate at the school in 1992 and has gone on to become an accomplished filmmaker, having previously directed the award winning Beyond The Woods in 2018.

He also co-wrote Foscadh with Donal Ryan, author of the novel 2013 novel The Thing About December, on which it is based.

Foscadh tells the story of John Cunnliffe, a friendless recluse who is forced to navigate the choppy waters of trust, vengeance and romance for the first time when his parents pass away.

It is set in Connemara where John inherits mountain land in which a wind farm developer is interested.

Guardian film critic Phil Hoad described the movie as a quietly promising Irish Gaelic-language drama.

Donall O Healai plays Cunliffe and the film also stars Fionnuala Flaherty as Siobhan, a nurse who cares for the lead character after an assault.
THE proposed renovation of the iconic Kilcormac building, Fiesta Hall, should begin in the early summer.

A public information evening about the project was held in Kilcormac recently.

The meeting was held by Offaly Local Development Company (OLDC) and Green Offaly, who outlined their plans for the refurbishment of the hall as a Green Headquarters for Offaly and the wider midlands.

The exciting project to turn the hall into a regional Green Hub will cost 1.4 million and is being funded by the Just Transition fund, which granted funding to OLDC to drive the work.

Fiesta Hall was block built in 1961 by local butcher and builder Paddy McCormack.

The property has been used as a Town Hall; District Court; ballroom dancing; music via events and showbands; drama and plays; food hall; town cinema; bingo hall and various events. It's a large building, 5,900 square feet.

This formerly active and important hub in the town looks reasonably well inside, but its exterior is something of an eyesore, bringing a bit of a depressing feel to this part of the village.

Brendan O'Loughlin, CEO of OLDC, told the meeting about the collaboration of OLDC and Green Offaly to make a successful application for Just Transition funding.

He praised the fantastic support of the Trench Trust whose assistance secured financial support for both the purchase of the premises and for providing matching funding, two factors which were critical in bringing the project to the present stage.

Brendan said the Trench Trust is providing a loan to OLDC, and OLDC will eventually own the building along with Green Offaly.

"The building," he remarked, "has not been used for a number of years and will be refurbished both inside in full and the exterior will be brightened up. An application for planning permission for the works to be carried out is currently with Offaly County Council and it is hoped that once planning is approved building will commence in the early summer."

Salters Sterling gave a very interesting background to the Trench Trust during the information evening and outlined the Trust's involvement in the project.

Roisin Lennon and Rebekah Keaveny from Green Offaly outlined their ambitious plans for the centre once construction work is completed. Offaly's new Green Headquarters will be devoted to climate action research, green business enterprises and sustainability training programmes.

The premises will include a research facility, an education and training facility, green business office facilities, community power programmes, sustainable mapping and working with local people to develop potential career paths in the green economy.

OLDC and Green Offaly committed to continue to provide updates to the local community as the project progresses.

The Hall will be the home for Green Offaly. Green Offaly is a not for profit countywide Green Regeneration enterprise operating as a Development Trust. Green Offaly began life as an Offaly Public Participation Network Initiative; and was devised as a solution to the Governments Project 2040 seminar, Empowering Communities in the Fight against Climate Change.

Rebekah Keaveny, Project Development Officer of Green Offaly, told The Tribune that the Fiesta Hall project aims to facilitate the Green Regeneration of Offaly through the involvement of the people who live and work in the county.

Rebekah said Green Offaly is working in partnership with Offaly Local Development Company to deliver two key goals in OLDC's 17-goal plan. These two goals are  Creating sustainable communities; and combatting climate change.

She said Green Offaly and OLDC are focussed on transitioning Offaly to meet both the ambitious decarbonisation targets of 2050 and the full implementation of Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Achieving these ambitious goals is going to mean that we will all have to take partnership working to an unprecedented level. It is reassuring to know that such effective partnerships for the goals are already embedded here in Offaly.

Roisin Lennon, Rural Development Team Leader of Offaly Local Development Company, told the Tribune that it's expected that the Fiesta Hall project will get planning permission during the first quarter of 2022, and the building work should start during the second quarter of 2022. It's hoped, she said, that the revamped premises will open its doors to the public by the third quarter of 2023.

There will be a coffee shop at the front of the building, said Roisin, "and behind that will be Offaly's new green headquarters." Bridie Costello of Green Offaly emphasised that the Green Headquarters will be very much a community-focused enterprise.

Rebekah said one exciting project could be seeking UNESCO Biosphere status for Offaly's peatland region. She cited the fantastic success story of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere in Scotland. This special designation means that the areas chosen have been recognised internationally as a world class environment for people and nature.

It recognises an area's fantastic array of landscapes, wildlife, cultural heritage and learning opportunities; all qualities which communities, businesses and visitors can experience and celebrate in a sustainable way. Biosphere status brings no new rules or regulations but rather encourages people to work together to create a better future for people and nature.
One Offaly councillor has called for Ukrainian refugees to be temporarily housed at Drayton Villa, the former parochial house in Clara, Co Offaly.

Cllr Ken Smollen made the call this week as the government confirmed that 6,000 refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine have already been welcomed to Ireland.

"With thousands of Ukrainian refugees on their way to Ireland over the next few days, weeks and months, I have contacted the relevant people at Offaly County Council with regard to possibly opening the former Priests House in Clara, known as Drayton Villa.

"With the necessary work being done it could temporarily house four families that are almost exclusively women and children," Cllr Smollen added.

"I have been assured that Offaly County Council, in conjuction with Offaly ETB, will investigate the possibility of making this happen."

The site and house was acquired by Offaly County Council and Laois Offaly ETB in 2020 with the long-term plan being that a new building for Ard Scoil Chiarain Naofa in Clara is developed there.

In late 2021, the Department of Education sought permission officially for the appointment of a design team for the planned new school building.

With the project at a very early stage, Cllr Ken Smollen believes it could be some years away and that the house, in the meantime, could be used as accommodation.

The Offaly Express has requested a statement from Offaly County Council on the proposal.
Staff members work at a nucleic testing base in Hebei District of Tianjin, north China, March 19, 2022. The base has a maximum daily testing capability of 15,000 tubes of 150,000 samples. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Staff members communicate via walkie-talkie at a nucleic testing base in Hebei District of Tianjin, north China, March 19, 2022. The base has a maximum daily testing capability of 15,000 tubes of 150,000 samples. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

A staff member works at a nucleic testing base in Hebei District of Tianjin, north China, March 19, 2022. The base has a maximum daily testing capability of 15,000 tubes of 150,000 samples. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Staff members analyze sample data at a nucleic testing base in Hebei District of Tianjin, north China, March 19, 2022. The base has a maximum daily testing capability of 15,000 tubes of 150,000 samples. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

A staff member transfers a box containing nucleic acid test samples at a nucleic testing base in Hebei District of Tianjin, north China, March 19, 2022. The base has a maximum daily testing capability of 15,000 tubes of 150,000 samples. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Staff members heat food during work shift at the lounge of a nucleic testing base in Hebei District of Tianjin, north China, March 19, 2022. The base has a maximum daily testing capability of 15,000 tubes of 150,000 samples. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

A staff member transfers a box containing nucleic acid test samples at a nucleic testing base in Hebei District of Tianjin, north China, March 19, 2022. The base has a maximum daily testing capability of 15,000 tubes of 150,000 samples. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)
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The Commonwealth of Nations, generally known simply as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 54 member states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations amongst member states.
We call upon Russia to end this unprovoked illegal war, and to remove their forces from Ukraine, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Sunday.
Rumble 16 Mar 2022

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says there are women out there who are bullies but we cover it up because theyre..
NEW YORK (AP)  U.S. oil field services companies Halliburton Co. and Schlumberger said they are suspending operations in Russia as the Houston, Texas-based businesses respond to U.S. sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.



Halliburton announced Friday that it suspended future business in the country as the company complies with sanctions that prohibit transactions and work, including for certain state-owned Russian customers. Halliburton said it will prioritize safety and reliability as it winds down its remaining operations in Russia.



Haliburton said it halted all shipments of specific sanctioned parts and products to Russia several weeks ago. Halliburton said it has no active joint ventures there.



Schlumberger said Friday that it immediately suspended investment and technology deployment to its Russia operations. It said it will continue to actively monitor this dynamic" situation.



Safety and security are at the core of who we are as a company, and we urge a cessation of the conflict and a restoration of safety and security in the region," Schlumberger CEO Olivier Le Peuch said in a statement.



As the war continues, and the deadly violence and humanitarian crisis worsens, companies that remain are under increasing pressure to leave.



More than 400 U.S. and other multinational firms have pulled out of Russia, either permanently or temporarily, according to Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for Executive Programs at Yale Universitys School of Management, who has publicized a list of corporate actions in Russia.



Oil companies ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP, along with some major tech companies like Dell and Facebook, were among the first to announce their withdrawal or suspension of operations. Many others, including McDonalds, Starbucks and Estee Lauder,...
International companies are closing up shop in Russia in droves. For some, the decision to leave such a large market isn't an easy one.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the Ukraine invasion as a "turning point for the world" and said it would be a mistake to normalize ties with Russia's Vladimir Putin. Follow DW for the latest.
Germany's Finance Minister said Europe must deepen trade ties with partners "who share our values." The EU-US trade agreement has faced opposition in the past from both sides of the Atlantic.
BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- China has released a set of guidelines to strengthen the governance over ethics in science and technology, given the rapid progress of the country's sci-tech innovation and the growing challenges facing ethics in the field.

Ethics compliance should be emphasized throughout the process of scientific research and technological development, according to the guidelines, which were issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council.

The governance should be based on laws and regulations, and should suit the conditions of the country, the document said. Opening-up and cooperation were also emphasized.

The document clarified the ethical principles in science and technology, saying that scientific activities should serve the well-being of humanity, respect people's right to life, adhere to fairness and justice, control risks in an appropriate way, and maintain openness and transparency.

It urged efforts to make and improve regulations and standards for ethics in key areas such as the life sciences, medicine and artificial intelligence, improve the rules and processes of ethical review, risk management and the handling of violations, and boost theoretical research in ethics.

Ethical review and regulations should be strengthened, the guidelines said. A contingency mechanism should also be prepared for public health emergencies.

Authorities should push colleges and universities, scientific research institutions, medical institutions, social groups and enterprises to improve the monitoring and early warning mechanism for ethical risks, and follow up development in emerging sci-tech fields.

Ethics education in science and technology, the institutionalization of ethical training programs and the popularization of ethical codes among the general public were also underlined in the document. 
Economy Minister Robert Habeck was in Doha for talks on boosting Germany's energy security after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The two sides have agreed on a long-term gas supply partnership.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the Knesset why Israel would not supply air-defense. Meanwhile, Mariupol's city council said Russia bombed a school where 400 civilians were sheltering. DW has the latest.
Michigan was on the verge of missing the NCAA Tournament last week. Now the Wolverines are heading to the Sweet 16 after knocking out No. 3 Tennessee.


Ukraine's president has accused Russia of war crimes in the besieged southeastern city. Local authorities there claim thousands of people have been deported to Russia.
Newsy 27 Mar 2022

Watch Video"I can't believe a girl, 6-years-old, was walking with her mother and with her brother and the Russians just killed this..
Germany's parliament voted loosen restrictions in public places accross the country. But little is expected to change right away, as several states have extended their measures until next month.
Refugees board buses and trains in the Polish border city of Przemysl en route to other European destinations. Through tears, a refugee tells: "When I go to sleep I dont know if I will wake up or not."
The Boston Red Sox grabbed one of the last elite free agents on the market, reaching agreement with Trevor Story on a six-year, $140 million contract.


Around 800 people, some waving Ukrainian flags, others with anti-war signs, march in Madrid to protest against the war in Ukraine. in Moscow, a heavy police presence is deployed to prevent a possible demonstration.
As thousands of people continued to cross from Ukraine into Poland, a special guest was on hand to welcome youngsters into the country. Children were greeted by Santa Claus, who gave out gifts to young people who had been forced to leave their homes.
A citizen receives nucleic acid test on a bus used as a temporary testing site in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, March 20, 2022. Changchun rolled out a new round of mass nucleic acid test as a measure to combat the latest COVID-19 resurgence on Saturday. (Xinhua)

Citizens line up for nucleic acid test at a testing site in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, March 20, 2022. Changchun rolled out a new round of mass nucleic acid test as a measure to combat the latest COVID-19 resurgence on Saturday. (Xinhua/Zhang Jian)

A medical worker takes a swab sample from a man for a nucleic acid test at a testing site in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, March 20, 2022. Changchun rolled out a new round of mass nucleic acid test as a measure to combat the latest COVID-19 resurgence on Saturday. (Xinhua/Zhang Jian)

Aerial photo taken on March 20, 2022 shows citizens lining up to take nucleic acid test at a testing site in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province. Changchun rolled out a new round of mass nucleic acid test as a measure to combat the latest COVID-19 resurgence on Saturday. (Xinhua)
Rumble 27 Mar 2022

Unlike Ukrainians fleeing the invasion, anti-war Russians arriving at the U.S.- Mexico border have been less likely to receive an..
Residents fleeing the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol arrived in Lviv Sunday, relieved and exhausted from their escape. They arrived on a train that departed from Zaporizhzhia, some 220 kilometers from Mariupol.


OPINION: If you happened to catch the moment when Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya described the bombing of civilian targets in Ukraine as fiction invented by a western disinformation campaign, you may have been tempted...
A Ukrainian police officer in Mariupol has issued a direct appeal to the presidents of the US and France, asking them to provide..

USATODAY.com 19 Mar 2022
Ottumwa, IA (52501)

Today

Periods of rain. High near 55F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch..

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Showers early, becoming a steady rain late. Low 49F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
A powwow tradition returned to Mount Pleasant this past weekend, bringing indigenous people from across the country together once again after a two-year hiatus.

Central Michigan Universitys Native American Programs (NAP) hosted its 33rd annual Celebrating Life Powwow on Saturday and Sunday at McGuirk Arena and John G. Kulhavi Events Center, as part of its relationship with the local Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe near Mount Pleasant.

Annie Lada was there dressed in bright traditional dress with chimes, following each subtle movement. She said she was nervous prior to her performance because of the competition aspect. But she had her friend, Asa Quigno, there to support her.

Katy Kildee/Midland Daily News

The universitys event, largely organized with the help of students, encourages those in attendance to dance, sing, share handmade crafts, and visit in-person after two years of only virtual opportunities due to the pandemic.

Powwows are a sacred tradition of indigenous people. Most dances seen at powwows today are social dances that might have had different meanings in earlier days, according to CMU's NAP.

Summer Baldwin, who helped facilitate the event, said the return was emotional and each year promises to be an emotional and/or a spiritual experience. Her mother came from Idaho to attend the event and sat with Baldwin's children.

"It's about families and community," Baldwin said.

Baldwin added that for the youngest generation, this could be their first time experiencing the performances. She is also on the student powwow committee and works at the NAP office.

Katy Kildee/Midland Daily News

Katy Kildee/Midland Daily News

CMU student and powwow committee member Mason Squillets-Peterson said there is also a more relaxed side of the gathering, which is created through storytelling and dance.

Although dance styles and content have changed, their meaning and importance have not. The outfits or regalia worn by the dancers, like the styles of clothing today, evolve over time; it is not a stagnant culture, but a vibrant and changing way of life, the CMU powwow program read.

The NAP office invites attendees from its community and beyond to celebrate the rich indigenous culture and become informed of some traditions in an active environment, which includes drumming and dancing.

CMU student Simone Bigford of the pow wow committee said it is a value of indigenous people to look seven years backward and seven years forward in caring for generations of family. Squillets-Peterson added these events are held with great vision of both the past and the present.

While acknowledging challenges during both times, Master of Ceremonies Jason Whitehouse said he's grateful for people to be reunited.

"We went through a lot of things by ourselves, (we) suffered a great sickness," he said before one of Saturday's grand entries.

"I can't wait for more of these," Whitehouse said of the powwow.

The NAP office listed the following tribal members, including Whitehouse, as dignitaries for the 33rd annual powwow:

Head Veteran George Martin

Host Drum Bear Creek, which is the new generation of powerhouse drum groups from Canada.

Arena Director James "Bud" Day

Head Male Judge Joe Syrette

Head Female Judge Heather Syrette

During the grand entries, members of the Anishinaabe Ogitchedaw Veterans Warrior Society led dancers of all ages into the arena. Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe council members were also in attendance.

CMU's powwow featured 32 arts and crafts vendors, booths with indigenous foods, and several contests for both drums and dances.

Prizes available through drum and dance contests All contests placed three participants in third, second or first. Hand Drum Contest: Participant in first place earns $500

Participant in first place earns $500 Tiny Tots Dance Contest: Ages 0 to 5 could earn a participation gift

Ages 0 to 5 could earn a participation gift Youth Dance Contest: Ages 6 to 11 could earn $200 in first place

Ages 6 to 11 could earn $200 in first place Teen Dance Contest: Ages 12 to 17 could earn $300 in first place

Ages 12 to 17 could earn $300 in first place Adult Dance Contest: Ages 18 to 49 could earn $500 in first place

Ages 18 to 49 could earn $500 in first place Golden Age Dance Contest: Ages 50+ could earn $500 in first place See More Collapse

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe also hosts an outdoor powwow in the summer on the reservation.
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Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee kicked off his reelection campaign on Saturday in the new 8th Congressional District, which will now include the city of Midland.

More than 50 area residents gathered to meet, chat with and help promote Kildee on Saturday at MI Element Grains and Grounds. The Midland business is known for its open community space with regular live music and occasional poetry performances.

Tess DeGayner/tess.degayner@hearstnp.com

Several attendees purchased cafe beverages and mingled with their neighbors and with Kildee, whom local Democratic leader Sarah Schulz said she hoped will represent the new 8th Congressional District.

It's because of six years of work, of tears and sweat, they have all been building right up to this moment," she said of Kildee's weekend launch.

"Here we are, kicking off the campaign that has a real chance of making Dan Kildee the first Democratic representative in Midland in literally forever," Schulz later continued as audience members laughed and cheered.

Schulz was the Democratic nominee for the 98th State House District in both 2018 and 2020.

Schulz said Kildee genuinely supported her throughout her campaign.

"He knew that my battle in our district was bigger than his," Schulz said. "He knew that my fight might be bigger than his. He also made me feel seen and valued; that's what Rep. Kildee does."

Tess DeGayner/tess.degayner@hearstnp.com

Chair of the Midland County Democratic Party, Jennifer Austin, said Kildee is a listener.

"He cares deeply for his constituents ... that's what he's here for," she said. "That is his total focus when he is a representative."



Kildee toured four cities in the new 8th District on Saturday, three of which he currently represents: Flint, Saginaw and Bay City.

With COVID-19 cases down in the region, he said it was like a homecoming celebration in Bay City, which he toured prior to Midland's launch.

In Kildee's current district, he said Saginaw and Flint have had some chronic economic challenges. In Midland, he noted, the challenges are different. The May 2020 dam failures are one recent challenge that the Midland area is still facing.

I worked with Congressman (John) Moolenaar, helped his effort to get help in this community, which was kind of an echo of when Flint was in trouble with the water crisis, when Congressman Moolenaar helped me," Kildee said.

Kildee said he would like to be a part of an effort to encourage more of such bipartisan support.

Kildee said his record shows he can bring the two parties together on behalf of the region.

Tess DeGayner/tess.degayner@hearstnp.com

Moolenaar, a fourth-term Republican whose current district includes the city of Midland, will seek reelection in the new Republican-heavy 2nd District to the west of the city of Midland.

Kildee is a fifth-term Democratic representative from Flint who hopes to represent the new 8th District, which splits Midland County.

Michigan's new redistricting commission approved congressional and legislative maps on Dec. 28, 2021. These maps go into effect with the next terms of Congress and the state legislature.

At the Saturday event, Schulz said some Midland residents have been participating in an overall effort for more democratic voices of representation for six years, in reference to 2016, when Donald Trump was elected president.

Schulz mentioned political efforts from demonstrations for people-centered policies and democracy to independent party campaigns. She said some Midland residents have been awaiting representation which reflects more of their views.

Midland resident Matthew Dawson agreed with this sentiment. He said he identified with Kildee's message about division between the two major parties in the U.S.

"At the end of the day, we all want the same things. We just might disagree on how to get there," he said, reflecting on Kildee's speech.

Dawson also said he intends to run for 95th District state representative to help bring more progressive ideas to the area, after Schulz inspired him to previously campaign as an independent.

Related content

Midland reacts to state's new legislative districts
Shenzhen launches chartered air-freight service to Hong Kong

Xinhua) 13:58, March 20, 2022

A Boeing 767 freighter carrying 45 tonnes of goods is seen at the Bao'an International Airport in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, March 19, 2022. The southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen has launched a chartered air-freight service to Hong Kong, starting Saturday. Early on Saturday morning, a Boeing 767 freighter operated by SF Airlines left Shenzhen for its neighbor Hong Kong, carrying 45 tonnes of goods, including donated anti-pandemic materials and also export goods from local businesses. The freighter will fly six times a week, with the chartered service initially planned to last until early April. (Xinhua)

A Boeing 767 freighter carrying 45 tonnes of goods leaves Shenzhen for Hong Kong at the Bao'an International Airport in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, March 19, 2022. The southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen has launched a chartered air-freight service to Hong Kong, starting Saturday. Early on Saturday morning, a Boeing 767 freighter operated by SF Airlines left Shenzhen for its neighbor Hong Kong, carrying 45 tonnes of goods, including donated anti-pandemic materials and also export goods from local businesses. The freighter will fly six times a week, with the chartered service initially planned to last until early April. (Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
Long lines of people standing in long queues on a street of Aden, southern Yemen, waiting to refill their cooking gas cylinders as an acute shortage hits the war-torn country. (Photo by Murad Abdo/Xinhua)



A severe shortage of cooking gas struck several regions of Yemen, where many people were seen lining up at fuel pumps waiting to refill their cooking gas cylinders.



ADEN, Yemen, March 20 (Xinhua) -- A severe shortage of cooking gas struck several regions of Yemen, multiplying the suffering of millions of people living in the war-ravaged Arab country.

During the past few days, many fuel stations in several main cities run out of cooking gas, forcing numerous bakeries to close their doors.

Officials told Xinhua that the gas shortage continued spreading and included new areas under the control of the internationally-recognized Yemeni government.

In the southern port city of Aden, Yemen's temporary capital, many people were seen lining up at fuel pumps waiting to refill their cooking gas cylinders.

A man waits for gas supplies next to empty cooking gas cylinders at a gas station in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)

"Every time, I spent several hours standing in line until I refilled my cooking gas cylinder, and this is much less than what I need," Ahmed Jalal, a man living in Aden, told Xinhua, adding that his family needs at least four gas cylinders to cook foods throughout the whole month.

"Because of the cooking gas shortage crisis, the quota is limited," Jalal lamented.

Due to the ongoing war, the production of gas is not enough to meet the high demand of the local market, an official of Aden's local authority told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"The inequitable distribution of gas also participated in creating this acute crisis as some provinces get fewer quantities of cooking gas supplies," said the official.

In other provinces controlled by the Houthi militia, lack of fuel and cooking gas has had a terrible impact on local people's quality of life and created a new woe.

Hundreds of vehicles are waiting in long lines in Yemen's capital Sanaa to get their tanks refilled as the ongoing fuel shortage keeps getting worse.

Motorists queue up at a gas station amid a fuel shortage in Sanaa, Yemen, June 10, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

According to some latest nationwide assessments by humanitarians, 23.4 million people in Yemen, or three-quarters of the overall population, need some form of assistance, said Martin Griffiths, UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

A malnourished child has his food inside a malnutrition ward supported by humanitarian agencies including the World Food Programme (WFP), at Al-Sabeen hospital in Sanaa, Yemen, on Oct. 10, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

The war has also accelerated Yemen's economic problems, pushing more families into destitution, which is among the largest drivers of humanitarian needs, Griffiths said.

Yemen relies on commercial imports for about 90 percent of its food and nearly all its fuel and other essential goods.

Fuel imports have also fallen sharply through Hodeidah port. Fuel volumes in February were less than half the average. This drop is contributing to fuel shortages and price rises, which are likely to become even more acute as the energy prices globally continue to rise, he said. 
Palestine, TX (75801)

Today

Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 77F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall possibly over one inch..

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Scattered thunderstorms in the evening. Partly cloudy skies overnight. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libya's internationally-recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) has adopted a decree declaring 26 April as National Day of Libyan Women, in honour of their role in the country and in promoting their empowerment
Mr Martin Agyei-Mensah Korsah, a Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, has expressed worry about the inability of some contractors in the region to complete their projects on schedule despite the availability of funds.



He also expressed dissatisfaction about the attitude of some contractors in delivering their projects below the contract specification, which he said could not stand the test of time and added that if such attitudes continued, the development that the country yearned for would be a mirage.



It is becoming difficult to get value for money. It is very difficult for people to benefit from what the government is bringing to them.



We have officers within the assembly mandated to visit these sites and check, not only for early completion but also for the quality of the work done, the minister said.



Mr Korsah expressed these concerns at Jirapa when he visited some government project sites including the Secondary City Project in the Wa and the Agenda 111 project at Issa in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District among others to ascertain the progress of work on those projects as part of his monitoring visit to the region.



The minister also visited other District Assembly projects including the Issa Senior High School, Jirapa Girls Module Junior High School, a students dormitory at the Lawra Nurses Training School, and a District Court Complex at Nadowli.



Mr Korsah, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Techiman South, also interacted with staff of the Assemblies to ascertain their challenges for redress as well as to assure them of the governments resolve to support them to deliver quality services to the people.



Talking about the Secondary City Project in Wa, the minister could not fathom why the project had been delayed for a year though there were available funds for swift execution.



He, therefore, charged the staff to revamp their monitoring efforts to hold the contractors accountable to ensure they executed the projects to specifications.



"If we do not hold people to check they will take the country for granted. These contractors must be checked else they will short-change the country. If they do the wrong thing it is the taxpayer's money they will use to pay them.



"We are doing everything possible to sharpen you for you to deliver quality services to the people. That is how they will feel the local governance", Mr Korsah said.



He gave the assurance that he would present a report and recommendations to the sector minister for termination of the contracts of non-performing contractors.



Extension of the Modernised Agriculture in Ghana (MAG) project as well as provision of working equipment such as vehicles to enable them visit project sites topped the demand of the assembly staff.

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 Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) received a total of 10,987 complaints throughout the country against power and water distribution companies in 2021 as against the 7,067 complaints received in 2020.



The Director, Regional Operations of the commission, Alhaji Jabaru Abukari who disclosed this explained that 6,470, representing 58.89 per cent of the total complaints received were lodged against the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) while 2,995 (27.26 per cent) were lodged against Northern Electricity Department (NEDCo).



According to him, 6,343 complaints out of the 6,470 made against the ECG during the period were resolved while 2,854 out of the 2,995 complaints against NEDCo were also settled.



Alhaji Jabaru made these known to GraphicOnline on the sidelines of the Bono Regional Utility Stakeholders' Dialogue in Sunyani on Friday.



The dialogue was part of measures to enable the PURC to share its success story in the three administrative regions of Bono, Bono East and Ahafo since the establishment of its office in Sunyani in 2019.



The occasion, which was attended by officials from NEDCo, GWCL, public and private institutions, assembly members as well as security agencies among others was also used to collect feedback from the public on the performance of the utility companies.



Alhaji Jabaru added that a total of 1,398 complaints were made against the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in 2021 out of which 1,280, representing 98.71 per cent were resolved.



He said under the PURC (Consumer Service) Regulation 2020, LI 2413, utility companies were allowed to lodge complaints against consumers.



Alhaji Jabaru said in the year under review, a total of 124 complaints were therefore lodged by the utility companies against some consumers.



Types of complaints



He said top on the lists of complaints lodged with the commission was on the quality of service which recorded 8,328 cases out of the 10,987.



The quality of service issues, he explained had to do with frequent power outages, phase-offs, voltage fluctuations and uncaptured Self-help Electrification Projects (SHEP) customers, no flow of water and pipe bursts and leakages among others.



Other complaints bordered on billing which involved issues such as overbilling, bulk billing and billing consumers based on estimates as well as faulty metering, unlawful disconnections and damage of property.





Source: Graphic online









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
Jehovahs Witnesses in Ghana and globally will resume in-person meetings at their Kingdom Halls, from April 1, 2022.



This comes after two years of meeting exclusively via video and or telephone conferencing due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.



A statement signed by Mr Daniel A. Adashie, Public Information Desk of the Jehovahs Witnesses, Ghana Branch, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said resumption of the in-person meetings was because of the current low incidents of COVID-19 infections and the wide availability of vaccines.



It said the meetings would be subjected to all Government directives and safety protocols.



The statement said the virtual meetings would be retained as a complement to the in-person meetings wherever possible.



It said, since Monday, March 16, 2020, even before government restrictions were announced to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, all in-person meetings of Jehovahs Witnesses around the country and worldwide were suspended.



The statement said the decision was motivated by respect for life as a gift from God, Jehovah and love of neighbour.



It said Government directives that came later were considered as the minimum requirements and additional measures were added wherever it was needed to protect lives.



To care for the spiritual needs of over 212,000 of Jehovahs Witnesses and others around the country who attended meetings each week, all spiritual programmes and public ministry were conducted via video and or telephone conferencing, such as Zoom, it said.



The statement said in the last two years of virtual meetings and preaching ministry, over 220,000 people across the country now joined these virtual meetings with some of the new attendees sharing in the Christian commission of preaching the good news of Gods Kingdom.



It said the opening of the Kingdom Halls for in-person meetings coincided with the delivery of a Special Talk to be given worldwide, titled: Where Can You Find Real Hope?



The statement said it would be followed by the Memorial of Christs death on the evening of Friday, April 15, 2022.



Jehovahs Witnesses invite you to join them at their Kingdom Halls or virtually for these truly faith-building programmes that give real hope for the future and to cope with the many challenges we all face today, it said.

Source: GNA









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The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Nzema East Municipality, Madam Dorcas Elizabeth Amoah, has warned illegal miners within her Municipality to desist from the practice or face the law.



Her warning came after the Municipal Security Council raided the hideout of illegal miners at Bamiako, a village in the Municipality.



The exercise resulted in the arrest of four Chinese, Li Hung Zhi, Bao Lin, Qianxi Uuana, Zhang Xia, and Kweku Zak, and a Ghanaian who are currently in police custody for investigations.



Two pump machines and one Chanfan machine were retrieved and sent to the Axim Divisional Police Command.



Madam Amoah said the government had made provisions for community mining, and that whoever desired to mine should follow due processes by seeking a permit from the authorities.



According to her, the northern part of the Municipality had also recorded the activities of illegal miners.



We will not spare anyone who has an interest in destroying our water bodies, such perpetrators will face the full rigours of the law, she emphasized

Source: GNA









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Russia has labelled those leaving the country and resigning from their jobs in response to the invasion of Ukraine as traitors, saying that it will make the country stronger if they are gotten rid of.



Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov (pictured bottom left) said many people in Russia were showing themselves to be traitors, following similar comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.



In such difficult times many people show their true colours. Very many people are showing themselves, as we say in Russian, to be traitors, Peskov said on Friday, March 18 as Russia enters its third week of war against its neighbor.



When asked about Putins remark that Russia would undergo a natural and necessary self-cleansing, Peskov responded:



They vanish from our lives themselves. Some people are leaving their posts, some are leaving their active work life, some leave the country and move to other countries. That is how this cleansing happens.



He brushed off comments by US President Joe Biden who publicly called Putin a war criminal for his actions in Ukraine which included bombing of civilian homes, schools and hospitals.



Peskov described Putin as a wise, farsighted and cultured international figure, adding that Biden had no right to speak as head of a state that has been bombing people all over the world for years.



His comments come after Putin said his country will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors as he publicly denounced those who do not back him.



Referring to dissenters during a televised address, Putin on Wednesday said Russians will simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths.



He added: I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country.



Putin, who calls the war in Ukraine a special operation, said the West is using a fifth column of traitorous Russians to create civil unrest.



There is only one goal, I have already spoken about it  the destruction of Russia, he said.









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The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, has directed the ministers of National Security, Defence and the Interior to appear before the House to brief members on the security situation in Bawku in the Upper East Region.



I direct that the Minister of National Security, with the assistance of the ministers of Defence and the Interior, does brief the House urgently on the security situation in Bawku, he said.



The directive came after some Members of Parliament (MPs) from both sides of the House raised concern over the current emerging conflict in Bawku.



The MPs said to de-escalate the tension in the area, the three ministers must brief the House on the situation to help unravel the factors behind the conflict and what urgent steps were needed to defuse the tension.



The MPs who expressed the concern and urged the Speaker to invite the three ministers to the House were the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh; the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka; the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah, and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Tamale North, Mr Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini.



Tension not healthy



Raising the concern first on the floor, the Minority Chief Whip noted that photos emerging from the conflict were very disturbing, to the extent that our colleagues from the enclave are scared to be heard talking about it.



Mr Muntaka said due to the delicate nature of the conflict and its associated brutalities, the House should be interested in summoning the three ministers to brief the House on the development.



Even if it is a closed-door sitting, the ministers of National Security, Defence and the Interior must be directed to appear before this House for us to know exactly what is happening and what steps are being taken to help manage the difficulties, he said.



I know the conflict is a very long-outstanding issue, but the current happenings are not healthy for us, he added.



Defusing allegation



Getting the ministers to brief the House, Mr Muntaka said, would help unravel accusations that some of the security persons deployed to the area belonged to some of the factional groups.



This will help stop the escalation of the violence and mayhem that is going on in Bawku, he said.



For his part, Mr Boamah said in January this year, the Bawku Naba had paid a courtesy call on the President, who gave the chief an assurance of the governments support and the security needed to protect the people of Bawku and its surroundings.



He also said although Bawku had military presence, recent happenings from the areas were not encouraging, especially after the meeting between the President and the Bawku Naba.



We require the ministers of National Security, the Interior and Defence to brief the House, especially having read this morning that three soldiers were shot; this is very dangerous, he said.



Bringing down tension



Mr Suhuyini said the tension in Bawku was a serious development, for which reason Parliament must lead efforts at finding solutions to the conflict.



He said the citizens were complaining that soldiers deployed to the area to provide security had sometimes become a threat to the security situation.



These soldiers go into homes and search, and when they find even a machete, they begin to harass the residents and make them pay money, in some instances, he alleged.



This tells you that there are a cocktail of issues that we have to be briefed adequately on to see how we can contribute to bring down tension in that area, he said.



Lasting solution



Mr Annoh-Dompreh commended the Minister for the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery, for instituting some interventions to bring down tension in the area.



He, however, concurred on the need for the Speaker to invite the three ministers to the House to have a closed-door meeting to discuss ways to find a lasting solution to the situation.



I support the call, but we should tread cautiously and do more of closed-door briefings to strategically plan to contain the situation; it must be quick and immediate, he said.

Source: graphiconline.com









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DAR ES SALAAM, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian health authorities have released an updated COVID-19 international travel advisory in which fully vaccinated travelers, including Tanzanians, returning residents and those in transit, will be exempted from COVID-19 test requirements.

"Travelers will be required to present a valid vaccination certificate with QR code for verification upon arrival," said the updated COVID-19 travel advisory released late Friday by the Ministry of Health.

The travel advisory that became effective from March 17 and signed by the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health Abel Makubi said the only accepted vaccines are those which have been approved by the government of Tanzania and the World Health Organization.

The travel advisory said travelers who are not fully vaccinated, unvaccinated and those not eligible for vaccination due to their country's policy will be required to present a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR or NAAT certificate with QR code obtained within 72 hours before departure. Travelers who are not fully vaccinated or unvaccinated and have no negative COVID-19 RT-PCR certificate will be tested for COVID-19 using RT PCR test at their own cost of 100 U.S. dollars for Tanzania mainland.

"Results will be sent to them while self-isolated," said the travel advisory, adding that travelers in transit by air transport are exempted from both vaccination and COVID-19 testing requirements unless stated otherwise by the conveyance to be used or countries of their final destinations.

It said all truck drivers including crew should hold a valid negative COVID-19 RT PCR or NAAT certificate obtained from an accredited national laboratory, adding that the validity of the certificate shall be 14 days only.

All truck drivers, including crew, will be subjected to enhanced health screening at points of entry and will either be isolated or quarantined at the designated facilities at their own cost if they are suspected of COVID-19 infection, said the travel advisory. 
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Michael Jozoff Wins WSOPC Bicycle Casino Main Event ($161,500)

March 20, 2022 Connor Richards Editor & Live Reporter U.S.

The latest World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit stop at The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles has wrapped up last weekend after 13 events that awarded coveted gold rings.

The 13 events, which ranged from a No-Limit Holdem Monster Stack to an Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better tournament, attracted hundreds of players to generate $2.2 million in prize money.

The WSOPC stop at the Bike culminated with the $1,700 Main Event, which alone saw 550 entrants and generated an impressive $833,250 prize pool.

The lions share of that went to Californias Michael Jozoff, who took down the event to earn his first ring and a career-best $161,500.

Jozoff, a 22-year-old who now has $198,415 in tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob, defeated seasoned player Eugene Tito during heads-up play. Tito has accumulated $1.1 million in live earnings and earned one of his biggest cashes of $99,840 for his second-place finish.

Eugene Tito

Jozoff had quite a bit of run-good during the Main Event. On Day 2, he picked up pocket kings to crack the pocket aces of Maria Ho to send the Women in Poker Hall of Famer out in 48th place for $2,960. It turned out to be a recurring storyline for the 22-year-old.

I actually cracked aces three times in this tournament, Jozoff told WSOP after his victory. In a 550-player field, typically you got to do that. Two of them were all-in pre.

Whats next for the young tournament grinder? He told WSOP he wants to try and get out to Vegas and take his shot at some bigger buy-ins.

I want to get into the PokerGOs and play the High Rollers, he said. And then when Im not doing that, just play some cash and hang out and do some business stuff on the side.

Other players who found cashes in the Main Event include Barry Greenstein (28th - $4,390), Victor Paredes (30th - $4,390), David Bakes Baker (38th - $3,190) and Jessica Vierling (58th - $2,785).

WSOPC Bicycle Casino Main Event Final Results

RANK PLAYER HOMETOWN PRIZE (IN USD) 1 Michael Jozoff California $161,500 2 Eugene Tito Los Angeles, CA $99,840 3 Iris Angeleri Kelseyville, CA $74,480 4 Steve Hyung La Palma, CA $54,740 5 Marc Robinson Los Angeles, CA $41,285 6 Andrew Ostapchenko Carlsbad, CA $31,530 7 Corey Brass N/A $24,385 8 Lee Ci N/A $19,105 9 Jonathan Williams Hopkins, MN $15,160

Rampage Poker Wins Third Ring

Another big winner at the WSOPC Bicycle Casino stop was popular poker vlogger Ethan Rampage Poker Yau, who found a first-place finish in Event #12: $2,200 High Roller worth $49,530.

Yau is on the heater of all heaters that has seen him earn three Circuit rings since December. And a few months before winning his first ring, he took down the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) $1,110 Main Event for $230,379.

Ethan \"Rampage Poker\" Yau

Yau navigated through a field of 80 entrants and defeated David Van Reyk during heads-up play, who just last month finished second in the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) Jamul Casino Main Event for $31,487.

Other players who cashed in the High Roller include Shan Jing (3rd - $20,895), Vincent Moscati (4th - $14,695), Sohale Khalili (5th - $10,655) and Ho (11th - $3,495).

Other Highlights

Another highlight of the series was all-time WSOP cashes leader Roland Israelashvili increasing his lead by adding four more cashes to his already impeccable poker resume.

Israelashvili, who currently has 329 cashes under his belt, far in front of his closest competitors, Arkadiy Tsinis (234 cashes) and Ari Engel (212 cashes), finished fifth in Event #6: $1,100 No-Limit Holdem for $8,750 for his best finish of the series.

Israelashvili also earned cashes in Event #1: $400 No-Limit Holdem (61st - $610), Event #9: $600 No-Limit Holdem (21st - $1,980) and the Main Event (65th - $2,660).

Another player who made a few deep runs was Elvis Toomas, who you may remember as the guy who lost a prop bet to girlfriend Christina Gollins that compelled him to move all-in dark on the first hand of the 2022 Wynn Millions Main Event. That happened just a few weeks ago and it saw Toomas dusting a $10,000 buy-in when his jack-eight ran into pocket kings.

The $10,000 buy-in, $10 million GTD #WynnMillions is a special tournament.  PokerNews (@PokerNews)

Toomas, who has $330,447 in live earnings, saw greater success at WSOPC Bicycle Casino that included a ninth-place finish in Event #9: $600 No-Limit Holdem for $4,235, as well as a 43rd-place finish in the Main Event worth $3,190. Gollins also made a deep run in the Main that saw her finishing in 60th place for $2,785.

A full list of ring winners at WSOPC Bicycle Casino is available in the table below. Next up on the WSOP schedule is a stop at Casino Barriere Le Croisette in France, which will take place from April 14-26.

WSOPC Bicycle Casino Ring Winners

TOURNAMENT ENTRIES PRIZE POOL WINNER HOMETOWN PRIZE Event #1: $400 NLH 461 $152,130 Xiaochuan Xie China $29,940 Event #2: $400 NLH Monster Stack 996 $407,040 Chris Unger Lancaster, CA $76,420 Event #3: $400 NLH Double Stack 138 $45,540 Oscar Zavala Bakersfield, CA $12,135 Event #4: $300 NLH 258 $61,920 Gabriel Attoun Joplin, MO $13,870 Event #5: $400 Omaha 8 or Better 135 $44,500 Clint Moore Lakewood, CA $12,115 Event #6: $1,100 NLH 154 $150,150 Peiwen Wang Irvine, CA $39,335 Event #7: $250 NLH 254 $50,800 Huy Nguyen San Jose, CA $11,380 Event #8: $400 NLH Turbo 131 $43,230 Richard Parizer California $11,680 Event #9: $600 NLH 443 $224,540 Dathan Kuppin Los Angeles, CA $45,445 Event #10: $250 Ladies NLH 192 $38,400 Kym Possible Las Vegas, NV $9,380 Event #11: $1,700 Main Event 550 $833,250 Michael Jozoff California $161,500 Event #12: $2,200 High Roller 80 $153,849 Ethan Yau Quincy, MA $49,530 Event #13: $250 NLH Turbo 209 $41,800 Damien Carlisle N/A $9,920

*Images courtesy of WSOP.
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The Aiken Trials returned Saturday following a short COVID-19 hiatus, brining thousands of spectators together with friends and their love of horse racing.

The trials, which are the first event in Aiken's Triple Crown, were last held in 2020. The rest of the Aiken Triple crown series was cancelled following the trials that year. In 2021, the entire series was cancelled due to similar safety concerns.

The trials returned with five thoroughbred races, four pony races and a sidesaddle race.

Andrew Tobin, who was in attendance, said he traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina, to see the races.

"I've never seen horse racing person," Tobin said. "There's way more tailgating and excitement around it than I thought there would be. I knew Aiken was a horse town, but I didn't know it was this dedicated to it."

Michael Moran, an Aiken resident who has attended the races five times, said he was glad to be back.

"it's a fun group that gets together," Moran said. "Aiken is wonderful because there are so many opportunities for crowds to come together and just enjoy ourselves."

Leslee Peth, who has attended the races for many years with Moran, helped to decorate their spot in a Ukrainian theme.

She said the planning took about six or seven weeks and in addition to incorporating the country's colors in the decor, the group brought traditional Ukrainian dishes and wore yellow and blue outfits.

"We wanted to do our part and stand for the people of Ukraine and to make sure everybody in Aiken is aware of our support," she said. "We're all praying for all of our Western European friends."
Visitors look at lamps with traditional Arabic patterns during the Artisanal Creation exhibition at the Kram Exhibition Center in Tunis, Tunisia, on March 19, 2022. The Artisanal Creation exhibition is held here from March 18 to March 27, in order to encourage the development of local handicrafts. (Xinhua)

A man looks at furniture made of logs during the Artisanal Creation exhibition at the Kram Exhibition Center in Tunis, Tunisia, on March 19, 2022. The Artisanal Creation exhibition is held here from March 18 to March 27, in order to encourage the development of local handicrafts. (Xinhua)

A man paints with a soldering iron on a wooden board during the Artisanal Creation exhibition at the Kram Exhibition Center in Tunis, Tunisia, on March 19, 2022. The Artisanal Creation exhibition is held here from March 18 to March 27, in order to encourage the development of local handicrafts. (Xinhua)
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. High 91F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds from time to time. Low 71F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
South Carolina, a major league manufacturer and exporter of tires, has been thrust into a supporting role in an unfolding criminal probe into the import side of the industry.

The investigation wheeled its way from the Texas Gulf Coast to the Palmetto State last week in the form of a federal lawsuit filed at the Four Corners of Law. The government is seeking a court order to take formal possession of 746 tires a Houston-area company brought into the country from China last year through the Port of Charleston.

Similar loads tied to the same importer have been seized previously, from California to New Jersey and several points in between, including Savannah.

At the center of it all is Winland International Inc., also known as Super Tire. A handful of its executives and business associates have been charged with falsifying documents in an effort to slash the company's tariffs on the South Carolina shipments and numerous others.

It's just one piece of a bigger puzzle that prosecutors have called a decade-long international trade fraud.

The investigation picked up traction in December 2020, when a grand jury in Texas indicted eight alleged co-conspirators. Two of the key principals were placed under arrest and later released on bail.

Around the same time, the Justice Department filed a related civil lawsuit with the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York against Winland and 15 individuals, including several residents of China and all of the defendants in the criminal matter.

The amount of money at stake in the Charleston shipment is road kill by U.S. Treasury standards. The government estimated it was chiseled out of about $22,400 in import income for the single box of Royal Black-branded tires that agents seized a year ago this week.

The losses from the broader-based tariff dodge are bigger. Prosecutors have pegged the figure at about $6 million, and they're seeking to claw back about $21 million in penalties.

Some of the government's lost revenue stemmed from an alleged plot by Winland to avoid punitive "anti-dumping" fees of as much as 210 percent that are slapped on foreign-made goods sold in the U.S. at below fair-market value, with the goal of maintaining a level playing field for domestic manufacturers.

Illegally importing and dumping these goods is one way to systemically weaken American competitors," Houston lawyer Ryan Patrick said in late 2020, when he had a lead role in the case as a U.S. Attorney in Texas.

The government also accused Winland executives and others of falsifying invoices and other records from Chinese companies that qualified for lower tariffs and submitted the paperwork on behalf of other exporters that would have been hit with steeper rates.

In addition, the bogus documents lowballed the total value of the tires sent through U.S. ports by almost $20.6 million, further shielding Winland's import-fee exposure, according to a Justice Department statement.

The Lone Star State importer began filing shipping documents for its South Carolina-bound cargo as investigators were ready to pounce, according to a court exhibit. A manifest showed the container was loaded on a ship at China's bustling Port of Qingdao on Dec. 14, 2020, the day before the criminal charges were unsealed halfway across the world in Houston. The tires arrived at the Wando Welch Terminal about a month later.

Agents from the Customs & Border Patrol were waiting. They targeted the shipment "and placed it on hold for inspection" last March 24, citing "Winland's history of utilizing a scheme" to defray or avoid anti-dumping payments, according to the forfeiture lawsuit filed last week in Charleston.

In this instance, the company declared that Hong Kong-based Riversun Industry Ltd. was the exporter, but prosecutors believe otherwise. They have alleged the tires were shipped by a different Chinese manufacturer. The identity switch allowed Winland to take advantage of Riversun's more favorable tariff treatment.

No hearings in the lawsuit had been scheduled as of Friday.

It's fitting that a piece of the Texas case is playing out in South Carolina, where global manufacturers such as Michelin North America, Bridgestone and Continental have made the Palmetto State a powerhouse in the domestic tire-making business.

The industry is surely tough enough without having to deal with artificially underpriced imports and underhanded trade practices.
COLUMBIA  When a Hardee's location closed along Killian Road northeast of Columbia, the new tenant for the restaurant was not in the burger business.

Last fall, the site reopened as a Chipotle Mexican Grill instead of a fast-food place. Still in use: the site's drive-thru window.

It it handled differently: There's no bright neon menu or squawking intercom. It's a window  dubbed a "Chipotlane"  to pick up online orders, with customers expected to use their phones in advance.

The move of Chipotle to take over the former burger restaurant shows how more brands have decided that a drive-thru is a business necessity, not an optional amenity. Drive-thrus became more popular during the COVID-19 pandemic when dining rooms were closed.

That trend includes chains such as Chipotle that the restaurant industry calls quick-service restaurants, a cut above fast-food places.

"They are specifying that they want a drive-thru now," said Ben Kelly, a commercial real estate broker with NAI Columbia who helped with the site's lease.

Across Columbia, other restaurants have been making a higher priority of drive-thru service:

Starbucks has added nine locations in Columbia since 2020, all standalone cafes with drive-thrus along major commuter corridors. The one location that closed during that time in the Vista on Gervais Street had no drive-thru.

Lizard's Thicket closed its restaurant at 402 Beltline Blvd. in Columbia last August, which had no drive-thru. Drive-thru and carryout sales generate about 60 percent of revenue, CEO Bobby Williams said, up from about 45 percent before the pandemic. Its just not profitable without a drive-thru, Williams said in February.

Chick-fil-A has been expanding its drive-thrus to provide added capacity with two full lanes of space plus covered areas with fans and heaters. In older locations, such as on Harbison and Decker boulevards, older restaurants are being replaced with redesigned locations that offer better drive-thru capacity.

Two chains of coffee kiosks that only offer drive-thru service are growing in the Midlands. The Human Bean already has thee locations in Richland and Lexington counties, while entrepreneur Joe Walker is planning to bring seven or eight locations of Scooter's Coffee to the area, he said in November. Other similar drive-thru coffee chains also are looking to build in the Columbia market, Kelly said.

Drive-thrus are seen now as so important that a new retail development has to locate any restaurant spaces with drive-thru access, even if the tenant has not requested it, Kelly said.

If the first restaurant tenant in a space does not want a drive-thru, the option needs to be there for any successors to use, he said.

The trend has been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic but seems likely to continue into the future, with consumers having changed their behavior, according to two restaurant industry experts.

People have learned to grab some dinner on the way home and save themselves some valuable time in their evenings, instead of cooking or sitting in a restaurant, according to George Hendry, a lecturer at the University of South Carolina's School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management and coordinator of its Culinary Institute.

Consumers are likely to want to continue that convenience, Hendry said.

"They are actually multitasking," he said.

Even if drive-thru lines are longer than ever, consumers still see that as quicker and easier than going inside, said Robin DiPietro, director of USC's International Institute for Foodservice Research and Education.

Restaurants are saving both on staff and the amount of space they have to take care of if they focus on the drive-thru instead of dining in. At a time of staff shortages, that's a substantial savings.

At the height of the pandemic, many restaurants, including Columbia-based burger chain Rush's, closed their dining rooms and went drive-thru only, both to protect employees from exposure and to help with staffing.

In a standard fast-food restaurant, 70 to 80 percent of the building footprint is simply table space to be cleaned, often sitting empty.

"You have a lot of unused space," DiPietro said.

Even as more types of restaurants make a drive-thru a substantial part of their business, there still will be a part of the restaurant industry that is committed to fine dining in the restaurant, DiPietro said.

Part of that is a service experience at the table and making a meal out an occasion rather than just a chance to eat.

"Part of the price is that show that they put on for you," DiPietro said.
GEORGETOWN  The Georgetown City Council launched a new public comment procedure for its meetings that angered some community leaders who feel their opinions will not receive attention.

The ordinance passed this month added a second public comment period to council meetings, immediately prior to adjournment and following when council members meet in private session.

The second public comment period is reserved for people who wish to comment "on city services, business, or other city matters not on the agenda."

Previously, a single public comment period toward the beginning of the meeting allowed for public comment regardless of whether it pertained to items on the meetings agenda.

Marvin Neal, branch president of the Georgetown NAACP, said council moving many comments to the end of the meetings suggests "they are telling us, as Black people, that we dont want to hear you, the hell with you, and we dont care."

The ordinance also allows law enforcement to remove of speakers exhibiting "disruptive behavior."

Mayor Carol Jayroe told the Georgetown Times that the ordinance was intended only to expedite the council's monthly meetings.

We need to understand that this is to benefit our meetings to move smoothly and to get through a meeting efficiently, Jayroe said. Thats what this is about.

Opponents of the ordinance say it infringes on free speech.

Jacqueline Williams, South Carolina AFL-CIO political and community liaison, said that placing the second public comment period after executive session  which she noted could stretch for hours  shows that the city does not want to hear from its constituents.

At the Jan. 20 council meeting, Williams spoke on behalf of the South Carolina AFL-CIO, the Georgetown NAACP and United Steelworkers with the future of the downtown Liberty Steel mill under debate. She discussed the efforts of United Steelworkers Local 7898 president James Sanderson to arrange a meeting with the council, which saw two new members elected in 2021.

Williams also said she would be submitting a request for a meeting with Sanderson, the AFL-CIO, the NAACP and churches involved in the AFL-CIO's Faith and Labor project.

When Williams reached the five-minute time limit, Jayroe informed Williams that her time was up. Williams continued, saying at a Feb. 17 news conference that she was "simply trying to finish a sentence."

"I looked back at the footage from that meeting to see just how long I had actually gone over the time limit, which nobody gave us any directives on, and it was approximately 13 seconds," Williams said.

Williams said there was no physical indicator, such as a clock, of how much time she had left, and no directives given regarding public comment at the start of the meeting.

She expressed concern about being forcibly removed by police for going over her speaking time under the new comment rules.

City code previously stated that in the case of continued disruptive behavior, which includes ignoring time limits for public comment, "the mayor shall order the person removed from the meeting."

Jayroe said the council welcomes public comment, "but people will speak at the end of the meeting if its not on an agenda item, period."

No one signed up for either public comment period at the March 17 meeting.
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Mostly sunny skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.
Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.
So now three members of the Charleston County School Board will vet and recommend headhunters to find the next superintendent. We hope their primary criteria will be cost, because unless the board reverses itself and comes clean with the public and would-be superintendents, its not likely to matter which search firm they choose.

Oh, we feel sure the board will find a search firm thats willing to take taxpayers money to conduct that vaunted national search that governments of all sizes feel like they have to conduct whenever a top job comes open.

Were far less confident that the search firm  whichever search firm is chosen  will be able to attract anybody of Gerrita Postlewaits caliber to take the job, even assuming the board were willing to hire someone of her caliber.

What well-qualified candidate would even consider the job when they dont have a clue why Dr. Postlewait is no longer the superintendent? Without knowing that, they have no way of guessing what the boards expectations would be: what they would need to accomplish in order to keep the job  Dr. Postlewait, after all, received a good evaluation just three months before she was forced out  or what would trigger their ouster.

We realize that to some degree unpredictability is the fate of just about any school superintendent these days, since school boards tend to be fickle in the best of times. The recent public animosity toward school officials has board members doing all sorts of political contortions just to keep their own part-time positions. But the next Charleston County superintendent faces something a lot worse than what superintendents typically face: He or she faces a school board that has been dishonest with the public, and perhaps even with itself, about why an interim superintendent is running the schools this semester.

The board would like you to believe that Dr. Postlewait just woke up one morning and decided she no longer wanted to do her job.

The board also would like you to believe that board members decided out of the goodness of their hearts to send Dr. Postlewait on her way with a lovely parting gift of nearly $500,000  the equivalent of about 18 months compensation.

Actually, board members were probably hoping you wouldnt realize how much they're paying Dr. Postlewait. And in fact, most people seem not to have noticed it. But we read the separation agreement that state law required the school district to provide us, and its all there in black and white:

In addition to the six months pay and benefits the board told us about to remain available as a consultant to the board, the former superintendent is being paid an additional years salary and benefits totaling more than $320,000. Along with attorney fees.

In return, Dr. Postlewait agreed not to not to sue the district  which is a strange thing for someone to be asked to promise if she resigned voluntarily.

She also agreed not to say anything bad about the school board  also strange for someone whom the board loved so much that it decided to give her half a million dollars to thank her for her trouble.

Additionally, the agreement required board approval for that hostage-video statement she released saying that leaving was her idea.

We also read Dr. Postlewaits contract, which says that if she got up one morning and decided she no longer wanted to be superintendent, all the board owed her was pay for any unused vacation time and any retirement benefits guaranteed by state law. That, by the way, is also all the board would have owed her if it had fired her for cause  say, if she did anything unethical or didnt meet her job requirements.

However, that contract also says if the board fired her without cause  if the board just woke up one day and decided it no longer wanted her in the job  she was entitled to a years salary and other benefits that dovetail with what the board in fact agreed to give her.

We realize that we might sound like a broken record, but what the school board has done is such an extraordinary breach of faith that it cant be allowed to just move on. Were not talking about firing Dr. Postlewait  although we do consider that a breach of faith since the board obviously did not have a just reason for doing so. Were talking about trying to deceive the public about what it did, then continuing to remain silent about its reasons.

This deception and silence are not only a breach of faith, but they also will surely impede the hiring of anyone with the experience and abilities that the children, parents, teachers and taxpayers of Charleston County deserve to have leading our schools. This must end. The public and the potential superintendent candidates must have a credible explanation for Dr. Postlewait's departure before any search gets underway.
DAR ES SALAAM, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed at dawn on Sunday and 17 others were injured after a mini-bus they were traveling in hit a stationary truck in Tanzania's eastern region of Morogoro.

The accident occurred hardly two days when 23 people were killed on Friday evening in the Morogoro region following a head-on collision involving a bus and a truck in Melela Kibaoni village.

Fortunatus Musilimu, the Morogoro regional police commander, said the latest accident occurred at 5:15 a.m. local time on Sunday at the Nane Nane area along the Dar es Salaam-Dodoma highway.

Musilimu told a news conference that the mini-bus that knocked the truck was heading to Dodoma from Mbezi, a suburb in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

He said the two victims, both men, died when they were receiving treatment at the Morogoro regional hospital, adding that three of the 17 injured persons were in critical condition. 
Some observers consider the New York Times belated admission that Hunter Bidens laptop was genuine to be a big deal. I dont. For one thing, the Times hasnt acknowledged, and wont report on, the specific information on the laptop that told the story of Joe Bidens corruption.

Moreover, there was never any doubt about the genuineness of the laptop and the data it contained. The owner of the repair shop had a receipt with Hunter Bidens signature on it, the laptop contained a large number of self-validating videos and photos of Hunter in various compromising situations, and the authenticity of emails on the laptop was confirmed by the presence of the same emails in other accounts. The idea that the laptop was Russian disinformation was a desperate and absurd invention intended to fool those who paid no attention, and those who wanted to be fooled.

The laptop saga was really a continuation of the Russia collusion hoax. As in the larger case of the collusion hoax, those who perpetrated the Russian disinformation fraud are unrepentant. The Times now implicitly admits that it was wrong to ignore or impugn the evidence of the laptop, but has it issued any corrections to, or retractions of, its reporting? No. Has it launched an investigation into how it could have been fooled? Of course not.

Its the same with the 51 lying spies. Are they remorseful because they led millions of Americans astray and falsely impugned the New York Post, among others? Of course not. They have no comment, except for one or two who are sticking to their story.

Likewise with the other media who participated in suppressing the laptop story. Glenn Greenwald notes the silence from the liberal press:

And, just by the way, it's been 48 hours since the outlet they regard as "The Paper of Record" stated they authenticated the emails in the Hunter Biden archive about Joe's activities. Not a single media outlet that spread the CIA lie has acknowledged it or retracted their lies. pic.twitter.com/7kGgNYvn91  Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 19, 2022



The New York Times expresses no regret because it doesnt regret what it did. The Times isnt a newspaper, it is a mouthpiece. Its purpose was obvious. It was the same purpose that animated many other news outlets, Twitter, and the 51 lying spies: they were trying to get Joe Biden elected president.

That effort succeeded. Lying about the laptop was just one of many corners they cut to achieve their desired objective, but poll data suggest that it was one of the most important. If voters had realized how demonstrably corrupt Joe Biden isno one has ever bribed Hunter Bidenpolls suggest that Donald Trump would have been re-elected. Liberal news outlets are proud of the fact that they acted together to prevent that awful possibility. If it took some lies to accomplish the mission, so what?

Thus, I attribute little significance to the New York Times casual acknowledgement that it blew the Hunter laptop storyreally, it blew the 2020 election, if you think the Times is trying to report objectively on the news. But of course no one thinks that. For the Times, Twitter, and countless other liberal institutions, their lies about Joe Biden and Donald Trump accomplished the intended mission. There will be no apologies, no regretsonly, behind the scenes, discreet high fives.
Fuji, one of Nigerias Indigenous genres of Music, has grown and gained global acceptance over the years in terms of fanbase and popularity. Still, many Nigerian musicians would instead take to afro-pop or pop music these days than Fuji, a trend Fuji maestro, KWAM 1, describes as worrisome. He speaks about the future of Fuji music in this PREMIUM TIMES interview, conducted at the late Ayinde Barristers first-ever colloquium held recently.

PT: Why did you organise a colloquium in late Ayinde Barristers honour?

KWAM 1: Barrister is the symbol of Fuji music. He is the face that attracted many people to that genre of music; so he ought to be well celebrated. Moreover, we should be able to create institutions out of that establishment he made so that there would be a reason for people to learn many years to come.

For instance, the world believes in the role of Bob Marley as far as Reggae is concerned, and all credit today goes to Bob Marley, and that is the same way Barrister is to Fuji and Nigeria.

As we grew, we discovered our music, especially from the South-western part of Nigeria, which serves as an eye-opener and has complete representations of Nigerias colony.

We dont have to wait until it is gone before creating our history through Fuji which God has already blessed us with Sikiru Ayinde Barrister as the Jamaicans did to Reggae.

But, still, it is not something we would wake up and rush into doing, you need a lot of consultation, and it is that consultation that we have had for this extended period.

Because we need to put many people and things in place, many people are on their toes, and we need to seek professionals and ideas from people who know the endpoint of what we are talking about. Thats what took us this long.

PT: In what other ways are you looking at immortalising Alhaji Ayinde Sikiru Barrister beyond the colloquium?

KWAM 1: A better society is when there is an avenue for talks, where people come together to talk; such discussions would open our eyes to many things. If we dont hold symposiums or colloquiums, how would we know how to tackle the problem?

PT: You were fundamental in establishing the Fuji Musician Association of Nigeria (FUMAN) while Barrister was alive. You remain committed to this cause many years after. Is this a legacy you want to leave behind?

KWAM 1: God will always use somebody. In my research, I realised there never was a constitution for America. Today, America is one of the worlds most successful political success stories regarding the rule of law. Barrister is my direct boss and mentor. He has nurtured me so well to realise the responsibility on my shoulder, so I need not be told when I believe that I am his future. Others would be my future, after me, so we had better start. Thats what informed coming together to get ourselves together and then draft a document that would guide us, leading us to forge ahead like a responsible, knowledgeable set of people.

Music before our time was not structured like this, and maybe they just felt they were doing it for fun.

I sought Barristers permission to go ahead and do this. There should be a formation of the Fuji Musician Association of Nigeria. He saw it as a laudable idea and project. So he gave me his blessings, and I went ahead, and that is what I did.

PT: Theres a lot of representation at the colloquium from Lagos State, but Barrister cuts across two states, but not much of Oyo state presence was felt?

KWAM 1: Oyo State; a state in Nigeria, Ogun State; a state in Nigeria, but it is not just about Oyo State alone. It is about the whole western state. Where Ajiwere, Ajisari find its roots, up till Kwara State where Ajiwere and Ajisari from the years past; the foundation of what is now known as Fuji started.

Ajiwere and Ajisari are being done in Ilorin, Ofa Kwara, Osun, Ogun, Oyo, being done in Lagos, it is not just about Oyo alone, it is about the whole of the South-west up to Kwara State. But, still, we will not wait until we have to get everybody on a seat before we initiate something good. So, lets start from one place, and the rest will join us.

We know that what we have at hand is beautiful. We know we have a laudable project at hand, and everybody probably would not want to be seen as a testing ground. So, I am sure everybody will take their place in the next colloquium.

PT: What sacrifices have been made to see this come through?

KWAM 1: You want to build a nation; you must sacrifice a lot. What I am trying to establish together with other good people is something that will outlive me and many others. This is not about Wasiu Ayinde wanting to showcase his might. It is about something that concerns us all and the future of music.

PT: As some will ask, what happened to Fuji after Barrister Ayinde?

KWAM 1: Nothing happened to Fuji. Fuji has taken its place, and it is the only surviving indigenous music that cuts across and carries everybody along. And that is what the panel of discussants amplified during the colloquium.

PT: Speaking about the younger generation, why are young musicians shying away from Fuji?

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KWAM 1: Shanko Rasheed is a new fresh voice, and I would say he is one of the youngest, and so is Kolade Onunuga. There was no way we could have showcased all of them during the colloquium, and it doesnt mean we dont have talented young Fuji stars.

PT: 11 years after Barristers death, we are yet to witness the emergence of successful Fuji acts aside from yourself, Adewale Ayuba, Wasiu Pasuma and a few others.

KWAM 1: Im afraid I have to disagree that there has not been any new star. 9ice was one of the most vibrant and talented young men this country has produced, and he started as a Fuji musician. But unfortunately, some musicians dont regard themselves as Fuji musicians because of the misconception that you must have a minimum of 15 to 20 band members to play Fuji.

PT: Is this a faulty notion?

KWAM 1: The reason those who played before us and the contemporary Fuji had a 20-piece band standing on stage is that they play different instrumentals with different meanings. Todays young stars are not ready for such an expensive project. So they probably want to do something simple that they would want to sample.

I was able to say it all in the Ade Ori Okin track was a sample with few backups.

So we are going there, and we are getting there, where you would see one man and a few backups doing Fuji, and that can be possible where there are already notes everywhere.

In the last ten years, one of the things we have been clamouring for is that Fuji music must be written with notes. Finally, we have successfully achieved one with Ade Ori Okin and can play the song anywhere because its on the note. Music teachers and people who have experience need to come together and acknowledge the masterpiece we created.

You will not be surprised to see a white band orchestra playing Ade Ori Okin because it has music notes, just like Cobhams did last week. That is where we are headed, and we are getting there, so for the younger artiste who cannot carry a 15-piece band, we realise that we can carry as little as two samplers and achieve the same result.

PT: Would it be original as the live band?

KWAM 1: It will be original because what they are running away from is the large crowd. Okay, if we have notes that could be put together and have at least four backups, that is enough for a band that anyone could want to manage.

PT: Many pop artists make money via digitalisation, seeing that owning a standard live band is capital intensive. How can Fuji music take advantage of digitalisation?

KWAM 1: We are in a hurry, we want to see magic overnight, but common sense says to us that as much as we are in a hurry, we have to be very careful in getting some things done the right way. I cant do it alone, hence the need for me to keep searching for people to bring up ideas on how we can go about it. I have very many hands working with me, and by the time we make some headway, the effect of what happened at this colloquium will be felt at next years edition.

PT: When do we expect to see the Ade Ori Okin video?

KWAM 1: First, let us establish that not all successful songs or albums have videos. A video must make a statement; its not because it will take me only five dresses or people coming to shake bum-bum. The lyrics tell a story, so we are careful to shoot a music video that will cut across all ages and social divides.

PT: But there is a video in the works?

KWAM 1: Yes, there is. The video would be nothing like you have seen before. What we see of Ade Ori Okin goes beyond Africa. We see white folks dancing to the track. They were genuinely dancing to the music.

PT: Speaking about the younger generation of Fuji artists, it is widely believed that before most musicians go on stage, they smoke and use hard drugs. What are the elders doing to sensitise the younger generation that you dont have to be a tout before you can become a Fuji artist?

KWAM 1: Not Fuji artist, point of correction, but musicians generally. It calls for a lot of education from journalists to sensitise the younger ones, preaching to the world the kind of music you would love to listen to.

I dont smoke, and I doubt if anybody has seen me smoke, but still on the issue of drugs, today people inject themselves with different things, they still feel the same thing. So its about everybody coming together to sensitise the younger ones. But its not peculiar to Fuji.

PT: Your advice to the younger generation?

KWAM 1: They should take their future so seriously. If I had been a drug user, I dont feel I would be here because it wouldnt last you long.

PT: Must musicians abuse and shade each other on track?

KWAM 1: We used to listen to foreign music when we were young, but many people ignore that foreign musicians abuse one another. We dont notice it. We only pinpoint our own mistakes or what we see from us.

Drugs have been in the life of music in the western world over the years. To be a rock musician, you must be on drugs. It is like the norm over there, but that doesnt make rock music for drug users.

We should be careful when trying to make comparisons in the wester world. But, let me tell you, the crime is 300 per cent higher than that of Nigeria.

PT: You are 65. What keeps you so young?

KWAM 1: Number one thing any living soul can do for themselves is taking cognisance of things around you and how you go around your life.

Despite my busy schedule, I still find time to rest, and I do not deny myself those things that make a good living; I do not deny myself good food.

It may interest you to know that there are a lot of drug users that dont joke with eating good food and rest, and when you see them, you never believe they use drugs. But when you lose your mind and every time you dont rest and eat good food, you will be stressed.

In other words, I rest, I eat good food, I dont have to overdo things.

PT: You also love and feel loved?

KWAM1: Every responsible man always wants to love and feel loved. I am open to love, and I find time to rest my head on my wifes shoulder. Im the happiest when I am in my womans arms and place my head on her shoulder.
The bottomline in all of these is that President Zelensky of Ukraine has not demonstrated enough purchase on statecraft. The man didnt come into office with the requisite cognate experience; and thus, he has conducted his countrys diplomatic engagements from a very dangerously unrealistic standpoint that has now thrown it into a mess what Zelensky should seek, and very quickly too, is an end to this needless war, with a view to salvaging what remains of his country.

So much is being made of the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, which formed the basis of divesting Ukraine of its nuclear arsenal, in exchange for security guarantees for the former Soviet republic. It was negotiated by U.S., U.K., Russia and Ukraine  in conformity with the nuclear non-proliferation principle. The February 24 invasion of Ukraine by Moscow is, in several quarters, now being touted as tantamount to a violation of the sanctity of the Memorandum. This is a note of analysis and caution on this.

First, the Budapest Memorandum was negotiated and adopted within a specific context. The nuclear arsenal stationed in Ukraine, while the Soviet Union lasted, couldnt have been seen, by any stretch of imagination, as belonging to Ukraine upon the collapse of the USSR. Rather, Russia was and remains, legally and strategically, the successor state to the defunct USSR, and thus the one country that could legitimately take possession of, and house such formidable nuclear forces. All the parties to the Bucharest Memorandum knew this. It was indeed the basis of the negotiations in the first instance. So, Ukraine was not doing Russia, or indeed anyone, a favour by turning over the bombs to Moscow. Its action was simply a recognition of the reality of the moment, defined as unequal power capabilities between and among the contending nations.

Secondly, while technically the Budapest Memorandum was supposed to guarantee Ukraines sovereignty, even this was not without some caveats. None of the parties to the agreement would have expected Russia to keep clutching the Budapest Memorandum, when a new government in Ukraine  from the mid-2000s  set at some dangerous political manoeuvres, which Moscow kept decrying as constituting existential threat to its own national security. Meanwhile, there are precedents in contemporary diplomatic history of how countries of comparable power capability to Russia, dealt with similar security situations and challenges in the past. To expect Russia to stand akinbo and look on, while the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) steadily prosecuted its agenda for expansion into Ukraine, was unrealistic. And this is not necessarily a justification of the expanding scope of Russias extant military campaign in hapless Ukraine. It isnt.

The foregoing has implications for Nigeria, as Africas largest country inches towards the election of a new president, early in 2023. It speaks to the dangers associated with investing inexperienced, mentally immobile, irascible individuals, and extremists, who lack the ability to think things through, with ultimate power. And a compass on this, there is, in the Bible, in Ecclesiastes 10: 16  Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!

Thirdly, what the Budapest Memorandum expressly guaranteed was the commitment of all parties to Ukraines aid, if after giving up the nuclear arsenal, it came under NUCLEAR attack. It wasnt an open cheque of support, as it were  regardless of the circumstances  that the country got.

The bottomline in all of these is that President Zelensky of Ukraine has not demonstrated enough purchase on statecraft. The man didnt come into office with the requisite cognate experience; and thus, he has conducted his countrys diplomatic engagements from a very dangerously unrealistic standpoint that has now thrown it into a mess. Even now, more than three weeks after the guns started booming, with the critical infrastructure of his country laid to waste, and the palpable but understandable reluctance of the U.S. and NATO to enter into direct armed confrontation with Russia, what Zelensky should seek, and very quickly too, is an end to this needless war, with a view to salvaging what remains of his country. Extant pretences on his part, with him decked in olive green vests, and seeking to cut the image of a victim-hero, are misguided. Even when he is being edged on by the West, and its powerful news media with their extensive global reach, the Ukrainian leaders good sense should have led him to an incontrovertible truth: that he was leading his country on the path to destruction; in a manner not unlike what, in a different context, the much hated Saddam Hussein did, at least twice in his very tortuous and highly discredited career. Zelensky should, therefore, seek a quick way out of what, to all intents and purposes, is a quagmire, and save his proud and heroic people from extant trauma.

The foregoing has implications for Nigeria, as Africas largest country inches towards the election of a new president, early in 2023. It speaks to the dangers associated with investing inexperienced, mentally immobile, irascible individuals, and extremists, who lack the ability to think things through, with ultimate power. And a compass on this, there is, in the Bible, in Ecclesiastes 10: 16  Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!

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
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) greets visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in New Delhi, India, on March 19, 2022. Japan will invest 42 billion U.S. dollars in India over the next five years, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced here Saturday, accompanied by visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. (Photo by Partha Sarkar/Xinhua)

NEW DELHI, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Japan will invest 42 billion U.S. dollars in India over the next five years, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced here Saturday, accompanied by visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Addressing the media after their meeting, the two noted with appreciation the significant growth in economic cooperation between the two countries.

They expressed satisfaction that the investment target of 3.5 trillion Japanese Yen (29 billion U.S. dollars) announced in 2014 had been achieved, said a joint statement issued after their talks.

The joint statement also said that the two welcomed the launch of the India-Japan Clean Energy Partnership for cooperation towards achieving sustainable economic growth, addressing climate change and ensuring energy security.

They also discussed regional and global issues during their talks.

Three Memorandums of Understanding were signed on areas such as cyber security, sustainable urban development and wastewater management with a new Japanese technique, said India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) poses for photos with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in New Delhi, India, on March 19, 2022. Japan will invest 42 billion U.S. dollars in India over the next five years, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced here Saturday, accompanied by visiting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. (Photo by Partha Sarkar/Xinhua)
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) in a release, Saturday, said 847 civilians have been killed and 1,399 injured in Ukraine as of March 18.

According to OHCHR, the actual figures are considerably higher, especially in Government-controlled territory.

Out of the 847 killed, 155 are men, 119 women, 7 girls, 21 boys, 36 children and 509 adults whose sex is yet unknown.

Most of the casualties were caused by shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, as well as missile and airstrikes, the statement said.

More death figures

Also, 228 people including four children have been killed in Ukraines capital, Kyiv, since the war began, Al Jazeera reported Kyiv city authorities as saying.

A further 912 people have been wounded, the Kyiv city administration said in a statement. The casualty figures cannot be independently confirmed.

Local police in Makariv, a town near Kyiv, say at least seven people were killed and five others injured following a mortar attack by Russian forces.

As a result of enemy shelling of Makariv, seven civilians were killed, local police said in a statement.

Russia denies targeting civilians.

Mass Exodus continues

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidents office, said a total of 6,623 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported.

In an online post, Mr Tymoshenko said 4,128 people had left the port city of Mariupol; another 9,145 people had managed to leave cities across Ukraine on Friday.

Ukraine has evacuated 190,000 civilians from frontline areas via humanitarian corridors since the start of Russias invasion of Ukraine, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a televised interview.

She said corridors in the Kyiv and Luhansk regions were functioning on Saturday, but a planned corridor to the besieged eastern port city of Mariupol was only partially operational, with buses not being allowed through by Russian troops.

As of March 16, the UN migration agency estimates that nearly 6.5 million people have now been displaced inside Ukraine, in addition to the 3.2 million refugees who have already fled the country.

The estimates from the International Organisation for Migration suggests Ukraine is fast on a course in just three weeks towards the levels of displacement from Syrias devastating war  which has driven about 13 million people from their homes both in the country and abroad.

Zelenskyy calls for talks

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President, early Saturday in a video address urged Moscow to sit down for talks.

I want everyone to hear me now, especially in Moscow. The time has come for a meeting, it is time to talk, he said.

The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russias losses will be such that it will take you several generations to recover.

Zelenskyy also accused Russian forces of deliberately blocking the supply of humanitarian supplies to cities under attack.

This is a deliberate tactic  This is a war crime and they will answer for it, 100 per cent, he said.

Russia and Ukraine have been engaging in peace talks via video conferencing in past weeks with both parties announcing some form of progress.

Chiamaka Okafor is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.
Nigerian security officials bore the larger brunt of killings by non-state actors last week, accounting for 80 per cent of the 30 people killed.

Out of the 30 people killed last week (March 13 to 18), 20 were security personnel employed by the state while four were vigilantes; the other six were civilians. The 20 official security personnel consist of 16 police officers, two correctional service officers, one NDLEA officer and one soldier.

The higher number of security personnel killed continues from the previous week when 24 security officials  18 police officers and six soldiers  were also killed. However, the total casualty figure of 30 people, killed by non-state actors last week, was significantly lower than the over 100 people killed the previous week.

Four of Nigerias six geopolitical zones experienced at least one killing. Only the South-west and South-south recorded zero incidents.

PREMIUM TIMES compiled the incidents from media reports. Thus, unreported cases are not included.

Below are the recorded incidents:

South-east

An officer with the e National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) was shot dead on Tuesday when gunmen attacked the head office of the agency in Ebonyi State.

A patient who was undergoing rehabilitation at the agencys rehabilitation centre was also killed during the attack which happened around 2 a.m.

In Imo, Gunmen on Wednesday attacked and killed two officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) who were on patrol in Okigwe town.

The attack happened at Umulolo in the Okigwe area of the state.

Also in Imo, gunmen during the early hours of Saturday bombed the Umuguma Divisional Police Headquarters situated at the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo state.

The attackers also killed two police constabularies who were on duty.

North-west

Three civilians and 10 police officers were killed by bandits in Ngaski town and Gafara community of Ngaski Local Government Area of Kebbi State.

The House of Representatives member representing the area, Yusuf Tanko -Sununu, said the bandits had sent a letter that they would be attacking the community where a tomatoes processing factory is located.

In Jigawa, at least two people were killed in violence between farmers and herders. Residents said the casualty figure was larger but the police confirmed only two deaths.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the clash started after suspected herders killed a crop farmer with a bow and arrow after encroaching his farm.

North-central

Suspected bandits on Tuesday killed a divisional police officer in Magama Local Government Area of Niger State during an attack on Nasko village, the police said.

Police spokesperson in the state, Wasiu Abiodun, said in a statement that the senior officer, Mohammed Umar, was killed in a gunfight in which two other police officers and four vigilantes lost their lives.

Also in Niger, a police inspector was killed in a gun battle between the Joint Security Task Force in Niger State and bandits in Bangi, Mariga Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that the security operatives killed over 100 bandits on Wednesday as they foiled a planned attack on a police station.

North-East

A newly recruited soldier identified only as Jamilu was confirmed killed after a deadly ambush by militants belonging to the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

The soldier who joined the Nigerian Army in 2021 was killed when the terrorists attacked a military base in the Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.

Aggrieved Police Officers

Amidst the increased killing of police and other security personnel, junior police officers across the country are threatening to embark on a nationwide strike.

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The officials cite poor pay and poor working conditions as the major reasons for the planned strike.

To prevent the strike from happening, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the police hierarchy asked senior officers to embark on enlightenment campaign of the junior officers within their areas of responsibilities.

You are to implore all serving members to exercise caution at these trying times and intimate them Force management team is making robust efforts to improve the general welfare of policemen across board, the police said in a circular sent to senior officers.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly and thoroughly investigate how over N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply has been allegedly squandered by governments since 1999.

SERAP said: Anyone suspected to be responsible should face prosecution as appropriate, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, and any missing public funds should be traced and fully recovered.

SERAP also urged him to refer to the International Criminal Court all unimplemented reports of corruption in the electricity sector gathering dust on the shelves, and to arrest and surrender those named in the reports to the court for prosecution.

SERAPs letter followed the collapse of the national grid, which has plunged the country into total darkness. Generation capacity has dropped to 2,000 megawatts with about 14 power plants shutting down.

In the letter dated March 19 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: Nigerians have for far too long been denied justice and the opportunity to get to the bottom of why they continue to pay the price for corruption in the electricity sectorstaying in darkness, but still made to pay crazy electricity bills.

SERAP said: The staggering amounts of public funds alleged to have been stolen over the years in the electricity sector have had catastrophic effects on the lives of millions of Nigerians, akin to crimes against humanity against the Nigerian people.

According to SERAP, Investigating the allegations of missing N11 trillion electricity funds, prosecuting suspected perpetrators and recovering any missing public funds would end a culture of impunity. It would also address the persistent collapse of the electricity grid, and improve access to and affordability of electricity in the country.

The letter, read in part: The situation will not improve unless you fulfil your campaign promises to probe corruption in the electricity sector, prosecute perpetrators, and recover any missing public funds.

Corruption in the electricity sector and the lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds to support the operations of DISCOS have resulted in regular blackouts, electricity grid collapse, and unlawful hike in electricity tariffs.

Corruption in the electricity sector has also continued to disproportionately affect the most disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors of the population who cannot readily afford expensive generators in order to have a reliable power supply.

Your government has constitutional and international obligations to ensure regular and uninterrupted supply of electricity, even in times of resource constraints.

SERAP urges you to urgently implement documented reports of cases of corruption in the electricity sector, and ensure full accountability and restitution.

We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.

The failure of successive governments and high-ranking government officials to prevent corruption in the electricity sector and to bring suspected perpetrators to justice is the primary cause of the persistent crisis in the electricity sector, including the exploitation of electricity consumers, and collapse of the electricity grid.

SERAP notes that in your inaugural speech on May 29, 2015 you stated that, it is a national shame that an economy of 180 million generates only 4,000MW, and distributes even less. We will not allow this to go on. The national grid collapse suggests that this promise remains unfulfilled.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights has adjudged the failure of the States to provide basic services such as electricity as violating the right to health.

Corrupt officials and corrupt contractors in the electricity sector know well that their conduct is criminal and injurious, and the denial of human dignity coupled with a radical breach of solemn trust, aggravate their alleged crime.

Citizens are frustrated at persistent allegations of corruption in the sector, and the impacts on their human rights. Prosecuting perpetrators would address the grave travesty that has for many years occurred in the power sector.

Impunity for corruption in the electricity sector has for many years forced ordinary Nigerians to stay in darkness, but still made to pay crazy electricity bills.

Successive governments have failed to increase power generation and provide Nigerians with regular and uninterrupted electricity supply, with many electricity contracts shrouded in secrecy, and trillions of Naira going down the drain.

Impunity for corruption in the electricity sector will continue as long as high-ranking public officials go largely unpunished for their alleged crimes. It is by pursuing these allegations and taking the evidence before the court that the truth will be revealed and justice best served.

The failure by successive governments to tell Nigerians the truth about allegations of corruption in the power sector amounts to a failure to ensure that electricity services are progressively made available, on the basis of equality and non-discrimination.

The details of the missing N11 trillion electricity funds are contained in a SERAP report titled: From Darkness to Darkness: How Nigerians are paying the Price for Corruption in the Electricity Sector.

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According to the report, the total estimated financial loss to Nigeria from corruption in the electricity sector starting from the return to democracy in 1999 to date is over N11 trillion. This represents public funds, private equity and social investment (or divestments) in the power sector.

It is estimated that the loss may reach over N20 trillion in the next decade given the rate of Government investment and funding in the power sector amidst dwindling fortune and recurrent revenue shortfalls.

SERAP also urges you to immediately implement the judgment by Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor in suit number FHC/L/CS/105/19 which ordered your government to immediately publish the names of companies and the whereabouts of the contractors paid by governments since 1999 to carry out electricity projects across the country but disappeared with the money without executing any projects.

The enforcement of the judgment could potentially reveal individuals, contractors, and companies allegedly responsible for squandering over N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply under successive governments, lead to the prosecution of suspected perpetrators, and recovery of any missing public funds.

The letter was copied to Mr Malami.
Yusuf Abdullahi, the sector commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Bauchi State, says that one person has lost his life while six others were injured in a lone auto crash that occurred in Bauchi on Sunday.

Mr Abdullahi confirmed the incident in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Bauchi.

According to him, the accident, which involved a private Honda Civic car, occurred in Kafin Kawu village on the Bauchi-Kano road in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of the state.

The Sector Commander noted that the accident occurred around 9:05 a.m, adding that it took the personnel of the corps barely 10 minutes to arrive at the crash scene to clear the site.

He blamed the cause of the crash on speed violation and gave the name of the driver as Ghali Idris.

Seven people were involved in the crash and they were all male adults, he said.

Mr Abdullahi stressed that both the corpse of the deceased and those injured were taken to Kafin Madaki General Hospital, close to the Nigeria Police office, for identification and treatment.

He advised motorists to observe all traffic rules and regulations and drive with caution while plying the roads.

(NAN)
The Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Kalu, has condemned the attack on the country home of the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, George Obiozor.

Mr Obiozors home was set ablaze by gunmen in the early hours of Saturday in Awo- Omanma, Imo State.

Mr Kalu in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja described the act as evil, cruel and wicked.

He called on appropriate authorities to investigate the ugly incident in a bid to bring the perpetrators to book.

Mr Kalu, who is a former governor of Abia State, said Mr Obiozor is a peace-loving Nigerian, who has consistently sustained his good character in view of his personal attributes and commitment to nation building.

He described the attack as uncivilised, adding that violence and social vices are detrimental to the growth and progress of the society.

The senator called on Ndigbo and Nigerians in general to embrace peace and unity for the sake of nation-building.

He said: The reported attack on the country home of the President General of the apex Igbo body, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Prof. George Obiozor is unnecessary, wicked and crude.

There should be law and order in a democratic set up and as such the ugly incident must be properly investigated so as to bring the perpetrators to book.

The President General is highly respected beyond the shores of Nigeria and he doesnt deserve to be maltreated.

The perpetrators of the evil act must face the wrath of the law.

I strongly and categorically condemn the evil act.

Mr Kalu, while urging the President General to be calm, admonished security agencies to live up to expectations by exposing the perpetrators of the incident.

(NAN)
The police in Ogun State on Sunday said they had arrested two armed robbery suspects for allegedly killing a motorcyclist after snatching his bike at the Sango-Ota area of the state.

The police spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said this in a statement issued to journalists in Ota, Ogun State, adding that the two suspects were arrested on March 15.

Mr Oyeyemi said the suspects, Hammed Ismail and Osoba Yakubu, were apprehended following a report lodged at Sango-Ota Divisional Headquarters by one Bihari Saliu.

Saliu, the father of the victim, reported that his 25-year-old son, Yusuf Bihari, left home with his motorcycle a day before he was found dead in an uncompleted building at Araromi Village via Ilogbo town.

He reported that his motorcycle was nowhere to be found.

Upon the report, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Sango-Ota Division, SP Saleh Dahiru, detailed his detectives to the scene where the corpse was evacuated and handed over to the family who insisted on burying him according to their religious belief.

And the DPO was determined to unravel the mystery behind the gruesome murder of the victim.

Dahiru and his men embarked on technical and intelligence-based investigation and in conjunction with the community vigilante.

However, Ismail Hammed was arrested with the motorcycle of the victim. Following his arrest, it led to the apprehension of his accomplice, Osoba Yakubu.

And they have confessed to the commission of the crime and are helping the police in their investigation, he stated.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the state criminal investigation and intelligence department for discreet investigation.

(NAN)
Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, Europe chapter (NIDO-E), has appealed to people to be circumspect with information published online to ensure the safety of citizens.

Bashir Obasekola, Chairman, NIDO Europe Chapter, made the appeal during a forum held in Moscow, Russia, and monitored online by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday.

The forum was organised by NIDO Russia Chapter with the theme, Russia-Ukraine Situation: Impact on Nigerians in Russia/Europe and Bilateral Relations.

Mr Obasekola noted that NIDO leveraged its network across Europe to provide support and assisted many Nigerians fleeing Ukraine to ensure their safety.

He, however, said that some Nigerians were still trapped in Ukraine, noting that they need moral and psychological support till relief gets to them.

According to him, it is now risky to cross the border due to unverified information of recruitment of foreign mercenaries for the war.

We pray that none of our citizens will be caught in that crossfire of being mistaken for mercenary, he said.

Mr Obasekola said they were surprised at the news of some people going to the Ukraine Embassy in Nigeria seeking opportunities to join the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine.

He described the step as a wrong signal that might expose Nigerians in Diaspora to the danger of being suspected as mercenaries.

The NIDO chairman, therefore, advised the public to be cautious with the moves and information they publish online.

He commended the Federal Government for evacuating about 2,000 Nigerians, noting that measures were being put in place to evacuate more from Ukraine.

Mr Obasekola said that NIDO would continue to provide support to the government in ensuring the safe evacuation of Nigerians.

Also, Rex Essenowo, former chairman of the NIDO Russia Chapter, said Nigerians in Diaspora had faced lots of crises in the past but noted that the current crisis was different from others.

Mr Essenowo said the forum presented a platform for Nigerians in Russia to brainstorm on opportunities emanating from the crisis amid various sanctions.

He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to expedite the inauguration of the Diasporan Committee Board to enable more participation that would enhance socio-economic development.

Similarly, Sampson Uwem-Edimo, Chairman, NIDO Russia, said some Russian banks are seeking opportunities to partner with Nigerian banks to enhance the financial industry.

Mr Uwem-Edimo noted that a Russian health facility had indicated an interest in establishing a cancer centre in Nigeria, saying the Nigerian Ministry of Health was working out the modalities.

According to him, a Russian pharmaceutical firm is also willing to set up an office in Nigeria to deepen the trade and investment between both countries.

He said that in spite of the crisis, there are still many opportunities to deepen Russia-Nigeria bilateral cooperation.

Also, Abdullahi Yibaikwal, Nigerian Ambassador to Russia, said that the Russian government had pledged to provide the necessary assistance to ensure the safety and well-being of Nigerian citizens in Russia.

Mr Yibaikwal said that the Russian Ministry of Education had offered admissions to Nigerians who want to continue their education in Russia.

He said that the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine had worsened humanitarian issues, thus calling for speedy resolution through diplomatic dialogue.

(NAN)

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Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, says all the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential hopefuls from the North are ready for a consensus candidate during the partys primaries without acrimony.

He gave the assurance in Bauchi on Sunday when Mr Saraki and Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, also a PDP presidential hopeful, paid a consultative visit to Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.

Mr Saraki, who addressed the media on behalf of the three presidential hopefuls, said they found it necessary as stakeholders of the party to meet, brainstorm and see how things could best work out among them.

He said: In doing so, we met and discussed that for 2023 ahead of us, the unity and stability of the country and the growth of the country is more important than individual ambitions.

We also met to strive for the need for us to work together. We believe that the three of us are working together harmoniously, committed and with a lot of energy, there will be great hope for this country going ahead.

We appreciate that the three of us have shown aspiration to lead this country, but we also come to realise that we are all capable, competent and fit to lead this country.

At the end of the day, it is only one person that will lead this country in 2023; and we also resolved that we are going to work closely to ensure that we come out with a way that consensus arrangement would come among the three of us on how to go forward into leading this country.

He added that they also believed that their role was to make things easier for them to have stability in the party, saying if there is stability in PDP, there would be stability in Nigeria.

The former governor of Kwara, however, urged all PDP supporters to remain focussed and united in order to lift the party to a greater height.

Mr Saraki explained that the three of them would also meet with former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to brief him about the discussions they had during the meeting in Bauchi.

(NAN)
The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has said the war in Ukraine could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings of some of its leaders.

The war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from among its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less, instability in the region,  Mr Ramaphosa said in parliament on Thursday.

He said South Africa aligns with the principle that countries should refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of other states.

He said while it is important to understand and articulate the causes of the conflict, and advocate for peacebuilding measures, we cannot condone the use of force or violation of international law.

Mr Ramaphosa, however, said measures, such as severe sanctions may prolong and intensify the conflict.

The conflict, according to him, demonstrates the need for a multilateral approach to issues of peace and security and also demonstrates the weaknesses in the structure, practices and architecture of the United Nations.

Mr Ramaphosa said the UN Security Council should be overhauled because it does not reflect current realities.

There is a tendency for the most powerful countries to use their positions as permanent UN Security Council members to serve their national interests rather than the interests of global peace and stability, he said.

Mr Ramaphosa said his country will continue to advocate for conditions that will lead to durable resolution rather than adopt an adversarial position as many expect it to.

While there are people within our country and elsewhere that want South Africa to adopt a more adversarial position, our position seeks to contribute to the creation of conditions that make the achievement of a durable resolution of the conflict possible.

He called for the revitalisation of the Non-Aligned Movement, to ensure that countries that are not part of the hegemonic contests between the big powers can work together to build peace across the globe.

We align ourselves with the calls, led by the UN Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres, for de-escalation, dialogue and a return to diplomacy,  he said, adding that South Africa will support genuine multilateral efforts to end the conflict and achieve lasting peace.

Al Jazeera reported Mr Ramaphosa saying Mr Putin had assured him personally that negotiations were making progress. He said he had not yet talked with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but wanted to.

On Friday, Mr Ramaphosa said South Africa had been asked to mediate in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He did not say who had asked him to intervene.

Russia-Ukraine War

Russia on February 24 attacked Ukraine in what it called a special operation to denazify the Eastern European country.

The nearly one month old war has left 847 civilians dead and 1,399 injured, according to the UN human rights office (OHCHR).

As of March 16, the UN migration agency estimates, nearly 6.5 million people have been displaced inside Ukraine, in addition to the 3.2 million refugees who have already fled the country.

The estimates from the International Organisation for Migration suggests that more people may be displaced in Ukraine than the 13 million displaced in Syria during the war there.

Chiamaka Okafor is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.
YANGON, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has seen a decline in COVID-19 cases over the past week, with daily cases dropping from 487 on March 13 to 227 on Sunday, according to figures released by the Ministry of Health.

The ministry's data showed deaths from COVID-19 in the country did not exceed three per day in the past week.

The country recorded two new deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday, the release said.

As of Sunday, the country had recorded 608,990 COVID-19 cases, 564,660 recoveries and 19,425 deaths, it said.

Over 21.6 million people in the country have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Saturday.

The Southeast Asian country began experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and the Omicron variant-driven fourth wave at the end of December last year. 
when power leaves its holder, it leaves them in entirety. Obiano must have found out the eternal nugget in that Yoruba wise saying that no one vacates the road for someone who rode the horse yesterday  a i yago felesin ana  which underscores the transience of power. That is the lesson which the Feyi, Ebelechukwu and the Wikes of today who are still in power, should learn.

In the final analysis, it will appear that the Nigerian political elite, adept as it is at plundering Nigerian resources and inflicting pain on the people, has very scant understanding of the psychology of the people it pillages. A very true story that will succinctly demonstrate this happened in Ondo State, about 1990. Olabode Ibiyinka George, Commodore in the Nigerian Navy, had been posted to the state as governor in 1988. As is customary, in tow did he come with his wife, Feyi, a very opinionated woman. Unsubstantiated claims alleged that both were on the verge of divorce before the Ondo posting but Maryam Babangida, being Feyis friend, had recommended George to her martial General beau, Ibrahim. George and Feyi were thus forced into a marriage of convenience during their odyssey in Ondo.

While George was about his job as military governor, indeed reputed to have established the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic in Owo during this period, one of the states thriving tertiary institutions today, Feyi was ruining what was left of his reputation. On this day, Feyi, replicating Maryams variant of Better Life for Rural Women in the state, had met women in the Erekesan Market of the state capital, the bulk of whom were senescent, frail and grey-haired women. The optics of that infamous address still tyrannically assails the memory of the people till today. Cupping her eyelids contemptuously like Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, wife of Frenchs Louis XV1 must have done while impudently responding to her husbands starving peasant subjects cry of lack of bread during the French revolution, to wit, Let them eat cake!, Feyi had courted the ire of Ondo people and came to symbolise the excesses of a reviled Nigerian power elite. She had unconscionably told the Ondo women, Even though you are old women and old enough to give birth to me, today, I am your mother, the mother of all of you. In a Yorubaland, where age is venerated ahead of wealth, social and political ascriptions, Feyi could as well have been the proverbial child who stoned the Iroko tree and disdained ancient lore of the prowess of the Oluwere goddess residing in the tree as effeminate; did she think the Oluwere is driven by human velocity?

Happening at the twilight of his unceremonious removal as governor, Feyis infelicity hallmarked Georges time in Ondo and till date, its ghost still haunts the people. And perhaps, also haunting the two diametrically opposed couple too, who had to go their natural ways at the end of their contractual engagement in Ondo Government House. When the Concord magazine, conducting a valedictory interview for the departing Commodore, demanded what Governor George would like to be remembered by and his response became, that a Lagos boy passed through this place, amid allegations of plundering of their resources, it was easy for Ondo people to allege that George and Feyi had come to use Lagos sense for us.

The slap roulette in Anambra last week, involving wife of respected Nigerian civil war hero, the Ikemba Nnewi, Odumegwu Ojukwu, Bianca and wife of erstwhile Anambra governor, Willie Obiano, Ebelechukwu, on one side, and Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wikes intemperate riposte to both governor and deputy governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki and Philip Shaibu, brought to mind Feyi Georges incivility and infelicity in Ondo State during Georges tour of duty. A major and mutual take-away from the three encounters being that, not only do Nigerian rulers still harbour imperial attitudes to power, they are propelled into arrogance by a Kabiyesi mentality akin to the draconian power of kings in old Oyo Empire, where the king was beyond question. Apparently blinded by the binge of dole-outs they give to political louts and a sense of majesty they feel at superintending over billions of naira, the patrimony of the people which they fritter away at will, as well as the power of life and death that the constitution has unconscionably given them, Nigerian rulers fail to realise that, even in their cowered state, Nigerian people disdain haughty leaders. Humble yourself beyond them, in spite of the enormous powers at your disposal, and you will have them eating by your table.

Feedbacks from the people and the social media since the self-confessed dirty slap handed to the ex-governors wife by Bianca at the inauguration of Charles Soludo as the sixth elected governor of Anambra State, have concretised the submission that Nigerians loathe leaders who disdainfully, without restraint, flaunt the powers they have over them.

As she made towards me, I then pulled away her wig. She held on to her wig with her two hands and tried to take the wig away from me. This very act is considered a sacrilege to a titled matriarch such as myself in Igbo culture. It was at this point that I stood up to defend myself and gave her a dirty slap to stop her from, Bianca had owned up to in a press release.

Ordinarily, Mrs Ojukwu should by now have had charges filed against her for assault, though provoked. However, not only is that not happening, a very huge number of respondents on the social media, in Anambra State, where Ebelechukwu and her husband held sway for eight years and virtually the whole of Nigeria, are abetting this assault by justifying Mrs Ojukwus action. A letter purportedly written by the Obi of Awka, where His Imperial Majesty asked Mrs Obiano to apologise within seven days to Mrs Ojukwu, the entire Igbo race, the new governor and the judge swearing Governor Soludo in when the assault occurred or face the consequences, even when Bianca had owned up to having slapped the ex-First Lady, has gone viral. In fact, someone who witnessed the slap, a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the political party that venerated Obiano and his vile-tempered petrel while in power, had reportedly posed for a photo-op with Bianca after her gallant slapping of the First Lady, declaring that by daring a generally reputed arrogant Ebelechukwu with a dirty slap, the wife of the Nigerian civil war hero had made his day.

Apart from the abstruse sartorial sense of Obiano, the husband, his widely circulated rumoured romance with alcohol that reportedly gave him a persistent glazed and unsmiling look like the interior of the glazier, as well as this latest cache of allegations of humongous pillage of Anambra by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the ex-governor was never known to be tempestuous. Taking his cue from Peter Obi, reported to have massively developed the Owelle of Onitsha, Nnamdi Azikiwes home state, Obiano has a genial personality and literally turned Anambra into a construction company. Ebelechukwu was his counterpoise, temper-wise. Unapologetically tempestuous, a former staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), she romanced power as if both of them shared same umbilical cord. Ebelechukwus ire was courted at the drop of a hat by anyone who encountered her.

a few hours to Soludos inauguration, Bianca had taken to her Facebook page to dismiss Obianos eight-year reign thus: Its liberation day, and today we sing the redemption song. Anambra will be better. This is the day the Lord has madea day that reaffirms the age-long truth that no-one holds the stage forever. I thank the Almighty for keeping us all alive to witness this day.

Though understandably because she, with the active connivance of her husband, had expressed the desire to contest the same Senate seat that she currently occupies, former Minister, Stella Oduah, incumbent senator representing Anambra North, had taken to her Twitter page to harangue Ebelechukwu for what she called her disgraceful (act) against womanhood, as she threw decorum away and attacked Her Excellency, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu.

Apart from deploring this attitude which she called crude, indecorous and unbecoming of a woman who had acted as a mother of the state and even desirous of serving in other capacities, Oduah said that only a few days ago, an innocent woman was publicly paraded naked in the same community our former First Lady hails from and one would have thought that rather than showcase this brute nature of fighting and engaging in public fisticuffs with her guest, she should have exerted same energy and fighting spirit in ensuring that justice is done for that widow.

While the slap session gave Oduah an opportunity to seek her comeuppance from Ebelechukwu, those who knew the former First Lady had very scant respect for her tempestuous character and ill temper during her reign. Senator Uche Ekwunife, who long fell apart with her, was also said to have been pleased that Bianca unburdened Ebelechukwu of her magisterial haughtiness.

However, in all these, no one has taken time to address Mrs Obianos ostensibly justified angst against Mrs Ojukwu. Manifesting the self-righteousness of a duchess dowager over an Anambra that she presumably sees as her familial property  being wife of the Ikemba who established APGA  the ex-beauty queen, whose marriage to her father, ex-Governor Christian Onohs friend, Odumegwu, caused a prolonged family furore, had serially and impudently dismissed Obianos government and went ahead to put down the governorship bid of Soludo. In fact, in one of the press releases she issued against the professor of Economics nomination as the APGA governorship candidate, Bianca said her husbands spirit would be bitter in the grave that Soludo was the choice of Anambra APGA.

Then, a few hours to Soludos inauguration, Bianca had taken to her Facebook page to dismiss Obianos eight-year reign thus: Its liberation day, and today we sing the redemption song. Anambra will be better. This is the day the Lord has madea day that reaffirms the age-long truth that no-one holds the stage forever. I thank the Almighty for keeping us all alive to witness this day. To have worked relentlessly for Soludos winning and finding an impish intruder who had mordantly dismissed her husbands government in attendance at the swearing-in venue of that same candidate, an act that ostensibly showed a woman who sought to reap from the proceeds of what she did not sow, was enough reason why anyones anger would be on tinder as Ebelechukwus was at the swearing-in session. However, being an infamously dismissive and cantankerous woman loathed across board, not only was she presumed at first to be the aggressor who dished out the slap, even when that realisation dawned on the people, Bianca was still held as a heroine. A temperate-minded woman in Ebelechukwus shoes would have bided her time to prove a justifiable point.

Earlier, Governor Wikes infamous temper had been advertised on national television when he publicly harangued Edo State deputy governor, Philip Shaibu at the inauguration, in Port Harcourt, of the Eastern Bypass Road project. His grouse against Shuaibu was that he threatened to leave the PDP.

And he lost his local government when we were in Edo, he lost. And he would come out on television to threaten the party that there are alternatives, look at the deputy governor. Its very unfortunate for our party, a deputy governor is wearing khaki, look at it, Ive never seen a thing like this in my life  who is his father? Obaseki immediately replied to this infelicitous statement from Wike as amounting to a delusion of grandeur, saying, in Edo, we dont accept political bullies and overlords and historically, we have demonstrated our capacity to unshackle ourselves and dethrone bullies and highhanded leaders.

What unites the cases of Feyi George, Mrs Obiano and Wike is the inability of power-holders to understand the ephemeral texture of the power they hold. While Wike is reputed to have changed the infrastructural makeup of Rivers in seven years, he lacks the etiquette of a leader and presents as an impatient bully, in the words of Obaseki. Must Wake reply every perceived infraction?

Apparently lacking the staid comportment that leadership requires, Wike, ostensibly commissioning some projects at the Ikwerre local government of the state a few hours after, paid millions of naira to a national television to cover live the commissioning, which was obviously an opportunity to reply Obaseki. If you go and check the DNA of Godwin Obaseki, what you will see in that DNA is betrayal, serial betrayal, and ungratefulness. Let me stand today to apologise to Adams Oshiomhole who has been vindicated by telling us that we will see the true colour, we will see the insincerity, we will see the ungratefulness of Governor Obaseki, Wike burst out in his guttural, seemingly incomprehensible waffles.

Apart from the huge cash he superintends over, which makes him an Oil Sheikh amongst governors, who in turn cringe before him, in comportment and manners, Wike lacks the temperament of power. In saner societies, the lack of this should disqualify him from the position of responsibility he holds, where decorum, taciturnity and felicity are demanded. It is often difficult to believe that this governor of the oil-rich state underwent a course in law as he displays less of law and more of lawlessness. His incandescent temper is legendary and in public, he has talked down notable governors and persons in Nigeria. He, it was, in May 2021, who threatened to flog the hell out of the former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, on a television programme, for the latters temerity for calling him a dictator. Several thimes, Wike also singed the flesh of a king and ex-governor Godswill Akpabio, among others, riding on his usual intemperate roller coaster.

While the moral of appreciating a benefactor is an African ethos that is reified in discourses and social interactions, political scientists have been in a quandary in analysing this act among Nigerian politicians, whose benefits to recipients of their large heart are, in most cases, heists pillaged from the peoples common till. While Wike was not forthcoming with the benefit he rendered Obaseki and Shaibu, that needed to be requited with a supine attitude to his garrulousness, many have volunteered to say that it was the huge Rivers war chest he opened to the duo while their election was afoot. As the Yoruba will say in their aphorism, it will seem to be the case of a thiefs stolen wealth in the hands of another thief  ole gbe, ole gba. So what gratitude is needed?

What unites the cases of Feyi George, Mrs Obiano and Wike is the inability of power-holders to understand the ephemeral texture of the power they hold. While Wike is reputed to have changed the infrastructural makeup of Rivers in seven years, he lacks the etiquette of a leader and presents as an impatient bully, in the words of Obaseki. Must Wike reply every perceived infraction? This is where leaders demonstrate their innate qualities.

A major leadership trait is patience, which Wike lacks and which Feyi and Ebelechukwu have scant possession of. Feyi and Ebelechukwu are the women that the French named femmes fatale  the destructive female  who their husbands have no leash over their intemperate and asocial behaviour and who drag their husbands names in the mud. Can anyone imagine how a womans unguarded temper could bring to its knees her husbands eight-year tour of duty? The trio authenticate the wisdom in the saying that a low-minded person drags an office to their level.

When one is in office and surveys the seemingly borderless landscape of raw power at ones beck and call and the vast number of people who grovel before one, there is the risk to think of oneself as a mascot and Superman. The truth, however, is that, you are as mortal as the other man next door, equipped with frailties and foibles. What will serve as testament to this is when you go to the toilet. Your poo isnt less smelly than the madman on the streets and when you transit this mortal fold, maggots will make a feast of that body you think too highly of. Just as they will the paupers body.

As if to underscore the ephemeral component of power, Governor Obiano left Government House and a few hours after, he was in the caserne of the EFCC. Like James Hadley Chase said, Obiano, His Excellency, must have found out that power holders are not only lonely when they are dead; they are, immediately power leaves them. As I often say, of all ascriptions and bestowals in this world, the one that answers to the holy writs description of the fleetingness of life as unto vapour, is power. While one who loses wealth, fame, name could still have their flakes surrounding him/her, when power leaves its holder, it leaves them in entirety. Obiano must have found out the eternal nugget in that Yoruba wise saying that no one vacates the road for someone who rode the horse yesterday  a i yago felesin ana  which underscores the transience of power. That is the lesson which the Feyi, Ebelechukwu and the Wikes of today who are still in power, should learn.

Sola Akinuli at 70

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Today is the 70th birthday of the former editor of the defunct Sunday Sketch, Mr Sola Akinuli. Personable and a man who values the power of the written word, he was one of those who held the forte and tradition of the 1964-established newspaper, which became one of the media bequeathals of the Western region to the history of Nigerian journalism.

While in the university in the late 1980s and early 90s, Akinulis Sunday Sketch was one of the media in which the opinion articles I wrote found the comfort of publication. It was thus a delight for him to see him live in 1995 when, as a new staff of the Nigerian Tribune, I walked into his Dugbe, Ibadan office. You are that prolific writer!, he had shouted.

Akinuli was later to become the chief press secretary to two military Administrators, the last being Anthony Onyearugbulem, as military administrator (MILAD) of Ondo State. Consequently, he had to waddle through the bad press provoked when the garrulous Onyearugbulem stomped on the face of one of the most revered elders of Yorubaland, Pa Adekunle Ajasin. Onyearugbulem similarly caused uproar in the State, especially to the Auga people, when he presented the staff of office to the Alani of Idoani, who natives believed was not of royal blood. In Edo, Onyearugbulem replicated his insolence and rudeness to the revered Benin monarchy by attempting to rotate the chairmanship of Obas, seen as an affront on the Benin Kingdom. It is believed across board that the MILADs insolence, both in Ondo and Edo, led to his untimely death.

Akinuli has paid his dues in journalism and is considered to be one of the icons of the profession. He deserves thumbs-up on the occasion of his birthday. Happy birthday to you, sir.

Festus Adedayo is an Ibadan-based journalist.
The only heroes here are the Ukrainian people themselves, who have been saddled with an irresponsible, weak, egotistical, blind, reckless, stubborn and vainglorious president, who cannot differentiate between being an actor/comedian on the stage and being the president of a great and noble nation of 40 million people, who are depending on him to keep them safe and who look up to him to fight for their collective interest.

I deplore and condemn the barbaric killings and vicious barbarism that has been unleashed against a mainly defenceless and helpless civilian population in the Ukraine.

Yet, the bitter truth is that all President Volodymyr Zelensky has to do to stop the relentless slaughter of his people is to state clearly and categorically that the Ukraine will NEVER join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), that the Ukraine will NEVER allow foreign military bases on her soil and that the Ukraine will MAINTAIN her neutrality, like Sweden and Finland.

He also has to allow the Russian-speaking people of Donesk and Eastern Ukraine to exercise their rights of self-determination and either form their own independent country or become part of Russia.

Finally, he has to renounce Ukraines claim to Crimea and accept the fact that this strategically-placed seaport and region is now, and will always be, part and parcel of Russia.

Instead of offering these guarantees and taking these steps, he is giving fine speeches to Western parliaments, whilst his people are being slaughtered and butchered in their churches, offices, homes and houses and whilst his villages, towns and cities are being bombed, burnt, bombarded and utterly destroyed.

I am constrained to ask, what type of man is this? Is he delusional or does he just pretend to be?

I cannot possibly describe him as a hero.

I say this because a hero HELPS his people, does what is in their BEST interest and does all that is REASONABLE and NECESSARY to guarantee their comfort, well-being, safety and security.

A hero does NOT goad and provoke the Russian bear or spit in its face in a reckless and dangerous display of open defiance and contempt.

A hero does that which is WISE and politically EXPEDIENT in order to secure and protect his people and to defend his nations borders.

Can someone kindly whisper this wise counsel into the tiny ears of Volodymyr Zelensky who appears to have fallen in love with the applause and praises of the West and who refuses to do that which needs to be done to save his people from untold hardship and suffering.

A hero does NOT allow neo-colonial foreigners and greedy imperialists, disciples and architects of the New World Order, bellicose and expansionist Western military alliances and perfidious and cowardly Western governments to fool, cajole and push his people into fighting a war that they cannot possibly win or to indulge in an unnecessary conflict with a neighbour that has a massive and all powerful conventional army and more nuclear weapons than any other nation in the world.

A hero does not sacrifice his people on the alter of ego or as an offering to the Western powers.

I blame Zelensky and his Western allies and friends for this unfolding tragedy, for every drop of Ukrainian blood that is being spilt and for the untold hardship and suffering that the great people of the Ukraine are being subjected to.

The only heroes here are the Ukrainian people themselves, who have been saddled with an irresponsible, weak, egotistical, blind, reckless, stubborn and vainglorious president, who cannot differentiate between being an actor/comedian on the stage and being the president of a great and noble nation of 40 million people, who are depending on him to keep them safe and who look up to him to fight for their collective interest.

Despite all the Western propaganda, in this respect Zelensky has failed woefully and miserably, because at the end of the day Ukraine will be brought to her knees and utterly crushed, shattered and broken.

All this could have been avoided if her president had displayed a little humility and restraint from the outset and if he had not opted to dance to the tune of Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron and all his other Western friends who later deserted him.

What a shame!

Never trust a man or woman who urges you to go into a war or to keep fighting a war that you cannot possibly win.

Trust only those who seek the path of peace and urge you to make the reasonable compromises and necessary concessions.

Can someone kindly whisper this wise counsel into the tiny ears of Volodymyr Zelensky who appears to have fallen in love with the applause and praises of the West and who refuses to do that which needs to be done to save his people from untold hardship and suffering.

Femi Fani-Kayode is a former Nigerian minister of Aviation and the Sadaukin Shinkafi.
The new refrain in town is, Nothing will happen. When the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), or rather its licensees, imported smelly, sub-standard petrol, which destroyed motorists cars, everyone knew that nothing would happen. The official lie before then was that NNPC was the sole importer of petrol. The disaster made us know that there were some privileged contractors doing the importation for opaque NNPC.

O ye powers within my ten toes, let me not strut like an eagle only to receive a historic slap that resounds via social media round the globe. I have been reliably informed that the slap under reference was of the common slap variety, not a cover slap which, by definition, affects the ear, nose and throat (if you know, you know)!

I wont dwell on the Bianca versus Ebele distraction for a millisecond longer because it was just the swatting of an irritant fly. This is Nigeria where more serious calamities routinely happen and you can bet your last kobo that there will be no consequences.

Sometime ago, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) announced that it had secured the final forfeiture of 24 landed properties valued at N10.9 billion belonging to a retired military officer. Justice N. E Maha of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had ordered the publication of notices in national newspapers, inviting persons with interest in the property to show why the assets should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government. Nobody showed up, but everyone knew the officer who had acquired the property through proxies. If you know your way around, no interdiction will come near your tent.

One Adenike Bintu, a former deputy commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), preferred to forfeit 60 buildings and a 9.6 hectares parcel of land, at Sabon-Lugbe, Abuja, rather than contest the charges brought against her by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). To ensure that nothing happens when youre interdicted by the authorities in such a situation, simply relocate. You may return to pick up the pieces when the heat dies down.

Few Nigerians were scandalised when a Lagos-Ibadan train stopped in the middle of the bush because it had run out of diesel. The official explanation was that the fuel gauge was faulty! Frustrated passengers unleashed their anger through social media. One Twitter user, King Isaiah Obadore, wrote: Boarded Train from Ibadan to Lagos. Were still stuck in the forest with unknown Chinese Men.

Speaking for myself, it was the first time I would be hearing of a train stalling because of fuel. The authorities were not unduly bothered. As long as they were able to get the train moving again, all was well. Heads were not expected to roll. Just shrug and go on.

The new refrain in town is, Nothing will happen. When the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), or rather its licensees, imported smelly, sub-standard petrol, which destroyed motorists cars, everyone knew that nothing would happen. The official lie before then was that NNPC was the sole importer of petrol. The disaster made us know that there were some privileged contractors doing the importation for opaque NNPC.

NNPC listed the vendors as MRS, Oando, Duke Oil and the Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium. MRS denied responsibility, saying the bad fuel came from the Antwerp, Belgium terminal of Litasco, a subsidiary of the Russian company, Lukoil. The Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium said in a statement on Thursday that the fuel was imported by Britannia-U, a member of the group which, it alleged, had always operated as a lone ranger. That was where it ended. Nigerians knew that nothing would happen subsequently.

The United Arab Emirates provided a list of the sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria to the Nigerian government. We promptly classified the list as top secret, instead of naming and shaming the terror sponsors. Those already conversant with how the Nigerian establishment handles such matters already predicted that nothing would happen. Nothing did.

We have mismanaged our refineries. So, we produce crude oil, ship it abroad and import the refined products, so that Nigerians can serve maximum punishment for being citizens of such a clueless state.

Heraclitus postulated that you cant step into the same river twice. Sorry, in Nigeria, you can step into the same river many times. We who have consistently stepped into the same river over the years know that our own unique body of water flows nowhere. It is a large, stagnant fluid mass with an illusory veneer of motion.

The annual festival of darkness is held between February and April. An official announcement usually accompanies the festival: The national grid collapsed because the water level in Kanji Dam dropped and there is no gas to power the turbines  That announcement is followed by a skit by GenCos, DisCos and Whatever-Else-Cos. Amazingly, the cold season is when Nigerians get the most supply of electricity (which is anything from an average of two hours a week for high density areas where the poor reside, to 20 hours a day in posh neighbourhoods). The hot period between harmattan and the rains is festival time to celebrate darkness. Its been the same story annually.

Look at the petrol queues all over our major cities. Nobody will pay any price for this scandal. You run into stagnant waters if you joke that the president ought to query the minister of Petroleum Resources. Many families now look back wistfully at the past decade when they complained that things were bad. Petrol was N87 but it is now N165 or N230, depending on whether you buy through the pump in Abuja or from the black market all over the country. A bag of rice was N8,000 but is now N32,000.

Diesel was N110 per litre, now it is N700. In 2015, the price of a 12.5 kilogramme cylinder of cooking gas increased from N2,800 to N3,200. In 2022, it is now N8,500. You now require N355.80 to purchase a litre of kerosene. This is N158.17 more when compared to the N197.63 the product was sold for eight years ago. Aviation fuel is also at the mercy of NNPCs incompetence. Local airlines almost went on strike recently, demanding to be given licences to import the product, instead of being helpless in the face of the current opaque system. Even at that, the stress is passed on to Nigerians, as airlines which charged as low as N12,000 for a one-hour flight (Economy Class) eight years ago, now charge a flat rate of N50,000.

The quest to address the housing deficit in the country is being dogged by the fact that cement, which used to sell for N1,800 per bag, now goes for N4,500 for the same quantity.

Isnt this the same country where the Niger Delta Development Corporation (NDDC) claimed to have spent billions of naira on travels, conferences and allowances during the COVID-19 lockdown? What became of the fainting skit at the National Assembly hearing? And, as a social media activist, Iliya, recently asked, Didnt the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development claim to have fed school children during COVID lockdown? If you expect all that to be audited, you may wait forever. Nothing will happen.

Nigeria has a long history of running a very opaque system in accounting for proceeds from its petroleum sector. Remember the $2.8 billion saga of the late 70s and the subsequent Irikefe Panel, which led us nowhere. If our past is to inform our present with regard to these matters, nothing will happen.

The United Arab Emirates provided a list of the sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria to the Nigerian government. We promptly classified the list as top secret, instead of naming and shaming the terror sponsors. Those already conversant with how the Nigerian establishment handles such matters already predicted that nothing would happen. Nothing did.

According to the latest data made available by the National Bureau for Statistics in 2018, there were a total of 11.8 million vehicles in Nigeria. If this figure is properly audited and factored into the total amount of petrol locally consumed in Nigeria and for which trillions of naira are paid in subsidies, some of the current beneficiaries of the gravy train will have to really struggle to stay out of the penitentiary. But I forget, nothing will happen.

Up till now, the nation awaits governments statement on the query issued by the office of the Auditor General for the Federation regarding the failure of the defunct NNPC (now NNPC Limited) to account for about 107,239,436.00 barrels of crude oil lifted for domestic consumption in 2019.

The AuGFs report alleged that about 22,929.84 litres of PMS valued at N7.06 billion pumped to the two depots (Ibadan-Ilorin and Aba-Enugu) between June and July 2019 were not received by the depots.

The report identified discrepancies between the amount reported by the NNPC as transfer to the federations account and what was reported by the AuGF. While NNPCs records showed that N1,272,606,864,000.00 was transferred by the Corporation, the amount recorded by the Accountant General of the Federation was N608,710,292,773.44, showing a discrepancy of N663,896,567,227.58.

The report also said that the sum of N519,922,433,918.46 was transferred to the Federation Account by the NNPC based on transfer mandates, while demanding that the company provides reconciliation statement for the difference of N88,787,862,853.96 between AGFs figure of N608,710,296,772.42 and NNPCs figure per transfer mandate of N519,922,433,918.46.

Nigeria has a long history of running a very opaque system in accounting for proceeds from its petroleum sector. Remember the $2.8 billion saga of the late 70s and the subsequent Irikefe Panel, which led us nowhere. If our past is to inform our present with regard to these matters, nothing will happen.

Wole Olaoye is a public relations consultant and veteran journalist. He can be reached on wole.olaoye@gmail.com, Twitter: @wole_olaoye; Instagram: woleola2021.

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While I strongly advise the proprietor of the American University in Kano, Professor Gwarzo to ensure the recruitment of highly qualified and experienced scholars for the academic programmes, I will equally urge Engr Agaka to maintain his apolitical stance, while ensuring equity and fairness in discharging his duties and carrying on with the enviable roles he plays in the society. May both of these gentlemen continue to find fruition, fulfillment and the motivation to do more, as they keep modelling the best that human nature has to offer.

They are apolitical, non-partisan and yet contribute to socio-economic developments through the facilitation of worthy projects, empowerment programmes and scholarships.

As unassuming philanthropists, Professor Abubakar Adamu Gwarzo and Engineer Kale Kawu Agaka have demonstrated that beyond political office, one can make positive impacts by enabling developments in ones respective communities and the nation in general.

At different times and for different events, I have encountered the two personalities of the Generation X and observed the enormous energies and resources they deployed in ensuring community development.

Gwarzo, an international businessman, a professor of Modern European Languages (French), and founder of Maryam Abacha University of Nigeria (MAAUN), invests heavily in tertiary institutions to ensure the affordability of high-quality education in the country.

Agaka, an electrical engineer and a director at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), ensures and supervises the provision of quality electricity facilities in various communities across Nigeria.

Less than a year after the National Universities Commission (NUC) issued a licence for the operation of Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria (MAAUN) on its Kano campus, precisely on Monday, February 15, 2021, Professor Gwarzo has constructed a network of well-tarred roads around the area, a pedestrian walkway, alongside lush greenery and a luxuriantly pleasant layout of flowers. By March this year, he has already completed magnificent structures, such as faculty buildings, lecture theatres, laboratories, staff quarters, a cafeteria, and playground, among other facilities, in a highbrow district of Kano State.

Despite being one of the finest and best equipped private universities in northern Nigeria today, the founder still managed to peg the tuition fees for students pursuing degree programmes at less than N1,000,000 per session. The academic programmes that have been approved for commencement in the University are under the Schools of Management, Computing and Law. There is also the School of Allied Health Sciences, in which students can study Nursing, Medical Laboratory Science and Physiotherapy.

In addition to the first-class facilities in the university, through his philanthropist initiative, the AAG-Foundation, Professor Gwarzo has donated vehicles and ambulances to select higher institutions of learning in Northwest Nigeria. The Foundation also champions campaigns towards improving access to quality education, strengthening healthcare systems, inspiring women and youths for development and promoting gender equity.

The businessman, who operates another American-styled university in the Niger Republic, has promised to establish a Franco British International University in Kaduna and a Canadian University in Abuja soon.

While many business people would rather invest in real estate and other high yielding lucrative enterprises, it is indeed commendable that Professor Gwarzo is investing heavily in education to address the educational deficit and challenges we are facing in the country, especially in Northern Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Engineer Kawu Agaka, a prince of Ilorin Emirate, on behalf of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) where he is the Director of Projects, facilitates and supervises the provision of high-quality electricity transformers, dedicated solar lights and mini-grid injection substations, in the effort at boosting and ensuring the steady and stable supply of electricity in various communities across the country.

Apart from facilitating infrastructural developments through the lengths and breadths of Nigeria, Kawu Agaka, who was recently turbaned as the Dan-Iyan of Ilorin Emirate by Emir Zulu Gambari, enables the provision of scholarships to indigent students and skill acquisitions programmes for youth empowerment and self-reliance, while equally supporting widows and orphans with free medications through his familys foundation.

It was therefore not surprising that an unprecedented crowd of people, from far and near, thronged the emirs palace in Ilorin during his turbaning ceremony as the Dan-Iya. In fact, several beneficiaries of his philanthropic and other support gestures played major roles in that traditional chieftaincy ceremony by contributing a huge volume of resources towards the hosting of the event.

The title of Dan-Iya is usually bestowed on a prince with a high sense of integrity, a strong vision and strong participation in community service. Agaka was also deemed as highly befitting of this title, which had been held before him by his father, Late Alhaji Ibrahim Kawu Agaka, a royal prince and successful businessman, who was the first titleholder.

Engineer Agaka has proven the veracity in the fact that public office, as the highest point of service, should essentially be used for the public good, towards community and national development, and not for ulterior or selfish interests. Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara attested to this when he described the new Dan Iyan as the pride of the Ilorin Emirate.

AbdulRazaq said the traditional honour was truly well-deserved because of the quintessential good nature of the recipient, his love for the Ilorin culture and his selfless form of philanthropy.

His choice as the holder of this prestigious cultural rank attests to his huge contributions to the growth of our community, his support for our cultural heritage, and his open-door policy and support, especially for young people. We are indeed proud of him. I thank His Royal Highness, the Emir of Ilorin, Dr Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, and the Emirate Council for the excellent choice of the fine gentleman as Dan Iyan Geri (Ilorin), the governor said.

In our constructive engagements and criticisms, we should also endeavour to always celebrate those that are contributing to the wellbeing of society. Professor Adamu Gwarzo and Engineer Kale Agaka, among a host of others, are models whose contributions should inspire others to do the same, if not more for humanity, through selfless service, sacrifice, and a dogged commitment to the attainment of a much more better society, anchored to the need for greater human development.

While I strongly advise the proprietor of the American University in Kano, Professor Gwarzo to ensure the recruitment of highly qualified and experienced scholars for the academic programmes, I will equally urge Engineer Agaka to maintain his apolitical stance, while ensuring equity and fairness in discharging his duties and carrying on with the enviable roles he plays in the society. May both of these gentlemen continue to find fruition, fulfillment and the motivation to do more, as they keep modelling the best that human nature has to offer.

Yushau A. Shuaib, the author of Crisis Communication Strategies, blogs at www.YAShuaib.com, and can be reached through yashuaib@yahoo.com
A strong, functional, technology ecosystem plays a vital role in the successful implementation of the digital economy. Tech ecosystems are essential for transforming innovative ideas into successful high-growth businesses.

Economies are booming with expansion and moving forward  creating jobs and wealth  through the impact of tech ecosystems.

Well-cultivated technology ecosystems provide benefits to young businesses by offering the finance, support, and expertise necessary to drive growth potential.

Recently, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) kick-started the Idea Hatch (iHatch) startup incubation programme to further upgrade the Nigerian tech ecosystem for greater performance.

Organised by NCAIR, a subsidiary of NITDA, in partnership with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the iHatch is a five-month free intensive incubation programme created to refine the business model of Nigerian entrepreneurs.

Through a series of mentoring, lectures, and boot camps, iHatch incubation programme will develop and promote scalable business models for startups across all sectors in Nigeria.

This innovative partnership between Nigeria and Japan (IHatch) aims to strengthen the technological ecosystem by centering support on selected IT sectors; establishing connections between the startups and investors/corporations, and increasing the number of successful businesses to create more prosperity and employment opportunities.

It is also planned to support indigenous entrepreneurs that use creative commercial services and products to address social challenges by creating a model incubation program that would be expanded to other states in Nigeria.

Benefits accruing to the participating startups include free offline/online interactive training; free co-working space at NCAIR; mentorship sessions with tech specialists; networking opportunities; and funding opportunities, among others.

The programme is apt, especially coming at the time more digitally creative Nigerians in the country are responding to the federal governments charge on finding new indigenous solutions to some key problems.

With a focus on youths, innovations, entrepreneurship, and technology, the incubation programme is expected to accelerate the process of bringing innovative ideas to life.

Consequently, the actualisation of such innovative ideas is critical to generating the much-needed jobs for the large population of young people and catalysing the Nigerian digital economy to a higher level.

The project will incubate, mould, and launch excellent ideas into products or services to positively turn things around in the critical areas of the economy and help humanity in general.

While expressing his optimism, the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi urgedthe youths to take advantage of the opportunity offered through the programme to empower themselves, refine their business ideas, and contribute to creating a better future for Nigeria.

It is heartwarming to note that the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Nigeria, Matsunaga Kazuyoshi, gave the assurance that the plan is targeted at enhancing the Nigerian start-up ecosystem.

The Japanese envoy emphasised that apart from the provision of aid or financial support, the collaboration will, most importantly, avail the startups with the needed expertise through the transfer of Japanese corporate ethics to project success.

Indeed, this ideas incubation programme is yet another laudable initiative by the federal government to provide a platform for startups to convert their creative solution-driven ideas into innovative products and services for improved economic productivity.

From the foregoing, it is evident that tech ecosystems are about dynamic interactions between people, software, data, systems, and services.

In todays digitally connected world, ecosystems are vital to growing existing markets and competing effectively. They help businesses co-evolve (grow and transform together) and attract diverse partners who provide innovative solutions to solve challenges.

A tech ecosystem is an interconnected and interdependent network of diverse entities to spur innovation in the tech environment sustainably. It comprises suppliers, customers, trading partners, applications, third-party data service partners, and all respective technologies.

Tech ecosystems are formed by people, startups, and various organisations in a location (physical or virtual) interacting cooperatively as a system to create and scale new startup companies.

They include universities, funding organisations (accelerators, incubators, co-working spaces, etc), research organisations, service provider organisations, large corporations, and government organisations that offer partnerships and other initiatives to spur growth.

High-growth companies can contribute to both regional and national economies with increased revenues, use of local office space, and offering jobs that upskill the workforce and attract top talent from overseas.

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A thriving ecosystem allows founders to connect and share stories about how to overcome problems they may be facing. Through such connections, they are able to act upon their core gaps, strengths, and opportunities to become more globally competitive.

While commending the efforts of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, and its agencies, especially, NITDA, NCAIR, the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), more action is needed to drive growth in the indigenous tech ecosystem.

Meanwhile, NITDA consistently pledges its willingness to collaborate with stakeholders in the areas of strategic human capital development, funding and support to the ecosystem, research, and insights, monitoring and compliance, partnerships, and implementation of guidelines.

However, this calls for strengthening the partnership between government and the private sector in order to sustain engagement, transparent and effective communication among all stakeholders towards creating a formidable and enviable ecosystem.

Inyene Ibanga writes from Wuye District, Abuja; email: inyeneibanga@yahoo.com.
The spokesperson for the immediate past Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, on Sunday, decried a viral video footage showing the ex-governor in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

James Eze, the spokesperson for Mr Obiano, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, said the leakage of the clip was a blight on the image of EFCC, while also condemning what he described as the awful treatment of his boss in detention.

In the 12-second clip that has gone viral across social media platforms, Mr Obiano, who was dressed in shorts and a white shirt, was seen drinking from a bottle in a closed room presumed to be in EFCC custody.

The video has since elicited reactions, with many Nigerians denouncing it and demanding an investigation into its leakage into the social media space.

Mr Eze confirmed that the footage in circulation is authentic, adding that it does not portray his principal in a good light.

I am confirming what was in the video, and whoever allowed that video to come out and circulate heavily on social media, does not mean well for the image of Nigeria and the image of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and for the image of my former boss, the former governor of Anambra state, he said.

He also accused the anti-graft authority of persecuting Mr Obiano, saying that an accused person is presumed innocent until he is convicted.

And I personally believe that this is a witch-hunt as the matter has been treated with a video recording of the former governor in the EFCC facility. It makes it very obvious that this is not the EFCC usual trail as we know it.

An accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a competent Court of law. And for them to be making a mockery in the media of a video of him in his underpants circulating in the public, I think the media should be astounded by that because it is Obiano today, it could be anybody else tomorrow.

Awful treatment

He also called for an immediate investigation of the awful treatment of a perceived offender. He said people should be treated with dignity.

Here is a man who did not resist arrest and you are disposing of him in his underpants, that is an assault of the dignity of Nigerians, not Obiano alone.

Asked if he has any information on Mr Obianos release, the spokesman said: I dont have any information if he has been released. If he has been released we would be happy, because he has been unduly held for offences that are not so clear.

When contacted, the EFCCs spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren , confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Obiano is still in the custody of the EFCC

Mr Uwujaren declined to speak on the video showing Mr Obiano. He urged our reporter to await a press statement.

I am preparing a press statement, he said in a terse message sent to our reporter, he said.

Back story

Mr Obiano was apprehended at Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos at about 8.30 p.m. on Thursday.

Sources at the commission, who asked not to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the press on the matter, had said Mr Obiano was arrested at Lagos airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Houston, Texas United States.

On Friday, EFCC transferred him from its Lagos zonal office, where he passed the first night after his arrest, to Abuja.

Although details of the allegations against him are still sketchy, media reports have said the governor of Anambra for two terms is being quizzed by EFCC detectives over alleged misappropriation of public funds, including N5billion Sure-P and N37billion security vote which was withdrawn in cash.

Part of the money is also said to have been diverted to fund political activities in the state.

Obiano was arrested for alleged misappropriation of public funds, including, N5bn Sure-P and N37billion security vote which was withdrawn in cash. Part of the funds was also allegedly diverted to finance political activities in the state, EFCCs spokesperson, Mr Uwujaren, was quoted as telling Punch.

Recall that the commission had since last year placed the former governor on its watch list.

PREMIUM TIMES reported in November last year that the EFCC had in a letter to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) dated November 15, 2021, requested the Service to place the governor on a watchlist and inform it anytime he is travelling out of the country from any of the international airports and other points of entry and exit.

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The crumbling stone walls of Fort Ticonderoga will be restored under a new $25 million project that just got a $1/2 million boost from U.S. Senator Charles Schumer.Press-Republican Photo/Lohr McKinstry
BUDAPEST, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Trade unions and civilians organized Saturday a large demonstration at the Kossuth square in front of the Parliament in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, demanding higher wages and the right to strike.

The square was reportedly filled with more than 10,000 teachers and students, many dressed in plaid shirts, which have become a symbol of teachers over the last years.

The demonstrators were holding signs such as "We continue to teach, despite meager salaries," "There is no future without teachers," and "Who is going to teach tomorrow?"

The teachers have been demanding immediate wage settlements and reductions in workload from the government for years.

On March 16, strikes were held in schools in Budapest, and major Hungarian cities following months of fruitless negotiations between the government and the trade unions. Teachers were demanding a pay rise, a reduction in their compulsory hours, and also an increase in the salaries of non-teaching staff working in schools.

Two weeks after a warning strike was staged on Jan. 31, a government decree took away the possibility of a visible and substantive strike from the teachers.

"Teachers are angry because the government has made it impossible for them to strike instead of negotiating better conditions, and giving them more respect," Peter Lisztes, an 18-year-old student, told Xinhua.

Teachers' salaries in Hungary are very low, about 207,000 forints net (613 U.S. dollars) per month, according to a report of local website hrportal.hu. (1 U.S. dollar = 337.83 fronts) 
Southbury, CT (06488)

Today

Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 71F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. Low 49F. Winds light and variable.
This year's 'Empower Every Moment' campaign, led by award-winning National Geographic photographer Kiliii Yuyan, puts Iceland's exceptional vistas, cascading mountains and hidden waterfalls as the focus  all filmed and photographed using only OPPO's latest flagship smartphone, the Find X5 Pro.

The Find X5 Pro's 4K ultra-night video and ultra HDR photography capabilities are empowered by the OPPO-developed MariSilicon X Imaging NPU (neural processing unit), a dedicated chip that redefines the concept of night-time videography and photography for striking 4K imagery without sacrificing the subject or the background.

Bingo Liu, President of OPPO Western Europe, remarked: "Our goal at OPPO is to empower people through technology to create amazing experiences, and with the Find X5 Pro, people will be able to capture the full spectrum of life's colours. What better way to depict this than by visiting one of the most beautiful parts of the world and immortalising the landscape with striking true-to-life photography. Our previous campaigns with National Geographic brought to the forefront the hidden beauties of our planet, and we're so excited for people to see what they've done this time using our Find X5 Pro's powerful camera system that can capture 1 billion breath-taking colours."

Kiliii Yuyan, award-winning National Geographic photographer, reflected: "One of the most challenging areas of smartphone photography is making pictures in low light. It's easy to miss capturing detail, as well as extreme lights and darks that can elevate your photography to another level."

Kiliii Yuyan's award-winning work has previously illuminated the stories of the Arctic and human communities connected to the land. Informed by his ancestry that is both Nanai (Siberian Native) and Chinese-American, he has travelled across the polar regions working with indigenous cultures and wildlife. He has seen and experienced the adventures and perils of the world  escaping collapsing sea ice, chased by whales in Greenland, and found kinship at the edges of the world.

The Campaign  Empower Every Moment

Launching on 15th March, the campaign, 'Empower Every Moment' will celebrate Kiliii's journey through Iceland, exploring places such as the iconic glacier lagoon Jokulsarlon, the remarkable black sand beach of Fauskasandur and the raw beauty of Kvernufoss; where he captured the stunning locations with the OPPO Find X5 Pro.

In addition to the campaign with National Geographic, OPPO is also giving six people a chance for a once in a lifetime trip to experience Iceland for themselves. Through posting on Instagram the beautiful moments in their life and using #GetawayWithOPPO and #OPPOFindX5Pro with no limits to entries. The entries will be judged by an independent panel of experts looking at the following criteria  uniqueness, quality, and raw photography talent.

OPPO Find X5 Pro  Empower Every Moment

The latest flagship by OPPO, the Find X5 Pro, raises the bar on smartphone imaging and premium design. The new smartphone is packed with industry-leading features to empower consumers to be their true selves and express their individuality on their terms.

The Find X5 Pro boasts a futuristic aesthetic that achieves clean, modern sophistication and world-first imaging experiences, including a dedicated imaging Neural Processing Unit developed by OPPO, MariSilicon X, which overcomes smartphone video capture's greatest challenge  night-time recording and enables captivating photography. Complimented with an incomparable dual flagship IMX766 camera system, unrivalled performance, ultra-fast 5G connectivity, and incredible SUPERVOOC TM Flash Charging technology.

- For more information please contact: [email protected]

- For more announcements and news, follow OPPO on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

- For more information on the 'Empower Every Moment' campaign as well as the OPPO and National Geographic partnership, go to: https://www.oppo.com/uk/events/empower-every-moment/

About OPPO

OPPO is a leading global smart device brand. Since the launch of its first mobile phone Smiley Face in 2008, OPPO has been in relentless pursuit of the perfect synergy of aesthetic satisfaction and innovative technology. Today, OPPO provides a wide range of smart devices spearheaded by the Find X and Reno series. Beyond devices, OPPO provides its users with the ColorOS and internet services including OPPO Cloud and OPPO+. OPPO has footprints in more than 50 countries and regions with more than 40,000 employees dedicated to creating a better life for customers around the world.

Contact

Jiatong Li

T: +49 15238850933

E: [email protected]

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1764831/Image_1_OPPO.jpg

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1764832/Image_2_OPPO.jpg

SOURCE OPPO
SOLNA, Sweden, March 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Loomis AB has appointed Aritz Larrea as new President and CEO of the company, effective at the latest as of 1 August 2022. Aritz is since June 2018 President of Loomis US and a member of group management. Patrik Andersson will remain as President and CEO of the company until Aritz has started his new position.

Aritz Larrea is a Spanish citizen born in 1973. He has an Executive Master in Business Administration from Instituto de Empresa in Spain and long experience in senior management positions. Aritz has, among other things, been Country President for Loomis in Spain and before joining Loomis he was CEO for Grupo Segur in Spain.

Chairman Alf Goransson, says:

"Patrik Andersson has led the positioning of Loomis with a clear strategy for developing the core business but also moving up the value chain of cash management and new payment services. Aritz Larrea has as President of Loomis US showed strong leadership and great insights of the industry's challenges. With Aritz as the new President and CEO, we secure continuity in the company and a continued powerful implementation of the Loomis strategy."

Aritz Larrea, says:

"I am honored and extremely proud to have been chosen to lead Loomis. Thanks to our consistent strategy focused on growth, efficiency improvements and innovation, Loomis has transformed into a global company in the payments industry. I look forward to working with our customers, partners and employees worldwide to continue executing our strategy, thereby creating added value for all our stakeholders."

This press release is also available on the company's website, www.loomis.com.

March 19, 2022

CONTACT:

Alf Goransson

Chairman of the Board

Contact: Carina Cederblad

+46 8 522 920 53

[email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/loomis-ab/r/aritz-larrea-appointed-as-new-president-and-ceo-of-loomis-ab,c3528303

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/51/3528303/1550822.pdf Aritz Larrea utsedd till ny vd och koncernchef for Loomis

SOURCE Loomis AB
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aurora Solar, the industry's leading software platform for solar sales and design, announced it closed a $200 million Series D funding round co-led by current investors Coatue and Energize Ventures with participation from Fifth Wall, ICONIQ and new investors, Lux Capital and Emerson Collective. With this funding, Aurora Solar will accelerate its mission to create a future of clean energy by equipping solar professionals with a powerful and accessible software platform for every step of the solar adoption process.

"As a trusted partner to the fastest growing solar companies, we have a unique vantage point from which to deliver customer-centric innovation," said Christopher Hopper, Co-founder and CEO of Aurora Solar. "We are thrilled about our next chapter and accelerating innovations that enable every member of the solar organization to benefit from data and AI, and ultimately deliver on the promise of solar."

The solar industry is at a strategic inflection point. According to the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), solar has experienced an average annual growth rate of 42% in installed solar capacity over the past decade and is expected to continue setting a series of record years until 2024. This strong industry-level momentum, along with the dramatic shift to a digital-first business environment, further accelerated by the pandemic, has highlighted the need for the solar companies to double down on digital transformation.

"Software is increasingly becoming a mission-critical part of every solar organization's technology and operating strategy," said Samuel Adeyemo, Co-founder and CRO of Aurora Solar. "Aurora's focus is to help our customers tackle some of the industry's biggest challenges head on: accelerating sales cycles, scaling up design operations, and transitioning costly and ineffective manual processes to automated and integrated workflows."

With more than 7.5 million solar projects designed in its software platform, Aurora is the de facto standard for solar sales, design and operations. Top solar companies in the US, including Freedom Forever, Infinity Energy, Sunpower and POWERHOME Solar depend on Aurora to power their sales, design and operations teams, and deliver meaningful business outcomes. Building on this momentum, this funding will help Aurora accelerate its product development, expand outreach, and build lasting, trusted relationships with their customers while also increasing Aurora's collaboration with the broader solar community.

"Solar is a $100 billion industry and the fastest growing power generation source in the world. At Energize, we believe the key to accelerating solar adoption at scale is through software and automation," said John Tough, managing partner at Energize Ventures, which is Aurora's largest investor. "Aurora is building the operating system that will support this growth, and we're thrilled to make our fourth consecutive investment in the company as they continue to expand their platform and build upon their world-class team."

Aurora Solar is committed to supporting solar companies, big and small, global and local, as they lead society toward a sustainable future, and will continue to work toward its mission of providing all solar professionals with leading-edge tools to efficiently sell, design, and install high quality solar projects.

Aurora Solar will highlight its latest innovations at its Sunrise Demo Day event on March 2, 2022. To register, visit sunrise.aurorasolar.com .

About Aurora Solar Inc.

Aurora Solar is a fast-growing technology company whose digital platform enables solar professionals to streamline complex and costly manual processes, so they can focus on what matters  driving solar adoption at scale. The award-winning San Francisco-based company powers over 5,000 of the solar industry's most successful organizations and was voted the best solar software by Solar Power World in 2021. Over 7 million solar projects have been designed in Aurora globally. For more information, visit www.aurorasolar.com and follow us on Twitter @AuroraSolarInc.

About Energize Ventures

Energize Ventures is a leading global alternative investment manager focused on accelerating digital transformation in energy and sustainability. Founded in 2016, Energize now holds nearly $750 million in assets under management and has funded 18 companies to date. Energize is backed by institutional and strategic LPs including CDPQ, Credit Suisse, Invenergy, SE Ventures (corporate venture arm of Schneider Electric), GE Renewable Energy, Xcel Energy, and more. With an unmatched depth and breadth of industry and operational expertise, Energize works in partnership with its portfolio companies to realize their full potential from early commercialization to growth scaling and into the public markets. For more information on Energize Ventures, please visit www.energize.vc .

About Coatue

Coatue is one of the largest technology investment platforms in the world with more than $35 billion in assets under management. Our dedicated team of engineers and data scientists work closely with investment professionals to add value to founders and executive teams in our portfolio. With venture, growth and public funds, we back entrepreneurs from around the globe and at every stage of growth. Some of our private investments have included Airtable, Ant Financial, Anaplan, ByteDance, Chime, Databricks, DoorDash, Instacart, Meituan, Snap, Snowflake and Spotify.

Press Contact:

Sarah Nowak

[email protected]

SOURCE Aurora Solar
CENTENNIAL, Colo., March 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Real America's Voice investigative journalist Ben Bergquam and his production crew were detained at gunpoint by the U.S. Border Patrol on Friday at the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona while filming an episode of the network's Law and Border program. Bergquam and his team have spent the past year reporting from the border and had previously never encountered such aggressive tactics by law enforcement, though they work regularly with numerous agencies.



Shocking video footage from RAV reveals how Bergquam and the RAV photojournalists were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents  alledging they were forced into patrol cars and then investigated at gunpoint with their hands on their heads  while illegal border crossers were ignored.

"I have been to this section of the border many times, both with law enforcement escorts and without, and have never had an encounter like this," RAV investigative journalist Ben Bergquam said. "While we have complete respect for law enforcement, we were stunned to be detained at gunpoint while illegal immigrants looked on right after crossing our southern border. This incident reveals the backwards priorities of our leaders in Washington, unfortunately, as the border crisis worsens by the day."

"Such targeting of journalists has rarely ever happened in America," said Real America's Voice CEO Howard Diamond. "Though the Biden administration's border agency's detainment of our journalists greatly concerns us, we remain undaunted in our commitment to deliver consistent and fact-based news reporting on the crisis on the southern border while the rest of the media ignore it."

Data released by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) revealed that 164,973 illegal immigrants were encountered at the southern border in February, the highest total in the history of the Department of Homeland Security. That staggering number caps off 12 straight months of encounters above 150,000 per month, and a total of over two million illegal immigrant encounters since President Biden entered the White House.

See shocking video of the detainment of RAV journalists HERE.

Real America's Voice programming is available at http://realamericasvoice.com/ or by downloading the app on Apple or Android . RAV is also available on DISH Network, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, SelectTV, and Roku.

SOURCE Real America's Voice
Meeka Gold Ltd (ASX:MEK) says 13,000 metres of aircore drilling at the Circle Valley Project in the Albany-Fraser Mobile Belt of southern Western Australia has been extremely successful in defining new gold zones and favourable horizons for REE mineralisation.

Two new regolith gold targets have been picked out by the company coincident with a magnetic feature extending 5.5 kilometres east to the Fenceline prospect.

The drilling was designed to cross the interpreted strike of the two shear zones observed in the aeromagnetic data, with gold mineralisation intersected over lengths of 700 metres and 350 metres respectively.

These new zones of gold mineralisation offer a significant exploration target, and the company plans to follow up lines of aircore drilling to further test this shear system in the second half of the year.

While this regional aircore drilling was in train, a more focused drilling program was completed at the Anomaly A prospect, which was successful in defining the strike of mineralisation to the east and west of the reverse circulation (RC) drill hole completed in January that intersected 36 metres at 2.69 g/t gold.

Based on this improved understanding of the strike of mineralisation at Anomaly A, the company has kicked off a program of deeper RC drill holes to test the interpreted shear zone below these aircore results.

Circle Valley Project aircore drilling results.

Rare earth elements on the horizon

Regionally, the aircore drilling has also intersected a regolith profile of 10-to-20-metre-thick orange/red coloured upper saprolite clays within the 20-metre thick saprolite layer.

This orange/red upper saprolite horizon corresponds with the orange/red upper saprolite profile intersected 3 kilometres to the west during the 2021 aircore program, which has subsequently been shown to host significant intervals of rare earth element (REE) mineralisation, including:

12 metres at 1,003 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO) within 36 metres at 672 ppm TREO from 28 metres; and

4 metres at 877 ppm TREO within 23 metres at 514 ppm TREO from 48 metres.

These thicker zones of REE mineralisation sit on the margin of a large paleo-drainage feature identified in an airborne electromagnetic survey data compiled by Nova Energy Limited in 2007 while it was exploring for uranium.

The exploration model pursued by Nova at the time was a redox-type uranium deposition at the margin of paleo-drainage channels. Meekas hypothesis is that the paleo-drainage feature could also result in significant deposition of REE at the margin of the channel.

Strike potential

Commenting on the progress at Circle Valley, CEO Tim Davidson said: These results are very exciting for the team as we are beginning to understand the geology and the various styles of mineralisation, both gold and REE, that exist at Circle Valley.

The two new gold zones identified in the north of the tenure are significant in both width of anomalism and strike potential. Both are located on the same shear zone as the Fenceline prospect 5.5 kilometres to the east where gold mineralisation has also been intersected in aircore drilling.

Whats next?

The company is waiting on 4,700 metres of drill samples, which are at the laboratory and waiting to be assayed for gold, while REE assay results from the 2022 aircore drilling program and further REE assays from the 2021 drilling program remain pending.

With the conclusion of aircore drilling and while we wait for the remaining gold and REE assays to be returned from the laboratory, we have commenced drilling a number of RC holes at Anomaly A to test for gold in the interpreted shear zone below the aircore drilling, Davidson said.

We expect to receive further gold and REE results from the laboratory in the coming week and look forward to updating shareholders with respect to these results as they are received.
Tehran, March 20 : The navy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has reportedly warned foreign forces off the regional waters, noting regional countries are responsible for security in the Gulf.

The IRGC Navy has boosted control over the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and north of the Indian Ocean by equipping its units with advanced homegrown defence hardware, said Alireza Tangsiri at a meeting with officials and commanders of the IRGC Navy's bases.

Iranian forces are duty-bound to fully defend national interests anywhere and anytime and will confront any plot or sedition aimed to harm Iran's security, he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Tangsiri also appealed for unity among Islamic countries in the region to establish lasting security, calling regional security "a red line." Iranian military and civil officials have constantly called for the departure of foreign forces from the southern waters of Iran.
London, March 20 : UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has garnered widespread criticism after her compared the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine to Brexit, a media report said on Sunday.

While addressing a Conservative Party spring conference in Blackpool on Saturday, Johnson said: "I know that it's the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom, every time. I can give you a couple of famous recent examples.

"When the British people voted for Brexit in such large, large numbers, I don't believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners.

"It's because they wanted to be free to do things differently and for this country to be able to run itself." But his remarks did not go down well among political figures in the UK and Europe, said the BBC report.

Gavin Barwell, who served as former Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff in No 10, said: "Apart from the bit where voting in a free and fair referendum isn't in any way comparable with risking your life to defend your country against invasion, and the awkward fact the Ukrainians are fighting for the freedom to join the EU, this comparison is bang on." Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, chair of the defence select committee, said that "comparing the Ukrainian people's fight against Putin's tyranny to the British people voting for Brexit damages the standard of statecraft we were beginning to exhibit".

Calling Johnson a "national embarrassment", Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: "To compare a referendum to women and children fleeing Putin's bombs is an insult to every Ukrainian. He is no Churchill: he is Basil Fawlty." Meanwhile in Europe, Donald Tusk, former president of the European Council, tweeted: "Boris, your words offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense." Guy Verhofstadt, the former Prime Minister of Belgium who was the European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator, said the comparison was "insane".
Chennai, March 20 : Ramgopalratnam is now a pracharak of Bhagwad Gita and is on a mission to take Gita across the villages and slums of South India. M.Tech in Mechanical Engineering, social life has always been the passion and mission for this Tamil Nadu native-born and brought up in Nagpur.

He passed Btech and Mtech from the National Institute of Technology (then Regional Engineering College), Nagpur and after working for a short time as an engineer he switched to social life becoming a full-time 'Pracharak' of the RSS.

He worked along with the present Sarsangachalak of the RSS, Mohan Bhagwat in Nagpur, has worked in various capacities in the Sangh and has been a pracharak of the organisation in South Africa as well. He was an RSS pracharak for 17 years commencing from 1983 and ending in 2000. The last two years of his RSS pracharakship were in South Africa.

After the RSS full-timer ship, Ramgoplaratnam said that he was in zero balance and had to do something for a living. He took LIC agency and in seven days he could not stand with the total money motive concept and surrendered it. He being an MTech engineer commenced Mathematics tuition classes for 10th-standard students but the pressure from the parents to give maximum homework to students was not according to his system of teaching and called it off.

He later went to a friend's place in Western Maharashtra and the friend who was a top official with a corporate was in a point of depression and he asked Ramgopalratnam whether he (Ramgopalratnam) could give a motivation class to him and his team. He readily agreed and talked for an hour with whatever knowledge he had and later he understood that his calling was Bhagwad Gita. He dedicated a year to learn all the 700 slokas by heart and started spreading the message of Gita from 2002. He is now a Gita pracharak without any passion for money and all his basic needs are being met by the people who give him small donations.

While speaking to IANS he said, "Gita is a modern-day teaching and everything that one finds in the universe is in Gita and hence I thought of taking this holy text to all the people in South India to start with and later on spread it nationally and then to other countries. Gita is the solution to the problems faced by the world and I am on that mission now." This Bhagwad Gita pracharak is unique in that he travels into villages and conducts 'Satsang' for three or four days in a small hamlet and tries to inculcate the spirit of Gita into the hearts of villagers.

He said that there was a very positive response from colonies where Dalit communities lives. Ramgopalratnam said, "Once when I reached a colony by evening I announced that a Gita class would be conducted for three days from next day onwards. Early in the morning, I got an invite from a home and the woman of that house told me that the colony has decided not to cook non-vegetarian food during my discourse. This was a major eye-opener to me. People will come forward positively if they understand that you are committed fully to what you preach." The Gita pracharak said that he never had any bad response from anywhere where he conducted the discourse except the low presence in some areas. When asked whether he had to face any physical attack from people of other faiths, he said, "Never had I experienced any such thing across Tamil Nadu. People behaved to me in respect and I was given a seat wherever I went preaching the Bhagwad Gita." Ramgopalratnam also said that he had experienced some unique celestial bliss during his discourses and said that wherever he conducted the Gita discourse, there would be a light drizzle in either of the three days.

He said, "I had this experience of a drizzle one day during my course of discourse and I feel that it is heavenly bliss. Even while I conducted a Gita class in RasalKhaimah, UAE, there was a drizzle and people there told me that rains were a no-no during that time of the year in the UAE." The engineer turned social worker and Gita pracharak is planning a major international Gita conference and seminar in Chennai by the second week of December which would be a spiritual confluence in the capital of Tamil Nadu.
Kiev, March 20 : Children fleeing the war in Ukraine are at heightened risk of human trafficking and exploitation, warns the Unicef.

"Traffickers often seek to exploit the chaos of large-scale population movements, and with more than 1.5 million children having fled Ukraine as refugees since February 24, and countless others displaced by violence inside the country, the threat facing children is real and growing," the UN agency said on Saturday.

According to a recent analysis conducted by Uniced and the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking (ICAT), 28 per cent of identified victims of trafficking globally are children.

In the context of Ukraine, Unicef child protection experts believe that children would likely account for an even higher proportion of potential trafficking victims given that children and women represent nearly all of the refugees who have fled the country so far.

"The war in Ukraine is leading to massive displacement and refugee flows - conditions that could lead to a significant spike in human trafficking and an acute child protection crisis," said Afshan Khan, Unicef's Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.

"Displaced children are extremely vulnerable to being separated from their families, exploited, and trafficked. They need governments in the region to step up and put measures in place to keep them safe." More than 500 unaccompanied children were identified crossing from Ukraine into Romania from February 24 to March 17m the Unicef said, adding that the true number of separated children who have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries is likely much higher.

"Children fleeing the war in Ukraine need to be screened for their vulnerability as they cross into a neighbouring country," said Khan.

"Every effort should be made to strengthen screening processes at refugee border crossings." Unicef is urging the governments of neighbouring nations and other countries of destination to strengthen child protection screenings at border crossings, especially those with Ukraine, to better identify at-risk children.

Additional screening for protection risks should be implemented in shelters, large urban train stations, and other locations where refugees are gathering or passing through, it added.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
Performers from the Chinese community perform dragon and lion dances at Cape Town Carnival in Cape Town, South Africa, March 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

Performers from the Chinese community stunned the audience at Cape Town Carnival with traditional dragon and lion dances.

CAPE TOWN, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The annual Cape Town Carnival returned to the city Saturday in a new form after a two-year break due to COVID-19, while it maintained a tradition of including performers from the Chinese community and many other groups.

Unlike previous carnivals which were parades moving along the street, this year's carnival had five stages, or hubs, at the city's iconic landmarks, each of which had six to eight groups performing to celebrate the diverse cultures and stories of Cape Town from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., local time, said the organizers, who expected the change to allow visitors exploring the city while enjoying the performances.

Performers from the Chinese community perform dragon and lion dances at Cape Town Carnival in Cape Town, South Africa, March 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

Performers of the Chinese community began the performance at Heritage Square Hub and performed dragon and lion dances amid cheers of spectators.

Since 2017 the Chinese community had participated in the carnival every year, except in 2020 and 2021 when it was canceled. The performers want to showcase traditional Chinese culture to contribute to the diversity of the rainbow nation and send good wishes to the South African people, the head of the Chinese performing group Dong Gang told Xinhua on the scene.

"The Cape Town Carnival is a celebration of the diverse communities of South Africa and their different cultural expressions. The Cape Town Chinese community is one such South African community and they bring amazing creativity as well as kindness to this network, linking and building relationships with other communities," Cape Town Carnival CEO Jay Douwes said in a written interview with Xinhua. "We are privileged to have them participate with their particular brand of creativity which contributes to the Cape Town Carnival's aim to inspire joy and unity through creativity."

Performers from the Chinese community perform dragon and lion dances at Cape Town Carnival in Cape Town, South Africa, March 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

"Everyone from our artistic communities has suffered a great deal of COVID, we know that so many artists have lost their income that they are not able to perform and to earn the livelihood over these two years. We are so grateful to the Cape Town Carnival for putting together this creative and innovative format so that we could at least have a carnival in 2022," said Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis in opening the carnival.

While congratulating the organizers, artists and performers on returning to the stage, he added that the carnival brings together artists and artistic communities from across the city, across Western Cape Province and the country. 
Lucknow, March 20 : Well-known Shia cleric, Maulana Kalbe Jawad, has said that the controversy over 'hijab' was an "example of Islamophobia" and that Muslims should establish as many educational institutions as possible to ensure that they do not have to rely on others for education.

Jawad, who is the general secretary of Majlis-e-Ulama-e-Hind, said 'hijab' was not an obstacle in education or profession.

"It is an integral part of Islam. We respect the court but it appears that there were no real attempts to understand the issue," he said.

"We need to establish as many educational institutions as possible. They may not necessarily be big institutions. The process should begin with small schools which will make sure that we are self-reliant in the education sector," he explained.

The Maulana further said, "Hijab is not an obstacle in any aspect of life. Different religions are allowed to socially and publicly use their religious symbols. Why are Muslims being stopped from doing so?" The cleric demanded that Muslim girl students be allowed to enter schools and get education while wearing 'hijab'.

"Instead of raising such non-issues, development of the country and communal harmony should be promoted," he stated.
Cairo, March 20 : The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of five 4,000-year-old ancient tombs in the Saqqara archaeological sites southwest of Cairo.

"The Egyptian archaeological mission uncovered five tombs about 100 meters northwest of the Merenre Pyramid in southern Saqqara," Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying in a statement on Saturday.

The tombs contain finds and objects dating back to the end of the Old Kingdom spanning from 2686 BC to 2181 BC and the beginning of the First Intermediate Period spanning from 2181 BC to 2055 BC.

One tomb belonged to a senior statesman named Iri, and has a shaft that leads to a burial chamber whose walls portray a funeral with offering tables, the facade of a palace, and seven oil pots.

Inside the tomb are a huge limestone sarcophagus and carved pieces belonging to the owner of the tomb.

The second tomb, likely belonging to the wife of a person named Yart, has a rectangular shaft.

The third one belonged to a person named Bi Nafarhafayi, who held several positions including the supervisor of the Great House, the chanting priest, and the cleaner of the house.

The fourth tomb, discovered six metres underground, is for Betty, a woman responsible for the king's make-up and dressing.

She was a priestess of Hathor, the goddess of love, beauty, music, dancing, fertility and pleasure.

The last tomb for a man named Hannu has a seven-metre-deep rectangular shaft.

Hannu's titles include supervisor of the royal palace, mayor, supervisor of the Great House, bearer of the seals of Lower Egypt, and supervisor of an orchard.

In the past few years, many discoveries were made in the Saqqara sites, including hundreds of coloured coffins containing well-preserved mummies of senior statesmen and priests from the 26th Dynasty, according to the statement.
New Delhi, March 20 : A year before the Assembly polls, putting an end to infighting in the Rajasthan unit is turning out to be a major challenge for the BJP. The party is trying hard to end the infighting between former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and others.

Fighting over the party faces for next year's election has already started and all the camps are asserting their claim to lead the BJP in the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly polls.

The saffron camp believes that there is strong anti-incumbency against the Ashok Gehlot government and everything is moving in the right direction for the BJP's victory in next year's Assembly polls. However, there is anxiety among the cadre that the infighting may affect the party's prospects.

"There is strong anti-incumbency against the Gehlot government. No government in the history of India has faced so much anti-incumbency before completing the first half of its tenure and it is growing day by day. The BJP is on the ground among the people and will dislodge this corrupt and incompetent government next year," a party insider said.

But the main challenge is turning out to be putting up a united front in the next Assembly polls. Explaining the situation in the Rajasthan BJP, a party leader said: "Our main concern is not the Congress party but the factionalism and infighting within. Infighting among supporters of both the camps is damaging the party more than the Congress." As Raje is not on the same page as the state leadership, her supporters are running a parallel organiSation by launching the 'Vasundhara Raje Samarthak Manch Rajasthan' in a show of strength and organising events to put the party in an awkward position.

On the other hand the BJP state leadership is taking action against her supporters on grounds of discipline to send a message in her camp.

Raje held one such show of strength on her birthday on March 8. Her supporters are trying hard to force the Central leadership to announce her as the party face in the Rajasthan Assembly polls scheduled for end 2023.

The opponents of the former chief minister are leaving no stone unturned to end her one-upmanship in the party and show their strength from time to time.

Raje's differences with Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia are an open secret in the state. Poonia had also celebrated his birthday in October last year to show his strength. The Poonia camp claimed that a majority of the party MLAs, a number of former MLAs and around a dozen MPs turned up for the event.

After Raje's birthday celebration, Rajasthan BJP in-charge, Arun Singh had said: "Celebrating a birthday is Ok but one should remember that the party is supreme and everyone comes later." Referring to statements made by Raje's supporters during the birthday celebration, Singh had said: "The party is maintaining a record of all such statements and will take action at the right time. Such party workers should not come complaining if action is taken against them." Citing the example of the party's defeat in last year's by-polls, a leader said that there are a few reasons for the BJP's defeat in the by-polls but the main reason was infighting and lack of unity.

There were efforts within the party to sideline Raje in the last few years and it started even before the last Assembly elections in 2018 and intensified after the party lost power in the state. But despite all this she has been appointed BJP national vice president and still wields strong influence in the Rajasthan unit of the party.
Jaunpur: A voter on a wheelchair arrives to cast his vote during the phase 7 of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, in Jaunpur on Monday, March 7, 2022. (Photo: Twitter) Image Source: IANS News

Ranchi, March 20 : For the last 25 years, Swati Singh aka Kikki Singh of Jharkhand's Ranchi is on wheelchair, but her journey of achievements continues unabated.

She was born with cerebral palsy.

Her father was an officer at the Indian Air Force and after long-term treatment in big hospitals, her doctors declared that she would never be able to walk on her feet.

One of Kikki's novels has been a "Super Seller". Her poetry collection has received a great response. She has been praised by President Ram Nath Kovind for her works and she has bagged more than two dozen awards for her "brilliant" writing.

Afflicted with cerebral palsy, Kikki faced many challenges throughout these years but she kept on moving forward with her strong will power and courage.

Her parents had to struggle to get her admitted to a school.

Posted in Ghaziabad, when her father approached Hindon Air Force School to get his daughter admitted, the school administration was apprehensive about how she would be able to study with normal children.

The school administration cited a case of a handicapped student who had hurt the students and the teacher several times.

However, on the request of her father, a special exam to test Kikki's IQ was held in the school and she got the admission after successfully passing the test.

In the elementary classes, she kept scoring cent per cent marks in many subjects.

She started writing stories, poems from the fourth grade itself and her interest into writing deepened after her work started appearing in newspapers and magazines.

In 2007, her family shifted to Ranchi and her further studies took place here. She did her graduation in 2018 and MA in Political Science in 2020.

It was during her graduation that Kikki wrote her first novel - 'Shaadi Ka Sapna' - which was published by Diamond Books. The book was a "Super Seller" on Amazon.

Its first edition sold more than 3,000 copies. It was released by the then Chief Minister of Jharkhand Raghuvar Das. President Ram Nath Kovind also praised and honoured her for this novel.

Kikki still remembers the words of the President. She says the president told her, "It's heartwarming when I see daughters like you growing up." She says she could not forget those moments when many people took a jibe at her helplessness and made her feel weak. "I strengthened myself from within and my intention is for a startup where people from the marginalised sections of the society can work and give wings to their dreams and hopes." Last year her poetry collection "Tera Naam Ka" was published, which was released by Sharad Pawar. This book also received huge appreciation.

Meanwhile, work on the third book is in progress. Kikki says that in this book she wants to bring out the sensibilities of "speechless" wild animals.

She has been honoured by several prominent personalities, including the then Governor of Jharkhand Draupadi Murmu and Bollywood lyricist Santosh Anand.

Many literary organisations including IMA, Ranchi Press Club have also felicitated her.

Kikki also has her YouTube channel.

"Staying on a wheelchair, I am fully aware of the challenges ahead. I want to write a memorable and beautiful script for life, forgetting the script of my life written by God," she says.
Seoul, March 20 : North Korea on Sunday fired four suspected shots from its multiple rocket launchers into the Yellow Sea, South Korean military officials said.

South Korea's National Security Council held an emergency vice-ministerial meeting over the four shots that fell into the western waters during a span of an hour from 7.20 a.m. from an unspecified location in South Pyongan Province, Yonhap News Agency quoted the officials as saying.

"There were shots believed to be that of North Korea's multiple rocket launchers this morning," an official of the South Korean military said.

"We are maintaining our defence readiness posture while closely following related developments." Sunday's development is the latest in a series of North Korean provocations that could heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Islamabad, March 20 : The Pakistan joint opposition has backtracked on its threat to block the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Foreign Ministers' summit in Islamabad over the government's alleged plans to delay a vote on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, Samaa TV reported.

In a statement issued on Saturday shortly after Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari warned the government of a sit-in, the joint opposition said that it would not allow Pakistan's internal political situation and political wrangling to affect the OIC meetings.

The joint opposition said that welcomes the OIC Foreign Ministers and delegates to Pakistan and assured that it would play its role to make their stay memorable and pleasan.

Earlier, the joint opposition had asked the National Assembly Speaker to allow it to table the no-confidence motion against Khan on Monday, instead of adjourning the session for several days.

In the event the Speaker tried to postpone the session, the opposition would block the OIC summit, it warned.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's Shehbaz Sharif, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam's Fazlur Rehman and other leaders addressed the press conference after a key meeting of the opposition parties at the Islamabad residence of Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday.

They warned the National Assembly speakers that if he adjourned the NA session citing the OIC foreign minister conference, the opposition members will stage a sit-in in the National Assembly hall.

"We will see how you convene the OIC conference," said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

The OIC conference is scheduled to be held in the same hall on March 22-23.

NA Speaker Asad Qaiser was quoted by Geo News on Friday as saying that he has the power to postpone the NA session for an indefinite period, sparking fears among opposition that the speaker may not allow them to move the no-trust motion.

However, a spokesperson later said the speaker had said nothing to that effect.
Washington, March 20 : Ted Budd, a Republican member of the US House of Representatives, has submitted a bill to Congress that suggests the possibility of imposing additional duties on certain goods from China over Beijing's backing of Russia amid the Ukraine war.

The politician put forward such a proposal due to the fact that Beijing "provides financial support" to Moscow against the backdrop of the situation in Ukraine, RT reported.

According to the US Congressman, Beijing's support for Moscow consists, among other things, in China increasing the volume of purchases of agricultural products from Russia against the backdrop of a special operation in Ukraine.

In this regard, Budd proposed a number of measures to counter China.

It follows from the text of the bill that after the entry into force of the document, the US Trade Representative must submit to the President data on how much wheat and barley China buys from Russia.

If it turns out that the volumes exceed the figures recorded as of February 1, Washington will increase the customs duty on certain types of goods imported into the US from China, RT reported.

"Upon confirmation... the President will impose an additional duty of 20 per cent of the value of such item on any item classified under Titles I, II, or III of the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule, originating in China and imported into the US Customs Territory," the document added.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
We all know the story of Nobel Laureate, Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani hijab-clad girl who took a bullet in her head, just so that she could go to school. The plight of Indian Muslim women students in Udupi, Karnataka, is near about the same, whove been asked to choose between their religion or education, in light of the recent judgment passed by the High Court of Karnataka, stating that the "hijab is not an 'essential religious practice in Islam", , while also upholding the Government Order in question which prescribes a uniform to be worn, if prescribed by the schools concerned.

Religiosity of a Constitutional mandate ? The court has observed that regard being had to the kind of life conditions then obtaining in the region concerned, wearing hijab was recommended as a measure of social security for women and to facilitate their safe access to public domain. It has stated that at the most the practice of wearing this apparel may have something to do with culture but certainly not with religion.

It is hereby relevant to note that of, the various questions of Constitutional importance, in the Sabarimala case which is pending on the issue of entry of women in the Temple complex, the Supreme Court shall also decide whether at all Courts are to sit in decision over religious practices, belief or faith. But then time and again, as has been observed in various cases in the recent past, that judges have tried to emote clerics in their judgments and have tried to propound the essentiality of various religious practices on the basis of religious scriptures and texts. This is an unnerving trend which has found its way into the sanctum sanctorum of Courts, as has been recently seen in the triple talaaq case, or the Shayara Bano case, where question of maintenance and alimony of the Muslim woman was sought to be answered in light of the Qur'an and associated scriptures of hadis. By way of the latest pronouncement by the Karnataka High Court holding that the "hijab is not an essential religious practice", the Indian Court by entering into the domain of interpretation of religious practices and beliefs has again stepped onto thin ice.

Which are more fundamental: Rights or Duties ? As per Article 14 of the Constitution of India, any law being discriminatory in nature has to have the existence of an 'intelligible differentia', meaning that any such difference has to be reasonable like for instance no private person can arrest another person whereas a police officer has the power to do so. And, any such difference if at all, must bear a rational nexus with the object sought to be achieved. The object as has been claimed is to maintain public order in the institutions.

However, the authorities have failed to provide any nexus on how the public order will be disturbed if Muslim women enters the institution's premises while wearing hijab. This being the case, the classification based on the religious attire which is to comply with their religious practice does not have the nexus with the object sought by the Government Order, i.e. of the maintaining the public order. It is apposite that by seeking to draw an unreasonable distinction in the form of two categories of girl students viz., those who wear the uniform with hijab and those who do it without, and that would establish a sense of 'social-separateness', the court has trespassed the finer principles of Article 14, and the larger fundamental freedoms guaranteed of the Constitution of India.

This apart, the court has stated that it is impossible to instill the scientific temperament which our Constitution prescribes as a fundamental duty vide Article 51A(h) into the young minds so long as any propositions such as wearing of hijab or bhagwa are regarded as religiously sacrosanct and therefore, not open to question. The Court has further observed that Article 51A(e) of our Constitution imposes a Fundamental Duty on every citizen 'to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women'. Is not the school premises the foreground for development of an individual and the impressionable & (in)formative years of a person to imbibe and inculcate secular values. Can a scientific outlook not be achieved because what is veiled is the face and not the fertile mind underneath it ? Tinkering with the 1st Amendment of US Constitution :

This judgement puts to test the scope and extent of religious freedoms, and the expression thereof in public places. The High Court has heavily borrowed from Western concepts of freedom of expression and right to conscience and the challenges meted thereto by the idea of 'Secularism', as propounded by the Constitution of India. That it is this reasoning which has to be examined now before the Supreme Court of India, and that whether the court has been correct to place exclusive reliance on the Western and European notions of secularism and individual liberty, and whether the court has been right in its interpretation thereof. For instance, the court in the impugned judgment has sought to draw inference from the famous case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 US 503 (1969). The said case was in fact a landmark decision by the US Supreme Court that defined First Amendment rights of students in US public schools. The Tinker test, also known as the "substantial disruption" test, is still used by courts today to determine whether a school's interest to prevent disruption infringes upon students' First Amendment rights.

The Supreme Court's 7-2 decision held that the First Amendment applied to public schools, and that administrators would have to demonstrate constitutionally valid reasons for any specific regulation of speech in the classroom. The court observed: "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." Justice Abe Fortas wrote the majority opinion, holding that the speech regulation at issue in Tinker was "based upon an urgent wish to avoid the controversy which might result from the expression, even by the silent symbol of armbands, of opposition to this Nation's part in the conflagration in Vietnam" .

The Supreme Court found that the actions of the Tinkers in wearing armbands did not cause disruption and held that their activity represented constitutionally protected symbolic speech. Thus, if any semblance were to be drawn to the facts of the instant case, it can be held that the students in question were only silent practitioners of 'hijab', and never in any way, by their conduct sought to disrupt the functioning if the school.

Cultured Curriculum The Karnataka High Court has held that schools have the authority to prescribe a curriculum and as such, schools and the educational institutions have the power to insist on a uniform sans any kind of religious attire, apparel or symbol, as directed by the assailed Government order. If that be the take, then is the recent decision of the Gujarat government to include the Bhagavad Gita in the school syllabus for Classes 6-12, justified in being advancement of a culture or religious ethos? A circular issued by the Gujarat state government in this regard said the idea is to "cultivate a sense of pride and connection to traditions". Therefore, if an Order may resort to preserving non-Islamic traditions legitimate, then can the practice of a veil/scarf over the head, too difficult to palate to the Indian Constitutional aphorism. Like a learned submission before the high court, was that if Sikhs can don the turban in the army, then why can't the hijab be accommodated in a conducive and inclusive educational environment. After all a "Shaheed" is returned to his or her abode for last rites, as per the beliefs and religious practices of the martyr's family and that we as a nation take tremendous pride in the tribute to the departed soul's honorary last passage.

In conclusion, there is an old African adage that if you educate a man, you educate an individual; but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation. It remains to be seen what weighs more with the Court : freedom of education irrespective of conscience or belief and or for an exclusive world of education bereft of any real world diversity by means of complete uniformity.

(The author is an advocate-on-record at the Supreme Court of India)
Thiruvananthapuram, March 20 : Another tattoo artist has been accused of sexual assault in Kerala after a Malappuram native made the complaints The woman has complaiend with the Palarivattom police in Kochi against a tattoo artist, Kuldeep Krishna of 'Deeplink' tattoo studio.

Police have registered a case against the tattoo artist and are investigating.

The Malappuram native in her complaint told the police that she had joined Kuldeep Krishna's tattoo studio in 2020 and he had told her that he would teach her tattoo art. However, he sexually assaulted her several times under the pretext of teaching tattoo art.

In the police complaint, the woman said that she was subject to sexual abuse at several places in Kochi and had even taken her to a few hotels in and around Kochi and subjected to abuse. She also said that he had recorded the sexual abuses on his mobile phone and threatened her with blackmail.

The Malappuram native in the complaint to the police said that she did not raise the complaint till now due to fear of her life and had now come out in the open after several women had lodged complaints of sexual abuse against another tattoo artist, Sudip in Kochi.

It may be noted that six women, including a foreigner had complained against the Kochi-based tattoo artist, Sudip who is presently in judicial custody.

'Me Too' allegations against tattoo artists are the new shocking development in Kerala during the past few days and the budding industry is reeling under the controversy.
New Delhi, March 20 : The issue of Kashmiri Pandits has flared up since the release of the film 'The Kashmir Files'.

The Congress has since been targeted by the BJP and its sympathisers for the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits, but the Congress has counter attacked against the BJP saying that it can't hide its failure under the garb of a film.

The party Chief Minister in Chhattisgarh was quick to respond to the issue. He watched the film and said that it is based on half truths and the BJP is making an issue out of it.

The Congress has rejected the charge that it is ambiguous on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and said that most of the work for the welfare of the Pandits has been done by the Congress and the party is not running away from the issue but shares the grief of the Pandits. The party said that in the PMO led by the first Prime Minister to Indira Gandhi the Kashmiri Pandits were given the utmost importance. People like Makhan Lal Fotedar till he breathed his last were given importance in any decision taken on the issue of Kashmir by the party.

Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala said, "It was Rajiv Gandhi, then LoP, who gheraoed Parliament when the exodus was going on and urged the government that it should help the victims but nobody listened. He was in pain as he has family roots in Kashmir. Who was running the government -- it was led by VP Singh with the support of the BJP." The party said that, "during 10 years of the UPA rule from 2004 to 2014 the government killed 4241 terrorists while 3000 jobs were given to Kashmiri Pandits as the PM package; 5911 transit houses were built while in the BJP's eight years of rule only 520 jobs were given and 100 transit houses were built, they are only reopening old wounds but doing nothing," Surjewala added.

The Congress alleged that Modi is raising the issue for political dividends but doing nothing. The issue of Kashmiri Pandits has heated up since the release of the film and after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about it.

The Prime Minister said on March 15 that films like this need to be made so that people can know the truth. Modi said that there have been attempts to conceal the truth from the nation for a very long time and films like 'The Kashmir Files' need to be made to bring out the truth before the people.

"Truth should be brought in the right form before the country. The truth prevailed in Kashmir Files," a BJP MP said, quoting the Prime Minister. Another MP said that while appreciating the film, the Prime Minister told the party lawmakers to watch it.

It is also learnt that the Prime Minister said that attempts were made to suppress the truth by the 'flag bearers' of freedom of expression.

"Torchbearers of freedom of expression have started a campaign to discredit the film. Whole ecosystem is active against the man who tried to present the truth. Instead of judging the film they are trying to stop people from watching the film," a BJP MP said quoting Prime Minister Modi.
Kiev/Ankara, March 20 : Turkey, which is trying hard to bring Moscow and Kiev to the negotiating table in an effort to end the ongoing war, has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is still not willing to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking to local media outlets, Ibrahim Kalin, a government spokesman in Ankara, said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has proposed a meeting between the leaders of the two warring nations in Turkey in an effort to end the ongoing war, reports Ukrayinska Pravda.

"Zelensky is ready to do this. Putin, by contrast, believes that the parties have not yet reached a common vision sufficient to conduct negotiations at the head-of-state level," Kalin was quoted as saying.

According to the spokesman, in Erdogan's proposed meeting, the main point of focus will be on a possible compromise between Ukraine and Russia, after which detailed negotiations on the agreement will continue.

Kalin said that Putin, during a conversation with Erdogan, put forward six main points, which were Ukraine's neutrality and refusal to join NATO in future; 'demilitarisation' and mutual provision of security guarantees according to the Austrian security model; de-nazification; removal of "obstacles" to the widespread use of the Russian language; status recognition of the "Donetsk People's Republic", "Luhansk People's Republic"; and recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea.

According to the spokesman, the Ukrainian delegation apparently discussed the first four points with the Russians, but is not prepared even to discuss the fifth and sixth, Ukrayinska Pravda reported.

Therefore, Turkey is hoping to organise the meeting between Putin and Zelensky after which further progress can be made in the negotiations.

Kalin further said that neither Ukraine nor the world community is likely to easily agree to the recognition of Russia's occupation of Crimea and the Donbas region, which comprised Luhansk and Donetsk, as "this is a flagrant violation of international law".

He added that Russia was trying to negotiate from a position of strength, but "it should not be forgotten that the continuation of the war will primarily hit the Russian army and economy".

On March 10, under Turkey's initiative, a tripartite meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Moscow, Kiev and Ankara took place in Antalya.

However, no progress was achieved on a truce.

Russian authorities on March 16 announced their readiness to continue negotiations with Ukraine in the tripartite format.

Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had assured that Russia was not against personal talks between Zelensky and Putin.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
As the families of the victims could not go back to Kashmir due to terrorism to file the criminal cases against the atrocities committed against them, the question arises as to what are the options after 32 years for them.

The public temper is running high after watching the movie 'The Kashmir Files', which has shown the real incidents of rapes, murders, brutalities, loot and arson committed by terrorists and the locals.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) or Kashmiri organisations can take up the issue individually or jointly and compel the present competent J&K Government to form an SIT or judicial commission. Justice needs to be brought to these unfortunate migrant Hindus whose voices were never heard for the past 32 years.

Indian criminal law nowhere defines the limitation to file an FIR. There have been instances in the past when an FIR was lodged by rape victims after 15 years. Even Section 473 of the CrPC allows the court to consider an older case only if it is in the "interest of justice" or when the "delay" in seeking redressal has been properly explained.

Photos and videos are available with the family members of the victims, as well as with the media, especially newspapers and news agencies in Kashmir, which can form part of the evidence in the court.

The Supreme Court in the case of Ankush Maruti Shinde and others vs the state of Maharashtra AIR 2009 SC 2609 has held that protection of society and stamping out criminal proclivity must be the object of law which must be achieved by imposing appropriate sentences.

The law as a corner-stone of the edifice of "order" should meet the challenges confronting the society, as any leniency in a case of such heinous nature crimes would amount to travesty of justice and the plea of leniency would be wholly unjustified.

The Supreme Court in the past had held that the evidence of a victim of a sexual offence is entitled to great weight, even without corroboration. If evidence of the prosecutrix inspires confidence, it must be relied upon without seeking corroboration of her statement in material particulars.

In the Tulshidas Kanolkar vs the state of Goa, the Supreme Court held that delay in lodging an FIR cannot be used as a ritualistic formula for discarding prosecution case and doubting its authenticity. It only puts the court on guard to search for and consider if any explanation has been offered for the delay. Once it is offered, the Court has to only see whether it is satisfactory or not.

Now the question arises as to what are the options before the Kashmiri migrants to get justice after 32 years.

The first option is that the J&K government must constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police on the request of Kashmiri Pandit organisations to probe this genocide.

The second option is a judicial commission be appointed under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952.

The third option is that suo motu cognizance be taken by the Supreme Court for this Hindu 'genocide' under Article 131 of the Constitution so that severe punishment is inflicted on the top officials/ministers or administrators of that period. It should also provide relief by way of handsome compensation given to the victims of the families who became the target of terrorism.

(Ramesh Wangnoo is an advocate practising in the Delhi High Court)
New Delhi, March 20 : For any crime committed, the basic that the police is expected to do is file an FIR. It is the fundamental duty of any state and its police to act on any act of crime. But, when it comes to Kashmir, all the basics seem to dither.

Hundreds of people from the minority community were killed by terrorists, many women were raped and murdered, kidnapped, assaulted, many houses looted and burnt, many temples desecrated.

There is no concrete official number. The Kashmiri Pandit community leaders say that over 700 people were killed, but figures on rapes, assaults, kidnappings etc. are not recorded.

One of the most talked about political killings in Kashmir is of Tikalal Taploo. His son Ashutosh Taploo, who after fleeing from Kashmir settled in Delhi, says that no FIR was ever registered and he never got the death certificate also.

Sushma Shalla Kaul's father Pandit Chuni Lal Shalla was kidnapped, tortured and shot dead in May 1990. He was a CID officer posted in Baramulla in Kashmir and it was his PSO who betrayed him.

"I remember they had told us FIR was done," said Sushma.

"Last year when Sushma tried to enquire about the FIR, she found the number never existed. It was a fake case file number that she had been given. Since then, she has been demanding the number, but officially she has not been conveyed anything. I got the case file number, which was a new one, unofficially.

"The police have not given me anything officially and there is no progress in the case. I am not even sure whether the number that I have been given is the real one or not," says Sushma.

Ramesh Mota, originally from Srinagar's Habba Kadal, claims that he has no FIR of his father's murder. His father, Omkar Nath Mota, was a businessman, who was gunned down in his ancestral home in Kashmir's Pampore district.

"We had huge property -- four houses and six shops, huge lands and a house in Pampore. My father was killed on July 29, 1990 in our Pampore home. Four terrorists broke into our home and he was shot. They also looted our house, took all the money. I was in my teens and my sister was just 8-year-old. There was no help. It was very bad then.

"I remember some wireless message was given by the police that time but as far as I remember, there was no FIR. I don't even have the death certificate of my father. All our property in Habba Kadal was grabbed by Awqaf people for building a masjid," Mota said.

Naveen Sapru (29), a telecom engineer was shot dead in broad daylight near Kanya Kadal, Srinagar, on February 27, 1990. The reason of the attack was not known, the killers never arrested and no FIR ever done.

"My uncle was shot multiple times on a busy road. The terrorists danced around him and did celebratory firing to scare any helping hand. There were many eye-witnesses who told us about the gory details, how the terrorists wanted him to bleed to death, when uncle demanded water, his face was thrust in drain... he could have been saved. He bled to death," said Rohit Kak.

"Sapru was a gentle man; he never even used to raise his voice. We later came to know that he was killed by Bitta Karate, a JKLF man," added Kak.

On being asked why FIR was not filed, he said, "I was just 12 years old then. But I remember the situation those days was not such that one could approach the police and get help. In fact, we always suspected that the J&K policemen were in cohorts with the terrorists. If someone approached the police, there was fear of retaliation from the terrorists." Sanjay Kak's father, Bansilal Kak, 53, was an executive engineer in the J&K government and had a good rapport with his Muslim colleagues.

"On August 25, 1990, a colleague of my father took him out of the office in Anantnag on some pretext and he never came back. My father was shot dead. I still don't know why. I don't know if there is any FIR. I got nothing from the J&K Police. I was young then. My mother had also died and my father was killed. It was devastating," he said.

He added that there was no one to guide him as everyone was struggling. "I didn't know anything. Later I went into depression. There was this fear also. So, I could never pursue the case. The police didn't do anything. Don't think we have any records now." Like Sushma, Sanjay Kak, Ashutosh Taploo, Ramesh Mota, Rohit Kak, there are several such cases where the families were forced to flee after their near and dear ones were killed in Kashmir.

There are hundreds of such cases where complaints could not be filed and FIRs registered.

Sushma said, "After Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee, they had nothing with them. So immediate concerns were food, shelter, clothes and then education for their children and the looming fear. Nobody could go back and file cases or pursue them. Besides, the atmosphere was totally hostile, the police and administration had abandoned us." The number of those killed and those who fled the Valley is disputed while rape and gang-rape numbers are not recorded. In many cases of murders, even the FIRs were never filed and even in those where cases were lodged, the movement has been a near nil.

While the community says that around seven lakh KPs were forced to flee, and the number of killed is over 700, no J&K administration and even the Centre has done anything to get the actual figures.

The community leaders have been pleading for a probe to unravel the faces behind the holocaust, but the successive governments have not paid any heed.

Three decades after the mass exodus, none of the successive governments at the Centre or the state, set up a commission or formed an SIT to probe the exodus. When over lakhs of people are forced to leave their lands, isn't the natural course for any government or the top legal institutions to investigate? Unfortunately, in this case, no probe has ever been ordered, no commission ever set up and no sincere effort made to bring justice to the persecuted.

According to an estimate by a local organisation, Kashmir Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), which carried out a survey in 2008 and 2009, 399 Kashmiri Hindus were killed by insurgents from 1990 to 2011 with 75 per cent of them being killed during the first year of the advent of terrorism.

An RTI filed last year said 89 Kashmiri Pandits were killed in attacks since inception of militancy in 1990. The numbers are disputed because many Kashmiri Pandits could not get FIRs filed and have no police record.

On March 23, 2010, the then J&K Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla told the Assembly in Jammu that "219 Pandits were killed in Kashmir from 1989 to 2004".

As the families of the victims could not go back to Kashmir to file or pursue the cases, voices are now emanating that steps be taken now.

Delhi High Court Advocate Ramesh Wangnoo said, "Although in normal circumstances maximum 3 years the FIR can be lodged, but in reality, the Indian criminal law nowhere defines the limitation to file an FIR. In the past, even after 15 years an FIR was lodged by one person, but he had evidence and so the court accepted it. In case of Kashmiri Pandits, it was an en masse murder and rape of women and loot happening and if any organisation takes that up... the courts may consider, or the government can form SIT or judicial commission." "Even if any organisation or human rights commission or Kashmiri organisation takes up this serious issue even now then some justice could be given to these unfortunate Hindus. As Kashmir Files is the real story which can be treated as evidence beside other evidence with Kashmiri Pandits," said Handoo.

With no concrete records about the killings, lynching, rapes, kidnappings, assault, loot and arson, the community is on the verge of losing 'proof' of atrocities committed against them.

(Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in)
New Delhi, March 20 : The discussion over the formation of BJP government in Uttarakhand was held here on Sunday at the residence of Union Home Amit Shah.

The BJP's top leadership and Uttarakhand leaders assembled at Shah's residence to finalise the name of the chief minister and the rest of the cabinet.

BJP chief J.P. Nadda and national general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santosh participated in the discussion. Caretaker chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Uttarakhand BJP president Madan Kaushik, former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' also took part in the meeting. Uttarakhand minister and one of the contenders for the post Satpal Maharaj was also in the discussion.

"Name of the chief minister and minister will be finalised and conveyed to state leaders present in the meeting. Central observers will convey the wish of party leadership to the legislative party and the chief minister will be elected," a party insider said.

After 10 days of declaration of the Assembly polls results, suspense over the name of chief minister of Uttarakhand is likely to get over soon. The party insider claims that the defeat of incumbent Dhami from Khatima is the main reason behind delay in the election of new chief minister and formation of new government in Uttarakhand.

"After Dhami's defeat, first of all the party leadership will take a call on whether he will be given a chance or not for successfully leading the party to the historic victory. We are clueless about the formation of government even after eight days of declaration of the Assembly poll results," an Uttarakhand BJP leader said.

The BJP has appointed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and minister of state of external affairs Meenakshi Lekhi as the central observers for election of the leader of legislative party. The BJP has retained power for a second term in Uttarakhand by winning 47 seats out of 70.
Addis Ababa, March 20 : The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that it has only received 13 per cent of the $205 million it wants to meet the needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in Ethiopia.

In its latest Northern Ethiopia Emergency update report, the UNHCR said it has received only $25.9 million out of the $205.4 million it wants to meet the needs of 93,500 refugees and asylum seekers in Ethiopia, as well as 2.6 million IDPs, reports Xinhua news agency.

The funds are needed to meet the shelter, education, health as well as water and sanitation needs of refugees and IDPs in Ethiopia, the UN agency disclosed.

UNHCR further disclosed that it has recently voluntarily returned 12,222 IDPs to their areas of origin in safety and dignity.

It also provided core relief items to 41,000 refugees, returnees and affected populations in northern Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is the third largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, sheltering 806,374 registered refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan, according to UNHCR figures.

The country also has several million IDPs, including 2.2 million who were forced to flee the conflict that broke out in November 2020, in the northern Tigray regional state.
New Delhi, March 20 : With 'The Kashmir Files' bringing the spotlight back on the beleaguered Kashmiri Pandit community, some old facts are now coming to the fore.

Surinder Kaul, the founder of the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora, is reminded of the treatment that the government of the day in 1990-1991 meted out to the community.

Kaul said: "After we were forced out of Kashmir, where I was doing house-job in Srinagar Medical College, we organised several protests, dharans and rallies in Delhi. We sat for weeks at Jantar Mantar. V.P. Singh was the Prime Minister then and Mufti Mohammad Sayed was the Home Minister.

"We took out a protest to the PM's residence and after a long time, a delegation of five of us were allowed in to meet the PM. We were all young students, desperate and terribly anguished. When we finally met him, all he had to say was 'Dekhta hun... (Let me see)', and then he started moving away. One of my colleagues was forceful and said 'he doesn't even have five minutes to hear our plight...' The PM was offended by this. It was so visible and he left.

"We were moved out and the moment we got back to the waiting crowd of other students outside the PM's residence, Delhi Police lathi-charged us, they rained blows on us and we were arrested.

"After some days, we went to meet Home Minister Mufti Sayed and all he had to say was 'yes, this is not ok'. He had no answers to our questions. We told him, 'Why the local police and intelligence network had just vanished. Why was no one doing their work? Why was there no security?' He just kept mum. That day I realised that the state and the central power system of our country had collapsed and no one was there to help us." (Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians,in)
New Delhi, March 20 : Justice continues to elude Ashutosh Taploo, 32 years after his father was slain by terrorists.

Ashutosh lost his father Tikalal Taploo, one of the tallest BJP leaders in J&K, to terrorists' bullets in Srinagar on September 14, 1990. Since then, Ashutosh has been struggling not only to get the perpetrators identified, booked and tried, but also for that last proof of existence -- the death certificate.

It has been 32 years and he has still not got the document.

More shocking is the fact that despite being a highly discussed case, an FIR was never registered.

"My father was killed in broad daylight. I was studying in Delhi then. Because of security issues, I could not go to Srinagar. There is no FIR, and my father's death certificate has not been provided to me. I have written many times... Now, I have stopped pursuing it," Ashutosh said.

He added, "I am at loss to understand why no FIR was filed, why the death certificate has not been issued. I have no answers. Now, I no longer seek any answers... I have just stopped." Tikalal Taploo's assassination is one of those terror crimes in Kashmir which have often found mention on the national and international platforms.

Tikalal lived in downtown Srinagar and was a known name in the city for his helping and down-to-earth attitude. He was one among those Kashmiri Pandit leaders who had wide acceptability among the Muslim majority. Despite being an RSS member and a BJP leader later, his popularity as a helping Kashmiri fellow was more weighing than his political inclination.

"My father was a lawyer. He used to take up cases of poor people, a majority of them Muslims, for free. Even today I cannot understand why he was killed," Ashutosh said.

In 1989-1990, the maximum number of targeted killings against Kashmiri Pandits were carried out.

Tikalal was gunned down in broad daylight near his home in Chinkra Mohalla in Srinagar. His was the first major killing of a Kashmiri Pandit leader.

"My father was killed because he was the most audible voice against the violence and the divisive agenda. His killing did what the brains behind the terror violence in Kashmir wanted -- kill the leader to scare thousands and that is what happened. Mass exodus happened after four months," Ashutosh said.

"Remembering those days now no longer brings tears, but sometimes anger, disgust and fear also. My father was known to all the big leaders then. I refused to take compensation. Advaniji has been very sympathetic. I still have the letter from the Home Ministry in early 2000. It was about giving a DDA flat out of turn, and said it was compensation and also demanded the submission of the death certificate. I refused... First there is nothing that can compensate my father and I also did not have the death certificate," he added.

"There is no justice for people like me," Ashutosh said, with tear in his eyes.

(Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in)
Srinagar, March 20 : Those who perpetrated violence against the local Hindus during late 1989 and early 1990 have done little justice to their own families and their conscience.

Most of these perpetrators of cruelty and carnage have met their logical end.

The killings of Kashmiri Pandits were started by the first outfit of armed militants who called themselves the leaders of the JKLF which ostensibly stood for an independent, secular Kashmir.

The 'Hajy' group of the JKLF comprised Hamid Sheikh, Ashfaq Majid, Javaid Mir and Yasin Malik.

Bita Karate, the hitman who confessed to killing over 2 dozen Kashmiri Pandits belonged to the JKLF.

In his confession, Bita Karate has said he was carrying out the orders of his chief, Ashfaq Majid, who identified Pandit targets for him. If Karate killed some Pandits as so-called agents of Indian intelligence, he killed others as members of the RSS or the BJP.

Bita Karate is facing trial for killing of IAF officers. He was arrested by the NIA and is under detention.

Hamid Sheikh was killed by the security forces on November 20, 1992 in Aali Kadal area of downtown Srinagar.

Ashfaq Majid died when the grenade he aimed at the security forces exploded in his own hand on March 30, 1990.

Javaid Mir was arrested by the CBI on October 18, 2019 for killing IAF officers along with Yasin Malik in 1990.

Javaid Mir called 'Javaid Nalka' as he worked as a fitter in the PHE department before the eruption of militancy, was released on bail by the CBI court.

Yasin Malik is lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail and he is presently facing a trial for the murder of four IAF officers in January 1990.

Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), the armed wing of the local Jamaat-e-Islami had its own brand of Kashmir Pandit killers for whom the elimination of the 'Infidels' was an important covenant of their religious belief.

The killer of Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq was Mohammad Abdullah Bangroo. In addition to the Mirwaiz, Bangroo is believed to have killed some local Pandits as well. He was killed by the security forces in Barzula area of Srinagar in 1992.

Hilal Beg, the chief of Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen, another terror group responsible for the persecution of Kashmiri Pandits, was killed on July 19, 1996 by the security forces in Shalteng area of Srinagar.

Ashiq Hussain Faktoo, husband of radical women group Dukhtaran-e-Milat chief, Asiya Andrabi, has been sentenced to life for the murder of human rights activist and social worker, Hriday Nath Wanchoo. He was killed in December 1992.

In a nutshell, the majority of the killers of local Pandits have either been killed by the security forces or are waiting their sentences in different courts of law.

The verdict by destiny is already written, you don't kill an innocent and expect to escape justice. Those who live by the sword, must die by it.
Dar Es Salaam, March 20 : Tanzanian health authorities have released an updated Covid-19 international travel advisory in which fully vaccinated travellers, including Tanzanians, returning residents and those in transit, will be exempted from test requirements.

"Travellers will be required to present a valid vaccination certificate with QR code for verification upon arrival," said the updated advisory releasedby the Ministry of Health.

The advisory that became effective from March 17 and signed by the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health Abel Makubi said the only accepted vaccines are those which have been approved by the government of Tanzania and the World Health Organization, reports Xinhua news agency.

It said travellers who are not fully vaccinated, unvaccinated and those not eligible for vaccination due to their country's policy will be required to present a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR or NAAT certificate with QR code obtained within 72 hours before departure.

Travellers who are not fully vaccinated or unvaccinated and have no negative certificate will be required to undergo an RT PCR test, for which they will have to pay $100.

"Results will be sent to them while self-isolated," said the advisory, adding that travellers in transit by air transport are exempted from both vaccination and Covid-19 testing requirements unless stated otherwise by the conveyance to be used or countries of their final destinations.

It said all truck drivers including crew should hold a valid negative RT PCR or NAAT certificate obtained from an accredited national laboratory, adding that the validity of the certificate shall be 14 days only.

All truck drivers, including crew, will be subjected to enhanced health screening at points of entry and will either be isolated or quarantined at the designated facilities at their own cost if they are suspected of Covid-19 infection, said the travel advisory.
Hyderabad, March 20 : Kannada star Shiva Rajkumar, who was one of the guests at the grand pre-release event of 'RRR' which was held in Chikballapur on Saturday, appreciated Ram Charan and Jr NTR for coming together, leaving their fan rivalries aside.

Speaking at the event, the 'Mufti' actor said, "Jr NTR and Ram Charan ended their so-called fan rivalry and agreed to work together on a film. This is very healthy. It makes us feel connected to our entire industry." "I am a big fan of Rajamouli. I watch the films of NTR, Ram Charan, Pawan Kalyan, Chiranjeevi, Ajith, and Vijay's films first-day first-show in theatres. I want to watch the movies along with the fans. I am going to watch 'RRR' also first-day first-show in theatres", Shiva Rajkumar said at the event.

The 'Tagaru' actor also recalled his family's cordial relationship with many other stars from Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam film industries, as he wishes that the bonding continues forever.
New Delhi, March 20 : The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken cognizance of the alleged gang-rape of a 26-year-old woman at gunpoint in front of her children and husband in Rajasthan's Dholpur district.

NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to the Director General of Police (DGP) Rajasthan to register an FIR against unknown accused persons.

The NCW has also sought a time-bound investigation in the matter and to provide security to the victim. The commission has said that the action taken must be intimated to the Commission within seven days.

A 26-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped at gunpoint in Dholpur district of Rajasthan on Tuesday.

As per the report, when the victim along with her husband and children was returning home from the farm on Tuesday, the accused allegedly stopped and thrashed the couple. Her husband managed to escape after he was hit with a country-made pistol. Later, the accused allegedly gang-raped the woman at gunpoint in front of her children, as per the report.
New Delhi, March 20 : The BJP central and state leaderships are meeting separately in the national capital over the government formation in Uttarakhand. A meeting of BJP central leadership is underway at Union Home Minister Amit Shah' residence, while another meeting of Uttarakhand leaders is going on at the residence of former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' here.

Sources said that in the meeting held earlier at Shah's residence, Uttarakhand BJP leaders failed to convince the central leaders with the feedback on the various possibilities.

"We came to know that there was no consensus over the feedback asked by the central leadership. The party leadership asked the state leaders to arrive at a consensus and come back. Now to build a consensus they are meeting at Nishank's residence," he said.

The central leadership, however after collecting the feedback from Uttarakhand leaders, is continuing discussion over formation of government. In the meeting at Shah's residence BJP chief J.P. Nadda, national general secretary B.L. Santhosh and state election in-charge Pralhad Joshi are present.

In the meeting of Uttarakhand leaders at Nishank's residence, caretaker Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, state unit president Madan Kaushik and former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat are present.

Sources said a name for the Uttarakhand chief minister will be finalised along with the names for the new cabinet at a meeting being held at Amit Shah's residence.

After 10 days of declaration of assembly polls results, suspense over the name of chief minister of Uttarakhand is likely to get over soon.

The party insider claims that the defeat of incumbent Dhami from Khatima is the main reason behind delays in election of new chief minister and formation of a new government in Uttarakhand.
New Delhi, March 20 : Longing for justice over three decades, the aborigines of Kashmir -- the Kashmiri Pandits -- completed 32 years of pain and mistrust on January 19, just two months ago.

The pointless debates, virtual scuffles, allegations, counter allegations, "it was Jagmohan", "No it was Farooq Abdullah" -- as expected discussions swarmed the Television channels, just like every year. Warring camps accused each other and the dust settled in a day.

After a day-long brainstorming debate, people forgot everything and the election fever took over the talks of sufferings of the Pandits.

Then, on March 11, Vivek Agnihotri-directed 'The Kashmir Files' hit the screens, yet again, starting the same cycle of discussions sans the most vital point of 'justice'. But this time, something was different. The movie shook the sleeping consciousness of the country to its core and day after day it became the talk of the town.

The film depicted the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits in a most blunt way. Director Agnihotri says that several movies had been made on Kashmir after the advent of terrorism, but they usually "romanticised terrorism" and never spoke about the atrocities on the Kashmiri Hindus.

There is no doubt that the film gave the countrymen a glimpse of what exactly happened in the northernmost state of India in late 80s and early 90s. But will a movie give justice to the terror-hit minority community? Agnihotri has played its part, now the ball is in Government's Court, though it always was! But over three decades have passed since the aborigines of Kashmir faced brutal atrocities. So why not the cases be investigated now? Delving further deep into the legalities of securing justice for the Kashmiri Pandit community, IANS contacted some legal minds that pointed ways that may lead the migrants on the path of justice.

"It is a fact that Kashmiri Pandits were kidnapped, physically assaulted, raped, brutally murdered and the genocide happened. And what if 30 years have passed. As far as the right to justice is concerned, there is no time limit for it," said Supreme Court Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.

Upadhyay told IANS that the victims of the "Hindu genocide in Kashmir" should first approach the head of the State where the atrocities were committed against them i.e Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. "It would be more appropriate if victims approach the LG, rather than social activists or politicians," the advocate averred.

Upadhyay said the Kashmiri Pandits should demand an NIA investigation from the J&K LG. "I believe it will be the most effective investigation as there is massive violence and foreign funding," the lawyer said.

As the Kashmiri Pandit community is now settled in every part of the country, Upadhyay said they can at least send a mail, if they are not able to physically meet the LG. "And if LG does not reply or act on the request, then they must approach the High Court directly," he said, adding if HC also does not provide them any relief, then they may move the Supreme Court.

"I am ready to fight Kashmir Genocide Case in the Supreme Court, free of cost," Upadhyay promised.

Notably, not every member of the Pandit community faced physical brutality, yet the exodus had its impact on the migrants in different ways. In that case, the SC lawyer said the injury is not always physical, "it can be social, financial and mental trauma as well." "Even issuing a death threat is a crime chargeable under section 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and all Hindus left because they were threatened," he said.

But how will a minority community member gather evidence after 30 years? Upadhyay responded, "See the evidence is of two types -- one is materialistic evidence and the other is circumstantial evidence. Important is to secure justice, the Courts might also go by circumstantial evidence. Similarly, although there is no Law on Narco Polygraph and Brain Mapping but considering it an exceptional case, the court may direct the narco polygraph and brain mapping test of the accused and based on the result, the court can pass the judgment." For readers to understand: Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact.

While speaking to IANS, another Delhi-based lawyer Vineet Jindal said the Pandits, who are now displaced and are currently residing in different parts of the country may also use the option of 'Zero FIR'.

A zero FIR does not bear a serial number, instead it is assigned a number "0". It is registered irrespective of the area where the offence has been committed. After the police station registers Zero FIR, it transfers it to the jurisdictional police station where the offence has occurred.

Advocate Jindal, who is also a social activist, had just a day ago, written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking to re-open cases related to 'massacre' of Kashmiri Pandits and constitute a special investigation team to thoroughly probe the cases reported till now.

"The government should provide a platform to the victims who were unable to report their cases at that particular time due to unfavourable circumstances existing then," Jindal told IANS.

He said that 215 FIRs had been registered and the cases were investigated by Jammu & Kashmir Police but no concrete results were drawn out of the investigation. "Therefore, it surely builds a doubt about the kind of investigation that was done for these FIRs and the Union government too failed to take any measures to ensure justice to the families of victims," he added.

Meanwhile, the Pandit community, though satisfied with the fact that at least their plight is no more hidden from the people, yet, awaits justice! (Ujwal Jalali can be reached at ujwal.j@ians.in)
New Delhi, March 20 : Citing the concerns raised by the footwear industry as genuine, the Confederation of All India Traders has urged the Centre to rationalise the BIS standards and Goods and Services Tax on the footwear items.

Till December 31, 2021, footwears below Rs 1,000 used to attract 5 per cent GST. Starting 2022, the tax slab has been raised to 12 per cent for footwears falling in the Rs 1,000 range.

"India is a land of diversity where consumers range from an ordinary person to most affluent class and their purchase behaviour is more as per their economic strata and therefore they can't be governed by a single yardstick, and therefore any policy or tax imposition should be levied accordingly in order to provide equitable strength to everyone and minimising the chances of any tax evasion or not complying the rules and policies," said Secretary General of the traders' body Praveen Khandelwal.

"90 per cent of the people in India are consuming footwear of not above Rs 1,000 and out of which the largest population consume footwear of not more than Rs 500." Having such a large variety of footwear trade, it is not possible to impose the same standards for all, the traders' body said.

"Sure, it's not possible and therefore the respective authorities should look into the imposition of both GST and BIS standards." While expressing hopes that the issues facing the footwear will be resolved by talks, Khandelwal sought a meeting with both Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
Bengaluru, March 20 : The Karnataka government has decided to beef up security for the High Court Judges who are part of the Special Bench that ruled against the plea for allowing Muslim girl students to wear hijab in school and college classrooms.

Karnataka government's decision comes in the wake of death threats to the judges from certain quarters in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said that the High Court judges who gave the verdict on the Hijab issue, will be provided with Y-category security.

Speaking to the media here on Sunday, Bommai said, "If anybody is not happy with the verdict he or she have the option of approaching the higher courts. We will not tolerate anti-national forces that threaten the rule of law in the country. Already security has been strengthened for the judges but I have instructed that they be provided with Y-category security." Bommai also questioned the silence of so-called liberals and secularists, on the threats being issued to the judges. The state police have been instructed to seek custody of the accused and bring them to Karnataka for further investigation.

Two persons have been taken into custody in Tamil Nadu in connection with issuing death threats to the judges of Karnataka High Court who dismissed petitions demanding wearing of hijab in classrooms.

The special bench comprising the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S. Dixit and Justice Khaji Jaibunnesa Mohiyuddin, while dismissing the petitions demanding hijab in classrooms, had underlined that wearing of hijab is not an essential part of Islam.

In Karnataka, Vidhana Soudha police in Bengaluru have booked FIRs based on the complaint by advocate Sudha Katwa. In the complaint it is mentioned that there is death threat, criminal intimidation, use of abusive language and also breach of peace and communal harmony in the state.
Washington, March 20 : A shooting outside a car show in the US state of Arkansas has killed at least one person and wounded 20 other, including children, local media reported.

The number of kids hurt in the shooting on Saturday evening in the town of Dumas is not clear, according to Keith Finch, Dumas chief of police.

The car show, an annual community event, is held each spring to raise funds for scholarships and school supplies, reports Xinhua news agency.
Washington, March 20 : The US is likely to see a resurgence in Covid cases in coming weeks due to the BA.2 sub-variant of the Omicron strain.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), BA.2 has been tripling in prevalence every two weeks, ABC news reported.

As of the week ending March 11, BA.2 accounted for 23.1 per cent of all Covid cases in the US compared to 7.1 per cent of all cases the week ending February 26, the CDC data showed.

This follows a rise in several European countries such as Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, and Asian countries such as Hong Kong, China, and South Korea.

Anthony Fauci, the US top infectious disease expert, said given the growing prevalence of BA.2, he expects cases will increase within the next month, the report said.

"I would expect that we might see an uptick in cases here in the US because, only a week or so ago, the CDC came out with their modification of the metrics for what would be recommended for masking indoors, and much of the country right now is in that zone, where masking indoors is not required," he told ABC affiliate KGTV.

Fauci added that he believes BA.2 will become the dominant variant in the country, surpassing the original omicron variant, the report said.

In the UK, 93,943 cases were recorded last week, according to Johns Hopkins University, more than double the 45,303 recorded two weeks earlier.

"Europe has been an important sign of what we can expect in the US," said John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children's Hospital was quoted as saying.

"Rising infections, an increase in variant prevalence and a slow booster rollout is likely a sign of a surge. Whether it will be another wave or small bump, we don't know yet," he added.

Last month, the UK scrapped all Covid measures including masks, testing and surveillance.

Several European countries followed suit, as did the US, which eased masking guidance for 70 per cent of the country, including for schools, the report said.

Fauci said he is encouraged that BA.2 does not appear to cause more severe disease, but warned if the US experiences another Covid wave, Americans must be willing to readopt mitigation measures.
Chennai, March 20 : The Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue services will induct women as firefighters in its force. Braj Kishore Ravi, Director General of Police and Director of the department in a statement said that the department has already sent a proposal to the government in this regard.

He said that while the Fire and Rescue services have 22 women officers but women as firefighters have never been included in the department till now.

The officer said that he would take steps to modernise the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services (TNFRS) on par with international standards. He said that the department will provide the best training to personnel and equip them to handle any challenge.

A new academy for training of Fire and Rescue services near Tambaram in Chennai is coming up to train the fire and rescue personnel involved in rescue operations and disaster management.

The academy will also train personnel from the police in the protection, rescue, and relief of people and animals during calamity. He also said that TNFRS is in the process of developing a separate dog squad for the department and has bought four pups. These pups will undergo training at the National Dog training centre in Madhya Pradesh.

The trained dogs would be deployed to detect the presence of people and animals who are trapped in debris if a building collapse happens. The TNFRS will also train 1,00,000 people under the Safety Volunteers Scheme which at present has only 5000 trained volunteers.

The department is also expecting these volunteers to be part of the Fire and Rescue departments response team to rescue people and animals who are under crisis during a disaster.
Bhubaneswar, March 20 : The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Odisha police has arrested an accused, Himanshu Bhandarion for cheating Rs 2.35 crore from a businessman, officials said here on Sunday.

Himanshu was arrested from Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The arrest was made against a case registered on the basis of a complaint filed by Pramod Kumar Rout, a businessman of Joda in mineral-rich Keonjhar district of Odisha, the EOW officials said.

As per the allegation, the accused and others cheated Rout to the tune of Rs 2.35 crore in the guise of paying him Rs 3 crore from the Government of India, under Pradhan Mantri Rahat Kosh Yojona against his Insurance Policy with Max New York Life, using the forged & manipulated documents.

During the investigation, the EOW found that Rout is holding one policy in Max New York Life Insurance Company since March 2012. He got a call in October 2019 from a person who introduced himself as A.K. Walia, Fund Releasing Head, Ministry of Finance posted at Hyderabad.

The caller informed that the complainant's insurance policy has been selected under Pradhan Mantri Rahat Kosh Yojona and that the Government of India will release an amount of Rs 3 crore in his account, the officials said.

As he remained silent for some days, Rout received several letters, communications and calls from the fraudsters, who impersonated senior government officials and persuaded the complainant to transfer cash through RTGS and bank accounts.

Being persuaded, Rout, during the period from November 19, 2019 to February 4, 2021, transferred around Rs 2.35 crore in instalments.

However, even after lapse of time, when no amount was returned to the complainant, Rout doubted their activities and when contacted, found all the mobile numbers (from which he had received calls) were switched off.

All letters and images of two bank demand drafts in favour of the complainant amounting to Rs 1.27 crore and Rs 70.81 lakh, were found to be fake and forged, the EOW said.

It was found that the accused is one of the members of the gang which is involved in many such cases in various states. The police said they are making efforts to arrest other members of the gang.
Srinagar, March 20 : A court in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar city has framed charges against two adults accused in the acid attack on a woman in the Hawal area of the city on February 1.

A police statement said charges were framed against the accused under sections 120-B and 326A of IPC.

The case pertains to the acid attack on a young girl in the Hawal area of Nowhatta police station on February 1.

After concluding the investigation swiftly, the Srinagar police had filed the charge sheet of the case on February 22 in record time against two adult accused in the court of the chief judicial magistrate (Srinagar) and against one minor accused in the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).

Petition was also filed in the JJB to try the juvenile as adult in line with the amended Juvenile Justice Act, as he falls in the bracket of 16-18 years and the nature of the crime was heinous, police statement said.

Subsequently a board has been constituted by the JJB wherein assessment regarding his mental and psychological parameters would be conducted to decide if he could be treated as an adult in the trial.

The charges against the two adults, namely Sajid Ahmad Rather and Muhammad Sultan Kumar, were framed by Principal district and sessions Judge Srinagar, Jawad Ahmed. The next date of hearing has been fixed on March 30, 2022.
S.Korea says DPRK fires suspected shots from rocket launchers

Xinhua) 15:03, March 20, 2022

SEOUL, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday fired four suspected shots from the multiple rocket launchers off its west coast, said South Korea's Yonhap news agency citing military officials.

South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said the same day that it convened a vice-ministerial emergency meeting to discuss the situation this morning.

The parameters data will be analyzed under close cooperation between South Korea and the United States, and the South Korean government will keep on alert and keep an eye on the recent moves of the DPRK, the meeting said.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
Kabul, March 20 : The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan on Sunday announced that a total of 588 people after receiving training have been commissioned to police forces in two provinces.

In eastern Nangarhar province, 550 policemen graduated from Nangarhar Education Police Training Centre after a month and a half of intellectual and military training, the government said in a statement.

"The graduation ceremony was attended by security officials of the province as well as officials of the Ministry of Interior," Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.

In southern Helmand province, 38 members of the Taliban movement affiliated to Nahr-e-Saraj district's police headquarters graduated after two months of military and ideological training.

The newly-trained personnel held parades during the graduation ceremonies, demonstrating their ability to combat drug trafficking, kidnapping and other crimes, according to the statement.
New Delhi, March 20 : Reebok and design house Eames Office announce the next instalment of their prestigious collaboration: The Reebok x Eames - Club C 'Dot Pattern & Composition Pack' honouring the designs of Charles and Ray Eames.

Reebok x Eames - Club C 'Composition' is based on Ray' Composition painting of 1939 - the year before she met Charles at Cranbrook. Exhibiting the eye for abstraction that Ray honed under the tutelage of German eAmigreA master Hans Hoffman, Composition's subtle natural tones envelop an upper that floats atop a crisp white midsole. Ray's handwritten signature enhances her personal connection to this collectible sneaker.

The textile print that was considered but not submitted by the Eames Office to MoMA's 1947 Competition for Printed Fabrics. A field of dots is joined by tiny sinews that bring order and proportion to a field seemingly scattered at random. Dot Pattern expresses the interconnectedness of Eames design. Though all work done by the Eames couple in their staggeringly productive lifetimes was their joint achievement and vision, the image of Ray holding the final drawing still dazzles. The iconic print is deftly softened by a natural upper that rests on an unassuming raw rubber sole.

The shoebox is modelled after the Eames House- Case Study House No. 8-in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles. An example of egalitarian post-war suburban architecture, the house embraces industrial innovation while retaining the warmth and human scale of a loving family home. Charles and Ray lived together in the Eames House until their passing. Today, it is a tribute to the couple's design ethos and an exemplar of sustainable building.

In summer 2021, the Reebok x Eames Club C 'Monotone Pack' became the first-ever footwear range developed in partnership with and authorized by the Eames Office-the firm that began with Charles and Ray's marriage and move to California in 1941 and continues today, run by the third generation of the Eames family. Following the award-winning release, the 2022 edition offers a tribute to the Eameses' mastery of form and color, featuring a pair of shoe designs inspired by one of their most beloved textile prints and one of Ray's most iconic paintings.

The all-new Reebok x Eames - Club C 'Dot Pattern & Composition Pack' is now available exclusively on shop4reebok.com at INR 9,999/- (IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
New Delhi, March 20 : As the weather changes, there's no need to give up your favourite tipple. Who says whisky is not a summer drink? Try these Jameson Irish Whiskey cocktails to keep you cool through the heat.

Ginger & Lime Always reliable, always delicious. Known the world over as the Jameson 'signature serve', this is really a cocktail for all occasions. However, nothing beats that night out with friends with a JGL in your hand! Ingredients

60ml of Jameson

Ginger Ale

Ice Cubes

1 Wedge Lime

How To Make

Fill a high ball glass with ice and pour in a shot of Jameson. Top up the glass with a good quality ginger ale and stir briefly to mix Take a large wedge of lime, give it a squeeze and drop it into the glass

Roughly 1 part Jameson to 3 parts ginger ale, all parts refreshing

The Saint's Sour

As after-dinner cocktails go, the whiskey sour is one of the most famous, and for good reason. By mixing Irish whiskey and lemon juice with egg white and bitters, you get a delicious classic cocktail that has really stood the test of time. Plus, with the addition of Jameson Black Barrel, you get the added bonus of enhanced spiciness, vanilla sweetness and sherry fruit in what is already a very tasty cocktail.

Ingredients 60ml of Jameson Black Barrel

25ml of freshly-squeezed lemon juice

15ml of passion fruit syrup

15ml of egg white

Angostura bitters for garnish

Orange or lemon twist for garnish

How To Make

Fill a shaker with ice

Add 60ml of Jameson Black Barrel

Add 25ml of freshly-squeezed lemon juice

Add 15ml of passion fruit syrup

Add 15ml of egg white

First shake with ice, then remove ice from shaker and shake without ice

Strain into a chilled whiskey glass

Garnish with 3 drops of Angostura bitters and an orange/lemon twist

Green With Envy

A sweet, citrus and herby mix, that's easy to make and easier to drink. Fresh and green as an Irishman at a sporting event.

Ingredients 1 Leaf Basil

Ice Cubes

45 ml Jameson Original

30 ml Lemon

45 ml Prosecco

30 ml Simple Syrup

How To Make

To Make the Simple Syrup: Add 250ml boiling water to 250g white granulated sugar and stir well to dissolve. Allow to cool, bottle and refrigerate.

Lightly muddle basil leaves in your cocktail shaker.

Add all the rest of the ingredients except sparkling wine and shake with ice.

Double strain into a chilled tall glass filled with ice.

Top with sparkling white wine and garnish with a basil leaf.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
New Delhi, March 20 : Newly elected members of the Uttarakhand Assembly will take oath on Monday and a meeting of the BJP's legislative party will be held in the evening to elect a new chief minister of the state.

The newly elected BJP MLAs, however, are clueless about the meeting of the legislative party.

The BJP leadership, meanwhile, continues to deliberate upon the names for the post of chief minister of Uttarakhand in the national capital.

A meeting was held to discuss the formation of BJP government in Uttarakhand at the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. After the meeting, another meeting of the Uttarakhand BJP leaders was held at the residence of former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' here.

A newly elected Uttarakhand BJP MLA told the IANS that he has no information about the legislative party meeting. "Till now, I am only aware of the oath of new members which will start at 11 a.m. on Monday. I have no information about the BJP's legislative party meeting. When the party leadership finalises the legislative party meeting they will inform the MLAs accordingly," he said.

The Uttarakhand BJP president Madan Kaushik has said that all the newly elected MLAs will take oath at 11 a.m. on Monday and the legislative party meeting will be held in the evening.

It is learnt that the BJP MLA Satpal Maharaj in the Sunday meeting at Shah's residence claimed that a majority are supporting him for the post of chief minister and after not receiving a positive response he left the meeting.

Sources said a name for the Uttarakhand chief minister has been discussed along with the names for the new cabinet at a meeting being held at Amit Shah's residence. However, in the absence of consensus no final decision has been taken.

After 10 days of declaration of Assembly poll results, suspense over the name of chief minister of Uttarakhand is likely to get over soon.

The party insider claims that the defeat of incumbent Pushkar Singh Dhami from Khatima is the main reason behind the delay in the election of a new chief minister and formation of a new government in Uttarakhand.
Bengaluru, March 20 : A Tamil Nadu-based exporter who attempted to pass off an antique idol as 'new' for export purposes, has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.

Based on specific intelligence, the officers of Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU), Bengaluru Airport and Air Cargo Commissionerate, intercepted a shipment in the International Courier Terminal that was attempted to be exported to Malaysia by the exporter, officials said on Sunday.

The goods were declared as a 'new bronze antique finish idol' in the export documents. However, on examination by the authorised nominee of the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India and assisted by a committee of experts, the idol was certified as an 'antique', as per Section 24 of the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972.

Further investigation is in progress.
Bengaluru, March 20 : It may not be the best times for the ailing public sector Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) -- once famous as 'timekeepers to the nation'. But when insurgency was at its worst in the Kashmir Valley, this public sector watch maker made a big difference to around 500 Kashmiri Pandit employees and their families.

Sometime in 1972, the Bengaluru-headquartered HMT set up a watchmaking unit in the Kashmir Valley. Originally established in Srinagar, the unit which was later shifted to Zainakot on the outskirts, employed around 1,540 locals. Of these, 540 employees were non-Muslims, comprising largely of Kashmiri Pandits and some Sikhs.

Manmohan Kaul (76) was a part of HMT's Kashmir journey from inception till he took voluntary retirement as AGM-Finance at Bengaluru in 2001. To this day, those long gone days remain etched in his memory.

"Things were going on very nicely in the beginning. There were experts and engineers from Bangalore, and it came up very nicely. The first industrial culture in Kashmir was brought by HMT Srinagar. Things were going on smoothly till 1989. Thereafter, things started changing." In the late 1980s, a massive surge in militancy and targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits led to the biggest exodus of the community in the early 90s. In just a few months, the Kashmir Valley was literally emptied of its original Hindu inhabitants. At the HMT unit in Kashmir, the then 34-year old Kaul remained optimistic till the end.

"Silently, they were doing their job. Probably they were preparing for 1990. Because people knew.They knew something big was going to happen. But we were innocent, we never thought it will happen to this extent. Because earlier also it has happened so many times. But it would die down in course of time. We remained under that impression but it turned out to be catastrophic." Almost overnight, members of the largely educated and affluent Pandit community found themselves as refugees trying to eke out a living in squalid refugee camps in Jammu and other North Indian cities. However, thanks to HMT, around 530 Kashmiri Pandit families were largely spared the travails and managed to rebuild their lives.

"Luckily, the HMT management transferred me to Bangalore. Out of 540 employees, about 200 were adjusted in Bangalore City itself. Some of the others were scattered to other places like Kolkata, Hyderabad and so on, Slowly, over the years, most of the people were resettled in Bengaluru," Kaul recounts.

While the HMT management reached out to all the displaced Kashmiri Pandit employees, it was not easy for the internally displaced community. They had to take some hard knocks on the way, like non-supervisory grade employees having to settle for a position that was lower by one grade.

Kaul thanked his lucky stars when a month after he landed in Bengaluru, his brothers told him about the narrow escape he had from certain death if he had stayed back longer in Kashmir.

"They were planning who to keep and who to kill. My name also was there on the list but I didn't know it. When my father died and we were completing the tenth day ceremony at home due to curfew, one of my junior colleagues tipped off my brothers that we should leave. My brothers insisted that we leave." Today, as HMT stares at an uncertain future, 530 Kashmiri Pandit families look back in gratitude at the 'Timekeeper to the Nation' for being the lifeline in their hour of need.
New Delhi, March 20 : The Economic Offence Wing of Delhi Police has arrested a person for duping 55 investors of approximately Rs 13 crore on the pretext of providing them flats in Rewari, Haryana and further diverting the funds for his personal gain, an official said on Sunday.

The accused, identified as Dinesh Sharma, a resident of Hisar, Haryana, was earlier declared proclaimed offender in two cases registered by the EOW.

Furnishing details, Joint Commissioner of Police (Economic Offences Wing) Chhaya Sharma said the accused through his Company Asian Developers Pvt Ltd advertised for the booking of flats/shops at Sector-2, Bawal, Rewari, Haryana in 2012.

"Investors booked and made the regular payments, however, the construction of the project was stopped in April 2014 and no possession of the units was given to the investors," the Jt CP said.

According to the police, the alleged builder company misrepresented the facts regarding the project before the public at large and induced them to invest in the project, despite the fact that the land was allotted for the purpose of construction of the dwelling units for the staff of the allottee company only.

"The builder also assured the investors for the time bound possession within 27 months but construction was stopped and the accused went untraceable following which two cases were registered at EOW in this matter," the senior official said.

During investigation, the account of the alleged company was analysed and it was found that the money of home buyers was diverted into different accounts. It has further been revealed that the allotment of the land where the project in question was being built up, was made in favour of HSIIDC for constructing dwelling units for their workers.

The accused was absconding and changing his whereabouts. Subsequently, a non-bailable warrant against him was obtained and he was declared proclaimed offender by a local Court.

"The accused was detained at Delhi Airport while he was trying to flee to Abu Dhabi," Sharma added.
Lombok : , March 20 (IANS) Miguel Oliveira (KTM Factory Racing) of Portugual mastered the wet conditions to claim victory in the MotoGP Grand Prix of Indonesia, registering his first victory since 2021 Catalan GP. He finished ahead of reigning World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) of France in a dramatic race on Sunday.

The Portuguese rider didn't put a foot wrong in Indonesia as Yamaha and Ducati picked up podium spots as Frenchman Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) took third place. Former champion Marc Marquez (Honda) was forced to miss the race due to a concussion sustained in his huge crash during warm-up for the main race.

After the start of the race was delayed by over an hour due to heavy rainfall in Lombok for the first time in 25 years, Quartararo got an outstanding launch from pole position and comfortably collected the holeshot. Oliveira made a lightning start from P7 to grab P2, and Jack Miller (Ducati) was swiftly up to P3 from P6 on the grid.

At the start of Lap 2, both Oliveira and Miller passed Quartararo. Miller then picked off Oliveira for the race lead, as the top two started to break clear of third-place Quartararo, who had Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar), compatriot Zarco and a rapid starting Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) for company.

Rins and Zarco got the better of Quartararo, but they faced a 2.4s gap to Miller and Oliveira. The latter carved his way past the Ducati of Miller at Turn 12 on Lap 6 to retake the lead, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) somehow staying on his GP22 after a huge moment going into Turn 1.

The Italian was down to P12 behind Pol Espargaro (Honda) and Brad Binder (KTM Factory Racing), for P7, Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) caught one of the puddles at Turn 1, and unlike Ducati counterpart Bagnaia, there was no saving a crash for Martin.

Meanwhile, Oliveira had stretched his lead to 1.6s. Miller was second, Rins third, Zarco fourth, and Quartararo fifth with 12 laps to go.

At half race distance, Zarco was the quickest rider on track. A quality move followed on Rins at Turn 12 for P3, a'd Miller wasn't far up the road. Oliveira, however, was. His advantage was 3.5s heading into the second half of the race. Zarco was looking desperate to pass Miller, while just behind, Quartararo had found some great rhythm. El Diablo was back into P3 with five laps to go, as he and fellow Frenchman Zarco scrapped away.

Quartararo was the fastest rider on track and was back up to second on Lap 16 of 20. Zarco, eventually, followed the Yamaha man through to get the better of Miller, and with three laps to go, was a special comeback from Quartararo on the cards? The gap was slashed by a second on 'ap 17, Oliveira's lead was down to 3.4s - game on? Oliveira responded though. The gap came down, but only by a couple of tenths. At the start of the last lap, it was 2.8s, so barring an error, Oliveira just needed to bring it home. Quartararo had a 0.9s buffer to Zarco, who in turn had 2.3s in hand over Miller.

The last lap was completed without worry for Oliveira. An absolutely stunning performance at a rain-drenched Pertamina Mandalika Circuit to claim victory for the first time since the 2021 Catalan GP. Quartararo picked up a phenomenal P2 that will feel like a win for the Frenchman, and it's a return to the rostrum for the first time since Barcelona 2021 for Zarco in P3.

Oliveira goes home with the race-winning trophy, Bastianini remains the title leader, and there's only 10 points between the top nine heading to Argentina for Round 3.
Moscow, March 20 : German Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir suggested that the Germans eat less meat and refrain from wasting food in order to contribute to the fight against Russia, which, according to him, is allegedly using food supplies as a weapon.

"Despite the fact that I am a vegetarian, I will not preach that everyone should go vegetarian. But let's put it this way: eating less meat would be a contribution against Putin," the German minister told Spiegel magazine when asked if the German authorities would have to increase the allocation of German-produced grain for public consumption, RT reported. Ozdemir claims that Russia is "using its export power." On March 16, Russian Permanent Representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said that consumers are facing serious problems due to the observed increase in energy and food prices in the western part of the European continent.

On March 9, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called upon all Europeans to use the heating system less in order to "cut the umbilical cord that connects with Russia." The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commented on the statement by the Minister of Food and Agriculture of the Federal Republic of Germany, Cem Ozdemir, about the methods of combating Russia.

"And this is only part of the truth. It's a pity he told the Germans everything to the end: they still need to breathe less, which would be a contribution to the protection of the environment, and, well, against Russia. Let's put it this way," Zakharova said.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
Kiev, March 20 : A group of influential people who oppose President Vladimir Putin and who plan to assassinate him, is forming among the Russian business and political elite, according to the Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.

The goal of this group is to remove Putin from power as soon as possible and restore economic ties with the West, destroyed by the war in Ukraine.

"A part of Russia's political elite sees Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bortnikov as Putin's successor. It is Bortnikov who has recently fallen out of favour with the Russian dictator. The official reason for the FSS leader's downfall is fatal miscalculations in the war against Ukraine", Ukraine intelligence has said, Ukrayinska Pravda reported.

It was Bortnikov and his department who were responsible for analysing the views of the Ukrainian population and the capacity of the Ukrainian army.

It is known that Bortnikov and some other influential members of the Russian elite are considering various options for removing Putin from power. In particular, poisoning, sudden illness, or other "accident" is not excluded, the intelligence said.

It is possible that these processes are connected with the recent "leak" of the location of Chechen units in the north of Kiev." According to intelligence, this leak may have been intended both to weaken Kadyrov's influence and as an attempt to establish cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities in advance, bypassing the current leadership of the Russian Federation, the report said.

According to the Ukrainian intelligence, the Russians are sending another terrorist group to Ukraine to eliminate the country's leadership.

It is reported that regular groups of fighters associated with Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian propagandist close to Putin and owner of a Russian mercenary group called Liga (Wagner), have started arriving in Ukraine. The main task of the criminals is to eliminate the top military and political leadership of Ukraine.

According to the Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the key "targets" of mercenaries: are Volodymyr Zelensky, Andriy Yermak, and Denys Shmyhal.

"Putin personally ordered one of the few proxies to carry out new attacks. All previous attempts have ended in the failure and elimination of terrorists", Ukrayinska Pravda reported.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
Hyderabad, March 20 : The row over installation of a statue of Shivaji led to a clash between two groups in Telangana's Bodhan town on Sunday. Police resorted to lathi charge and lobbed teargas shells to disperse the clashing groups and bring the situation under control.

The incident occurred in Bodhan town of Nizamabad district, about 200 km from Hyderabad.

Trouble broke out when some people opposed installation of Shivaji's statue at Ambedkar Chowrasta in the town. This led to a heated argument between the two groups and sparked tension in the area. They attacked each other with stones, leading to injuries to a few.

Police rushed there and tried to disperse both the groups. Some people hurled stones at the police, who then resorted to baton charge. As the miscreants continued stone pelting, police used teargas to disperse them.

Following the incident, police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 in the town. Nizamabad police commissioner K.R. Nagaraju said security has been stepped up in the town to prevent any untoward incident.

The police commissioner said installation of the statue will be allowed if the authorities concerned have given permission for the same.
Sialkot : , March 20 (IANS) A fire erupted in an army ammunition shed Sunday morning in Sialkot garrison area, Pakistan military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations has confirmed, Samaa TV reported.

The fire, caused due to a short circuit, has been put out as a result of "swift and effective response". No life or property loss was reported, the report said.

Earlier on Sunday, Twitter users began posting videos said to be from Sialkot in which smoke could be seen billowing far away. They reported loud blasts were also heard.

Urdu News has quoted Sialkot District Police Officer (DPO) Umer Saeed Malik saying that the fire erupted early morning in cantonment area after which several blasts happened.
Jammu, March 20 : Jammu and Kashmir Lt. Governor, Manoj Sinha on Sunday said that his administration intends to make the union territory a developed society free of militancy and corruption.

Addressing the attestation/passing out parade of 636 newly recruited Border Security Force (BSF) personnel at the Subsidiary Training Centre in Udhampur, the Lt Governor lauded the role of the security forces for bravely facing various challenges, including infiltration attempts, smuggling of weapons and narcotics from across the border.

"We have faced all the challenges successfully and our security forces are alert. They have played a pivotal role in building a new Jammu and Kashmir by thwarting the designs of the anti-national elements," said Sinha who inspected the parade and took salute at the march past.

"Decades-old terror ecosystem needs to be dismantled completely. We have continued our efforts to deal a decisive blow on corruption, terror financing, and militant ecosystem to make Jammu and Kashmir a developed society, free of corruption and fear. This is our target.

"Drug addiction is a big challenge as drugs are smuggled by Pakistan under a conspiracy. You have to play a big role to check the smuggling of drugs," Sinha said.

The Lt Governor further said: "You are fully capable and ready The country is witnessing that BSF is performing its duties in mountainous regions, plains, deserts and deep forests with great devotion and dedication. The force is bravely facing every danger to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation.

"We are ready to give a befitting response if someone wants to test us," Sinha added, urging the fresh BSF recruits to live up to the tradition and expectation of the force.
New Delhi, March 20 : Abhishek Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress MP and nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and his wife Rujira Banerjee will on Monday join the investigation in a Prevention of Money Laundering case pertaining to alleged coal scam being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The anti money laundering agency had asked Banerjee and his wife to join the investigation on March 21 and 22.

Banejree had earlier on September 6 recorded his statement before the ED officials. He was interrogated for around six hours, but the probe agency was not satisfied with his answers and he has been issued fresh summon again along with his wife.

In September last year Banerjee and his wife, through their counsel, had moved a plea before the Delhi High Court against the ED summon, but they didn't get any relief. Their plea was dismissed by the High Court on March 11.

Abhishek and his wife had sought relief on the ground that they are residents of West Bengal. However, their contention was challenged by Tushar Mehta, the Solicitor General, who was appearing for the ED. He told the court that the ED is not confined by any area under the PMLA.

This case is being probed parallel by the CBI and the ED. The CBI's case was lodged in November last year.
Chennai, March 20 : Tamil film director Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi, who is also the daughter-in-law of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, on Sunday put out a video to lend support to the Greater Chennai Corporation's efforts to make public toilets in the city reusable again.

Kiruthiga, who took to Twitter to post the video, wrote on her timeline, "This is my toilet tale, what's yours? Share your toilet story and Join the International Toilet Festival Chennai on 2nd and 3rd April 2022 at Santhome Higher Secondary School, Mylapore to celebrate toilets through the toilet museum, an exciting brown box, toilet expo! #OnceinaLOO" In the video she shared, Kiruthiga says, "I am Kiruthika Udhayanidhi. I am going to share my toilet story with you today. I like to travel right from the time I was a kid. I have gone on several road trips with my parents. Although travelling is a good experience, a bad experience that everybody has had is using toilets (when travelling).

"None of us ever go even near a public toilet. There have been instances when I have had to knock on stranger's homes to request permission to use their toilets. So, to find a solution to this problem, an event called Mapathon is taking place at the Santhome High School on April 2 and 3. This is an awareness event that is being conducted by the Greater Chennai Corporation with certain other entities. This is a toilet expo with a lot of people and volunteers taking part.

"They will be mapping all the public toilets in Chennai. Ideas on ways to make public toilets usable again will be discussed. Discussions on how to make this happen in a collective, responsible and accountable manner will be held." Stating that all of them were welcome to attend, the filmmaker urged people to share their toilet stories with the hash tag #OnceInALoo on their Instagram and Twitter accounts. "The more awareness we create the more we stand to benefit," she said.
New Delhi, March 20 : It is almost impossible to find any industry or profession that has been immune to Covid-19. The pandemic has touched almost every sector in one way or the other, and its impact on journalism is immense.

Most journalists and newsrooms across the world have suffered due to the pandemic. Whether it's burnout from working extra hours, layoffs, or fighting against the "infodemic" of fake news, this virus has taken a toll on the news industry.

The arrival of coronavirus made it difficult for publishers across the globe to find a sizable audience. With businesses paused or no longer willing to pay for advertisements, a vital part of the industry's support system cracked, The New York Times reported.

However, while discussing with my 24 other fellow journalists about the impact of Covid-19 on the news sector across Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa at the BRICS Media Forum, I realised that the pandemic has not only disrupted their business models, but also their newsroom structure.

While smartphones and mobile technology made news gathering, live broadcasting and content distribution easier, working from home increased communication gaps and reduced productivity for some people.

Addressing the challenges faced while conducting virtual meetings, Olga Dmitrieva, from Russia's Sputnik News, said: "Being a producer you can basically work from anywhere. All you need is a good smartphone with an internet connection and international roaming. So, for me, it was easy to adjust to the 'new normal'." "However, during virtual meetings via Skype/Zoom, I always felt that you get more friendly while interviewing someone from home. So even business relations tend to become more open," she added.

About how the virus upended the normal routines of life, Ilia Goncharov, from Sputnik News, said: "Before the pandemic, as a columnist, I often went to places, interviewed people, made reports, interacted with foreigners, artists, musicians, etc. But with the emergence of the novel Coronavirus, all of those things suddenly changed.

"It seemed like a joke, a bad dream, at first. However, when we came to our senses, we were able to get the job done. All the aspects of my work were then done under the prism of the epidemic. I studied how Moscow restaurants helped doctors from the Red Zone, how gyms started online training, etc. One of my most unusual experiences was at a painting exhibition by the famous Chinese artist Zhang Huang, who barely managed to send paintings to the Hermitage (a major art museum in St Petersburg) as all the museums in the country were closed. I interviewed him online and we both agreed that during these unprecedented times, what the world needs more is love." Highlighting the problems of the pandemic-induced restrictions, Zhao Zhao, from China's Xinhua News Agency, said: "Due to the pandemic, the Chinese media industry was strongly impacted as many important events had to be cancelled, postponed or held virtually. Therefore, journalists in China missed having physical interviews or interactions with one another." On the challenges of remote news reporting, Rodrigo De Moraes Vargas Ramos from Brazil's CMA group said: "The hardest part was staying away from the newsroom, and not physically meeting other journalists daily. However, our work itself was not harmed. We pulled off the same performance as we did in the newsroom." However, for Jehran Naidoo, from South Africa's Independent Media, productivity had gone for a toss while working from home.

"Staying indoors affected me a lot. The four walls kept closing in on me. And that in turn affected my productivity to some extent. I became more agitated and less focused. Trying to find balance again was the new challenge I faced," Naidoo said.

About how his journalistic work buckled under the pandemic pressure, he said: "I like interacting with people, hearing their voices. It intrigues me. But this very part, which made being a journalist such a cool job, was taken away from me and I had to adjust to a faulty internet connection and robotic voices on the other end of my screen." (Sukanya Saha can be contacted at sukanya.s@ians.in)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi, March 20 : The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested a 27-year-old woman, named as an accused in an abduction-cum-murder case, and was absconding since the last four years, officials said here on Sunday.

Nidhi a.k.a. Bharti, wife of dreaded gangster Rahul Jaat -- an associate of notorious gangsters namely Rohit Chaudhary and Ankit Gurjar, was declared a Proclaimed Offender in 2018 in connection with the case.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Jasmeet Singh said nine accused persons including Nidhi and her husband Rahul Jaat had conspired and abducted one Sagar alias Chunnu in April 2015 from GTB Enclave in Delhi.

"After abduction, they took Sagar in their car, mercilessly thrashed him and thereafter, took him to an area of Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, and pushed him before a moving truck. Later, Sagar was crushed to death," the police officer said.

In 2014, Nidhi and her husband had objected to Sagar's "friendship" with Nidhi's sister even after her marriage.

They had asked Sagar to stay away from their sister but he did not listen and kept on meeting her.

Due to this, Nidhi, along with others had planned and executed the abduction-cum-killing of Sagar.

The reason for getting him crushed under the truck was to make the murder look like a case of a road accident, and initially, a case of road accident was registered in Baghpat.

However, Sagar's father later lodged an FIR of abduction and murder at GTB Enclave police station in the national capital.

Both the FIRs -- of fatal accident registered in Baghpat, and that of abduction cum murder registered at GTB Enclave police station, Delhi were clubbed, and an investigation was taken up by Delhi Police that unearthed the entire conspiracy. Eventually, all the accused individuals were arrested.

Nidhi got bail from a trial court in November 2017 after which she never appeared for hearing of the case, and was absconding.

On March 19, a tip-off was received at the Special Cell regarding the presence of Nidhi at Govindpuram in Ghaziabad following which a trap was laid and was eventually arrested.
Moscow, March 20 : The Russian Defence Ministry said that the Russian armed forces with Kalibr missiles destroyed workshops for the repair of damaged Ukrainian armoured vehicles.

"In the evening of March 19 and in the morning of March 20, strikes were carried out with long-range precision weapons on Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities. From the waters of the Black Sea, Kalibr sea-based cruise missiles destroyed workshops for the repair of Ukrainian armoured vehicles damaged in combat operations," the statement says, RT reported.

At the same time, it is reported that Kalibr missiles from the waters of the Caspian Sea, as well as from the airspace over the Crimea, the Kinzhal complexes destroyed a large fuel and lubricants storage base near the village of Konstantinovka, Mykolaiv region.

The 3M-54 Kalibr, also referred to it as 3M54-1 Kalibr is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by the Novator Design Bureau. There are ship-launched, submarine-launched and air-launched versions of the missile, and variants for anti-ship, anti-submarine and land attack use.

Earlier, the United States officially confirmed that Russia used Dagger hypersonic missiles during hostilities in Ukraine. It is reported that this is the first recorded case of the use of such missiles during hostilities, CNN reported.

It is known that the new rocket is capable of speeds up to 6,000 km per hour, which is five times faster than the speed of sound. Its features are low flight trajectory and manoeuverability. All these factors complicate the detection of hypersonic missiles by satellites and special radars, UNIAN reported.
Mumbai, March 20 : India's foreign exchange reserves have plunged by over $9.64 billion during the week that ended on March 11.

Accordingly, the Reserve Bank of India data showed that India's forex reserves fell to $622.275 billion from $631.920 billion reported the previous week.

According to analysts, a likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India to arrest the sharp fall in rupee value against the US dollar depleted the reserve.

The RBI is known to enter the markets via intermediaries to either sell or buy US dollars to keep the rupee in a stable orbit.

According to reports, the latest decline in forex reserves is the steepest in nearly two years. The country's forex reserves comprise foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, SDRs, and the country's reserve position with the IMF.

On a weekly basis, FCAs, the largest component of the forex reserves, edged lower by $11.108 billion to $554.359 billion. However, the value of the country's gold reserves increased by $1.522 billion to $43.842 billion. The SDR value fell by $53 million to $18.928 billion.

In addition, the country's reserve position with the IMF slipped by $7 million to $5.146 billion.
New Delhi, March 20 : Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)Madras has launched the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre to power an ambitious Global Project to map the human brain at the cellular and connectivity levels, with a focus on high-resolution brain imaging.

This state-of-the-art Centre aims to become a world-renowned research centre, generating unprecedented human brain data, scientific output and technology tools.

IITM has been ranked No.1 in the 'Overall' Category for the third consecutive year in India Ranking 2021 released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India IIT Madras plans to train hundreds of undergraduate and postgraduate students at this centre in neuro-science and computing, machine learning techniques on cutting-edge brain data.

According to a statement, the centre is supported by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and his wife Sudha Gopalakrishnan. Their dedicated efforts in seeding research at IIT Madras at the intersection of Neuroscience and Engineering are now powering this centre in the frontier research area of brain mapping.

Prof. K. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said: "The combination of IIT Madras, which has the expertise in science and data analysis, with medicine is going to be revolutionary.

"Going forward, we have an extraordinary problem in Neuroscience, i.e. on the functioning of human brain. We are at an earlier stage in our understanding of the human brain functioning. The IIT Madras brain centre will help in solving complex issues that will benefit the world." "The dynamic leadership of IIT Madras has shown the ability to herd different kinds of complex talent together. The IIT Madras Research Park is an example and today every institution wants to copy the model," he added.

Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said: "The Brain Research Centre is a great case study which proves that technology can contribute to medicine and solve societal problems. The Centre will make deep in-roads in collecting data for brain research." Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, and Head of Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre said: "The technology platform we have developed and our strong medical collaborations, is allowing us to generate high-resolution large-format histology sections of human brains that will advance the field significantly." The centre will also work on 3D digital neuro-anatomy of the postmortem human brain with cellular resolution. This is a field with great potential for scientific discovery and also for the understanding of neurological disorders.

The unique data sets being generated here promise to be widely impactful through open sharing with an international research community.
Hyderabad, March 20 : Hyderabad police on Sunday launched a special drive against vehicles illegally using MP, MLA, police and press stickers and also against the four-wheelers with tinted glasses and irregular number plates.

Teams of traffic police personnel were seen checking vehicles at several key traffic intersections in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

The drive has been launched three days after a SUV with MLA sticker knocked down a group of street vendors, killing a two-year-old child and injuring four others, in Jubilee Hills.

The SUV belonged to the cousin of TRS MLA from Bodhan Amir Shakil. Syed Adnan Ahmed, who was driving the vehicle, was later arrested. He was accompanied by MLA's son Rahil and another youth Maaz.

After the incident, police were keeping a tight vigil on vehicles moving in the city with stickers of MP, MLA, corporator, police, and press. Police said vehicles with stickers on number plates would attract action as per Motor Vehicle Rules.

Police found during the checking that the vehicles with stickers of MP, and MLA are being used though the public representatives were not travelling. In one such instance, an MLA sticker was removed from a car. The sticker was issued to a MLA in neighboring Andhra Pradesh.

Concerned over the growing number of accidents in and around the city, the police have also launched a special drive against tinted glass and irregular number plates.

Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, A. Venkata Ranganath said action will be taken against vehicle owners using tinted glass as per the orders of the Supreme Court.

Nobody will be allowed to use the black film on car glasses. He made clear that no exemption will be granted to anybody except those falling under 'Z' and 'Z plus' security categories.

Meanwhile, senior IPS officer and Director General of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Anjani Kumar has appealed to citizens to ensure a better culture of safe road usage.

"Road safety is most important as more than 40 lakh people travel every day in Hyderabad and surroundings. It is the responsibility of every citizen to ensure a better culture of safe road usage. Together we all can make Telangana a better and happier place," he tweeted.
Shimla, March 20 : The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, on Sunday gave its approval to the excise policy for 2022-23 that envisages collection of Rs 2,131 crore revenue, which will be Rs 264 crore higher than this fiscal.

This implies an overall growth of 14 per cent in state excise revenues.

Approval was also given for the renewal of retail excise vends in the state for 2022-23 at the renewal fees of four per cent of the value of the vend. The objective is to gain adequate enhancement in government revenue and curbing smuggling of country liquor from the neighbouring states by reduction in its price.

The brands of country liquor will be cheaper as the licence fee has been reduced. This will help in providing good quality liquor at a cheaper rate to the consumers and they won't be tempted towards purchase of illicit liquor and evasion of duty will also be checked, an official statement said.

In new excise policy, 15 per cent fixed quota of country liquor for manufacturers and bottlers to be supplied to the retail licensees has been abolished. This step will give the retail licensees to lift their quota from the suppliers of their choice and further assure supply of good quality country liquor at competitive prices.

The MRP of country liquor will be cheaper by 16 per cent of the existing price.

In new policy to provide more funds for the welfare of "Gau Vansh", the Gaudhan Vikas Nidhi Fund has been enhanced by Re 1 from the existing Rs 1.50.

In view of the reduction in Covid-19 cases in the state, Covid cess has been reduced by 50 per cent of the existing amount.

The fixed annual license fee of bars has been rationalised by abolishing the area specific slabs of licence fee. Now throughout the state, there will be uniform license slabs based upon the room capacity in hotels.

To provide better facility to the tourists visiting tribal areas and also provide relief to the hotel entrepreneurs, the rates of annual fixed license fee of bars in the tribal areas has been reduced considerably.
New Delhi, March 20 : A meeting of the top BJP leadership was held here on Sunday at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official residence to discuss the government formation in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Goa.

Sources said that the key agenda of the meeting was to discuss the names of the chief ministers as well as ministers in the three states.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda, Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, and party national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh were present in the meeting.

In the results of the Assembly polls announced on March 10, the BJP emerged winner in four states -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

On Sunday, the BJP announced the name of incumbent N. Biren Singh as the Chief Minister of Manipur.

Also, Yogi Adityanath is likely to continue as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and he is expected to take charge on March 25, sources said, adding Pramod Sawant is also likely to be retained as the Chief Minister of Goa.

"The key agenda of discussion is the chief minister of Uttarakhand where incumbent Pushkar Singh Dhami has lost the assembly polls despite the party winning two-third majority. Two rounds of meetings were held at Shah's residence on Saturday and Sunday with the Uttarakhand leaders and a meeting of the legislative party is likely to take place on Monday evening. In the meeting with Prime Minister Modi, a final decision is likely to be taken for the next chief minister of Uttarakhand," a party insider said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, a former BJP president, is the party's central observer for election of leader the of BJP legislative party in Uttarakhand.

Earlier on Sunday, a meeting was held at Amit Shah's residence with Uttarakhand BJP leaders to discuss the new chief minister and government formation. The meeting lasted nearly an hour.

Later, the leaders met at the residence of former Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal's residence for further discussion.
New Delhi/Jammu, March 20 : Border Security Force (BSF) DG Pankaj Singh on Sunday said that "the BSF is committed to maintain the sanctity and integrity of our borders to thwart designs of anti-national elements".

He also said that the force has deployed security surveillance systems and all BSF personnel deployed at border areas are experts of handling these surveillance systems.

"BSF troops are competent enough to tackle any nefarious designs by the anti-national elements. He also briefed that drone threats is the biggest challenge in the present scenario and the BSF has been handling this challenge very effectively and anti drone systems are being installed at the International Border," Singh further said.

BSF Director General who was on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir also interacted with the troops and applauded them for their commitment towards the safeguarding of International Borders with professionalism.

He also applauded the troops for their dedication and continuous efforts of making the Retreat Ceremony fascinating.

During the visit, Singh also participated in the security review meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah at Raj Bhavan in Jammu on Saturday.

BSF Deputy Inspector General Surjit Singh Sekhon also briefed DG Singh about complexities of management of the border area under prevailing current security scenario and also informed him about recent threats being faced by the BSF on the Jammu International Border.

Shah on Saturday reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and laid emphasis on proactive operations against terrorists and choking their logistical and financial support systems.

The Home Minister directed that the security grid should be further strengthened to ensure zero cross-border infiltration and to eliminate terrorism completely in order to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a peaceful and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir.
Malakand : , March 20 (IANS) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again urged the dissident lawmakers to return to the ruling PTI's fold, saying that he was ready to forgive them like a "compassionate father" amid looming vote on no-trust motion against him, Express Tribune reported.

"Return to the party's fold or face social boycott," he warned the dissenting PTI members while addressing a public gathering in Dargai - a small town in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Malakand district on Sunday.

"People will not trust you... youth are aware of whatever happening in the country, this is the age of social media where it is difficult to hide anything," he said.

The Premier also warned the estranged lawmakers of dire consequences if they "sold their conscience" and cast vote against the party line in the National Assembly.

People will forever dub them as people who sold their conscience and that their offspring would be unable to find spouses and they would be ridiculed at school, he remarked, Express Tribune reported.

"You are destroying the future of your children by accepting this money," he said, adding that the "Changa Manga" politics was not possible today.

Imran Khan said that the people knew the faces of the "three stooges" from the opposition - Asif Ali Zardari, Shehbaz Sharif and Maulana Fazlur Rehman - who had been "stealing" for years and facing corruption cases.
New Delhi, March 20 : Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd on Sunday announced it has acquired 89 per cent equity stake in Purple Panda Fashions, which operates the Indian lingerie brand Clovia.

Launched in 2013, Clovia is India's leading innerwear and loungewear for women.

The acquisition entails an investment of Rs 950 crore through a combination of secondary stake purchase and primary investment.

The remaining stake in the company will remain with the founding team and management of the company, a statement said.

"... We are pleased to add style, quality and design-led intimate wear brand Clovia to our portfolio. We look forward to working with the strong management team at Clovia to take the business to greater heights," said Isha Ambani, Director of Reliance Retail Ventures.

She said that Reliance has always been at the forefront of enhancing choices and offering the best value proposition to consumers.

"Through this partnership, we will benefit from Reliance's scale and retail expertise, extending the presence of the brand and bring together a stronger value proposition through world class quality, design and fashion in the intimate wear category," said Pankaj Vermani, Founder and CEO of Clovia.

"We look forward to making Clovia the most loved brand in this category." With this acquisition, RRVL will further strengthen its portfolio in the innerwear segment, having already acquired Zivame and Amante brands, the statement added.
Moscow, March 20 : The Russian military said it delivered a precision strike on the training base of the Special Operations Forces (SSO) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, where foreign mercenaries were based.

"High-precision air-launched missiles struck at the training centre for special operations forces of the Ukrainian armed forces, where foreign mercenaries who arrived in Ukraine were based, in the area of Zhytomyr Region," said a statement by the Russian Defence Ministry, RT reported.

According to the agency, more than 100 military SOF and foreign mercenaries were destroyed by the strike.

The Russian Defence Ministry said that the Russian armed forces with Kalibr missiles destroyed workshops for the repair of damaged Ukrainian armoured vehicles.

"In the evening of March 19 and in the morning of March 20, strikes were carried out with long-range precision weapons on Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities. From the waters of the Black Sea, Kalibr sea-based cruise missiles at the Nizhyn repair plant destroyed workshops for the repair of Ukrainian armoured vehicles damaged in combat operations," the statement says, RT reported.

At the same time, it is reported that Kalibr missiles from the waters of the Caspian Sea, as well as from the airspace over the Crimea, the Kinzhal complexes destroyed a large fuel and lubricants storage base near the village of Konstantinovka, Mykolaiv region.

The 3M-54 Kalibr, also referred to it as 3M54-1 Kalibr is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by the Novator Design Bureau. There are ship-launched, submarine-launched and air-launched versions of the missile, and variants for anti-ship, anti-submarine and land attack use.

Earlier, the US officially confirmed that Russia used Dagger hypersonic missiles during hostilities in Ukraine. It is reported that this is the first recorded case of the use of such missiles during hostilities, CNN reported.

It is known that the new rocket is capable of speeds up to 6,000 km per hour, which is five times faster than the speed of sound. Its features are low flight trajectory and manoeuvrability. All these factors complicate the detection of hypersonic missiles by satellites and special radars, UNIAN reported.
Ghaziabad, March 20 : A 26-year-old man tried to sneak into the premises of the Indian Air Force's Hindon airbase here on Sunday in an unauthorised manner following which he was apprehended and handed over to the police.

The accused was identified as Zaahir, a native of Bihar, currently residing at a shanty outside the airbase.

A police officer told IANS that the man allegedly tried to scale the wall of the air force base.

"He was possibly in an inebriated state," the police officer said.

Meanwhile, the police have registered an FIR under relevant sections of the national security act and arrested the man.

Further investigation is underway.
Islamabad, March 20 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday lauded India for having an "independent foreign policy" that was favourable to its own people, Express Tribune reported.

He maintained that like India -- which imported oil from Russia despite American sanctions and despite being an ally of the US -- his foreign policy would also favour the people of Pakistan, the report said.

"I haven't bowed before anyone and will not let my nation bow either," Imran said.

The Pakistan premier maintained that he said "absolutely not" to the European Union envoy who sought Pakistan's support against Russia in the Russia-Ukraine conflict because "they broke protocol by making the request".

He added that Pakistan would have gained nothing by complying with the EU's request.

"We became part of America's war against terror in Afghanistan and lost 80,000 people and $100 billion," he said, asking Shehbaz Sharif what did Pakistan gain from the war on terror, Express Tribune reported.

Khan has once again urged the dissident lawmakers to return to the ruling PTI's fold, saying that he was ready to forgive them like a 'compassionate father' amid looming vote on no-trust motion against him, Express Tribune reported.

"Return to the party's fold or face social boycott," he warned the dissenting PTI members while addressing a public gathering in Dargai -- a small town in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Malaknad district on Sunday.

"People will not trust you -- youth are aware of whatever happening in the country, this is the age of social media where it is difficult to hide anything," he said.

The Pakistan premier also warned the estranged lawmakers of dire consequences if they "sold their conscience" and cast vote against the party line in the National Assembly.
New Delhi, March 20 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday arrested a senior Intelligence official, working in the office of Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) in Ghaziabad, and another person in connection with a bribery case.

A senior CBI official said the Intelligence official was identified as Mohit Dhankar, and the private person as Rakesh Sharma.

A case was registered on the basis of a complaint against them.

The CBI had later formed a team to look into the matter.

"It was alleged that the accused demanded bribe of Rs 1 crore through private touts for providing favour to the complainant's father in a case at DGGI, Ghaziabad. We decided to catch him red handed and laid the trap very carefully," a senior CBI official said.

The probe agency also laid a trap and caught the private person for accepting bribe of Rs 60 lakh as "first installment" on behalf of the Intelligence official.

Searches are being conducted at the premises of accused.

An official said that the CBI would present them before the court and seek their custodial remand.
Bengaluru, March 20 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping retrieve the mortal remains of a medical student from the state who died during the conflict in Ukraine.

After a long wait of 21 days, Naveen Shekharappa's body is set to arrive in the country early Monday morning.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Bommai conveyed his gratitude for efforts to help retrieve Naveen's body from Kharkiv.

"The news of his mortal remains coming to India has been appreciated by everyone in Karnataka which seemed impossible," he said.

Naveen hails from Haveri district in Karnataka. He was killed on March 1 in Kharkiv and his distraught family have been beseeching the authorities to retrieve his body. However, heavy fighting in the area has prevented the retrieval till recently.

Naveen's family is waiting eagerly to take a final look at his mortal remains. The family had said that after conducting the last rites, his body would be donated to a medical college.
New Delhi, March 20 : External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Sunday exchanged views on the Ukraine situation, Indo-Pacific and Afghanistan with his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Schallenberg, here.

During his meeting with the Austrian Foreign Minister, Jaishankar held a "wide ranging and fruitful discussion", and also reviewed the bilateral cooperation and identified new economic possibilities.

"An interesting evening with Austrian FM @a_schallenberg who spent his early years in New Delhi. Appreciated his insights on India's progress in the last decade. Held wide ranging & fruitful discussions. Reviewed our bilateral cooperation & identified new economic possibilities," Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting.

Earlier on Sunday, Jaishankar welcomed Schallenberg to India and said that he "looks forward to productive discussions".

"A warm welcome back to Austrian FM @a_schallenberg to India. Look forward to productive discussions today," Jaishankar tweeted.

Schallenberg's visit to India comes amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

Meanwhile, the India-Australia Virtual Summit will be held on Monday wherein Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will discuss a wide range of issues.

With a focus in technology and critical minerals, Morrison is expected to announce a Rs 1,500 crore investment package in India at the summit.

Modi held a bilateral meeting on September 23, 2021 with Morrison in Washington DC on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders' Summit.

The Prime Ministers also met on November 1, 2021 in Glasgow on the sidelines of CoP26 Climate Summit.

Morrison addressed the Bengaluru Tech Summit on November 17, 2021, wherein he announced the new Australia-India Centre of Excellence for Critical and Emerging Technology Policy and the intention to establish a new Consulate General in Bengaluru.

He also delivered the keynote address at the Sydney Dialogue, on India's technology evolution and revolution on November 18, 2021 From December 15, 2021, fully vaccinated eligible visa holders (Indian students and professionals) can travel to and from Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The new Reno location will serve the Reno-Sparks area, Carson Valley, Tahoe, Fernley-Fallon, Dayton, and plenty more. Our hand-picked stone slabs and large quartz and premium surface selection enable us to cater to both residential and commercial projects of any size.

Representatives with Pacific Shore Stones today announced the official opening of a new surfaces showroom and warehouse in Reno, Nevada. With the addition of Reno, the total number of Pacific Shore Stones locations nationwide is now 16. The new location is conveniently located off the picturesque, oak tree-lined Longley Lane, and the showroom will feature inspirational kitchen vignettes using natural stone and quartz. In addition to basic and exotic natural stone choices, premier quartz brands, porcelain, and ultra-compact surfaces will be available.

The indoor warehouse offers a large selection of natural stone slabs including granite, marble, onyx, quartzite, soapstone, and travertine. Several major quartz brands such as Caesarstone, Cambria, LX Hausys, Compac, and Silestone are on offer, as well as Dekton ultracompact surfaces.

The new Reno location will serve the Reno-Sparks area, Carson Valley, Tahoe, Fernley-Fallon, Dayton, and plenty more. Andre Ogorodnik, Operating Partner with Pacific Shore Stones stated: The move to our newest location in Reno opens up our distribution area to include the territory between Sacramento and Reno and down to Tahoe. Our hand-picked stone slabs and large quartz and premium surface selection enable us to cater to both residential and commercial projects of any size. We are open to the public and look forward to serving homeowners, interior designers, fabricators, architects, and contractors.

The showroom is designed to help inspire visitors with their remodeling projects. As well as the kitchen vignettes and book-matched surface displays in the showroom, the large indoor warehouse has good lighting and an extensive selection of slabs, with plenty of space in the aisles to view material options. The hours of operation will be Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

4999 Aircenter Circle, Ste 104, Reno, NV 89502

(775) 376-1467

About Pacific Shore Stones

Pacific Shore Stones is a leading importer of exotic natural stone, quartz and premium surfaces. Established in 2004, the company offers a wide selection of granite, marble, travertine, quartzite, onyx, limestone, soapstone, quartz, and sintered surfaces. Pacific Shore Stones has developed joint ventures with quarries across the world, built on strong relationships, providing access to the finest blocks. The company owners regularly visit quarries in places such as Brazil, Italy, Spain, India, and Turkey, enabling them to keep up with new trends and to purchase unique stones.

The company distributes high quality, hand selected stone through multiple company-owned showrooms across the U.S. Each center has a large inventory of material in a range of colors, plus knowledgeable staff delivering expertise and first-class customer service.

Headquartered in North Hollywood, California, the company has distribution centers open to the public in Arroyo Grande, Bakersfield, Fresno, Irvine, Little Rock, North Hollywood, Olive Branch, Modesto, Oklahoma City, Oxnard, San Antonio, Springdale, Tulsa, Sacramento, and now Reno.
I am truly grateful for all the success the team at RXA has created over the past few years. We are proud to be a Midwest tech company, and Im excited for the next phase of our growth. Jason Harper, CEO of RXA

Inc. magazine revealed that RXA, LLC is No. 47 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals Midwest list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies based in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Midwest region economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses.

I am truly grateful for all the success the team at RXA has created over the past few years. We are proud to be a Midwest tech company, and Im excited for the next phase of our growth. Jason Harper, CEO of RXA remarked. He added, Im among the luckiest folks in business, to be able to work every day with such amazing data scientists and clients, this is a dream come true!

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Midwest region. Between 2018 and 2020, these 144 private companies had an average growth rate of 147% percent and, in 2020 alone, they added 19,821 jobs and nearly $11.7 billion to the Midwest regions economy. Companies based in the Chicago, Illinois, Noblesville, Indiana, and Overland Park, Kansas, areas had the highest growth rate overall.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals Midwest, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/midwest starting March 15, 2022.

This years Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of Americas off-the-charts growth companies. Theyre disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies youll be hearing about for years to come, says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc.

RXA is a leading data science consulting company. RXA provides data engineers, data scientists, data strategists, business analysts, and project managers to help organizations at any stage of their data maturity. RXA accelerates analytics road maps, helping customers accomplish in months what would normally take years. We provide project-based consulting, long term staff augmentation and direct hire placement staffing services. RXA's customers also benefit from a suite of software solutions that have been developed in house, which can be deployed immediately to further accelerate timelines. RXA is proud to be an award-winning partner with leading technology providers including Domo, DataRobot, Alteryx, Tableau and AWS.

For more information, please visit http://www.RXA.io

Contact:

Anna Schultz

anna.schultz@rxa.io

(989) 745-3512

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2022 Inc. 5000 Regional are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2018 and 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs

the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent.

The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.
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Just weeks after it began to investigate the Russian government-backed channels output following concerns as to the impartiality of its news and current affairs coverage of Russias invasion of Ukraine, Ofcom has revoked with immediate effect the broadcast licence of RT.





The UK broadcast regulator said that it had made its move on the basis that it did not consider RTs licensee, ANO TV Novosti, fit and proper to hold a UK broadcast licence. Moreover it said that its decision also came amid 29 ongoing investigations, something it considered of great concern by its volume and also the potentially serious nature of the issues raised within such a short period, especially given RTs compliance history. The channel has already been fined 200,000 for previous due impartiality breaches. In this context, Ofcom launched a separate investigation to determine whether ANO TV Novosti is fit and proper to retain its licence to broadcast.Ofcom stressed that its investigation took account of a number of factors, including RTs relationship with the Russian Federation and that RT is funded by the Russian state, which has recently invaded a neighbouring sovereign country. It also said that it had noted new laws in Russia which effectively criminalise any independent journalism that departs from the Russian states own news narrative, in particular in relation to the invasion of Ukraine. Ofcom concluded that with these constraints it appeared impossible for RT to comply with the due impartiality rules of our Broadcasting Code in the circumstances.As it was making its revocation, Ofcom emphasised what it said was the importance in a country such as the UK a broadcasters right to freedom of expression and the audiences right to receive information and ideas without undue interference. It said that it also took seriously the importance of maintaining audiences trust and public confidence in the UKs broadcasting regulatory regime.Taking all of this into account, as well as immediate and repeated compliance concerns, Ofcom was of the mind that it could not be satisfied that RT can be a responsible broadcaster in the current circumstances.Commenting on the announcement to revoke the licence, Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said: Freedom of expression is something we guard fiercely in this country, and the bar for action on broadcasters is rightly set very high. Following an independent regulatory process, we have today found that RT is not fit and proper to hold a licence in the UK.RT is currently off air in the UK as a result of sanctions imposed by the EU since the invasion of Ukraine commenced.
Soldiers is produced by Tetra Medias Antoine Szymalka in co-production with Orange Studio, with the participation of OCS and the CNC, and with the support of Marocco, Prodicrep and Angoa for film production. It is co-created by Frederic Krivine and Thibaut Valetoux from the latters original idea and directed by Jean Philippe Ama, Soldiers aims to delve into a hot topic with what is said to be both a sense of urgency and understanding.The series focuses on the Operation Barkhane mission in Mali, an anti-insurgent operation that has recently been front and centre in international news after France announced its withdrawal from the region after a nine-year battle in mid-February 2022. Soldiers not only depicts this deeply relevant current event, but goes further to explore the universal and moral dilemmas soldiers face when sent far away from their home countries, whatever their rank.In the Mopti region of Mali, Lieutenant Anais Collet's platoon, deployed as part of Operation Barkhane, is dedicated to tracking down terrorists. An ambush with dramatic consequences rekindles tensions between the military and the Malian people, who are less and less accepting of the French presence on their land. In a country where armed terrorist groups are multiplying, the French army must form a new and complex division whose mission is to avoid the declaration of a caliphate in the Sahel.The complexity of the situation in the Sahel and the consequences of Frances involvement in the conflict are expressed through the different perspectives of several characters including French soldiers and Malians. Soldiers focuses in particular on three such characters, namely 28 year-old Anais Collet and 24 year-olds Martial Mendy and Julien Ravalet whose lives are forever changed by their mission. The series not only blends action and combat, but offers a fictional approach to this contemporary conflict that questions what France represents in the world today. From the countrys young soldiers pledging their allegiance to the blue, white and red flag to an army engaged in a complex war, the series reflects an era tormented by the issue of Islamic terrorism. Federation confiermed that the series will premiere on OCS starting 5 April 2022.
Poet Bard Terry Wooten has been performing and conducting writing workshops in schools for more than 30 years. He is also the creator of Stone Circle, a triple ring of boulders featuring poetry, storytelling and music on his property north of Elk Rapids. Learn more at www.terry-wooten.com.
Traverse City, MI (49684)

Today

Intervals of clouds and sunshine in the morning with more clouds for later in the day. High 66F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. Low near 45F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
BENNINGTON  The Brattleboro Reformer and its sister paper, the Bennington Banner, recently donated six computer tablets and subscriptions to the regions newest residents, Afghan families and individuals who recently fled their homeland after the return of the Taliban last year.

Noah Hoffenberg, executive editor of the Reformer and Banner, on Thursday presented four tablets and four Banner subscriptions to advocates for the families.

Bennington County Open Arms prioritizes Afghan refugees BENNINGTON  Refugees from Afghanistan have relocated to Southern Vermont, but a local volun

The donation was co-sponsored by Bennington County Open Arms, which is helping with the families resettlement in the Bennington area. The tablets were accepted on behalf of the families by Natalie Basil, executive director of Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services Inc., Grace Winslow of Bennington County Open Arms, Cheryl Gasparetti of the Dorset Church, and Callie Fishburn and Cat Bryars from the Bennington County Regional Commission.

Vermont News & Media is overjoyed to play a small part in the integration of our new neighbors into Southern Vermont, said Hoffenberg. After 20 years of war in Afghanistan, we hope these families find the same peace, sanctuary and community warmth for which our region is well-known and that we enjoy every day.

Earlier in the week in Brattleboro, Hoffenberg gave two tablets and subscriptions to two young Afghan refugees, who relocated to Windham County.

Additionally, one of these new Vermont residents is an artist, and received a well-loved, used Nikon digital camera and Nikon lens, to begin personal and professional work in the visual arts and in news. The donation of the equipment came from Kelly Fletcher of Kelly Fletcher Photography.

Like the rest of the U.S., Vermont is slowly becoming a melting pot of different cultures. This helps replenish our workforce, enriches our Southern Vermont culture, and helps set the stage in the Green Mountain State for future growth and productivity, said Jordan Brechenser, publisher of the Reformer, Banner and Manchester Journal. Vermont News & Media welcomes our new neighbors to the region.

Read more about the refugee resettlement in Southern Vermont at reformer.com and benningtonbanner.com.
People gathered in Harmony Parking lot in Brattleboro on Friday, April 22nd for a street festival and parade in celebration of Earth Day. According to Nancy Braus of 350 Brattleboro, the goal was to celebrate the ways in which the community is working towards climate justice and to empower 
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A tea fit for British royalty has family roots in western Connecticut.

Founded by innkeeper John Harney at his Salisbury home in 1983, Harney & Sons Fine Teas remains family owned, and since 1998, has operated out of a plant in the Hudson Valley village of Millerton, N.Y., a few miles across the state border from Salisbury.

The New York Times once credited Harney, who died in 2014 at the age of 83, with helping to spark an upper-crust tea revival in U.S. hotels in the 1980s.

Harney & Sons tea is now served at places like the United Kingdoms Historic Royal Palaces, which operates the Tower of London and several palaces, including Kensington Palace, home of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

To mark Queen Elizabeth IIs 70th year on the throne, Harney & Sons this year is blending a Platinum Jubilee tea, and sales are still doing well for its Diamond Jubilee variety from a decade ago.

Like other pantry staples, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a surge in tea sales, according to separate estimates by Nielsen and Information Resources Inc.

Over the 12 months through mid-May 2021, IRI reported mass-channel sales of Fairfields Bigelow Tea rose 9 percent from the same stretch a year earlier, for a market-leading total of $227 million. That accounted for just over half of the total U.S. sales as calculated by IRI.

The Teas Association of the United States estimated that Americans drank 85 billion servings last year, including bottled sweet tea. The trade group says millennials represent the biggest demographic, with 87 percent drinking tea at least occasionally.

Harney & Sons is now doubling the size of a production line for bottled teas and has obtained a New York license to infuse some of its varieties with CBD from hemp grown at its Millerton facility.

Michael and Paul Harney now run the company their father started. CEO Michael Harney believes more people will start drinking tea regularly, either established company brands or emerging products like CBD blends.

Tea is still a smaller player than coffee, right? Harney said last week during a tour of the Millerton facility.

Harney & Sons imports its tea primarily from China and India. It creates its blends at the Dutchess County plant that employs about 200 people, while offering tastings at a tea room in downtown Millerton as well as a shop in lower Manhattan.

With hotels and cruise ships a significant source of revenue, Harney & Sons felt the squeeze during the 2020 crash of the travel market, before mass distribution of vaccines sparked a revival in leisure travel.

While Harney & Sons is now sold at Target and other mass retailers, Bigelow, Celestial Seasonings and other major brands had a head start for decades  or nearly a century in the case of Lipton.

Bigelow is a much larger company than us and theyve been around longer than us, and we respect them, Harney said. We were the smallest company around, and now weve gotten a little bigger.

Harney & Sons recently acquired a canning line to produce a carbonated version of its Hot Cinnamon Spice tea. The company has also added a mini shot line of products, which have become increasingly popular driven by the success of energy drink companies.

Hot Cinnamon Spice remains Harney & Sons biggest seller, with a decaffeinated version No. 2 last year ahead of Earl Grey Supreme.

Harneys personal favorite is oolong tea, which it sources from Fujian Province in China and Taiwan. Harney said imports have hit a snag in recent weeks as China deals with a new COVID surge impacting tea and packaging supplies.

But looking at the million pounds of tea stacked high on pallets at the Millerton plant, Harney said he thinks his company will have enough for now.

We have enough tea for a while, said Harney, who still lives in Salisbury. The whole freight bill has become very serious, though.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
RFA asked residents of Asias cities to speak about happiness amid the pandemic, war and economic uncertainty.

A world struggling to shake off the coronavirus pandemic that has killed millions and clobbered economies  and now fearful about Russias brutal war in Ukraine  marked the International Day of Happiness Sunday with many people wondering what to be happy about.

To observe the now-10-year-old UN holiday, RFA asked urban residents across the Asian continent, from Seoul to Yangon to the seat of Tibets government in exile in India, what makes them happy.

No East Asian or Southeast Asian country or territory cracked the top 25 countries in the 2022 World Happiness Report, released Friday and dominated by wealthy northern European states. Pacific nations New Zealand and Australia ranked 10 and 12, respectively.

In Taiwan, whose rank of 26 made it the happiest East Asian region, one resident of that democratic islands largest city looked to family for contentment.

A resident of Taipei.

Happiness comes from family. We are happy when kids and parents are around. Life has to go on. Happiness is very necessary, said a resident of Taipei.

In Hong Kong, a special autonomous region of China that has experienced a dramatic cut in civil liberties since Beijing imposed a harsh national security law in mid-2020, resident Mr. Yan finds joy in the cinema.

I think we all live in the moment and should do our best. If I have things to do, I do them. When Im off, I watch movies at home. I do something I like to do, he told RFA. Hong Kong is ranked 81 on the happiness index.

No temporary happiness

South Korea, which ranks 59, Seoul resident Se-young Lee suggests the pandemic has brought families closer.

In the past, everyone had dinner at the office and had appointments with friends. Now that we are together all the time, we are much closer than in the past, he told RFA.

Maybe this is happiness, added Lee.

India, which ranks 136 out of 146 countries surveyed for 2022, is home to a large community of Tibetans who fled the Chinese annexation of the Himalayan region seven decades ago.

Ani Tenzin Woesar, Buddhist monk, offered a spiritual take on the question of happiness.

Ani Tenzin Woesar, Buddhist monk.

For me, ultimate happiness is when I can engage myself in helping all the sentient beings in the world. It is more important than temporary happiness, Woesar told RFA.

So, Buddha directs us to the ultimate happiness that is achieved when a person can find enlightenment, otherwise it is all temporary happiness.

Employment are on the minds of many people in Southeast Asia, which has suffered heavy economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and is still struggling to contain outbreaks.

Before the pandemic, people had fun by going out, partying or socializing with friends and others. Now, Im graduating and feeling discouraged quite a bit because there are no jobs available, nobody is hiring, said a student who is about the graduate from a college in the Lao capital Vientiane.

Despite this hard time, I still find happiness by visiting nature, chatting online with friends, talking on the phone with my family back home, listening to music, doing more research, writing essays or reading books, he told RFA from Laos, ranked 95 on the happiness index.

I cant even imagine

A 28-year-old Lao woman who lives with her family in the Thai capital Bangkok said she has been unemployed for two years.

A Lao worker.

Im a housewife living with my husband, but Im happy being at home; the most important happiness for me is happy marriage and looking after my husband, my children and my parents back home in Laos, she told RFA.

Cambodia ranks a lowly 114th and some Cambodians blame this lack of happiness to a five-year-old political crisis that a filled jails with activists and opposition figures.

Even if my husband were to be released, there would still be no happiness, because Cambodia doesnt have a real pluralism or democracy, said Prum Chantha, wife of a jailed opposition politician.

To me, happiness will come when Cambodia has a good leader, respects democratic principles, has free and fair elections and respects human rights, she told RFA.

A scavenger in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, who picks trash for items to sell, having a decent living, sending kids to schools represents happiness.

I dont want my kids to be scavengers, she told RFA.

Kyi Kyi Myint, Street Vendor

More than a year after Myanmars military overthrew the countrys popular elected government in a February 2020 coup and plunged the country into chaos and violence, happiness is hard to find for street vendor Kyi Kyi Myint.

If I were well-to-do and my family members were still around, I might be happy. But now, since they are all gone, I cant even imagine what happiness is, he told RFA.

Every day, I have to figure out what to do to pay my living expenses. Since I live in squalor, I worry all the time what will happen to me.

Reported and translated by RFAs Cantonese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Mandarin and Tibetan Services. Written in English by Paul Eckert and Chris Billing.
On March 14, Maria Nedvetskaya was informed by police in the western Russian city of Kaliningrad that her mother had been taken to a local psychiatric hospital.

"Supposedly, she had sworn while in police custody," Nedvetskaya told RFE/RL's North.Realities, adding that when she went to the hospital, she was not allowed to see her mother, supposedly because of anti-COVID restrictions. Instead, hospital officials told her that her mother would be held at the facility for at least one month.

Fifty-nine-year-old Olga Nedvetskaya was arrested on March 13 in the center of the city, the capital of the Russian exclave, at a small protest against Russia's war against Ukraine. At the demonstration, which was billed as a spontaneous gathering to feed the pigeons, she sang and danced to Ukrainian folk songs.

"She is an absolutely normal person," said local activist Lyudmila Zelinskaya, who was at the same protest. "It is an absurd situation when an unarmed person who is not making any 'extremist' statements or insulting the armed forces is nonetheless detained. She was just singing songs from our childhood. It was ridiculous to detain her and even worse to send her to a psychiatric hospital. We are all concerned. This is clearly punitive psychiatric treatment."

Stories like Olga Nedvetskaya's are becoming increasingly commonplace across Russia as the Kremlin implements a harsh crackdown on any dissent regarding the war in Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin eggs on his supporters by ranting against "scum and traitors" and urging Russians to "spit them out like a fly that has accidentally flown into their mouths."

In Kaliningrad alone, there are currently 58 active cases under the administrative statute against "discrediting the armed forces" that was adopted on March 4, said local rights lawyer Maria Bontsler.

"They just haven't gotten around to me yet," Bontsler said. "I think the way they have treated Olga is just one of their methods of terrorizing people."

'Giant Steps Toward A Harsh Dictatorship'

On March 20, Marina Savvateyeva, a liberal activist and lawyer in the Siberian city of Chita, emerged from 10 days in jail after being convicted of the administrative offense of "popularizing" Nazi symbols.

Her crime was reposting a repost of a social media post by Chita professor and historian Oleg Kuznetsov that noted an uncanny similarity between the Kremlin's pro-war symbol -- a stylized Latin letter Z -- and the official insignia of the 4th motorized police division of the Nazi SS during World War II.

"I didn't even repost Kuznetsov himself," Savvateyeva told RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities. "I reposted a very well-known person in Chita. She was even a former regional minister -- that is, a person who is politically absolutely loyal to the regime and a part of the system. Nonetheless, she was sentenced to three days in jail," also for purportedly promoting Nazi symbols.

"And Kuznetsov himself deleted his post from Facebook on March 5," she said.

Savvateyeva counts herself lucky that she made her repost before the new statute on "discrediting the armed forces" was adopted, along with a similar felony criminal law that calls for up to 15 years in prison.

"If those changes were in force, I would still be sitting in pretrial detention," she said. "They would have put me in jail right away and for a long time."

"We are moving in giant steps toward a harsh dictatorship," she added.

The Apotheosis Protest

On March 6, in the center of the Siberian city of Tomsk, local resident Stanislav Karmakskikh was arrested at a small demonstration against the war.

"Through a megaphone, the police began trying to scare us," he told RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities. "They claimed we were 'discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation.'"

Karmakskikh was holding a print of a 19th-century painting by Vasily Vereshchagin called The Apotheosis Of War. The painting shows vultures circling over a vast pile of sun-bleached skulls against a background of the Central Asian steppe that eerily reproduces the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.

"I went up to the police officers myself," Karmakskikh recalled. "I showed them Vereshchagin's picture and said, "Guys, this is our future if we don't stop.' They looked at one another. And then one guy said: 'Well, should we take him? Let's take him.' And they took me. In all, 20 of us were arrested."

All of them were charged under the new administrative statute. Karmakskikh was fined 45,000 rubles ($420). The judge ruled that he "in the presence of a group of citizens expressed silent support for the illegal goals of the event," which the court had earlier ruled was intended to "form a negative opinionamong the population of Tomsk regarding the special military operation of the Russian armed forces in defense of the interests of Russia and its citizens in support of international peace and security."

In Tomsk, 24 people have already been convicted under the new statute, while another eight cases are pending. Two local residents are facing criminal prosecution under the much harsher felony charge.

'An Idiotic Excuse To Ruin People's Lives'

At about 7 a.m. on March 18, security forces in the northwestern city of Pskov began conducting searches of the offices and residences of several prominent local politicians and journalists and their relatives. Among those targeted were local Yaboloko party coordinator Lev Shlosberg, municipal lawmaker Nikolai Kuzmin, the parents of Pskovskaya Gubernia newspaper Editor in Chief Denis Kamalyagin, librarian Yekaterina Novikova, and RFE/RL North.Realities editor and journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva.

Authorities from the regional office of the Interior Ministry's anti-extremism bureau, Center E, were investigating a case of alleged slander against Pskov Oblast Governor Mikhail Vedernikov, said human rights lawyer Tatyana Martynova. The case was provoked by an anonymous Telegram post that criticized Vedernikov's policies toward the media and the publication on Vedernikov's Instagram account of reports about local soldiers killed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"There were about 10 of them," recalled Prokopyeva in an interview with North.Realities. "They broke in in masks. Broke open the door. They flew in shouting, 'On the floor!' They threw me on the floor and slapped on some handcuffs. They grabbed the telephone out of my handlooking for something. They didn't even tell me at first what was the reason for the search.

"I didn't know anything about that stupid Telegram channel that they are using as a pretext for the searches," she continued. "It is just an idiotic excuse to ruin people's lives. They came to all of us as if working from a list -- politicians, activists. It is our security apparatus reacting to Putin's order to seek out national traitors."

Librarian Novikova was feeding breakfast to her two children when four security officers arrived.

"I wanted to call a lawyer, but they wouldn't let me," she said. "Of course, this is just pressure on me because I am one of the few people in Pskov who have publicly stated opposition to the 'special operation.' I participated in one-person pickets. They were legal at the time.

"Now they are cleaning out the information space so that no one can ever say anything," Novikova added. "Now I have no means of communication. I can't get on social media. There is nowhere where I can say what I think about Russia's policies. But my position is the same. I didn't start thinking that the 'special operation' is super just because they took away my computer and telephone."

Stalin's 'Enemy Of The People'

Political analyst Andrei Kolesnikov of the Carnegie Moscow Center told Current Time that repression in Russia "is already accelerating." Current Time is the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.

"We actually have two fronts," Kolesnikov said. "One front is called a 'special military operation outside the borders of Russia.' The other is called a 'special security operation regarding the population of Russia.' They are moving in parallel and bolstering one another. I think the repressions are just going to get worse.

"They are going to look for people to blame," he added. "They are going to look for a 'fifth column,' like Putin said when he was talking about 'national traitors.' This is practically a carte blanche for the security forces to step up the work that they have already begun."

"National traitors," Kolesnikov concluded, has become the modern-day equivalent of the fatal label "enemy of the people" from the darkest days of dictator Josef Stalin's rule.

According to OVD-Info, a civic group that monitors political repression, more than 15,000 people have been detained in Russia for anti-war activity since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Written by Robert Coalson based on reporting by Current Time, RFE/RL's Russian Service, Idel.Realities, North.Realities, and Siberia.Realities.
Belarus has withdrawn all of its diplomats from Ukraine. When Ambassador Ihar Sokol was leaving on March 18, a Ukrainian border officer tried to hand him "30 pieces of silver" -- a reference to the biblical story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Russian troops who were deployed in Belarus for military exercises joined the invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24.
Protests have become common in Ukrainian towns and cities occupied by Russian troops. On March 20, hundreds of people raised their voices in Kherson, Kakhovka, Berdyansk, and elsewhere and waved Ukrainian flags to demonstrate their opposition to the invading army. In Enerhodar, protesters also demanded the release of the town's deputy mayor, Ivan Samoydyuk, after it was reported that he had been kidnapped by Russian forces.
There is currently no rail traffic from Belarus into Ukraine, and Russia is not using the railways between the two countries to bolster its invasion force in Ukraine, according to the head of the Ukrainian state railway.

I recently appealed to Belarusian railway workers not to carry out criminal orders and not transport Russian military forces in the direction of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kamyshin, director of the Ukrzaliznytsya state railroad, told Current Time.

At the present moment, I can say that there is no railway connection between Ukraine and Belarus. I cannot discuss details, but I am grateful to Belaruss railway workers for what they are doing, he said.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, a significant portion of Russian military supplies have been brought into Ukraine via the Homel-Kyiv rail line, the Ukrainian government has said.

On March 17, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych called on civilians in the conflict area to conduct a railway war against Russia by destroying rail lines and equipment, particularly in Crimea, other parts of southern Ukraine, eastern Ukraine, and near Belarus.

Many people in northern Ukraine, in the areas of Sumy, Chernihiv, and Okhtyrka have carried out an excellent war in the enemys rear, Arestovych said. And it has immediately produced results. Now we should ask: Dont we want to conduct an all-out railway war in the south?

Breaking the railway supply lines of the enemy -- which is the most efficient means of supply -- can radically change the situation in our favor, he added.

In his interview with Current Time, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, Kamyshin praised honest people among Belarusian rail workers.

I believe that among the Belarusians -- and particularly among the rail workers -- there are still honest people, he said. I dont want to betray them. I am grateful to them for what is happing today. And I am sure that the honest people in this organization will be able to stop the work of Belarusian railways regarding the transfer of military equipment in the direction of Ukraine.

Since the war began, 41 Ukrainian railroad workers have been killed and 40 injured.

Kamyshin added that the Ukrainian railway was transporting about 60,000 Ukrainians per day from the south, north, and east of the country to destinations in the west of the country. About 20,000 people a day were being transported to neighboring countries to the west, he added.

At the peak, we were transporting about 190,000 people a day, he said.

Kamyshin also said that Russian forces do not seem to be targeting railroad infrastructure.

At present, train stations and trains remain the safest places in the country, he said, although there have been some casualties as a result of stray shells.

Since the war began, he said, 41 railroad workers have been killed and 40 injured.

Robert Coalson contributed to this report.
Khrystyna works on a help line set up by the Ukrainian authorities to provide information to the families of Russian soldiers who are missing in action. Their calls are heartbreaking pleas for help, often with an appeal for forgiveness. In two of the calls, women in Ukraine were searching for their brothers in the invading Russian Army. One of them asked: "Is my brother fighting against me?"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy renewed his call for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, even as he and others accused Moscow of war crimes and as deadly street fighting raged in the key southern port city of Mariupol, where a major evacuation is set for March 21.

"I'm ready for negotiations with him," Zelenskiy told CNN in an interview on March 20 as Russias widely condemned, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine entered its fourth week.

Live Briefing: Russia Invades 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.

"I think without negotiations, we cannot end this war," Zelenskiy said through a translator.

"If there is just a 1 percent chance for us to stop this war, I think that we need to take this chance...to have the possibility of negotiating, the possibility of talking to Putin," he said.

"If these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third world war."

Separately Turkey's foreign minister said in an interview that Russian and Ukrainian negotiators were nearing agreement on "critical" issues and that he was hopeful for a potential cease-fire soon in the conflict.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier this month hosted talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, in the Turkish city of Antalya, but those talks did not appear to yield concrete results.

As Zelenskiy spoke to CNN, fighting continued in Mariupol, a strategic city that had a population of 400,000 before the war broke out. Residents have for the past two weeks been trapped without basic supplies, such as water, food, and fuel.

Russia is seeking to take control of the city, which would allow it to link Crimea -- which it seized in 2014 -- with territory controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian military said it had given Ukraine until the early hours of March 21 to surrender the city, according to Russian media.

But Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said early on March 21 that "there can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this."

Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials accused Moscow of war crimes after the Russian military bombed a Mariupol art school where some 400 people had sought refuge from the intense fighting.

Local officials on March 20 said on their Telegram channel that the schools building was destroyed and that people could remain under the rubble. There was no immediate word on casualties.

To do this to a peaceful city -- what the occupiers did -- is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come, Zelenskiy said in a video address to the nation early on March 20.

The attack on the art school came after Russian air strikes on March 16 flattened a theater in Mariupol where civilians were sheltering. City authorities said 130 people were rescued but that many more could remain under the debris. Rescue workers were still searching for survivors.

Earlier in the war, Russian forces bombed a maternity hospital in the city.

Russia denies targeting civilians despite widespread evidence of deadly attacks on nonmilitary sites.

Late on March 20, Ukraines central government said it plans to send dozens of buses to Mariupol to aid the evacuation of refugees fleeing fighting there.

Deputy Prime Minister Vereshchuk said nearly 50 buses were set to arrive in the city on March 21.

She said that 3,985 people were evacuated on March 20 from Mariupol to the city of Zaporizhzhya about 225 kilometers away.

WATCH: Russian forces are meeting fierce resistance and taking casualties as they try to move towards the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. On March 18, a Ukrainian special search group collected the dead bodies of Russian soldiers in the hope they could be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war.

While the Russian invasion has reportedly bogged down in much of the country and has resulted in heavy losses of troops and military equipment, Russian forces continue to bombard Ukrainian cities amid international condemnation and calls for an immediate cease-fire.

Observers have speculated that Russian military momentum has been stopped by Ukrainian forces in many parts of the country and that the sides could be heading for a long, protracted stalemate in the war, which began on February 24 with Russias invasion of its neighbor.

In the capital, Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said late on March 20 that shelling had hit residential areas and a shopping district in the Podil district after a relatively quiet day.



"Several explosions in the capital's Podil district," Klitschko said on his Telegram channel.

Nearly one-fourth of Ukraines population has been displaced by the invasion, according to UN figures released on March 20.

Filippo Grandi, head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), said on Twitter that at least 10 million of Ukraine's population of 44 million people have fled their homes.

About 3.4 million have fled across Ukraine's borders to neighboring countries, with the bulk of them arriving in Poland, a member of NATO and the European Union.

The UN human rights office estimated on March 20 that 902 civilians have been killed and 1,459 injured in Ukraine as of the end of March 19. It said, though, that the actual toll is likely to be much higher as it has not been able to verify reports in several badly damaged cities.

The UN said most of the casualties were through shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, as well as missiles and air strikes.

When asked by British broadcaster Sky News if Russia was committing genocide in her country, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said: "It's not a question. It's simply the reality we all face."

WATCH: Two-year-old Stepan Shpak was killed in Novye Petrivtsy, near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on March 16 in shelling by the Russian Army. His father spoke to Current Time on March 17.

Protests against Russias invasion continued in several cities around the world, including in Russia itself, despite police crackdowns on demonstrators.

Demonstrations took Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Vladivostok, among other cities, according to OVD-Info, an NGO that monitors arrests during protests.

Since the invasion began, there have been more than 15,000 detentions at anti-war protests, OVD-Info reported.

Military casualty figures on both sides remain difficult to confirm.

Zelenskiy said in a video message targeting the Russian public on March 20 that some 14,000 Russians have died in the invasion.

"That's 14,000 mothers, 14,000 fathers, wives, children, relatives, friends -- and you don't notice?" he said.

Moscow has only acknowledged 498 deaths, a total announced early in the invasion with no subsequent updates.

WATCH: Belarus has withdrawn all of its diplomats from Ukraine. When Ambassador Ihar Sokol was leaving on March 18, a Ukrainian border officer tried to hand him "30 pieces of silver" -- a reference to the biblical story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. Russian troops who were deployed in Belarus for military exercises joined the invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24.

Ukraine said a week ago that about 1,300 of its soldiers had been killed. That number cannot be independently confirmed.

Global condemnation of Russia's invasion continued, with Pope Francis calling it a "senseless massacre" and a "repugnant war."

However, Russian ally China has not joined in the criticism of Russia or participated in financial sanctions placed on Moscow.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Beijing to take a stand against the invasion.

"As time goes on, and as the number of Russian atrocities mounts up, I think it becomes steadily more difficult and politically embarrassing for people either actively or passively to condone Putin's invasion," he told The Times newspaper.

U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel in the upcoming week to Europe for emergency NATO talks on the Ukraine war.



Ukrainian officials have invited Biden to come to the country to see the situation for himself, but the White House said the president has no plans to visit the war-torn nation during this trip.

With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, BBC, and Reuters
The European Union has unveiled a proposal to ban Russian oil imports by the end of the year, impose more banking sanctions against Moscow, and cut off some Russian broadcasters in Europe saying that the Kremlin has to pay dearly for its aggression Ukraine.

With Russia intensifying its attacks on eastern Ukraine on May 4, the EU said that its sixth round of sanctions against Moscow will comprise phasing out the importation of Russian crude and refined oil products by the end of the year despite pushback from some of the bloc's members, including Slovakia and Hungary.

"We will phase out Russian supply of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year," the head of the bloc's executive European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

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.

"This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined," she said, adding that "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin must pay a high price for his brutal aggression."

Von der Leyen, however, conceded that getting unanimity on oil sanctions will not be easy.

The commission chief, however, conceded that getting unanimity on oil sanctions will not be easy.

The measures require approval from all 27 EU countries to take effect and soon after von der Leyen's announcement, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria announced that they would seek exemptions from the embargo voicing concerns about energy security. Hungary and Slovakia are heavily dependent on Russian energy imports.

The Czech Republic, meanwhile, said it would seek a temporary exemption period of two or three years in order for pipeline capacities to be increased.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said EU countries blocking an oil embargo would be "complicit" in Russia's crimes in Ukraine.

Whatever their arguments are, if they oppose (the) oil embargo, it means one thing: they play on the Russian side. They share responsibility for everything Russia does in Ukraine, full stop, Kuleba said in a video posted on Twitter.

Von der Leyen also proposed that Sberbank, Russias largest bank, and two other major banks be disconnected from the SWIFT international banking payment system.



The EU will also ban three Russian state-owned broadcasters, she said, without naming the channels directly.



"They will not be allowed to distribute their content anymore in the European Union, in whatever shape or form, be it on cable, via satellite, on the Internet or via smartphone apps," von der Leyen told EU lawmakers.

According to a document seen by RFE/RL, the package also contains a list of 58 individuals sanctioned over Russia's military action in Ukraine that includes the Patriarch of Russia's Orthodox Church, a close ally of Putin's.



Von der Leyen also proposed launching a recovery package for Ukraine to help it rebuild after the war.



"This package should bring massive investment to meet the needs and the necessary reforms," von der Leyen said. "Eventually, it will pave the way for Ukraine's future inside the European Union."

The European Union accounts for nearly a half of Russia's crude and refined oil products. But the Kremlin, in a first reaction to Brussels' announcement, put on a brave face, warning that the embargo is a "double-edged sword" and that EU consumers will pay the price.

"The cost of these sanctions to the citizens of Europe will grow by the day," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 4.

Peskov said the Kremlin was looking at "various options" for its response to the new sanctions.

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden said he was "open" to imposing more sanctions on Russia and would be discussing measures with allies from the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations in the coming days.

On the battlefront, Moscow deployed 22 battalions near Izyum, an eastern city, in a bid to push into the Donbas region, the British Defense Ministry said in its daily bulletin on May 4, adding that Russia's apparent goal is capturing the cities of Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk in the east, "despite struggling to break through Ukrainian defenses." A Russian battalion usually consists of 700-800 soldiers.



According to the British intelligence bulletin, capturing the two cities "would consolidate Russian military control" of northeastern Ukraine.

In neighboring Belarus, the armed forces began "surprise" large-scale drills on May 4 to test their combat readiness, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said there was "heavy fighting" at the Azovstal plant on May 4 and said city officials had lost contact with Ukrainian forces inside.

Boychenko told Ukrainian television that Russian forces were attacking with heavy artillery, tanks, and warplanes, and said warships off the coast were also involved.

Russian troops are on the territory of the plant, according to David Arakhamia, a member of the Ukrainian delegation that has held now-stalled peace talks with Russia.

"Attempts to storm the plant continue for the second day. Russian troops are already on the territory of Azovstal," Arakhamia said, citing the commander of the Azov Regiment, which is defending the plant with other Ukrainian troops. He contradicted Boychenko, saying Ukrainian authorities have contact with the defenders at the plant.

The commander announced the storming of the plant by Russian troops the day before and called again for the evacuation of civilians.

Boychenko said on May 3 that more than 200 civilians were still holed up with fighters in the sprawling plant.

In his video address, Kuleba denied that Azovstal was under Russian control.

On May 4, Peskov denied Ukrainian reports that Russian troops had stormed the Avozstal steel plant soon after the latest group of civilians made it out of the sprawling complex.

"There is no storming," Peskov told reporters, contradicting claims by Ukrainian soldiers inside the steelworks.

"The order was publicly given by the supreme commander-in-chief to cancel the assault," Peskov said, referring to a statement Putin made on April 21 that called off a direct assault on Azovstal because it would result in too many Russian casualties. Instead, forces should seal off Azovstal so tightly that "even a fly can't get out," Putin said.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Rikard Jozwiak, Reuters, AP, and AFP
(SGI) - After 47 years since the Liberation of the South of Vietnam and the Unification of the country as one, there have been many socio-economic changes in Ho Chi Minh City.
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe apologized Saturday for driving under the influence of alcohol.

California Highway Patrol pulled Thorpe over Friday night and cited him for a DUI, Thorpe said in a brief video statement posted on Twitter. He didnt share more details under the advice of counsel.

Although I never felt inhibited by the drink I had with my dinner, Im deeply sorry for the lapse in judgment and I hope you can forgive me, he said.

There were no collisions or injuries, according to KTVU, which first reported the DUI.

Thorpe was elected mayor in 2020 after serving as a city councilman and championing progressive issues, including police reform. He recently became the subject of a recall effort, with some Antioch residents accusing him of disrespecting people who disagree with him during City Council meetings.

Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @janellebitker
Calendar for Chinese 24 Solar Terms: Spring Equinox

09:39, March 20, 2022 By Zhong Wenxing, Zhang Wenjie, Xian Jiangnan, Xiang Shizhen ( People's Daily Online

The Spring Equinox, the fourth of China's 24 solar terms, falls on March 20 this year. The Equinox signals the equal length of the day and night. After the Equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in gradually longer days in the Northern Hemisphere and longer nights in the Southern Hemisphere.

Customs

Egg-standing game

Standing an egg upright is a popular game across the country during the Spring Equinox. It is an old custom that dates back 4,000 years. People practice this tradition to celebrate the coming of spring. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, they will have good luck in the future.

To reward the farm cattle

This practice is widespread in the southern area of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. As the Spring Equinox comes, farm work starts and both the farmers and the cattle become busy. Farmers will reward animals with sticky rice balls to express their gratitude. Meanwhile, people will make a sacrifice to the birds, to thank them for bringing warnings and also in the hope that they won't eat the grain later in the year.

To glue the beak of sparrows

According to the custom, peasants will eat tangyuan, sweet dumplings stuffed with black sesame paste. Meanwhile, they will place some unstuffed tangyuan on sticks around the crops, for the sparrows. This way, the farmers hope the sparrows will eat the tangyuan and get sticky beaks, leaving them unable to eat the crops.

Traditional food

Lyudagun

According to the old tradition of Beijing locals, when the Spring Equinox falls, people are supposed to eat Lyudagun to avoid evil and pray for good fortune. Lyudagun is made from millet flour or sticky rice stuffed with red bean paste. The Lyudagun is then rolled in sesame seeds, as the seeds look just like a cloud of dust raised by a donkey rolling on the ground. Thus, Lyudagun is known as "Rolling Donkey."

Spring vegetables

Eating spring vegetables during the Spring Equinox is a common custom in many regions of China. Spring vegetables refer to wild edible leafy greens. In China, people believe that eating wild greens helps them stay healthy.

Sun cake

During the Spring Equinox, Beijing locals traditionally offer sacrifices to the God of Sun. The "sun cake," a round cake made from wheat and sugar, serves as the main offering. During the Spring Equinox, locals will buy sun cakes and place them to the center-right of the table, to express their gratitude to the God of Sun.

Related:

Calendar for Chinese 24 Solar Terms: Awakening of Insects

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
San Franciscos aggressive, nationally recognized push to drive HIV infections to near zero and improve the health of those living with the virus took a discouraging hit during the COVID pandemic, as attention citywide focused on a new and different public health crisis.

HIV cases continued a decade-long decline during the pandemic, but testing also fell off dramatically and health officials worry they missed some infections in 2020 and 2021. Prescriptions for drugs to prevent HIV also decreased, potentially leaving some San Francisco residents vulnerable.

Related: Here's what Fauci said about BA.2 and if it will cause another COVID surge in the U.S.

And perhaps most troubling, rates of viral suppression  when the virus is undetectable in peoples blood and they are not able to infect others  slipped. The drop was especially precarious among homeless people.

Now, even as San Francisco and most of the rest of the country prepare long-term strategies for controlling COVID for years or decades to come, advocates for HIV care are clamoring to draw their virus back into the public health spotlight. On Monday, a group of health providers, people living with HIV and their supporters plan to rally in front of San Francisco City Hall to demand more attention.

We were on our way to getting to zero (HIV cases), and COVID stopped that, said Paul Aguilar, chair of the HIV caucus with the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club and an organizer of Mondays rally.

Were afraid that people have forgotten that HIV is still around, Aguilar said. We dont want to lose the progress that we had made  and wed made so much progress.

Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle 2021

San Franciscos Getting to Zero campaign started eight years ago with an ambitious goal to essentially end transmission of HIV in the city and stop all deaths from HIV/AIDS. The campaign also sought to improve the quality of life for those living with the virus  70% of whom are now older than 50.

Before the COVID pandemic, the city gained ground on its goals every year, in large part by investing in projects to improve access to testing, preventive care and treatment. But many of those projects are resource-intensive and were challenging to maintain while COVID took center stage.

We were always getting better and better  every report was better than the one the year before, said Dr. Monica Gandhi, who heads Ward 86, the HIV/AIDS clinic at San Francisco General Hospital. So it was distressing when the most recent report, released last August, showed so much regression, she said.

Gandhi said that she and other HIV care providers and patient advocates dont blame city or public health officials for the drop-off in care  she understands why COVID was the priority. Were saying now is the time to bring the conversation back to HIV, she said.

In fact, Gandhi and others said it was on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, that they came up with the idea to hold a rally. That day marked 40 years since the first published report of AIDS in June 1981, and activities were scheduled in San Francisco and across the world. But Dec. 1 was also the day the first case of the omicron variant was reported in the U.S.  in San Francisco. And once again, all attention was diverted from the older pandemic.

It was this really big day, and wait, wheres HIV? Gandhi said. Thats where this idea came up, we have to take back HIV.

City officials said they never let go of their commitments to address HIV, but they acknowledged that the pandemic negatively affected access to care, especially in the spring of 2020, when San Francisco was sheltering in place and many sites for testing and treatment were temporarily shut down.

HIV testing fell by about 44% from 2019  meaning some new infections may have been missed. San Francisco reported 131 new HIV cases in 2020, down about 22% from the previous year. Data for 2021 is not yet available.

The percentage of people living with HIV for whom the virus was undetectable fell from 75% in 2019 to 70% in 2020  not a huge drop, but notable because it was the first decline in years.

Stephen Lam/The Chronicle 2021

Even more troubling, only 20% of people with HIV who were homeless had undetectable viral loads in 2020. That was about half the percentage from the year before, and showed a very concerning gap between those who are housed and those who are not, health officials said. People who are homeless historically have had lower rates of viral suppression because of complications that make it more difficult for them to stay on medication.

Were particularly concerned about the populations that we are not reaching, said Dr. Susan Buchbinder, director of Bridge HIV, a San Francisco Department of Public Health program for HIV prevention research. We are rolling out additional services specifically for people experiencing homelessness to try to improve viral suppression.

Buchbinder said the city has reinforced other HIV programs to improve access to testing and preventive care, including participating in Take Me Home, a national effort to help people test for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections at home.

The city also is starting a program to link people who test negative for HIV to preventive services, specifically drugs for PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, which can reduce the risk of infection by up to 99%. PrEP use fell dramatically in some places in the early months of the pandemic, though many providers say theyve since picked up to near-2019 levels.

Aguilar said his most urgent request of the city now is to determine in what ways HIV care was affected by the pandemic, and what new strategies should be developed. We want a full-blown hearing, he said. We dont even know to what degree COVID has crippled the HIV safety net.

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.

HIV care in some ways has never been simpler, in that many people can successfully suppress the virus with one daily pill. But appropriate care may require frequent appointments to test patients viral load and their immune function. And people experiencing significant stress and chaos in their lives  those who are homeless or dealing with mental health or substance use disorders, for example  may struggle to stay on top of their medication routine.

Those stressors became even more pronounced during the pandemic for many people, HIV patients and their advocates said.

More for you With sexually transmitted infections soaring, California pushes at-home tests

I was in bad shape until maybe 10 months ago, said David Holman, 41, a San Francisco resident who has lived with HIV since 2009.

Holman was able to control the virus with antiviral pills for about a decade, but a series of stressful life events just before the pandemic, compounded by fear and isolation after COVID arrived, shook him out of his routines. He stopped taking his medications, and his viral load shot up while his immune system tanked.

I just could not get myself to remember to take my meds, for probably a year and a half, Holman said. I have a little toy poodle, and me and him sat in my room on Sixth Street too scared to go outside, because I was afraid if I caught COVID I would be a goner.

It was only when Gandhi put him on a new therapy thats given once a month by injection that his condition improved, he said. Hes now back to viral suppression, and his immune system has nearly fully recovered.

Holmans situation wasnt unusual, said Vince Crisostomo, director of Aging Services at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and a long-term HIV survivor himself. He noted that isolation among his older clients was a problem long before the pandemic, but it was compounded further by lockdown orders and peoples fear of COVID.

In December, his long-term survivors group had scheduled a Christmas Eve dinner in the Castro, with about a hundred people planning to attend. But for the second year in a row the dinner was canceled, this time because of the omicron-fueled surge. And I could just feel the disappointment, Crisostomo said.

They understood why, but on some spiritual side I could feel something crumble inside when we were telling people, he said. Its just been incredibly hard.

Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday
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Oakland City Council Member Carroll Fife may sponsor a ballot measure that would let voters decide the fate of the As proposed waterfront ballpark, the latest twist in the baseball teams five-year quest for a new stadium.

Fife is leaning towards supporting a ballot measure, she told The Chronicle after a Saturday community meeting in West Oakland on the $12 billion proposal.

Thousands of West Oakland residents voices arent being considered during the approval process, and a ballot measure would help empower them, she said. Fife said she will make a final decision after further discussions with colleagues and studying the cost of a potential measure.

The As are hoping for a City Council vote this year on whether to allow the stadium to be built, but a November ballot measure could delay any decision for months and potentially kill the project, one of the largest ever proposed in California.

Fife, who represents the Howard Terminal area where the ballpark is proposed, said she has spoken to two fellow council members and they are both receptive to the idea of a ballot measure. Support from a majority of the eight-member council would be needed to place a measure on the November ballot.

As President Dave Kaval said Saturday was the first time he had heard of a potential ballot measure, and the team opposes the idea. This news is concerning, he said.

We want to see the City Council vote as soon as possible and not continue to delay the project, Kaval said. It feels like there continues to be a reason to wait. Thats challenging for us.

Kaval rejected the idea that local residents havent had input on the project, citing hundreds of meetings over the last five years.

I dont think theres ever been more public engagement on such a large project, he said.

Kaval said the existing Coliseum site isnt viable for the As and the current stadium has been obsolete for a decade. The team has toured sites in Las Vegas and is positioned to follow the Raiders there if the Howard Terminal plan is rejected.

Last month, Fife voted against certifying the projects environmental study, expressing concerns over the speed of the process and that residents concerns over issues such as traffic and affordable housing arent being heard.

She said Saturday that she is not against the project and that it deserves serious consideration, but said there was a history of promises being made and unfulfilled to Black and low-income communities like West Oakland.

I dont want to further that, she said.

About 50 Oakland residents gathered Saturday at Fifes community meeting, almost all opposed to the As proposed ballpark, underscoring the projects entrenched opposition. The proposal calls for a new 35,000-seat ballpark, 3,000 housing units, 1.5 million square feet of office space, 270,000 square feet of retail space, a 3,500-seat performance venue and up to 400 hotel rooms.

The meeting came the same week the Seaport Planning Advisory Committee recommended against the ballpark because it would require eliminating maritime uses at the site. The state San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission will take a binding vote on the project in June.

The way that Ive been moving thus far ... I dont think theres been enough research on this project and how it will impact West Oakland, Fife said at the meeting, where she asked attendees whether they would support a ballot measure.

A majority appeared to clap in support, but some attendees raised concerns about a potential ballot measure.

David Peters, a West Oakland resident, said the ballpark vote would be better handled by City Council members, who have access to resources such as city staff and consultants and greater knowledge, rather than voters.

Were not paid to make these decisions, he said of voters.

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.

Even if voters approved the ballpark project, it would probably require subsequent city and state approvals.

Theres precedent for voters intervening on waterfront development on the other side of the bay. San Francisco voters passed Proposition B in 2014, requiring projects that exceed height limits on public land controlled by the Port of San Francisco to be approved by voters. As a result of the measure, the Golden State Warriors relocated to the site of what is now Chase Center from Piers 30-32 to a Mission Bay location that was exempt.

Rita Look, a West Oakland resident who opposes the project, said political advertising could mislead voters into supporting it.

Im just worried the billionaires are going to control the message, and itll confuse everybody, she said. Im worried about how people are so manipulated, she said.

As owner John Fisher, whose parents founded Gap Inc., has an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion, according to Forbes.

Look has put out flyers against the project, but her neighbors seem disengaged. She wants the City Council to vote down the project, which she believes will exacerbate car congestion, rather than placing a ballot measure.

What I see is a massive traffic jam surrounding West Oakland, polluting our air, Look said.

John Sanford, a local business owner, was one of the only voices of support for the project during public comment. He said it would bring more vibrancy to the waterfront and more work around transportation and affordable housing would lead to a beneficial project.

Lets be involved, and lets continue to talk about it, he said.

Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf
Two of the Bay Areas larger wrongful death settlements of the past decade happened within the past six months and involved the same officer from the same department shooting two men of color experiencing mental health crises.

But these multimillion-dollar payouts shouldnt be mistaken for justice. Theyre the bleak cost of doing business for law enforcement agencies that refuse to change.

With regard to the above two cases, the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office employed Andrew Hall, the deputy responsible for both mens deaths. As my colleagues Rachel Swan and Joshua Sharpe have reported, the Sheriffs Office actually cleared Hall for putting himself in the path of Laudemer Arboledas slow-moving vehicle and shooting him nine times.

The Sheriffs Office then put Hall back on the streets of Danville, where the deputy shot Tyrell Wilson in the face while under investigation by the District Attorneys Office for the Arboleda shooting. And the Sheriffs Office kept Hall on its payroll through his eventual trial and even after a jury convicted him of assault with a firearm against Arboleda.

Lea Suzuki/Associated Press 2021

The Sheriffs Office fired Hall only after he was sentenced to six years in prison, and did so reluctantly, according to media coverage of Sheriff David Livingstons internal memo to staff.

The family of Arboleda will receive $4.9 million and the family of Wilson $4.5 million. One point of large settlements is to inflict enough financial pain on an institution to encourage change. But that doesnt seem to be happening in Contra Costa County.

As KTVU reported in 2020, law enforcement agencies that have implemented reforms  including creating oversight bodies  saw notable declines in civil penalties being paid out. Meanwhile, departments that had minimal or no long-term oversight paid more, like the Alameda County Sheriffs Office, which was responsible for $27.6 worth of settlements between 2015 and 2020.

Its also many of these slow-to-change agencies that complain the most about a lack of funding.

Just last summer, San Francisco police Chief Bill Scott lobbied the Board of Supervisors for more money for officer training and technology.

Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle 2021

The department also cost the city more than $27 million in settlements over the last decade, according to an investigation by FiveThirtyEight and the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news outlet.

Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong also lamented proposed budget cuts last summer, saying it would hinder the departments ability to do its job. Oakland spent roughly $3 million on police settlements between 2015 and 2020, and around $57 million between 2000 and 2010, based on KTVUs data.

And the San Jose Police Department, which was responsible for $17.5 million in use-of-force settlements between 2015 and 2020, trailing only the Alameda County Sheriffs Office, asked for roughly $1 million for officer training last month.

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.

The Bay Area has a history of paying off families for their boundless grief. Only recently have progressive district attorneys, such as San Franciscos Chesa Boudin, and even moderates like Nancy OMalley in Alameda County, been more aggressive about charging officers with crimes.

The results have been mixed, and its too early to tell if these recent steps, and the larger settlements, will trigger the rapid change demanded in 2020. But civil rights attorney John Burris, who represented the families of both Arboleda and Wilson, told me he knows why more officers are being held accountable for their actions.

What were seeing right now is what I call the George Floyd effect. These decisions are products of those protests, Burris said. But you have to wonder when that pendulum might swing back the other way.

Prosecuting a few bad actors isnt enough to cure the justice system of its dysfunctions. And while these recent settlements make headlines, they reinforce a chilling truth: A system that would rather pay for injustices instead of preventing them is a perverted one indeed.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips appears Sundays. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips
UPDATE: Supervisor Matt Haney wins special election for Assembly District 17 seat

The race to fill David Chius open seat in California Assembly District 17 didnt receive much attention in the Feb. 15 primary. Only 36% of registered voters participated. And the results were close, with San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney earning a less than 1,000-vote plurality over former Supervisor David Campos.

And yet events since the primary have demonstrated how San Franciscans can ill afford to be so apathetic about this seat.

Consider the recent ruling that would have frozen an enrollment increase at UC Berkeley under the guise of a dubious California Environmental Quality Act (known as CEQA) challenge. Only last-minute action from the state Legislature saved thousands of kids from being unfairly rejected. Then, there was Supervisor Gordon Mars stunning admission this month that he views four-plex legislation in San Francisco as a way to circumvent state housing law.

Clearly, we need an aggressive legislator in District 17 willing to close loopholes that allow the status quo to fester.

Thankfully, there remains a candidate in the race who we believe can rise to that challenge: Haney.

A politically savvy progressive with nuanced views on mental health, criminal justice and transportation, Haney has been a leading voice for compassion on addiction issues in San Francisco and for more public toilets for homeless residents. He entered office years ago with a recalcitrant approach to building housing, but has since become a reliable supporter of pragmatic solutions to the regional housing crisis. We commended him for this evolution.

Though we have criticized Haney in the past for authoring headline-seeking legislation, we believe that his changing views on housing are emblematic of his maturation as a politician. His campaign has offered a detailed list of policy prescriptions that reflect this growth, many bold and innovative. He is an enthusiastic supporter of California entering the real estate business to build social housing  mainly mixed-income developments that would allow residents across the class spectrum the opportunity to rent and own beside one another.

In his endorsement interview with The Chronicle, Haney did not shy away from sharing his views on politically fraught issues such as amending CEQA to better bring it into compliance with a 21st century understanding of environmental harm. He was clear that he viewed reform as essential, while still expressing a desire to preserve the most meaningful aspects of the law that protect vulnerable communities. Among the ideas he proposed was a legislative fix to expedite the approvals process when municipalities abuse CEQA to stymie development  such as what San Francisco supervisors did with the infamous 469 Stevenson development.

Haneys opponent, Campos, meanwhile, was vague on CEQA, saying in an interview that he was open to reform while failing to offer specific fixes. Campos has been a fierce advocate for social, racial and economic justice throughout his career in politics, but his vagueness on CEQA was largely characteristic of his current campaign, which has been short on ideas. Campos past work in pushing for homeless navigation centers throughout San Francisco was laudable, as was his effort to secure free Muni for the citys youths. And yet, months into the campaign, he largely failed to outline a substantive new vision beyond a state housing bond to provide a dedicated stream of funding for affordable housing. To be clear, this is a fine idea. But, as illustrated by the recent no slums in the Sunset debacle  where neighborhood residents opposed the construction of a 100% affordable development on ostensibly aesthetic grounds  Californias housing fight is often less about funding than obstinance.

Campos described himself in an interview as an only Nixon can go to China progressive  with the cachet to talk reluctant communities into accepting bold plans for new housing, because of his own track record on the issue; he was an architect of the Mission Moratorium, which would have halted, possibly for years, any housing development in that neighborhood that wasnt 100% affordable. Overcoming anti-housing intransigence at the state level, however, will demand more than one politicians personal touch. It will require ideas and vigilance.

Haney offers such ideas. Campos offers assurances. Well take ideas every time.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: sfchronicle.com/letters.
Im alarmed at the torrent of bellicose demands that we intervene to block the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Spurred on by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeals for NATO to close the skies, letter writers to The Chronicle and increasing numbers of posturing politicians demand that we intervene in this war.

We all are appalled by the terrible suffering brutally displayed on our TV screens, but the answer is not further military escalation and increasing bloodshed. We should be supporting the current promising negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. What is needed is an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated settlement fixing Ukraines neutrality, while guaranteeing Ukraines territorial integrity and the minority rights of Ukraines Russian speakers.

We must firmly reject the irresponsible demands for NATO to impose a no-fly zone. We must be clear: Any attempt to drive the Russians from Ukrainian airspace would result in the Russians shooting back; an attack on any NATO member would trigger Article 5, the collective defense measure of the pact, and start World War III with Russia. We must call for peace, not suicidal escalation.

Michael Dunlap, Oakland

$400 rebate is gimmick

Regarding Gas prices prompt proposal for rebate (Bay Area & Business, March 18): What is it about a surplus that makes lawmakers so quick to toss a few coins back to the masses?

They love to cut dollar checks that cost two to print. It is fiscally stupid and irresponsible to give a blanket $400 to everyone in the state. They should work a little harder to figure out how to reduce the current as well as ongoing financial burden they put on people living in California.

This legislation is silly and nothing more than a way to prop up the popularity of these lawmakers. The surplus should be used for things we need, and we need a lot (schools are closing, teachers salaries are low, streets are full of potholes and the list goes on and on).

Jay Elliott, San Francisco

Schools going extreme

Although it seems to come from the polar opposite spectrum, Donald Trumps tirade at his South Carolina rally against critical race theory in public schools reminded me of the recent San Francisco school board recall and the progressive drive to change public education.

On one extreme, a group of public officials led Soviet-style tribunals to rename schools and vet out the bourgeois white supremacy culture. On the other, school administrators in Florida and Texas are so prehensile in their attachment to traditional, Western heritage that they want to give time to both sides in the history of the Holocaust.

Most of the countrys children attend public schools. The demographic is almost infinite in its diversities, as each kid brings a different background, maturity and mindset to the classroom. No other country in the world endeavors such a multifarious task. But our stewards of public education, the school boards and administrators who dictate policy, are only digging in, promoting extreme and irreconcilable political positions that have little to do with academic standards and learning. Both sides are becoming caricatures of education, endangering the integrity of public schools with their prevailing, smothering ideologies.

Both sides blur into the same, myopic ideologue.

Nels Johnson, Millbrae

Refocus dispute on UC

Missing from The Chronicles coverage of the spat between UC Berkeley and its neighbors is the fact that since 1980, the state has built 23 new prisons but only one new University of California campus, while the population of California has almost doubled.

Instead of blaming the California Environmental Quality Act and creating more exceptions to it, our state legislators should be working toward building new campuses and fully funding the UC system. This would be a win for the university, its students, the residents of Berkeley and the environment.
I took my first U.S. history class in high school when I moved to the United States from Korea 15 years ago. Being an immigrant and a teenager, I especially wanted to feel a sense of belonging. I scoured my 1,000-page long textbook looking for references to Koreans and Korean Americans but the only mention I found was of the Korean War. Our class only had time to cover basic facts  dates, places, the number of American casualties  and then we were on to the final exam.

For everyone else in the classroom, the entire sum of my identity as a Korean was contained in a surface-level review of a three-year war that happened 70 years ago across the Pacific.

Aside from the few major events related to Chinese immigrant railroad workers and Japanese American incarceration during World War II, high school students in the U.S. spend very little time learning about Asian American history. Several states, including California, Illinois, New Jersey, among others, have recently introduced legislation mandating Asian American history in public school curriculum. Last year, California also became the first state to require ethnic studies in high school.

But as more states include Asian American history in their school curriculum, the question of what and how we are going to teach Asian American history remains.

So what does our current U.S. history curriculum say about Asian Americans? As part of a research team at Stanford University, my colleagues and I examined 33 high school-level textbooks from California and Texas that together are responsible for educating millions of students. We found that less than 2% of all sentences identified in the textbooks mention Asian Americans, despite key roles they played in the history of the country. For example, despite Japanese American Yuri Kochiyamas key role in the civil rights movement, none of the textbooks we reviewed mentioned her. And although Chinese American Wong Kim Arks 1898 Supreme Court case helped to establish birthright citizenship for anyone born within U.S. territory, only one textbook in our sample referred to his case.

This minimal portrayal is not limited to textbooks used in California and Texas. A recent study of content analysis of K-12 U.S. history curriculum from 50 states found similar failures to discuss the achievements and contribution of Asian Americans.

In the few instances when Asian Americans are discussed in textbooks, they are frequently talked about as victims of anti-immigrant racism who lack civic agency. Their general absence from our history textbooks telegraphs to young American minds that Asian Americans are largely invisible, with no contributions to building up our society. As for Asians more broadly, they almost always appear in the context of wars, foreign affairs in Asia or immigration. In other words, the role of Asians and Asian Americans in U.S. history is as the enemy in war, the international others or the cheap labor that takes jobs away from real Americans.

Furthermore, our research affirmed earlier findings that representation of Asian Americans in textbooks and curriculum standards is almost entirely framed through the experiences of Chinese and Japanese Americans. Considering that 85% of Asian Americans are comprised of six ethnic origins  Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese  such a narrow presentation of Asian American history is hardly reflective of reality. For example, although Filipino Americans are the third-largest Asian American group, just 0.2% of the sentences in all the textbooks we assessed referenced them  appearing mostly in the context of the U.S. annexation of the Philippines.

Fortunately, many teachers recognize the weaknesses in content provided in textbooks and no longer solely rely on them in class. And in states like California, some textbook publishers are modifying their content to be more inclusive of all Americans. But all school materials, particularly official approved ones, should foster student learning, not perpetuate inaccurate and harmful stereotypes, no matter what state you live in.

According to the Asian American community group Stop AAPI Hate, there were more than 10,900 reports of violence and verbal abuse aimed at Asian Americans from March 2020 through December 2021. Similarly, a compilation of hate crime data published in February from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism found anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 339% last year compared with the year before, with major cities such as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles surpassing their record numbers in 2020. And in a survey of more than 400 Asian Americans, nearly 30% reported an increase in discrimination since the COVID-19 pandemic and over 40% reported an increase in anxiety, depressive symptoms and sleep difficulties.

The brutal attack on a 67-year-old woman of Asian descent on March 11 in Yonkers, N.Y.  nearly one year after the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings, which killed eight people, including six Asian American women  makes clear that anti-Asian violence is still very much alive in the country. The struggle to push back the hate wont be easy, and while new hate crime laws are a start, to truly root out anti-Asian hate, we need to combat the underlying ignorance and racism that foments it. That starts in the classroom.

Minju Choi is a doctoral candidate in international and comparative education at Stanford University.
For months, Attorney General Rob Bontas conservative opponents have zeroed in on a strategy to defeat him: guilt by association.

Now Bonta is swinging back with a critique of his rivals guilt by their silence  when it comes to taking on the gun industry.

Because Bonta doesnt have a lengthy record as California's top cop in the year since Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed him to replace Xavier Becerra, his opponents are trying to tie him to two controversial, high-profile, progressive district attorneys whom Bonta has supported  San Franciscos Chesa Boudin and Los Angeles George Gascon.

Its not hard to imagine why. For the second time since he took office, Gascons opponents are gathering signatures to try to recall him, and Boudin will actually face a recall on June 7, the same day as Californias statewide primary. It is not looking good for Boudin, according to a poll of 800 likely voters out last week, commissioned by those who want to boot Boudin. It found that 68% want to recall the first-term district attorney, who was elected in 2019.

That shouldnt hurt Bonta in the primary. As the only Democrat on the June ballot, he will probably be one of the two candidates who advance to the general election in November. That will leave the others  Republicans Nathan Hochman and Eric Early, and Republican-turned-independent Anne Marie Schubert  to battle for the other slot.

But theyre not aiming their jabs at one another for the most part. Instead, theyre focused on Bonta/Boudin/Gascon.

Thats been Schuberts tactic since Day One of her campaign last year, when the Sacramento district attorney spent almost as much time talking about Boudin and Gascon as she did Bonta. She still tweets about them both regularly.

A few weeks ago, after touring San Franciscos crime and drug-plagued Tenderloin neighborhood, Schubert explained why she was backing Boudins recall.

This is the cruel reality of a criminal justice system that is run by politicians like our incumbent Attorney General, and prosecutors like Chesa Boudin who incentivize criminal behavior by failing to prosecute it, Schubert wrote on Facebook. (Boudin has sent a greater percentage of defendants in robbery, assault and drug cases to diversion programs than his predecessor (Gascon), while obtaining convictions in a smaller share of those cases, my colleague Susie Neilson found this month in an analysis of data from his office. Neilson also found that Boudin has also more frequently charged defendants with crimes that are less serious than those sought by police officers after robbery and assault arrests.)

Bontas response lately has been to talk about something his conservative opponents would rather avoid: taking on the gun industry.

The former East Bay state legislator doesnt shy away from Californias crime spike. Hed be foolish to, because 65% of voters say crime and violence is a problem in their neighborhood, according to a February survey from the Public Policy Institute of California.

Instead, Bonta points to another study from the institute that shows gun violence is driving not only the spike in homicides, but that the number of guns used in aggravated assaults and robberies is on the rise.

You can't talk about rises in crime without talking about rises in gun violence, Bonta said during a recent news conference. In California, the increase that we have seen in our homicide rate is almost exclusively the result of gun violence.

That is sickening. That's disgusting. That's unacceptable, Bonta said.

He is backing two bills focused directly on gunmakers and sellers. One measure (SB1327) would enable Californians to sue anyone who manufactures, distributes, transports, imports into the state or sells assault weapons, .50 caliber Browning machine gun rifles or ghost guns  the untraceable weapons that can be purchased without a background check and assembled on their own.

The other bill (AB1594) would enable Californians or the attorney general to sue gunmakers and distributors when crimes are committed using their weapons. It is intentionally modeled after the new Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks and permits individuals to sue clinics and providers.

When asked about these proposals, Schubert and Hochman didnt have much to say. Hochman, a former federal prosecutor who has never held elected office, declined to comment at all.

Schubert, who recently scored the endorsement of Californias largest law enforcement organization  the Peace Officers Research Association of California  shrugged off the measures, noting that they havent been heard in legislative committees yet.

These bills fail to address the root of the problem, which is there is an astronomical number of illegal guns possessed by felons or people who are prohibited from having a gun, Schubert said. I would demand more resources to take guns away from those people who illegally possess them.

Early, who got drubbed in a 2020 House race by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, and finished fourth in the 2018 attorney general primary, ripped SB1327.

He said it was designed to put firearms manufacturers and distributors out of business and make it even more difficult for law-abiding Californians to purchase weapons to protect themselves and their families in this criminals paradise that has been created by the very elected officials supporting the bill.

On AB1594, Early, who also has never held elected office, said that if elected he would take all steps available within the law to have such a statute thrown out, and I will support others who take similar steps. He called both measures an end around the Second Amendment.

Its not surprising that Republicans  and former Republicans  would refrain from criticizing the gun industry. Gun rights organizations spent $32 million nationally in 2020 compared with the $23 million that gun control groups spent, according to Open Secrets. None of the three conservatives in the race is going to risk offending gun rights enthusiasts. Theyre too big a part of the GOP base, and they need those votes to make it out of the June primary.

But in November, theyre going to be facing the whole  and much more liberal  California electorate. Since September 2015, strong majorities have supported stricter gun laws  including 63% last May, according to a Public Policy Institute of California tracking of surveys over that time.

Newsom was asked recently whether he was worried that the gun industry would fund a ballot measure to overturn the proposed measures that Bonta and he support should they become law.

Bring it on. They would get crushed, Newsom said. Californians have no patience for these purveyors of violence and death.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
When the library cart entered the jail housing unit, women in orange scrubs immediately surrounded it, hunting their next read.

Among the first was Dominique West, 42, one of the San Francisco jail librarys many loyal patrons. She reads true crime, religious books, thrillers. West likes John Grisham and James Patterson, whose quick pacing she often prefers to Grishams longer windups.

West looked over the book cart and smiled as if anticipating a fine meal. She loves to read and has gained valuable perspective through it.

It takes my mind out of here, she said at the jail on Seventh Street, one of three the county operates.

West might not have near the same selection to choose from if she were in a different facility, without a program like the one the San Francisco Public Library runs in the county jails.

New books arrive regularly here. But many jail and prison libraries across the country have only stacks of donated books that arent regularly replenished. Prisoners everywhere generally have no or limited access to the internet, making fresher books ever more sought-after behind bars.

Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle

Staff at the San Francisco jail library hope to help improve the condition of the nations jail and prison libraries through a new $2 million grant. The project, a collaboration with the American Library Association, will start with a national survey identifying what library models are in operation. With help from interviews with formerly incarcerated people, librarians and analysts will conduct the first rewrite in 30 years of the American Library Associations standards for libraries behind bars, which could lead to changes at facilities from Maine to Marin County.

The updated standards will be available free to 1,000 people who do library work in detention centers. Prisoners who feel their facility isnt living up to what the American Library Association calls for can also use the standards to lobby for better services.

The need for such an undertaking is great, said Jeannie Austin, a librarian in the San Francisco jail program who is a leading researcher on access to information for the incarcerated. One of the things that makes the local jail library stand out is a comparatively hefty annual budget of $180,000 per year, from the San Francisco Public Library system.

Its very hard for people to get access to books if theres not a dedicated budget line, Austin said. A lot of prisons dont budget for libraries  they budget for programs and then all the programs are kind of vying for that same pot.

Another issue is, increasingly, jail and prison security departments regard books as objects that can be used as weapons, said Tracie Hall, executive director of the American Library Association. Hall said some facilities also attempt to block books as a means of controlling what information prisoners consume, down to disallowing books on justice reform.

Reports of books barred from entering detention centers persistently crop up as loved ones and organizations try to navigate sometimes long lists of prohibited books. Disallowed titles in California prisons have included the Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin and Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party, by Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin Jr., according to Prison Legal News.

The Davis Books to Prisoners program, founded by UC Davis students, once tried to send a person in solitary confinement the Albert Woodfox book Solitary: Unbroken by Four Decades in Solitary Confinement. My Story of Transformation and Hope. The book never made it.

Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle

Its gotten worse in the last 20 years, said the American Library Association director.

Access to reading materials, and information in general, has really eroded in our detention facilities, Hall said.

Hall said research shows that more robust library and information access in jails and prisons assists people in rehabilitation.

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.

Joshua Soto, 40, a federal detainee at the San Francisco jail, said the library has been vital to maintaining his mental health.

We dont get that much sunlight, he said. Its a stressful time for us, and these books, they take away a little bit of that pain.

Soto loves the Alex Cross thriller series by James Patterson, who is wildly popular both in and out of jail. Soto reads about starting a small business and navigating the tax code, since hes aspiring to be a businessman. Soto liked Malcolm Gladwells David and Goliath, because it tells stories of overcoming giant obstacles.

The Gladwell book came out in 2013. In many facilities, thatd be considered new. The San Francisco jail program, which also fields information requests from prisoners all over California, keeps up-to-date titles stocked.

We have a great budget from the public library, said Rachel Kinnon, manager of the Jail and Reentry Services program. We choose the books primarily based on patron requests, so people are getting the books that they want to read.

Soto, whos spent time in various facilities, said hes never seen anything like the library services at the San Francisco jail. In addition to calming his mind, the books hes read here have opened it, made him feel more knowledgeable, more like he can make a way for himself one day.

I appreciate this library, Soto said. A lot.

Joshua Sharpe is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: joshua.sharpe@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joshuawsharpe
For two Bay Area men, a recent trip to Hawaii has taken a macabre twist after a man they met and befriended is now accused of murder, NBC Bay Area first reported.

A third friend, from Los Angeles, was also initially arrested in connection with the murder, but was later released after the Honolulu Police Department determined he was not involved.

The two Bay Area friends  San Francisco resident Ronald Wu and Oakland resident Mohammad Daudie  were visiting Honolulu with their friend, Los Angeles resident Scott Hannon.

While in Honololu, the visitors met Juan Tejedor Baron, 23, and they quickly became friends while enjoying the citys nightlife. "Since I'm in Hawaii and I want to make friends, he seemed very nice actually," Daudie told NBC Bay Area.

Baron invited the trio to what he claimed was his home in the gated luxury community of Hawaii Loa Ridge. Daudie told NBC that while nothing at the home seemed amiss, he did notice that theres like a bar on the bedrooms, like you cant just enter easily.

Wu and Daudie returned to the Bay Area, while their friend Hannon decided to stay another week with Baron.

However, it turned out that the home did not belong to Baron, but instead to 73-year-old Gary Ruby; the two were in a relationship, police said. Police went to the Hawaii Loa Ridge residence on March 7, 2022, for a welfare check requested by Ruby's brother after not hearing from his sibling for three weeks, an affidavit filed with Honolulus District Court of the First Circuit states.

The officers allegedly observed that the master bathrooms bathtub was covered in concrete, and oddly, it smelled like coffee. After obtaining a search warrant, the officers uncovered Rubys body encased in the concrete, with layers of coffee grounds. Baron later admitted that the coffee layers were to cover up the smell of the body, the affidavit says.

On March 10, Los Angeles Police Department officers and U.S. Marshals arrested Baron and Hannon in Anaheim after locating the duo on a Greyhound bus heading to Mexico. While Hannon was released after authorities determined that he was not involved in the murder, Baron reportedly confessed to killing Ruby, according to the affidavit.

Baron is currently in Los Angeles, where he is awaiting extradition back to Hawaii to face the charges against him, which include murder in the second degree.

For Wu and Daudie, they are shocked that the nice man that they danced and drank with would turn out to be an accused murderer.

"I believe he's a psycho killer, because who would stay in that place for weeks, with a dead body there?" Daudie told NBC Bay Area.
Planning a trip to Disneyland can be an overwhelming experience. And unlike Walt Disney, who had his own apartment inside the park, lots of planning and preparation is required to get a Disneyland hotel for when and where you want to stay.

So what should you know before booking a trip to Disneyland? And how early should you make your Disneyland hotel reservations? Here's a guide to help make your trip to the Happiest Place on Earth a little less stressful.

Booking hotels at the Disneyland Resort

There are three Disney-owned hotels at the Disneyland Resort. While each of the hotels offers a different theme, booking a room at the Disneyland Hotel or Disneys Paradise Pier Hotel is slightly easier than booking a room at Disneys Grand Californian Resort and Spa due to its proximity to the theme parks and its additional Disney Vacation Club villas that take up part of the hotels inventory of rooms.

Disneyland Hotel via Yelp

Travelers who are planning a Disneyland getaway with just a month or two notice should be able to book at the Disneyland Hotel or Disneys Paradise Pier Hotel with ease, especially during the slower months of late August and September. These two hotels offer basic amenities plus the ability to partake in Extra Magic Hours and Magic Morning Early Admission to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, should they return after being paused during Disneylands phased reopening in 2021.

Travelers looking to book a room at Disneys Grand Californian Resort and Spa during popular holiday months like Halloween and Christmas will want to do so at least six months in advance to be on the safe side. The resort often books up quickly due to its direct access to both the Downtown Disney District and Disney California Adventure theme park. The resort is also the only Disney-owned hotel at the Disneyland Resort with Disney Vacation Club rooms  a timeshare program of 48 units that can further be divided into smaller units through lock-off rooms.

Booking good neighbor hotels in Anaheim

Good neighbor hotels are hotels near Disneyland that have high standards, clean rooms and nice amenities. When guests see that a hotel is a good neighbor partner, they know it has Disneys stamp of approval and has gone through a rigorous process to be part of the program. Currently, there are more than 50 good neighbor hotels in Anaheim, at all different price points and at different distances from the theme parks.

Courtesy of Werner Segarra/Visit Anaheim

One nice thing about good neighbor hotels is that travelers can book rooms with less notice and still get good deals. The hotels that are closest to the entrance to the Disneyland Resort on Harbor Boulevard typically fill up faster than the hotels that are farther away from the parks.

If you want to stay at a hotel thats across the street or just a block or two away from Disneyland, consider booking at least three months in advance. Guests who dont mind a walk at the start and end of their day can often book a hotel farther away from the entrance to Disneyland with just a few weeks' notice.

What to know before booking a Disneyland trip

Prior to booking a trip to Disneyland, whether youre staying at one of the three Disney-owned hotels or a good neighbor hotel, there are a few things you should know.

The first is to look at the theme park reservation availability calendar to ensure your travel dates are open for theme park reservations. A hotel reservation does not guarantee entry into either of the Disneyland theme parks.

Screenshot from Disneyland

Second, upon arrival, it's wise to check in at your hotel online. This will help you avoid long lines at the front desk and will allow you access to designated hotel areas that require a key like your room and fitness and pool area. Those staying at a Disney-owned hotel can do this through the Disneyland app. If you plan to stay at a good neighbor hotel, consider researching your hotels policy on mobile check-in and mobile-friendly room keys before your arrival.
Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag

With the end of Hawaiis Safe Travels program and the decline of the omicron variant, the number of travelers to the state is increasing and hotel rates are rising.



Pent-up travel demand and limited travel choices due to the pandemic brought 851,406 U.S. visitors to Hawaii in July 2021  a record all-time high for U.S. visitors. In January, there were 574,183 visitors to Hawaii, up from 171,976 visitors in January 2021, but still down from the 817,600 visitors to Hawaii in January 2019.



Bookings from U.S. travelers are bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels, but bookings from Japan and Korea are still essentially zero, according to a quarterly forecast from the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaii (UHERO). Japan has long been the largest source for international visitors to Hawaii, but the pandemic significantly reduced those numbers. Close to 1.5 million travelers to Hawaii were from Japan in 2019, compared to 269,402 in 2020.



In December, U.S. visitors represented nearly 90% of Hawaii tourists, the UHERO report said. The number of visitors from Canada has improved since the summer, reaching 5% of all visitors in December and 45% of their pre-pandemic level. Visitors from other international markets remain negligible so far.



This may all change as more international restrictions ease.



A busy summer is expected later in the year, and with it more international visitors, according to the Hawaii State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourisms press release.



Costs for hotels and other accommodations are also increasing  accounting for nearly half of visitors expenses. Changes to Hawaiis vacation rental laws have greatly reduced the number of rentals available, driving up demand and prices.



Hotel bookings for upcoming stays still lag somewhat behind pre-pandemic levels, but the rapid retreat of the omicron wave bodes well for the future, the UHERO report continued. We expect a rise in occupancy rates for both hotels and TVRs (transient vacation rentals) in the next few months.



Zander Buteux, the head of organic growth marketing at vacation home rental agency VacationRenter, says Hawaii travelers should be prepared for limited inventory and rising prices. He advises not to wait to book or risk facing slim pickings.



Expect a rush to grab up properties along with skyrocketing prices, said Buteux. Hawaii is set to be amongst the most popular destinations once again by the end of 2022. Multiple locations are at risk of having no vacancy for this summer. Even looking ahead to holiday travel, you may be disappointed with options should you delay planning. Honolulu, Kaanapali, Poipu, Kona and Lahaina are already starting to book heavily for the last two weeks of 2022  with even 2023 slots starting to fill up.
Brooke Stroud was flummoxed and upset. How, the Washington clinical psychologist wondered, had her teenage houseguest gotten sick so quickly with the unidentified illness that had struck Stroud's family of five at the end of 2020?

Stroud, her husband Stephane Carnot, and their daughter Olivia, then 17, had consulted primary care doctors in a fruitless attempt to identify the cause of their headaches, dizziness, vomiting and exhaustion. The pattern of their flu-like illness was perplexing: One or more of them would start to feel better, but within hours their symptoms would always return.

Ultimately it was the suggestion made by an infectious-disease expert more than 1,000 miles away that proved to be spot on, leading to a diagnosis and recovery.

"We'd been horribly sick for three weeks," said Stroud, who believes her judgment was compromised by illness and a misplaced focus on covid-19, which seemed omnipresent nine months into the grinding pandemic. "I feel guilt that I exposed my kids to this."

Stroud was the first to become ill. On Dec. 18, 2020, she logged into a morning meeting from her Georgetown home and told the other participants she wasn't feeling well. She had felt out of sorts for several days, but seemed distinctly worse.

"I felt totally drugged," she said. As the day progressed, she developed a 100-degree fever. By evening, Carnot and two of their children who had recently returned for the holidays - 19-year-old Alex, who attends college in North Carolina, and Olivia, a senior at a Virginia boarding school - had severe headaches, were vomiting and felt achy.

Stroud suspected they had contracted the coronavirus. Her husband managed to snag an appointment for a PCR test, which came back negative.

Stroud's internist tested her for the coronavirus and the virus that causes the flu. The results were negative. She spoke to her children's pediatrician who was concerned, but recommended rest and fluids. If their parents had tested negative for the coronavirus, the doctor told Stroud, now 52, there seemed little reason to test them or schedule an office visit.

By Dec. 23, Stroud said, everyone was so exhausted that they mostly stayed in bed. The couple's oldest child, 21-year-old Sebastien, arrived from Vermont where he attended college. Within hours he, too, was ill.

Stroud decided a second opinion might be wise. On Christmas Eve, she saw her husband's internist who ordered blood tests; they revealed nothing that would explain her symptoms. "We canceled our [Christmas] plans and hunkered down under the covers," she said.

Stroud had noticed something curious but wasn't sure what it meant - or if it meant anything. Olivia felt better when she took a walk. And Stroud, who was working from home, observed that when she worked in a carriage house on their property, so did she.

A few days before New Year's Eve, Olivia underwent tests for coronavirus, parvovirus, which causes a respiratory illness that is typically mild, and Epstein-Barr virus, which causes infectious mononucleosis, an illness common among teenagers. All were negative. She had been scheduled to fly to New Orleans to spend a few days visiting classmate Caroline Schieffelin. The pair was then scheduled to fly back to Washington to stay at Olivia's house for the two weeks required by their school before returning to campus in mid-January.

Too sick to travel, Olivia canceled the trip. Stroud called Schieffelin's parents to ask whether Caroline should come to Washington in view of the family's unidentified illness.

"I put together a risk/benefit ratio," recalled Caroline's father John Schieffelin, an infectious-disease specialist at Tulane University School of Medicine. Schieffelin, who studies survivors of Ebola and Lassa fever, a viral illness that causes bleeding that can be fatal, said he balanced the risk of his daughter contracting whatever was ailing Olivia's family - which was probably reduced in infectiousness because they had been sick for several weeks - to the alternative: Caroline spending two weeks alone in her dorm room.

He OK'd the trip, and Caroline flew to Washington to stay with her friend.

But shortly after her arrival, Olivia told her mother that Caroline had vomited and was battling a severe headache.

Stroud said she "almost had a conniption. I was mortified that she had gotten whatever this was."

Caroline was on a video call with her father on the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, when Stroud knocked on her door to ask if she needed anything. The parents began chatting.

Schieffelin had been struck by Caroline's observation that she felt better in certain parts of the large house and worse in others. "I said, 'That's weird and not normal,' " Schieffelin recalled telling his daughter.

He mentioned this to Stroud and added, "Not to be a paranoid parent, but this really sounds like it could be carbon monoxide poisoning. People are getting sick way too quickly . . . it sounds environmental."

Schieffelin said the symptoms reminded him of the annual spate of carbon monoxide deaths in New Orleans, many of which result from indoor use of portable generators during hurricane season.

Health officials estimate that each year 400 Americans die and 4,000 are hospitalized as a result of unintentional poisoning from carbon monoxide (CO), the chemical produced by the incomplete burning of natural gas or other products that contain carbon. In addition to generators, sources include vehicle exhaust, stoves and heating equipment, including furnaces and gas water heaters.

Mild to moderate poisoning can cause symptoms that are frequently described as "flu-like." Dizziness, confusion, headache and weakness are common, as are nausea and vomiting. But unlike the flu, which does not improve with exposure to fresh air, the symptoms of CO poisoning often do.

Higher levels of CO can result in fainting, permanent brain damage and death, and are a particular risk for people who are sleeping or drunk and may die before showing symptoms. Health officials emphasize that anytime carbon monoxide is suspected, it is important to immediately evacuate to fresh air and call 911.

Stroud told Schieffelin that none of their doctors had suggested the possibility of carbon monoxide. She doubted that could be the culprit, she added, because an alarm system with various kinds of detectors, including one for CO, had been installed in their 162-year-old house a few years earlier. But, she added, they would buy a portable CO detector, long recommended by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, to see what it showed.

Early the next morning, Jan. 6, Carnot bought one at a hardware store, brought it home and plugged it in. The alarm sounded immediately, confirming Schieffelin's hypothesis.

Stroud called 911; members of the D.C. fire department arrived within minutes. Firefighters ordered everyone out of the house until they could pinpoint the source of the leak, which was found quickly. A clamp on the furnace had come loose and was spewing the odorless, colorless gas throughout the four-story house. Concentrations in some areas, particularly where several bedrooms are located, were the highest. Tests at the scene also showed elevated levels of CO in the blood of everyone who had been in the house.

"It was all over fairly quickly," Stroud said. No one required medical attention. (In some cases, people exposed to high levels of CO need treatment with hyperbaric oxygen, which rapidly pushes the poison out of the blood and replaces it with oxygen.)

Schieffelin said his daughter called him as the fire department was arriving and later that day after everyone was back in the house. He also spoke to Stroud. "We were just glad everyone was OK," he said.

Stroud was baffled by the failure of her alarm system to warn of the exposure. She quickly discovered that her system did not include a CO detector; it had been installed a year before D.C. required them in residences. "I thought we were covered," she said. "We weren't."

The family has since purchased and deployed four plug-in detectors, one on each level of their home. Every time she goes into the basement storage room she eyeballs the once-faulty furnace connection.

The incident left Stroud shaken, particularly when she contemplated what might have happened. One of her doctors, she said, urged her to tell her story to warn others of the danger posed by the overlooked and insidious hazard.

"I'm wondering if we'd been seen in the pre-covid era whether someone might have thought of this" sooner, Stroud said.
A month before the 2020 election, Joe Bidens daughter, Ashley, received a call from a man offering help. Striking a friendly tone, the man said he had found a diary that he believed belonged to her and he wanted to return it.

Biden had in fact kept a diary the previous year as she recovered from addiction and had stored it and some other belongings at a friends home in Florida where she had been living until a few months earlier. The diarys personal contents, if publicly disclosed, could prove an embarrassment or a distraction to her father at a critical moment in the campaign.

She agreed with the caller to send someone to retrieve the diary the next day.

But Biden was not dealing with a good Samaritan.

The man on the phone worked for Project Veritas, a conservative group that had become a favorite of President Donald Trump, according to interviews with people familiar with the sequence of events. From the groups headquarters in Westchester County, New York, surrounded by other members of the group, the caller was seeking to trick Biden into confirming the authenticity of the diary, which Project Veritas was about to purchase from two intermediaries for $40,000.

The caller did not identify himself as being affiliated with Project Veritas, according to accounts from two people with knowledge of the conversation.

The new details of Project Veritas effort to establish that the diary was Bidens are elements of a still-emerging story about how Trump supporters and a group known for its undercover sting operations worked to expose personal information about the Biden family during the 2020 campaign.

COOPER NEILL/NYT

Drawn from interviews, court filings and other documents, the new information adds texture to what is known about an episode that has led to a criminal investigation of Project Veritas by federal prosecutors who have suggested they have evidence that the group was complicit in stealing Bidens property and in transporting stolen goods across state lines.

And by showing that Project Veritas employed deception rather than traditional journalistic techniques in the way it approached Biden  the caller identified himself with a fake name  the new accounts could further complicate the organizations assertions in court filings that it should be treated as a publisher and granted First Amendment protections. Project Veritas regularly carries out undercover stings, surveillance operations and ambush interviews, mostly against liberal groups and journalists.

At the same time, new information about the case suggests that the effort to make the diary public reached deeper into Trumps circle than previously known.

A month before the call to Biden, the diary had been passed around a Trump fundraiser in Florida at the home of a donor who helped steer the diary to Project Veritas and was later nominated by Trump to the National Cancer Advisory Board. Among those attending the event was Donald Trump Jr.

Federal prosecutors have been investigating how Project Veritas obtained the diary, and last fall carried out searches at the homes of three of the groups operatives, including that of its founder, James OKeefe.

Project Veritas has denied wrongdoing or knowledge that any belongings had been stolen. It has portrayed itself as a media organization that is being unfairly investigated for simply doing journalism and has assailed the Justice Department and FBI for their handling of the case.

STEFANI REYNOLDS/NYT

Prosecutors have signaled that they view the circumstances differently, all but dismissing in one court filing the groups defense that it was acting as a news organization, saying that there is no First Amendment protection for the theft and interstate transport of stolen property.

In response to a request to Project Veritas for comment, OKeefe sent an email criticizing the Times. Imagine writing so thoroughly divergent from reality and so mendacious with innuendo that there is literally no utterance that wont make it worse, he said.

Spokespersons for the FBI and for federal prosecutors overseeing the case in the Southern District of New York declined to comment, as did Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Biden.

The Times has previously reported that the story of Project Veritas involvement with the diary began in the months leading up to Election Day.

In July 2020, a single mother of two moved into the rented home of a former boyfriend in Delray Beach, Florida. The woman, Aimee Harris, a Donald Trump supporter, told the former boyfriend that she had little money, had nowhere to live and was in a custody dispute. Shortly after moving into the rental, Harris learned that Biden  a friend of the former boyfriend  had been staying at the home that year.

Biden had moved back to the Philadelphia area in June 2020, around the time her father clinched the Democratic Partys nomination for president. She stored a couple of bags of her belongings at the rental house along with her diary, and she told her friend, who was leasing the home, that she planned to return to retrieve her things in the fall.

In August, Harris reached out to Robert Kurlander, a friend who had expressed anti-Biden sentiments online, to say she had found the diary. The two believed they could sell it.

New details from interviews and documents have fleshed out what happened next. Kurlander contacted Elizabeth Fago, the Trump donor who would host the fundraiser attended by Donald Trump Jr. When first told of the diary, Fago said she thought it would help Donald Trumps chances of winning the election, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Richard G. Lubin, a lawyer for Fago, declined to comment.

On Sept. 3, Fagos daughter alerted Project Veritas about the diary.

Three days later, Harris and Kurlander attended the fundraiser attended by Donald Trump Jr. at Fagos house in Jupiter, Florida, to see whether the presidents reelection campaign might be interested in it. While there, Kurlander showed others the diary. It is unclear who saw it.

Once Project Veritas learned about the diary in early September, the group sought to acquire it. About a week after the fundraiser, Harris and Kurlander flew to New York with the diary. The pair met with several Project Veritas operatives at a Manhattan hotel.

The two sides began negotiating an agreement, but no final deal was struck. In response to questions about what Project Veritas may have asked him to do to help authenticate the diary, Kurlander, through his lawyer, Jonathan Kaplan, declined to comment.

To authenticate the diary, one of OKeefes lieutenants, Spencer Meads, was dispatched to Florida to investigate.

What happened next is a matter of dispute. Project Veritas has said in court filings that its operatives obtained additional items belonging to Biden that their sources had described as abandoned, suggesting that it had no knowledge of any theft.

But at least one of the sources told others that a Project Veritas operative had asked them whether they could retrieve more items from the home that could help show that the diary belonged to Biden, according to a person with knowledge of the exchange. Additional items were then taken out of the home and given to the operative, one of the sources has told others.

The plan for Biden to have a friend retrieve the diary from the person who called her in October fell through.

But that month, Project Veritas finalized a deal with Kurlander and Harris to buy the rights to publish the diary for $40,000, wired them the money and signaled that the group planned to soon publish it, according a person with knowledge of the case.

In the end, Project Veritas chose not to publish. Instead, an obscure right-wing website published the diary in October, but it got little attention before the election. Some within Project Veritas thought that one of its own operatives had leaked it.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Russia's attempt to conquer Ukraine could be headed toward a stalemate as heavy casualties and equipment losses take a toll on unprepared Russian forces that have failed so far to achieve any of their initial objectives, Western officials and military experts say.

The front lines have barely moved in more than a week. Russians are being killed or injured at the rate of up to 1,000 a day, according to Western intelligence estimates, and more, according to Ukrainian ones.

Videos of burned-out tanks and abandoned convoys stream constantly on Ukrainian social media accounts, alongside footage of dead Russian soldiers, surrendering Russian soldiers, hungry Russian soldiers stealing chickens from local farmers - and, increasingly, the mangled bodies of Ukrainian civilians dying in missile and artillery attacks.

The ferocity of the Russian assault has only intensified as the advances have slowed, with Russia substituting harsh bombardments of civilian populations for progress on the battlefield. Everyday Ukrainians living in cities surrounded, or partially surrounded, by Russian troops are paying the price for a war effort that began to go wrong in the first hours.

But in the absence of substantive progress on the ground and given the scale of the losses being inflicted on its ranks, Russia's military campaign could soon become unsustainable, with troops unable to advance because they lack sufficient manpower, supplies and munitions, analysts and officials say.

The next two weeks could be critical in determining the outcome of the entire war, they say. Unless Russia can swiftly improve its supply lines, bring reinforcements and bolster the flagging morale of the troops on the ground, its goals may become impossible to achieve.

Washington Post photo by Salwan Georges.

"I don't think Ukraine forces can push Russian forces out of Ukraine, but I also don't think Russian forces can take that much more of Ukraine," said Rob Lee, a former U.S. Marine who is now a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

An assessment Saturday by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) went further. "Ukrainian forces have defeated the initial campaign of this war," it said. The conflict, it said, has now reached "a stalemate."

Events on the battlefield could yet tilt in a different direction: for example, if the Russians succeed in capturing the besieged and desperate city of Mariupol, freeing up their forces to bolster their offensive elsewhere.

But in a widely shared article this week, a retired U.S. general and a European military academic argue that the Russian force is close to reaching what military strategists call the "culminating point" of its offensive, meaning that it will have reached the limits of its capacity to wage the war it set out to prosecute.

"The Russian war of conquest in Ukraine is now entering a critical phase; a race to reach the culminating point of Russia's offensive capacity and Ukraine's defensive capacity," wrote retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges and Julian Lindley-French, who chairs the Alphen Group think tank in the Netherlands. They advocate a sustained effort by the United States and its allies to provide military supplies to Ukraine in hopes that Ukrainian forces can take advantage of this "window of opportunity" to win concessions at the negotiating table.

"I believe that Russia does not have the time, manpower or ammunition to sustain what they are doing now," Hodges, who is now with the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis, said in an interview. The assessment assumes, he says, that the West continues to step up military support for Ukraine, thereby enabling Ukrainian forces to sustain the tempo of their resistance.

The Russian military still has overwhelming superiority in terms of numbers and equipment compared with the smaller and more lightly armed Ukrainian military. Russia could yet turn the fight around if it is able to replenish its manpower and supplies, cautioned Lindley-French.

"It would be a big mistake to think that Russia cannot sustain this war," he said. "They can't now, but they could fix it" by adjusting tactics and bringing in reinforcements.

However, he added, "Unless the Russians can really improve their game and start rotating [troop] formations into the front line, this particular force is facing a problem."

U.S. officials decline to make public predictions about the course of the war but say there are clear indications that the Russians are struggling to sustain the existing forces they have and are scrambling to find reinforcements and resolve their logistical difficulties.

Appeals to China for military assistance, a so far fruitless attempt to recruit Syrians and talk of bringing in reinforcements from other parts of Russia and the breakaway territory of South Ossetia in Georgia have not yet produced evidence that fresh troops are on the way, the officials say.

"Just that they're talking about resupply and re-sourcing tells you they are beginning to get concerned about longevity here," said a senior U.S. Defense Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive subjects.

"It's quite extraordinary, three weeks in, that they are still having these same logistical and sustainment issues, and that they are considering additional ways to overcome these shortages from outside Ukraine," the official added.

The Russian troops that initially surged into Ukraine from at least four directions had expected to be welcomed as liberators and came unprepared for a long fight, officials and experts say. Instead, the Russians encountered fierce resistance, and now they are strung out along multiple fronts, bogged down in manpower-intensive sieges and without preplanned supply lines to sustain a protracted war, the officials and experts say.

The current map of the battlefield points to the scale of the difficulties, Lee said.

It was clear from the way Russian forces moved in the first hours of the war, he said, that their key objectives were to take Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv, link up the occupied Donbas region with the port city of Odessa along Ukraine's southern coast, and - most crucially - capture the capital, Kyiv, with a lightening push from the north.

More than three weeks on, Russian troops still haven't achieved any of these goals.

They have failed to fully encircle the northeastern city of Kharkiv, even though it lies just a few miles from the Russian border. Their push to take the port city of Odessa has been halted by fierce Ukrainian resistance at the gates of Mykolaiv. Their effort to link the Russian-annexed territory of Crimea has become ensnared by the grinding and increasingly bloody siege at Mariupol.

The Russians have been making gains in the east, in the oblasts of Luhansk and Donetsk, which Russia recognized as independent republics on the eve of the war and which have been partially occupied by Russian-backed forces since 2014. But those advances fall far short of the initial ambitious goal of the invasion.

The Russians' hopes of encircling Kyiv, let alone capturing it, are starting to recede, Lee said. Russian forces remain stuck about 15 miles outside the city, and though U.S. officials say Russia is moving rear forces toward the front in anticipation of a renewed push on the capital, the front line hasn't shifted.

Meanwhile, Russians are dying at a rate that is increasingly unsustainable, Lee said. Although Russia still has vast reserves of manpower, it has already committed the bulk of its combat-ready forces, and they are the ones that are almost certainly bearing the brunt of the casualties, he said.

There are no confirmed casualty figures, and Russia has not updated the figure of 498 dead that it announced a week into the war. But of the Russian army's 168 battalion tactical groups, 120 are already fighting on the ground, making up about 100,000 soldiers out of the total 190,000 sent into Ukraine. That means Russia has already committed 75% of its combat-ready force, U.S. officials say.

Western intelligence estimates say it is likely that at least 7,000 Russians have been killed and as many as 20,000 injured, and assuming that the combat forces are bearing the brunt of the casualties, that could mean up to a third of the main combat force is now out of action, Lee said.

"That's a huge loss, and you can't readily replace that," he said. Russia can bring in new conscripts or call up more reservists, but that will dilute the capabilities of the overall force, "and that is not in Russia's interest," he said.

Ukrainian forces have been taking casualties, too, though how many isn't publicly known because they also have not released any numbers. The longer the war drags on, the more perilous their position will become, too, and the greater the chance Russia will overcome its initial mistakes, said Jack Watling of the London-based Royal United Services Institute.

But, he noted, the Ukrainian forces appear to remain highly motivated, while there are clear signs that morale continues to diminish among the Russian troops, he said. Russian forces continue to surrender, abandon their vehicles and show few signs of initiative in the areas they do control, signs "that this is not a force that is well motivated," he said.

As Russia's offensive capabilities slow, the risk is high that civilian casualties will mount. Stalemate is likely to become "very violent and bloody," the ISW assessment said, because Russian troops are more likely to rely on the bombardment of cities to apply pressure.

There are signs that Russia is running out of precision missiles, U.S. officials say, which means Russian forces will also increasingly resort to the use of so-called dumb bombs indiscriminately dropped on civilian areas in an effort to cow them into submission.

Ukraine is unlikely to have the capacity to push Russia out of the territory it has taken so far, officials and analysts say. But the Russians' current difficulties open up the possibility that the Ukrainians could at least fight them to a standstill, thereby exerting pressure on Russia to accept a negotiated solution.

The main question now has shifted from how long it would take the Russians to conquer Ukraine to "can Ukraine fight Russia to a stalemate?" said a Western official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "They're doing pretty well at the moment."

"The next two weeks are going to be pretty decisive," Watling said. The war won't be over in two weeks, he predicted, and all the signals from Moscow suggest the Russians are more likely to double down than climb down, making the war more deadly for Ukrainians even as it moves at a slower pace.

"The odds are stacked heavily in the Russians' favor. This is their war to lose. The reason they are not achieving their objective is largely about their own incompetence, their lack of coordination," he said.

"What this really comes down to is whether the Russians are going to get their act together."

- - -

The Washington Post's William Booth contributed to this report.
LOS ANGELES  Cesar Quintana held his 2-year-old son Alexander at an airport in Kyiv, Ukraine. Alexander was born in Orange County, but on that day in December, authorities told Quintana he would not be allowed to leave the country with his son and would have to surrender the boy to his grandmother in Ukraine.

A year earlier, Quintana's estranged wife, Antonina Aslanova, had abducted their son from his Aliso Viejo apartment amid their divorce and fled to her home country, Orange County prosecutors say. She took Alexander to Mariupol, the port city that is now being bombarded by Russian artillery.

Now Quintana, 35, plans to travel into the war zone to find his son. He's unsure what awaits him  or even whether his estranged wife and Alexander are among the millions of refugees who have fled Ukraine.

The last time he saw Alexander was during a brief video call March 2, six days after Russia launched its invasion.

"Like you say in the Army, never leave a man behind. But that's my son," Quintana told the Los Angeles Times. "I know there's worry of life or death. But that's my son. I can't just leave him. I can't."

He plans to travel to Poland and then to Ukraine as a volunteer with a humanitarian aid group. To him, there are no other options.

This week, Quintana went to the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C., to sign up to enter Ukraine as part of a humanitarian mission.

Joining him on his trip was Noelle Hunter, co-founder of iStand Parent Network, a nonprofit that assists parents in cases of parental child abduction.

Hunter said Quintana's situation was difficult because of the war but not entirely uncommon. Her own ex-husband had joint custody of their daughter when he fled to Mali in 2011, less than a year before war broke out there and the president was ousted in a coup. After a campaign similar to Quintana's, Hunter was reunited with her daughter when the courts in Mali ruled in her favor.

"Like any parent, Cesar is going to the ends of the earth for his son," Hunter told the L.A. Times.

Quintana said he was recovering from gallbladder surgery the day Aslanova took their son in December 2020. When he woke up, his apartment was empty, and he messaged Aslanova that he would call the police if she didn't immediately return, according to a letter from Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Tamara Jacobs to the U.S. State Department.

While Quintana and Aslanova were going through their divorce, she was allowed supervised visits with Alexander under court order. By December 2020, Quintana had full custody of Alexander, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.

Aslanova lost custody after multiple convictions for driving under the influence, according to court records and the letter from the district attorney's office.

Quintana said he thinks Aslanova's mother was the driving force behind Alexander's abduction. He told Aslanova he was reluctant to leave Alexander alone with her mother, he said, adding that after his son was taken to Ukraine, his mother-in-law demanded money for him to see the boy.

"My mother-in-law is the one who has been in control of that baby," Quintana said. "She's been the one who has extorted me for cash, time and time again, for my son."

A warrant was issued for Aslanova by an Orange County Superior Court judge after she fled the country, and both parents have appeared remotely in family court. Aslanova was charged with child abduction by county prosecutors.

Quintana's attorney in Orange County has attempted to bring Alexander back to the U.S. under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which is a treaty that allows for the return from one member country to another of children abducted by a parent across an international boundary. Ukraine is a signatory to the treaty.

Though Quintana is Alexander's legal guardian and obtained a court order from a U.S. judge for custody, he was stopped twice in the last year while trying to leave Ukraine with his son.

According to a Feb. 15 letter from the State Department to the office of Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, Quintana did not have Aslanova's consent to take Alexander back to the U.S. or the approval of Ukrainian authorities, and would need to follow a legal process to bring his son home.

"Attempts to remove the child to the United States may endanger the child and others, prejudice any future judicial efforts, and could result in arrest and imprisonment," wrote April Conway, an official with the State Department's Office of Children's Issues.

In 2020, the State Department handled more than 660 international child abduction cases, with 246 new cases opened that year, 129 cases resolved and 185 children returned to the United States. Hunter, of iStand Parent Network, said she believes many more abduction cases are not reported.

Hunter said she warned Quintana of the danger in his plan to search for his son in Ukraine.

"I explained to Cesar the task he was setting out on, but he is a smart man and a determined father," Hunter said.

Civilian casualties in Ukraine have mounted as Russian forces attack hospitals, theaters and other locations where civilians are sheltering.

Quintana understands that he will be stepping into a war zone.

"Our government is so concerned with the defense of Ukraine, but I wish they would show even a fraction of concern for one of their own citizens who is a victim of kidnapping," he said.

As the war rages on, Quintana can only think of holding his son again and leaving Ukraine together.


At the height of the summer of 1997, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore motored out to the middle of Lake Tahoe in a research vessel for a science lesson.

Clinton and Gore came to Lake Tahoe after receiving an invitation from Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, who was alarmed by Tahoes deteriorating environment and was pushing for urgent federal action. On the boat, the leaders of the free world, both wearing khaki pants and blue collared shirts, watched as scientists from the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center measured lake clarity and drew a water sample from the lake, one of the many experiments the scientists conducted regularly to monitor the lakes environment. In one historic photo, Clinton and Gore gaze into an Erlenmeyer flask, looking for plankton in a water sample from the lake.

They really look like shrimp, Clinton said, in a classic 90s moment recorded by the Washington Post.

Many in Lake Tahoe still look back at that 1997 presidential visit as a major turning point for the basin.

With a backdrop of the lakes blues, Clinton laid the groundwork for one of Tahoes most critical pieces of legislation, ever  the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act.

STEPHEN JAFFE/AFP via Getty Images

In the 22 years since it was originally adopted, the Lake Tahoe Restoration Acts  a second version of the bill was approved by Congress in 2016  have authorized $715 million for environmental restoration projects in the basin.

The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act represents the federal share of the investment in Tahoes sweeping Environmental Improvement Program  a name that can make eyes glaze over and understates the magnitude of the work being done in partnership with government agencies, the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, nonprofit groups and foundations to keep Tahoe blue.

Of the authorized $715 million, Congress has so far appropriated $374 million, which is the money that has actually landed in Tahoe to do the work.

Combined with state, local and private dollars, the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act has accomplished a long list of feats: forest thinning, restoring the biggest watershed in the Sierra Nevada, expanding bike paths to reduce Tahoes reliance on fossil fuels and so much more.

Weve made tremendous progress in restoring Lake Tahoe since President Clintons visit in 1997 for the first Lake Tahoe Summit, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a statement last year.

Ruth Fremson/AP

This week, decision-makers in Washington, D.C., sent Tahoe another $29.2 million for fiscal year 2022 to continue the work of environmental restoration. Included in that funding is $23.8 million from the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act. This number is a 148% increase compared with the previous fiscal year, according to the League to Save Lake Tahoe.

The money is earmarked for big, albeit vague, initiatives, like watershed management, and aquatic invasive species control and prevention. One of the top line items, however, is wildfire preparedness, helping Tahoe recuperate after the Caldor Fire burned about 10,000 acres inside the basin last summer.

Tahoe doesnt belong to just Nevada and California; its a national treasure, said Darcie Goodman Collins, CEO of the League to Save Lake Tahoe, in a statement. Were encouraged that decision-makers in Washington D.C. have taken this bipartisan action to protect, preserve and Keep Tahoe Blue, especially in the face of climate change and extreme wildfire.

The money comes just days after a 35-page report revealed that some two-thirds of residents in Lake Tahoe say the region is heading down the wrong track. That attitude reflects an array of issues, including housing and overtourism. But in the basin, like the watershed, all issues run downstream to Lake Tahoes health and environment.

The Tahoe region and our lake are under serious threat from the compounding impacts of climate change and increasing recreational pressures, said Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Executive Director Joanne S. Marchetta in a statement.

This record level of funding through the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act will benefit our forests, meadows, water infrastructure, transportation, and the world-famous clarity of the lake, Marchetta continued. We are grateful to Tahoes congressional leaders and our partners in advocacy for continuing the shared investment in Tahoes future.

In the late 1990s, Tahoes lake clarity was fast declining. Scientists measure lake clarity by lowering a white frisbee-like disk, called the Secchi disk, into the water, and marking the lowest point the disk can be seen from above the surface of the water. The historical average measured Secchi disk depth at about 100 feet, but in 1997, the average was about 70 feet. At that time, scientists feared the lake would continue to lose clarity at an alarming trajectory. But with the boost in funding from the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act  in addition to investments from state, local and private resources  Tahoes leaders have been able to slow the decline.

The 2020 annual average Secchi depth is about 63 feet, according to the most recent State of the Lake Report. The figure is unchanged from the year prior and reflects the near-constant values that have been attained over the last 20 years, the report states.

Diana Walker/Getty Images

Tahoes clarity is still falling short of the restoration target, set at 97.4 feet by federal and state decision-makers. There is still work to be done. Meanwhile, funding under the current iteration of the Lake Tahoe restoration act sunsets in 2024.

Tahoe already experienced a lapse in federal funding from 2010, when the original act expired, cutting off money for much-needed environmental work. Then, in 2016, the second iteration of the act was passed and this time, President Barack Obama came to Tahoe at the invitation of Sen. Reid.

To prevent another lapse, in May 2021, Tahoes legislative contingent, led by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Feinstein, introduced bipartisan legislation that would extend the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act until 2034.



Unfortunately, climate change is magnifying the threats facing Lake Tahoe, including warming lake temperatures, declining clarity, thriving invasive species and more dangerous wildfires, Feinstein said in a statement last year. We have a responsibility to protect this magnificent lake. Reauthorizing the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act is a big part of that effort, ensuring that the federal government remains an active partner in preserving the lake and surrounding basin.
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A company approved by the federal government to bring migrant workers to Australia under its new Agriculture Visa was suspended from an earlier program due to its poor record on labour exploitation.

The governments list of 11 labour hire firms approved to import workers under the controversial Agriculture Visa scheme shows at least three, Agri Labour, Sim Fresh and MADEC, have controversial records on labour rights. The list has not been released publicly but has been obtained by The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.

A group of workers employed by Agri Labour who were paid about $8 an hour picking tomatoes at a farm near Shepparton. Credit:Eddie Jim

The new visa has been championed by the National Party and would allow employers to import temporary labour from south-east Asia for a range of industries including fisheries, forestry, meat processing and agriculture. It requires bilateral agreements with Asian countries to begin, which is yet to occur.

But Agri Labour paid large settlements to a group of workers from Vanuatu after the workers said in 2018 they were paid as little as $8 an hour and suffered nose and ear bleeds from exposure to chemicals at a tomato farm. The Brisbane-based company was subsequently suspended by the federal government from importing workers under a seasonal labour program.
Its Monday and the sun has risen on a new political era.

Turf out all the political rules opposition parties have been following for the past four years. As Australias answer to John F. Kennedy  yes, were talking about South Australias day-old Premier Peter Malinauskas (tanned, handsome, Catholic)  has shown, competent first-term governments  such as the one run by Steven Marshall  can be sent to the knackers. Chinos, sports jackets and chambray shirts a la Ralph Lauren are back in. Avoiding COVID-related potshots at governments under strain will win over voters and so will getting your shirt off at photo opp.

Witness Malinauskas stripping off and jumping into the pool at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre for a major policy announcement.

Phwoar and order candidate: Malinauskas shows voters a more human side. Credit:Nine News

Its not since a Speedo-clad Tony Abbott, or reaching further back, Bob Hawke poolside at the ALP national conference in 1975, that we have seen a political leader so comfortable with engaging in physique politics.
When Kristina Keneally walks into Kim Duongs flower shop, the Cabramatta florists face lights up with a smile.

I always see your photos, but to see you in person: you look so healthy! Duong says. After asking for a photo with the former premier, Duong presses an $85 bouquet of imported roses into Keneallys hands and insists she take it with her.

I hope you get in, she whispers, referring to Keneallys bid to win the seat of Fowler at the upcoming federal election.

Labor frontbencher Kirstina Keneally campaigning in Cabramatta ahead of a looming federal election. Credit:Steven Siewert

Its a muggy Saturday morning in south-west Sydney and the skies are finally clearing after weeks of pounding rain. Viet Hoa Hot Bread is doing a roaring trade in banh mi sandwiches; down the block, a long queue is forming outside Thu Phung N, a cash-only sugar cane juice store.
Associate Professor Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious diseases expert at ANU, said there needed to be caution if isolation rules were eased, arguing we needed more data on the BA.2 variant becoming dominant in Australia before it could be deemed an acceptable risk. Loading Even in the countries that have done it, there are usually conditions, he added, noting it would be prudent to maintain testing requirements or perhaps rules about not visiting aged care facilities and hospitals after potential exposure. Professor Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at Deakin University, said emerging data about the limited risk of reinfection changed the calculus for close contact isolation. There are lots of people out there who have had infections and their risk of coming up with it a second time is very low, she said.

She said the current close contact rules were not being heavily policed and a move to advising people to quarantine voluntarily based on their individual circumstances could work. Isolation is probably something we could pull back on, with a move to testing and monitoring for symptoms, she said. If we are trusting people anyway, we should trust them to avoid vulnerable settings without requiring them to stay at home. Masks on public transport ... and at indoor music festivals Although most of the rules around mask-wearing were scrapped last month, there are some places they remain mandatory: on public transport (including taxis and Ubers) and at public transport waiting areas (including airports), in hospitals and health facilities, at a residential care facility or hostel, on a plane while above NSW and at indoor music festivals of more than 1000 people. You can have a small setting which is probably more risky than a large one, depending on ventilation, Professor Bennett remarked about the festival rule. That is the trouble with one-size-fits-all rules.

However, she was supportive of keeping masks in places with vulnerable people and on public transport, particularly with a focus on higher-quality N95/P2 masks. While case numbers are on the rise in the community, in particular, these are places that masks do have a role. Loading Professor Greg Dore, an infectious diseases physician with the Kirby Institute, agreed mask use should be focused on N95/P2 masks in settings with vulnerable people. Professor Alexandra Martiniuk, an epidemiologist at the University of Sydney, said NSW was entering a tricky point with knowing which restrictions would help curb rising cases. There is significant evidence COVID-19 spreads best in crowded environments with shouting and singing, like a music festival.

As for public transport, she said evidence showed mask wearing helped protect the vulnerable, and that did not just mean people in hospital and aged care. Sometimes our most vulnerable in the community need to ride public transit, such as older people who dont drive any more, she noted. Vaccination requirements In NSW, most professions with a vaccine requirement  including doctors and nurses, teachers and the aviation industry  only need to have two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Only aged care workers are required to have had a third dose. The evidence with the Omicron variant suggests three doses of a vaccine is necessary to have any significant impact on the likelihood of catching and transmitting the virus.

I dont understand why wed want to continue to discriminate against a small minority in the community when the impact on overall transmission is negligible to none, Professor Dore said. He believes there is no reason for a double-dose vaccine passport under the current conditions. Other experts have similar thoughts. With the position we were in late last year, requiring two doses was very clear, said Paul Griffin, an associate professor at the University of Queensland who conducts clinical trials of vaccines. But for good protection against Omicron we do know we need three doses, its likely that two doses are not sufficient to stop transmission and infection. Dr Griffin said while it was abundantly clear those working with vulnerable people, including health and aged care workers, should have three doses to protect others from severe infection, it was more difficult to justify any vaccine mandate for other professions.

Its not as clear-cut, careful consideration should be made as to whether there is a reason other professions need to be vaccinated. Pre-departure testing The rules for people entering Australia are a mix of federal and state requirements. The federal Department of Home Affairs requires that international arrivals have a negative pre-departure COVID-19 test, either a PCR test taken within 72 hours of take-off or a medical certificate that indicates a negative rapid antigen test (RAT) was taken within 24 hours of departure. If a persons flight is delayed, their test remains valid even if it was taken outside of those time frames. However, when a flight is re-scheduled or cancelled, they must make sure they have fulfilled the requirements for their new flight time.

Loading On arrival in NSW, fully vaccinated travellers must travel straight to their accommodation and take a RAT. They are also barred from visiting high-risk places such as hospitals and aged care facilities for seven days after their arrival. Ultimately, its trying to stop a seeding case on a plane. And if you take that testing away, people might be less careful before travel and we may end up with more cases this way, Professor Bennett said. Professor Martiniuk agreed this rule was much more about those on the plane than those in Australia. Its not necessarily needed for Australia any more: we are a pond of COVID and dropping one more drop in doesnt really do much.
The states two powerful private school sectors want the government to publish more information about HSC results, saying the present system leaves parents in the dark and recognises only a narrow definition of success.

The Education Minister, Sarah Mitchell, said she would ask education authorities to look at different approaches, with a view to increasing visibility on school performance balanced with careful consideration about student privacy and fair reporting.

The states two powerful private school sectors want more HSC information published. Credit:Wolter Peeters

HSC reporting is highly controversial. NSW used to release school-by-school tertiary entrance ranks, but stopped doing so about 25 years ago after a story by The Daily Telegraph about the lowest-achieving school in the state, Mt Druitt High (which has since been re-named), sparked outrage.

For the past 20 years, authorities have only released the names and schools of students who achieve in the top band of their subject; most are in selective or high-fee schools. Laws only allow media outlets to identify the top 10 per cent of schools.
I am incensed that yet again, old people in care homes are going to be robbed of individual professional care. I have seen first-hand just how important these programs are. So now, excellent, individually designed one-to-one programs from physiotherapists will be replaced by underpaid, overworked, untrained lifestyle officers running group programs on yoga and tai-chi.

Surely you are joking. So much for person-centred care. Kerry Blake, Petersham I know a nursing home owner who says allied health staff is at the core of good residential care.

Sadly, a close friend in care has dementia and is losing the ability to initiate mobility that protects her skin integrity, muscle strength, and preserves cognitive function. The last thing she needs is a bedsore or a fracture. Group classes are not specific to people with varying levels of disability, pain and capacity to follow instructions. Kindly, think again, Senator Colbeck. Aged care residents are frail, in the same way that infants are dependent on another to support their health needs. Infant neglect is a crime. Likewise, the frail aged are dependent on appropriate staff to enhance their movement and activity. Follow the researched needs, not the options for cost-cutting and neglecting the frail aged. Anne Eagar, Epping The prospective cuts in physiotherapy are frightening. Has anyone in government read the report by the aged care royal commission about the benefits physios and allied health professionals give to people in residential aged care? These are heartless actions by a federal government that is neglecting its responsibilities. Chris Moe, Bensville Appropriate allied healthcare for the elderly or infirm contributes to their wellbeing.

If the governments attack on physios and their colleagues working in aged care results in a decline in their ability to optimise the health and mobility of residents, what will this tell us about the governments commitment to quality of life? Judith Campbell, Drummoyne Missiles send clearest message

Peter Hartchers essay (Time to confront the unthinkable, March 19) on how much the world has changed in the past three years was very interesting, but didnt go far enough. If Australia wishes to send a message to China that China will understand, that message is nuclear warhead-carrying inter-continental ballistic missiles. Nuclear submarines are for after a war has started, which as Hartcher, via ex-major-general Jim Molan says, would be just before it finishes for us. Nuclear subs are a waste of money that will deter nobody. On the other hand, ICBMs with Australian fingers on the button would at least raise the question for China: Even if we win, would it be worth the pain?. John Macintosh, Merewether Peter Hartcher indulges in some rash speculation he describes as unthinkables. Background to Hartchers speculation is the frenzied utterings of Scott Morrison desperately attempting to scare the electorate for political benefit. Talk of economic sanctions on China or direct military conflict with China, for which we are massively unprepared, verge on the excitable. Morrison will probably be out of power in a couple of months, at which time it can be expected some sanity will return to the discourse on China. On the off chance that Morrison survives, he will need to think again how seriously he duplicates any moves by the US, particularly if any move threatens our economic wellbeing. Cranking up the size of the ADF, buying expensive military assets and having the US deploy more military capability near to us or onshore will take time. During this period, the much-discussed adversary will have further developed the capacity to disable countries by cyber interference, closing down communications, utilities, military operations and so on. Unthinkable? Yes, but hopefully unlikely speculation. Ross Butler, Rodd Point How now, brown nut? Enough talk of non-meat meat (Letters, March 19). What about non-dairy yoghurt? Recently, my usual brand of (milk-based) yoghurt being out of stock, I bought a pot of coconut yoghurt, assuming it to be coconut-flavoured yoghurt, but it wasnt. Wikipedia says yoghurt can be made from the milk of cows, water buffalo, goats, ewes, mares, camels or yaks. But not from coconuts.

So, while were seeking proper terminology for non-meat protein products, lets find one for non-dairy yoghurt. Alister Sharp, Hunters Hill Cards send a message

May I suggest to everyone who wants to help (Letters, March 19) that they contact the local towns (eg Lismore) council to ask about organisations such as the CWA and which local food stores are still operating. Then go to your local store of the franchise and buy gift cards and post them to the organisation. My small group of card players did that in the drought; we sent $300 worth of $20 grocery gift cards. Carole Baxter, Woodgate Beach (Qld) Monicker mayhem I smiled when I read Julia Bairds article (Choose a name, but dont lose yourself, March 19). When I started my nursing training in 1981, any common surname was double-barrelled with their mothers maiden name. For three years, I was Nurse Wark-Clarke. Wark is a family name we are proud of, given that my mothers uncle and godfather was Blair Wark, VC. On the other hand, I often found myself the butt of jokes as Wark was mistakenly rhymed with Clarke. I was relieved when I could just go back to being Clarke with an e. Lisa Clarke, Watsons Bay As the last child in a family of daughters, I knew if ever I married I would keep my last name as there were no sons to carry it on. When I had my daughters, I also gave them my last name. They have decided they dont want children so the name will die with me anyway. Oh, well. Jacqui Warham, Copacabana En-tyre-ly new thinking

There seems to be angst about how to tax electric vehicles so that governments dont forgo the revenue coming from fuel excise. All that is needed is to replace the fuel excise with a tax on a common component of all vehicles, such as tyres. If tyres were subject to either duty (imported) or excise (locally manufactured), we could pay the tax less often by taking care of our tyres, such as by having the correct wheel alignment, cornering at correct speeds and not doing burn-outs et cetera.

Of course, governments would have to allow for rebates of the tax where a tyre has been rendered unusable for reasons other than worn tread, such as pothole damage. Too simple? Peter Butler, Wyongah Turn up Tchaikovsky I shake my head when I read that the cancel culture related to all things Russian is necessary or makes any sense (Cancel Tchaikovsky, feel better about dodging Russia, March 19). Tchaikovsky wrote his glorious music long before the nuclear bullyboy ruling his homeland at the moment came along. Any performance of his score for Swan Lake or the 5th Symphony in any part of the world sells out in an instant, due to the life-affirming power of the music. I cant imagine life without the enrichment of the writing of Tolstoy or the music of Rachmaninoff. Let the music play on  we need it more than ever right now. Greg Vale, Kiama Butterflies need thoughts, not sprayers Why have butterflies disappeared (Letters, March 19)? I believe it is largely because people spray any caterpillars they spy on their plants. If one has an infestation of caterpillars, dont kill them all. Let some survive to continue the species. A few chewed leaves is a small price to pay for the beauty of butterflies. Jan Perry, Chatswood West

Soon the butterflies will lay eggs, which will become caterpillars  then many will be killed with insecticides. Then, once more well be asking where have all the butterflies gone? David Gordon, Cranebrook The butterflies are here in Windsor in the Hawkesbury, where the air is cleaner. I have noticed many different colours this year, and they are quite happy to flutter around our roses. Arthur Rutter, Windsor Made to last I have to boast that Im still regularly using an umbrella my Mum gave me for my birthday in 1965 (Letters, March 19). The fabric is still in good condition and there are no broken ribs. It is only used these days when Im visiting friends, so theres less chance of it disappearing. Pam Linnett, Twin Waters (Qld) The digital view

Online comment from one of the stories that attracted the most reader feedback yesterday on smh.com.au
The boom in house prices over the past year has caused lots of pain for young people who have watched the dream of home ownership slip further away. But the report of an inquiry by the House of Representatives economics committee, released last week, only confirms that there are no easy solutions.

The Morrison government set up the inquiry last year during a house-buying frenzy which lifted the average price of a capital city house by 24 per cent in 2021. While the report of the Coalition-dominated inquiry contains interesting recommendations, none is likely to make much difference in the short term.

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The main policy recommendation calls for reforms to planning laws to make it less expensive and easier to build enough houses in big cities to meet demand. It says more high-density towers should be built close to public transport hubs. Jason Falinski, the committees chair, said he wanted to cut the Gordian knot of oppressive regulation.

But, as the report acknowledges, decisions on zoning and density rules and the provision of infrastructure are the responsibility of state and local governments. The inquiry found the federal government could still play an indirect role by offering cash to states to encourage them to streamline planning approvals in appropriate locations. The payments would be modelled on the national competition payments used to spur economic reform in the 1990s.
Police have charged a man with murder after declaring a crime scene at a Gold Coast house where a womans body was found overnight.

Officers launched an investigation into the death of a 74-year-old woman at Molendinar on Sunday night after they were called to a house at Macquarie Avenue about 8.40pm.

A 50-year-old man attended a house on Macquarie Avenue that night and spoke to residents before returning to a separate house on the same street.

Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Rhys Wildman said the man and woman had known each other but it was not considered a domestic violence incident and the pair were not relatives.
It dates from August 1857, according to an inscription found by army technicians who managed to open it this week by remote control.

Mr Jim Crumps old bombshell -- which his children sometimes rolled down the passage when he wasnt using it as a doorstop has turned out to be live.

If you are sitting by the TV one night watching an old cavalry charge, you will see shells bursting overhead and horses going down all over the screen.

This type of shell had that effect. The length of its fuse determined the point at which it exploded. And when it did, it un-leashed musket balls at great force.

This was the last design based on the round (and solid) cannonball before it changed its shape into a shell, Major Joe Hastings, senior ammunition technical officer, said yesterday.

Old cannon used to fire two things, he said. One was the solid cannonball width would sometimes burst, usually in two, and go winging for a couple of hundred metres. The other was a jumble of metal fired point-blank at troops in a blunderbuss fashion.

The history of artillery changed when Lieutenant Henry Shrapnel (1711-1842) thought of putting the jumble of metal in a hollow ball and arranging for it blow up at the other end. It was he who invented the mixture of gunpowder and musket balls, used with great success in the Peninsula War and at Waterloo.
A few stun grenades have been thrown by the Morrison government at the Albanese opposition recently. But now, the South Australian state election result has gone off like one in the Liberal Party nationally as it prepares for the federal election expected to be held on May 14, just eight weeks away.

A year ago, South Australian Labor leader Peter Malinauskas was seen as an asset for the Coalition. Not any more. Credit:Brett Hartwig

The first shock is that the published opinion polls were right. They pointed to a clear win by state Labor leader  and now SA premier-elect, Peter Malinauskas  and thats exactly what happened.

It eliminated lingering Morrison government hopes that polls pointing to the same fate for it nationally might be as wrong as they were at the 2019 election. The tweaks made by anguished pollsters after their 2019 embarrassment appear to have worked. If the national figures maintain their current trajectory up to the election, power will change hands in Canberra within weeks.

The second shock is that an opposition leader can go from zero to hero in the space of a year.
Details of south-east Queenslands long-awaited City Deal between all three levels of government have finally been agreed, with the $1.8 billion infrastructure pact to be signed in Brisbane on Monday.

The SEQ City Deal will be funded through $667.77 million from the Commonwealth, $618.78 million from the Queensland government and $501.62 million from the Council of Mayors (SEQ), representing the regions council.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner signing the SEQ City Deal at the Gabba. Credit:Tony Moore

In addition, $75 million would be funded from industry.

With south-east Queenslands population expected to reach 5.4 million within two decades, the cross-governmental agreement aimed to prepare the region for that growth.
Thousands of nurses are considering walking off the job for the second time in just over six weeks while paramedics will roll out industrial work bans in yet another sign of growing unrest in the states public sector.

Nurses are voting on a statewide strike for March 31, which could run up to 24 hours, as they seek a 4.75 per cent pay rise, nurse to patient ratios on every shift and a boost to maternity staffing.

It is the latest escalation in the continuing stalemate between the government and the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association over pay and conditions.

NSWs health system has come under intense strain from the Omicron wave. Credit:Renee Nowytarger

Nurse union representatives met Premier Dominic Perrottet and Health Minister Brad Hazzard on February 21, six days after the strike when nurses from 150 hospitals walked out, where issues of pay and staffing were raised but are yet to be resolved.
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A powerful military deliberately targeting civilians. Opponents imprisoned, tortured, and killed. Villages razed and cities surrounded. Internet access and humanitarian aid blocked. Refugees fleeing across borders in all directions.

This may sound like the war in Ukraine, but it is also the grim reality of Myanmar under a violent and repressive military junta that has been trying to enforce its rule since a coup in February last year. While the Russian invasion of Ukraine has rightly captured the worlds attention, the deteriorating situation in Myanmar has largely slipped from view.

Pro Myanmar democracy protesters in London a year after the military coup. Credit:AP

Given the prompt, co-ordinated international response to Russias invasion of Ukraine, including sweeping sanctions, intensive diplomacy, humanitarian aid and, more controversially, weapons transfers, some in Myanmar are understandably wondering why the military junta has not faced something similar.

There are, of course, significant differences between both crises.
Edith (Edi) Marie Smith, daughter of the late Glen Lester and Dorothy Jane Allison, was born in Youngstown, OH on Friday, October 11th, 1963, and she departed this life on Saturday, April 30th, 2022, having attained the age of 59 years. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death b
Algiers, 19 March 2022 (SPS) - Algeria has decided to summon its ambassador to Madrid for consultations, with immediate effect, following the statements of the Spanish highest authorities constituting a sudden reversal of position on the issue of Western Sahara, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad said Saturday in a communique.



The Algerian authorities, astonished by the statements made by the Spanish highest authorities on the issue of Western Sahara and surprised at this sudden reversal of position of Western Saharas former administering power, have decided to summon their ambassador to Madrid for consultations with immediate effect, said the source.



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In assessing the worldwide economic recovery from the pandemic, global research analyst and recruiting advisor John Bersin put it succinctly in a June 2021 article on his site. The problem, he explained, is not that we dont have enough jobs, its that we dont have enough people. As a result, it's time to completely alter how we think about recruiting.

In addition to the current health crisis, we're in the midst of sansdemic  too much work and too few people to do it  a demographic drought that will impact virtually every business around the world.

No amount of remote work flexibility or increase in the application of digital tools is going to solve this problem, and the pandemic is not its cause, but rather its accelerator. There are in fact three major forces at play:

 Baby boomers retiring now instead of someday, to the tune of three million people in 2020 alone, many of them younger than 65 and with skills and wisdom that are hard to replace.

 American population growth is slowing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, July-2020 to July-2021 growth was just 0.12%, a historic low that capped an already slowing 10-year trend starting in 2010.

 1 in 5 Gen Z-ers are not interested in going to college. This age group would rather enter the workforce earlier than deal with $40,000-plus in student debt. Meanwhile, companies are still requiring a college education.

In that same Bersin article, he details that, The US GDP is around $21 trillion and we have about 151 million people working. This translates to around $139,000 of economic activity per worker. If the American Jobs Act adds $3 trillion to the economy, this translates to about 21 million new jobs created."

Thats a 14% increase in jobs. Where are the people going to come from to do them? Put simply, our recruitment efforts need to radically change.

Related: How (and Why) to Tap Into the Career Potential of Your Young Workers

A company that adapts to these new times is most likely to find or make the best talent. Here are three ways of doing that.

1. Create your own workforce

One example of a company that has taken this recruitment problem head on is Ashley Furniture Industries, in part by partnering with K-12 as well as post-secondary schools. It has invested in STEM-based learning, provided real and virtual tours of its manufacturing facilities, offered scholarships and otherwise facilitated exposure to technical trades and associated career opportunities.

Gen Z-ers learn differently than previous generations, so don't be surprised if they can learn in less than a month with TikTok videos the same skills you did over a four-degree college. That said, there remains a long-term stigma surrounding vocational/trade education, with two-thirds of jobs in the U.S. requiring a bachelor or associate degree, but going back to a skilled labor force may have to mean skipping or reducing a typical four-year college that people simply can't afford.

Does your job really require a traditional college degree or can you train someone in a month?

2. Shorten the work week

More and more companies are going to a four-day work week, allowing people to spend more time with their kids and otherwise in pursuit of well-being, hobbies and other experiences, including side hustles. During a conversation I had with Andrew Barnes  who founded the largest corporate trustee company in New Zealand, Perpetual Guardian, and who has been leading the four-day-week movement globally  he shared that at his company, productivity increased by 20% after that work week structure was implemented, while work-life balance increased to 78% compared to the previous 54% reported during an initial trial. Entire countries like Japan, New Zealand, Ireland and Scotland are now adopting the four-day work week philosophy.

Why do we continue to work using an outdated 18th-century model? Even if you're not asking that question, your employees likely are.

Related: Is the 4-Day Work Week Better? Evidence Points to Yes.

3. Create meaningful instead of bullsh*t jobs and focus on overall employee well-being

Only four in 10 people feel like their job is important, have a manager who cares about them, or have the opportunity to do their best each day," reads a passage from Gallups State of the American Workplace report.

People want more meaning and fulfillment, not just money. Designing and delivering meaningful experiences means eliminating the bullsh*t work that doesn't add to that fulfillment, as well as offering clear goals, common purpose and a compelling mission.

Now that almost half (46%) of the workforce consists of millennials and Gen Z members (again, according to Gallup), leaders who adapt quickly stand a chance of recruiting for open jobs in the future. To these younger employees, the number-one priority in a job is well-being in all aspects: career, social, financial, community and physical.

Related: Hustle Culture is Killing Your Greatness.

So, those still embracing shopworn recruitment efforts take note: We have a new category of humans that requires a new kind of thinking when it comes to how, where and why work gets done.

Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
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STAMFORD  In just a few years, Joshua Esses has moved up the ranks of local Republican politicos.

The young lawyer-by-trade has rapidly made a name for himself, first by unsuccessfully running for state Senate then by winning a seat on the Stamford Board of Education. Prior to that, he was in the running to be appointed to a position on the Board of Finance.

Just this month, the 30-year-old Harvard Law School graduate was named the head of the citys Republican Town Committee  which some heralded as necessary change to galvanize the party while others expressed concern about a shift to an extreme right wing agenda.

Hell take over for outgoing chairman Fritz Blau, who had nothing but kind words to say of the new leader.

I am impressed with his organizational ability and the fact that he has already branched out to lots of other Republicans, Blau said. Im very hopeful that he will have a very positive impact and I think its coming.

Esses said he sees the party as a big tent, welcoming of both moderate Republicans on one end and former President Donald Trumps supporters on the other.

When asked if hes a fan of the United States former leader, Esses said not particularly, but he was mostly dismissive of the question.

I am focused on Stamford and the state of Connecticut, he said. The medias fixation and Democrats fixation on national figures having nothing to do with the democratic governance of our communities  Thats something that theyre free to worry about, but not me.

However, in his short tenure on the Board of Education, Esses has introduced numerous resolutions, many of which align with issues prioritized by the more right-wing elements of the national Republican Party. For example, he has pushed back on the need to wear masks in schools, and recently proposed a policy that would give the board greater control over classroom materials related to racism, gender identity and sexual orientation.

Esses has also been active in more nonpartisan issues, such as district officials desire to move to a new block schedule next school year. He joined teachers from the Academy of Information Technology & Engineering when they staged a protest outside Stamford Government Center in support of keeping their schedule intact.

For Robin Druckman, the recently elected chairwoman of the Democratic City Committee, Esses represents a radical side of the party.

The (RTCs) choice for party chair sends a clear message that the Stamford Republican Party has fully embraced the extreme right wing agenda of the national Republican Party, she wrote in an emailed statement. His comments speak for themselves; book bans, anti-LGBTQ comments and coded socio-economic language used in discussions of our citys students  this is what weve come to expect in places like Florida and Texas.

In a written response, Esses wrote, I am bored by reflexive accusations of bigotry from area Democrats. Stamford Republicans are focused on reforming government to improve the lives of all of our neighbors.

On the school board, Esses has demonstrated a collegial tone with other members, often accepting constructive criticism. In one instance, after he spoke passionately about ending the mask mandate and cited all of the parents who wrote him letters demanding an end to the requirement, Superintendent Tamu Lucero asked Esses if he also received emails from parents who wanted the masks to stay. Esses said yes, and agreed she brought up a good point.

But in his short time on the board, some of Esses comments have rankled other members.

When discussing the move to a new block schedule, Esses criticized Stamford officials for including Washington, D.C., and Bridgeport as examples of districts that use the block schedule administrators are hoping to implement in the fall.

The message that I am taking away from the proposed changes ... is that smart children need not apply, and in fact, average children may need not apply either, he said, during a Board of Education special meeting earlier this month.

He said the block schedule proposal is geared toward solving the problems of highly challenged populations like in Bridgeport and the nations capital.

I understand the desire to solve that completely, but you cant make it worse for everybody else just to try to bring up the bottom, he said.

Members Jennienne Burke and Dan Dauplaise, both Democrats, later criticized the comparisons.

If the comments were to compare this district and the block scheduling to a New Canaan or a Darien or a Westport, I dare say the inference would be completely different, Burke said.

Dauplaise said he was profoundly disturbed by some comments that suggest that some of these schedule changes are taken only with a certain population of students in mind.

The way it was phrased certainly calls to mind one or two or three particular groups of students and I dont certainly care for that sort of characterization, he added.

When asked about their critiques, Esses told The Stamford Advocate that Burke and Dauplaise delivered good faith substantive criticism, but he clarified that his comments were about students academic ability.

There are low-need students and high-need students of all backgrounds, he said. I think the district is implementing changes that are harmful to all of those students, but are particularly neglectful of the needs of the average student or the above-average student.

An elected official himself, Esses said getting Republicans to run for local office is of critical importance and he wants to help those interested better navigate the political process and provide them with campaign support. He said he envisions the party building a semi-professional campaign apparatus that is ready to support candidates if they put their names forward and run.

He was disappointed to see no Republican on the ballot for mayor, for example. The RTC had chosen Joe Corsello, a former city police officer, to be the partys candidate in the election. But Corsello dropped out and endorsed Bobby Valentine, who had long been a registered Republican but was running as an unaffiliated candidate.

Its always disappointing when our party doesnt have a flag bearer for any race, Esses said.

Another area Esses said he plans to emphasize is communication.

The specific communication I would like is to educate our constituents about what is happening in local government and how local government actually works so they understand the levers of power and influence and they themselves feel empowered to volunteer their time and work toward a better government, he said.

As he works to build the party, Esses will have to grapple with the fact that Republicans remain outnumbered by Democrats by a wide margin in the city.

According to state data from October 2021, there were about 81,400 registered voters in the city, of which roughly 13,380 were active Republicans. By comparison, there were approximately 31,500 active Democratic registrations. The rest were largely unaffiliated or were registered to minor parties.

The number of active Republican registrations was roughly the same a decade ago, at about 12,570. But the number of total voters has only climbed in the last 10 years, as has the amount of Democratic voters.

With many speculating that Republicans nationwide can win back seats in the midterm elections, Esses said hell have the RTC poised and ready.

We intend to ride that momentum and capitalize on that, he said, later adding, We have to compete in every election as if the election is winnable, because some day every election will be winnable and we need to be prepared then.

ignacio.laguarda@stamfordadvocate.com
STAMFORD  City officials are expanding their investigation into South End developer Building and Land Technology after a terrace at one of its high-rises collapsed because of structural problems, according to a letter sent by Mayor Caroline Simmons to BLT Co-President Ted Ferrarone.

After weeks of only examining the conditions at Allure  the Harbor Point high-rise at the heart of Stamford's inquiry  Simmons wrote to Ferrarone Friday requesting "BLT's full cooperation with the city" as it examines the conditions at properties that share structural similarities to Allure.

"While I am grateful for the cooperation and information provided to date in response to city inquiries related to the Allure building itself, it is critically important that the city and the public be assured that other buildings are safe," Simmons wrote Friday in her letter to Ferrarone.

A 20-foot-by-15-foot section of the fifth-floor outdoor terrace at Allure collapsed on Feb. 1, temporarily leaving parts of the parking garage and building amenity spaces underneath the terrace unusable. No one was injured, and there was no damage to personal property.

The situation ignited debate among residents and the Stamford Board of Representatives almost immediately; board members called for a broader look into the company's construction practices, especially given the lion's share of property that BLT owns in the South End and throughout the city.

Twin investigations into Allure conducted by firms hired by the city and BLT respectively linked the fallen concrete at Allure to anomalies within a concrete slab inside its parking garage. Engineering consultants from WJE  hired by the city  and Henderson Rodgers Structural Engineers  hired by BLT  identified "missing tendons" in a concrete slab at Allure.

Henderson Rodgers, which also worked with BLT to engineer the building during its early days, designed the slab to include the missing supports, according to documents BLT provided to the city. However, a visual review conducted by WJE showed that the tendons were missing from the final structure.

To that end, Simmons and her administration have requested documents from BLT, including a list of any buildings that contain "post-tension" concrete slabs designed by Henderson Rodgers, built by Baker Concrete or otherwise reviewed by the same sub-contractors or firms that worked on Allure. For those properties, the city demanded that BLT provide design plans, shop drawings, inspection reports and building maintenance records.

More straightforwardly, Simmons asked that BLT allow city engineers to access and review "all the exposed concrete slabs for these structures or other areas as determined by the city's independent engineer" and furnish any necessary tests of the slabs in question.

When asked for comment, BLT spokesperson Rob Blanchard said, "We're currently in receipt of and reviewing the mayor's letter. The safety, health, and wellbeing of our residents remains our top priority and we look forward to continuing to work with (the) mayor's administration throughout this process."

veronica.delvalle@hearstmediact.com
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STAMFORD  The police department has asked for the budget for body-worn cameras to be more than doubled in the upcoming fiscal year amid state mandates, price increases and what officials described as a lack of options for vendors.

The police accountability bill that Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law in July 2020 includes broad requirements for police to wear body cameras and use dashboard cameras. The Stamford Police Departments budget for the current fiscal year, which began July 1, 2021, included $220,000 for body cameras and $150,000 for dashboard cams  both increases from what it spent in previous years.

For the coming fiscal year, the department is requesting $500,000 for body cams  a 127 percent increase  and $178,000 for dash cams.

Chief Timothy Shaw told elected officials scrutinizing the budget request Wednesday that while the department has had body cameras in its patrol division for some time, the police accountability law requires other officers to wear the devices as well and also requires all patrol cars to be equipped with dashboard cameras by this July.

The department needs another 100 body cameras to comply with the state law, which would bring its total supply to about 300, said Capt. Scott Duckworth, who oversees the police budget and joined Shaw during Wednesdays joint meeting of the Board of Finance and the Board of Representatives Fiscal Committee.

Meanwhile, the department has 70 vehicles that need to be equipped with dashboard cameras. None of the citys patrol cars had them before the passage of the law, Duckworth said.

He said the budget request also factors in an estimate of what a new five-year contract with law enforcement technology company Axon Enterprise will cost. The current contract with Axon, which provides equipment as well as data storage, expires next year.

I think it's pretty much doubled over the last five years, Duckworth said about the cost of the contract. It's a bigger contract for the increase in cameras and then also the prices have gone up dramatically.

In addition, Duckworth said that Axon has become pretty much the only game in town as far as competition goes over the past five years.

I think it's really come down to a lack of competition and they know that we have to have these things, Duckworth said.

Effectively monopoly pricing? asked Board of Finance Chair Richard Freedman. I mean, that's what you seem to be saying.

Yeah, thats what I believe, Duckworth said.

Shaw added that if the department switched to a different vendor, it would likely have to return the Axon cameras it currently has and replace them with cameras from the new vendor.

Axon sent a statement Thursday to Hearst Connecticut Media saying it has a policy against commenting on pending contracts, but in general terms, if an agency decides to not renew the contract, the body-worn cameras are property of the agency and would not need to be returned to Axon.

In regards to cost, we don't want cost to be a barrier for public safety, and we do provide different pricing models to meet agency needs, the statement continued. The price of our products are a reflection of several years of significant investment in hardware, firmware and software engineering research and development. We believe the wide range of benefits that agencies see from implementing our solutions justify their investment in improving the safety of their officers and community.

In terms of competition, the body-worn camera and in-car camera market remains highly competitive as the barriers to entry are low and new competitors are entering the market everyday, the Axon statement said. Our competition includes Motorola Solutions, which purchased WatchGuard, Edesix, and Vigilant in 2019, Utility Associates, Getac, Panasonic Corp., Reveal Media, Coban Technologies, L3 Mobile-Vision, Digital Ally, Visual Labs, Intresnsic, LLC, as well as Safety Vision, Rekor, and Genetec.

During Wednesdays meeting, Rep. Virgil de la Cruz, D-2, argued that the city shouldnt give up on searching for other vendors.

I wouldn't surrender and (would) actually aggressively explore the room for competition because it is a big item, de la Cruz said.

Body camera footage has played a role in investigations into high-profile incidents involving police in Stamford in recent years, including the death of Steven Barrier in 2019 and a racial justice protest in 2020. The city eventually released hours of footage from both incidents.

Mayor Caroline Simmons has requested about $43 million for the police department overall  a 9 percent increase. The department attributed much of that increase to settling an expired union contract, according to a document provided to the boards. Other cost drivers include gasoline, new bullet-proof vests, Social Security and overtime.

The document notes that the U.S. Department of Justices Bureau of Justice Assistance has awarded about $133,000 to Stamfords police department for its body-camera program. Duckworth said in an email that the money could be applied to the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the budget for the following fiscal year or both.

Shaw said police chiefs had warned that department budgets would take a hit from the state legislations camera requirements.

This was one of the major monetary items in the accountability bill that we knew was gonna have a major impact, especially in the bigger cities, Shaw said.

Editors note: This story has been updated to correct the budgeted amount for dashboard cameras.

brianna.gurciullo@hearstmediact.com
Romania's General Border Police Inspectorate informs that as of Saturday, 68,161 people entered Romania in the last 24 hours nationwide via the border crossing points, including 10,699 Ukrainian citizens (down 4.3% from the previous day), Agerpres reports.

As many as 5,390 Ukrainian citizens entered via the border with Ukraine (slightly down 0.6%), and 3,588 Ukrainian citizens entered via the border with Moldova (down 13.6%).Since the beginning of this crisis until Saturday, at 24:00hrs nationwide 491,165 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, 4,180 Ukrainian citizens have applied for asylum in Romania, including 57 in the last 24 hours, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday, Agerpres reports.

These people enjoy all the rights provided by national law.At this moment, the occupancy rate of the accommodation centres of the General Inspectorate for Immigration is 89.2%.Regarding passage through the border crossing points, the ministry says that in the last 24 hours 68,161 people entered Romania, including 10,699 Ukrainian citizens.
Francophonie is a community of values, but because of the war launched by Russia in Ukraine, our shared values are threatened from one end of the francophone world to the other, from Eastern Europe to West Africa, Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Sunday, March 20, International Francophonie Day, Agerpres reports.

"Every year, on March 20, we celebrate International Francophonie Day. Francophonie today brings together 88 countries and national governments in a community that goes beyond promoting the use of the French language. Francophonie is a community of values that looks responsibly to the Francophonie of the future in a world we want secure, free, democratic and united, based on respect for international law and multilateral co-operation, a world of peace, co-operation, and sustainable development, a world in harmony with the environment and respectful of nature. Unfortunately, our shared values are seriously threatened from one end of the French-speaking world to the other, from Eastern Europe to West Africa."Aurescu points out that Ukraine, an observer state of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), is the victim of a horrific illegal war of aggression launched by Russia, condemned in the strongest terms by an overwhelming majority of UN member states, including 64 of the 81 of OIF member states."Romania appreciates the support of many Francophone member states, especially countries neighbouring Ukraine, full member states or associated with OIF, in the shape of substantial and unitary contribution to refugees seeking refuge from the horrors of war," says Aurescu.He emphasises that Romania remains firmly committed to promoting and defending peace, security and human rights in French-speaking Africa through its presence on the ground in UN peacekeeping operations or EU post-conflict reconstruction missions."Romania shares its experience in peacekeeping /post-conflict reconstruction operations under various French-language training courses. Romania has made a voluntary financial contribution to the OIF Fund for Women and Girls in Need in Francophone Africa," adds Aurescu.He also says that Romania remains at the forefront of French-speaking solidarity, whether it is scholarships for education, support for peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction, humanitarian aid, equity in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, or sustainable development."The education of Francophone children and young people is one of the cornerstones of the Francophonie of tomorrow. Romania has fully taken up the role of emblematic state of the Francophonie, including in the field of development of scientific Francophonie, enjoying 116 francophone universities. The Eugen Ionescu doctoral and post-doctoral research scholarship programme funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed in collaboration with the Francophone University Agency, is proof to that, as almost all scholarship holders from French-speaking Africa work together to build a better world. Together, in solidarity, we have a duty to build a better world for future generations, in which peace, democracy, respect for human rights, sustainable development and respect for the environment are the daily reality of all mankind. Together, let's build the Francophonie of the future! "concluded Aurescu.
Romania's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Adrian Chesnoiu participates on Monday in a meeting in Brussels of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council.

According to the agenda of the meeting, the EU agriculture ministers will once again exchange views on the current situation of the agri-food market in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The discussion is likely to focus on identifying measures to guarantee food security in the EU, both in the immediate aftermath of the invasion and from a longer-term perspective. The likely impact of the war on food supplies in non-EU countries may also be considered.The European Commission will present information to ministers about the approval of the strategic plans foreseen in the new common agricultural policy. It is currently in the process of evaluating these plans and will update ministers on its progress.Other matters for consideration at the meeting include: production of plant proteins in the EU; CAP strategic plans and sustainable agriculture; revision of geographical indications; G7 agriculture ministers meeting; revision of the pesticide directive; impact on fisheries of energy price rise; use of bio fertilisers; alternatives to phytosanitary products.A few days ago, Chesnoiu said that he asked the European Commission to reconsider the idea that 4% of the agricultural area of a member state should remain uncultivated. "Leaving aside 4% of the agricultural area of a country like Romania, who has 9.4 million hectares of arable land, would mean almost 300,000 hectares of uncultivated land. I don't think anyone in Europe, or globally, can afford to leave such an area unproductive, especially the area of a country like Romania, with such a fertile soil," Chesnoiu said after a meeting of the government on Wednesday.The Agrifish Council comes after anextraordinary video conference on March 2, 2022 where ministers discussed the potentially significant impact of Russia's military aggression on the market for key agricultural inputs and commodities such as natural gas, fertilisers and animal feed. Ministers also expressed unanimous solidarity with Ukraine.
As many as 2,241 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 were recorded in the last 24 hours in Romania, down 927 from the previous day, with almost 18,000 RT-PCR and rapid antigenic tests performed, the Health Ministry informed on Sunday, Agerpres reports.

Of the new cases, 253 were in re-infected patients, who tested positive more than 90 days after the first time they recovered from the disease.Most of the newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in Romania since the previous reporting were recorded in Bucharest City - 714, and in the counties of Cluj - 196, Timis - 190, and Ilfov - 89.As of Sunday, 2,816,039 cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus were confirmed in Romania.- Hospitalisations -As many as 2,957 people with COVID-19, up 54 from the previous reporting, including 195 children, are hospitalised in Romania at specialist care facilities.Out of the total number of hospitalised patients, 464 patients, up one, including two children, up one, are in intensive care.Of the 464 patients admitted to ICU, 417 are unvaccinated against COVID-19.- Deaths -According to the ministry, another 16 Romanians infected with SARS-CoV-2 - ten men and six women - are reported dead in the last 24 hours.Out of the total 16 patients who died, 14 were unvaccinated and two vaccinated. The vaccinated patients were ranged in age from 60 to 89 years. All vaccinated patients who died had comorbidities.Since the beginning of the pandemic, 64,685 people diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 infection have died in Romania.
The only Romanian church in the western Ukrainian Lviv region has become an important place of prayer for Christian Orthodox refugees fleeing the war.

The Wallachian Church in downtown Lviv is dedicated to Virgin Mary and her assumption, was built with money donated by Moldavian hospodar Alexandru Lapusneanu in 1559. It is the church where Petru Movila was ordained metropolitan bishop of Halych and Kyiv.These days, the place of worship attracts many believers fleeing from Kharkov, Kyiv and Zaporozhe.Olena Lihtar, 47, used to live in Kharkov until the beginning of the war. On Sunday morning, she went to the Wallachian Church to pray for herself and for the millions of refugees, for the Ukrainian soldiers and for the whole of Ukraine."We all pray, no matter where we are. We go to pray. We all pray for Ukraine to exist as our homeland. We do not want to go to Poland or the Czech Republic, and we thank all the countries that are standing in solidarity with us. However, we want to live in Ukraine, in our homeland. We want to live here," she said.Lihtar does not understand the reason for the war, especially since traditionalist Ukrainians and Russian-language speakers seemed to live well together. She has a vivid memory of the war and its disasters, but she is especially tormented that her husband stayed back fighting at home in Kharkov."I was born in Ukraine and I come from Kharkov. It's a city where both Ukrainian and Russian are spoken. We can communicate in both Ukrainian and Russian, and when they tell us they're coming to free us ...we do not need to be freed. We are citizens of Ukraine, we love the country and that is why we will be Ukrainians no matter what language we speak. The events that are taking place are powerful. The world has entered the 21st century, and when bombs fall on our heads, military planes fly over us, when you hear them launching rockets, you could have not imagined that. We've been in Lviv for ten days. Me and my 70-year-old mother. Our men stayed back in Kharkov, in defence units. We don't have houses anymore, they were destroyed. Our business has been shut down. It is destroyed. How do we survive? I don't know what to say. All I know is that we were viciously attacked. We have been bombed, we are destroyed as a nation. That is not normal. Ukraine existed and Ukraine will exist," Lihtar said in a sad voice.The priests at the Wallachian Church pray at every service for the Ukrainian military, but also for every citizen of Ukraine. They also remember the soldiers killed in the fighting against the Russian army, which invaded Ukraine on February 24.A child came to one of the priests and asked him to pray for his grandfather, who had died in a bombing raid."There are a lot of people coming from Kyiv, from Kharkov, the areas badly affected by the bombings. They've been coming from Zaporozhe lately, too. They come to church honestly. Being in the church uninterruptedly, we realise what problems come to those who end up praying.For example, yesterday [Saturday] there was a little boy, a Russian speaker, who came with a prayer list and two candies for us to pray for his grandfather who died in the bombings. My little one asked me to pray for Sergey's grandfather. Many Russian speakers come here to the church. Today, Lviv is an important centre for receiving refugees from all over Ukraine," said Deacon Yuri Fediv of the Wallachian Church.The famous Wallachian Church is located in downtown Lviv where hundreds of historic buildings are part of the UNESCO heritage.Priests, local government and non-governmental organisations defending the historical heritage have covered the stained glass windows so as not to be destroyed by a blast."The church is valuable to Lviv and UNESCO for its three architectural styles - Renaissance, Baroque and Classicism. It is heritage that must be protected and promoted. The construction of this church is closely linked to several countries: Moldavia, Greece, and the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It has been subordinate to the Patriarchate of Constantinople since 1594. (...) The church is of great value because of its icons and architectural forms, and is of strategic importance to Christianity, and is one of the main components of theUNESCO heritage. When the war started on February 24, which is undoubtedly Russian aggression against the Ukrainian nation, we and the architects of the city and people of good faith who are not indifferent to the value of the national heritage, covered the stained glass windows of the church not to be destroyed by the blast. These are unique places," said Fediv.Romanian language and literature teacher Nicolae Costa of Chernivtsi, who is also a tourist guide, tells us that the Church of the Assumption or the Wallachian Church in Lviv has Alexandru Lapusneanu, rulers Movila, Ieremia Movila, and Simion Movila as founders. " Petru Movila attended school in Lviv and in 1633 he was ordained metropolitan bishop of Halych and Kyiv," Costas said.The Lviv region has been attacked by Russian missiles several times since the beginning of the war.The latest attack took place on Friday morning and left 30 dead.More than 2.5 million people live in this region. The capital of the region, the city of Lviv, has a population of over 720,000 inhabitants, being considered the most important city in western Ukraine.
If you're thinking about retirement, and you're worried that your expected income may not be enough, here's some good news: There are many possible sources of retirement income, and some of them may be surprises to you.

Here's a look at some ways to generate income in your later years. See which ones make the most sense for you.

1. Dividends

Dividend income is probably the least unexpected in this group, but the amount of income dividend stocks can generate is often underappreciated and potentially surprising. For example, if you retire with a stock portfolio valued at $500,000, and it has an overall dividend yield of 3%, you're looking at around $15,000 in annual income -- and that sum is likely to grow over time, as dividends from healthy companies tend to be increased every year or two.

Here are some examples of well-regarded dividend payers -- and their recent yields:

Stock Recent Dividend Yield Enbridge 6.1% IBM 5.3% Unilever 4.6% 3M 4.2% AbbVie 3.8% Sanofi 3.8% Chevron 3.3% Pfizer 3.2% Coca-Cola 3%

If you don't already have some dividend-paying stocks in your portfolio, consider adding them.

2. Your house

Your house, perhaps unbeknownst to you, is a possible income generator -- now and/or in retirement. For one thing, you might rent out space in it -- or rent out the whole home -- for short or long periods via services such as Airbnb. You might also take in a boarder for a few years, if you and your home can accommodate that.

Then there are reverse mortgages, which are not suitable for all retirees, but which can serve some very well. They involve essentially borrowing from a lender with your home as collateral. The lender can pay you a lump sum or regular payments over time, while you stay in the home. Once you no longer do -- because, for example, you moved to a retirement home or died -- the lender claims the home, unless your heirs want to and can pay back the loan.

3. Your car

Your car can also be a source of income for retirement. Now, or in your early years of retirement, you might earn money driving for a service such as Uber or Lyft.

Another strategy is to pare one vehicle from your household's fleet. If you have three, try living with two. If you have two, see if you can get by with one. It can be fairly easy for many couples to share just one vehicle once they're retired and not commuting to jobs. By shedding one vehicle, you can collect some cash for it upfront, and then you'll simply save money in the future, not having to pay for insurance, maintenance, and repairs.

4. Your junk

Some of the money you'll want in retirement is all around you, in the form of items you no longer need or desire -- and perhaps have never even used. Spend a little time reviewing things in your attic, basement, garage, and even your storage unit, if you have one. All those unnecessary things could fetch lots of dollars at a yard sale -- and some you might want to offer online. Particularly valuable items, such as some collectibles, might be sold to dealers or others who appreciate their value.

5. Downsizing

Finally, an often overlooked way to generate more money for retirement while getting to keep more money in your pocket over time is downsizing. You can downsize in a variety of ways. If you love your neighborhood or town, you could sell your home and buy a smaller and/or less costly one in it. If you're not so attached to your current location, you might move to a less costly town or state -- or even a less costly country. You might be able to move closer to family or loved ones that way, too.

By downsizing to a less costly home, you can probably pocket some gains, and you'll likely pay less in utilities, property taxes, insurance, landscaping, and maintenance (among other things) over time.

These are just some ways to generate more money for your future, for a financially secure retirement. If some of them make a lot of sense for you, start looking into acting on them.

The $18,984 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook

If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $18,984 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.

Selena Maranjian owns AbbVie and Enbridge. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Airbnb, Inc. and Enbridge. The Motley Fool recommends 3M, Uber Technologies, and Unilever. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Ameren already has some electric vehicles but said Rivian was the first to the table with something that could potentially be used for work.
Cody Johnson brought more than his bona fide country music to a sold-out throng of 8,000 fans on Saturday night.

He may as well have packed a pile of poker chips and served warning on every country act, real or pseudo, that plans a stop in St. Louis this year: He is all in with a show that will be hard to beat.

The crowd at Chaifetz Arena clearly would bet on CoJo. From the opening words of Honky Tonk Hardwood Floors to his speedy segue to With You I Am, the former Texas rodeo cowboy and prison guard had fans wrapped tightly around his finger  and pledged to give them every ounce of sweat and energy out of my body all night.

He delivered like Amazon  jumping around the stage, kicking like a colt for emphasis and pouring his strong voice into songs like Dance Her Home, Son of a Ramblin Man and Me and My Kind. Note to Nashville: Almost none of these songs can be heard on the radio, and yet fans sang along to nearly everything. Go figure.

As the show was nearing the last 30 minutes, Johnson perched on a stool near the stage front and described how he had been performing in pain for four or five years, from old rodeo injuries. He wound up undergoing a six-hour neck surgery after a surgeon in Texas warned him that without the procedure he could lose the use of his right arm.

He launched then into Human from his recent double album, and followed it up with his first No. 1 song, Until You Cant.

He told the fans he has said for years he wants his legacy to be making country music sound like real country music again  and he more than did his part with plenty of strong fiddle, pedal steel and banjo from his capable Texas band.

He closed his 1 hour, 45 minute and 19-song set with Dear Rodeo and a huge ovation. Sort of like a royal flush.

Some headliners try to shake up the nights menu; if the entree is roots country maybe an opener veers pop. Not Johnson.

With Easton Corbin and Ian Munsick, the openers were on the traditional train. No rap lyrics, no pop sounds, no EDM.

From Corbin it was a menu of solo hits dating back to 2010 with A Little More Country Than That, All Over the Road and Roll With It.

With Munsick, a Wyoming newcomer, it was a brisk seven-song, 30-minute set highlighted by Long Live Cowgirls, in which Johnson joined him onstage briefly.
Chinese envoy calls for response, clarification over biological security issue in Ukraine

EditorWang Xinjuan Time2022-03-19 15:50:54

Zhang Jun (C, front), China's permanent representative to the United Nations, speaks during a Security Council meeting on the biological security issue in Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York, on March 18, 2022. Zhang on Friday asked relevant parties to the biological security issue in Ukraine to respond to newly discovered documents and offer clarifications to remove the doubts of the international community. (Xinhua/Xie E)

UNITED NATIONS, March 18 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday asked relevant parties to the biological security issue in Ukraine to respond to newly discovered documents and offer clarifications to remove the doubts of the international community.

China was once a victim of chemical and biological weapons. China believes that any information and lead on biological military activities should trigger heightened concern and attention of the international community to avoid irreparable harm, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

"In this regard, relevant parties should take a responsible approach. Russia has further revealed newly discovered relevant documents. The party concerned should respond to questions, and offer timely and comprehensive clarifications to remove the doubts of the international community," he told a Security Council meeting on the biological security issue in Ukraine.

"We do not consider it too much to ask. And on this issue, no double standards should be applied," he said.

China's position on weapons of mass destruction and biological security is consistent and clear. China stands for the complete prohibition and destruction of all weapons of mass destruction, including biological and chemical weapons, said Zhang.

China resolutely opposes the development, possession or use of biological and chemical weapons by any country under any circumstances, and urges countries that have not done so to destroy their chemical weapons stockpiles as soon as possible. Complying with the Biological Weapons Convention is the obligation of all state parties. China calls for early negotiations on the establishment of a verification regime under the convention, which will help improve global biosecurity, he said.

Under the current situation, it is the shared desire of the international community to achieve a cease-fire in Ukraine as soon as possible to avoid more civilian casualties and to prevent a massive humanitarian crisis. China shares this wish, said Zhang.

Direct negotiations between the parties concerned are the fundamental way to solve the problem. Russia and Ukraine have held four rounds of negotiations. While the negotiations are kept going, there is hope for a cease-fire and a peaceful future. China will continue to facilitate dialogues for peace. China supports the United Nations and all parties in ramping up mediation efforts, and hopes that all parties can do more to promote peace talks, rather than adding fuel to the fire.

"Behind the Ukraine crisis is the issue of European security. It is our hope that the United States, the European Union and NATO can sit down with Russia for in-depth and comprehensive dialogues and explore ways to put in place a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism based on the principle of indivisible security so as to achieve lasting peace and stability in Europe."
ST. LOUIS  Doris Bass was a young widow and Republican tenderfoot in a Democratic ward. In 1969, she doggedly knocked on doors and beat two-term incumbent Thomas OShea by 19 votes.

She had bigger ambitions than serving the Tower Grove Park neighborhood on the Board of Aldermen. Only eight months into representing the 15th Ward, Bass announced she was running for U.S. Senate.

Far away in New York, the counterculture musical Hair was playing Broadway to hip audiences. Thin on plot but generous with decibels, it included the songs Age of Aquarius and Let the Sunshine In. The musical slammed the Vietnam War, the draft, parents and traditional morality and included a brief scene of nudity. Hair was set to run in St. Louis.

On Jan. 16, 1970, Bass filed legislation to ban Hair from local stages. Critics accused her of a campaign stunt, and it worked. It also scratched across a raw cultural divide.

Bass said she was trying to restore the American sense of decency. She said she was representing the sentiments of her native South Side, where many working-class people had had enough of the hippies.

Predictably, the hearings on her bill made for bad theater.

On Feb. 18, dozens of long-haired young people crowded the room. Bass scolded them for interfering and said, You ought to be in school!

One young woman said she was  at City Hall with her college civics class.

Alderman Henry Stolar, representing the trendy Central West End, warned the bill would make St. Louis a cultural backwater. The exasperated committee chairman, Albert Red Villa of Carondelet, muttered, Were in a state of chaos here.

In a replay one week later, Bass accused her young critics of trying to force radical views on a society that wants peace and order.

The board adopted her modified anti-obscenity bill in a 16-11 vote on March 20. Mayor Alfonso J. Cervantes signed it, calling the bill a symbol of public rejection of growing permissiveness.

With little for a campaign but her quotable right-wing self, Bass was trounced in the 1970 GOP primary by state Attorney General John Danforth, who narrowly lost the November election to Democratic U.S. Sen. Stuart Symington. (Danforth won a senate seat six years later.)

Hair didnt arrive in St. Louis until Nov. 2, 1971, and only after St. Louis Circuit Judge Lackland Bloom flew to Kansas City, watched a performance and ruled it not obscene. Dueling pickets marched outside the American Theater, 416 North Ninth Street, on opening night. Four police officers who attended the sold-out opener called it stupid but not worth shutting down.

Bass kept battling the counterculture, facing hecklers in 1972 in a packed auditorium at St. Louis Community College in Forest Park, where she responded, Your disagreement doesnt ruffle me.

But she lost her aldermanic seat in 1973 to Democrat Geraldine Osborn.

Bass remarried and ran unsuccessfully three more times in Republican primaries, the last in 2002 for U.S. Senate. She died in 2014.
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

My favorite part of Eric Schmitts latest attack on schoolchildren and taxpayers is that it highlights one of his fundamental failures as Missouris attorney general.

Last week, Schmitt, apparently under the assumption that lawyers get a volume discount, sued the Missouri School Boards Association, accusing the nonprofit of violating the states Sunshine Law. The lawsuit follows dozens upon dozens that Schmitt has filed against school boards across the state, some of them alleging Sunshine Law violations; others alleging the imposition of illegal mask mandates.

Every time Schmitt files one of these lawsuits, he runs to Twitter and Fox News to proclaim that hes a fighter  his favorite poll-tested word  but the reality is, hes more like a punch-drunk, washed up boxer trotted out to give other fighters an easy win.

Schmitt has yet to actually take one of his school district lawsuits to trial. Many of them have been laughed out of court. Then theres the one against Lees Summit School District, for which the attorney general recently missed a deadline; or the one in Springfield where the judge told him to leave the partisan politics outside the courthouse; or the one in Columbia where he tried to file a reverse class action lawsuit against every school district in the state and failed.

Schmitt, whose own struggles to follow the Sunshine Law have been well documented, alleges that the school board nonprofit is a quasi-public body and is failing to produce documents related to advice offered to school districts regarding mask mandates. For his argument, Schmitt relies on an old attorney general opinion issued by William Webster more than three decades ago.

Attorney general opinions arent like Supreme Court decisions. They arent legally binding. But they offer important advice, generally to state lawmakers, to help guide them as they write new laws. Most attorneys general throughout Missouri history  Democrats and Republicans  have issued dozens of such opinions, taking their job seriously and providing important guidance to elected officials in the state. Webster, for instance, issued 72 such opinions in 1988, the year of the school boards association opinion.

Schmitt, who is spending most of his time these days running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, prostrating himself at the feet of former President Donald Trump as he begs for his endorsement, doesnt take his job seriously.

In the more than three years that he has been attorney general, hes issued one such opinion. Thats one more than his predecessor, fellow ladder-climber Josh Hawley, wrote during his brief two-year stint in office before he became a U.S. senator.

State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, is still waiting for the opinion from Schmitt that he sought. It was on the Sunshine Law, the very topic of the attorney generals most recent lawsuit. In 2019, after I wrote about Merideths constituents having their names and addresses stolen by a public interest group sending fake emails to state lawmakers, the state representative asked Schmitt whether it was legal for House members to redact peoples personal information on correspondence with lawmakers.

House Republicans, after voters passed a constitutional amendment requiring them to follow the Sunshine Law, had passed their own rule allowing the redactions.

Merideth, who is also a lawyer, believed the state constitution trumped the House rule. He asked Schmitt for an opinion on the matter. He never got an answer. Schmitts office, at the time, told me that it was rare for the office to issue a formal legal opinion.

Well, it wasnt in Websters time. Or in former Attorney General Jay Nixons time. Or in former Attorney General Chris Kosters time. Only Hawley and Schmitt have eschewed the part of the job that has long been a staple for attorneys general.

In Schmitts case, its easy to see why. Hes so busy filing frivolous lawsuits that dont even pass the legal smell test that it would be almost a waste of time for him to put his name on any formal legal opinions.

Merideth may yet get an answer to his question on the House rule allowing an obfuscation of the Sunshine Law. In 2019, St. Louis lawyer Mark Pedroli, and his Sunshine and Government Accountability Project, sued the House, alleging their rule was unconstitutional. Schmitt isnt defending the House in the case, because he personally wrote the letter to Gov. Mike Parson that helps make Pedrolis case. That letter wasnt a formal attorney general opinion either, but it suggested the governor should stop doing the same sort of redactions the House was performing.

All of these communications are open. That is the law of the land, Pedroli said recently, during a hearing before Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem. House Rule 127 is a direct violation of the constitution. Its obvious and everybody knows it.

Even, perhaps, the states attorney general. Just dont expect him to issue a formal opinion about the issue.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  The family of a man who was shot and killed while riding an Amtrak train in Missouri is suing the railroad company and the alleged shooter for at least $100 million.

Richie Terell Aaron Jr., 30, of Independence, was shot as the Missouri River Runner train arrived at the Lees Summit station on Jan. 14, where the alleged shooter got off.

The federal lawsuit says the train continued on to the Independence stop, despite pleas from passengers to wait and get help for Aaron, The Kansas City Star reported.

Aaron was pronounced dead when the train arrived in Independence about 35 minutes later, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Friday by lawyers representing Aarons widow and three children.

The lawsuit accuses Amtrak of making no effort to get medical treatment for Aaron. It also alleges the company has lax security.

An Amtrak spokeswoman said Sunday the organization could not comment on the lawsuit.

Marquise Webb, 21, of Kansas City, is charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in Aarons killing.

Webb is also charged in Jackson County with carjacking a man after he got off the train. He was arrested two weeks later after a standoff with Kansas City police. He is being held in the Jackson County jail on a $500,000 cash-only bond.
ST. LOUIS  A pharmacist who formerly worked in Creve Coeur was sentenced Thursday to three years probation for fraudulently obtaining prescription medications.

On at least 10 occasions between May 2015 and November 2017, Elizabeth R. Dembo obtained prescriptions for amphetamines, oxycodone and the generic form of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, her plea agreement says. Dembo either dispensed the drugs to herself, or she received help from one of the pharmacy's former owners, a chiropractor or two doctors, her plea says.

Dembo was the "pharmacist in charge" at the Olive Street Pharmacy from 2015 to March 2018.

Dembo, 38, pleaded guilty in December in U.S. District Court in St. Louis a federal charge of obtaining controlled substances by fraud. She has since moved to Florida.

Her lawyer, Talmage Newton IV, asked in court documents for probation and community service rather than prison time, citing a struggle with anxiety and depression beginning in high school that led to the abuse of ADHD medications.

In September, the Olive Street Pharmacy and one of its owners, Irina Shlafshteyn, agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle a civil complaint. The pharmacy agreed to tighten oversight of prescriptions and Shlafshteyn agreed not to participate in any business dispensing controlled substances.

Olive Street lawyer Steve Holtshouser said at the time that most of the pharmacy's problems stemmed from relying on Dembo, and the pharmacy didnt know the extent to which Dembo was not living up to her professional obligations.

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ST. LOUIS  The St. Louis Fire Department has forwarded its EMS incident report involving the death of Cora Faith Walker to the Drug Enforcement Administration, a public safety source told the Post-Dispatch.

Walker, a former state legislator and high-ranking St. Louis County official, died the morning of March 11 after spending the night at Loews Hotel at Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis. She was 37.

The hotel was the site of an after-party for some people who had attended a 50th birthday party for St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones.

The incident report generally is a timeline showing when a call first comes in to EMS dispatching and then tracks subsequent actions, such as dispatch times, units involved, arrival times and the time when first-responders end their involvement.

Such reports are not routinely turned over to the DEA, the public safety source said. The source requested anonymity to discuss the report being turned over to the DEA.

A lawyer and former Missouri state representative for the north St. Louis County area, Walker resigned midway through her second term in the state Legislature to work for St. Louis County Executive Sam Page. She was the countys chief policy officer.

Jones and Page attended Fridays memorial service for Walker at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church, along with numerous other elected officials.

Jones, a close friend of Walkers, praised her for advocating for those in need as well as her fierce support for her friends and family.

The night before Walker died, she and Jones were together at Jones birthday party at Neo nightclub, 2801 Locust Street, and later at the hotel.

Earlier this week, fire officials reported that city paramedics had responded at 9:33 a.m. March 11 to a call for a medical situation at Loews Hotel.

Walker was taken to SSM St Louis University Hospital and pronounced dead at 9:58 a.m., said Michael Graham, the citys chief medical examiner. Graham said there were no signs of trauma or injury.

An autopsy was performed last week, but results are not yet available.

In response to a Sunshine Law request from the Post-Dispatch, the city medical examiners office said it could be three months before the case is closed.

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JEFFERSON CITY  A multimillion-dollar effort underway to convince Missouri voters to change how the state conducts elections is being bankrolled primarily by a wealthy Texas couple.

On March 9, a Virginia-based group connected with John and Laura Arnold contributed $800,000 to the political action committee raising money to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would bring ranked choice voting to Missouri.

That brings the Arnold-connected financial input to over $3 million at a time when Republicans are trying to make it harder to use the initiative petition process to change the state Constitution.

As a not-for-profit, the group known as Article IV, does not have to disclose its donors.

But, corporate records show officers and directors at Article IV have strong ties to the philanthropic couple, who have funded similar voting change efforts in other states.

Sam Mar, for example, is secretary of Article IV. He oversees communications and external affairs for Arnold Ventures and previously was CEO of Action Now Initiative, a political advocacy organization founded by the Arnolds.

Another Article IV director is Seth London, who also is a consultant to Arnold Ventures. He was an aide to former President Barack Obama.

Tripp Wellde also is listed as a director. He served as a campaign aide for Obama, as well as an aide to Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign.

The groups treasurer, Cabell Hobbs, is also the treasurer for several other Republican PACs, including one affiliated with former White House national security adviser John Bolton. Hobbs also worked for a super PAC that tried to recruit former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to run for a U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire.

The group wants to get an initiative on the 2022 ballot that would abolish partisan primary elections and allow voters to rank their top four choices, regardless of party.

The top four vote-getters would advance to a general election, and voters would again rank their top four choices or just vote for their top pick.

Supporters say the change would replace the practice of voting for a preferred candidate with voting for a candidate who has a more likely chance of overcoming their least-favorite candidate.

Critics say it could confuse voters and depress voting.

In 2021, the Pew Research Center identified 261 jurisdictions in the U.S.  ranging from the state of California to a Texas school district  that have adopted some voting method other than the standard single-winner, plurality system most American voters know.

Pew researchers found that 45 places have adopted alternative voting systems in the past five years.

University of Missouri-St. Louis political scientist David Kimball said the jury is still out on how ranked choice voting will work at a statewide level because most of the jurisdictions that use it are cities, where the elections are nonpartisan.

It does appear that it encourages more people to run, particularly nontraditional candidates, Kimball said. Its not clear whether it will reduce polarization.

In theory, it could create a less negative campaign environment by encouraging candidates to say nice things about their opponents.

But, he said, I dont think we have a good enough track record to know how it is going to work on a statewide level.

A spokesman for the Missouri initiative did not specifically address the Arnold connection when asked by the Post-Dispatch.

{p class=ydp7ab2cc41msonormal}Our elections are toxic and broken, and voters from every county in Missouri who are signing the Better Election petition tell us they support our positive proposal for change, said campaign spokesman Scott Charton. Our campaign is on the side of Missouri voters and giving them more choices and more ballot security in elections.

Missouri ties

Missouri isnt the first state where the Arnolds have funded attempts to enact the voting change. Theyve also helped push the effort in Maine and Alaska.

And the Arnolds arent strangers to Missouris political landscape. Money tied to them went to help pass an overhaul of ethics regulations and voting laws called Clean Missouri.

Arnold Ventures was cited as a possible source of funding for an aerial surveillance program that was considered, and then abandoned, by the St. Louis Board of Aldermen early last year.

Arnold Ventures also employs two lobbyists in Missouri  Amy Blunt and Jay Reichard.

The push by Democrat-leaning groups to use Missouris ballot initiative process to effect change in the state is a reflection of the states strongly Republican majorities, who control the flow of legislation in the General Assembly.

Issues that arent addressed in the House or the Senate often become the subject of ballot questions, including issues like the minimum wage, Medicaid expansion and medical marijuana.

The presence of large amounts of out-of-state money in Missouris ballot initiative process has generated a number of Republican-sponsored bills in the Legislature this year designed to make it harder to use that route when seeking to alter state laws.

For example, a proposal sponsored by Rep. J. Eggleston, R-Maysville, would raise the bar for passage of constitutional amendments from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority.

In addition, signatures needed to place a question on the ballot would have to come from all eight Missouri congressional districts, as opposed to the six currently required.

House Joint Resolution 91 also institutes a process for the General Assembly to vet proposed amendments by conducting hearings and potentially recommending changes.

Meantime, with the Arnolds money pipeline open, the ranked-choice voting effort has brought together an unlikely coalition of consultants from both sides of the partisan aisle, including John Hancock, a former chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, and Rosetta Okohson-Reb, a Democratic consultant whose clients include St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones.

Others on the payroll, according to reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, include longtime Republican operative David Barklage and GPS Impact, a Democratic political consulting firm.

Outside money aside, the PAC handling the spending on consultants and petition collectors says the end game will come down to voters in the state.

{p class=ydp7ab2cc41msonormal}Missouri voters signatures will put the Better Elections Amendment on the ballot, and Missourians will have the final say at the polls, Charton said.

{p class=ydp7ab2cc41msonormal}Originally posted at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 20.

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Justice Clarence Thomass wife, Ginni Thomas, has made clear her belief that the November 2020 election was stolen. She attended Donald Trumps Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6, 2021, but claims she left before Trump spoke to the crowd and directed his supporters toward the Capitol. The premise behind the rally was clear: to assert that Joe Biden was not elected fairly and that Trump was the rightful winner. Such assertions have been debunked repeatedly in state election audits, and close to 60 court decisions have gone against Trumps challenges.

Ginni Thomas, however, made clear she did not respect those court decisions and attended a rally whose sole purpose was to keep Trump in power. She insists she had no role in the insurrection and that her political views dont influence her husband. Given her ongoing public activity on Trumps behalf and her husbands demonstrated bias favoring Trump, its time for Justice Thomas to formally recuse himself from all future cases involving Trump and the insurrection. His hospitalization for flu-like symptoms on Sunday, while important, do not eliminate the conflict-of-interest issues at the heart of his wifes political activism.

No one can force a sitting justice to recuse, but many do it anyway  specifically because they do not want to create a public perception that personal bias sways their judgment on the bench. Justice Thomas and his wife have every right to support Trump and call for his return to the Oval Office. But since the high court is actively involved in deciding Trumps political future (if not his criminality), Justice Thomas can only damage the courts reputation by being present.

In an interview with the conservative Washington Beacon, Ginni Thomas acknowledged her presence at the Jan. 6 rally. I was disappointed and frustrated that there was violence that happened following a peaceful gathering of Trump supporters on the Ellipse, she stated. Yes, a peaceful gathering of Trump supporters carrying bear spray, clubs, zip ties, a gallows and military armor who were there to declare that since their candidate lost, Americas election system is corrupt.

Its highly doubtful the Thomases dont discuss their daily experiences around the dinner table. Whats certain is that, in January, the Supreme Court ruled on whether Congress had the right to subpoena White House records concerning the 2020 election certification and the insurrection that disrupted it. Trump asked the court to rule against Congress. Eight justices ruled against Trump. The sole vote in his favor: Clarence Thomas.

Chief Justice John Roberts once openly chided Trump when the president asserted that the American federal judicial system was biased, depending on the political affiliation of the judge hearing a case. Thats not the case, Roberts said, insisting that the judiciary is jealously independent, and an independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.

Thomas and his wife are working overtime to undermine that independence. In the process, they are destroying the courts credibility. Which is why Justice Thomas must recuse.
Kaia Crawford deserves praise for her guest column Defunding the police also dehumanizes them, which is the opposite of what we need (March 15). There is only one race for people: the human race.

Lets eliminate the terms race and racism and use color and colorism. Its the environment that causes different characteristics for humans. If people care to educate themselves, they should read The Myth of Race by the late Robert Wald Sussman, who taught at Washington University.

Interestingly enough, I was not asked my race in the 2020 census in Mexico, where I live.

Darla J. Herbst  Hidalgo, Mexico
During the last fifty years the United States has spent billions trying to develop a cost-effective space plane. Most of these efforts were abandoned as failures. Only two space plane designs were built and used. The first was the 1980s manned Space Shuttle and the more recent unmanned X-37B.

In the 1990s NASA spent nearly a billion dollars on the proposed Lockheed X-33, a single-stage to orbit space plane. That effort failed and was canceled in 2001. The next year the U.S. Air Force proposed a joint effort with NASA to develop a more practical Military Space Plane. This effort would develop tech that could also be used by NASA for a Space Shuttle replacement and other military and civilian programs. Two different space vehicle programs would cost more than building extra copies of a single design. The first part of the new Space Plane effort would be the SOV, or Space Operations Vehicle. This would be a large booster rocket, possibly two stages initially and ultimately one stage, that would put an SOV into orbit. SOV was meant to put several different payloads in orbit. These would include the SMV, or Space Maneuver Vehicle: This might be a small, reusable, manned orbiting vehicle able to conduct any of several missions and then land at a military airbase. Not really designed to launch satellites, this could be used as a reconnaissance platform in a conflict.

Another SOV payload would be the OTV or Orbital Transfer Vehicle. This was a manned spacecraft designed to launch and service satellites. It would be able to land at very long runways.

Then there was the MIS or Modular Insertion Stage: This was an unmanned expendable upper stage booster designed to put satellites into orbit. In theory, during a crisis, the Air Force could use a stockpile of SOVs with these MIS stages to rapidly deploy more military satellites.

Finally, there was the CAV or Common Aero Vehicle. This was taken into the upper atmosphere by the SOV but would skip along the upper atmosphere rather than travel in space exclusively. It would be used to rapidly deliver precision weapons. In theory, the CAV could replace the B-2 bomber on 16,000-kilometer missions, conducting them in a fraction of the time.

One object of the MSP concept was to cut down the time required to plan and launch any kind of payload. Back then it could take six months to get a payload and a space shuttle to match and launch something into orbit, even if you are willing to change the pre-set schedule for the space shuttle fleet. The MSP would, in theory, be able to conduct a launch within three or four weeks of somebody deciding that a given payload was needed. In some cases, such as putting a manned recon platform into orbit, such a launch could take place within a few days.

The Space Shuttle program was a success as it put a manned spacecraft into orbit where it could maneuver and perform tasks like inspecting and repairing satellites in orbit. In some cases, a small enough satellite could be brought back to earth for repairs and upgrades and launched again. The Space Shuttle program flew 133 manned missions between 1981 and 2011, with two shuttles lost in fatal accidents. That was enough to end the program, which was already in trouble because of the cost, about $100 million per launch.

Even before the Space Shuttle program ended NASA and the Air Force began a program of developing satellites and SLVs (Satellite Launch Vehicle) that could do the same work. The NASA program began in 2007 and continues. Another solution is also about to fly as a Space Plane (by Radian) aircraft similar to the Space Shuttle, but one that can take off like an aircraft and under its own power and reach orbit. There the crew can inspect and repair satellites in lower orbits. This Space Plane then leaves orbit and lands like the Space Shuttle did. Until the Radian Space Plane came along, no one had come up with a manned Space Plane design that could get itself into orbit on its own with a useful load and then land like an aircraft.

The Space Shuttle was retired because it was the most expensive way to get stuff into orbit. Satellites sent up via the Space Shuttle cost $25 million a ton to put in orbit. The Russians and Chinese did it for under $10 million a ton using old but reliable single-use rockets as SLVs. But insurance can more than double that cost if there have been a number of recent failures. That is what happened with Russian and Chinese boosters. The Space Shuttle failure rate was two percent, which was similar to most Western satellite launchers. This keeps more reliable and expensive American and European SLVs in business.

The price competition has become more intense because the Americans have developed and are increasingly using SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) SLV technology. The SpaceX reusable rockets, which repeatedly returned to earth and landed intact under their own power, fundamentally changed the SLV business because these rockets are refurbished and used again and again. This saves a lot of time and money.

Radian, like SpaceX, takes full advantage of new technology to make their Space Plane design work. Several venture capital firms are supplying money so Radian can prove its concept works. Technically, the Radian Space Plane is a reusable SSTO (single stage to orbit) aircraft that can carry a crew of five and up to 2.3 tons of cargo into orbit. Radian has developed a new rocket engine that can be mounted in the rear of a space plane like a jet engine, but without the air intake, and generate 200,000 pounds of thrust. The Radian One space plane has three of these engines and, with the help of a high-speed reusable sled, is carried down a long runway until it is near lift-off speed, at which time the rocket engines ignite, taking the space plane into LEO (low earth orbit).

Efforts like SpaceX inspired the Radian space plane effort. Both projects used the latest tech to do the improbable. With SpaceX it was a booster that could return to earth under its own lower, deploy stabilizing struts and land as science fiction rockets hand long done. SpaceX was funded by a single investor, a wealthy and successful engineer who understood the reusable rocket tech and got it to work. SpaceX revolutionized the SLV industry with some of its boosters already remaining in service after a dozen launches and landings. Larger models of Radian One can put more people and cargo into orbit and return safely and economically for another mission. Radian expects its first space plane to require only two days of maintenance before another mission. Even if Radian One does not work, it should definitely prove that the basic concept is closer to success.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Tribune News Service)  Honor courses will become more readily available for Air Force Academy cadets thanks to a $10 million pledge, the largest philanthropic gift supporting academics in academy history, according to the Air Force Academy Foundation.

Philanthropist and 1970 academy graduate John Martinson  a longtime venture capitalist  pledged the funds, which will create additional opportunities for cadets and faculty. The Academy Scholars Program will be renamed the Martinson Honors Program.

The Martinson Honors Program will greatly bolster the academys ability to recruit and successfully compete for the finest students and immerse each cadet in rich academic experiences, Jack Kucera, chairman of the Air Force Academy Foundation board of directors and 1978 graduate, said in a news release. We are grateful for Johns enduring dedication to our academys mission to develop scholars and leaders of character.

A new space in the McDermott Library will allow the 250 current cadets and future cadets a place for collaboration, study areas and offices for staff.

One of the things we want to do is create an exciting and dynamic space for scholars, Diana Polley, director of the program and associate professor of English, said in a release. Much like a library, the honors space is particularly important. It is a learning community; we are creating and building community. That will happen in part through space.

A new space for collaboration is only the beginning.

We will be offering options for cadets who are especially excited about intellectual curiosity and giving them the opportunity to really thrive, Polley said in the release. Well keep raising that bar for those who want to be challenged academically. Were looking to push them as far as they can go and want to go.

The mission of the 15-year-old honors program is to develop superior officers and academic leaders ready for continued academic work and challenging command positions.

Academic development will be enriched. The cadets will become well-rounded, capable, decisive, critical thinking officers in the Air Force, Martinson said in the release. It will also prepare them to enter graduate school, win scholarships and accelerate their Air Force careers.

Polley wants to expand honors courses availability to first-semester cadets and for those in STEM disciplines.

The $10 million commitment  which will be given over several years to provide annual funding and to build up an endowment  can help fund staffing positions and professional development opportunities.

In the late 1960s, Martinson and his fellow cadets were encouraged to take a full load of courses in their major plus enrichment courses outside of their major, according to the release. Todays curriculum has grown to include second majors, minors, a broader selection of courses and focused experiences within a major.

I want to ... allow cadets to have a more advanced method for taking some of the academys core courses, said Martinson, a founding director of the Air Force Academy Foundation and member of its Academic Committee.

Martinson is the largest individual graduate donor to the academy, according to the Air Force Academy Foundation.

I encourage my fellow grads and others to consider steady giving and support impactful projects. I have donated annually for over 24 years and enjoyed collaborating with cadets, grads, faculty, academy leadership and the foundation staff, he said.

(c)2022 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Visit at www.gazette.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(Tribune News Service)  Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot is preparing to welcome its newest (and most adorable) mascot recruit, a tradition that dates back to 1914.

Military working dogs have a huge history in our organization, said Parris Island Chief Sworn Officer Bobby Yarbrough. Everything from working on the battlefield ... to morale and welfare. Its a symbol of not only todays Marines but generations past.

The pup, a bulldog dubbed Opha Mae II, is named after the first female Marine recruit, Opha Mae Johnson , who enlisted in 1918. Johnson worked in the office of the Quartermaster, according to the Marine Corps History and Museums Division Headquarters. When World War I ended, she had earned the rank of sergeant.

Opha Mae II is the second bulldog mascot named after Johnson, according to Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette reports.

Opha May I began her stint as a mascot for the recruit depot in 2017. She was the first female to occupy the post after taking over for Cpl. Legend, the depots longest-serving mascot, Parris Island officials previously told the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. Opha May I will be retiring in Chicago with her handler after five years of service, Yarbrough said.

Bulldogs and Marines

Bulldogs, Yarbrough said, have acted as a symbol for Marines, who were called devil dogs during the Battle of Belleau Wood in France during World War I.

The bulldog, I believe, was the most depictive of that image, Yarbrough said. Its more of a lore than an actual history.

Today, its an annual tradition for Marines to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, the final resting place of Marines killed in battle and travel down the hillside to drink water from the devil dog fountain, he said.

Opha Mae II mascot post

Opha Mae II will begin her post as a mascot when she graduates on May 6 alongside her handler, Pfc. Shannon Morales Canales. She will live in the barracks with her handler, start her Marine training with Oscar Company and be fitted for a uniform, Yarbrough said. Her duties include boosting morale, and attending graduations and community events.

She likes to go through some of the obstacles and things that fellow recruits go through, Yarbrough said. Just like our mantra, you have to earn the title United States Marine, and its no different for Opha Mae.

(c)2022 The Island Packet (Hilton Head, S.C.)

Visit at www.islandpacket.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(Tribune News Service)  Democracies like India and Japan should cooperate more, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters in New Delhi, as Russias war in Ukraine dominated the summit level meeting between the prime ministers of both countries.

Borders cannot be allowed to be changed by force, Kishida said after his meeting with Indias Narendra Modi. Vladimir Putins attack on his neighbor was serious and has shaken the global order, the Japanese leader added. In contrast Modi confined his comments to economic issues.

Kishida is in India on a two-day visit that ends Sunday.

Both countries have deepened security ties over the last few years and are members of the so-called Quad grouping along with the U.S. and Australia. Both sides share concerns about Chinas increasing assertiveness in the region.

India has been in a two-year border conflict with China along their Himalayan frontier, with both sides amassing troops, tanks and artillery guns. Japan is in a dispute with China over century-old claims to a set of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea  called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

However, Tokyo and New Delhi have taken divergent views on Russias war in Ukraine.

India is under increased scrutiny for not publicly censuring Russia. New Delhi, dependent on Moscow for weapons in its standoff with China, abstained from voting on United Nations Security Council and general assembly resolutions condemning the invasion. Japan has joined several Western countries in announcing sanctions against Russia and taken a tough line with Moscow.

Japan and India will continue to work for a ceasefire and peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine, Kishida said. India has said in the past that Moscow and Kyiv should use dialogue to end the war.

Kishidas visit comes amid a flurry of meetings between New Delhi and its Quad partners as it seeks to shore up support for its position on the war in Ukraine.

Modi is slated to hold a virtual summit with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday. U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, is also expected to visit New Delhi next week.
LVIV, Ukraine  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday as Russian forces pushed deeper into the beleaguered southern port city of Mariupol, with heavy street battles shutting down a major steel plant and hampering rescue efforts.

Military skirmishes erupted across the heart of Mariupol's city center, obstructing local efforts to rescue hundreds of people believed to be trapped in the basement of a theater struck by a bomb or missile Wednesday. Russia denied bombing the theater, which was being used to protect children.

"The city is leveled to the ground," a member of the Azov regiment that is defending Mariupol said Saturday on Telegram as tanks moved in and Russian forces continued to strike from the air.

Meanwhile on Saturday, the Russian military said it had deployed its Kinzhal, or Dagger, aviation missile system with hypersonic aero-ballistic missiles  high-speed weapons that can fly at 10 times the speed of sound and elude missile defense systems  for what is believed to be the first time since troops were deployed.

A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said in a video posted on Russian state media RIA's Telegram channel that the missile system was deployed Friday to destroy a large underground warehouse containing weapons and ammunitions in the village of Delyatyn about 380 miles west of the capital of Kyiv.

Putin has boasted of his military's investment in hypersonic missiles. In December, he said Russia was the global leader in such weapons and that it would likely have further advanced its technology before the U.S. caught up.

"It's time to meet, time to talk," Zelenskyy said in a video address early Saturday morning, repeating his desire to personally hold talks with Putin as the war in Ukraine raged on for a fourth week amid a stream of refugees, a widening humanitarian crisis and fruitless cease-fire talks.

Russian military commanders' "cruel and erroneous tactics" of targeting civilians and destroying apartments, hospitals and churches, Zelenskyy said, had failed and led only to harsh sanctions. In the absence of a peace settlement, he said Russia could face "such losses that several generations will not be enough for it to rise back up."

Fighting and shelling continued Saturday on several fronts throughout the country, even as Ukrainian authorities said that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to the creation of 10 humanitarian corridors to evacuate residents from cities under attack, including the capital, Kyiv, and the southeastern city of Mariupol.

"Children, elderly people are dying," Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said in a video as he stood amid a street filled with rubble, according to the Associated Press. "The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the Earth."

Some of the fiercest fighting reported Saturday in Mariupol was for control of the Azovstal steel plant, one of the largest in Europe, said Vadym Denysenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister. Russia's true aim is not only the "demilitarization" of Ukraine, but also the deindustrialization of the country.

Zelenskyy has accused Russia of blockading large cities in central and southeastern Ukraine  preventing the delivery of food and other supplies  in a bid to force inhabitants to capitulate. Putin has denied targeting civilians during the invasion.

Faced with fierce resistance from Ukraine, Russia had been forced to change its operational approach and "is now pursuing a strategy of attrition," the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Saturday in an intelligence update.

"This is likely to involve the indiscriminate use of firepower," it added, "resulting in increased civilian casualties, destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure, and intensify the humanitarian crisis."

James Acton, a co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that the use of the Kinzhal aviation missile system comes after the Russians had already used the Iskander, a ground-launched version of the hypersonic ballistic missile, during the conflict.

Rather than a show of Russian strength, Acton said, the deployment of the Kinzhal could be a sign of how badly the conflict was going. "I suspect it's a reflection of the fact that they're running low on accurate munitions," he said.

"At a time when they're killing children and civilians in schools and hospitals, a strike against a legitimate military target with this weapon is a drop in the bucket."

Video images have shown long lines of vehicles fleeing Mariupol, a strategic port city of about 400,000 on the coast of the Sea of Azov. For Russia, experts say, Mariupol is a vital target: Its capture could help facilitate coordination and joint operations between Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine and Russian forces in Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Images from the city have revealed a broad panorama of destruction  entire apartment blocks and a shopping center ravaged from attacks. A strike Monday on a maternity hospital killed at least three people, including a child, and left more than a dozen injured, authorities said. Residents remaining in Mariupol are struggling to find food and water, and much of the city lacks electricity and residential heating, despite freezing temperatures, Ukrainian officials say.

"There are tanks ... and artillery shelling, and all kinds of weapons fired in the area," Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko told the BBC. "Our forces are doing everything they can to hold their position in the city," he added, "but the forces of the enemy are larger than ours, unfortunately."

In a video address early Saturday, Zelenskyy said that some 130 people had escaped or been rescued from the theater, some seriously wounded, and people were still being rescued from the rubble.

More than 9,000 people had been able to leave Mariupol in the previous 24 hours, Zelenskyy said. Throughout Ukraine, he said, more than 180,000 have been able to escape via humanitarian corridors.

A convoy of buses carrying about 500 people who had left Mariupol on Friday arrived in Zaporizhzhia on Saturday, Kirill Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential office, said on Telegram. Those who wanted to immediately continue evacuating would be sent on to the railway station, he said, while those who preferred to rest would be placed in a kindergarten and evacuated later.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged residents of the village of Bervytsya, about 40 miles northeast of Kyiv, to walk four miles to the bridge in the nearby village of Mokrets and cross the Trubizh River to meet buses that would take them to Brovary.

"Residents of settlements, please be attentive," Vereshchuk said. "Because it is extremely difficult to open the corridors, the enemy insidiously breaks our agreements. Please, if there is an opportunity, use it today."

At least 847 civilians, including 64 children, have been killed in Ukraine since the war began, the United Nations Human Rights Office said in a Saturday report. An additional 1,399 civilians have been injured, including 78 children.

"Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes," the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said. The actual figures are likely to be considerably higher, it noted, especially in Russian-controlled territory and cities, such as Mariupol and Volnavakha, where intense hostilities led to information delays.

Almost 6.5 million people have been displaced throughout Ukraine, the United Nations said Friday, and some 3.2 million have fled the country. Those estimates indicate that close to one-quarter of Ukraine's 44 million residents have fled their homes, even as thousands continue to escape the violence, heading both abroad and to areas perceived as safe within Ukraine.

Zelenskyy's plea to meet with Putin is his latest bid to have direct talks with the Russian leader, who on Friday made a celebratory appearance at a stadium in Moscow, marking Russia's annexation of the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine.

During the rally, Putin repeated his assertion that the war, which he refers to as a "special operation," has been necessary to stop the "genocide" of Russian speakers in Ukraine, a claim soundly rejected by Ukrainian officials.

Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have taken place every day this week, with no agreement on an end to the fighting. Earlier in the week, representatives for both sides cited progress in the talks, but in a call Friday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin accused the Ukrainians of stalling. A readout of the conversation in TASS, the Russian state-owned news agency, said the Russian leader accused the "Kyiv regime" of trying to delay negotiations by "putting forward more and more unrealistic proposals."

Putin has insisted that his demands  including Ukraine's "demilitarization" and its renunciation of any intention to join NATO or the European Union  be completely fulfilled before any cessation of armed hostilities.

Pursuit of NATO membership is enshrined in Ukraine's constitution, but Zelenskyy shifted on the issue this week, saying he accepts that the country will not join the U.S.-led alliance.

Zelenskyy tweeted Friday that Ukraine retains aspirations to join the European Union, saying he had a "substantial conversation" with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm. Zelenskyy said the commission's "opinion on [Ukrainian] application for EU membership will be prepared within a few months."

In Lviv on Saturday, air raid sirens sounded a day after what authorities called a Russian strike on an aircraft maintenance facility next to the airport. No one was killed in Friday's attack, officials said, but it was the first strike within the city limits of Lviv  a western city that is a key hub for both displaced persons from the war and for supplies entering Ukraine from Poland, a NATO member just 40 miles to the west.

Still, despite the attack, life went on at its normal pace Saturday in Lviv, which has been insulated from the extreme violence seen in Kyiv, Mariupol and other cities.

As sirens wailed in the late afternoon, residents went about their business, strolling and taking coffee rather than taking shelter as directed.

On Friday, residents placed 100 baby carriages in a central square of this ancient city to symbolize the reported deaths of more than 100 children since the Russian invasion began.



McDonnell reported from Lviv and Jarvie from Atlanta. Los Angeles Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson in Washington contributed to this report.

2022 Los Angeles Times.

Visit at latimes.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
TALLINN, Estonia  Late last month, Estonias foreign minister, Eva-Maria Liimets, flew into Kyiv to join her counterparts from fellow Baltic nations in an expression of solidarity with Ukraine as tensions mounted with Russia.

Like Ukraine, the three Baltic states  Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia  were once part of the Soviet Union. Unlike Ukraine, they had joined NATO in the early 2000s, and now enjoy the protection the alliances mutual defense guarantee provides.

After she arrived, Liimets, a soft-spoken career diplomat, took a walk around central Kyivs cobblestone streets in the cold night air. A tense calm suffused the city.

Early the next morning, a little before 6 a.m. on Feb. 24, Estonias ambassador in Ukraine called her with an urgent message: President Vladimir Putins invasion had begun. Like it was for millions in Ukraine  where the airspace was now closed and roads were quickly jammed by people trying to flee  the stakes of the slow-building showdown with Russia were suddenly stark.

Within minutes, Liimets packed her bags and was on her way to Estonias nearby embassy, and then, escorted by Ukrainian security, in a convoy headed west toward the Polish border. As they navigated droves of fleeing residents  it took more than four hours to get out of Kyiv  she could hear the sound of distant shelling.

As Russia presses its invasion deeper into Ukraine, Baltic leaders say the world has finally awakened to the admonitions they have been making for years: that Putin is prepared to use force, like he did in Georgia, Crimea and eastern Ukraine, to advance his political goals.

Unfortunately, we were right, Liimets said in an interview. Putins action in Ukraine, she said, shows that Russia has not felt enough international pressure and they could continue with their ... plan to invade one of their neighboring countries.

As the global implications of Putins assault set in, Baltic nations appeals for greater deterrence are translating into additional troop and aircraft deployments. Already in recent months, new NATO and U.S. forces have been dispatched to the region. In Estonia, a British-led force of some 2,500 NATO troops conducts training and exercises with local forces. Additional NATO forces are there for the Baltic air policing mission, which now includes American F-35s and British and U.S. F-16s. There are also American F-35s in Lithuania.

Such forces provide valuable reassurance for a country like Estonia, which has an active-duty force of 4,000 troops, and no combat aircraft.

At the same time, the regions leaders are urging the bloc to do even more to bolster deterrence along its exposed eastern flank by abandoning a decades-old prohibition on permanent NATO basing there. They also want an expansion of the air policing mission over the Baltic Sea and the placement of NATO air defense systems, like Romania and Poland already have.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda issued a stark warning this month, saying that Putin will not stop in Ukraine.

The NATO reinforcements come after years in which Baltic officials say their fears were dismissed by much of Europe as paranoia or some kind of post-Soviet stress disorder. Even after Russia launched the first state-on-state cyberattack in 2007, a digital assault on Estonia over its decision to relocate a Soviet-era monument, NATOs military planners moved slowly, only drawing up detailed defense plans for the region after Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Across the Baltic countries, residents are showing their support for Ukraine, hanging blue-and-yellow flags and protesting outside Russian embassies, and taking what action they can to push back against Putin.

In Lithuania, a volunteer corps of online elves, including at least one member of Parliament, methodically debunks and derides Russian trolls and bots. Others post five-star reviews of Russian hotels and restaurants merely as a way of including photographs and data about Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians. A popular app automatically connects users to one of 40 million randomly generated Russian phone numbers and provides tips on starting a conversation about Ukraine when the call is answered.

Our biggest weapon is that we understand the Russians and we speak their language, said Aleksandra Ketleriene, 34, an online reporter for the national broadcasting service.

A large portion of the regions population still remembers the Soviet occupation, which ended in 1991. During the decades of Soviet rule, the Kremlin lured ethnic Russians to the Baltics by giving them better jobs and better housing than the local population, the most rebellious of whom they sent to prison camps in Siberia. Russians who were left behind when the Soviet Union collapsed, especially in Latvia and Estonia, posed a challenge for local policymakers, who faced the difficulty of integrating large populations who looked to Russia as their political and cultural homeland.

The Ukrainians are fighting for us, said Dainius Navikas, a management consultant in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. Last week, he donated a vehicle to be converted to military use and delivered to Ukrainian fighters as part of a private aid campaign that has already netted more than 17 million euros from Lithuanias 2.8 million citizens. If they lose, we could be next.

Others are making preparations for what they fear might be an eventual Russian assault. At social gatherings in Riga, the capital of Latvia, young families are swapping details of their plans to evacuate further west should it become necessary. Some are laying backup plans for their children to leave the country without them if need be. In the Estonian capital, Tallinn, residents are checking their basements in case they need to use them as shelters. In the university town of Tartu, one grocery stores shelves were empty of iodine, the solution that protects against radiation exposure after a nuclear attack.

So far we are not being threatened, as far as I understand, said Dima Golubevs, a 40-year-old Latvian video producer at a recent protest outside Russias embassy in Riga. But he noted that he was still a tiny bit nervous about whether NATO would come to the aid of Latvia in the event of a Russian invasion.

I can say 99% I feel safe, Golubevs said. But 1% is still a lot.

Even as European leaders show a united front in support of Ukraine, some Baltic officials feel a more urgent threat to their security than do other NATO nations. Last week, Lithuanias Parliament approved a resolution calling for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, a step that the United States and other NATO leaders have said they will not take because it could trigger war with Russia.

While Baltic nations want to support Ukraine, officials also feel constrained in the military aid they can supply to Ukraine, mindful of the need to keep weaponry in reserve in case they need it themselves.

More than a frontal attack on NATO, some officials worry about the possibility that Putin could launch a smaller maneuver to show that NATO is weak  for example, seizing an island off the coast of Estonia  or renew hybrid warfare, like the cyberattacks that struck Estonia in 2007.

If he wins in Ukraine, it will legitimize war for him as a way to achieve his goals with other countries, said one Baltic official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter frankly.

Despite the stepped-up defenses, there is also concern that the West might relax its resolve, either due to a negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia or because of the high cost of economic sanctions on Russia  with potentially problematic results in Eastern Europe.

My biggest fear is that the minute there is the slightest concession from Russia, countries will rush to lift these sanctions, said Toomas Ilves, who served as Estonias president from 2006 to 2016.

While the world may now share the Baltics perspective more than ever before, Ilves said, there is little joy in being right.

Birnbaum reported from Washington, Sonne reported from Riga, Latvia, and Hendrix reported from Vilnius, Lithuania.
On Friday, Ukrainian ballet dancer Artyom Datsishin was reported to have died of injuries sustained under Russian artillery fire three weeks earlier. The 43-year-old principal dancer with the National Opera of Ukraine is the latest of several celebrities in the country who have been killed since the Russian invasion began last month.

On Thursday, Kyivs National Academic Molodyy Theater announced that actress Oksana Shvets, 67, had been killed in a rocket attack in the capital city. And Pasha Lee, 33, a Crimean-born stage and film actor who did voice work for the Ukrainian-dubbed versions of Lion King and The Hobbit, was killed during shelling in Irpin on March 6.

The deaths contrast with the more hopeful images circulating on social media showing influencers and celebrities who have taken up arms against Russia. Just a day before his death, Lee, who had recently joined Ukraines Territorial Defense Forces, posted a photo of himself and a woman, both dressed in military gear. In the caption, he noted the heavy bombing theyve faced. We are smiling because we will manage, he wrote.

To be sure, no one in Ukraine has been spared by the conflict. But there is something about a celebrity death, according to psychologists, that drives the war home, showing that people we place on a pedestal are not impervious to violence.

In a Facebook post, stage director Anatoly Solovianenko called Datsishin a beautiful artist and a wonderful man. Russian American choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, who worked at the National Opera of Ukraine, described his unbearable pain, calling Datsishin a beautiful dancer loved by his colleagues. Shvetss death was also met with a public outpouring of sorrow: In a statement on Facebook, the Molodyy Theater, where she worked, expressed irreparable grief, adding that, There is no forgiveness for the enemy that has come to our land!

The response to the deaths of the famous - perhaps out of proportion in a war with so many casualties  calls to mind a quote, sometimes attributed to Joseph Stalin, who as the architect of the Holodomor  the man-made famine in Ukraine in the early 1930s  has his own dark history with the former Soviet republic: A single death is a tragedy, Stalin is said to have remarked. A million deaths are a statistic.

Baruch Fischhoff, a professor at Carnegie Mellon who studies risk perception, argues that telling the stories of these famous victims can lead to larger truths about the nature of the conflict.

It might be that even celebrity does not protect people from the indiscriminate violence, he wrote in an email. Or it may be that there are people who choose not to exercise the privilege that comes with celebrity, but show solidarity and share the fate of everyone else.

Elizabeth Cohen, a media psychologist at West Virginia University, has studied the way that the perception of celebrities facing danger affects the broader public. In 2020, she looked at how individuals responded to news of Tom Hankss COVID-19 infection, and found that people felt they were more at risk of illness themselves after learning of his diagnosis.

A celebrity death, Cohen argues, may have a similar effect. When a godlike person is victimized by illness or war, I think it might actually put our own risks more in perspective. It actually brings it closer to home, she says.

Celebrity deaths loom large, Cohen says, because famous artists and performers mean something to us as individuals. But they also mean something to us as a community. We can all rally behind them. Cultural figures such as Datsishin, who was part of a long-standing artistic tradition, can also be representative of the collective culture. In Ukraine, Cohen says, they are symbols of a nation, what the nation values.

Paul Slovic, a psychologist at the University of Oregon, has studied how human sympathy decreases as the number of people affected by a tragedy increases  a paradoxical effect created by what he calls psychic numbing. His research has even suggested that increasing the number of people affected by a crisis from one individual to two decreases our compassion.

On the Arithmetic of Compassion, a website on which Slovic details his research, he likens our inability to scale our emotions in proportion to lives lost to the limits of sensory perception. Just as we dont notice the difference between 30 lit candles and 31 lit candles, he writes, our feelings do not register the difference between 30 deaths and 31 deaths.

One way to combat this tendency to overlook mass tragedy is through telling the stories of individuals affected by a crisis, and creating what Slovic calls narrative empathy. The fact that a famous ballet dancer, onstage and vital just months ago, or an actor taking swimming pool selfies earlier this year, can fall victim to an attack brings unimaginable, catastrophic violence to a human level.

Cohen sees an upside in telling the painful stories of these celebrity deaths: I think theres a very good chance that the stories about the celebrities that are getting told are generalizable, and people are translating them to understand the experience of everyone.
"I've been researching the record of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, reading her opinions, articles, interviews & speeches. I've noticed an alarming pattern when it comes to Judge Jackson's treatment of sex offenders, especially those preying on children. Judge Jackson has a pattern of letting child porn offenders off the hook for their appalling crimes, both as a judge and as a policymaker."

- Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., at the start of a long Twitter thread, March 16

"The possession and distribution of child pornography is an extremely serious crime because it involves trading depictions of the actual sexual assault of children, and the abuse that these child victims endure will remain available on the internet forever."

- Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, in a ruling denying compassionate release for medical reasons to Jeremy Sears, a convicted sex offender, June 16, 2020

___

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden's nominee to the Supreme Court, begins her Senate confirmation hearings next week. As a prelude, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., posted a 17-part Twitter thread alleging Jackson has a "pattern" of excusing heinous conduct. Hawley, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, signaled he planned to question Jackson closely on the issue.

But the picture that Hawley provides is a selective one that lacks significant context. He suggests that Jackson is out of the judicial mainstream with her sentencing of child-pornography defendants. But he ignores a long debate within the judicial community about whether mandatory minimums were too high. As a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which is charged with reducing sentencing disparities, Jackson was intimately involved in that debate. Hawley selectively quotes from testimony, USCC materials and various court cases to make his case. Let's take a tour through his technique.

Taking Jackson's remarks out of context

Hawley mined USCC hearings for moments - shown in screenshots - when Jackson was repeating what witnesses said, suggesting these were her own opinions.

In one tweet, he asked: "Judge Jackson has said that some people who possess child porn 'are in this for either the collection, or the people who are loners and find status in their participation in the community.' What community would that be? The community of child exploiters?"

In reality, Jackson was just asking a follow-up question to a witness who had spoken of an online community: "I was just going to say as a follow-up to that, Ms. McCarthy, is it your experience that this category of nonsexually motivated child pornography offenders is very small? Because you had them broken out in your slide: the nonsexually motivated. And that I found just so interesting, because I assumed that everyone who was involved in this kind of activity was sexually motivated. So the people who are in this for either the collection, or the people who are loners and find status in their participation in the community, but would be categorized as nonsexually motivated, how many are we talking about?"

In another tweet, Hawley asserted: "Judge Jackson has opined there may be a type of 'less-serious child pornography offender' whose motivation is not sexual but 'is the challenge, or to use the technology.' A 'less-serious' child porn offender?"

Here, she was asking a question in response to testimony that she found surprising: "I was surprised at some testimony with respect to the motivations of offenders, and that there are people who get involved with this kind of activity who may not be pedophiles who may not be necessarily interested really in the child pornography but have other motivations with respect to the use of the technology and the being in the group and, you know, there are lots of reasons perhaps why people might engage in this. And so I'm wondering whether you could say that there is a - that there could be a less-serious child pornography offender who is engaging in the type of conduct in the group experience level because their motivation is the challenge, or to use the technology? They're very sophisticated technologically, but they aren't necessarily that interested in the child pornography piece of it?"

(The witness answered that, over time, such people become more of a tribe and more-serious offenders.)

Hawley tweeted a response and issued a news release before the Washington Post had completed its fact check. Hawley denied he had taken her comments out of context.

"Judge Jackson's words are right there in print, and they speak for themselves," he said. "When she does quote from or refer to previous testimony, she does so with approval and indicates the witness has changed her mind on child porn offenders."

Mischaracterizing the USCC's work

Hawley at one point writes: "As a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Judge Jackson advocated for drastic change in how the law treats sex offenders by eliminating the existing mandatory minimum sentences for child porn."

What's missing here is that the USCC is bipartisan - no more than four members of the seven-member USCC can be from one party - and that the recommendations that Hawley criticizes were unanimous. One member who signed off on the report was Dabney L. Friedrich, later nominated in 2017 by President Donald Trump to be a federal district judge. Hawley was not in the Senate then, but every Republican supported her nomination.

Moreover, while the USCC recommended lowering the minimum in two types of child-porn offenses, it did not recommend eliminating the statutory mandatory minimum entirely.

"All child pornography offenses, including the simple possession of child pornography, are extremely serious because they both result in perpetual harm to victims and validate and normalize the sexual exploitation of children," the report said. But it said the Justice Department, defense lawyers and judges had raised concerns about the existing set of sentencing guidelines.

"Many believe that it fails to adequately differentiate among offenders based on their culpability and sexual dangerousness, needs to be updated to reflect recent changes in typical offense conduct associated with the evolution of computer and Internet technologies, and is too severe for some offenders," the report said. As a result, it said, prosecutors and courts were gaming the system, seeking ways to limit sentence exposure by, for instance, charging someone only with possession even if they had committed other related crimes. That's because there was no mandatory minimum for possession and a five-year minimum for receipt, transportation and distribution.

A 2010 survey showed 71% of judges said the mandatory minimums for receipt of images were too high. Moreover, in 2010 only 40% of convicted offenders for non-production - people who use existing images but do not make them - received sentences that matched the guidelines.

As a result, the commission suggested changes in minimums for non-production offenses, but not for people who make child pornography. It also recommended equalizing the punishment for possession and for receipt, transportation and distribution.

"There is a spectrum of views on the Commission, however, as to whether these offenses [receipt and possession] should be subject to a statutory mandatory minimum penalty and, if so, what any mandatory minimum penalty should be," the report said. "Nevertheless, the Commission unanimously believes that, if Congress chooses to align the penalties for possession with the penalties for receipt and maintain a statutory mandatory minimum penalty, that statutory minimum should be less than five years."

In 2013, the Justice Department's national coordinator for child exploitation prevention and interdiction - the department's expert on child pornography - wrote to the USCC and said the report was "an important step" in overhauling the sentencing guidelines. While disagreeing with some of the report's conclusions, especially on recidivism risk, the letter said the Justice Department "agrees with the Commission's conclusion that advancements in technology and the evolution of the child pornography 'market' have led to a significantly changed landscape - one that is no longer adequately represented by the existing sentencing guidelines. . . . The current guidelines can at times under-represent and at times over-represent the seriousness of an offender's conduct and the danger an offender poses."

Nevertheless, Congress did not act on the recommendations. In 2021, the USCC issued another report recommending again that the changes be implemented.

In his news release, Hawley dismissed the idea that this was a bipartisan recommendation. "Judge Jackson recommended eliminating the 5-year mandatory minimum sentence for child porn," he said. "It's right there in the report. As for the other Commissioners who supported this bad recommendation, they probably shouldn't be on the Supreme Court either."

Twisting the judge's record

In a long section of the Twitter thread, Hawley compared various sentences handed out by Jackson with the recommended guidelines. The 2021 USCC report noted that in 2019, only 30% of non-production child-porn offenders received a sentence within the guideline range. "The non-production child pornography guideline has been subject to longstanding criticism from stakeholders and has one of the lowest rates of within-guideline range sentences each year," the report said.

So Jackson would not necessarily be out of line with other judges. "Less than 30% of all non-production cases get a Guidelines sentence because just about [every] federal judge realizes these Guidelines are too severe," tweeted Rachel Barkow, a former member of the USCC. "So KBJ is doing what most of the federal bench does."

Moreover, Hawley is not including what U.S. probation officers had recommended in these cases. In a pre-sentence report, a probation officer recommends sentencing options under the federal sentencing guidelines.

Here is an examination of each of Hawley's claims about particular cases, with responses from a White House official.

Case in which Jackson met the guideline range

Hawley: "In United States v. Savage, the sex offender was convicted of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and also admitted to transporting child porn. The Guidelines recommended 46-57 months. Judge Jackson gave him 37."

Response: These were not the guidelines for the defendant. They were 37 to 46 months, which means Jackson sentenced the defendant within the guideline range and above what probation recommended (36 months).

Cases in which Jackson met or exceeded the probation recommendation

Hawley: "In United States v. Stewart, the criminal possessed thousands of images of child porn and also hoped to travel across state lines to abuse a 9-year-old girl. The Guidelines called for a sentence of 97-121 months. Judge Jackson sentenced the criminal to just 57 months."

Response: Jackson issued a sentence above probation's recommendation of 42 months.

Hawley: "In United States v. Cooper, in which the criminal had more than 600 images and videos and posted many on a public blog, the Guidelines called for a sentence of 151-188 months. Judge Jackson settled on 60 months, the lowest possible sentence allowed by law."

Response: The government and probation both recommended sentences well below the guidelines in this case. The government recommended 72 months, probation recommended 60 months, and defense recommended 60 days. Jackson issued a sentence consistent with probation's recommendation of 60 months.

Hawley: "In United States v. Chazin, the offender had 48 files of child porn, which he had accessed over a period of years. The Guidelines recommended 78-97 months. Judge Jackson gave him 28."

Response: Jackson issued a sentence consistent with probation's recommendation of 28 months.

Hawley: "In United States v. Downs, the perp posted multiple images to an anonymous instant messaging app, including an image of a child under the age of 5. The Guidelines recommended 70-87 months. Judge Jackson gave him the lowest sentence allowed by law, 60 months."

Response: Jackson issued a sentence consistent with probation's recommendation of 60 months.

Cases in which Jackson was below the probation recommendation

Hawley: "In the case of United States v. Hawkins, the sex offender had multiple images of child porn. He was over 18. The Sentencing Guidelines called for a sentence of up to 10 years. Judge Jackson sentenced the perpetrator to only 3 months in prison. Three months."

Response: The government and probation both recommended sentences well below the guidelines in this case. The government recommended 24 months, probation recommended 18 months, and defense recommended one day.

Hawley: "In United States v. Sears, the sex offender distributed more than 102 child porn videos. He also sent lewd pictures of his own 10-year-old daughter. The Guidelines recommended 97-121 months in prison. Judge Jackson gave him 71 months."

Response: The government and probation both recommended a sentence within the guidelines range (97 to 121 months). Her sentence was above what defense counsel requested.

In other words, only in two of the seven cases cited by Hawley did Jackson render a sentence that was below the probation office's recommendation.

Moreover, as noted in the quote at the top of the fact check, Jackson later refused to grant Sears compassionate relief for medical reasons. "Sears also admitted to doing more than just possessing and distributing generic and graphic depictions of child molestation," Jackson wrote in her opinion. "In addition, Sears also provided photos of his own prepubescent female relative to the undercover officer" and "sent similar photos of a friend's prepubescent child." Jackson said that "both children were clothed" in the photographs and that the government did not bring charges relating to these acts. "But as the Court previously explained, it is clear that these two young girls were victims insofar as Sears was an adult in their lives who intentionally sexualized them by recording them without their knowledge and sharing their images with predators," Jackson wrote.

In his news release, Hawley said: "Forget the maximum guideline, Judge Jackson went below the maximum, the minimum, and below what the government requested in every single case for which we can find records, except two. In those two the law required her to impose the sentence the government recommended."

We realize Twitter does not always allow for nuance, but Hawley is still leaving out significant context in his thread. He uses snippets of quotes, pretends a bipartisan recommendation is Jackson's alone and then ignores a variety of factors - such as probation recommendations and out-of-date guidelines - that might result in lower sentences. In his zeal, he also ignores a long debate within the legal community about whether the current guidelines are appropriate.

Hawley earns Three Pinocchios.
NORFOLK, Va. (Tribune News Service)  Two people were killed and three others injured during an early morning shooting Saturday outside a downtown Norfolk restaurant and bar. Among the dead was 25-year-old Virginian-Pilot reporter Sierra Jenkins, who was caught in the gunfire.

The incident happened shortly before 2 a.m. outside Chicho's Pizza Backstage, a popular restaurant and bar on Granby Street adjacent to Tidewater Community College's downtown Norfolk campus.

Manager Rory Schindel said bartenders had announced last call for drinks and turned up the lights at about 1:30 a.m. People were starting to leave the business when an argument began outside. Soon afterward, shots rang out.

Jenkins was leaving the bar when she got caught in the gunfire, Schindel said. She was rushed to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where she later died.

Portsmouth resident Devon M. Harris, also 25, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Three other men were wounded, including one who suffered life-threatening injuries.

Police have not announced any arrests in the shooting.

Jenkins father, Maurice Jenkins of Virginia Beach, described his daughter as a sweet, caring and hard-working young woman who loved being a journalist. She just turned 25 on March 13 and was the oldest of three siblings.

Jenkins grew up in Norfolk and graduated from Granby High School. She earned a degree in journalism from Georgia State University in December 2019 and worked as an intern at Atlanta Magazine and CNN before joining The Pilot in December 2020. She just got her first apartment in Virginia Beach about a month ago after living with family, her father said.

"She wasn't much of a going-out kind of person at all," Maurice Jenkins said. "But she had a friend visiting from out of town who wanted to go out."

The two had been friends since middle school and Jenkins was godmother to her friend's daughter.

Jenkins initially was hired by The Pilot to cover breaking news and later became an education reporter. She was scheduled to work a shift on the day she died. When editors couldn't get in touch with her early that morning, they asked another reporter to fill in for her. A short time later, they learned Jenkins was among those killed.

"Sierra was a bright and talented woman with so much going for her. Her passion for journalism was undeniable and our community is better because of her reporting," said Kris Worrell, editor-in-chief of Virginia Media. "Sierra was funny and energetic and full of enthusiasm. We are absolutely heartbroken."

On Saturday morning, drops of blood could be seen on the sidewalk outside Chicho's and a nearby security guard pointed out what appeared to be multiple bullet holes in a wall next to the business's windows and front doors.

Schindel recalled seeing Jenkins and her friends at the bar. "They were a nice group," he said. "They took good care of our bartenders and our bartenders took good care of them."

Chicho's nighttime security requires all patrons to be patted down before entering, Schindel said. Because of that policy, the manager said he doesn't believe the shooter brought the gun inside.

"It was just a normal night," Schindel said of the moments before the shots were fired. "There were a lot of people there, as usual, and there was a great atmosphere inside." He estimated about 180 people were at the bar when last call for drinks was announced and people began to exit the business.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to call 1-888-LOCK-U-UP or to submit a tip online.

___

2022 The Virginian-Pilot.

Visit pilotonline.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)  The Biden administration is backing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys efforts to negotiate a peaceful end to Russias invasion of his country as it continued to accuse Russian forces of deliberately targeting civilians in what would amount to war crimes, top U.S. officials said Sunday.

We have supported the negotiations that President Zelenskyy has attempted to do with the Russians, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told CNN, though she quickly sought to temper expectations. And I do use the word attempted because the negotiations seem to be one-sided, and the Russians have not leaned into any possibility for a negotiated and diplomatic solution. ... But were still hopeful that the Ukrainian effort will end this brutal war.

Zelenskyy had told CNN on Sunday that without negotiations, we cannot end this war, a day after calling for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict.

Russian forces have come to exterminate us, to kill us, he said speaking through an interpreter. If there is just a 1% chance to stop this war, we need to do that.

Zelenskyys pleas come as Ukrainian officials on Sunday accused Russia of bombing an art school in the besieged city of Mariupol where hundreds had taken shelter. Zelenskyy in a daily address said the attack will go down in history as a war crime.

The terror the occupiers did to the peaceful city will be remembered for centuries to come, Zelenskyy said.

In a Saturday statement on Telegram, the city council of Mariupol said that several thousand residents had been taken to camps in Russian territory. Thomas-Greenfield said she could not confirm the reports but added it would be unconscionable for Russia to force Ukrainian citizens into Russia, and put them in what will basically be concentration and prisoner camps.

U.S. officials have been critical of Russian attacks on hospitals, schools and other infrastructure since it launched its invasion on Feb. 24. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Sunday accused Putin of targeting cities, towns and civilians because hes not been able to achieve the goals as rapidly as he wants to achieve.

Austin said that Putins tactics were disgusting and that intentionally targeting civilians would constitute war crimes. His comments echoed those by President Joe Biden who last week called Putin a war criminal.

U.S. and Western officials are also concerned that Putin may order the use of chemical and biological weapons. To lay the groundwork for such an attack, the Kremlin has been leveling spurious accusations that the U.S. was supporting Ukraines chemical weapons program, Thomas-Greenfield said.

This is a false flag effort by the Russians, she said. They are advancing what they might intend to do. We have seen it happen before. They are the ones whove used chemical weapons. They used them in Syria. They have used chemical weapons against their own people. And we are concerned that they may use chemical weapons in Ukraine.

The United Nations has said that nearly 900 civilians have been killed so far in Ukraine, and more than 3 million people have fled the nation, setting off a refugee crisis. NATO nations are scrambling to handle the potential humanitarian disaster while ratcheting up pressure on Putin to withdraw his forces.

Biden plans on traveling to Brussels to attend an emergency NATO summit to discuss measures the alliance can take to further counter Putin. Since the invasion, the U.S. and its allies have imposed stiff economic sanctions on the Kremlin, curtailed imports of Russian oil and restricted airspace to Russian commercial air traffic. In the hopes of stiffening Ukrainian resistance to the Russian onslaught, the U.S. and NATO members have boosted the flow of arms, humanitarian supplies and financial assistance to Kyiv.

While stressing the U.S. commitment to defending NATO countries against any Russian attack and bolstering its troop presence in Europe, Biden has said he will not dispatch troops to Ukraine. U.S. officials believe such a step would probably set off a broader conflict.

Zelenskyy has invited Biden to Kyiv, a trip that was ruled out on Sunday by Thomas-Greenfield and White House press secretary Jen Psaki. In a tweet, Psaki said the NATO summit will be focused on continuing to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against President Putins invasion of Ukraine, but there are no plans to travel into Ukraine.

The invasion has not gone the way Putin and his military commanders had hoped. Much of the fighting throughout the country has reached a stalemate, according to experts and U.S. officials.

A report by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, released on Saturday assessed that Ukrainian forces have defeated the initial Russian campaign of this war.

The initial Russian campaign to seize Ukraines capital and major cities and force regime change has failed, the report said.

2022 Los Angeles Times.

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WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)  A likely rise in U.S. COVID-19 cases probably wont amount to a full-scale surge or prompt a renewal of widespread restrictions, one of President Joe Bidens top advisers said.

The bottom line is we likely will see an uptick in cases, as weve seen in the European countries, particularly the U.K., Anthony Fauci, Bidens chief medical adviser, said on ABCs This Week on Sunday. Hopefully we wont see a surge. I dont think we will.

The BA.2 subvariant of omicron is driving up cases in Europe and Asia, notably in Hong Kong, and now accounts for about 30% of infections in the U.S, where indoor-mask and vaccine requirements have largely been rolled back.

While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has argued that the U.S. needs to be prepared to resume measures such as requiring masks in indoor public spaces, Fauci said, right now, at this point, I dont see that.

U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline. BA.2 is about 50% more transmissible than the original strain of omicron, but it doesnt cause more severe illness or evade immunity from vaccinations or an earlier infection, Fauci said.

Fauci and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy urged Congress to pass a stalled package of new COVID-19 relief. The White House has sought $22.5 billion in funding, warning that it will soon have to wind down programs and cant buy more therapeutic treatments.

As much work as weve done in the last two years to get the right tools, weve got to continue funding them and supporting them so theyre available to people across the country, Murthy said on Fox News Sunday. Thats why Congress moving to provide that funding is so critical.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell argued that too much money allocated for COVID-19 programs has yet to be spent.

They ought to reprogram some of this massive amount that was spent last year thats not out the door yet, the Kentucky Republican said on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday.

Fauci, 81, tamped down speculation that he might be ready to retire. Last week, he told ABC: I cant stay at this job forever.

I want to make sure were really out of this before I really seriously consider doing anything different, he said Sunday. Were still in this. We have a way to go. I think we are clearly going in the right direction. I hope we stay that way.

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

Visit bloomberg.com .

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(Tribune News Service)  The Miami Valley Veterans Museum is saluting women from across the area with a new exhibit, Giving Voice to Women Who Have Served that opened during Womens History Month in March.

Two of those women  Carmen Penny Adams and Lt. Col. Terry Calvert  were featured in a program promoting the upcoming exhibit at the museum located just south of Troy off County Road 25A.

They were among 35 women who were interviewed in recent years by Vivian Blevins, an English professor at Edison State Community College in Piqua, and students. Short biographies of all of the featured women are included in the exhibit.

The exhibit also includes artifacts including uniforms, clothing pieces, recruiting posters, scrapbooks and collections created by women and their families to chronicle their military service.

For Adams, Vietnam was a long way from her hometown of Piqua.

She was studying medical technology at Ohio Dominican College with an internship at Mount Carmel Hospital, Columbus, when a woman Naval recruiter visited saying the Navy needed more people with laboratory knowledge.

She volunteered, reporting to the service on her 21st birthday, Adams recalled.

She worked at laboratories and blood centers at Bethesda Naval Center and San Diego before heading to Vietnam.

Her experience there included serving on a hospital ship that was a trauma center.

Despite at time harsh words from men unhappy with women in military roles, Adams said she worked with a wonderful crew.

After Vietnam, she returned to San Diego and went to work at its blood bank.

I never regretted one day being in the military, Adams said. I am glad I was able to serve my country ... And, I hated the fact that I lost patients when I was in Vietnam but there was no way we could save everybody.

Calvert, now a math professor at Edison State Community College, started flying at the Sidney Airport while she was in high school. She attended the University of Cincinnati and its aerospace engineering co-op program.

That program took her to the Navy test center in Maryland working with a team of Navy pilots and Marines. Their amazing stories inspired her to join the Navy.

At Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, They are yelling at you the second you walk in the door, she said. Of 11 women in an early officer candidate class that included females, eight finished, including Calvert.

We took a lot of heat off the men when we were there. The drill instructors were constantly looking for infractions Calvert said. We knew if we messed up something not only would we be in trouble , but cause problems for all women coming behind us.

She completed deployments in Greenland and New Mexico and later transitioned from the Navy to the Air Force through the Air National Guard. Her last stop was Wright-Patterson Air Force Base before retirement in 2006.

The women interviewed for the exhibit include: Penny Adams, Caroline Abernathy Auclair, Cassie Barlow, Mercedes Beasley, Kimberly Bowling, Terry Calvert, Sophia Carter, Caitlin Donnelly, Kimberly Donnelly, Melissa Fowler, Debra Gomez, Katorah Griffith, Alisa Grieshop, Deborah Henderson, Judy Johnson, Betty Jones, Melissa Lodhi , Selena Lloyd , Fern Metcalf , Keitha Meyer, Brandi Miles, Peg Morelli, Brandi Olberding, Charlene Holmes Plump, Katherine Shilling, Josephine Slyder, Alberta Smith, Ann Strieber, Brooke Thornton, Sharea Waddle, Michelle Walker, Tina Wead, Siverina Whalen, Janet Wolfenbarger, MacKenzie Woolery and Jo Wildman.

Some of these women have agreed to participate in a speakers bureau for the museum. Funds received by any of the speakers for their engagements will be donated for the museum which continues a fundraising campaign. More information on the speakers bureau is available from Ted Jones, museum president, at 567-204-1019. More information on the museum is available from its website at www.miamivalleyveteransmuseum.org . Museum hours are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

___

(c)2022 the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio)

Visit the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) at www.daytondailynews.com
(Tribune News Service)  After retiring from a long career as a military photographer, Mickey Strand began looking for some personal photo projects he could do to expand his portraiture skills. One of the subjects he landed on was an easy choice: photographing other local veterans who had served in World War II.

Obviously, this was something close to my heart, said the 54-year-old Strand, who spent 24 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as the Leading Chief of Navy Combat Camera Group Pacific in 2009.

Since July 2017, Strand has photographed more than 100 World War II vets, taking their pictures as well as recording audio interviews of their war experiences that he turns into a brief written biography on the projects website, veteransportrait.com. Strand said he is honored to hear these war stories and spend time photographing these heroic men and women. But the reality is that Strand is in a race against time.

Of the 106 WWII vets he has photographed over the past five years, more than 100 have died. Many of them were photographed in veterans homes and skilled nursing facilities across Southern California and were in the final months, if not weeks, of their lives. Taking these portraits has become both a mission and a labor of love.

What I think about when Im doing these sessions is that I might be the last guy they tell their story to, Strand said. My goal is to leave a legacy. Every artist struggles about the work theyre going to leave behind when theyre gone. I hope people can look at these portraits and say, that was a body of work. After I die, thats something Id like to know.

Finding the moment

Strands most recent veteran photo session was on March 10 with Joe Albert Gonzalez, 95, of Clairemont, Calif., who served in the U.S. Armys 381st Company, 96th Infantry Division. He earned a Bronze Star for his bravery in the Battle of Okinawa, when he jumped out of a foxhole to rescue one end of a fallen stretcher bearing a wounded soldier, after one of the medics carrying the pallet was shot to death. Gonzalez helped carry the wounded man to safety through a hail of bullets.

For about 20 minutes, Strand sat with Gonzalez and asked him questions about his service for the audio recording. Gonzalezs memories have faded with the years but Strand was patient and cheerful. He has learned to ask the same questions three or four different ways and eventually the veterans minds become more limber and the stories trickle out.

Gonzalez was born in San Diego and raised in Logan Heights. He was fighting as an amateur boxer with a mean left hook when the war began. He quickly signed up to serve with three of his brothers.

I didnt want to be on the outside. Everybody else was going, he told Strand during the interview.

For the next 30 minutes, Strand took dozens of shots of Gonzalez, with his eyeglasses on, then off, smiling and laughing, then serious. Sitting back, then forward. With his jacket buttoned up and unbuttoned. Strand worked quickly, squeezing off more than 100 digital frames with a hand-held shutter trigger connected to a stationary camera, and sometimes moving up close for angled shots with a hand-held camera.

Strand likes to use a flash because it accentuates the laugh lines in the veterans faces and he shoots in color but converts the images to black and white for portraits.

Black and white offers the opportunity to really see the person and not get lost in the color of what their clothing or the color of the surroundings are doing. It helps focus on the moments they shared with me, he said.

The magical image during this shoot came at the end of the session, when Gonzalez was mentally engaged, but his body was relaxed. His expression was natural and his eyes were lit up with merriment. When Strand held the cameras viewfinder up for Gonzalez to see the final photo, he laughed with approval and then asked for lunch.

His son and fellow Army veteran, Arnold Gonzalez, said his dad had been excited about the photo shoot, which will likely be his last. On April 22, Joe Gonzales will turn 96. He has told his family he wont see 97. Because he lived through the war with only minor injuries in the 96th Infantry Division, Gonzalez believes 96 is his lucky number. He doesnt want to tempt fate by surviving it.

Getting out of the way

Strand fell in love with photography as a boy, developing images with his dad in the basement darkroom of their home in Racine, Wis. He took pictures for his high school newspaper and yearbook and then joined the Navy, where he served as a photographer on the USS Ranger and USS Long Beach ships and at Miramar Air Station. Later he taught photography at the Defense Information School in Maryland.

Two years after retiring from the Navy, Strand had a brush with death. After an appendectomy, he developed a deadly sepsis infection and spent six months fighting to recover. The experience led him to appreciate the importance of celebrating life and capturing its essence in photographs.

Unfortunately, Strands mentor told him that life was the one thing missing from his early attempts at portrait photography about six years ago.

He told me my work was stagnant and not human enough, Strand said. He told me youve got to get out of the way to let the person be the person and find the moment.

As his homework, Strand began looking for subjects that interested him to do a number of portrait series. The first series was Behind the Cut, which captures both the hard and soft sides of motorcycle club members. The cut is what bikers call their club vest. Strand is a motorcycle club member himself and he hopes his more than 100 portraits help improve the image of biker clubs, which he calls a maligned and misunderstood culture.

His second major series was the Veterans Project. It began on July 25, 2017, with a daylong shoot of 16 WWII vets at Mt. Miguel Covenant Village, an assisted living center in Spring Valley. The portraits were displayed at the center a few months later on Veterans Day. In the years since, he has done similar shoots and shows at veterans homes in Chula Vista, Ventura and Los Angeles. His largest exhibition was for Veterans Day in 2019, when he hung 86 portraits in the Museum at the Photo Centre in Palm Beach, Fla.

For the bigger projects, Strand brings his wife along to help conduct the interviews. When dementia has dulled the expression in veterans faces, Strand will often ask a family member or caregiver to stand behind the camera so he can capture the moment when the subjects eyes light up with recognition. Sometimes, hell hand the subjects a meaningful object, like a bible or camera, to stir memories of something they love. Some subjects show up for the shoot in their old uniforms, while others arrive in T-shirts. Many arrive with 75-year-old wartime photos of themselves.

Ten of the World War II veterans he has photographed were women. One couple he photographed together were veterans Chuck and Annie Muler, who died within months of each other, not long after their dual portrait was taken in 2018. Strand has also photographed several men of color who served in segregated units during the war, including the late Noboru Don Seki, who lost his left arm fighting with the heavily-decorated Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and Herbert Barnum, a Black army sergeant who served as a mechanic in a mobile unit in Germany, Belgium and France.

His favorite veteran photo subject was Joe Renteria of Point Loma, who died in October at age 104. A Cherokee Indian who grew up in a Catholic orphanage, Renteria served as a top-secret Navy photographer during World War II, shooting photos of enemy bases from the air and capturing images of the secret U.S. nuclear bomb tests on Bikini Atoll in 1946. He posed for Strand holding the oversize camera that shot those images.

That was my No. 1 favorite shoot, Strand said. I loved how much of his character we captured in the photo.

To see more of Strands photographs, visit veteransportrait.com and mickeystrand.com .

2022 The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Visit sandiegouniontribune.com .
The Ministry of Health is reporting 12,020 new community cases, as well as 957 hospitalisations, 26 people in ICU and nine deaths. Three of the nine deaths are people from the Bay of Plenty.

There are 804 new community cases in the Bay of Plenty, and 330 in the Lakes District Health Board region.

There are 29 people with Covid-19 in hospitals in the Bay of Plenty and eight in hospitals in the Lakes region.

COVID-19 related deaths

Sadly, we are today reporting and additional nine people have died with Covid-19, says a Ministry of Health spokesperson.

This takes the total number of publicly reported Covid related deaths to 175 and the seven-day rolling average of reported deaths to nine.

Of these nine people who have died, one was from Capital and Coast, four from Auckland, three from the Bay of Plenty and one from Waikato.

Two of these people were in their 50s, two in their 70s, four in their 80s and one in their 90s. Eight were male and one was female.

Our thoughts are with their family and friends at this sad time. Out of respect, we will be making no further comment.

Declining numbers in Auckland

We are continuing to see a steady decline in case numbers in Auckland, while cases in other parts of the country fluctuate, says a Ministry of Health spokesperson. Case numbers generally decline over the weekend, likely linked to a lower level of testing.

There are 957 Covid-19 hospitalisations to report, which is an increase from 939 reported yesterday.

Every Covid-19 hospitalisation is a reminder of the importance of getting vaccinated to prevent severe illness from Omicron.

There is a much lower risk of being hospitalised if you are up to date with your vaccinations, which for Omicron includes a third or booster dose.

So, if youre due any dose of the vaccine, including a booster, please get vaccinated as quickly as possible to ensure you are well protected against Omicron.

Travellers from Samoa

Travellers from Samoa to New Zealand on four specific flights over coming weeks are now required to complete two Rapid Antigen Tests after they arrive, the first on Day 0/1 (within 36 hours of arriving) and the second on Day 5/6 (between 120 and 144 hours after arriving). They will be issued testing kits on arrival.

This follows the identification of Covid-19 community transmission in Samoa on Thursday. On Saturday 95 cases were reported in Samoa and the country is now in an Alert Level 3 lockdown.

Travellers from Samoa are still eligible to enter New Zealand without going into quarantine, provided those on the four flights undergo the two tests and report their results either by an automated email survey or by calling 0800 432 010. This requirement does not apply to aircrew.

The four flights are:

19 March flight NZ993 to Auckland (already arrived)

22 March flight NZ993 to Auckland

29 March flight NZ993 to Auckland

10 April flight NZ993 to Auckland

Vaccinations administered in New Zealand

Vaccines administered to date: 4,024,376 first doses; 3,971,793 second doses; 34,226 third primary doses; 2,550,651 booster doses: 256,769 paediatric first doses and 37,252 paediatric second doses

Vaccines administered yesterday: 222 first doses; 407 second doses; 6 third primary doses; 5,201 booster doses; 544 paediatric first doses and 7,581 paediatric second doses

People vaccinated

All Ethnicities (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 4,052,583 first dose (96.3%); 3,999,131 second dose (95%), 2,539,049 boosted (72.8% of those eligible)

Maori (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 519,733 first dose (91%); 501,544 second dose (87.8%), 223,758 boosted (59% of those eligible)

Pacific Peoples (percentage of eligible people aged 12+): 281,159 first dose (98.1%); 275,841 second dose (96.2%), 133,417 boosted (59.7% of those eligible)

5 to 11-year-olds all ethnicities: 255,249 first dose (53.6%); 23,545 second dose (4.9%)

5 to 11-year-olds - Maori: 39,670 first dose (34.3%); 2,889 second dose (2.5%)

5 to 11-year-olds - Pacific Peoples: 22,940 first dose (46.4%); 1,459 second dose (3%)

Note that the number for People vaccinated differs slightly from Vaccines administered as it includes those that have been vaccinated overseas.

Vaccination rates for all DHBs*

Northland DHB: first dose (90.1%); second dose (87.9%); boosted (69.7%)

Auckland Metro DHB: first dose (97.2%); second dose (96.1%); boosted (71%)

Waikato DHB: first dose (95.1%); second dose (93.5%); boosted (68.4%)

Bay of Plenty DHB: first dose (95%); second dose (93.2%); boosted (68.5%)

Lakes DHB: first dose (93.3%); second dose (91.4%); boosted (68.9%)

MidCentral DHB: first dose (96.5%); second dose (95.1%); boosted (74.4%)

Tairawhiti DHB: first dose (93.2%); second dose (90.8%); boosted (69.5%)

Whanganui DHB: first dose (91.9%); second dose (90.3%); boosted (73.9%)

Hawkes Bay DHB: first dose (97%); second dose (95.3%); boosted (72.6%)

Taranaki DHB: first dose (94.5%); second dose (93.1%); boosted (70.1%)

Wairarapa DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (94.9%); boosted (75%)

Capital & Coast DHB: first dose (98.5%); second dose (97.8%); boosted (81.2%)

Hutt Valley DHB: first dose (96.6%); second dose (95.5%); boosted (77.1%)

Nelson Marlborough DHB: first dose (96.4%); second dose (95.2%); boosted (76%)

West Coast DHB: first dose (92.6%); second dose (91%); boosted (74%)

Canterbury DHB: first dose (99.6%); second dose (98.6%); boosted (75.8%)

South Canterbury DHB: first dose (94.9%); second dose (93.8%); boosted (76.6%)

Southern DHB: first dose (98.1%); second dose (96.9%); boosted (75.1%)

*Partially and second doses percentages are for those 12+. Boosted percentages are for 18+ who have become eligible 3 months after having their second dose

Percentages are based on 2020 HSU data - a health-specific population denominator. As the population continues to change over time, coverage rates can exceed 100%.

Hospitalisations*

Cases in hospital: total number 957: Northland: 32; North Shore: 170; Middlemore: 222; Auckland: 197; Waikato: 83; Bay of Plenty: 29; Lakes: 8; Tairawhiti: 2, Hawkes Bay: 30; Taranaki: 4; MidCentral: 22; Hutt Valley: 21; Capital and Coast: 50; Wairarapa: 5; Whanganui: 3; Nelson Marlborough: 10; Canterbury: 42; South Canterbury: 1; Southern: 27

Average age of current hospitalisations: 58

Cases in ICU or HDU: 26

Vaccination status of current hospitalisations (Northern Region only, excluding Emergency Departments): Unvaccinated or not eligible (107 cases / 18.6%); partially immunised <7 days from second dose or have only received one dose (15 cases / 2.6%); double vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case (205 cases / 35.6%); Received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case (221 cases / 38.4%); unknown (28 cases / 4.9%)

*The figures show that just under 3 per cent of people aged 12 and over in the Northern Region have had no doses of the vaccine, while of those aged 12 and over in Northland and Auckland hospitals with COVID-19 for whom we have vaccination status recorded, 18.6 per cent have had no doses of the vaccine and are five times over-represented in our hospitalisation figures.

Cases

Seven day rolling average of community cases: 17,278

Number of new community cases: 12,020

Number of new community cases (PCR): 260

Number of new community cases (RAT): 11,760

Location of new community cases (PCR & RAT): Northland (416), Auckland (2,768), Waikato (1,093), Bay of Plenty (804), Lakes (330), Hawkes Bay (676), MidCentral (540), Whanganui (169), Taranaki (373), Tairawhiti (210), Wairarapa (146), Capital and Coast (795), Hutt Valley (443), Nelson Marlborough (308), Canterbury (1,897), South Canterbury (171), Southern (840), West Coast (22); Unknown (9)

Number of new cases identified at the border: 26

Number of active community cases (total): 120,942 (cases identified in the past 7 days and not yet classified as recovered)

Confirmed cases (total): 482,078

Please note, the Ministry of Healths daily reported cases may differ slightly from those reported at a DHB or local public health unit level. This is because of different reporting cut off times and the assignment of cases between regions, for example when a case is tested outside their usual region of residence. Total numbers will always be the formal daily case tally as reported to the WHO.

Tests
Covid-19 restrictions look set to be relaxed in the coming weeks as the Omicron outbreak plateaus and the border begins to reopen.

Cabinet is meeting today to review vaccine mandates, vaccine passports and the traffic light system, though any decisions will be announced on Wednesday.

The changes will mark the biggest domestic shake up to Covid-19 restrictions since Omicron arrived on Aotearoa's shores.

Epidemiologist professor Tony Blakely of Melbourne University says vaccine passes are among the restrictions that are now now excessive, given the spread of the outbreak.

"Many people have already been infected and the need to slow transmission down is less now and whilst the vaccines are good at stopping you going to hospital or preventing death, they're not as good at stopping any infection.

"People who were triple vaccinated three months ago have now got a 50 percent reduction in the infection risk, it's not 100 percent, so discriminating or differentiating between the vaccinated and unvaccinated when you haven't got a pressing epidemic happening at that moment in time I think is disproportionate."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has signalled public health measures will only be eased once the Omicron outbreak is "well beyond" its peak and pressure on the health system is manageable.

Blakely says daily case numbers are "grossly underestimating" true infections in New Zealand but can still be used to interpret trends, including an outbreak's peak.

"Your hospitalisations will not yet have quite peaked but they should plateau soon and perhaps start going down in about ten days, two weeks. Those are all clear signals that the peak is passing and you've now got a long tail."

University of Canterbury Covid-19 modeller Professor Michael Plank says scrapping vaccine passes is an obvious next step in the management of the outbreak.

"As we go forward with a combination of waning immunity and an increasing proportion of the population having been infected and subsequently recovered I think the vaccine pass system starts to be less effective in terms of reducing community transmission."

Also up for review today is vaccine mandates which now cover employees working in MIQ, Corrections, education, FENZ, police and defence.

The mandates were a focal point of discontent among Parliament's protesters but the government has never committed to setting an end date for them; making this crystal clear during the three week-long occupation.

"We all want to go back to the way that life was and we will, I suspect sooner than you think, but when that happens it will be because easing restrictions won't compromise the lives of thousands of people; not because you demanded it," says Jacinda Ardern.

The tail end of the protest coincided with a landmark decision out of the High Court that found the vaccine mandates for police and defence personnel unlawful.

The judge noted the decision did not affect other mandates but the Public Service Commission has since advised government departments and agencies to pause the dismissal of staff refusing to get vaccinated to check they were relying on the latest public health advice before continuing with dismissals.

Plank says it's possible mandates for the likes of teachers, introduced before the paediatric vaccine was approved, would be scrapped but warned not all mandates will go.

"It will probably be increasingly targeted to those higher risk encounters or settings such as aged residential care and health care."

Both Plank and Blakely stress the important roles both vaccination and restrictions have played in reducing serious illness and deaths.

They agree none of the measures could be put away for good with the threat of new variants and possible future peaks in winter still on the horizon.

Any changes to the current restrictions will be formally announced on Wednesday.

-RNZ/Anneke Smith.
Kiev/Ankara, March 20 (IANS) Turkey, which is trying hard to bring Moscow and Kiev to the negotiating table in an effort to end the ongoing war, has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is still not willing to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.



Speaking to local media outlets, Ibrahim Kalin, a government spokesman in Ankara, said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has proposed a meeting between the leaders of the two warring nations in Turkey in an effort to end the ongoing war, reports Ukrayinska Pravda.



"Zelensky is ready to do this. Putin, by contrast, believes that the parties have not yet reached a common vision sufficient to conduct negotiations at the head-of-state level," Kalin was quoted as saying.



According to the spokesman, in Erdogan's proposed meeting, the main point of focus will be on a possible compromise between Ukraine and Russia, after which detailed negotiations on the agreement will continue.



Kalin said that Putin, during a conversation with Erdogan, put forward six main points, which were Ukraine's neutrality and refusal to join NATO in future; 'demilitarisation' and mutual provision of security guarantees according to the Austrian security model; de-nazification; removal of "obstacles" to the widespread use of the Russian language; status recognition of the "Donetsk People's Republic", "Luhansk People's Republic"; and recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea.



According to the spokesman, the Ukrainian delegation apparently discussed the first four points with the Russians, but is not prepared even to discuss the fifth and sixth, Ukrayinska Pravda reported.



Therefore, Turkey is hoping to organise the meeting between Putin and Zelensky after which further progress can be made in the negotiations.



Kalin further said that neither Ukraine nor the world community is likely to easily agree to the recognition of Russia's occupation of Crimea and the Donbas region, which comprised Luhansk and Donetsk, as "this is a flagrant violation of international law".



He added that Russia was trying to negotiate from a position of strength, but "it should not be forgotten that the continuation of the war will primarily hit the Russian army and economy".



On March 10, under Turkey's initiative, a tripartite meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Moscow, Kiev and Ankara took place in Antalya.



However, no progress was achieved on a truce.



Russian authorities on March 16 announced their readiness to continue negotiations with Ukraine in the tripartite format.



Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had assured that Russia was not against personal talks between Zelensky and Putin.
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The top dignitary participated in a ceremony marking the closing of the First Meeting of Municipal Associations of Peru in Calca, southern Cusco region.

Within this framework, he invited local authorities to participate in the upcoming meeting, so that their main needs can be met.

"Today, we are here because of the democratic cry from authorities nationwide; I announce from this space that on Saturday, March 26, we will hold the National Agreement (session), the National Agreement Assembly, to which you are invited in a disciplined, orderly, and organic manner to participate," Mr. Castillo expressed.

The Head of State indicated that this meeting will enable the Government to assess the country's needs, as it is important to put Peru first.

Likewise, the top official affirmed his presence constitutes the Government's commitment to make decentralization a reality in Peru.

Furthermore, the Head of State explained that the fight against poverty and the closing of gaps require the support from all citizens and the nation's main authorities.

In this sense, he called on the Council of Ministers, the sectors' heads, and deputy ministers to "move from speech to action and from word to action."

"El sabado 26 de marzo se realizara la sesion del Acuerdo Nacional", informo el presidente @PedroCastilloTe durante la clausura del Primer Encuentro de Mancomunidades Municipales del Peru, que se realiza en la region Cusco. #GobernabilidadYDialogo pic.twitter.com/ytiLeSM52v

Presidente @PedroCastilloTe: "La lucha contra la pobreza y la desigualdad, asi como el cierre de brechas, requieren del compromiso de todos los peruanos y de la voluntad de las autoridades".#SiempreConElPueblo pic.twitter.com/JD7ZR1EWA5
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...Significant and potentially life threatening flash flooding is ongoing just south of I-44 across Okfuskee and Okmulgee counties. Numerous main-stem rivers will likely rise above flooding. Extensive low land flooding will be likely, especially where the heavier rain has already occurred. Many low-water crossings will likely become flooded. Area creeks and streams are already running high and will likely flood with more heavy rain. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Additional rounds of thunderstorms with very heavy rain are expected this evening through the overnight hours. Widespread 2 to 3 inches of rain is expected with locally higher amounts of 5 to 7 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. &&
Drawings of a new $12 million security and entry center project at the Pinellas County detention center on 49th Street in Clearwater. The project includes a 11,300 square foot facility for jail security and entry and a 500 square foot building for vehicle screening, gated vehicle lanes and parking.
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According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) , Peru's economy is in a frank recovery process, having reached pre-pandemic levels . It also continues leading economic growth in the region.
On Mar. 14, Apple rolled out its latest software update, the iOS 15.4, together with iPadOS 15.4, macOS Monterey, watchOS 8.5, 12.3, HomePod Software 15.4, and tvOS 15.4.

iOS 15.4 Affects Battery Life

The main feature of the iOS 15.4 is giving users the ability to unlock their phone using Face ID, even with a mask on. This is a great feature for users who do not have their own Apple Watch, according to GSMArena.

The rollout of iOS 14.5 in 2021 introduced FaceID with a mask for iPhone users who also own an Apple Watch. The new Face ID only works on the iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 generation, though it is less secure and slower.

The limited feature availability might be the least of iOS 15.4's issues as a growing number of users are reporting bad battery life on their iPhones after the update.

Also Read: Apple Wallet Driver's License: iOS 15.4 Beta Sees Code, When is it Coming?

Users even said that iPhone 13 Pro Max only lasts for half a day. Older iPhones like iPhone 11 dropped 80% of their battery charge in 24 hours with two hours of screen on time.

The issue is not universal, though, and some temporary battery issues are sometimes expected after an update. And iOS 15.4 might not look like a major one, but apparently, it includes 39 vulnerability fixes.

Still, the battery drain figures are high. Some users have theorized that Apple has started using the max 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate more frequently, according to BGR.

It is possible, but it can't be the full explanation since only the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone Pro Max have ProMotion, and these are not the only affected iPhone models.

Aside from the battery issues, iOS 15.4 also includes more than 100 new emojis from the Emoji 14.0 set. It comes with a new voice option for Siri together with the ability to give users the time and date information offline.

The iOS 15.4 update is expected to have EU Digital COVID Certificate that stores vaccines cards in Apple Wallet. It also has updates for Safari web page translations with support for Chinese and Italian. It comes with Podcasts app improvements and more.

Why You Need to Install iOS 15.4

According to MacRumors, iOS 15.4 has a lot of new features that iPhone users can enjoy. The update will give users an option to unlock their iPhone while wearing a mask with no other hardware like the Apple Watch. Apple warns that full-face ID is the better option, but mask Face ID is now available.

The Face ID is designed to use the area around the eyes for authentication purposes. It also works with glasses, but it is not compatible with sunglasses, and users must be looking at the iPhone to unlock it with a mask on.

The update also adds 37 new emojis 75 skin tone additions, and it gives a total of 112 new characters. The new emojis include saluting face, melting face, face with open eyes and hand over mouth, face with the diagonal mouth, face with peeking eye, and dotted line face, while new emojis include bubbles and biting lip.

As for the Personal Automations that are set up in the Shortcuts app, you can use the new "Notify When Run" option that lets you turn off notifications for Shortcuts.

You can choose not to be notified when a Shortcut activates, something that was not possible with the previous versions of iOS 15.

Related Article: Apple to Roll Out iOS 15.4 Beta Update on March 8 | Face ID With Masks, New Emojis, and More

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sophie Webster

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The artificial intelligence from the United States, created in the wake of Australia's horror fire in early 2020, could help fight the country's bushfires.

Although the advanced technology is still in its trial phase, it may soon be used nationwide.

Artificial Intelligence Can Help Australia's Fire

The technology was developed by the California-based company Salo Sciences and was brought to Australia by Andrew Forest's Minderoo Foundation. The transfer was bankrolled by the foundation for $70 million, according to 9News.

Artificial intelligence processes the information from satellite images, converting them into high-quality maps that show where there is a fire risk.

Xailient is a company that deployed their Edge AI algorithm with Palantir's Meta-Constellation system to detect wildfire indicators from satellite imagery.

Minderoo Foundation Fire and Flood Resilience Initiative CEP Adria Turner said that artificial intelligence is cutting-edge technology. He said they want to make sure that fires do not become bushfire disasters.

Peter McKechnie, the RFS's Deputy Commissioner, said that the technology would allow experts to understand better the fuels that drive the bushfires.

Also Read: Man Saves House From Deadly Bushfire With The Help Of Smart Home Sprinklers

McKechnie said they are preparing themselves for when they have to fight the bushfire, similar to what they experienced in 2020.

Although they do not want anything to happen, they understand that it is a possibility since they live in a place with that ever-present risk.

David Marvin, the CEO of Salo Sciences, said that artificial intelligence allows fire officials to look under the vegetation layer. He said that it is important because they can tend to it immediately when the fire starts to prevent it from growing even more.

Duffy's Forest on Sydney's Northern Beaches and other areas with 70,000 sq km is part of the trial.

Artificial Intelligence Used on Australia's Bugs

Aside from the bushfires that frequently happen in the country, artificial intelligence is also being used to combat one of its existing issues: bugs.

According to Siasat Daily, researchers from Australia's national science agency have created an app powered by artificial intelligence to keep stink bugs out of the country.

The app was developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization or CSIRO for Australia's federal government. It uses artificial intelligence to help officials identify stink bugs before entering the environment.

According to Xinhua News, artificial intelligence is being trialed by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment or DAWE at several quarantine stations.

Taxonomist Alexander-Schmid-Lebuhn said that artificial intelligence used the insect database of CSIRO to identify the stink bug. He said that they are taking detailed digital images of the stink bugs in their insect collection, and they are also using a 3D imaging system to take photographs from several angles.

Using a smartphone camera to zoom in or out and look at the stink bug from different angles, the artificial model in the app identifies the species and shows how likely it is to be correct.

The app also has profiles of species with example images and species information. Users can record a picture of the bug, its identification, geographic coordinates, and local time to help build out the database and inform biosecurity responses.

Australia has around 600 identified stink bug species, but the brown marmorated stink bug is the one that could threaten 300 native plant species if it enters the country. It can also threaten the country's stone fruit, hazelnut, apples, and grain crops.

The 2020 Australian bushfire has affected millions of wildlife. This ended with companies like Facebook donating to Australia to help them recover from the effects of the incident.

Months after the bushfire, Australia used drones to spot areas at risk of catching fire.

Related Article: Australian Researchers Develop Camera, Now Blasted Into Space, To Track Great Barrier Reef

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sophie Webster

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Australia's crypto regulation move now promises an efficient framework to ensure safer transactions and investments. But is this actually a good thing for blockchain fans?

Right now, cryptocurrencies are still not completely regulated by any government across the globe. Officials find it hard to control since the crypto market works very complexly.

Although this is the case, many countries, including Australia, are trying to regulate the activities in the crypto market.

Australia's Crypto Regulation Move

According to News.Com.Au, Australia will soon start regulating cryptocurrencies in the country.

Also Read: Best Crypto Wallets That Offers Protection For Your Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies

"The government can't guarantee your crypto any more than it can guarantee a painting or a share in a company, and nor should it," said Jane Hume, Australia's Financial Services Minister.

Hume added that it would ensure that a regulatory framework will arrive, making crypto transactions and investments safer, better, and more secure.

The Australian government is expected to release the terms of reference for two separate investigations into the cryptocurrency sector.

On the other hand, the Board of Taxation is now reviewing the proper taxation process for digital currencies. The final output of BoT is expected to arrive by the end of 2022.

Is Crypto Regulation Actually a Good Thing?

NextAdvisor reported that crypto regulation is a good thing for digital coin investors. Many blockchain experts claimed that once a digital coin is regulated, it will have a more stable value compared to uncontrolled digital currencies.

However, this also means that there will be taxes. Because of this, many crypto enthusiasts are still hesitant when it comes to cryptocurrency regulation.

But, you need to remember that crypto will be more legal if the government taxes it. Once this happens, crypto investors will have more protection against financial losses from fraudulent activities within the crypto ecosystem.

In other news, Hive Blockchain and Intel partnered to provide more efficient crypto mining devices. Meanwhile, Biden signed the recent crypto regulating executive order.

For more news updates about cryptocurrencies and other business tech topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Crypto Replacing Cash: What You Can Expect Moving Forward

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by: Griffin Davis

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Tehachapi, CA (93561)

Today

A clear sky. Low around 45F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A clear sky. Low around 45F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Hemos declarado en emergencia el sector Agrario para que, a traves del @midagriperu, impulsemos diversas acciones que fortalezcan la Segunda Reforma Agraria. Nuestras tierras nos dan todos los alimentos y los hermanos agricultores merecen ser apoyados de manera integral y rapida.
Why did 1 in 5 children and adolescents say they were not happy?
Engrid Hamilton remembers feeling annoyed when the blue lights flashed on Loyola Avenue near New Orleans City Hall.

I hadnt gotten a ticket in years, Hamilton said. But she wasnt wearing a seat belt, so she knew shed have to pay the piper.

She was surprised to learn that her drivers license had expired as had her insurance  $647.50 in tickets that she couldnt afford.

The tickets began a seven-year odyssey, during which fines and fees grew steadily to $4,342.50.

State law allows courts to assess defendants a 20% surcharge on top of the total unpaid fees as a collection cost. District attorneys can tack on another 20%, while probation and parole can collect 10% more and the Office of Debt Recovery can assess defendants a 25% surcharge.

A trained welder, Hamilton was unable to get work because she couldnt produce a drivers license. Eventually, she got help from the Justice and Accountability Center of Louisiana to clear the tickets. She got her license and is back working.

Fines, fees pile up

The Justice and Accountability Center has recently closed 1,796 cases involving 439 people and more than $1 million in costs in Orleans Parish alone, said Sarah Whittington, Hamiltons lawyer.

I dont know if they understand the reality that someone living in poverty or in a low-wage job faces when they receive these fines and fees, she said.

Pulling up another case at random, Whittington pointed to costs for a jury fee  jurors are not seated for traffic cases  and charges for building security along with other costs that raised the traffic fines to a point that this client would have to work 62.3 hours to pay off the debt.

While I am a firm believer in the user pays principle, some of whom show up in court often simply cannot pay exceptionally high fines, fees and costs, Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John Weimer said Tuesday in his State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Legislature. For far too long, our state has shifted the costs of our state court system to local government and has done so with fines, fees and costs to keep the system afloat.

A Louisiana Supreme Court 800-page survey, released at the end of January, shows that fines and fees account for about 75% of the revenue raised in municipal courts and about half the funding for state district courts. The courts counted $234 million in total revenue last fiscal year.

Funding Louisiana courts

Because nobody really knows how much each of the courts rely on fees and fines, the Legislature last year passed legislation requiring the courts to report their revenues and expenses to the Supreme Court. Nobody has had a chance to vet the accuracy of the submissions to the high court.

The Legislative Auditor's Office points out that only a small fraction of the user-pay costs is being captured. The office is looking for the additional fees being sent to various agencies. About 1,555 entities collect fees of some kind through the courts, including all 64 sheriffs, 18 childrens advocacy agencies, 78 city marshals' offices, 387 justices of the peace, and three quasi-private criminal laboratories.

In November, Sandra Whitehead, a certified public accountant and the special projects manager for the Legislative Auditor's Office, reported that 4.9%, or 77 of the 1,555 agencies, collected $70.6 million.

For instance, auditors point to DeSoto Parish, home to about 27,000 people along the Texas border between Natchitoches and Shreveport.

Under Local Agency Compensated Enforcement, traveling 10 miles over the posted speed limit in DeSoto Parish results in a $100 fine. But the driver owes $267.50 after adding court costs. That includes $2 for Crime Stoppers, $30 for the parish Police Jury, $45 for the indigent defenders fund and $30 for the Northwest Louisiana Crime Lab.

District attorneys frequently enter into agreements with local and/or state law enforcement agencies to perform LACE details to enhance public safety and generate revenue. Off-duty law enforcement officers work LACE details and typically receive overtime pay at the rate of time and a half in exchange for generating revenue by writing citations, the legislative auditor stated.

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The situation is further muddied by federal courts, one of which ruled indigent criminal defendants are constitutionally entitled to a neutral forum, therefore some courts cant make assessments because the proceeds go toward operating those courts. But state law requires some judges to make assessments to provide for operating expenses.

Possible reforms

Derisively, and perhaps unfairly, called the kick the can down road task force, the Commission on Justice System Funding was set up by the Legislature to find ways to change Louisianas user-pay system into one that taxpayers fund. Louisiana is one of the last states looking at shifting to taxpayers the obligation of funding the courts.

Up and running in 2019, the commission was unable to meet in person for months because of the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of serious storms.

Although the commission's progress was slowed, what flummoxed the commission was the discovery that, for generations, courts had developed individualized systems of fines and fees. Sixty-some laws have given local courts the means to fund themselves.

Even definitions of restitution and court costs differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

The commission released its report in February but still couldnt offer any specific bills for the legislative session that began March 14.

Were still talking about finding that elusive funding source to replace the fines and fees, State Public Defender Remy Voisin Starns, a member of the commission, said Friday.

Starns raised several potential ways to offset funding losses should the state stop relying on fines and fees. The methods include raising property taxes and reducing costs by consolidating courts. But any solutions need to first untangle legalities.

Starns chaired a working group that reported to the full commission that the $45 assessment that goes to fund the agency he heads  if the client is convicted  creates a conflict of interest. No lawyer is going to throw a case for $45, but the conflict still exists, the groups report states. Most of the funds come through traffic citations in which paying the fine is an admission of guilt.

Theres a lot of moving parts. We dont know what the solution is going to be, but were working towards to it, Starns said.

A bill for change?

House Speaker Pro Tem Tanner Magee, the Houma Republican who chairs the commission, did not make himself available for interviews over a three-day period last week. But he has filed House Bill 443, which, among other technical changes, would require court hearings to determine if the financial obligation would cause a substantial financial hardship on the defendant.

During recent commission meetings, Magee acknowledged that the Legislature was largely responsible for the fines and fees. Such bills are considered purely local matters  they do not impact the rest of the state  so lawmakers spend little time debating on the assumption that the sponsoring legislator knows whats best for his or her district.

The courts are supposed to review the new fines and fees but usually dont as the Legislature already has found them acceptable.

Will Harrell, a member of the commission, is hoping for legislation that would impose a moratorium on the establishment of new fines and fees. Legislators have until April 5 to file bills for the annual session that runs until June 6.

We still dont know the gravity of the situation, said Harrell, who also serves as senior public policy counsel for Voice of the Experienced, a New Orleans-based group that advocates for those who are or recently were incarcerated. Lets quit doing what weve done until we get a handle it.
The chief executive of $68 billion superannuation fund for health workers Hesta has taken aim at Facebook, accusing the social media giant of posing a threat to public health by spreading misinformation that fuels vaccine hesitancy, climate denialism and body image problems for young women.

Hesta chief executive Debby Blakey said Facebooks social licence to operate had been undermined by successive scandals involving poor oversight of content regulation, from livestreaming the Christchurch massacre to spreading COVID-19 conspiracies.

HESTA chief executive Debby Blakey says Facebook misinformation is a threat to public health. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Its a threat to public health, she said. Lack of action is potentially having a big impact on the health and wellbeing of our members through misinformation around vaccinations.

Hesta has $130 million invested in Meta, Facebooks parent company that also owns Instagram and Whatsapp, and has filed a shareholder resolution ahead of the US companys annual general meeting in May calling for greater disclosure around how misinformation is managed.
Russia first; next stop China. If American, British and European multinationals can quit Russia in protest at Vladimir Putins murderous assault on Ukraine, should they not also be considering their position in China, which is tarred with much the same autocratic brush as Russia and in some respects carries a similar degree of geopolitical risk?

For Ukraine read Taiwan, and for Russian paranoia about NATOs eastward expansion, look to Beijings ever more aggressive pursuit of its own supposed sphere of influence in the East and South China Seas.

For Xi Jinping , Vladimir Putins invasion will have been seen as a way of testing Western resolve, a useful war-gaming of his own designs played out at someone elses expense. Credit:AP

It is impossible to know for sure whether Putin told Chinas Xi Jinping of his intentions when they signed their no limits partnership on the eve of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The answer is as unknowable as whether the COVID virus emanated from a Wuhan lab. Yet Beijing could see the military build-up on Ukraines borders as well as any. It is hard to believe the matter wasnt even mentioned. Putin would have wanted reassurance that Xi was on side. Xi would in turn no doubt have partially believed Putins assurances that the land grab would be a walk in the park.
Negi Chicken at Yakimono

Long-time Melbourne chef Daniel Wilson pays homage to the charcoal-laden smoke dens of Japans yakitori bars through his iteration of the classic chicken skewer at newcomer Yakimono.

Sweet and salty, this dish has all the elements of the Japanese flavours we know and love, but with Wilsons shameless obsession with perfection.

I marinate large chicken pieces with a spring onion and sake paste with the skin left on, he explains.

This results in a crispy and caramelised chicken accented by the fat drippings over the flames that lick the meat. With the juiciness of the chicken, the Kabayaki sweet soy glaze and the umami sake flavours, its one of my favourite new dishes.

Satay Kangaroo at Miss Mi

Chef Esca Khoo asks, Why cant we use local unique ingredients to see traditional Asian dishes from a new perspective? His answer is Miss Mis most mysterious off-menu dish, Half My Life in Australia and Half My Life in Malaysia.

Sounding more like an autobiography than a meal, Khoo draws on influences from his upbringing in both Antipodean and Southeast Asian regions.

Chef Escas iconic Vegemite Glazed Kangaroo Skewer is a must-try. Credit:Instagram @missmi.melbourne

The dish, of which a limited amount are cooked per day and only the privy can order, is a play on the traditional satay.

Using Australian red kangaroo marinated and barbecued in a Vegemite glaze, then coated in a macadamia nut satay, it is unapologetically served with avocado and set aflame on a bed of paper bark.

Vada Pav at The Common Man

If youre a vegan or just a carnivore looking to take a break, the Vada Pav is a savoury alternative to the common burger.

Inspired by trips to the subcontinent, The Common Man chef Malcolm Williams is serving Indian street food to Melbournes South Wharf.

Theres exciting food in all parts of the globe, says Williams. I wanted to create a vegan dish that went beyond throwing a mushroom between two buns.

The result is his traditional Indian curry potato patty on a milk bun with mustard seeds, garam masala and garlic. Topped with a tart tamarind chutney and sweet mango pickle, its a plant-based sensation.

Get to the city for Melbournes most iconic eats, from alfresco laneway dining and riverside pop-ups, to rooftop bars and street food markets. Visit whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au or follow @whatsonmelb on Instagram and Facebook.
Its Monday and the dawn of a new era. Turf out all the political rules opposition parties have been following.

As Australias answer to John F. Kennedy  yes, were talking about new South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas (tanned, handsome, Catholic)  has shown, competent first-term governments, such as the one run by Steven Marshall, can be sent to the knackers. Chinos, sports jackets and chambray shirts a la Ralph Lauren are back. Avoiding COVID-related pot shots at governments under strain will win over voters and so will getting your shirt off at a photo op.

Phwoar and order candidate: Malinauskas shows voters a more human side. Credit:Nine News

Witness Malinauskas stripping off and jumping into the pool at the Adelaide Aquatic Centre for a major policy announcement.

Not since a Speedo-clad Tony Abbott, or reaching further back, Bob Hawke poolside at the 1975 ALP national conference in Terrigal, NSW, have we seen a political leader so comfortable with using physique politics to engage the nations interest.
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has become the first person to lodge a report on a new online register designed to enable First Nations people to put on the public record the levels of racism they experience.

The Call It Out register provides an alternative to the current, legalistic, process for reporting incidents of racial discrimination through discrimination law, according to Professor Larissa Behrendt, the director of research at Jumbunna Research at Sydneys University of Technology. She said it would highlight elements of racism that the legal system fails to protect against.

Professor Larissa Behrendt the director of research at Jumbunna Research at Sydneys University of Technology. Credit:James Alcock

Senator Thorpe was invited to log the first report and wrote of an incident of racial profiling she said happened when checking in bags at Canberra Airport last year, after she had spent the morning visiting the Aboriginal Tent Embassy for a cleansing ceremony.

Ms Thorpe believes she was racially profiled by airline staff and airport security. The incident escalated and resulted in Ms Thorpe returning to her home state via another airline. Ms Thorpe later sought an explanation and apology in writing from both the airline and the airport, but says her letter received no reply.
The ABC is planning to employ more journalists in the Pacific region and re-establish satellite feeds for its international service under a $12 million request for funding submitted to government last year.

Expansion of ABC Radio Australia across the Pacific into different time zones and creating specialised content focused on the region that can air on ABC television and radio in Australia are among a series of detailed proposals to boost coverage in the region.

ABC will try to expand its presence in the Pacific if it receives $12 million in funding. Credit:Jason South

ABC managing director David Anderson flagged the plans to increase the broadcasters presence in the region last year, but did not go into detail on what the investment would look like. He was still waiting for the government to confirm the next round of triennium funding. The expansion plans were made public in answers to questions asked by the Senate in February.

The ABC said a $12 million submission to government for boosting its presence in the region included the expansion of ABC Radio Australias FM footprint across the Pacific and the re-establishment of three satellite feeds for the ABCs international TV service ABC Australia.
The federal government has pledged to introduce new laws to help reduce the spread of harmful content on social media, as the worlds most powerful tech companies try to combat the deluge of misinformation and disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine online.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher is planning to introduce legislation that will give Australias media watchdog more regulatory power over tech companies who fail to meet the standards of a voluntary misinformation and disinformation code of practice.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has announced plans to introduce legislation this year to combat harmful disinformation and misinformation online. Credit:Renee Nowytarger

Under the code, misinformation is defined as false or misleading information that is likely to cause harm, while disinformation is false or misleading information that is distributed by users via spam and bots.

The new laws, which are expected to be introduced to parliament later this year, will make it easier to assess the effectiveness of self-regulation and help the government decide whether a compulsory code of practice needs to be introduced to tackle the issue.
Singapore: A bid by one of East Timors founding fathers, Jose Ramos-Horta, to return to the presidency has been strongly endorsed by voters in Australias near neighbour.

South-east Asias youngest country went to the polls on Saturday for its fifth presidential election and while counting continued on Sunday, Ramos-Horta, 72, was clearly in front.

Jose Ramos-Horta visits a polling station in Dili on Saturday. Credit:AP

With the backing of independence hero Xanana Gusmaos National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) party, the Nobel peace prize laureate was seeking to return as president a decade after he failed to win a second five-year term. He served in the office between 2007 and 2012, during which time he survived being shot in what was an attempted assassination.

By Sunday evening, with 73 per cent of ballots tallied, 45.88 per cent of votes were in favour of Ramos-Horta, according to provisional data from East Timors electoral commission reported by Portuguese news agency Lusa.
London: Prince William and his wife Catherine have cancelled a planned visit to a Belize village after an indigenous group staged a protest over a long-running land rights dispute.

The first day of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge week-long tour of Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas was thrown into chaos after community members of Indian Creek, a village in the foothills of the Maya Mountains, made it clear they didnt want the royals there.

Catherine and Williamare greeted on their arrival in Belize City, Belize. Credit:Getty Images

The couple were due to visit a family-run Akte il Ha sustainable cacao farm, arriving in a helicopter which was supposed to land on a nearby football pitch, which had also aggrieved locals.

The protest was part of a long-running dispute over communal land rights with the state and charity group Flora and Fauna International, which works to protect ecosystems worldwide, over the rights to lands lost in the colonial era.
Governor Gordon and the Wyoming Veterans Commission have announced three celebrations around the state for Wyoming Veterans Welcome Home Day on Saturday, March 26. During the 61st Legislative Session in 2011, the day of welcoming was codified in state law for March 30 of each year. This coincides with the date U.S. combat troops would have set foot on Wyoming soil after returning home from the Vietnam War in 1973.

All Wyoming Veterans, especially those from the Korean War, Vietnam War, and other Veterans who were not properly thanked upon their return home, are invited to attend and receive the welcome and thanks of a grateful state. Military, surviving spouses of Veterans, and family members are also welcome to attend.

The first ceremony begins at 8:30 am in Green River at American Legion Post 28, 38 North Center St.

A ceremony takes place at 11:30 am in Worland at American Legion Post 44, 129 S. 7th St.

The final ceremony of the day will commence at 3 pm in Gillette at the Campbell County Senior Center located at 701 Stocktrail Ave.

The ceremonies will include remarks by Governor Mark Gordon, Maj. Gen. Greg Porter, the Adjutant General of Wyoming and Veterans Commission Chairman Jake Jacobs, local officials and Veterans. Receiving lines will be formed so Wyoming residents can join the effort to thank our Veterans.

Wyoming communities are also encouraged to host their own celebrations to honor Wyoming Veterans who may not have been thanked for their service or welcomed home.

For additional information, contact the Wyoming Veterans Commission at (307) 777-8151.
SEOUL, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired four suspected shots from its multiple rocket launchers on Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported citing unnamed South Korean military officials.

The short-range shots were launched from an unspecified area in South Pyongan province toward the western waters over the time of about an hour from 7:20 a.m. local time.

Presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a written statement that the National Security Council (NSC) held an emergency vice-ministerial meeting over the incident, according to the presidential Blue House.

The NSC meeting participants agreed to precisely analyze details on the shots in cooperation with the United States and closely monitor the relevant developments.

Earlier this month, the South Korean military said the DPRK seemed to fail in its launch of an unidentified projectile on March 16. South Korea also said that the DPRK tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system on Feb. 27 and March 5, but the DPRK said those launches were tests on its reconnaissance satellite development.
Two Cayuga County schools will be hosting COVID-19 vaccination clinics this week.

There will be snacks and giveaways for those receiving a vaccine at the Moravia Middle School gym from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, where people may receive Pfizer pediatric first and second doses for individuals 5 to 11 years old, Pfizer first, second, and booster doses for people 12 and older, and Moderna first, second, and booster doses for those 18 and older

There will also be snacks and giveaways at Genesee Elementary School in Auburn from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, March 24, where the same vaccines as the Moravia clinic will be available.

Both clinics will both be available for walk-ins, or people may make an appointment ahead of time by visiting cayugacounty.us/health.

These clinics are restricted to Cayuga County residents, and visitors are asked to bring their insurance card and a vaccine card if receiving a second dose or booster.

The availability of the vaccine is not limited to just the health department. Individuals are encouraged to work with local pharmacies, federally qualified health centers, and healthcare providers to get an appointment.

For anyone without access to the internet, city, town and village clerks can assist with online registration as well as the Cayuga Community Health Network by calling (315) 252-4212.

As the school-based clinics are being offered, Cayuga County's vaccination rates among children remain well below the state average. According to the state Department of Health, 28.3% of county children ages 5-11 have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot, compared with 40.1% statewide. Among children ages 12-17, the county rate of 57.4% is nearly 20 percentage lower than the state rate, which is 77.1%.

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Carol Swanson is a member of the Blount County League of Women Voters, which promotes democracy by empowering voters. Her Ukrainian family members hail from Rubezhnoye, a small town under siege.
An injured man is led along the street at a shooting outside a car show in Dumas, Ark., on March 19, 2022, in a still from video. (Rashun Watkins via AP/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

At least 1 Dead, 24 Injured in Shooting Outside Car Show in Arkansas: Police

At least one person has died and 24 others have been injured, including children, after a shooting outside a car show in Arkansas on Saturday, police confirmed early Sunday morning.

Arkansas State Police said in a news release Sunday that one person was in custody and authorities were searching for others who may have fired into the crowd Saturday evening. Additional information, including conditions of the wounded, wasnt immediately available.

Keith Finch, police chief of Dumas, Arkansas, told Monticello Live that the shooting started around 6:50 p.m. local time and that multiple gunmen just started shooting at the parking lot of a former Freds Dollar Store. The outlet reported that two helicopters were evacuating victims to larger hospitals for more specific treatment.

There were two different incidents that occurred in the areaone was a high-speed pursuit that resulted in a head-on crash, and the second was the shooting in the parking lot, according to local outlet KARK.

Victims are being taken to local hospitals in McGehee and Dumas, with one child being transported to the Arkansas Childrens Hospital. At least two victims have been airlifted from the parking lot, reported KARK.

Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler earlier told multiple outlets that police were called to Dumas at about 7:25 p.m. local time after an initial report of a shooting outside a local business where a car show was underway.

Dumas is located about 90 miles south of Little Rock.

Saying prayers for entire Dumas community after tonights senseless & tragic shooting as families with young children gathered for community event on Sat. evening, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin said on Twitter. God Bless the law enforcement officers who are on the scene responding,

The car show was holding its 16th annual event, which is held each spring to raise funds for scholarships and school supplies, according to the Delta Neighborhood Empowerment Youth Organization, also known as the Hood-Nic Foundation, which put on the event.

We are heartbroken and in shock at what took place during tonights car show. Several people were shot by an unknown suspect. The full extent of injuries has not yet been disclosed, the organizers said on Facebook late Saturday. State Patrol is currently investigating the situation. We will release more details as they come in. If you know anything, please report it to the authorities.

The purpose of Hood-Nic has always been to bring the community together. This senseless violence needs to end. Sending our prayers.

Wallace McGehee, the car shows lead organizer, told KATV at the scene that the event has not had a problem in all the years its been held. For something like this to happen, its a tragedy, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Judge Strikes Down Election Integrity Laws in Arkansas as Unconstitutional

An often-reversed Arkansas judge struck down four new election integrity laws approved by the Republican-controlled state legislature, finding the statutes unconstitutionalbut an appeal to the states supreme court seems imminent.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen permanently enjoined the lawsActs 249, 728, 736, and 973on March 18 after a four-day trial. The statutes came as part of a nationwide wave of new state-level election laws that followed irregularities during the 2020 presidential election.

In court, Griffen reportedly said the defendants, including Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston, a Republican, hadnt demonstrated a need for the laws and that the states fears about election integrity were based entirely on conjecture and speculation, which cannot be permitted to supply the place of proof. Griffen said he would issue a detailed order at a later date.

The lawsuit was initiated by the League of Women Voters of Arkansas (LWVAR), Arkansas United, and five voters. They claimed the statutes disproportionately harmed voters of color.

LWVAR president Bonnie Miller said on social media that she was pleased with the court decision.

Were celebrating this victory for democracy and are confident that justice will continue to prevail despite the attorney generals inevitable appeal.

Andrew Collins, a Democrat who is a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, also reacted favorably to the ruling.

Each of these laws, passed amidst a flood of misinformation, represents a counterproductive solution in search of a problem, Collins wrote on Twitter. Meaningful election security is important, but these laws arent necessary to achieve it, and they make it harder for people to vote legitimately.

Act 249 dealt with how provisional ballots are counted. Act 728, which came in response to complaints about groups giving food and water to voters, prohibited individuals from being within 100 feet of a polling place unless they are entering or leaving the facility. Act 736, a measure aimed at ballot harvesting, stated that the possession by an individual of more than four absentee ballots creates a rebuttable presumption of intent to defraud. Act 973 reduced the timeframe for voters to ask for absentee ballots.

State Sen. Kim Hammer, a Republican who supported the reforms, told CNN last year that the new laws were about protecting the integrity of the vote.

These were taken from real examples that happened here in the state, he said, adding that lawmakers had worked with local election officials in writing the legislation.

State leaders who support the election integrity measures were disappointed by the ruling.

States should be left with the flexibility to protect the integrity of the ballot box and the [Arkansas] Supreme Court will have the opportunity to review the constitutionality of these laws, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, told reporters.

An aide to Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said Rutledge would review the court decision and decide what to do next.

The Attorney General is committed to fighting for the integrity of elections in the state of Arkansas, spokeswoman Stephanie Sharp said in a statement.

Griffen, known for his left-wing activism, is a controversial figure in Arkansas. Some Republican state lawmakers advocate impeaching and removing him as a judge. Compared by some to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former President Barack Obamas pastor whose fiery sermons blasted the United States as an inherently racist country, Griffen is also a Baptist preacher known for wearing an African dashiki when delivering sermons, as Wright did.

Griffen was barred from hearing cases that could lead to the death penalty after he attended an anti-capital punishment protest outside the governors mansion in 2017 while strapped to a cot as if he were about to be executed by lethal injection. The protest came the same day as he issued a ruling blocking the states execution schedule.

Griffen also denounced President-elect Donald Trump days after his election in November 2016.

White nationalism and white male supremacy never left this country, Griffen said, according to Arkansas Money and Politics. It is a fallacy  that somehow the nation had moved on beyond the hatefulness, the fearfulness, the misogyny.
Alabama House Passes Bill Banning Teaching Divisive Concepts in Schools

The Alabama House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at banning the teaching of any divisive concept to school students. The bill, HB 312, was passed mostly along party lines 6532, and now moves to the Alabama Senate.

HB 312 defines a divisive concept as including any ideology that teaches (a) a race, religion, or sex as being inherently superior to another race, religion, or sex; (b) that the United States is an inherently sexist or racist state; (c) that any individual, solely due to his/her sex or race is inherently racist, sexist, and oppressive; (d) an individual, due to his race, sex, or religion, bears responsibility for past actions by other members of the same race, sex, or religion; and (e) an individual must be asked to accept or affirm a sense of guilt solely on the basis of sex or race, etc.

No state agency nor any public K12 school may teach, instruct, or train any employee, contractor, staff member, teacher, student, or any other individual or group of individuals to adopt or believe a divisive concept, the bill states.

Though the bill does not explicitly state that it is aimed at blocking the teaching of critical race theory at schools, it effectively attempt to achieves the same result.

A public institution of higher education or an employee employed in such an institution may teach about the doctrine of a divisive concept as part of a larger course of academic instruction. However, the institution or the employee is prohibited from attempting to compel students to assent to the concept, according to the bill.

Any employee, contractor, or student in Alabama should not be subject to discrimination or penalty just because they refuse to believe or support a divisive concept, according to the bill. They should also not be pressured into sharing their personal viewpoint on widely debated and currently controversial issues of social affairs or public policy.

Some African Americans have criticized the bill, saying that it will prevent the teaching of history. House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Ala.) called the bill a racist piece of legislation.

My daughter, whos in the chamber today, how do I explain to her the leaders of this state decided to take on an issue thats really about erasing history, and controlling whats taught and whats not being taught because a certain group of people feel bad? Daniels said.

Rep. Ed Olivier (R-Ala.), the primary sponsor of the bill, disputed the argument that HB 312 will interfere with the honest teaching of history. Lawmakers also added an amendment that was offered by a Democrat that would protect the teaching of past events in a historically accurate context.

It is to prevent kids from being taught to hate America and hate each other, Oliver said about the bill, while adding that it is intended to create a nice, safe environment for kids to learn without distractions that may not be age-appropriate.
The Alcan Gove bauxite mine and alumina processing plant is the largest industrial undertaking in the Northern Territory, Australia on Dec. 3, 2005. (Torsten Blackwood/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia Bans Aluminum Exports to Russia, Sources Coal for Ukraine

Australia has imposed an immediate ban on exports of alumina and aluminum ores, including bauxite, to Russia, the government said on Sunday as part of its ongoing sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia relies on Australia for nearly 20 percent of its alumina needs, the Australian government said in a joint statement from several ministries, including the prime ministers office. It added that the move will limit Russias capacity to produce aluminium, which is a critical export for Russia.

The government will work closely with exporters and peak bodies that will be affected by the ban to find new and expand existing markets, the statement said.

Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto owns an 80 percent stake in Queensland Alumina Ltd (QAL) in a joint venture with Russias Rusal International PJSC, the worlds second-largest aluminum producer.

Last week, Australia imposed sanctions on two Russian businessmen with links to its mining industry, one of them being billionaire Oleg Deripaska who holds stakes in QAL.

Australia has so far imposed a total of 476 sanctions on 443 individuals, including businessmen close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and 33 entities, including most of Russias banking sector and all entities responsible for the countrys sovereign debt, the statement said.

The government also said it will donate at least 70,000 tonnes of thermal coal to Ukraine to meet its energy needs.

Australian coal producers have been bombarded with calls for supply over the past few weeks from Ukraine and other countries like Poland that have been reliant on Russian supplies.

The Australian Government has worked with the Australian coal industry to source supplies, the statement said.

Whitehaven Coal has quickly arranged a shipment, and the Government is now working with the company and the Ukrainian and Polish Governments to deliver the supplies at the earliest available opportunity, the statement said.

The government also pledged additional military equipment and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
The Auburn Police Department has warrants out on two people connected to a smoke shop in the city, including the business owner, after thousands of illegal items were reportedly found there in a February raid.

In February, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Auburn Smoke Shop, 67 Franklin St., and discovered over 18,000 illegal products such as untaxed cigarettes, marijuana and flavored vaping products. The establishment, which opened in April 2021, was previously the site of various criminal investigations before the raid, including a reported armed robbery on Dec. 31.

Following a city nuisance committee deciding on March 16 to hold a hearing on the shop next month, Auburn Police Chief James Slayton told The Citizen Thursday that there are felony warrants out for business owner Mohamed Algamal and the property manager for the business, Zakarya Alharbi. The warrants are for evading cigarette tax law, a class E felony.

Slayton said the APD will need to confer with the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office to determine if any other charges will be forthcoming.

The department has been working with the state Department of Taxation and Finance on the charges related to the cigarettes, and Slayton said the APD will continue working with that agency "until this issue is resolved."

Slayton also noted that there have been fewer police calls about issues in that area since the raid was executed, saying "that's what we had in mind," not only for the officers who would respond to calls connected to the shop but for the neighbors and businesses in that area.

An employee at the Auburn Smoke Shop declined to be interviewed by The Citizen Thursday.

Auburn is also working on other ways to address the shop, which has attracted concerns from city officials and neighboring community members and businesses in recent months.

The Auburn Nuisance Abatement Committee voted at a meeting March 16 to set up a hearing regarding the smoke shop at a meeting April 20 where, if the body determines the shop has been a public nuisance, various options can be taken, including closing the building down. The committee, which reviews complaints on properties within the city, started in June, and the body coordinates with city departments to address concerns.

At the March 16 meeting, the board  which consists of Slayton, Auburn City Manager Jeff Dygert and Auburn Fire Chief Mark Fritz  opted to schedule a hearing on the business for the April 20 meeting.

Before the body made its decision, Slayton mentioned the warrants. Auburn Assistant Corporation Counsel Nate Garland suggested sending notice to the property owner at 67 Franklin St.  which is Auburn-Franklin Ventures LLC out of Rochester, according to Cayuga County property records  that a hearing would be set. The property owner is different from the property manager of the business.

"If they seek an adjournment in that matter, we can perhaps deal with that if that does come," Garland said.

He added that he believed the APD's efforts on this matter "has had a good effect," but he wanted to "bring in the property owner here and at the very least, make them plead their case."

"I know that we have a raft of charges that are pending against members of the business organization. Those individuals will be held to the penal law and tax law of the state of New York," he continued. "But the owner of the property perhaps should face the music and not be allowed to allow a public nuisance within the city of Auburn, so my recommendation would be to schedule a hearing for the next board meeting."

Dygert asked if the time period between that day's meeting and the April 20 meeting would be "adequate notice to give to the property owner and the business owner."

"We're looking to effect service on a limited liability corporation," Garland said. "I don't have a tremendous amount of experience in that enough to issue an opinion of how likely that is to happen within a month, but we can certainly attempt to effect service and bring in members of that LLC within that time."

Dygert addressed the nuisance committee's latest actions towards the smoke shop at an Auburn City Council meeting Thursday. He said that normally, once a property is before the board, "the property owners are stepping up and dealing with the issues, whether it be with (Auburn) code enforcement or law enforcement, things like that, and we tend not to see to repeat issues with those properties once they make it before the committee."

He noted that the issue with Auburn Smoke Shop would be moving forward, however, with the upcoming hearing.

"That property will move on to a hearing in April, at which point the property owner...will have an opportunity to speak before the committee, as well as anyone in that neighborhood who has an issue with it, and then we will move on from there," Dygert continued.

He also said the APD had separate warrants out for the smoke shop's owner and business manager.

Garland said in an interview with The Citizen Friday that the city's corporation counsel office is in the process of sending notice to the Secretary of State, which will then give the property owner notice regarding the hearing and a chance to be heard, "in keeping with the (city of Auburn's) nuisance chapter notice requirements."

For the hearing next month, the corporation counsel office will "put on a case as to why the property is being let out as a nuisance", Garland said, and a representative for the property owner will have an opportunity to respond. The committee will then "determine whether or not a nuisance exists," Garland continued.

If the shop is declared to be a nuisance, there are various options available to the committee, Garland said, including ordering the closure of the building, suspending a business license or revoking a certificate of occupancy.

At one point, Garland said the nuisance chapter of the city's codes "allows the city to hold property owners accountable for the way in which their property is used."

"What we're going to do on April 20th is hold the property owners accountable for the way in which they have allowed their property to be used. And it's my position that they have allowed their property to be used as a nuisance," he added.

At a nuisance committee meeting held last month, the body voted to send notice to the smoke shop property owner requesting that a representative attend the March 16 meeting. Garland said Friday he didn't remember if notice was sent out to the LCC in regards to that meeting.

"That's not a legal necessity by any means, and frankly, if Auburn-Franklin Ventures LLC is operating blissfully unaware of what's going on on Franklin Street, that is their fault, and that is not just my opinion, that is the liability which the nuisance chapter (of the city's codes) imposes on them," he said.

Michael Laframboise, owner of Underground Ink CNY, 66 Arterial East, which neighbors the smoke shop, aired concerns regarding the smoke shop at the February committee meeting, such as people driving over grass in his business' driveway and fights and other issues in the back parking lot.

Laframboise told The Citizen Thursday that he believes the city is making efforts to deal with these concerns. He noted that not long after he spoke at that meeting, a city code enforcement officer stopped by to take pictures of Underground Ink's backlot and other outside areas where issues with the smoke shop had taken place. Laframboise said an officer with the APD also came by at one point to ask him to reach out if he saw anything suspicious.

"I'm actually pretty impressed on how fast they responded to what we had to say," Laframboise said.

He also noted that he hasn't had any major issues related to the smoke shop since that raid was executed.

"Anybody that doesn't have a problem with it, they can go be your neighbor and not mine," Laframboise added.

Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison during press conference approving a Pfizer vaccine at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Feb. 4, 2021. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

Australia Military Equipment Bound for Ukraine

Australia will donate military equipment and coal to Ukraines effort to defend its country from invasion while placing additional sanctions on Russia.

Following discussions between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Defence Minister Peter Dutton, and their Ukrainian counterparts, an additional A$21 million (US$15.59 million) worth of Australian Defence Force stock will seek to meet priority requests from Ukraine, the government announced on Sunday morning.

It comes on top of A$70 million (US$51.97 million) in military assistance Australia has already provided.

Australians who want to support those fleeing Ukraine will be able to make tax deductible donations to approved organisations supporting Ukrainian refugees in Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.

Ukrainians fleeing the conflict who have arrived in Australia will also be able to apply for a three-year temporary humanitarian visa.

Australia will donate at least 70,000 tonnes of thermal coal for Ukraines power stations and withhold bauxite, used to make aluminium, from Russia.

An additional A$30 million (US$22.27 million) in humanitarian assistance will focus on protecting displaced women and children and addressing food shortages.

The announcement comes after Chinas Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng warned against the unimaginable consequences of forcing a major nuclear power into a corner.

Le told a Beijing security forum on Saturday the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation should also avoid expanding further towards Russia.

He said the sanctions against the country are getting more and more outrageous and will only harm ordinary citizens and the global economy.

History has proven time and again that sanctions cannot solve problems, Le said.

Australia is not a member of NATO but allies including the United States and United Kingdom are.
A man is silhouetted walking past a Conservative Party logo before the opening of the Party's national convention in Halifax on Aug. 23, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Darren Calabrese)

BC MP Marc Dalton Enters Tory Leadership Race, Ontario MP Scott Aitchison Officially Launches Campaign

Two more Conservative MPs joined the partys leadership roster Sunday, with Ontarios Scott Aitchison and British Columbias Marc Dalton launching their campaigns.

Aitchison, 49, chose a craft brewery in his hometown of Huntsville, Ont., for his opening event, promising to bring an end to the hyper-partisan antics and political games that are the norm now in Canadian politics.

More partisan bickering is simply not the answer, he said, as an energetic crowd waved colourful signs simply printed with the word Scott on them.

Solving problems requires real leadership. Ive been in Parliament now two terms. And I am dismayed by the energy wasted on political games, instead of getting things done. Whats missing in Ottawa is leadership.

He promised a campaign free of attacks on his opponents that focuses on the economy, national and global security, climate change and housing.

Dalton, 61, did his launch on Twitter, saying in a posted video that one of his first actions as leader will be to initiate a public inquiry into how the federal Liberals handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dalton accused the Liberals of using pandemic contracts to line the pockets of their friends, making decisions based on politics rather than public health, and ignoring evidence about vaccine injuries to push ahead with coercive measures to get people vaccinated.

Both men were first elected to the House of Commons in 2019. Aitchison previously served as a councillor and then mayor in Huntsville, and Dalton as a B.C. Liberal MLA.

Their entrance means there are now four sitting MPs running, including Pierre Poilievre and Leslyn Lewis.

There are now eight candidates in total, with the four sitting MPs joined by former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Brampton, Ont., Mayor Patrick Brown, independent Ontario MPP Roman Baber, and Saskatchewan businessman Joseph Bourgault.

The Conservatives are choosing their third leader in five years after Erin OToole was voted out of the job by the Conservative caucus in early February.

The candidates have until April 19 to enter the race and until June 3 to sell memberships. The vote will take place Sept. 10.

Aitchisons pledge not to run a campaign of attacks is in stark contrast to much of what has been happening in the race so far.

Brown and Poilievre went at each other directly on Twitter last week after Brown accused Poilievre of supporting discriminatory policies that target immigrants while a cabinet minister in 2015.

He referred specifically to Poilievres support for a ban against women wearing a niqab during citizenship ceremonies, which was a policy of the former Conservative government that was eventually struck down by the courts.

In response Poilievre accused Brown of outright lies about everything from the niqab ban policy, to his position on carbon taxes and Ontarios new sex-ed curriculum.

Poilievre in turn has levied sharp attacks at Charest, a former Progressive Conservative party leader nationally who led the provincial Liberals in Quebec. Poilievre has said Charest is not a true Conservative.

Poilievre, with endorsements from 44 current Conservative MPs, is considered the front-runner in the contest, well eclipsing caucus endorsements for Charest, who has nine, and Brown and Lewis who both have two.

On Saturday, Brown got a big endorsement boost from Calgary MP Michelle Rempel Garner, who had declined to endorse anyone in either of the last two contests.

Aitchisons sole MP endorsement Sunday came from Kenora MP Eric Melillo.
Trevor Loudon, author, filmmaker and public speaker, speaks at the event "Exposing Democrats' Marxist/Socialist/Communist Ties" at the National Press Club in Washington on May 20, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Communism Seeks to Corrupt Churches to Bring Down America: Trevor Loudon

Communism is an evil religion seeking to undermine U.S. society, according to anti-communist activist and researcher Trevor Loudon.

[Communists] say theyre atheists, but really, theyre supporting Satan, Loudoun recently told EpochTVs China Insider.

Loudon is also a contributor to The Epoch Times and hosts the CounterPunch program on EpochTV.

This is because Satans mission is to overturn three institutions bestowed by God to govern humankindfamily, church, and civil government, according to Loudon.

It is the revolution of overthrowing all those godly institutions and replacing them with satanic communist institutions, he said.

Speaking about his new film Enemies Within the Churches, the communism expert said that socialists figured out how to bring down the United States from within after conducting a 10-year study. Through this research, they realized that it wasnt the military nor the political system that bolstered the United States, but religion.

They think its the religion, its Christianity, that is the strength, the moral strength of America, and it is the Christian ethic that has made America as great and strong as it is, Loudon said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on Feb. 25.

That finding led to their decision to focus on infiltrating churches across the country, to get inside and weaken them. Through this, they could achieve the ultimate goal of subverting religion, according to Loudon.

Communism seeks to destroy peoples faith in God and suppress people who believe in God, he said.

They have to do that in order to replace that with their form of Godwhich is government.

And consequently, people would seek guidance in the civil government, rather than in God or in religion.

Strategy

According to Loudon, communists work to spread their propaganda from inside churches.

This propaganda is being deliberately pumped into the churches, especially into the Bible colleges, that are training the new level of pastors, and the young pastors are pumping this into the young kids to turn the churches socialist, he said.

Loudon singled out Black Lives Matter as an example.

Black Lives Matter is a communist Chinese operation. But you have pastors all over the country supporting it because they think its somehow Christian, he said. [Pastors have] been sold Marxism as Christian: Jesus was a socialist, Jesus believed in charity. So, therefore, we should support socialist government programs.

Critical race theory, which Loudon described as a doctrine that basically talks about Marxism in terms of race, rather than class, is also finding its way into U.S. churches, he said.

The spread of the Marxist-underpinned woke movement into all segments of U.S. society, including in religion to create woke churches, echoes what happened in communist China decades ago during the Cultural Revolution, he said.

They would get all people in mass, and they would put somebody up and put a sign around their neck [that read] capitalist, because their father owned a business or a farm, and everybody would revile that person, he said. This was to raise the peoples consciousness of class issues.

The woke movement of today seeks to raise peoples consciousness of class and race and gender differences and political repression and American racism, according to Loudon.

It is communist-style brainwashing, Maoist brainwashing, applied to race and class in the churches. Its the same as what the Chinese Communist did, he said.

Loudon noted that in order to tempt Americans into their trap, communists appeal to them with idealistic goals.

They dont say, Were going to set up a system where youre going to go to the gulags if you dont agree with us. They dont tell you theyre going to take away your land, theyre going to indoctrinate your children, he said. [Instead, their message is,] Were here going to give you bread. Were going to give you peace. Were going to give you land.

And for minorities, they offer to equalize America, to take away racism for them, according to Loudon.

He said his new film, Enemies Within the Churches, seeks to help people differentiate between real Christianity and counterfeit communist Christianity. And with this awareness, the tide may begin to turn.

We need to bring the backbone of this country back to save this country, he said. Because if we lose the church, we lose the country. If we lose America, we lose freedom all over the world.

Hannah Ng China Reporter Follow
Corroboree Frogs Hop Back Into The Snowy Mountains

One hundred Southern Corroboree frogsa critically endangered Australian frog specieshave returned to their native home in an Australian mountain range known as the Snowy Mountains.

Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains will establish the new frog population in a purpose-built field enclosure designed to protect and observe the frogs. The enclosure features irrigation systems to prevent bush fires and remote cameras to monitor them.

The Southern Corroboree frog population, up until now, was dwindling with an estimated population of just 30 left in the wild.

New South Wales (NSW) governments Saving our Species program, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Taronga Conservation Society Australia and Zoos Victoria were all involved in the restoration of the native frog species.

These 100 corroboree frogs have been reintroduced to a purpose-built field enclosure at Kosciuszko National Park that protects them from the disease while allowing them to grow and thrive into the future, Minister for Environment, James Griffin, said in an NSW government media release.

This is conservation in action, and its working. Our Savings our Species programs like this one are part of the biggest conservation commitment in NSW history, aimed at protecting and conserving our threatened plants and animals.

In the NSW government media release Taronga Conservation Society Australia Herpetofauna Unit Supervisor, Michael McFadden said that the timing of the frogs release into the Snowy Mountains is crucial.

Corroboree frogs biology is adapted for cold alpine climates, so the terrariums where they are bred are kept refrigerated to match seasonal temperature variation in their natural habitat, McFadden said.

Timing the release of these frogs is crucial for their survival, allowing them sufficient time to acclimatise and prepare for hibernation ahead of winter.

A supplied image was obtained on Monday, March 14, 2022, of a Southern Corroboree Frog in a purpose-built field enclosure at Kosciuszko National Park. One hundred critically endangered Southern Corroboree Frogs have been reintroduced to their native habitat at Kosciuszko National Park. (AAP Image/Supplied by NSW Minister for Environment and Heritage James Griffin)

Droughts, habitat degradation from other species, the 2019 to 2020 bushfires, and a chytrid fungus outbreak, pushed the Corroboree frog to the brink of extinction

According to a documentary by the ABC, the chytrid fungus outbreak has wiped out multiple Australian frog species, such as the Southern Day Frog and the Gastric-Brooding frog.

The fungus, attacks the hearts of frogs and salamanders and destroys their skin, has caused the decline of at least 500 amphibian species, 90 of which have gone extinct or are thought to be extinct.

The origin of the fungus is thought to be the African Clawed Frog, a species that was spread globally after it was popularized in the 1930s by a scientist who discovered that it could be used as a pregnancy test reported the ABC documentary.

The pregnancy test involved injecting the urine of a possibly pregnant woman into a female African Clawed Frog, which would lay a clutch of eggs if the woman was pregnant.

The test was highly accurate and the frog was extremely common so the pregnancy test was popularized around the world with thousands of African Clawed frogs being exported globally. This initiated a boom of research revolving around the frog, which embedded itself into both scientific study and international frog populations.

However, in Australia, the fungus has also been attributed to the introduced invasive Cane Toad population in the northern states of Australia and American Bullfrog.
An equine photographer, who became enamored with horses in youth, has found the perfect foil against which to capture their romantic spirit: cherry blossoms. For her, the vision of horses, strong and majestic, amidst pink petals, fleeting and delicate, is so dear that she ever longs for springtime.

Originally from Finland, 24-year-old Jenna Vainionpaa now lives and works in Sweden. She began exploring photography in 2009. Six years later, she attended her first horse show as a photographer, where horses became her favorite photo subject.

I started to do Under the Cherry Blossom photoshoots during spring 2019, Jenna told The Epoch Times. The idea came from inspiration that I found on the internet, mostly Instagram. We had six models [on the first day], and had the pleasure to capture both pink blossoms and some unique white ones at the same place.

Something I like to work with the eyes of a horse; they tell the complete story, she explained. The nature around is just an effect that adds to the story  my biggest goal, and something I hope that people can feel with my photos, is the expression of a horse with a soul.

That first magical photo shoot helped Jennas business to grow, and allowed her to be more creative in her editing process. Harsh sunlight is always a struggle, especially with the pink flowers and where the horse can stand, she said, but with patience and hard work, you can solve a lot.

Since 2019, Jenna has visited cherry blossom trees in four different locations and has completed around 20 photo shoots in total. She shares her work on Instagram.

Yet its not as easy as simply showing up.

Jenna shared: During the planning of sessions, you always need to look up if its okay for either the city or the landlord when you bring in such a big animal. When you have permission, you can start putting pieces together.

You need to look up nearby parking for the horse trailer, and make it a safe trip from the parking to the location of choice. In Sweden, most parks with cherry blossom are close to schools, workplaces, or big roads, so it isnt always a good time to visit  I always choose either late in the evening before sunset, or right after sunrise.

Sessions are centered around shooting the horses from their best side, said Jenna. She finds sound apps, horse candy, hobby horses, and plastic bags to be helpful props during a shoot, and usually ends up with one special spot from where she can experiment with different angles and depths of field.

A photo shoot typically takes Jenna between 30 and 90 minutes; editing photos can take between five minutes to hours. Some photos need to wait, almost like a fine wine, she added.

Jenna, who works full time as a photographer and part time in customer support, grew up with her familys horse and was quickly captivated by its elegance. She said working with equines requires knowing horses and what they needa skill she developed early on.

She explained: As an equine photographer, or for any animal, we need to have much more patience. We need to be able to read them and know how they work together with their owners. You need to be able to know when its time to stop, and what brings out the best from them.

Whenever I visit a new place, I often have the thought of bringing a horse to the location.

While Jennas other works focus on landscapes, she often thinks of horses as the last puzzle piece. She hopes to marry her favorite subject with freshly-blooming cherry blossom again in spring 2022 for more fleetingly beautiful photo shoots.

I have a new place, that I tried out once last year, that has wonderful pink tones and a lot of space for the horses to move, she said. I also want to involve human models to add some feeling of trust, love, and teamwork.

Imploring others to cherish and admire nature as she does, she added: Take time when youre out in nature, and let your mind be creative!

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
Fake News: The Case for Scrutinizing Government Reports and Articles About Them

Commentary

Before U.S. President Donald Trump left office, the fake news allegation was frequently heard in news reports and commentaries even in Canada.

Fake news is still going strong, particularly in Canadian government publications. This means that taxpayers and voters cant trust what the feds say or what newspapers report on what they say.

Fake news can take one of two forms. The first is outright lies, and the other is spin. The purpose of spin is neither to tell the truth nor to lie, but to beguile and deceive citizens by obscuring the truth. In a word, both lying and spin are faking.

In short, Canadian government agencies are saying things they knowor should knowto be fake, and they are generating fake news.

A breaking news item and editorial commentaries in several Canadian newspapers focused on the 202021 annual report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI), released in February, which said that indigenous and black inmates experience proportionately more incidents of use of force on average than any other racial group.

One news article on the topic stated that a senior policy adviser in the OCI said its investigation found that identifying as an Indigenous or Black person was associated with a greater likelihood of involvement in a use of force incident. The article went on to say that the chief correctional investigator says the probe points to racial bias in the application of the use of force in federal prisons.

Canadas correctional service defines use of force as any action by staff, on or off of institutional property, that is intended to obtain the cooperation and gain control of an inmate via measures such as the non-routine use of restraint equipment, physical handling, or the use of batons or firearms.

In federal penitentiaries, the most common type of force used was pepper spray, which accounted for 42 percent of the nearly 10,000 incidents documented between 2015 and 2020.

Now, think of the behaviour of inmates who had been pepper sprayed. Their misbehaviour was probably serious. Perhaps they attacked other inmates, threatened correctional officers, or stirred up a riot.

The investigators report is not presenting all the facts because the behaviour of the inmates immediately before the force was applied was not controlled in the analyses. Rather, only less important variablesrisk level, security level, age, gender, and sentence lengthwere individually controlled.

Multivariate analyses considering the inmates behaviour immediately prior to the use of force plus these variables would have been much more appropriate for determining the causal connection between the race of inmates and the use of force.

This is a serious flaw, because it means that the causal connection may not run from the race of inmates to the application of force, as the report and news articles and commentaries say, but from the inmates bad behaviour to the use of force. In other words, the behaviour of inmates probably mediates between their race and the use of force to control them.

Because this multivariate model was not examined, the cause of the use of force may have been attributed incorrectly to race and not to the inmates behaviour. If so, the report, news items, and editorials are not fact-based.

Before accepting this reports conclusion, it is necessary to determine if the correctional officers were reacting to unacceptable behaviour by inmates or their race. Government reports, specifically, but news articles and editorials, as well, should not condemn correctional officers for discrimination against indigenous and black inmates without having better evidence obtained from a multivariate analysis that includes the inmates behaviour prior to the use of force.

Canadians need to make crucial decisions for their own lives and for the future of Canada. Often these decisions are made based on information published by government agencies. These agencies should not be publishing fake news.

Failing that, journalists and editors should critically examine the statistical analysis and logic in these government reports.

Otherwise, fake news will continue to undermine our way of life and our democracy.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser and head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks to a congressional panel in Washington on Jan. 11, 2022. (Greg Nash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Fauci: US Not Likely to See Surge From New COVID-19 Subvariant

Chief White House COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci said Sunday that he doesnt believe the United States will see another surge of the CCP virus due to the spread of a subvariant of Omicron.

The subvariant, known as BA.2, has been blamed by some officials for an uptick in cases across Europe and the United Kingdom in recent days.

Hopefully, we wont see a surge. I dont think we will. The easiest way to prevent that is to continue to get people vaccinated. And for those who have been vaccinated, to continue to get them boosted, so thats really where we stand right now, Fauci told ABC News in a televised interview, adding the United States will see an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

When asked about whether the United States should relax its COVID-19 measures, Fauci said he doesnt believe so. However, he suggested that officials may have to implement COVID-19 rules and restrictions in the future.

I dont think so  not right now. I dont see us going back into any more really very restrict[ive] kinds of restrictions. But you always have to have the flexibility, said Fauci, who has headed the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984.

So the bottom line is we likely will see an uptick in cases as weve seen in the European countries, particularly the UK, where  they have BA.2, he added. They have a relaxation of some restrictions such as indoor masking and theres a waning of immunity.

Faucis remarks on Sunday come as he told a podcast last week that hes considering leaving his position in the federal government.

I certainly am because Ive got to do it sometime, Fauci, 81, said in an interview released March 18. I cant stay at this job forever, unless my staff is going to find me slumped over my desk one day. Id rather not do that, he added.

Fauci was appointed to the head of the federal health agency during the Reagan administration and he notably oversaw the United States response to the spread of AIDS/HIV in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Some Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), have said they would investigate Fauci if Republicans take control of the Senate or House during the upcoming 2022 midterms.

Earlier this month, in response to the potential GOP-led investigations, Fauci suggested hes anticipating it but issued a dismissive remark.

Its Benghazi hearings all over again, Fauci told the Washington Post on March 15 in reference to Republican promises to investigate or produce documents involving his agencys alleged funding of gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology before the pandemic.

Theyll try to beat me up in public, and therell be nothing there, Fauci also told the Post. But it will distract me from doing my job, the way its doing right now.

The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19, reportedly emerged in Wuhan in late 2019.
A medical volunteer prepares the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for a patient at Lestonnac Free Clinic in Orange, Calif., on March 9, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

FDA to Consult Advisory Panel About Additional COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to consult a panel of experts before clearing additional COVID-19 vaccine booster doses.

The current plan is to gather our independent panel of outside experts next month to have a transparent discussion about considerations for 2022 booster shots, including whether and when those boosters may be needed and for which populations, based on the available data and latest science on circulating or emerging virus variant, an FDA spokeswoman told The Epoch Times via email.

The date of the panel meeting hasnt yet been made known.

Pfizer is seeking emergency use authorization (EUA) for a second COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for all Americans aged 65 and older. Moderna is seeking EUA for a second vaccine booster dose for all adults aged 18 and older.

Upon receipt of such requests, the FDA typically convenes the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. Panel members are asked whether the regulatory agency should accept the requests.

However, both the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)which has its own advisory panel for vaccineshave increasingly bypassed the experts when making decisions on COVID-19 vaccine boosters, drawing criticism.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were both originally billed as two-shot regimens that were highly effective at protecting against infection from SARS-CoV-2, or the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19, and from severe COVID-19 for those who did become infected despite being vaccinated.

But the vaccines provide little protection against infection from newer variants, including the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Theyre also less effective against protecting from severe disease among people who get COVID-19. However, some experts say the protection is adequate and have questioned the need for one vaccine booster dose, much less two, particularly for healthy people.

The FDA in 2021 cleared COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for all Americans aged 12 and older for Pfizers vaccine and all Americans aged 18 and older for the vaccines produced by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

The FDA has said that it will review the requests for a second vaccine booster dose as expeditiously as possible using our thorough, science-based approach.

The CDC is assisting with the process, according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said the initial vaccine booster shots effects wane three to six months later, necessitating a fourth shot. The companies said their EUA is based on real-world data from Israel and results from a non-randomized clinical trial in Israel that featured 154 participants who had received a fourth Pfizer vaccine dose and 120 others who got a fourth Moderna vaccine dose.

Researchers running the study said in the New England Journal of Medicine that the additional vaccine booster dose heightened antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, but that the shot was at best 30 percent effective at preventing infection and at best 43 percent effective at preventing symptoms.

A fourth vaccination of healthy young health care workers may have only marginal benefits. Older and vulnerable populations were not assessed, they wrote.

Moderna stated that its submission included recently published data generated in the United States and Israel after the Omicron variant emerged, but didnt detail the information.

Dr. Vinay Prasad, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco said on March 18 that the only way to know if a fourth vaccine dose helps bolster protection is to complete a large, randomized trial, which hasnt yet been done.

Will the FDA grant EUA without these data? I worry the answer is yes.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies at a Senate Health, Education, and Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 23, 2020. (Graeme Jennings/Pool/Getty Images)

Forbes Removes Contributor After Numerous Articles About Fauci

Forbes has cut off its association with a prolific contributor after he wrote a number of articles about Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Forbes recently removed Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of OpenTheBooks.com, as a contributor.

Prior to the action, Andrzejewski had multiple stories on information that he and his group obtained regarding Faucis financial situation.

Fauci, the longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is the highest-compensated federal employee, one article revealed. Another detailed how difficult it was to obtain certain details on Faucis job and finances. A third outlined aspects of disclosures released to Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).

Shortly after the last article, Caroline Howard, an executive editor at Forbes, wrote to Andrzejewski about his choice of topics.

I see this is your third article on Fauci in 3 weeks. Huh, Howard wrote, according to a copy of the email published by Andrzejewski.

Howard said one or more articles contained errors and warned the contributor against straying into advocacy and to steer clear of opinion, distortion, speculation, exaggeration, bias, carelessness, half-truths, and deceit.

Andrzejewski describes himself as a transparency advocate who has solely written about government transparency since starting as a columnist at Forbes in 2014.

The following day, a spokeswoman for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the parent agency of the one Fauci heads, informed Andrzejewski and an editor about incorrect information in one of the reports, alleging it was not correct to say Fauci and his wife, a bioethicist at NIH, collected $8,100 to attend three galas.

Rather, Dr. Fauci accepted invitations for himself and his wife to attend three virtual events during 2020. He never collected any money for these events, she wrote.

The NIH also contested the description of Fauci receiving travel perks from McGraw-Hill, writing that Fauci was merely reimbursed for travel to editorial board meetings.

Andrzejewski responded to the first requested edit as a difference without a distinction and said he replaced the word collecting with reported, in addition to adding more details about Faucis position with McGraw-Hill and the reimbursements.

Within 24 hours of the NIH email, Randall Lane, a Forbes editor who often worked with Andrzejewski, allegedly called the columnist and told him to stop writing about Fauci. He also said that all topics going forward would have to be pre-approved.

About 10 days later, on Jan. 28, the column was terminatedthe same day Forbes published a piece about how Faucis portrait will hang in the Smithsonian.

National Institutes of Health came down hard on Forbes. Forbes came down on me. I told the truth. They pulled the plug, Andrzejewski told The Epoch Times in an email.

The size, scope, and power of the government at all levels has grown so substantially over the last 20 years that government bureaus feel empowered to pressure national media organizations. Unfortunately, Forbes folded quickly, which only fuels more government pressure on media, he added.

Fauci did not respond to a request for comment.

Before the column ended, Andrzejewski had published over 200 articles on the oversight probes he and his group carried out, garnering nearly 17 million views.

A Forbes spokesman confirmed that Andrzejewski is no longer a contributor.

Forbes regularly removes contributors (note: he wasnt an employee so he wasnt fired) who dont meet our high editorial standards, the spokesman told The Epoch Times in an email.

Andrzejewskis numerous articles on Dr. Faucis finances are still available on the Forbes website, he noted.

Andrzejewski said he plans to keep reporting on Fauci in the future.

Subject to our federal lawsuit, NIH owes us 1,200 pages of Fauci financial documents, and each page is a potential national news story, he said. The agency also owes us 3,000 pages of line-by-line royalty payments. Just think about the treasure-trove of stories coming down the pike soon.
VIDEO: Freedom Rally Heats Up in Calgary as Supporters, Counter-Protesters Confront Each Other

CALGARYA protest close to downtown Calgary grew heated when demonstrators against government COVID-19 mandates came face-to-face with counter-protesters at a park where weekly freedom rallies have been held on Saturdays for months.

A heavy Calgary police presence, including mounted and bicycle officers, was on hand to keep the event at Central Memorial Park in the Beltline neighbourhood under control on March 19.

Despite a largely peaceful gathering, several heated confrontations and an arrest were observed.

Lloyd Green, carrying a pro-freedom sign, has been coming for six months to support the rallies, which often attracted large crowds.

Protesters opposed to government COVID-19 mandates gather for a rally while mounted and bicycle police officers look on, at Central Memorial Park in the Beltline neighbourhood of Calgary on March 19, 2022. (Michael Wing/The Epoch Times)

More Rally Action pic.twitter.com/VgVUD1Fox7  Michael Wing (@Michaelwingsos) March 20, 2022

It all focuses on the government overreach, the medical apartheid, and the mandates, he told The Epoch Times. Theres a lot of injustice thats been taking place in Canada. Theres a lot of things that have to happen to put things right.

Green said he has been directly affected by the vaccine mandates.

I have a high school friend that passed away [from] a stroke, no medical issues, he added.

At one point during the protest, when an exchange between a group of masked, goggled participants holding an Antifa flag and a maskless group carrying Canadian flags reached a boiling point, police horse units advanced to vacate that part of the park.

Counter-protesters carry flags and signs displaying messages in opposition to a protest by demonstrators who are against government COVID-19 mandates, at a rally at Central Memorial Park in the Beltline neighbourhood of Calgary on March 19, 2022. (Michael Wing/The Epoch Times)

Police move in pic.twitter.com/hC0BGEnbOB  Michael Wing (@Michaelwingsos) March 20, 2022

All but one of the counter-protesters who were asked declined strongly to explain why they were there.

It is ineffective to protest in this location, said Graham, who did not wish to give his last name but said he lives in the Beltline.

They should be at city hall. They should be doing it during the weekdays, like every other protest, [which] goes to city hall during the weekdays so they can get the attention of the politicians and the people who do make the rules.

The rallies at Central Memorial Park, for weeks, included parades that snaked through the streets of the Beltline.

The previous Saturday, March 12, counter-protesters arrived and tensions rose. Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek a few days later expressed dissatisfaction with the situation.

I definitely have an expectation that something [different] has to happen than what happened last weekend, Gondek said on March 15. Because what happened last weekend was not great, and its untenable moving into this weekend and the coming weekends.

The City of Calgary obtained a court injunction on March 18 limiting the activities of the anti-COVID mandate protesters engaging in the weekly rallies. It prohibits them from blocking streets and sidewalks and from amplifying sound or otherwise disturbing the area. They are also required to stay on the grounds of the park and can no longer march beyond its boundaries.

Mounted police officers advance on demonstrators, forcing them to vacate an area of Central Memorial Park in the Beltline neighbourhood south of downtown Calgary on March 19, 2022. (Michael Wing/The Epoch Times)

Protester Andrew Hutchins believes the rallies are making headway, particularly in the wake of the recent Freedom Convoy protests that swept over parts of the country and have now spread into the United States.

Some of the mandates have dropped, but because Im not vaccinated, I still cannot leave the country. I think the truckers doing what they did was a huge, huge sign. And [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau figured out he couldnt do anything. So, I think his best step [is] to drop the mandates, Hutchins told The Epoch Times.

Its not over yet, he added. Theres a weirdly merged feeling that it might come back. But I dont know. I cant trust the government now.
After concluding his 16th and final year as the elected Cayuga County treasurer, James Orman will be taking what he calls a "pre-arranged retirement vacation" in a couple of weeks.

But in the time since that trip was planned, something changed for the Aurora resident regarding the "retirement" part. He became his village's next mayor.

In Tuesday's village elections, Orman won the uncontested mayoral race in Aurora. It was a seat he never imagined holding until last fall, when incumbent Mayor Bonnie Apgar Bennett told him she was not planning to seek reelection in the spring and asked if he would consider running to replace her.

Orman, who served four terms as county treasurer and worked in municipal and school government in the Rochester area for many years prior to that, initially resisted.

"I just wanted to take a deep breath and sit back," he said.

But as he continued to reflect, he felt compelled to serve the village where he has spent most of his life.

Orman, who officially takes office April 4, said the village has much on its plate, notably working county, state and federal officials on water quality issues in Cayuga Lake, which is the village's drinking water source and a vital recreational asset. The village is also working with Wells College, the four-year higher education institution that's an integral part of the community, on major upgrades to the water treatment plant owned by the college.

With so many key partners working with the village government, Orman said he knows better than to make bold promises about what he will accomplish as mayor. He is, however, eager to get started.

"It's always been my home," he said. "It's kind of cool that I can do this."

Here's a roundup of last week's Cayuga County-area village election results:

Aurora: All races were uncontested, with Orman securing the mayor's seat (100 votes), John Miller (82 votes) and Batt Bianconi (55 votes) wining four-year board of trustee seats, and Frank Zimdahl (92 votes) taking a two-year trustee slot.

Cayuga village: Two two-year trustee seats were on the ballot, but just one candidate was on the ballot, Shane Ellis, who secured the seat with 28 votes. Write-in votes determined the other winner, which was Chelsea Heath with 16 votes. Other write-in votes went to Patricia Hanford (14), Jeffrey Bedell (7), Michael Brown (2), Dean Kipp (1) and Howard Baker (1).

Fair Haven: Dianna Nesbitt and David Guynn won the two four-year seats on the board of trustees that were open, with 87 and 83 votes, respectively. The defeated a third candidate, Brittany Jackson, who received 64 votes.

Jordan: Joshua Bates was the only candidate in an election to fill a vacant trustee seat with one year remaining on the term.

Union Springs: Brian Cornell and Donna O'Hara were the only candidates running for the two two-year trustee seats on this year's ballot.

Weedsport: Chad Platten and Steven Sims, seeking two four-year terms as elected trustees, were the only candidates running.

Jeremy Boyer can be reached at (315) 282-2231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @CitizenBoyer

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Trucks and cars line up to leave Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown, Md., on Mar. 19, 2022, to loop the Capital Beltway. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times)

Hope and Freedom Draw Supporters to Peoples Convoy

Hagerstown, Md.Its day 16 since the Peoples Convoy arrived at Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown, Maryland, on March 4. The base was quiet on Saturday morning after trucks and cars left before 10:30 a.m. to circle the Capital Beltway again.

They made rounds on the highway to raise awareness of their demands: to end the national emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and restore freedoms protected by the U.S. Constitution. The emergency declaration was declared in March 2020 under then-President Donald Trump and has since been extended twice by President Joe Biden in February 2021 and March 2022.

A call to action board at Hagerstown Speedway tells truckers to call their congressional representatives twice a day to urge them to push for ending the national emergency and remind them that primaries were near in this election year. House representatives will be in their districts during the week of March 21 and will resume voting in Washington the week after.

The Senate earlier this month approved legislation to declare an end to the emergency, but the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives isnt expected to take up the measures. The White House said on the same day that the bill would be vetoed if the House did approve it.

On March 8, the convoy met with Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Capitol Hill to discuss the groups concerns over government restrictions encroaching on the personal freedoms of Americans. That was followed by further discussions with several members of the House of Representatives.

Steven McLeod from Texas in Hagerstown, Md., on Mar. 19, 2022. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times)

Sitting in a camping chair, Steven McLeod from Texas, a sales representative for a software company servicing the trucking industry, was chatting with his new friend Elise from Delaware. Next to him was a big container with some free beer donated by his company.

McLeod firmly believed that all the mandates would be lifted soon. However, that wouldnt fully address his concerns. He worries about the government gradually taking away peoples choices under the excuse its good for everybody.

The mechanism has been installed now. Thats the problem, McLeod told The Epoch Times.

At a certain point, everybody thought it would be crazy that youre not allowed to go to work. Your kids cant go to school. That would have been insane five years ago. Now its commonplace, he added.

So, at what point do you take away those rights and those freedoms for the majority of people?

McLeod was in Pennsylvania on business travel and came over to the convoy in Hagerstown last week. He had arranged for a food truck, an ice cream truck, and free beer for the truckers. His employer, a software company with logistics products serving the trucking industry, donated the money.

He said he thought the truckers fight was long-term and didnt expect results or changes right away. But, to him, its essential to do the right thing at this moment to support truckers cause of defending freedoms.

McLeods 20-year-old daughter, whom he calls his best friend, is one of the reasons prompting him to take a stand. Shes attending a college in Texas, on her way to becoming a nurse practitioner. A fiscally-responsible person, she wrote a check of $18,000 to buy a car in the past six months. McLeod said she had been working since she was 14 without him asking her to.

He said his daughter embraced the idea that vaccine mandates were for the good of everybody and didnt question any potential loss of freedom. [Theyre] impressionable. You beat that into the younger generation, said McLeod.

Were one generation away from all of our freedoms from the Constitution just being garbage, he added. The consequences of their [his daughters generation] decisions will be something we all have to deal with. And they dont understand it well enough.

Its Given Us Hope

Meredith Mathews, an assistant teacher from Edison, New Jersey, arrived late morning with her donations. She left home at 7 a.m. and drove for four hours.

It really has given us hope: the people that have nothing and are losing everything, Mathews told The Epoch Times, referring to the truckers movement. Its given us hope because, without it, its just going to be miserable, absolutely miserable.

She said if teachers in New Jersey did not get vaccinated by June, they might lose their jobs. According to her, the lack of freedoms during the pandemic has hit the students and communities harder than the government and media acknowledge.

Matthews works three jobs and has been checking on the truckers in a group chat she joined after their rallies in New Jersey. I work 80 to 85 hours a week. I literally go home, sleep, wake up, work. Thats all I do.

The snow on March 12 prompted her to act. She started asking about truckers needs in the group chat and typed up a list during breaks at work. She spent $600 of her own money to purchase the charcoal grills, beef patties, and sleeping bags she donated. Matthews also took with her items in her house: some crafts and a projector screen for movie nights for children.

The charcoal grills and beef patties triggered some excitement. A father of a family of seven stopped by and said this meant he didnt need to use his current stove anymore, which could fit two burgers only.

Rose Koepsell, volunteer manager of the truckers donation center, with charcoal grills donated by Meredith Mathews in Hagerstown, Md., on Mar. 19, 2022. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times)

We Need Our Freedom Back

Todd Grenier from Raleigh, North Carolina, arrived with his wife and teenage son on Friday night. He planned to stay for the weekend to support our freedom to make sure that people will hear Americas voice that we need the country to go back in the right direction.

I think its going in the wrong direction right now. It seems like a big heavy fist in D.C., mandating everything. Do this. Do that. We need our freedom back, Grenier told The Epoch Times.

Todd Grenier from Raleigh, N.C., joins the Peoples Convoy in Hagerstown, Md., on Mar. 19, 2022. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times)

Aleina Boddington, a mother of two from Grafton, West Virginia, has stayed with the convoy for about two weeks with her family. She homeschools her daughter, 7, and her son, 5. She told The Epoch Times that ending the emergency act was important for her because we shouldnt have to be forced to do what other people tell us to do. Its what America is about: freedom.

America Supporting Americans for the Right Reason

Rose Koepsell, a volunteer manager for the truckers donation center, said she was very impressed by peoples kindness. For example, on the day it snowed, residents in the neighborhood hosted her volunteers who were strangers, so everyone on her team had a warm bed for the night. Some truckers also pooled money to put some people in a hotel.

Its America once again, supporting Americans for the right reason. Its America standing up and saying, we love America, she told The Epoch Times. And whether its a disaster like 9/11, or a disaster like we have with our government overreach right now, Americans want to help. Theyre standing up, and theyre saying, we support you.

Rose Koepsell (L), volunteer manager of the truckers donation center, and Meredith Mathews, a teacher from Edison, N.J., in Hagerstown, Md., on Mar. 19, 2022. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times)

Two decades ago after 9/11, she worked on disaster relief in New York City for a few months upon arriving on Sept. 14.

Before joining the Peoples Convoy in Ohio and following them to Hagerstown, she helped with the tornado disaster relief in Kentucky over Christmas.

The American people are really showing up by sending their donations. Theyre treating this like a disaster. Ive worked enough disasters to know that theyre. Thats what theyre doing, she added. They want to help. They dont know how, but theyre sending what they can.
Indiana Governor Signs Bill Mandating Paper Backup for All Voting Machines

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed legislation that requires all counties using certain voting machines to leave a paper trail before the 2024 presidential election.

The new state law, HEA 1116, requires Indiana counties that use electronic voting machines to install voter-verifiable paper audit trailsa backup system that allows people to check their votes on a paper printout before confirming their votes, before the 2024 election.

It also provides that, after July 1, 2022, a county must meet certain requirements when using any direct record electronic voting system that does not include a voter-verifiable paper audit trail for an election, according to the legislation.

The measure also specifies requirements of a statement that must be printed on the envelope of an absentee ballot application and stipulates that voters will now have to provide a drivers license number, state identification number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number when they submit an electronic request for an absentee ballot.

It will also require counties to have an electronic poll book that has the capacity to transmit certain information that a voter cast a provisional ballot, an outline of the measure reads. The new law also extends a cybersecurity contract between Indiana counties and the Indiana Secretary of States Office until 2028.

Most of Indianas counties use machines made by MicroVote, Election Systems & Software, Hart InterCivic, and Unisyn, according to the Indiana governments website. Barbara Tully, of Indiana Vote by Mail, said during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Feb. 24 that 59 of Indianas 92 counties use MicroVote.

Holcomb, a Republican, signed the measure on March 15, while Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan later praised the move.

It also allows me and the Secretary of States office to better partner with our county election administrators to do post-election recounts, if needed, as well as post-election audits, Sullivan, a Republican, said in a statement to local media outlets.

Sullivan said she believes electronic voting machines with paper ballot backups are the perfect blend, adding that it allows for quick results and the ability to do a recount that is very reliable and fast.

The state will now provide funding by July 1 to every county that needs paper backup systems.

The new law will also allow the secretary of state to determine the number of elections that are subject to a post-election audit, changing the term risk-limiting audit to post-election audit, and other measures, according to the outline of the legislation.
Geri Perna discusses the Feb. 25 suicide of her nephew, Matthew L. Perna, at a Capitol Hill news conference on March 17, 2022. At right is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia. (Rep. Louie Gohmert Rumble/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Jan. 6 Suicide Victim Was Told He Would Not Receive a Fair Trial in This Town

Matthew L. Perna's aunt, federal lawmakers sound the alarm on treatment of Jan. 6 defendants, detainees

The 14-month ordeal battling charges from his time at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, had put so much stress on Matthew L. Perna that he began throwing up blood.

When the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asked to delay his sentencing and announced that it would seek more prison time, it was a bridge too far. Perna took his own life on Feb. 25 in Sharon, Pennsylvania. He was 37.

Worry, anxiety, stress had worn him down, Geri Perna, his aunt, said at a Capitol Hill news conference on March 17. He suffered constant nightmares and began throwing up blood. He was no longer comfortable leaving his home.

One setback after another took its toll on him. And he just wanted it to be over. His attorney encouraged him to plead guilty by telling him that he would not receive a fair trial in this town.

Perna stood in driving rain near the steps of the Capitol, alongside three members of Congress, to decry the treatment of Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach defendants by the DOJ, much of society, and influencers on social media.

A Feeling of Shame

Collectively, they sounded the alarm that U.S. society is at a precipice, close to losing the freedoms that have been taken for granted for so long.

Matt walked through an open door into this Capitol building, a monument that has been called the Peoples House, Geri Perna said. Standing here in front of this building does not give me a sense of pride, but instead [it] is replaced by a feeling of shame.

Matthew Perna had pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding, the congressional certification of the presidential election results. He also pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges.

He spent about 20 minutes inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. After his sentencing was initially scheduled for March 3, prosecutors announced that they sought to add penalty enhancers that would have meant 41 to 51 months in prison.

Although Matthew Perna may have taken his last breath on Feb. 25, his death began in January 2021 after he was arrested and a nightmare like no other began, Geri Perna said. It affected everyone in our family, but we stood by his side proudly.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) ripped the DOJ for the sentencing delay.

The Department of Justice wasnt sure they had beat up on this guy enough, Gohmert said.

He lauded Matthew Perna for a life of service, including a mission trip to hurricane-ravaged Haiti.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) blasted the U.S. Department of Justice for its prosecution of Matthew L. Perna, who committed suicide on Feb. 25. Republics dont last much longer when they get like this, he said at a press conference on March 17, 2022. (Rep. Louie Gohmert on Rumble/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

This is not an insurrectionist that does these kinds of things. He didnt break, touch, or steal anything, Gohmert said. He didnt harm anyone. And yet the Biden Department of Justice sought to throw the book at him for what really was a mistake, that now  led to the end of his life, a life he used to serve others.

Gohmert asked where todays DOJ prosecutors were in June 2016, when Democrats staged a sit-in on the House floor and prevented regular business from being conducted for more than 12 hours.

If the Biden administration cared so deeply about sending a message that you should never obstruct an official session of Congress, they had much that they could have gone after the Democrats who sat on the floor, Gohmert said. I knew at the time they were violating many House rules. I didnt realize at the time they were committing federal felonies.

Matthew L. Perna was scheduled to be sentenced on April 1, 2022, on one felony and three misdemeanor charges. (Courtesy of Geri Perna)

How long did they sit in jail? How long were they in pretrial confinement? Did they have a DOJ prosecutor that said, Wait a minute, I want to make sure every one of these Democrats gets 41 months in prison, like he felt the gentleman named Matt Perna should have? No. No, they didnt do any of that.

He accused the DOJ of trying to exact political revenge.

This is a very dangerous policy that this Department of Justice, this administration is pursuing in pursuing vengefulness, Gohmert said. Republics dont last much longer when they get like this. They need to be careful that theyre not leading us into a dark chapter of our country.

The DOJ has refused to comment on the Perna case, although it did dismiss the charges after Pernas death.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) criticized the DOJ for not living up to legal obligations to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to defense attorneys.

At this time, the Department of Justice is still withholding hundreds of thousands of FBI records from defense attorneys, Greene said. Theyre not allowing them to have the records to prepare their cases. Trials are starting and defendants still dont have all of their discovery. They deserve this to be able to defend themselves.

Two-Tiered Justice System

Greene opened her remarks by blasting federal judges in the District of Columbia Circuit for holding so many Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach pretrial defendants in jail without bond.

Id like to start by saying shame on every single judge that is using their courtroom to persecute pretrial Jan. 6 defendants, she said. This should never happen in our country. We have a two-tiered justice system in America today. And its wrong.

Greene also shamed her congressional colleagues for not speaking out more about the issue.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speaks at a Capitol Hill news conference on March 17, 2022. She criticized her congressional colleagues for not speaking out more against treatment of Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach defendants. (Rep. Louie Gohmert on Rumble/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

There are very few Republicans, very few members of Congress that are willing to speak out and stand up for these peoples due process rights, she said. Do they even believe in America and a fair justice system? Shame on them! Shame on everyone that will not speak out against this outrage. Its enough.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the Department of Justice really wanted to make an example of Matthew Perna.

Some of Them Have Been Tortured

Biggs said many of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach defendants who have been jailed for 14 months have experienced extended periods in solitary confinement.

Solitary confinement for more than two weeks in international law is considered torture, he said. These individuals, some of them have been tortured. Thats whats going on here.

Biggs called out judges, particularly the judges whove been biased because of political reasoning.

Just stop it. This is America. You have to grant due process, Biggs said. The persecution that Matt Perna underwent by the mob on social media is too great for him to bear. We must correct it. We are a self-governing people. We can fix this, and we must fix this. This should never, ever be a situation again.

Geri Perna said the mistreatment that her nephew experienced will lead to more victims if something doesnt change.

I agreed to come to this press conference today because I do not want Matthew Pernas name forgotten, she said. There are hundreds of other people just like him, standing in his shoes. I do not know how much more they can take.

Still I promise you that if something is not done to stop this evil torture that is being inflicted upon these people who have not even been convicted of a crime, more are going to make the choice that Matthew Perna made.

Geri Perna said the silence from most of Congress is revealing.

Their silence speaks volumes. Shame on everyone who has a voice and could have intervened, Perna said. Maybe this tragedy would never have occurred. We are disappointed and angry. And we are seeking justice for Matthew Perna.

I stand here today only because my nephew is dead. No one cared about Matthew Pernas sufferings at the hands of this Justice Department when he was alive. And now it is too late to help him. But anyone who knew Matt would say that he would want others to receive the help that he himself was denied.

Despite the hate mail directed at Matthew Pernas father and other family members, Geri Perna said the family believes that Matthew is in Heaven.

Hes finally free. But the people responsible for this tragedy, they will stand before God someday for the part they played, she said. But there is an evil surrounding these same people, and I do not think that they are hoping to enter the gates of Heaven anyway.
The structure of the New Safe Confinement (NSC) covering the 4th block of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which was destroyed during the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, is pictured on Nov. 22, 2018. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

RussiaUkraine (March 20): Chernobyl Staff Rotated out for First Time Since Sites Capture

The latest on the RussiaUkraine crisis, March 20. Click here for updates from March 19.

Ukraine Refuses Russias Demands to Lay Down Arms in Mariupol

Ukraine said there is no question of surrendering the city of Mariupol after Russia called on Ukrainian forces on Sunday to lay down arms in the besieged port city.

There can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms, the Ukrainska Pravda news portal cited Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk as saying. We have already informed the Russian side about this.

Russia said a terrible humanitarian catastrophe was unfolding in Mariupol.

Lay down your arms, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management, said in a briefing distributed by the defense ministry.

A terrible humanitarian catastrophe has developed, Mizintsev said. All who lay down their arms are guaranteed safe passage out of Mariupol.

Mariupol has suffered some of the heaviest bombardment since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Many of its 400,000 residents remain trapped in the city with little if any food, water, and power.

Mizintsev said humanitarian corridors for civilians would be opened eastwards and westwards out of Mariupol at 10 a.m. Moscow time on Monday.

Ukraine has until 5 a.m. Moscow time to respond to the offer on humanitarian corridors and laying down arms, he said.

Vereshchuk said Russias actions are a deliberate manipulation.

Instead of spending time on eight pages on letters, just open the corridor, she said.

Read the full story here.

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Chernobyl Staff Rotated Out for First Time Since Sites Capture: IAEA

Around half the single shift of staff who have been working non-stop at the radioactive waste facilities at Chernobyl since Russian forces seized the site last month have been relieved by other Ukrainian staff, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Sunday.

More than three weeks ago Russian forces took control of the waste facilities near the now-defunct power plant that was the site of the worlds worst nuclear accident in 1986.

The shift that happened to be working then had been on duty constantly since and unable to rotate out, which the International Atomic Energy Agency had said posed a growing threat to safety as they were exhausted and working under extreme pressure. It has often called for them to be replaced.

They were there for far too long. I sincerely hope that remaining staff from this shift can also rotate soon, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi was quoted as saying in an IAEA statement issued on Sunday night.

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No Plan for Biden to Visit Ukraine While in Europe

President Joe Biden has no plan to visit Ukraine during his upcoming trip to Europe, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday.

The trip will be focused on continuing to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, but there are no plans to travel into Ukraine, Psaki wrote on Twitter.

The White House announced Tuesday that Biden will travel to Brussels, Belgium, for the March 24 NATO summit. He is expected to meet with other NATO leaders and discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russias unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine, as well as to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies, Psaki said.

Read the full article here

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Russian Navy Commander Killed in Ukraine

A senior naval commander in Russias Black Sea Fleet has been killed in Ukraine, the governor of Sevastopol said on Sunday.

Post-Captain Andrei Paliy, deputy commander of the fleet, died during fighting in the eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on the messaging app Telegram.

The Russian navy did not respond to a request for comment.

Sevastopol, which is a major base of Russias Black Sea Fleet, is located on the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

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Zelensky Evokes Holocaust as He Appeals to Israel for Aid

Ukraines president on Sunday called on Israel to take a stronger stand against Russia, delivering an emotional appeal that compared Russias invasion of his country to the actions of Nazi Germany.

In a speech to Israeli lawmakers, President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was time for Israel, which has emerged as a key mediator between Ukraine and Russia, to finally take sides. He said Israel should follow its Western allies by imposing sanctions and providing arms to Ukraine.

One can ask for a long time why we cant accept weapons from you or why Israel didnt impose sanctions against Russia, why you are not putting pressure on Russian business, he said. It is your choice, dear brothers and sisters.

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Ukraine Sees Signs of Another Neighbor Planning Direct Invasion

Ukraines Ministry of Defense on Sunday claimed that Belarus is preparing its military to invade Ukraine before warning Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

There are signs of preparation that Belarus will carry out the direct invasion of the territory of Ukraine, the Defense Ministry wrote on social media, according to a translation. It did not provide evidence for its claim, nor did it provide other details.

The direct involvement of Belarusian troops in Russias armed aggression against Ukraine, against the will of ordinary soldiers and the vast majority of the Belarusian people, will be a fatal mistake for Alexander Lukashenko, the ministry added.

Officials in Belarus have not issued a public comment in response to Ukraines allegations.

Read the full article here

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Russia Says It Struck Base With Foreign Mercenaries in Ukraine

Russian officials on Sunday claimed they struck another Ukrainian base that purportedly served as a training center for special operations forces, killing more than 100. At the same time, Ukrainian authorities alleged Russian forces bombed an art school in a besieged city.

Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said via state-run media that high-precision air-launched missiles struck a base in Ovruch in the northern Zhytomyr Region, located in north-central Ukraine. Those who were killed in the airstrike were foreign mercenaries who arrived in Ukraine in recent days, he said, according to state-backed RIA Novosti.

Konashenkov did not provide evidence for the claim that the base was being used by foreign mercenaries or Ukrainian special operations forces. Ukrainian officials have not issued public comments on Konashenkovs statement on Sunday.

Read the full article here

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UKs Johnson Warns China Not to Condone Russian Invasion of Ukraine

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on the Chinese regime not to condone Russias invasion of Ukraine, which he described as a fight between good and evil.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Johnson said: As time goes on, and as the number of Russian atrocities mounts up, I think it becomes steadily more difficult and politically embarrassing for people either actively or passively to condone Putins invasion.

There are considerable dilemmas now for people who thought they could sit this one out, who thought they could sit on the fence.

He said he thinks the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is starting to have second thoughts over its stance on the war.

Read the full article here

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Turkey Says Russia and Ukraine Nearing Agreement on Critical Issues

Turkeys foreign minister said in an interview published on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine were nearing agreement on critical issues and he was hopeful for a ceasefire if the two sides did not backtrack from progress achieved so far.

Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. President Vladimir Putin has called Russias actions a special operation meant to demilitarize Ukraine and purge it of what he sees as dangerous nationalists. Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an aggressive war of choice.

Foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov of Russia and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine met in the Turkish resort town of Antalya earlier this month with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also attending. The discussions did not yield concrete results.

But Cavusoglu, who also traveled to Russia and Ukraine last week for talks with Lavrov and Kuleba, told Turkish daily Hurriyet that there had been rapprochement in the positions of both sides on important subjects, critical subjects.

We can say we are hopeful for a ceasefire if the sides do not take a step back from the current positions, he said, without elaborating on the issues.

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Zelensky Says He Wants Talks With Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday announced hes ready to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he warned that if the talks fail, the conflict could escalate to become World War III.

Im ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations, we cannot end this war, Zelensky told CNN.

Read the full article here

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Ukraine Says Russia Bombs Another Shelter in Mariupol

Ukrainian authorities said Sunday that Russias military bombed an art school sheltering some 400 people in the embattled port city of Mariupol.

It was the second time in less than a week that city officials reported a public building where residents had taken shelter coming under attack. A bomb hit a Mariupol theater with more than 1,300 believed to be inside on Wednesday, local officials said.

There was no immediate word on casualties from the reported strike on the art school. Ukrainian officials have not given an update on the search of the theater since Friday, when they said at least 130 had been rescued.

Mariupol, a strategic port on the Azov Sea, has been under bombardment for at least three weeks.

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Ukraine Says 7 Humanitarian Corridors Will Open on Sunday

Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said seven humanitarian corridors would open on Sunday to enable civilians to leave frontline areas.

Ukraine has evacuated a total of 190,000 people from such areas since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, Vereshchuk said on Saturday, though Ukraine and Russia blame each other for hobbling the process.

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Zelensky Announces Ban on 11 Political Parties

Zelensky announced a measure that bans 11 opposition political parties, alleging they have ties to Russia, he announced in a Telegram video posted on March 20.

The parties that have been banned, he said, include Opposition PlatformFor Life, Sharijs Party, Nashi, Opposition Bloc, Left Opposition, Union of Left Forces, Derzhava, Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialist Party of Ukraine, the Socialists, and Volodymyr Saldos Bloc, according to Ukrinform.

The National Security Council agreed to suspend the parties, Ukrinform reported, citing Zelenskys video address.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice has been told to immediately take measures to ban those political parties, he said. Zelensky didnt provide evidence that linked the 11 opposition parties to the Russian government.

At the onset of the Feb. 24 invasion, Zelensky signed a measure that established martial law and general mobilization.

Zelensky said on March 20 that activities by politicians aimed at discord and collaboration will not succeed, adding that alleged links between Russia and and some political structures, the activities of a number of political parties are suspended for the period of the martial law.

Read the full article here

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Patriot Air Defense Systems Move Into Slovakia

Slovakias Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad says the first multinational NATO units with the Patriot air defense systems have been moving to his country.

Nad said on Sunday the transfers will continue in the coming days.

Germany and the Netherlands have agreed to send their troops armed with the Patriots to Slovakia. The troops are some of the 2,100 soldiers from several NATO members, including the United States, who will form a battlegroup on Slovak territory as the alliance boosts its defenses in its eastern flank following Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Nad says the Patriots will be initially deployed at the armed forces base of Sliac in central Slovakia before they will be stationed at various places to protect the largest possible Slovak territory.

He thanked Germany and the Netherlands for their responsible decision to fundamentally boost Slovakias defenses.

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Ukraine Claims Another Russian General Killed

Another Russian general was killed during fighting last week, the Ukrainian militarys General Staff said in a statement on Saturday.

As a result of fire on the enemy by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the commander of the 8th All-Military Army of the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lt Gen Andrey Mordvichev, was killed, the statement said.

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US Lawmakers Visit Poland, Urge Help for Ukraine Military

A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers visiting Poland said Saturday that the most urgent need in Ukraines fight against a Russian invasion is to equip and support the country in every way that will help it defend its independence.

The seven-member delegation led by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) has visited reception centers for refugees from Ukraine in eastern Poland. They noted Polands openness in accepting refugees from Ukraine, including in private homes. More than 2 million people fleeing war have come to Poland since Feb. 24, when Russias troops invaded Ukraine.

We are here to reassure and support the people of Ukraine. We are here to thank the people of Poland for the unbelievable generosity they have shown to the refugees, said Lynch, who is chairman of the subcommittee on National Security in the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

During an online meeting with the media Saturday, the American lawmakers stressed the need to urgently assist Ukraines military in their fight against Russian forces. They said there is no room for peace talks as long as there is a hot war.

Jack Phillips, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.
LA County Supports Newsoms CARE Court Plan to Force Addicted, Mentally Ill Into Treatment

LOS ANGELESThe Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is throwing its support behind Gov. Gavin Newsoms Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court proposal unveiled earlier this month, which aims to force some individuals suffering from substance abuse, mental illnesses, and homelessness into treatment and housing through a court-ordered mandate.

The county board passed a motion and sent a letter to the state to support the CARE Court proposal earlier this week, although its unclear when Newsom will receive legislative backing for it.

Through the CARE Court, people could petition on behalf of someone with a severe mental illness or addiction for them to get treatments before they lapse into criminal activities or homelessness due to their conditions, which the motion said to be aligned with the countys overall Care First, Jails Last initiative.

Los Angeles County stands to benefit greatly from the rollout of the CARE Court, the county boards March 15 motion states.

People with severe mental illness or substance use disorders often end up on the streets, in jails, or in hospitals with ailments that have been exacerbated by neglect, and these outcomes do not provide the care and treatment they need, according to the motion.

The CARE Court offers more of a preventative approach, similar to current homeless court program initiatives in Long Beach, Redondo Beach, and Torrance, in that it uses the courts to compel treatment and care, but it differs in that it does not require a criminal charge or arrest for an individual to qualify, the motion states.

Under this policy framework, such individual who declines treatment could be placed into a conservatorshipa controversial system the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) denounced upon Newsoms proposal of the CARE Court.

Details of the program are also limited at this time, but the governor said hed be participating in roundtable discussions with criminal justice reform groups in the coming months.

The Los Angeles County supervisors hope the countys public health and justice systems can also join the discussions.

Im sure many of my colleagues have questions about how this program was going to be implemented and funded, Supervisor Janice Hahn said on March 15. This motion also directs our county departments like our Department of Mental Health, our office of diversion and reentry, and our public defender to collaborate with the state to help design the program because its important that we have a seat at the table.

If the proposal becomes law, every county in California has to comply with it.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl supported the boards motion to support the governors proposal, but said she is concerned that counties cannot opt-in or, frankly, out.

It will be imposed on us to do this, and the original concept was within your own money, Kuehl said.

She added that another downside might be where weve seen judges just decide how the county should spend money.

For local homeless service providers in Los Angeles, the move is a sign that Newsom is turning his ear to the root cause of homelessness that they say the current Housing First model doesnt currently address.

Its all about housing, and housing is a big component, but without services, you put a person thats addicted to crystal meth, fentanyl everything, heroin, whatever the case may be, and you say, Hey, were going to put you in a hotel, Brian Ulf, SHARED! Housing co-founder and member on the LAPD Community Advisory Board, told The Epoch Times.

Ulf said the current temporary housing programs follow a harm reduction model,  which means nobody has to use the service. Also, he said, 70 percent of the individuals placed in hotels still have addiction issues.

Stan Mohammed, a co-founder of the Venice-based gang prevention nonprofit HELPER Foundation, told The Epoch Times whether they get high inside the housing unit or out in the community, eventually theyre going to create a nuisance at the complex wherever they live in it.

So, again, I think the governor is speaking into the root of whats causing folks to fall into homelessness in the first place. And the majority of it is addiction, he said.

As a part of the motion, LA County officials will direct the countys Sacramento legislative advocates to advocate in support of the CARE Court program.

California has more than 160,000 homeless people in the state with the highest population of homeless individuals residing in LA County. According to the last homeless count, LA County has 66,000 homeless people living on its streets and 41,000 in LA City.
When a North Carolina couple welcomed their 16th child, they were stuck for what to name him. With their family tradition being to give their kids names beginning with the letter C, they were running out of ideas.

Patty, 40, and Carlos Hernandez, 39, settled and enjoying life in the city of Charlotte, welcomed their new arrival on May 5 last year. A healthy, bouncing baby boy, they called him Clayton.

We name everyone with a C because my husbands name starts with C, and also because of Christ. So in honor of both, we pick that letter, Patty, originally from Guatemala, told The Epoch Times.

Busy running their own successful cleaning business, the couple have a very full life with their big family. Strong in faith, Patty and Carlos are dedicated to raising their family as Christians, trying to instill a sense of integrity and responsibility.

Our children, they love each other and enjoy all going to school together, said Patty. They all have chores to do. They wake at 5.30 a.m. to go to school, come back, and help care for the seven babies and the household.

While the children are at school, the couple takes care of the house chores and does everything they need to do besides running their company before the babies prepare to take a nap at 1 p.m. every day.

We love the Lord, so are teaching them about the Bible. We want them to be good people; that is one of the best bonds we all share.

The family is a team, and Patty says she is proud they dont rely on state support. The average person can only imagine the size of the food bill, and Patty agrees its astronomical.

We spend over 500 dollars on food every weekand thats not including diapers and other things, she said.

The loving mother, who clearly adores all of her children and relishes parenthood, confesses that the news of her 16th baby was a big surprise.

We found out in 2020 that God was blessing us with one more. Though I had a really good pregnancy, it was the longest pregnancy ever, she said. I was almost 42 weeks when Clayton came.

Patty and her husband say they do sometimes get confused when calling out names in their lively household. Among their offspring are three sets of twins: Carla and Caitlyn, 11; Calvin and Catherine, 7; and Caleb and Caroline, 4.

In descending order of age, the rest of the children are as follows: Carlos Jr., 13; Chris, 12; Cristian, 10; Celeste, 9; Cristina, 8; Caroll, 5; Camilla, 3; Charlotte, 2; Crystal, 1, and baby Clayton, 8 months.

Is the Hernandez family complete, or do the couple foresee any more additions?

The most important thing is that God has blessed us and were open for more babies if our Lord wants to bless us with more, Patty said.

The best thing about being a mother to 16 kids is that I feel blessed and have a sense of pridebecause at the end of the day, we manage everything.

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
A mom-of-11 who certainly has her hands full in her busy household has shared her hectic daily routine.

Vicky Jamieson, 39, spends up to five hours a day in the kitchen, cooking meals, washing, cleaning, and ironing.

(Courtesy of Caters News)

The charity shop volunteer from Speke, Liverpool, United Kingdom, finds herself ironing 21 different pieces of uniform each morning and making three different meals at dinnertime for her brood of fussy eaters.

Its definitely a full-time job catering to such a large family, but its always been my dream to be a mom, said Vicky, a stay-at-home-mom. We have a five-bed house where seven of the kids live with us full time, and Craigs two come and stay at the weekends.

Our days start pretty early, and the kitchen is one of the most hectic places to be, she added.

However, Vicky and her partner, Craig Williams, 37, make sure to stock up on all of the essentials to cater for their blended family, who go through 84 pints of milk and 10 loaves of bread per week.

(Courtesy of Caters News)

Vicky is a proud mom to Tom, 22; Ellie, 21; Libby, 16; Lexie, 15; Mikey, 13; Craig, 13; Riley, 8; Annie, 6; twins Matilda and Teddy, 4; James, 13 weeks; and Emma and Lottie, who sadly died.

Sharing more details of her household, Vicky said they have only two bathrooms, thus getting all of the kids washed and dressed can be difficult, especially with the bathroom hogs, she stressed.

(Courtesy of Caters News)

While two of Vickys kids are in high school and they get hot lunches, the primary school children have packed lunches that are super quick and easy to put together. The twins, on the other hand, are at nursery part time, so they come home for lunch, and usually tend to have some quick sandwiches.

Craig and I are in the kitchen from around 3.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. for dinner each day as we usually have to cook three entirely different meals, as a few of the kids are pretty picky eaters, Vicky said. We cook everything from chicken nuggets and chips to pasta bakes, spaghetti Bolognese, and curries.

With a busy schedule during the week, Vicky says that Sundays for the family are quite relaxing when it comes to mealtime.

Everyone loves a Sunday dinner, so I try and make a roast at least twice a week, Vicky said.

Apart from spending a lot of time each day in the kitchen, the busy mom said that she also has to iron kids uniforms, and put on the first of several loads of washing.

Most of the kids will wear their clothes for one day and then just put in the basket, so its something we are trying to cut down on, as its just nonstop cycles up until 9 p.m. each night, she said.

(Courtesy of Caters News)

As for cleaning, Vicky gets as much done in the morning as she can before the twins return back home.

Teddy is like a tornado creating messes in my wake, Vicky said. Although Teddy does really enjoy cleaning sometimes and even has a little rag and spray bottle that he walks around the house with.

All of Vickys kids are tasked with tidying up their own bedrooms, and also do occasionally lend a hand at mealtimes.

With such a big family, days out can be expensive, so Vicky and Craig make sure to be as frugal as possible, exploring parks and having picnics.

The young ones love going on walks and on days out, she said. Craig takes them all on muddy walks by the sea, and they just love getting messy and splashing around in puddles with their wellies.

(Courtesy of Caters News)

During the summer, the family makes sure to pack a big picnic as they have a lot of local parks around.

Vicky also dreams of having a big farmhouse where all of the wellies are lined up at the back door. However, for now, she thinks its great for the kids to enjoy other ways of nature.

After catering to the needs of their kids 24/7, Craig and Vicky very rarely get any personal time, so they have had to be inventive with ways to get away every now and again.

I volunteer at a charity shop, and its so nice to just be me and be called Vicky, rather than being shouted at with mom or mommy,' she said. Its nice to have a change of scenery every now and again.

The couple also rarely have date nights but still manage to get out for birthdays and anniversaries.

Epoch Times Staff contributed to this report.

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Bright newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
Adherents of Falun Gong reenact the forced organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience by the Chinese regime at a protest in Vienna, Austria on Oct. 1, 2018. (Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images)

NGOs to Launch Summit on Chinas Forced Organ Harvesting

A virtual event calling out Chinas state-sponsored forced organ harvesting of living people, which targets religious and ethnic minorities, will be held on March 22.

Forced organ harvesting from living prisoners of conscience has secretly existed for over 20 years across the country under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), spotlighting an escalation of human rights violations in the 21st century, according to the events description.

The side event to the 49th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva will launch its online webinar on Tuesday morning. The 90-minute online event is hosted by CAP Freedom of Conscience, is a secular European NGO with United Nations Consultative Status, and co-organized by Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH), a Washington-based medical ethics advocacy group. They will present a dozen of international speakers including politicians, experts, lawyers, journalists, and human rights activists, to share insights about human rights violations in China.

A roundtable discussion followed by a Q&A session will come the following day to seek solutions to Chinas industrial-scale organ harvesting and trafficking.

Such crime is one of the most unconscionable crimes against humanity one can imagine, said Torsten Trey, founder and executive director of DAFOH. It is a disgrace that such act that despises human life has occurred for over two decades under the purview of an international body such as the UNHRC [United Nations Human Rights Council].

[But] we still have the chance to make a stand for humankind, he told The Epoch Times.

In 2019, an independent peoples tribunal found, after a year-long investigation, that the CCP was harvesting the organs of non-consenting detaineesmainly Falun Gong practitionerson a significant scale. Practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, have been brutally persecuted by the Chinese regime for more than two decades, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center.

A stance against the CCP becomes a stance for human rights around the world, said Belgian politician Annick Ponthier. She first learned about organ harvesting in 2020 after viewing the ruling of the 2019 tribunal.

Falun Gong practitioners take part in a parade marking the 22nd year of the persecution of Falun Gong in China, in Brooklyn, N.Y., on July 18, 2021. (The Epoch Times/Chung I Ho)

And it is truly strange, Snezhana Georgieva, one of the featured presenters of the event, told The Epoch Times. But at the same time not so strange, that the target of the Communist Partys persecution is Falun Dafaa spiritual practice that teaches noble human and moral values such as freedom, compassion, creation.

Last year, the United Nations published a statement by 12 U.N. special rapporteurs and experts on June 14, echoing the aforementioned concerns. Experts said the most common organs removed from the prisoners are hearts, kidneys, livers, corneas, and less commonly, parts of livers. The process involves surgeons, anesthetists, and other medical specialists.

We must stand together as an international community for the protection of those whose voices have been silenced by fear, oppression, and brutality, human rights activist Casey Alves said in a recent interview. Alves, who studied forced organ harvesting in China for her masters research at Oxford Brookes University, will also speak during the upcoming seminar.

Last September, a coalition of five NGOs organized and hosted the World Summit on Combating and Preventing Forced Organ Harvesting with 38 speakers from 19 countries.

Lord Philip Hunt, a member of the UK Parliament and a former British health minister, described forced organ harvesting as commercialized murder and without doubt, among the worst of crimes.

The March 22 webinar will start at 9:00 a.m. EDT and is currently open for registration.

Presenters of the day include House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), Dutch politician of the European Parliament Peter van Dalen, Canadian award-winning human rights lawyer David Matas, Spanish politician of the European Parliament Hermann Tertsch del Valle-Lersundi, and Taiwanese legislator Tien Chiu-Chin.
No Government Intervention for Next Wave of COVID-19: Dr. Jeffrey Barke

A frontline doctor said the right response to a future wave of COVID-19 should be based on focused protection without government intervention or medical mandates.

Currently, a new variantthe Omicron sub-variant BA.2is quickly spreading across the United States, Europe, China, and other parts of the world. Early reports indicate that the variant seems more transmissible, but theres no conclusion yet as to whether it will cause a large spike in infections.

As of March 12, the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron is estimated to be 23.1 percent of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The approach to COVID in the future should be one based on focused protection, not government intervention, not tyrannical emergency mandates, etc., Dr. Jeffrey Barke told NTDs Capitol Report on Mar. 16. Those havent worked. Theyve done more harm than good.

Barke is a board-certified primary care physician in private practice for over 25 years. Hes also a member of the advocacy group Americas Frontline Doctors.

Of course, we expect variants of Delta and variants of Omicron and coronavirus to be present, and likely for many, many years, Barke said. The good news, though, is as each variant comes to be, we hope that it will be less severe and less detrimental. Plus, so many people now have natural immunity and some vaccine immunity that should be at least partially protective against any variant that comes out.

The lockdown should never have occurred to begin with. It was the wrong approach, Barke said. Studies have shown that the lockdown and the government action on COVID was more detrimental than the virus itself.

A January study (pdf) by Johns Hopkins University showed that the lockdowns had had little to no effect on COVID-19 mortalityreducing mortality only by 0.2 percent on average.

Government intervention, such as lockdowns, travel bans, school or business closures, and mask or vaccine mandates, have been highly controversial. Critics have claimed that lockdowns had caused spikes of mental problems, drug overdoses, and domestic violence. School closures also led to learning loss in children, among other issues.

According to CDC data from May 2020 to April 2021, the United States recorded 100,306 drug overdose deaths, up from 78,056 deaths the year beforea 28.5 percent increase.

Last year, a study from the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice found that domestic violence incidents increased 8.1 percent in the United States after lockdowns were implemented.

In January, a new report released by the UK, UNICEF, and the World Bank showed that school closures have caused large and persistent damage to childrens learning and well-being.

The proper approach, in my opinion, is the one put forward by the Great Barrington Declaration, Jay Bhattacharya and company, Barke said. And that is an idea of focused protection.

The Great Barrington Declaration was co-authored by Bhattacharya, Dr. Martin Kulldorff, and Dr. Sunetra Gupta. The declaration called for focused protection, saying COVID-19 responses such as lockdowns, contact tracing, and isolation impose enormous unnecessary health costs on people and, in the long run, would lead to higher COVID-19 and non-COVID mortality.

We know who this virus harms, and its not young, healthy people. This virus primarily harms older folks and those with significant comorbidities underlying illness. Those are the folks we should be protecting and being careful, Barke said.

CDCs data showed that nearly three-quarters of COVID-19 deaths in the nation were seniors 65 years and older, while young people, especially those under 30, only represent less than one percent.

For the rest of us, we should pretty much go about our business, he said. Many younger people have natural immunity, so they should not worry. Children do great, not just my opinion. If you look at the CDCs own data, less than 18 years old, theres been around 900 deaths over the last two-plus years.

While every one of those deaths, of course, is a horrible tragedy, the reality is almost every single one of those deathsin kids less than 18 years oldhave been in kids that have significant underlying comorbidities.

Were talking about childhood cancer, blood disorders, diabetes, obesity, and so forth. Healthy Kids simply do not die of COVID 19. They have a greater risk of dying in a traffic accident or from seasonal influenza. So we should be leaving our children alone. We should not be vaccinating them with an experimental vaccine. We should not be masking them.

On March 2, President Joe Biden released the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, saying, Our path forward relies on giving schools and businesses the tools they need to prevent economic and educational shutdowns.

The Biden administration also hopes to approve vaccine access for young children, which some FDA advisors have expressed concerns about potential government mandates.

We must continue the effort to provide more vaccines and boosters. We must get a vaccine approved for the youngest children. We must continue to improve how our schools and workplaces cope with COVID, Biden said in a Mar. 17 statement.

We must take special care to protect the vulnerable from COVID, even as many restrictions are lifted. We need to provide tests, and treatments, and masks. We must fight the virus overseas, prepare for new waves, and new variantsall of which can be coming. And we must work with Congress to fund these vital steps, as time is running out to stay ahead of the virus.

Masooma Haq contributed to this report.

Harry Lee Follow Harry Lee is a New York-based reporter for The Epoch Times. Contact Harry at harry.lee@epochtimes.com
No Plan for Biden to Visit Ukraine While in Europe: White House

President Joe Biden has no plan to visit Ukraine during his upcoming trip to Europe, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on March 20.

The trip will be focused on continuing to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, but there are no plans to travel into Ukraine, Psaki wrote on Twitter.

The White House announced on March 15 that Biden will travel to Brussels for the March 24 NATO summit. Hes expected to meet with other NATO leaders and discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russias unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine, as well as to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies, Psaki said.

Biden also will attend the European Council summit scheduled for March 24 to 25. The White House said the meeting also will include discussions on shared concerns about Ukraine, including economic sanctions on Russia and humanitarian support for those affected by the conflict.

While Psaki didnt specify why Biden isnt planning to stop in Ukraine, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield on March 20 said its unthinkable for Biden to enter a country at war.

You have to remember, we have discouraged Americans from going into Ukraine, Thomas-Greenfield said during an interview with CNN. This is a country at war. I cant imagine that [a presidential visit] would be on the table.

Thomas-Greenfields comments came days after the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia visited Kyiv and spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It is understood that the trio chose to travel to the besieged city by train because flying into Ukrainian airspace could have been viewed by Russia as provocative.

The leaders met on March 15, which marked the beginning of a 35-hour lockdown imposed by Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who demanded that citizens stay at home in the wake of a fresh round of Russian air strikes and shelling.

Today is a difficult and dangerous moment, Klitschko said in a statement announcing the now-lifted curfew. This is why I ask all Kyivites to get prepared to stay at home for two days, or if the sirens go off, in the shelters.

Petro Poroshenko, Zelenskys predecessor, has called on Biden to make Ukraine one the destinations of his European trip.

Why dontvery good friend of mine, very good friend of Ukraine, Joe Biden, the leader of the global world, who demonstrate now the leadershipwhy dont he come visit here next week as a symbol of our solidarity? Poroshenko said in an interview with CNN.
Phosphorus reduction and the nutrients coming into Owasco Lake via rain were a couple of the topics discussed at an event on the health of the lake.

The annual Bob Brower Scientific Symposium, "In Plain English," was hosted by the Owasco Watershed Lake Association and held over the videoconferencing service Zoom Saturday. The event was virtual for the second year in a row, with the theme this year focusing on the human factors impacting water quality in Owasco Lake.

"Whether you're five miles or five feet or ten miles away from your lake or waterbody, what you do in your area of the watershed affects the water quality downstream," Rick Nelson, a member of the association's board of directors, said.

Dr. John Halfman, Professor of Environmental Studies at Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, gave his annual presentation of the status of the lake. Halfman, who Nelson noted has been test-sampling the lake for over 15 years, said "rainfall seems to be a great driver for water quality in the lake. It turns out that 2021, last summer, was a wet year, especially during the summer and into the fall."

More rain brings in more nutrients to a watershed, and more nutrients can hurt water quality. Halfman mentioned that the Owaso Lake had a "huge rainfall event" from Aug. 18-20, with the lake taking "a really big hit. It's something that's going to get more and more prevalent, small localized events, due to global warming."

Factors he measured last year included discharge and samples for nutrient concentrations.

"You took at discharge flow rates, basically, it's very typical of a normal year, much higher discharges than a dry year," he said.

Halfman added that the overall load of total suspended sediments in 2021 was "really high." He also talked about the importance of reducing nutrients such as phosphorus, which stimulates the growth of toxic blue-green algae, which can cause health issues for humans.

"In my mind, if you want to stop the loading of phosphorus and suspended sediments and other nutrients coming into the lake we have to somehow curtail the phosphorus coming up from (rainfall) events. Sounds simple, actually in practice, it's probably not quite that simple," he said.

For his estimates of inputs and outputs for 2021, Halfman said, that one rainfall event in August added approximately 50% of the load.

"One event, 50% of the load. And it's events like this that are in theory supposed to get worse into the future as we get into a global warming scenario," he continued. "This, to me, is disappointing. We need to do more to curtail phosphorous inputs coming into the lake if we're going to combat events like this that are going to become more frequent into the future."

Halfman also talked about three strategies estimated as being able to reduce phosphorus loading by around 70%, including all farmers using nutrient management plans and restricting manure fertilizer use. He also discussed other ways to reduce the amount of phosphorus getting into runoff, such as completing and following the recommendations coming out of the Owasco Lake Nine Element Plan.

Other presenters include Dr. Dan Kelting, director of the Adirondack Watershed Institute at Paul Smiths College, who talked about the effects of road salt on waters at the Adirondacks and statewide, and CEO Dr. John Pickering and senior behavioral scientist Toneya McIntosh of Evidn, an applied behavioral science company, discussed utilizing behavioral science to protect Owasco Lake.

Seth Jensen, director of municipal utilities for the city of Auburn, spoke about water level management at Owasco Lake, and Caroline "Carri" Marschner, invasive species extension associate for the New York State Hemlock Initiative, centered on short- and long-term solutions for hemlock management in the watershed.

Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau.

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People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 27, 2022. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images)

North Korea Fires 4 Projectiles Into Sea; South Korea on Alert

In its latest move that could ramp up tension on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea on March 20 fired four projectiles into the Yellow Sea, South Korean military officials said.

The launches were from an unspecified location in western North Korea and fell into the sea off the nations west coast during a span of an hour around 7:20 a.m. local time, according to officials, Yonhap News Agency reported.

There were shots believed to be that of North Koreas multiple rocket launchers this morning, an official from the South Korean military said at an emergency meeting, adding that the South Korean force is maintaining defense readiness posture while closely monitoring the developments.

North Korea has been conducting a string of missile tests since the beginning of this year. On Jan. 17, it fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile, which has an estimated range of 4,500 kilometers (2,796 miles) and is capable of striking the U.S. military base in Guam with a nuclear warhead. This type of missile was last tested in 2017 with three successful flights and three failures.

On Feb. 26, just days after Russia began its full-scale military offensive against Ukraine, North Korea launched what is believed to be the first-stage rocket for Hwasong-17, a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that may have the range to hit anywhere in the continental United States. Another test was conducted a week later, on March 4, drawing condemnations from South Korea, Japan, and the United States.

The purpose of these tests, which did not demonstrate ICBM range, was likely to evaluate this new system before conducting a test at full range in the future, potentially disguised as a space launch, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

Pyongyangs most recent missile test was conducted on March 16. Seoul officials believe that test ended in failure, with the missile appearing to have blown up after liftoff due to a problem with its engine.

When asked whether Washington is planning to intensify pressure on Pyongyang, which appears to be taking advantage of the ongoing RussiaUkraine conflict to pursue its weapons development, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said the Biden administration keeps the door open for diplomacy, but the Kim regime has no response.

We continue to seek diplomacy and were prepared to meet without preconditions, Jalina Porter, the departments principal deputy spokeswoman, said at a March 18 press briefing. President [Joe] Biden himself has also made clear that hes open to meeting with Kim Jong Un where there is a serious agreement on the table which we need to be on the basis of working-level negotiations, because as weve seen in the past administrations, leader-level summits alone are no guarantee of progress.

The DPRK continues to not respond.

South Korean officials previously said North Korea is likely preparing to launch a reconnaissance satellite ahead of April 15, which marks the countrys most important event for this yearthe 110th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, the founder of the Kim regime and current leader Kim Jong Uns grandfather.
This undated photo provided by the Tennessee State Senate shows Tennessee state Sen. Katrina Robinson posing for a photo in Nashville, Tenn. (Tennessee State Senate via AP)

Ousted Tennessee Senator Sentenced to Probation for Fraud

MEMPHIS, Tenn.A former Tennessee state senator expelled from office after a conviction for using federal grant money on wedding expenses instead of the nursing school she operates was sentenced Friday to a year of probation but no prison time.

Katrina Robinson had faced four to 10 months in prison under sentencing guidelines after she was found guilty in September of two counts of wire fraud in Memphis federal court. But U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman departed from the guidelines at sentencing, saying Robinson had already suffered greatly and the Memphis community would gain no benefit from prison time for the nursing school administrator, community leader, and mother of two.

Robinson, a Democrat, was elected to represent a Memphis district in the state Senate in 2018. She was removed from office last month by the Republican-led Senate in a vote along party lines.

The criminal case against Robinson involved federal grant money for a school for health care workers she started running before she was elected to public office.

In July 2020, prosecutors accused Robinson of paying personal expenses from more than $600,000 in federal grant money awarded to The Healthcare Institute, which trains nurses and focuses on helping low-income minority students. She was ultimately convicted of only two of 20 counts, involving about $3,400 in wedding expenses in 2016.

During the sentencing hearing, Robinson told the judge that she understood the importance of her case and acknowledged that she did not keep a tight eye on things.

Lipman criticized Robinsons sloppy record-keeping and added that Robinson failed to respect the federal grant funded by taxpayers by not giving it proper attention.

Lipman also ruled Friday that Robinson had committed perjury during her trial when she defended an email that said money she used on her wedding was for a community patient education event and should be covered by grant money.

After the hearing, Robinson told reporters that she felt probation was appropriate and she plans to continue working in the community.
PORTLAND, Ore.Out of all the civilizations in the world, China is one of the oldest and has one of the most continuously recorded histories. Despite the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) attempts to destroy it over the past 70 years, Shen Yun Performing Arts is reviving Chinese culture and allowing people around the world to recognize that the CCP is not China.

Ive always been taught to keep that old tradition alive, no matter what is new, you always want to have a memory and learn and pass it on from generation to generation, because thats ultimately what created the people. And if that goes away, you will lose the people, said Nassira Filipovic, an interior designer.

She expressed her support for Shen Yuns efforts in reviving Chinese culture.

So I fully support this kind of culture expression around the world and maintaining it within China itself. I think its absolutely vital to maintain China as a whole over thousands of years of history, said Filipovic.

Shen Yun is based in New York and while most of its dances feature classical Chinese dance, its artists are also trained in the different ethnic dance styles of the different minorities in China.

My biggest takeaway is the multitude of different aspects of China because China is a huge country, and it has so many aspects of culture in every region, said Filipovic. This experience brought everything together in one setting. So we got to experience a little bit of Chinathousands of years in one setting.

As an interior designer, she couldnt help but notice and be inspired by the colors and patterns that Shen Yun used.

Im already thinking about some aspects I can introduce into some of my designs in the future for sure. You guys nailed it, she said.

Ms. Filipovics husband, Nadan Filipovic, an associate nurse manager, shared that he was impressed with Shen Yuns ability to express and tell stories without the use of dialogue.

I think this was a very wonderful experience overall, I think [it] introduces culture that Ive never seen before. So it was just really nice to see a different part of the world. [We] experienced the most beautiful part of it, which is spoken through music, and not so much through language. Because I think music on its own is a language and it speaks a lot more than just words, said Mr. Filipovic.

Shen Yuns orchestra features traditional Chinese instruments like the pipa and Chinese percussion. The two-stringed erhu is also highlighted during the performance.

My favorite part was the instrument that the lady was playing with two strings. That was gorgeous, said Ms. Filipovic. Its amazing that with only two strings and the way she was playing, I felt so many feelings and emotions.

Reporting by Mary Zhang 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.
Wang Shujun in an undated photo. Wang, secretary-general of a Queens-based Chinese pro-democracy group, was arrested in New York City on March 16 on charges relating to acting as an agent for China. (The Epoch Times)

Prominent NYC Chinese Democracy Activist Spied for Communist China: DOJ

A prominent Chinese American dissident was recently arrested in New York City, accused by the FBI of working as an informant for Chinese intelligence for 17 years.

Wang Shujun, 73, of Queens, was one of five defendants charged in separate cases unsealed on March 16, that federal prosecutors said were part of the communist regimes broader campaign to harass, intimidate, and spy on overseas Chinese dissidents.

Two of the defendants, including Wang, allegedly worked for the Ministry of State Security (MSS), the Chinese regimes top intelligence agency. In recent years, individuals associated with the agency, including hackers, spies, and company insiders, have been exposed by U.S. authorities for espionage activities.

Wang is a well-known figure in dissident circles and the Chinese diaspora community in New York City. He was among a group of dissidents who co-founded the Queens-based Chinese pro-democracy nonprofit Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang Memorial Foundation in 2006. He served as secretary-general of the foundation, named after two former reformist leaders of the Chinese regime.

According to a criminal complaint unsealed on March 16, Wang, who was once a professor in China, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2003. Between January 2016 and August 2021, he spied on his fellow dissidents and worked as a mole in the foundation, the court document said. He reported to four different MSS handlers, and at least one Hong Kong pro-democracy activist whom he provided information on was subsequently arrested by Chinese authorities.

Hu Ping, who was a co-founder of the foundation, told The Epoch Times that he was not surprised that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was infiltrating the overseas Chinese pro-democracy movement, given that the regime could exploit the openness of American society.

Surely the Chinese Communist Party would send its agents or try to turn one of us into an informant. Either way, it is extremely likely, Hu said.

According to Hu, Wang isnt the only one and there are more like him.

They play different roles, with some intentionally trying to sing a different tune at some organizations with the aim of fomenting discord, Hu explained.

To the best of his knowledge, Hu said he is aware that some people in pro-democracy circles in the United States are CCP agents, but the FBI has not detected them.

He added that the Chinese regime would offer money or business opportunities in China as incentives to induce individuals into working as agents for Beijing.

Hu is also the honorary editor-in-chief of New York-based Beijing Spring magazine, an online political publication.

The Alleged Plot

Wang began providing information to the MSS at least in or about 2005 according to the complaint. However, the court document only detailed his alleged crimes between 2016 and 2021.

Two of his handlers were from the state security bureau in the northeastern Chinese city of Qingdao, where he used to be a local college professor before moving to the United States, the complaint said. The other two handlers worked for MSSs bureau in southern Chinas Guangdong Province.

He communicated with his handlers through either face-to-face meetings while he was visiting China, messaging apps, or emails in which he wrote up information he collected into diaries.

These diaries included details about Wangs private conversations with prominent dissidents as well as the activities of pro-democracy activists and human rights organizations, the complaint said.

One of the diaries Wang wrote dated March 15, 2016, when he shared his analysis of possible protests during the upcoming U.S. visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Wang provided the name of the individual planning these demonstrations and shared another individuals assessment that the planners might not be as aggressive as last year, according to the complaint.

Xi attended the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on April 1, 2016. A year later, he met with former U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

A large part of Wangs efforts to collect information concerned a Hong Kong politician and solicitor. The complaint did not reveal the name of the individual but said he was the former chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the former chairman of Hong Kongs Democratic Party, and a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.

The court document also said the Hong Kong politician was arrested on April 18, 2020, before he was given two concurrent jail sentences of 18 months on May 28, 2021.

These descriptions clearly indicated that Wangs target was Albert Ho, who was among four Hong Kong pro-democracy activists sentenced for their roles in an unauthorized protest in Hong Kong on Oct. 1, 2019.

Wang wrote in one undated diary about the Hong Kong politicians views on whether the citys chief executive would be reelected.

The complaint noted that Wangs effort to provide the MSS information on the Hong Kong politician likely represented only a portion of a multifaceted effort by the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] government to track [Ho].

Disbelief

Wu Zuolai, a U.S.-based Chinese scholar who survived the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, believed Wang made an unwise decision when he allegedly agreed to become a CCP agent.

You have already moved to the United States, enjoying the many benefits of living in a free society. Yet you are still working for the CCP, Wu told The Epoch Times, referring to Wang.

If the United States is brought down, and the United States becomes like China, what would this world become?

The MSS looks for certain types of individuals in their hunt for possible agents. According to Wu, the agency would look for people who enjoy a certain social status in Europe or the United States, and offer them certain benefits such as the willingness to take care of their troubles back in mainland China.

For example, if a targeted individual is on the verge of losing his house in China due to forceful demolition, the MSS might intervene and have the local security bureau stop the house from being torn down, Wu said. By doing the individual a favor, the person is likely to reciprocate and provide the information that the MSS is seeking, he added.

According to Wu, the MSS also sees Chinese nationals taking up positions abroad as potential agents.

Justin Yu, former president of the New York-based community group Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, echoed Wus assessment, saying those who have chosen to live American should not do what Wang has allegedly done.

We must defend America and refuse to be the pawn of foreign political parties to disrupt America, Yu told The Epoch Times.

Wang has been charged with acting as an agent of the PRC government, criminal use of means of identification, and making materially false statements in connection with his participation in a transnational repression scheme orchestrated by the MSS, according to the DOJ.

If convicted, Wang could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Chang Chun and Cai Rong contributed to this report.
Melanie Mahan at the March 18 performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts, in Reno. (Gary Wang/The Epoch Times)

RENO, Nev.Watching Shen Yun perform at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts on March 18, yoga instructor Melanie Mahan was fascinated by the dancers movements. Her curiosity about Chinese dance began when her daughters ballet studio brought in a guest teacher who taught Chinese dance.

I love to watch how she moved, Ms. Mahan recalled. And its not just the body, but the way the hands move.

Shen Yun is reviving 5,000 years of Chinese culture before communism through classical Chinese dance. The inner meanings and visual vocabulary presented in the program represent a rich heritage steeped in the spiritual roots of Buddhist and Daoist thought, which is suppressed in China today.

It was Ms. Mahans first performance, having wanted to see the show in San Francisco a few years back but not making it. She appreciated the spiritual themes shown through the storylines.

I think the world needs more of what theyre showing, such as compassion and cooperation, she said.

Touched by the Dedication and Talent of the Shen Yun Artists

Joshua Fleming, regional digital sales manager at Cumulus Media, felt hope from seeing Shen Yun.

It made me feel as if theres hope for the next generation, even though the current generation is struggling, he said.

Joshua Fleming at the March 18 performance of Shen Yun in Reno. (Gary Wang/The Epoch Times)

Mr. Fleming was touched by the dedication and talent of the performers.

Their efforts are amazing. The acrobatics, just everything. Its so visually stunning. It couldnt be done without great artistry and a lot of hard work. So I thank them for that.

The impact of seeing Shen Yun is hard to describe, but one to be experienced.

Theres a possibility of power being transferred through the performance into a persons soul.  Joshua Fleming

Theres a possibility of power being transferred through the performance into a persons soul, he added. I would describe this as a musical and spiritual journey that they need to see to believe.

Reporting by Gary Wang.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Russia's MiG-31 supersonic interceptor jets carrying hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles fly over the Red Square during a military parade in Moscow, Russia, on May 9, 2018. (Yuri Kadobnov/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia Says It Struck Base With Foreign Mercenaries in Ukraine

Russian officials on Sunday claimed they struck another Ukrainian base that purportedly served as a training center for special operations forces, killing more than 100. At the same time, Ukrainian authorities alleged Russian forces bombed an art school in a besieged city.

Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said via state-run media that high-precision air-launched missiles struck a base in Ovruch in the northern Zhytomyr Region, located in north-central Ukraine. Those who were killed in the airstrike were foreign mercenaries who arrived in Ukraine in recent days, he said, according to state-backed RIA Novosti.

Konashenkov did not provide evidence for the claim that the base was being used by foreign mercenaries or Ukrainian special operations forces. Ukrainian officials have not issued public comments on Konashenkovs statement on Sunday.

Over the weekend, Moscow also said it used hypersonic missiles to destroy Ukrainian military assets. Its the first time Russia has acknowledged using such weapons in the monthlong conflict.

A view shows a damaged building at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant compound, amid Russias invasion of Ukraine, in Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released March 17, 2022. (Press Service of National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom/Handout via REUTERS)

Smoke billows out from the Lviv Airport after an early morning airstrike hit an aircraft repair plant, in Lviv, Ukraine, on March 18, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

In that incident, Russias Defense Ministry said, a large underground storage facility for missiles and aviation ammunition in Ukraines Ivano-Frankovsk region was destroyed by the missile. There were reports that Russia may have used the Kinzhal air-to-ground missile, which is claimed to have a speed of Mach 10.

As Russian officials made the claims, Ukrainian authorities said Sunday that Russias military bombed an art school sheltering some 400 people in the embattled port city of Mariupol.

So far, there is no exact operational data on how many people were hiding in the shelter or the number of casualties. I expect we will have it later today. But the situation is difficult and there is nowhere to get the data from, said Petro Andrushenko, an adviser to Mariupols mayoral office, in a statement Sunday.

It was the second time in less than a week that city officials reported a public building where residents had taken shelter coming under attack. A bomb hit a Mariupol theater with more than 1,300 believed to be inside on Wednesday, local officials said. Russia denied bombing the theater.

To do this to a peaceful city, what the occupiers did, is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation. The more Russia uses terror against Ukraine, the worse the consequences for it.

Since the start of the Feb. 24 conflict, the United Nations refugee agency said that more than 3 million people have fled Ukraine to nearby countries.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Saudi border guards stand guard in the closed al-Tuwal border crossing with Yemen in the southern Jizan province on Oct. 3, 2017. (FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi-Led Coalition Says 4 Houthi Missiles Targeting Critical Infrastructure Hit Kingdom

CAIROThe Saudi-led coalition said early on Sunday that the Iran-aligned Houthi group launched four attacks on the kingdom that damaged civilian cars and homes but caused no casualties, state media reported.

In a statement, the coalition added the latest escalation included ballistic missiles, drones, and cruise missiles. It also said it is detecting and monitoring drones in the sky and intercepted a ballistic missile that aimed at targeting civilians in Jizan.

Saudi state news agency (SPA) said one attack targeted a water desalination plant in the city of Al-Shaqeeq, an Aramco facility in Jizan, a power station in the southern Dhahran al Janub city, and a gas facility in Khamis Mushait.

Yemens coalition government, who the Houthi rebels have been fighting to overthrow since 2015, said the latest Houthi escalation by targeting economic and civil facilities was a response to a Gulf call for talks.

The Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plans to invite Yemeni parties, including the Houthis, for consultations in Riyadh this month, two Gulf officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the Houthis said they would welcome talks with the Saudi-led coalition if the venue is a neutral country, including some Gulf states, and that the priority is lifting arbitrary restrictions on Yemeni ports and Sanaa airport.

State media posted images and videos of the damage caused by the attacks.

There was no immediate comment from Houthi leaders.
Shen Yun is "absolutely amazing," said Johanne Delves after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts with her husband at the National Arts Centre, in Ottawa, on March 19, 2022. (NTD)

OTTAWA, CanadaJohanne Delves, vice president of private banking at the Royal Bank of Canada, said Shen Yun is absolutely amazing after seeing the companys performance at the National Arts Centre on March 19.

The costumes are fabulous. The dancers are absolutely fantastic, and the orchestra has been very, very inspiring.  Johanne Delves

Its our first time here. Were very, very much enjoying it, said Ms. Delves. The experience has been amazing. The costumes are fabulous. The dancers are absolutely fantastic, and the orchestra has been very, very inspiring.

Based in New York, Shen Yun features classical Chinese dance and music. The companys perfectly choreographed dances are made even more impactful with its use of colorful costumes, an orchestra accompanying the dances, and a patented technology that allows for the interaction of the dancers on the stage with projected backdrops that depict beautiful scenes from Chinas rich history and cultural heritage.

Its so vibrant. The colors are absolutely amazing. The costume is fantastic. Its very, very exhilarating, Ms. Delves said.  It was quite inspiring when they would jump off the back and then all of a sudden up on the screen, I couldnt believe it was happening. And I nudged my husband, Im like, This is amazing, I cant believe it.'

Ms. Delves said besides artistry, the performance also had an educational aspect, as she could learn about the Chinese culture through Shen Yun.

I walk away feeling that much more educated, she said.

Ms. Delves said its important to know more about the culture to be able to appreciate where we come from, where we are today, and where we really need to go tomorrow.

Those who havent seen Shen Yun yet, Ms. Delves said, absolutely have to come see the show.

Its so amazing, its so inspiring, elegant.

Shen Yun Brings Hope, Says Audience Member

Christy Allen at the Shen Yun performance at the National Arts Centre, in Ottawa, on March 19, 2022. (NTD)

Christy Allen, a lawyer, said she has never seen anything like Shen Yun.

Weve been really impressed. Its beautiful, its breathtaking, really, with the colors and the stories behind the dances, she said. Its really amazing. Really enjoyed it.

Ms. Allen said Shen Yun brings a sense of hope, especially as the world has been struggling with a pandemic over the past two years.

It was one of the things that I personally  felt as I was watching, especially at the beginning, the feeling of hope, with the dancers, their beautiful dances, she said.

Ms. Allen praised the storylines behind the dances, noting that they conveyed virtues and different themes.

I love the fact that theres a story behind each dance. It makes it more enjoyable in a way because you can understand through the dance what is happening or what is trying to be conveyed to the audience, Ms. Allen said.

I particularly liked [the one that] was  about courage, she said, referring to the piece Plum Blossom in Spring. As explained in the program book, in Chinese culture, the plum blossom is a symbol of courage and resilience, braving winter and flourishing into spring.

I thought it was a beautiful dance, but also you could really understand that virtue coming through the storytelling, she said.

She also noted the spiritual aspect of the performance.

Its nice to see that as well, she said. [It] comes through as a theme through most of the dances  where there [are] stories about the creator and how that  comes into our everyday lives, and is still relevant today.

With everything going on lately, Ms. Allen said, its heartwarming to see this aspect of Shen Yun.

It makes a person feel that theyre not alone, and theres something bigger out there.  Christy Allen

It makes a person feel that theyre not alone, and theres something bigger out there, something more important than what we see on the news, and what we live [through] in our everyday lives, she said.

Reporting by NTD.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
PORTLAND, Ore.The audience loved Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Keller Auditorium on March 19. Craig Hanley, a computer scientist, and Sheryl Kingston, who works as a receptionist in a carpet store, enjoyed the performance. Mr. Hanley, who had been waiting two years to see the performance because of the lockdowns, liked that Shen Yun took a stand against communism.

Shen Yun Performing Arts is based in New York and was formed by artists escaping from communist-run China to form a music and dance company. It brings to the world a taste of what Chinese traditional culture was like before communism took over and destroyed it.

Mr. Hanley, who grew up in Germany, said traditions are important, especially in the modern world. I think we have gotten too far in technology. I like [the] traditions in Germany.

Ms. Kingston agreed. I think that if we dont learn from history, its just going to repeat [it] in the future.

Mr. Hanley said Shen Yun can bring hope back to the world through tradition. I mean going back to basic things that make people happy. He noted the dance where people had cell phones and were bumping into each other. They are so self-absorbed. The further back you go in time, the happier people were.

Its just nice to be able to get out, and be with people and socialize.  Craig Hanley

Ms. Kingston enjoyed just the fact of coming to a performance. Its just nice to be able to get out, and be with people and socialize.

She would definitely encourage people to come. This is a magnificent show. Its full of talent and amazing dancers, and its really well done.

Spirituality Connects Us All

Eric Leong, the chief inpatient psychiatrist at Good Samaritan Medical Center, enjoyed the performance with Anna Leong, a professional jewelry buyer, who said the performance was very inspirational. I loved the combination of Western music and ancient Chinese music.

Anna Leong and Eric Leong attend the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at the Keller Auditorium, Portland, Ore. on March 19, 2022. (NTD)

Mr. Leong, who is a Chinese American, said, Theres a lot about Chinese culture that I dont know and was impressed by the artistry of the dances. His family had left China before communism took over, but he heard many horror stories about it. Its good to see that  a lot of the culture from before communism has been preserved. Thats the best thing.

Mrs. Leong noted the contrast in the dances. I love the combination of strength and weakness, strong and soft. Those contrasts in Chinese culture were very, very inspiring to me. I love the symbol of the plum tree, being the symbol of spring and strength. Thats a beautiful symbol.

She also noted how spirituality connects all people that live on this planet. Whatever a persons belief, the Divine is above, Mrs. Leong said.

As a psychiatrist, I believe that theres more to us than just our physical bodies and our brains. Theres our spirit as well, which is beautiful, and it connects us all as people, Mr. Leong said.

Its a testimony of strength, spirituality, and art, all in one. Thats Shen Yun. Thats what it [meant] to me, Mrs. Leong said.

Reporters Frank Zhang, NTD and Yvonne Marcotte.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
In this special episode, we hear from Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and former Deputy National Security Adviser of the United States KT McFarland.

Perry said, The Chinese market is huge, and everybody wants the cash associated with the Chinese market. Sooner or later, were going to have to deal with China and their market. And its not the Chinese people that we take issue with. It is the communists, the ruling party in China.

And as to ways to counter that, KT McFarland said, The only way we solve this is a national policy, to say American corporations are not going to invest in Chinese companies that are endangering American national security. American companies cannot, maybe, sell things to Chinese [companies]. We need to have a national policy so that its a level playing field for all American companies.

Have other topics you want us to cover? Drop us a line: chinainfocus@ntdtv.org

And if youd like to buy us a coffee: https://donorbox.org/china-in-focus

Subscribe to our newsletter for more first-hand news from China.

For more news and videos, please visit us on Gettr and Twitter.
Charges are pending in connection with a natural gas tank explosion Saturday night in Throop, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said Monday.

DEC police are investigating what the agency said was an "illegal fire" that ignited one of two 100-gallon compressed natural gas tanks that were being stored nearby on property used by Dirt Works of Auburn LLC, a construction and excavation company. The company has a garage at the end of Whitehead Lane, which is off Beech Tree Road.

The explosion could be felt from several miles away, with social media reports of it being heard from places as far away as Solvay. Throop Fire Department Chief Patrick Burns said there were no injuries from the blast, which did not cause major property damage.

DEC said the fire that sparked the explosion contained prohibited materials, including construction and demolition debris, household garbage, plastic toys and a 55-gallon drum filled with used oil filters.

The compressed natural gas tanks are used to fuel heavy equipment vehicles, Throop Assistant Fire Chief Brian Dahl said.

DEC said charges and site cleanup is pending, and the case remains under investigation. Dirt Works could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Throop and Port Byron fire departments were initially dispatched at 9:41 p.m. Saturday to investigate 911 calls about a possible explosion, but the exact location was not initially known, Burns said. Crews eventually narrowed it down to an area behind a garage used by excavation company Dirt Works on Whitehead Lane, which is off Beech Tree Road.

The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police and Throop's code enforcement and fire investigation team assisted at the scene, Burns said.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Moscow on March 2, 2022. The U.S. and its allies step up sweeping sanctions on Russia in response to the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

The Ukrainian War Will Be the End of Russia: Beijing Should Not Be Allowed to Profit

Commentary

History will show that the Ukrainian war marked the beginning of the end of the Russian state.

Over the last two decades, Vladimir Putin and his cronies, a criminal conspiracy masquerading as the Russian government, have looted the Russian economy, destroyed the Russian middle class and have plunged millions of pensioners into poverty. For their grand finale, they are setting the stage for the eventual disappearance of Russian sovereigntyeither by the dissolution of the Russian state or by the transformation of Russia into a Chinese vassal.

The prospect of de facto Chinese control of Russias vast resources and territory should give the United States cause for concern. Such an outcome will eventually lead to the creation of a Eurasian superstate; the likes of which has not been seen since the Mongols swept across the Eurasian plain in the 13th century. All the more reason to ensure that Beijing does not accelerate Russian dependence by allowing Chinese companies to flout the sanctions regime.

It is imperative that the United States and its allies step in and sanction those Chinese companies that flout the sanctions that have been imposed on the Russian government and Russian companies. Sanctioning Russia while allowing Chinese companies to flout those sanctions with impunity will lead to the worst possible outcome for the United States and its allies.

Four weeks into the Ukrainian war, the conflict is going very badly for Russia. Gone is the prospect of a quick collapse of the Ukrainian military and an abandonment of Kyiv by the Zelenskyy government, paving the way of a pro-Russian government of national unity. Instead, the Ukrainian military rallied and posted a tenacious defense. In some cases, even going on the offensive.

The Russian military has failed to make any significant advances or capture any additional Ukrainian cities over the last two weeks. Indeed, for the first time since the conflict began, some military analysts are even suggesting what would have been inconceivable four weeks agothat Ukraine could actually fight Russian forces to a standstill.

Instead, the Russian military has shifted to terror tactics of shelling and aerial bombardment of Ukrainian citiesa strategy that will do little to advance the war effort, given the Ukrainian resolve to resist the Russian invasion, and ensures that Ukrainians will harbor a multi-generation hatred of Russia, while the rest of Europe will harbor a multi-generational distrust of the Kremlins intentions.

A citizen stands near firefighters in front of a destroyed apartment building after it was shelled in the northwestern Obolon district of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 14, 2022. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images)

In the meantime, the Russian military has suffered staggering losses of men, equipment, and materials. The much-vaunted Russian air force has failed to sweep the sky over Ukraine of opposing air power, and the Russian advance has consistently been bogged down by logistical problems that are more characteristic of a third-world force than what is supposed to be a military superpower.

The strategy of rubbleizing Ukraines cities will create a nightmare of urban warfare for Russian troops should they choose to invade the cities. Its questionable, given the progress to date, if the Russian armed forces have the military strength and logistical reserves to surround all of Ukraines principal citiesespecially Kyiv.

Even if they were to do so, they face the prospect of fighting another Stalingrad or a replay of the Warsaw ghetto uprisingonly this time it will be broadcast across social media in real time. Indeed, from Russias perspective, it is hard to see how the outcome could have been any worse.

Putin has threatened to deploy some 40,000 Syrian militia, and the Russian medias constant references to American funded bio labs in Ukraine, a claim also echoed by Chinese state media, has raised concerns that Russia may deploy chemical or biological weapons. Western military analysts have also expressed concern that the Russian military may deploy sub-kiloton theater nuclear weapons in a determined show of force.

Its hard to see how any of these actions will change the progress of the war given the Ukrainian resolve to resist. Indeed, all they will do is further inflame Western public opinion against the Kremlin.

Protesters carry signs against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a rally in Tucson, Ariz., on March 6. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

At this point it is imperative that the United States takes the lead in identifying an off-ramp that can bring the conflict to a speedy close. Russia is now a pariah state, the Putin government toxic. Even if a peace agreement is reached, and/or Putin is eventually replaced, it will be years before Russia can expect to normalize relations with the United States and the European Union.

Moreover, the danger of dependence on Russias energy exports has been driven home to the EU. Europe will aggressively diversify its sources of energy away from Russia.

On the other hand, neither is it in Americas and the EUs interest to push Russia into Chinas open arms. Make no mistake, amid the chaos and destruction of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is Beijing that is emerging as the big winner.

By enabling Russias invasion of Ukraine, Beijing has ensured the Kremlins long-term dependence on Chinese support while at the same time positioning itself as an unofficial interlocutor between the United States and Russia.

China has little interest in a speedy resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. The longer the war continues, the more incensed public opinion in the West will be and the more dependent Moscow grows on Beijings support. China has an agenda here also. Its not only about securing long-term supplies of Russian energy and minerals or replacing Russian influence in Central Asia.

How long will it be before China raises the delicate matter of those unfair treaties, starting with the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1769), that were foisted on the Qing Dynasty by Czarist Russia between the 17th and 19th centuries, which saw thousands of square miles of Chinese territory transferred to Russia?

I have noted elsewhere that Russia has three possible outcomes: integration with the West, vassalization by China, or dissolution. The first outcome seems unlikely in the short term, even if the Russian people eventually succeed in excising the malignant cancer that is the Putin regime. The most likely outcome now is for Moscow to become an economic vassal of Beijing, or to try to go it alone until economic collapse leads to the breakdown and dissolution of the Russian state.

The United States and its allies need to ensure that the economic and political isolation of Russia does not play out in Chinas favor. It is imperative that Chinese efforts to assist Moscow in evading sanctions are met with equally steadfast U.S. and EU sanctions on China and its companies.

The Ukrainian war will lead to the widespread devastation of Ukraines cities and tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of civilian casualties. Ukraine, however, will survive. Russia will not!

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Servicemen of Ukrainian Military Forces move U.S.-made FIM-92 Stinger missiles and the other military assistance shipped from Lithuania to Boryspil Airport in Kyiv, on Feb. 13, 2022. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine Can Hold Out as Long as West Keeps Supplying Weapons: Former UK Intelligence Chief

Ukraine may be able to withstand the Russian invasion for as long as we can supply them with weaponry and for as long as their morale holds up, the former head of the UKs Defence Intelligence has said.

Air Marshal Philip Osborn said on March 20 that the Ukrainians have been amazing in their resistance so far.

He told Sky News: We need to bear in mind that they have been preparing for this. This, for most of the West started three weeks ago. For Ukraine, this started nearly a decade ago. They have had time to prepare and think. They have also got a strength of will and the application of good weaponry.

Frankly, I think they will hold out as long as we can supply them and for as long as their morale holds up, and those are two very easy things to say but really challenging to do.

A Ukrainian Military Forces serviceman aims with a Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapon (NLAW) Swedish-British missile launcher during a drill at the firing ground of the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security, near the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Jan. 28, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)

He added, Focusing on supporting a brave people to do what is right for them has to be one of those things that the West does to show strength and resolution.

In contrast to Ukraines resistance, Osborn said, Russias military campaign is pretty demoralised, pretty stuck, and pretty stalled.

Russian forces are demoralised because they were poorly prepared and proven to be inadequate, and are now stalled because they have lost momentum.

He added: We are seeing them pull resources and manpower from across Russia, even from Syria, and that is not a good indication for a supposed superpower. They are stalled because they are running out of options.

Really what is left to them now is to double down on brute force to put pressure on the Ukrainian government.

According to the latest intelligence update from the UKs Ministry of Defence (MoD), Russian forces made only limited progress in capturing a number of cities in Eastern Ukraine.

Instead, Russia has increased its indiscriminate shelling of urban areas resulting in widespread destruction and large numbers of civilian casualties, it said.

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraines deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, told Sky News that the situation in her country is becoming more and more severe.

Russia has committed nearly all possible war crimes which humanity has seen over the Second World War, she said.

She said Ukrainians are continuing to fight for their country but its absolutely clear that only a Ukrainian army, and only a Ukrainian president, will not be able to withstand it alone.

She called on political leaders from around the world, including the United States, the European Union, and Asia, to establish an anti-war coalition.

PA Media contributed to this report.
A tank moves along a field during joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus near Minsk on Feb. 17, 2022. (Maxim Guchek/BELTA/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine Sees Signs of Another Neighbor Planning Direct Invasion

Ukraines Ministry of Defense on Sunday claimed that Belarus is preparing its military to invade Ukraine before warning Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

There are signs of preparation that Belarus will carry out the direct invasion of the territory of Ukraine, the Defense Ministry wrote on social media, according to a translation. It did not provide evidence for its claim, nor did it provide other details.

The direct involvement of Belarusian troops in Russias armed aggression against Ukraine, against the will of ordinary soldiers and the vast majority of the Belarusian people, will be a fatal mistake for Alexander Lukashenko, the ministry added.

Officials in Belarus have not issued a public comment in response to Ukraines allegations.

Belarus shares a lengthy border with Ukraine. Russian forces were seen amassing in Belarus in the weeks leading up to the start of the conflict on Feb. 24, although so far, it appears no Belarussian forces have been deployed in Ukraine.

Lukashenko said last week that his country had intercepted a missile that was fired from Ukraine, claiming the move is an attempt to draw his country into the conflict.

I warned you that they would push us into this operation, into this war, Lukashenko told Belarusian soldiers via state news agency BelTA.

Theres nothing for us to do there, and we havent been invited, Lukashenko was quoted as saying by the outlet, reported Reuters. I want to emphasize again  We are not going to become involved in this operation that Russia is conducting in Ukraine.

Over the weekend, Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since the early 1990s, praised Putin in an interview with Japanese broadcaster TBS. Lukashenko, who once kept his distance from the Kremlin, is now one of Putins closest allies.

He and I havent only met as heads of state, were on friendly terms, Lukashenko said. Im absolutely privy to all his details, as far as possible, both state and personal.

He continued to say that Putin is absolutely fit, hes in better shape than ever  this is a completely sane, healthy person, physically healthyhes an athlete.

On Friday, Putin held a massive rally in Moscow marking the eighth anniversary of Moscows annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Reports claimed that more than 100,000 people attended the event.

More than three weeks into the invasion, Western governments and analysts see the conflict shifting to a war of attrition, with bogged down Russian forces launching long-range missiles at cities and military bases as Ukrainian forces carry out hit-and-run attacks and seek to sever Russian supply lines.

The British Defense Ministry asserted Sunday that Russias failure to gain control of Ukrainian airspace has significantly blunted their operational progress, forcing them to rely on weapons launched from Russia.

Over the weekend, the Russian Defense Ministry said a Kinzhal hypersonic missile hit a Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka, a city near Mykolaiv. The Russian military said Saturday that it used a Kinzhal for the first time in combat to destroy an ammunition depot in the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine.

Russia has said the Kinzhal, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, has a range of up to about 1,250 miles and flies at 10 times the speed of sound. The Pentagon says it has not yet confirmed its use in Ukraine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during the 2022 Scottish Conservatives Spring Conference at the Exhibition Centre in Aberdeen, northeast Scotland, on March 18, 2022. (Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)

UKs Johnson Warns China Not to Condone Russian Invasion of Ukraine

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on the Chinese regime not to condone Russias invasion of Ukraine, which he described as a fight between good and evil.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Johnson said: As time goes on, and as the number of Russian atrocities mounts up, I think it becomes steadily more difficult and politically embarrassing for people either actively or passively to condone Putins invasion.

There are considerable dilemmas now for people who thought they could sit this one out, who thought they could sit on the fence.

He said he thinks the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is starting to have second thoughts over its stance on the war.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin enter a hall for talks in the Kremlin in Moscow in this 2019 file photo. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Johnson said he had never seen such a stark division between good and evil.

He said Russian President Vladimir Putin has been trying to crush a blameless, innocent civilian population and his barbaric aggression  harked back to the darkest days of the Second World War.

The prime minister said that peoples understanding of what is happening is changing as the conflict goes on.

He said: I think that some countries began by thinking Putins war machine will go through like a knife through butter, that Kyiv will fall soon and it will be tragic, but it will be speedily accomplished.

They have now been disabused of that idea. I think for a lot of people this has been a psychological shock. This has been a terrible realisation for people who may be living in a fools paradise. Theres going to have to be a new way of looking at nations like Russia.

Latest Western intelligence suggest that the Chinese regime is far from just sitting on the fence over the war in Ukraine.

According to media reports earlier this week, the U.S. government had told its allies that the CCP had expressed a willingness to provide military support to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The European Union has since reportedly affirmed it has seen very reliable evidence that the CCP was considering sending military support to Russia.

U.S. President Joe Biden had a two-hour video call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on March 18, during which Biden warned Xi of the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia.

Xi and Putin declared a no-limits partnership in early February, less than three weeks before Moscows invasion. Since then, U.S. intelligence leaders have warned that cooperation between China and Russia would continue to grow in the coming decade, as the two nations seek to undermine the United States preeminence throughout the world.

Andrew Thornebrooke and PA Media contributed to this report.
US Army Announces First Separations Over COVID-19 Vaccine Refusals

The U.S. Army last week announced the separations of three soldiers who refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine, the first time the military branch has discharged troops over the mandate.

The Army also said that so far had it relieved six of its leaders, two of whom were battalion commanders. It also issued 3,251 reprimands for soldiers who refused the vaccine, according to a March 18 statement.

As the Army accesses and discharges Soldiers and continues to refine data tracking processes, the vaccination percentages will vary slightly, the Army said in a statement. Army officials didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

Currently, the Army has 4,397 temporary vaccine exemptions, including pending requests for a permanent medical exemption or a religious accommodation, according to the statement.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Army told American Military News that the three soldiers who were discharged were the first to be separated for refusing the vaccine.

The other military branches began separations for vaccine refusal several weeks ago. The Marine Corps has discharged 1,038, the Navy 544, and the Air Force 212, according to reports.

Service members who dont want to receive the vaccine can seek a medical, administrative, or religious exemption. So far, thousands of medical and administrative requests have been approved by the branches.

However, religious exemptions have been much more infrequent. The Navy hasnt granted any of the 4,171 religious exemption requests; the Marines have granted six of 3,653 religious exemption requests; the Air Force has granted 23 of 7,503; and the Army has granted two out of 3,943.

In August 2021, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered all troops to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and argued it is for reasons of maintaining military readiness.

Some service members, including Navy SEALs, who were denied a religious exemption to the vaccine have filed lawsuits against the Department of Defense. Three federal judges have blocked the military from punishing members that filed lawsuits in response to the alleged violations in the treatment of religious exemptions.

Meanwhile, the Department of Defenses (DoD) Inspector Generals Office recently announced it had opened an investigation into how the branches have handled COVID-19 vaccine exemption requests.

The objective of this audit is to determine whether the military departments are processing exemption requests for the Coronavirus Disease2019 vaccination and taking disciplinary actions for active duty service members in accordance with federal and DoD guidance, Timothy Wimette, a deputy assistant inspector general in the Inspector Generals Office, said in early March.

We may revise the objective as the audit proceeds, and we will also consider suggestions from management for additional or revised objectives.

COVID-19 is the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, on Feb. 14, 2019. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

US Court Dismisses DC Antitrust Lawsuit Against Amazon

A U.S. court dismissed a lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc. on Friday that accused the company of antitrust violations for barring third-party sellers from offering better deals for their products elsewhere.

Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia granted Amazons motion to dismiss the complaint filed last year by Washington attorney general Karl Racine.

We believe that the Superior Court got this wrong, and its oral ruling did not seem to consider the detailed allegations in the complaint and a recent decision of a federal court to allow a nearly identical lawsuit to move forward, the Office of the Attorney General spokesperson said in an emailed statement, adding that the office was considering its legal options.

The decision did not state a reason for dismissing the case.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Racine alleged the online retailers policy could make prices for a given product more expensive on platforms that compete with Amazon, since its prices include fees that can run as high as 40% of the total price.

Amazon on Thursday closed a $8.5 billion deal to buy MGM, combining the fabled moviemaker behind Rocky and James Bond with the Seattle-based retailing giant as it looks to draw consumers through more streaming video.
U.S. President Joe Biden gestures as he meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a virtual summit from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Nov. 15, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Weak Biden Administration Policy Has Done Little to Deter China: Lawmaker

President Joe Bidens warning to China against aiding Russia in its invasion of Ukraine was soft, and the administration has done little to deter Chinese aggression on the world stage, according to Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.).

Biden is soft on China, just like hes been with every one of our adversaries throughout his presidency. It doesnt appear Bidens talk has changed Chinas stance one bit, Steube, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Epoch Times.

He was referring to Bidens video call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on March 18, with Biden laying out implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

This was the Biden administrations opportunity to exert strength to China. Once again, this White House sent mixed messaging, Steube said.

Administration officials were tight-lipped on details or progress made during the meeting, which ended without Biden securing any assurances from the Chinese side.

During press briefings, officials wouldnt say if there would be red lines that would trigger actions against the Chinese regime, nor have Washington and its allies agreed on any consequences if China supports Russia economically or militarily in its war in Ukraine.

It seems to me this should have all been decided before a critical call with President Xi, Steube said.

Beijing had made clear its defiance even before the meeting, he said.

Shortly before the call, Beijing sailed an aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait, a 100-mile wide waterway dividing the Chinese mainland from the self-governed island of Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly cast as a breakaway province to one day be reclaimed.

The fact that China sent a warship into the Taiwan Strait just hours before coming face to face with Biden shows us China doesnt seem to be intimidated by this weak administration, Steube said. Who would be?

Weakness Breeds Aggression

While the White House said the two-hour call focused chiefly on the war, Taiwan was a clear priority on Beijings mind. The issue of the island took up nearly half of the one-page summary from China. Ukraine, by contrast, was mentioned in just one paragraph.

During an interview midway through the BidenXi call, Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) similarly pointed to the passage of the Chinese warship through the Taiwan Strait, calling it gravely concerning.

Im not much for coincidences, McClain told NTD, part of the Epoch Media Group. She described the move as a calculated message.

I dont know how anyone can put a positive spin on that.

Its very true: weakness breeds aggression, she said. China is sending us a message, and its not a positive one.

Calls for Sanctioning China

A worker in protective overall works near containers on a ship in Qingdao city in east Chinas Shandong Province on Nov. 7, 2021. (Chinatopix via AP)

On Capitol Hill, the calls for punishing China for its alignment with Russia have been growing.

It is clear that Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are one and the same, and we need to start applying the same types of rules to both of them, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the ranking GOP member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Epoch Times.

The U.S. must impose consequences for any PRC support of Russias attack on Ukraine, whether its in the form of military assistance, financial support, sanctions evasion, or disinformation, he said, using the acronym for the Peoples Republic of China.

Biden initiated the talk with Xi following a leaked diplomatic cable that claimed Chinese openness to giving military and financial assistance to Moscow, although both China and Russia have denied the claims.

Chinese diplomats have declared Beijings position aboveboard and beyond reproach on the Ukraine issue, but the regimes alignment with Russia has been difficult to miss.

Xi had met with Russias leader Vladimir Putin and declared their partnership to have no limits less than three weeks before Putin launched the invasion. The regime has since refused to use the invasion label or join Western sanctions on Moscow. On March 15, Chinese Foreign minister Wang Yi said that China doesnt want to be affected by sanctions.

We know that when Chairman Xi gave Putin the green light on this invasion, he asked Russia to hold off until after the Winter Olympics, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told The Epoch Times.

Ukrainian soldiers search for bodies in the debris at the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 19, 2022. (Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images)

Xi, he said, saw the attack as a scout run for his seizure of Taiwan, and he wanted to see the U.S. humiliated and Europe destabilized.

But the unexpectedly stiff resistance by Ukraine has dashed any hopes from Putin for a speedy victory, and the spate of Western sanctions that followed has been strangling his countrys economy.

Sasse says the pain that Russia is feeling now should serve as a lesson to Xi.

Chairman Xi doesnt want to choose between Putin and international stability, but the CCP has made their sympathies known, he said. The CCP should expect the free world to hold them fully accountable for any material support they provide to Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Three lawmakers are already taking steps to make such sanctions happen.

On March 17, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) introduced legislation to sanction Chinese financial institutions if they transact with any Russian banks that have been cut off from SWIFT, the global financial messaging network. Such acts, if allowed, would effectively give Russian firms a backup bank for bypassing sanctions, the lawmakers said.

We cannot allow China to become a safe haven for Russian firms seeking to avoid international sanctions, Rubio said in a statement. After Bidens call with Xi, Rubio took to Twitter to warn that the regime has no incentive to see Russia weakened, the latter being a necessary distraction to divert U.S. attention from the threats from China and to undermine America.

Scott holds similar distrust toward Beijing.

The Chinese Communist Party has proven again and again that it has no intention of playing by the rules.
Were Going to Ban Huawei, Says Tory Leadership Candidate Jean Charest

Conservative Party leadership candidate Jean Charest says he would ban Huawei from participating in Canadas 5G wireless networks if he becomes leader, staying in line with his partys position.

Speaking at a Calgary event on March 10, where he announced his leadership bid, the former Quebec premier and deputy prime minister of Canada had said that he is very proud of his work for Huawei helping to sort out the situation of Ms. Meng Wanzhou.

In an interview with CBCs Vassy Kapelos on March 18, Charest said his work with Huawei never contradicted Canadas national interest. He did not directly respond to Kapelos when she asked whether he had regarded the Chinese company as a national security threat to Canada at the time.

Any of the work I did was never in contradiction with the national interest of Canada. I would not have accepted to do that. And and thats the way that Ive conducted myself ever since Ive left office, he said.

The position that you have just reported is my position as a leader of the Conservative Party and a prime minister of Canada. And when Im in that job, Im representing the interest of Canada, period, period, full stop, period.

Charest later reiterated that point in a Twitter post, saying that Were going to ban Huawei, the position of the Conservative Party that he said he will defend.

Were going to ban Huawei. Thats the position of the @CPC_HQ, thats the position that Im going to defend. #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/nThZyViacK  Jean Charest (@JeanCharest_) March 19, 2022

Charest was part of a team at the McCarthy Tetrault law firm that was hired in January 2020 to provide strategic advice to Huawei on the Meng, The Globe and Mail reported.

Meng, Huaweis chief financial officer and the daughter of the companys founder, Ren Zhengfei, was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 at the request of the United States on fraud charges related to the violation of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Shortly after her arrest, the Chinese regime arbitrarily detained two Canadian citizensMichael Kovrig and Michael Spavorwho were held in Chinese prisons for over 1,000 days in what was widely interpreted as Beijings use of hostage diplomacy in retaliation against Ottawa.

Charest said he worked to free the two men, adding that he has been vocal in criticizing the communist regime for their arrests.

Im proud of having done that work. And that was in the interest, of course, to individuals who were the victims of a government-sanctioned kidnappingand theres no other way of saying it. And Im proud of having done that work and and bringing them back home, he said.

I never shied away from criticizing the government of China in the last few years, no matter what I was doing. And Ive done it publicly, he noted. So I think Canadians can be reassured that in the end, whatever it is, Im going to stand up for Canada and the basic core interests of our country.

Kovrig and Spavor were released by the communist regime on Sept. 24, 2021, after Meng reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Justice Department earlier that day. That development prompted a Canadian court to lift her bail conditions, allowing her to fly home to China that afternoon.

The Globes report also said that Charests service to Huawei as a partner at the law firm went beyond Mengs case. He also counselled the Chinese company in its bid for approval to sell equipment to Canada for the construction of the countrys 5G networks, the Globe reported, engagement that raises concerns over national security threats from Beijing.

Huawei has a very dubious past, starting with its founder, who is a former military officer, Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a former chief of Asia-Pacific for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), told The Epoch Times in a previous interview.

Ren, founder and current president of Huawei, was a director of the Peoples Liberation Army, which is the attack force of the Chinese Communist Party.

Concerns over security threats from Huawei have resonated in the international intelligence community. The U.S. government has urged its allies to exclude the company from the Wests next-generation communications network, saying that Beijing could potentially use Huaweis technology for espionage purposes.

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, senior fellow at the Institute for Science, Society and Policy at the University of Ottawa, posted a tweet in response to Charests interview with CBC, saying that his work with Huawei was heavily tilted in the benefit of the Chinese company and Meng.

1. His job for Huawei in the first instance was to get Meng sent home. Persuading the [Canadian government] could benefit the Michaels but they werent the prime concern. 2. Its clear from the answer that the candidate would adopt the party policy if he wins but its not HIS position, she wrote in a Twitter post on March 19.

Conservative Senator Leo Housakos also questioned Charests work with Huawei.

Will Jean Charest refund the fees he received from Huawei in return for promoting its interests in Canada? he wrote in a Twitter post on March 19. Housakos is part of the campaign team for Pierre Poilievre, Charests rival in the Tory leadership race.

Issac Teo and Rahul Vaidyanath contributed to this article.
COVID-19 vaccine maker AstraZeneca has revealed it made four billion dollars in sales from its coronavirus jab last year (PA)

Woman Died of Rare Brain Bleed After Getting COVID-19 Vaccine: Coroner

A coroner in the United Kingdom has determined that a woman died from a side effect caused by the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

The woman was identified as 34-year-old Kim Lockwood, who had complained of a headache eight days after taking the shot in March of 2021, South Yorkshire Coroner Nicola Mundy told the BBC in a statement on March 16.

The coroner said her condition quickly deteriorated, and she was pronounced dead 17 hours after being admitted to the hospital, eight days after getting the shot.

Mundy said Lockwood was extremely unlucky in developing a sudden and catastrophic bleed on her brain. Her death was recorded at the Doncaster Coroners court as Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT), officials told the broadcaster.

An article published by the U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information says VITT is defined as a clinical syndrome that entails the development of thrombosis at uncommon sites that include cerebral venous sinus thrombosis or splanchnic venous thrombosis. Thrombosis occurs when blood clots block veins or arteries.

The American Society of Hematology in January 2022 stated that VITT is marked by low platelet count, known as thrombocytopenia, and blood clots that usually occur in the splanchnic veins located in the abdomen and stomach or the cerebral veins located in the brain.

Lockwoods husband, Damian, told news outlets that his wife, a mother of two, had complained that her head felt like it was going to explode, while her father, Wayne Merrill, recalled her last words, which he said were that her headache was actually killing her.

Kims pain wasnt appropriately managed, and the family should have been listened to, Mundy said.

The UK government says there have been 438 reported cases of thromboembolic events (blood clotting) and 79 deaths to date after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Last year, officials in Edmonton, Canada, said a woman in her 50s died of VITT after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, which entails two doses and uses adenovirus technology. AstraZenecas vaccine, while common across Europe, hasnt been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for usage.

I am sad to report  that we have confirmed Albertas first death from VITT following vaccination from the AstraZeneca [COVID-19] vaccine, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw wrote on Twitter on May 4, 2021. My sincere condolences go out to those grieving this loss.

U.S. and UK government officials have repeatedly said that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks for most people.

COVID-19 is the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

AstraZeneca officials didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
Anna Pryimenko, a volunteer, stands in a room for refugee mothers and children at the train station in Lviv, Ukraine, on March 18, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Woman Who Lost 6 Family Members Now Helps Refugees at Ukraine Train Station

LVIV, UkraineThe Pryimenko familys bags had been packed for five days on March 7, when Russia and Ukraine negotiated a green corridor for civilians to flee Sumy, Ukraine, which would open the next morning.

Vitaliy and Yekaterina Pryimenko had been waiting for a day to flee with their three sons: Kiril, 5; Yegor, 10; and Artem, 15. They had stayed put, having heard stories of civilian vehicles being shot at as they tried to escape Sumy, which is less than 25 miles from the Russian border.

Vitaliys mother, Valentina Pryimenko, refused to go. On the evening of March 7, she reluctantly agreed to flee after a phone call with her daughter, Anna Pryimenko, who had already fled to western Ukraine.

Roughly two hours later, a bomb blast killed the entire family, reducing their two-story house to rubble.

Five of the six members of the Pryimenko family who were killed in an aerial strike on March 7, 2022, as part of Russias invasion of Ukraine. (Courtesy Anna Pryimenko)

Anna Pryimenkos phone rang at about midnight. Her brothers friends told her about the bombing. She called her mother first. There was no answer. A stranger picked up the phone when she called her brother. The phone had been blown out of the house and had landed on the street.

They said there was no house, not even the foundation. There was nothing left, Anna Pryimenko told The Epoch Times.

Sumy has been surrounded by active fighting since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, which he has called a special military operation.

On the morning of March 8, local media outlets reported that nine people, including two children, were killed in the bombing. The preliminary numbers gave Anna hope, but it faded quickly.

There were a lot of people hurt, and I hoped until the end that at least some of the children survived. During the day, they found all of them, and they were all mine, Pryimenko said. It was terrible, especially because we were so close. We had very strong family ties, a big, friendly family.

The Pryimenko house stood on Romenskaya Street, deep inside a densely populated area of Sumy thats made up of mostly single-family homes. The house was set 100 feet from the street. The front yard had stone paths, which were, during the warm months of the year, bordered with trimmed lawn.

None of that remained after the bombing, according to videos and images of the scene taken on the morning after the bombing. Large fragments of concrete and brick lay strewn throughout, powdered with snow that had fallen overnight.

Anna Pryimenko desperately wanted to return to Sumy to bury her loved ones. Her brothers friends convinced her otherwise. Those friends took care of the burial.

They convinced me not to do it because it would be a one-way ticket, she said.

Her 15-year-old nephew, Artem Pryimenko, was a national champion in sambo wrestling before he died. He was planning to compete in an international competition before the bomb killed him and his parents.

Artem Pryimenko (center) stands atop a podium after winning a sambo wrestling competition. (Courtesy Anna Pryimenko)

The children, they hadnt had time to do anything bad to anyone yet, Anna Pryimenko said. Its so painful and so hard to understand why this happened to my family.

She and her husband have since moved from Uzhhgorod, Ukraine, to Lviv. They volunteer at the Lviv Train Terminal every other day. She said volunteering helps keep her mind off the losses.

On March 16, Anna Pryimenko worked in a hall at the train station dedicated to mothers with small children passing through Lviv. Most are on their way to Poland, fleeing hard-hit areas in eastern Ukraine, including Sumy.

Its hard to look at the children, she said.
Rep. Lee Zeldin recalls the decision he faced about a year ago as he mulled running for governor of New York in 2022.

The Suffolk County Republican was sure  as he is now  that his party will in November reclaim a House of Representatives majority. A plum committee assignment  maybe a powerful chairmanship  would await. It would prove an exciting time for a rising Republican in Washington.

But Zeldin is giving it all up to challenge incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul or another Democrat in November. He thinks polls showing Hochul with a commanding lead are skewed. New Yorkers are tired, he says, of one-party rule in Washington, Albany and New York City. And as in most mid-term elections, he recognizes that the out-of-power party triumphs.

In a 45-minute interview during an upstate campaign swing last week, Zeldin outlined the path he sees to victory  a path no Republican gubernatorial candidate has successfully trod since George E. Pataki in 2002. For him it boils down to New York's economy, public safety, quality of public schools and ending Covid mandates that infringe upon personal freedom.

"If you ask the first 30 people you see out on the street: What are your top issues?" he said their answers will reflect his priorities. "The issues they are citing are issues I'm on the right side of, and Kathy Hochul is on the wrong side of."

Zeldin, 42, is embracing one of the most critical elements in any decision about running for office  timing. The combination of right time and right place, identifying the issues and a "motivated" turnout among moderate Democrats, independents and Republicans can prevail, he says, even in dark blue New York.

"People who are analyzing the race right now and trying to handicap it," he said, "don't seem to be in tune with the political reality of this balance of power."

GOP eyes conservative Democrats

An Iraq War veteran who still serves in the Army Reserves as a lieutenant colonel, Zeldin doesn't sound all that different from other Republicans before him. He rails against Albany policies that he says send people and companies to more business-friendly states. He complains about new laws that critics say allow criminals to post cashless bail and roam the streets, even if New Yorkers overwhelmingly elected those who passed them.

Zeldin returns to timing, theorizing the political pendulum may be swinging back to the center (as does Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi in the Democratic primary). It all presents the opportunity, he says, for Republicans to capture conservative Democrats as did Pataki in 1994 against former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, when the incumbent's opposition to the death penalty ranked as a major issue. The result was three consecutive victories for Republican Pataki  even in Democratic Erie County.

He thinks Hochul, a moderate Democrat while representing the state's most Republican congressional district a decade ago, no longer reflects Democrats in bellwether counties like Erie. He has heard it over and over, he said, even during a recent visit to the governor's native Hamburg.

"This is not the Kathy Hochul she was as a member of Congress, or not the same Kathy Hochul as a local official," he said. "She'll say she has 'evolved.' I believe that will have a negative impact in November.

"We're going to win Erie County," he added.

'I won't be outworked'

Analysis: Harry Wilson throws a wrench into the Republican gubernatorial campaign Rep. Lee Zeldin seemed the shoo-in Republican candidate for governor, but now a primary looms with Harry Wilson in contention. But why did he decide so late?

Zeldin is already airing television ads with some of the $5.6 million he reported in January, highlighting his Army service and seven successful elections as a congressman and state senator. Already he assumes fall campaign mode as financier Harry J. Wilson, the unsuccessful Republican candidate for comptroller in 2010, launches his own primary effort to capture the GOP nod for governor.

Wilson will spend $12 million of his own money, he pledges, and is saturating the March airwaves with a promise to tap his business skills and "turn around" New York. Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino (the unsuccessful GOP candidate for governor in 2014) and former Trump administration official Andrew Giuliani are also in the race.

But Zeldin emerged from this month's Republican State Convention in Nassau County as the overwhelming favorite of party leaders, forcing his rivals to circulate their own designating petitions for the June primary ballot. Now Zeldin has to overcome Wilson's deep pockets and make his case to Republican voters before he can even think about facing a Democrat.

"I'm not saying this to be rude, but these other candidates have already lost," he said. "I take nothing for granted and it's not like I am being overconfident. I won't be outworked, and I have a well-oiled machine with great chemistry."

The Dem strategy

Democrats are already hinting at the kind of campaign they will wage against Zeldin. They point to his votes against certifying Joe Biden's election as president and his conservative positions in a liberal state.

Zeldin recently attracted about 250 people to a western New York meeting of the 1791 Society, which promotes gun rights and preserving the Second Amendment. That ranks as an important part of his platform, he says, even though Republican efforts to repeal the strict gun control law known as the SAFE Act have always foundered. He thinks voters should show some type of identification at the polls and does not contest that Democrats will most likely try this fall to link him to Donald Trump in a state where the former president wins neither popularity nor political contests.

"The Democrats will guarantee losing the November election with that kind of strategy," he said, insisting that undecided and independent voters are more interested in his "save our state" message focusing on freedom, public safety, taxes and public education.

Would he support Trump for president in 2024?

"I am focused on my election this November," he says in what has become his stock answer to questions about Trump.

Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy J. Zellner dismisses most of Zeldin's claims, especially winning in Hochul's home turf.

"No one running for governor in the last 140 years knows our community better than Kathy Hochul," he said. "And even if you take away the fact that Kathy is from here, she has brought a pragmatic way of working at the Capitol, and I'm not sure that would continue under a Zeldin administration."

Already, Zellner seems to summarize Democrats' strategy against their 2022 opponent, pointing to Zeldin's votes against certifying Biden's election and against Trump's impeachment in 2021.

"We arent likely to support an individual who voted against the certification of a legitimate presidential election," Zellner said, "and refuses to hold Donald Trump accountable for his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection."

Fracking, gas taxes



The sense of timing upon which Zeldin relies this election year continues to serve him. Early last week, in the natural gas rich areas of Binghamton and Elmira, the candidate advocated lifting state prohibitions against fracking and reversing rejection of new pipelines. And with gasoline prices nearing all-time highs across the state, Zeldin said it's time to do more than "consider" rolling back the state's tax at the pump.

He doesn't hesitate to link Hochul to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his ignominious exit from office last August after accusations of sexual harassment, hiding negative nursing home data and using state staffers to help write a book on his pandemic experiences.

He likes what his internal polls tell him, thinks he feels a new "energy" in his Republican organization and believes his fortunes lie in the hands of moderate Democrats and independents in promising territory like Erie County.

"Wherever I travel people are talking about the same issues," he said, "and I also have not seen this awareness of what to do about it."

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Zelensky Announces Ban on 11 Political Parties

Ukrainian president claims opposition parties have ties to Russia

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a measure that bans 11 opposition political parties, alleging they have ties to Russia, he announced in a Telegram video posted on March 20.

Any activity of politicians aimed at splitting or collaborating will not succeed, he said.

Zelensky also said that wartime exposes quite well the paucity of personal ambitions of those who try to put their own ambitions or their own party or career above the interests of the state, according to a translation.

The parties that have been banned, he said, include Opposition PlatformFor Life, Sharijs Party, Nashi, Opposition Bloc, Left Opposition, Union of Left Forces, Derzhava, Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialist Party of Ukraine, the Socialists, and Volodymyr Saldos Bloc, according to Ukrinform.

The National Security Council agreed to suspend the parties, Ukrinform reported, citing Zelenskys video address.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice has been told to immediately take measures to ban those political parties, he said. Zelensky didnt provide evidence that linked the 11 opposition parties to the Russian government.

At the onset of the Feb. 24 invasion, Zelensky signed a measure that established martial law and general mobilization.

Zelensky said on March 20 that activities by politicians aimed at discord and collaboration will not succeed, adding that alleged links between Russia and some political structures, the activities of a number of political parties are suspended for the period of the martial law.

The president also signed a decree that would combine all national TV channels into one platform, citing the martial law provision.

During an interview with CNN, Zelensky said hes ready for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and claimed that should negotiations fail, it would lead to an escalation of the conflict.

I think we have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War, he told the network on March 20.

In Mariupol, which has suffered some of the heaviest bombardment since the start of the invasion, many of its 400,000 residents remain trapped in the city with little if any food, water, and power, officials said. Fighting continued inside the city on March 20, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said, without elaborating.

The city council said on its Telegram channel late on March 19 that several thousand residents had been deported to Russia over the past week. Russian news agencies said buses had carried hundreds of people that Moscow calls refugees to Russia from Mariupol in recent days.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Zelensky Says He Wants Talks With Putin, Failure Means Third World War

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday announced hes ready to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he warned that if the talks fail, the conflict could escalate to become World War III.

Im ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations, we cannot end this war, Zelensky told CNN.

Over the weekend, Russian Defense officials confirmed they used at least one hypersonic missile in destroying a target in western Ukrainethe first time Moscow has acknowledged using such weapons in the monthlong conflict.

If theres just a 1 percent chance for us to stop this war, I think that we need to take this chance. We need to do that. I can tell you about the result of [these] negotiationsin any case, we are losing people on a daily basis, innocent people on the ground, Zelensky continued, adding, I think we have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War.

While speaking in Sundays interview, Zelensky did not elaborate on the details of potential talks with Putin, including a time or a location. The Kremlin has not issued a public response to Zelenskys statement.

Previous negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have so far yielded few results. Over the weekend, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Putin is not ready for talks with Zelensky.

Zelensky is ready to meet, but Putin thinks that the positions to have this meeting at the leaders level are not close enough yet, Ibrahim Kalin, a chief adviser and spokesman for Erdogan, told The New York Times on Saturday.

Smoke billows out from the Lviv Airport after an early morning air strike hit an aircraft repair plant, in Lviv, Ukraine, on March 18, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

But at some point, Kalin noted, Putin and Zelensky will have to meet, while adding: There will be a peace deal at some point. Of course, we all want this to happen sooner rather than later, but probably Putin thinks that he wants to be in a position of strength when he does that, and not appear to be weak, weakened by either military losses or by the economic sanctions.

At the same time, Western Defense officials have said that Moscows forces have become bogged down by fighting in Ukraine in recent days and are not able to advance much further.

The UK Ministry of Defense, in a statement on Sunday, said Russia has so far failed to establish air supremacy over Ukraine and their not being able to do so has impeded their operational objectives.

The Ukrainian Air Force and Air Defense Forces are continuing to effectively defend Ukrainian air space, the ministry said, adding that it has significantly blunted Russias progress.

Since the start of the Feb. 24 conflict, NATO and other Western nations have poured weapons, including anti-aircraft systems, into Ukraine. Last week, the Biden administration announced it would provide some 800 anti-air Stinger missiles and 2,000 Javelin missilesused to take out armored vehilesas well as more resources to Ukraine.

There have also reportedly been talks to deploy Soviet-era S-300 air defense systems from neighboring NATO countries into Ukraine. Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad last week said the country would send its S-300s to Ukraine, of which it shares a small border, if they are replaced and backfilled by NATO.
Photo: Signs of spring on Grand Street.

Lower East Side news and notes:

The man accused of stalking and murdering Chinatown resident Christina Yuna Lee has been indicted in state supreme court. [Channel 4]

The debate about homeless shelters in Chinatown rages on, as opponents charge that the city is siting too many facilities in the neighborhood. Arun Venugopal reports: According to city data, there are other communities with more shelters, but Manhattan Community District 3, wherein the bulk of sprawling Chinatown is situated, is among the city leaders for shelters. Manhattan Community District 2 has none, according to the data. [Gothamist]

After complaints in Little Italy about being excluded from Chinatowns $20 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative, Governor Hochul comes forward with $1 million for the Italian American Museum. [New York Post]

Community Board 3 had planned to meet in person for the first time in months next week, but when the Governor extended the suspension of the states open meetings law, the board shifted course. So Tuesdays meeting will be virtual. [CB3]

Issues of, The Portable Lower East Side now on display at Printed Matter on St. Marks Place represent, last-century relics of a lost culture. [Literary Hub]

Lauren Lovette, a former principal with the New York City Ballet, has become the first resident choreographer of the Lower East Side-based Paul Taylor Dance Company. [The New York Times]

Arcade Fire played Bowery Ballroom over the weekend, in a surprise show that kicked off a comeback tour in the same spot where it all began for the Canadian band two decades ago. [Spin]

A Cantonese food comeback in New York City? This roundup includes a couple of new spots in Chinatown, Uncle Lou and Grand Master 95. [Eater]

As you might remember, Gaia had planned to relocate from East Houston Street to Essex Street, but the new location did not work out. Now the beloved Italian cafe, which has been operating as a delivery only business during the pandemic, is apparently headed for East 3rd Street. [EV Grieve]

Daphne, a new nightclub debuts in the basement of Chinatowns Hotel 50 Bowery. [Thrillist]
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As it pushes to improve its environmental footprint, Target Corp. on Thursday announced its first net-zero store, designed to produce more energy than it uses.

The renovated store in Vista, California, features thousands of solar panels on the roof of the building and its new carports. It will serve as a model for the Minneapolis-based retailer's future stores.

"It is a wonderful place for us to test and learn new innovation and sustainable innovation so we can then influence the remainder of the chain," said John Conlin, senior vice president of properties for Target, in an interview.

The store previously had a solar installation on its roof. Target recently added canopies across the store's parking lot with solar panels atop them as well, a first for the retailer. In all, the store now has 3,420 solar panels.

They capture enough solar energy to power the building, including an HVAC system that previously used natural gas. The store is expected to produce up to a 10% surplus of energy each year that it can transmit back to the local power grid.

The store also switched to a carbon dioxide refrigeration system for its freezers and coolers, a natural refrigerant that would lower the store's greenhouse gas emissions. By 2040, Target plans to incorporate carbon dioxide refrigeration in stores across the country, a change expected to reduce its operations' emissions by 20%.

Outside of this store, Target has made other progress with its sustainability goals.

More than 25% of the company's facilities have solar panels installed on their rooftops, and Target has secured additional partnerships that will allow it to purchase nearly half of its electricity from offsite solar and wind energy sources by later this year. LED lighting has reduced energy consumption at stores by 10%.

As part of its Target Forward sustainability goals, Target has committed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions throughout the company by 2040. Target has reduced emissions by more than a quarter since 2017. It intends to source all of its electricity from renewable sources for its operations by 2030.

"It serves the sustainability goals, but it also does protect the guest experience and it is a good investment," Conlin said.

Target has applied for net-zero energy certification for the Vista store from the International Living Future Institute.

Though building construction and operation contributes a significant amount of greenhouse gases, net zero structures are still relatively rare.

The total number of verified and emerging zero energy buildings in North America has grown to nearly 700 representing a 42% increase since 2018, according to the 2020 Getting to Zero Buildings List compiled by nonprofit New Buildings Institute.

Other retailers are experimenting with net zero designs. In 2013, Walgreens debuted what was believed to be the first net zero energy retail store in the country. The store, located in the Chicago area, had two wind turbines and nearly 900 solar panels.

This week, Amazon announced it is also seeking net-zero carbon certification for its newest Amazon Fresh grocery store in the Seattle area.

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Bangla noodle vendor seeks just B15mn for being shot, paralysed by drunk off-duty cop

PHUKET: The lawyer representing Aroon Thongplab, the young noodle vendor shot in the stomach by a drunk off-duty police officer on Bangla Rd in Patong early on Feb 23 last year, has revealed that the family is seeking just B15 million in damages so they can get on with their lives.

patongpolicecrimeviolencealcohol

By The Phuket News

Sunday 20 March 2022, 06:41PM

Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Mr Aroon, 25 years old at the time, was shot in the stomach by Pornthep Channaong, a corporal with the Phuket Provincial Police who had just been transferred to Region 8 Police at the time.

Pornthep was quickly stripped of his rank and discharged from the Royal Thai Police. He is now on trial for attempted murder, carrying a firearm in a public area without necessary reason, and firing a weapon in a public area.

Mr Aroon has been left paralysed from the waist down after surgeons removed the bullet, which had lodged near his spine. His wife, Kulthida Chananan, spends most of her time caring for him, and their two young children.

The trial was first deferred in August last year, and again in September. Finally, Phuket Provincial Court heard witness testimonies last week, with Mr Aroon testifying on Thursday and Friday (Mar 17-18), explained Kerdphol Kaewkerd, a Bangkok-based lawyer assisting Mr Aroon with the case for free.

Mr Kerdphol travelled to Phuket, driving himself from Bangkok, to assist Mr Aroon with the court proceedings.

In total the court is scheduled to receive testimonies from eight witnesses, Mr Kerdphol said yesterday (Mar 19).

As there was not enough time during the two days this week, the court will resume hearing testimonies on April 7, he said.

Mr Kerdphol said that he was confident of a guilty verdict in the trial, mostly because of the CCTV footage showing Pornthep shooting Mr Aroon.

The CCTV footage also showed Pornthep taunting and teasing Mr Aroon after he had shot Mr Aroon in the stomach. Mr Aroon is plainly seen begging for mercy while Pornthep taunts him. Pornthep also fires another shot, but misses Mr Aroon due to his drunken state.

Mr Kerdphol explained that he is in Phuket to prepare Mr Aroon and his wife for presenting themselves in court.

Mr Aoons condition has improved, but he remains paralysed from the waist down, Mr Lerdphol said.

He is unable to move from his waist to his toes. He is permanently disabled, Mr Kerdphol said.

Mr Aroon is seeking just B15mn in damages, Mr Kerdphol confirmed.

This was calculated from the income he [Mr Aroon] made when he was in good health [selling noodles], and extrapolated from him working from the time when he was shot, aged 25, to 60 years old, he said.
Fisherman safe after boat sinks off Phang Nga

PHUKET: A Thai fisherman is safe after his fishing boat sank about five nautical miles offshore from Khuk Khak in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, yesterday (Mar 19).

marineSafety

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Sunday 20 March 2022, 01:05PM

The Third Area Command of the Royal Thai Navy, based in Phuket, received a call from Rungthiwa Khunkaew at 1pm informing them that a fishing boat off the northern end of Cape Pakarang had sunk at about 12:10pm.

The Navy rescue center was told only one person was on board at the time of the sinking, Jirawat Hantalay, who was now missing.

Other fishing boats in the area were notified and asked to render assistance, the Third Area Command reported.

Thai Navy boat Tor 229 was dispatched at 3pm, the Navy base added.

The Tor 229 arrived at the given location at 4:05pm and performed a search for Mr Jirawat, but only found items floatin gin the sea that were presumed to be from his sunken boat.

The Navy vessel continued its search aided by local fishing boats in the area.

Good news came at 5:25pm, when local fisherman Teeranit Chudkim, who had joined the search, reported that he had found Mr Jirawat and was taking him back to shore.

Mr Jirawat made landfall at Laem Pakarang Pier, and was taken to hospital for treatment, said the report.

The Navy did not report what injuries, if any, Mr Jirawat had suffered.
Moscow claims hypersonic missile use, Kyiv asks Beijing to condemn barbarism

KYIV: Ukraine called on China yesterday (Mar 19) to join the West in condemning Russian barbarism, as Moscow claimed it had struck a Ukrainian arms depot with hypersonic missiles in what would be the first use in combat of the next-generation weapons.

RussianUkraineviolencedeathmilitarypolitics

By AFP

Sunday 20 March 2022, 11:44AM

Rescuers face a relentless task after a Russian military strike on a barracks at Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine. Photo: AFP

That attack, not far from the countrys western Romanian border, came as Russia said its troops had broken through Ukrainian defences to enter the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, a scene of mounting desperation.

With the invasion in its fourth week, Kyivs embattled leader Volodymyr Zelensky pressed for meaningful talks to halt fighting that has forced at least 3.3 million Ukrainians to flee their country.

The plea for China to condemn the invasion came from a top Zelensky advisor, Mikhailo Podolyak.

China could play an important role in global security, he said on Twitter, if it makes a right decision to support the civilised countries coalition and condemn Russian barbarism.

While Western countries have shown unity in the face of an invasion whose brutality has been clearly documented on social media, China has so far refused to condemn it.

Russias claim yesterday to have unleashed its new hypersonic Kinzhal missile would mark a dramatic new escalation of its campaign to force Ukraine to abandon hopes of closer ties with the West.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ignat told AFP that the arms depot in the western village of Deliatyn had indeed been hit but we have no information of the type of missile.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who unveiled the Kinzhal missile in 2018, has termed it an ideal weapon that flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it extremely difficult for missile defenses to intercept.

In another setback, Ukraine officials admitted they had temporarily lost access to the Sea of Azov, though Russia has effectively controlled the coastline for weeks after surrounding Mariupol.

Time to meet

Zelensky again appealed for peace yesterday, urging Russia to accept meaningful talks in his latest video posted on social media.

This is the time to meet, to talk, time for renewing territorial integrity and fairness for Ukraine, he said.

Otherwise, Russias losses will be such that several generations will not recover.

But as in previous negotiations there appeared to be little progress in reaching a ceasefire.

Russia carried out air raids yesterday on the southern city of Mykolaiv in quick succession, Vitaly Kim, head of the regional administration, said, a day after a deadly strike on a military barracks there.

Less than 100 kilometres to the southeast, Ukraine claimed that a Russian general had been killed by strikes on an airfield outside Kherson, just north of Crimea. Ukraine said he was the fifth top-ranking officer killed since the invasion began on Feb 24.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said yesterday that Moscow was using talks as a smokescreen as it carried out appalling atrocities.

Fierce resistance has managed to stall Russian forces outside Kyiv and several other cities in the east, making them vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks against supply lines.

Britains defence ministry said that Russia has been forced to change its operational approach and is now pursuing a strategy of attrition.

This is likely to involve the indiscriminate use of firepower resulting in increased civilian casualties, it warned.

Fighting rages

Fridays attack on the arms depot was the latest strike in western Ukraine, which until a few days ago had remained relatively unscathed by Russias push toward key cities from the north and east.

Also on Friday, Russian forces destroyed an aircraft repair plant near the airport of Lviv, the city where millions of people have fled as rockets and shelling continue to rain down on Kyiv.

In Mariupol, rescuers were still searching yesterday for hundreds of people trapped under the wreckage of a bombed theatre where more than 1,000 people had been seeking shelter when it was struck on Wednesday.

There was still no information about potential fatalities, Zelensky said, but 130 people had been saved so far, some heavily injured.

This is no longer Mariupol, its hell, said resident Tamara Kavunenko, 58. The streets are full with the bodies of civilians.

After weeks cut off from food, water and electricity, the situation in Mariupol has become extremely dire, the UN refugee agency said Friday.

Tweeting a photo of the wrecked theatre, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked multinational companies that were still working with or in Russia: how can you keep doing business with them?

His question echoed comments by Zelensky during a live video address to a Swiss rally in which he blasted firms such as Nestle for not severing ties.

Appeals to China

Russias ally China told US President Joe Biden on Friday that the war was in no ones interest, but showed no sign of giving in to the pressure to join Western condemnation of Russia.

Biden warned his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping of consequences for any financial or military aid for Russia, a move that could turn the standoff into a global confrontation.

Putin appears undeterred by further threats or sanctions, holding a triumphalist rally in Moscow on Friday to mark eight years since Russias seizure of Crimea, saying his goal in Ukraine was to rid these people from their suffering and genocide.

Russia wants Ukraine to disarm and disavow all Western alliances, in particular to renounce joining NATO or to seek closer integration with the European Union - steps that Kyiv says would turn it into a vassal state of Moscow.

Russias top negotiator said Friday that Moscow and Kyiv had brought their positions as close as possible on a proposal for Ukraine to become a neutral state.

But Podolyak, the Zelensky advisor, said his countrys position had not budged.
Phuket Opinion: Holding on to COVID

PHUKET: All the arguments for relaxing the entry requirements for tourists have been laid out repeatedly to the point that the everyday news reader should be able to cite them verbatim, and yet the central government is still holding on to outdated COVID-19 restrictions on the pretense they are still needed.

opinionCOVID-19tourismhealtheconomics

By The Phuket News

Sunday 20 March 2022, 09:00AM

The TAT announcement yesterday that tourists will have to wait until April 1 to enter Thailand without a pre-departure COVID test. Tourists will still be tested on landing. Image: TAT

For some reason the CCSA, the ruling national COVID authority, is maintaining its black or white thinking, as if the consequences of easing COVID restrictions is an all or nothing decision  but then on Friday rolled out yet more piecemeal relaxations of the entry requirements for tourists.

This same past week, the CCSA also mandated that we still need the majority of restrictions in place to prevent the spread of Omicron, yet people will be allowed to travel nationwide to celebrate Songkran, carrying with them whatever infections they have back to their family home in the provinces.

The relaxed measures for tourists themselves do not make sense. Dropping the COVID test within 72 hours of departing for Thailand, but maintaining the tests on arrival is sheer stupidity. If anything, keep the pre-departure test to save the tourist the pain and expense of being yet another guest at a Thai hospitel, which have now been made famous for their quality of service.

Keeping the test on landing without the pre-departure test just smacks of entrapment, especially considering the number of tourists who tested positive on Day 5 of their stay in Phuket since the reopening of tourism on Nov 1.

Holding on to the Thailand Pass system now is just pathetic. As the Sandbox pilot project has proved, once the tourist is in, theyre in. Any entry requirements at this stage should be folded into the visa entry requirements. Period.

Holding on to any COVID entry requirements anymore makes no sense, not out of opinion, but out of the statistics issued by health officials themselves and from the repeated statements by Phuket officials that more than 90% of all local infections in past weeks have all been Green patients, experiencing little to no signs of infection at all.

The Chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon, himself this past week pointed out that the rate of local infections in Phuket has already peaked and are now solidly trending downwards.

Claiming that the entry requirements are still needed to protect those at risk of serious consequences of infection, the so-called Group 608 patients, namely the elderly and those already suffering serious medical conditions, would be officials shooting themselves in the foot  again.

As Dr Kusak said this week: Of this group [the elderly], 96% have not received a third-dose booster shot Of those, more than 70% have not received any vaccination injections at all. That very statement itself is an indictment against the whole mass vaccination campaign. This group were supposed to be the first to be vaccinated because these are the people we were supposed to be protecting by getting ourselves vaccinated.

No government official has admitted why the higher at-risk people were not vaccinated with the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine in the big push last year, and they have not admitted that the vaccine was pointless. Yet, here they are continuing their push for third- and fourth-dose booster vaccinations with different, more effective, vaccines, and Omicron has still saturated the island, as Phuket provincial and health officials have already admitted. The saturation has reached the point that the Aunjai Clinic is now winding down. From tomorrow through Mar 27 the clinic will be open from 8:30am to 4:30pm only (regular government office hours).

Dr Kusak on Wednesday also pointed out that currently 92.88% of the 539,183 target population of Phuket had received at least one COVID-19 vaccination injection, while 87.48% of the target population had received a second jab. So far 67.92% of the target population had received a third-dose booster injection, he said.

In keeping with the self-contradictory thinking, Dr Kusak and other leading provincial officials have repeatedly praised the mass vaccination campaign for the low impact Omicron has had in Phuket, not the COVID entry restrictions, yet this same level of vaccination across the island is not enough to allow tourists to just return.

The final nail in the coffin for contradicting themselves is that the Phuket Sandbox model was good enough to open in the middle of the Delta variant outbreak, but for some reason Phuket has not been even mentioned as a possible Sandbox for allowing tourists to return without entry restrictions as a pilot project of its own.

If the above are the true real effects of the Omicron variant and Phuket as a Sandbox has been successful, then there is no reason why the island cannot be reopened without entry restrictions.

As everyone saw throughout the height of the pandemic last year, the CCSA through provincial officials can easily introduce tighter restrictions just hours before they come into effect. There is no reason why restrictions cannot be eased just as quickly. They are playing a delaying game, and they are not telling people why.

Right now we have to wait until April 1 for the latest relaxed measures announced last Friday to come into effect. They will be even more out of date by then. No joke.
According to the philosophers, to truly know the depth of love and happiness, one must face the shadows of loss and grief. For every happiness, sadness lurks around the corner.

Six women, brought together by the services of a beauty parlor in Louisiana, flower into a bond of rebar-strength friendship that survives the loss of a human life. Beginning Friday, March 25, Theatrikos Theatre Company presents Steel Magnolias, as part of its 50th anniversary season. The anniversary season is made up of audience favorites throughout the organizations history.

The love among these six women, there is a humor in it, said director Mickey Mercer, who directed the play 30 years ago at Theatrikos. And theres tragedy, and we see these women come together.

Mercer, who is in the directorial role alongside Amelia Swan, said Steel Magnolias was the first play he directed at Theatrikos. Mercer has directed 26 plays at the local theater in his career.

I really loved the play, and when they said they were going to do it for the 50th anniversary, I jumped at the chance, Mercer said. These women have strong opinions, and theyre good ones and ones that I agree with most of the time.

The cast includes Paige Latendresse as Annelle, a shy and awkward woman with a past who gets hired on at the beauty salon by Truvy, played by Aimee Lucus. Customers include the sarcastic Clairee, played by Kelly Gibbs, and her grumpy friend Ouiser, played by Susan Chastain. Rounding out the cast are the steadfast and strong MLynn, played by Nichole Katz, who is the mother of Shelby, played by Dannielle Malizewski, a young woman who has diabetes and doesnt want to let her disease keep her from having a family.

Mercer said his main task for the play is to get the actors to create and then show the audience the bond forged among the women.

The challenge is making sure the cast develops the demands of the play, Mercer said. The way they brought it together is amazing. The bond is important, and these women have done it. The audience is going to love it because its so obvious they cant help but feel it.

Gibbs, who is in her eighth Theatrikos production, said Clairee fits her with her stand-up comedy gig as the Outrageous Grandma.

Im a smart ass by nature, and I prefer comic roles, Gibbs said. Clairee is the queen of sarcasm in this play...but I would have loved Ouiser, too.

Gibbs said that for Clairee, who is the widow of the former mayor, the beauty salon is her safe place to be loved, somewhere she finds solace and comfort.

They all have an issue, and coming together is a healing, Gibbs said, adding that Truvys shop is a place where the women, all very distinct personalities, can find trust, support and honesty. Theres an obvious caring among them.

Malizewskis Shelby is fearless in the face of her disease and her desire to marry the man she loves and have a family with him  despite the dangers. Shelbys relationship with her mother MLynn is a one Malizewski said she can relate to.

I have a similar relationship with my own mom, Malizewski said, adding that she doesnt have children and isnt interested in becoming a mother in real life. Its comfortable and it gives me a chance to explore another side of myself.

Malizewski, who has wanted to act ever since she was a child, is a veteran of musical theatre, film and television and a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles. She said she believes the bond among the women is key to the plays success.

In theater, its hard to get something that feels real, Malizewski said. So, to have a group who are reliant on one another, to carry the emotions of the play  it carries an authenticity that developed organically. Its been very special, and the audience will see that.

Lucus anchors the center of the play as Truvy, who has a heart of gold, is a hopeless romantic and longs for bigger adventures. She has a degree in theater and has been performing since she was a child. Shes scheduled to assistant direct a musical this summer.

The women in Truvys life help make it full, Lucus said. There are so many good parts, but my favorite aspect is the banter among the women  with lots of love at the center of it all.

Theatrikos continues to observe COVID-19 restrictions, including the use of face coverings and showing proof of vaccination prior to entering performances.

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ALTON  Abigail Hasty of Alton High School and Elizabeth Guenther of Marquette Catholic High School have been named Students of the Month for March by the Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club.

Hasty, a senior at Alton High School, is the daughter of Jeanna and Michael Hasty. During her four years at AHS she was on high honor roll and received the St. Louis Post Dispatch A Student designation every year. She was selected as an Illinois State Scholar during her senior year.

Hasty bbie is a member of multiple honor societies, including The National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and The Tri-M Honor Society. Additionally, she is on track to graduate as a Platinum Alpha Student, the highest educational designation offered by Alton High School.

She currently is Alton High Schools National Honor Society President who leads weekly meetings of 60-plus members and coordinates a tutoring program for students in math, science, and English from 2nd to 11th grade.

At the beginning of this school year, she organized an NHS project in which students encouraged their peers, teachers, administrators and school staff. She led a group of students who produced 2,000 handwritten Post-it Notes with encouraging messages that were attached to lockers the night before the first day at AHS.

She also volunteers with many other organizations. She was an assisted living volunteer interacting with older residents in a variety of ways including an Easter Egg Hunt, a Halloween Party, calling Bingo, or just sitting with them one on one and talking. She raised more than $8,000 for the Alton Band and Orchestra Builders' virtual auction by collecting donations, certificates and baskets. The money she raised gave students in the Alton School District access to band and orchestra instruments to participate in the music program.

During the summer, she volunteers with the Royal Family Kids Camp for abused and neglected children in the foster care system. She also is a children's mentor with Cornerstone Kids.

Hasty has played the cello for almost 10 years and this year was a cello section leader in the AHS Symphonic Orchestra. She also plays in the Chamber Orchestra which performs at community events and in "the pit" which performs at the spring musicals. During 2020, she auditioned and was selected for the ILMEA All-District Conference.

Recently Hasty traveled to Washington, D.C. as one of the 14 students chosen nationwide for The American Battlefield Trusts Youth Leadership Team which works to preserve Americas battlefields. She spent days lobbying Congress for the continuation of the American Battlefield Protection Program. She also was one of the youngest campaign volunteers for Alton Mayor David Goins.

She hopes to obtain an undergraduate degree in Political Science and then attend law school with the ultimate goal of becoming a judge.

Guenther, the daughter of Thomas and Amy Guenther, is a senior at Marquette Catholic High School. Maintaining a 4.7 GPA on a 4.0 scale, she is a member of the National Honors Society, the National Society of High School Scholars and was named an Illinois State Scholar.

She has been a captain of the Marquette Scholar Bowl team and competed on the Academic Challenge team in chemistry, math and English. A leading member of the theater department, she has performed in musicals and plays, and contributed as a student director and playwright. Three of her scripts have been performed publicly at multiple schools. She is a founding member of the Marquette Prolife Club and a member of campus ministry.

She has also taken leadership roles and participated in community service projects such as raising money and supporting charities, including Socks-A-Lot and Billys Kids. An active parishioner of St. Elizabeth Parish in Granite City, she is a lector and Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister who volunteers at the parish picnic and fish fries. She is also directing one of her plays for the kindergarten through 8th grade students of St. Elizabeth Drama Club.

Guenther plans to attend a four-year university with a double major in business and creative writing while continuing to participate in extracurricular activities, including theater and campus ministry. Her dream is to one day open her own business and become a published young adult author. She hopes to increase womens presence in the business world, and create strong charters that will inspire the next generation of readers.

Guenther and Hasty received plaques recognizing their achievement from Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club President Steve Schwartz.
As soon as the U.S. Senate passed a surprise bill declaring that daylight saving time would be in operation all year, lobbyists for early birds leapt into action, hoping to kill the bill in the House.

Were bracing ourselves for the op-eds.

Many sleep scientists argue that following standard time is the best and safest option for public health. Its more closely aligned with the suns progression and far better for our built-in circadian rhythms, they say, claiming that seeing light when we wake up in the morning is better for our emergence from sleep and thus more conducive to our health.

Plus if we have more time for evening activities, theres more time to hurt ourselves.

In the other corner, fans of year-round daylight saving time point to the benefits of longer evenings, the conservation of energy and allowing kids more time to kick a ball around before it gets dark. They also note that crimes of all kinds tend to flourish in the dark, so the longer its light, the safer many people feel.

The same goes for driving. And plenty of business interests prefer daylight saving time, too, offering as it does more time and incentive to be out and about, socializing and spending money. Plus, theres the psychological factor: dark evenings are depressing calling cards of winter. They bring pain to the soul.

Like most else in life, its a trade-off. How you feel depends on where you put your focus. Well leave the choice to the peoples representatives, and were no sleep professionals. But from our urban perch on the eastern boundary of Central Time, the choice of daylight saving time works better for us.

Illinois winters can be tough. An extra hour of light in the evening will be an improvement to our collective mental health and will make our streets safer, and maybe that walk home from the train a couple of degrees warmer. Even in January, dawn still should be underway here by about 7 a.m. Most kids wont have to walk to school in the dark.

But whatever side you fall on, lets agree right now to get rid of the changing of the clocks, a disruptive ritual that has been proven to cause accidents, create stress over missed appointments and lead to all kinds of domestic panic. In the digital era, added traumas come from not knowing which clocks automatically adjust and which stay rooted to the past in their timekeeping.

Lets stop losing an hours sleep every year and lets end the fall ritual of putting the clocks back, about as depressing a harbinger of winter as humans ever created.




London, KY (40741)

Today

Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 80F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
UK consumers munch their way through more than 650million avocados every year  almost two million a day. Most come from Peru and Chile, which also produce piles of the blueberries, grapes, oranges and mandarins found on our supermarket shelves.

Russia and Ukraine may be known as the breadbasket of Europe, but Latin America is the world's fruit bowl. Blessed with warm climes and fertile land, the continent exports tons of fruit and vegetables annually, as well as coffee, sugar and crops such as soy, corn and millet, which are key constituents of vegetable oil and animal feed.

As such, agriculture plays a crucial role in the Latin American economy and is expected to continue in that vein for the foreseeable future. Fortunately too, trade ties between the UK and South America date back for centuries.

Healthy profit: Cordiant Global Agricultural Income will allow investors to take advantage of Latin America's bounty and help farmers to grow more with less

Cordiant Global Agricultural Income will allow investors to take advantage of Latin America's bounty and help farmers to grow more with less.

The group is listing on the stock market early next month, targeting a 4 per cent dividend yield in the first year, rising to at least 6.5 per cent by 2024. Share price growth should take annual returns to at least 10 per cent, making this flotation well worth a closer look.

Cordiant managers have been investing in Latin American agriculture for years, focusing on Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Peru. Over that time they have come to understand how the market works and where the opportunities lie.

They discovered that many farmers, even those with large estates and multi-million-dollar turnovers, find it hard to access the cash they need to expand. In the past, these large, established producers would rely on banks to finance their growth, but long-term loans have been in short supply since the financial crisis.

This is where Cordiant steps in. The group lends money to farmers to help them become both more efficient and more sustainable.

The firm intends to focus on farms with an established record, multi-generational expertise and extensive tracts of land  some as big as Manchester.

With Cordiant funds and advice these farmers can construct clever 'drip' irrigation techniques, which reduce water use by around 90 per cent and can almost double yields per acre.

They can acquire kit to convert by-products into energy, buy low-emission machinery and adopt precision farming, which uses technology to boost yields in an environmentally conscious way.

Loans will range from $5 (3.80) to $50million, though most will be around $25million to be repaid over four to seven years. Demand is substantial so Cordiant can afford to be very choosy, turning down many more requests than it accepts.

With a team of about a dozen on the ground, Cordiant will also keep a watchful eye on creditors, to make sure they are using their money wisely.

In addition, the group will only lend to farmers who have end customers in place, from huge trading groups such as Cargill in the US to supermarket chains including Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Lidl.

Cordiant will start out with eight loans worth more than $115million, but managers have identified a pipeline of almost $1billion so they should be able to lend out the proceeds from the float pretty swiftly.

Global trade in crops is conducted almost exclusively in dollars so Cordiant is offering its shares at $1 each and hopes to raise $300million. Investors will also receive one bonus share for every five they buy.

MIDAS VERDICT: Food prices were already soaring before the Ukraine war. Looking ahead, further increases seem inevitable. Cordiant Global Agricultural Income has been set up to help farmers increase supply, while keeping costs low.

Over time, that should feed through to more stable prices in the shops. And in the shorter term, Cordiant offers investors access to the agricultural sector, generous dividends and the prospect of steady share growth. At $1, the shares are a buy.

To be traded on: Mainmarket Ticker: CAI Contact: cordiantagtrust.com or 02081585829
The Orpheum Theater will hold an emergency fundraising event in response to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On February 24, 2022 Russian forces invaded Ukraine, a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014 in part with the annexation of Crimea. The UN estimates at least 2 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion.

When there is tragedy the Flagstaff community always comes together to help in whatever way we can, Molly Baker, Orpheum Theater marketing director, said. As a large venue and cultural hub of the community, the Orpheum feels it is our duty to offer people a place to gather, mourn and respond to the devastating events happening in our world today.

The details of the fundraiser are still coming together as the Orpheum made the decision to host the event recently, with the situation in Ukraine escalating daily.

It was a quick turnaround for us because we felt the need to do something especially because we didn't see many organizations in the city doing much so we wanted to host an event for [other] businesses and artists to get involved, Baker said.

Currently, several musicians will be performing at the event on a set of two stages, the main stage at the venue and another acoustic one that will be erected in the Orpheums lounge area. Nolan McKelvey, Gretta and Kyle Miller of Towrs, Adam Bruce and Mike Seitz from Enormodome are all on the performance list.

Local artists and businesses have also donated items for silent auction, with all profits going directly to Ukraine via three different organizations, United Ukrainian American Relief Committee, Voices of Children and Razom.

The Orpheum has received several items to auction and raffle off already, including gift baskets from Dark Sky Brewing Co. and Rainbows End, whose basket features, among other things, a $100 gift card to the store. Findlay Toyota donated a VIP Lowell Observatory experience, which includes a ride to, and VIP tour of, the observatory followed by a ride home from Findlay.

Local artists currently on the list to contribute work for auction include painter Dana Kamberg and multi-media artist Kayley Quick. And, the venue is still putting out a call-to-action for artists and businesses. Anyone interested in donating something should email the Orpheum with a description of their donation and a starting bid price.

We invite anyone and everyone who can contribute to this event to get involved in whatever way they can, Susan Walter, Orpheum Theater general manager, said. The goal is to raise as much money as possible for Ukraine and the inevitable rebuild of their country.

And, it wouldnt be an Orpheum event without a specialized drink to mark the occasion; in this case, the "Zelenksy." Named after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, the cocktail features, in Bakers words zero vodka but all rum.

A local Ukrainian Greco Catholic priest of the Ukranian Greek Catholic Church will be presenting as well.

For those who cannot make it to the fundraiser in person, all donation links are up on the Orpheums website.

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The vast majority of vegetable oil comes from three crops  palm, soy and sunflower. Ukraine produces almost half the world's sunflower oil and the Russian invasion has sent prices rocketing, amid expectations that this year's harvest will be horribly disrupted, if not destroyed.

Vegetable oils are not entirely interchangeable, but substitutions can be made and, when the price of one rises, the others tend to follow. So it has proved today.

The long-term average price of palm oil is around $750 (570) per ton. Production problems in Malaysia and other factors had already sent the price to nearly $1,500 a ton before the Ukrainian war.

The right stuff: MP Evans will be announcing 2021 results on Tuesday and they are expected to be good with rising sales and profits and a dividend of at least 35p, up from 22p last year

Now it is hovering above $1,800 a ton and traders believe that prices are likely to remain high for some time.

As palm oil is used in a huge range of products  Flora margarine, Jordans cereal, Maryland cookies, even toothpaste, soap and shampoo  rising prices suggest more bad news for consumers. For MP Evans shareholders, however, current conditions bode well for the future.

The 150-year-old palm oil producer will be announcing 2021 results on Tuesday and they are expected to be good with rising sales and profits and a dividend of at least 35p, up from 22p last year. Looking ahead, prospects are even brighter.

Palm oil producers have a poor  and often undeserved  reputation for destroying rainforests and killing orangutans. MP Evans oil is certified as sustainable. The company is paid a premium for its produce and takes its responsibilities seriously.

Analysts had been forecasting a dip in profits for 2022 and 2023, accompanied by static dividends. These predictions are likely to be upgraded in the next few days.

Midas verdict: Midas first recommended MP Evans in 2011, when the shares were 4.20. The price has more than doubled since then to 9.59 and should continue to gain ground. The firm boasts a 30-year track record of maintained or increased dividends too. Existing stockholders should sit tight. Longer-term investors may even want to snap up a few shares.

Traded on: AIM Ticker: MPE Contact: mpevans.co.ukor01892676146
Investors have raised concerns the board of Ted Baker has been left weakened by the tragic death of chairman John Barton as it prepares to fend off a private equity bid.

The quirky fashion brand is braced for an offer from New York-based Sycamore Partners. Chairmen are typically charged with scrutinising the merits of a takeover offer.

But the board's lack of experience may leave it less able to handle a predatory approach, investors said.

Dressed to impress: The quirky fashion brand is braced for an offer from New York-based Sycamore Partners

Barton died suddenly in December aged 77. He was replaced by interim chair Helena Feltham, previously Ted Baker's senior independent director.

Boss Rachel Osborne is just two years into her first chief executive role while finance director Marc Dench joined earlier this month.

One investor said: 'The board looks very inexperienced. They have decent retail skills but this involves dealing with a delicate bid scenario.'

Ted Baker's largest shareholders are Toscafund led by Martin Hughes, known as the 'Rottweiler' in the City, and founder Ray Kelvin. Kelvin built a successful brand before departing in the wake of a much publicised 'hugging' scandal.

Ted Baker has also faced an accounting scandal and pandemic store closures. The firm declined to comment.
Major high street banks Lloyds and Barclays are poised to announce a raft of branch closures in the coming days as they continue to desert the high street and persuade customers to do their banking digitally rather than in person.

It is understood that Lloyds could put between 60 and 100 branches on notice of being axed, representing the first in a wave of closures this year across its retail brands. Barclays is likely to announce the closure of up to 20 branches.

One banking expert told The Mail on Sunday that the big banks will then cut a further 200 after Easter with another 400 being axed before the year end. If correct, it will confirm The Mail on Sunday's report last month that some 800 bank branches will be closed this year.

Slogan: Lloyds TV ads boast will ring hollow to customers as cuts bite

News of the imminent cuts follow in the wake of HSBC's decision last week to cull 69 branches  one in seven of its high street outlets  between July and October this year.

HSBC says the trimming of its network is a result of a preference among customers for mobile and digital banking. Less than half of the bank's customers, it adds, 'actively' use its branch network.

Analysts believe the cuts at Lloyds will disappoint many customers who rely on a local branch and who genuinely believe the (outrageous) claim the bank makes in adverts that it will always be by their side. But they also say the closures are long overdue in financial terms. Although the bank announced 48 branch closures in October last year, it has been nowhere near as aggressive as rivals in taking an axe to its branches  branded Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland.

Currently, the bank has just short of 1,500 retail outlets  three times more than HSBC and nearly double the number of Barclays and NatWest.

Derek French, a retired banker with NatWest and a longstanding campaigner for shared branches or banking hubs, says Lloyds is 'over-branched,' so news of imminent branch cuts does not surprise him.

'The bank is under new leadership,' says French, 'and I am sure it will want to get to grips with a bloated network as soon as possible.'

Charlie Nunn, the new boss of Lloyds, is busy restructuring its commercial and retail businesses. With a focus on offering insurance and investment products to customers on salaries of 75,000 plus  the mass affluent market  it is understood the case for a branch network twice as large as rivals has become untenable.

Barclays has been steadily chipping away at its branches. Last year, it culled 63 with two more closing earlier this year. It has just short of 800 branches. Already this year, more than 100 branch closures have been announced. Last month, The Mail on Sunday exclusively revealed NatWest's decision to axe 32 branches across its NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland brands.

Like HSBC, NatWest said the closures were a result of customers shifting to mobile and online banking 'because it's faster and easier for people to manage their financial lives.'

This month we were the first newspaper to report on Nationwide Building Society's decision to serve notice on four London branches. Its Cheshunt branch in Hertfordshire was added to the closure list on Friday.

The spate of closures this year represents the first big test for a system just introduced by the banks, designed to ensure branch closures do not cause irreparable harm to local communities.

The voluntary system was devised by the Access to Cash Action Group, a committee headed up by 'cash champion' Natalie Ceeney and set up by banking industry trade association UK Finance. It means that when a bank announces branch closures, it must provide cash machine network operator Link with details of the communities affected.

Using an algorithm devised by the banks, it looks at those specific communities that will be left bankless  and assesses whether they will be left with inadequate access to cash as a result of the closure.

For example, a closure could result in certain sections of society  the elderly and cash-generating businesses like independent retailers having to travel to another town or village to do their banking.

In such cases, Link can request that the banks fund the setting up of a shared bank which customers of all the banks can use  with the bank being managed by a third party such as the Post Office.

Alternatively, Link can recommend less expensive solutions such as the installation of a free-to-use cash machine or an improvement in the existing post office facilities  for example, an extra counter so that more customers can be served.

The effectiveness of this new regime remains in question. Although it is still early days, Link has confirmed it is only probing three of the 107 closures announced so far this year  the NatWest closures in Headingley, Yorkshire, and Swanley in Kent; and HSBC's scheduled axing of its Clifton branch in Bristol. Banking sources do believe a number of new banking hubs will be sanctioned by the end of the year, bringing their total to around 20.

Two  in Cambuslang near Glasgow and Rochford, Essex  are already up and running while another five were given the green light before Link began its monitoring work. These are being set up in Acton, West London; Brixham, Devon; Carnoustie, Angus; Knaresborough, North Yorkshire; and Syston, Leicestershire. Yet some argue the rollout of shared branches is being stymied by the strict rules the banks have imposed on Link.

It can only intervene in communities that the algorithm, devised by the banks, identifies as worthy of further investigation. Banking experts believe that the algorithm has been set up to minimise the costs that the banks must pay.

John Howells, chief executive of Link, says shared branches will represent a big 'step forward' for some communities that otherwise would end up bankless. But he concedes that the voluntary nature of the scheme put together by UK Finance and Ceeney is not fit for purpose.

For the scheme to be effective, Howells says it needs the backing of regulation and then to be overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The regulator would then be able to insist on banks setting up shared branches where it felt they were required. The Government has promised supporting legislation for the last two years, but has so far failed to deliver. Details could, however, be included in the Queen's Speech, which is scheduled for May.

Derek French says news of branch closures is of 'no surprise.' 'HSBC's network is coming down to 441,' he says. 'That is likely to be around the new norm for all the big banks. That implies a lot of branch trimming to come in the weeks and months ahead.' He also says his call for 50 banking hubs to be set up as soon as possible is looking 'highly unlikely.'

On Friday, Lloyds said: 'Any potential closures across our brands will go through the independent assessment process, which is an important step in maintaining access to cash for people and businesses who need it.'

Barclays said: 'We continue to review and adjust our branch footprint to ensure it reflects the way that our customers are increasingly choosing to do their banking.'
Tifton, GA (31794)

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My mother knew poverty; my father did, too. They were children of the Great Depression. While they did not remain poor in adulthood, the memory of those difficult years tempered the pride they felt for having risen from poverty. They always knew, and they impressed on their children, that luck could change any day.

When my mother spoke of the early years of her marriage, the extent of their hard times was summed up by the one blue suit she owned. She spoke of it as if it still hung in her closet, covered with dry cleaners plastic, ready to be worn to an interview for a job she desperately needed.

Her blue suit stories were tales of the mistakes and hardships of a 20-something married couple who had moved to a strange land, northern Montana, barely five years after the end of the Second World War. Hard, cold winters, long, frigid nights in rented apartments with poor heat and little furniture. Dad bouncing from job to job  lineman, mechanic, field laborer  while Mom used her one blue suit to find work as a secretary. Then yours truly came along three years later. A sickly child whose care cost more than they could afford.

Slowly, though, they made their way out of that hole theyd been digging themselves into. Another baby arrived, and then another. A little luck, maturity and opportunity intersected, and my parents were able to return to Arizona. They left poverty, in substance, behind them. But the knowledge of poverty never left them. They always made sure we kids had enough, but never too much.

Gradually, I have begun to understand how a legacy of poverty helped define my ancestry. Both sets of grandparents experienced poverty, too, but differently. My fathers parents were blown west by the winds of the Dust Bowl, landing in Phoenix where Roy worked as a citrus farmer and Ruth cleaned houses.

My mothers parents took pride in being territorial aristocrats. Both sets of their parents settled in the Valley of the Sun in the latter part of the 19th century. When Dan, a Presbyterian preachers son, married Catherine, the daughter of a wealthy Phoenix businessman, the circumstances were such that the patriarch disapproved of the union and for several years maintained a distance from that growing family. Then arrived the Great Depression. Work was hard to come by, so mothers family followed Dan as he worked for the state highway department until those jobs dried up, and then for the Civilian Conservation Corps. They often lived in a tent at remote locales. Outdoor cooking and outdoor plumbing, with Dan often away for days at a time.

Dear reader, I suspect that poverty is not more than one or two generations removed from your own history.

Perhaps somewhere in some closet of your past hangs one blue suit, ready to wear, a reminder of how tenuous blessings can be, and how resilient we can be when the time comes to face what confronts us.

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Princeton, KY (42445)

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Kingsport, TN (37660)

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A first-generation college student, Mountain Empire Community Colleges Fallon Fox has overcome several obstacles, including homelessness, addiction and a learning disability, during her life to reach her educational and career goals.
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On March 8, the Senate passed the Postal Service Reform Act, joining the House of Representatives, which cleared the bill in February. And while there is a lot of talk about bipartisan cooperation in getting the measure passed and hype about what it means to the U.S. Postal Service, the bill has skirted the toughest and most important issues in postal reform.

The chief feature of the act is to wipe away $57 billion in defaulted debt that the Postal Service has failed to pay for its Retiree Health Benefits Fund since 2011. Unlike a state or local government, business or individual, the service faced no consequences for the default.

In hindsight the assessments, once widely agreed upon as part of the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, were far too high. But they were based on a basic principle: The Postal Service should set aside and invest some funds to meet large, looming retirement healthcare obligations. The service is now free of that requirement. Future postal retirees, however, will have to sign up for Medicare coverage to ensure retiree health benefits, and will incur higher costs.

By the way, despite the defaults, the USPS is not in danger of running out of cash any time soon. It had $24.2 billion in cash as of Feb. 28, a staggering amount for an organization with $72 billion in annual revenues.

The services balance sheet and its quarterly financial performance will be marginally improved by the Postal Service Reform Act and the health care retirement benefits provisions. And the act does have other beneficial features, including setting up a real-time dashboard so Americans can quickly identify mail delivery problems. It will also improve the budgetary process and slightly strengthen the services two key regulators  its Office of Inspector General and the Postal Regulatory Commission.

But these are not the reforms the American people need.

On Oct. 1, 2021, the service implemented slower delivery standards for 40% of first-class mail. This follows another major service slowdown in 2014. As a result, it now takes longer for Americans to get the mail than it did in the 1970s. This bill does nothing to solve that. In fact, it takes the pressure off the service to improve as some of its debt is wiped out  or more accurately transferred to taxpayers  at no cost to the Postal Service.

The reform act also does nothing to spur the service to better understand its costs so it can cut them where appropriate and charge customers more accurately for the actual cost of the product or service being used. The services antiquated accounting and financial management systems and practices will stay in place.

Furthermore, this situation could get worse. Section 202 of the reform act requires the service to have an integrated delivery network. This is a solution in search of a problem as the Postal Service has had an integrated delivery network for decades and no one wants that to change. The aim of large retail special interests that have been pushing this provision is to eviscerate attempts to price mail products based on mail costs and package products based on package costs.

The reform act also punts on other basic issues. It does not define the mission or universal service obligation of the Postal Service. It fails to strengthen significantly the services regulators and it does not address other defaults the service has made on its pensions.

Furthermore, the process surrounding this bill in the Senate is disturbing. There were no committee hearings on the reform act, and the full Senate took up the measure along with a bevy of amendments at the height of the Ukraine crisis.

While the reform act is likely to be enacted, it is not true reform and there is still much harder work Congress needs to do to strengthen and overhaul the Postal Service.

Paul Steidler is a senior fellow with the Lexington Institute, a public policy think tank in Arlington, Virginia. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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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/TNS)
A student in the library reads a book after receiving candy and a red envelope in a cultural celebration of the Lunar New Year at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 on Feb. 2, 2022, in New York City. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images/TNS)
COLONIE  Counties have been on the frontlines during the pandemic, implementing mask mandates, coordinating testing and vaccinations and tracing the virus virulent path through their populations.

Now an annual gathering of county officials appears to have lit the fuse on a fresh round of infections rocketing through their ranks.

At least three elected officials have tested positive for COVID-19 following the New York State Association of Counties annual conference at the The Desmond Hotel in Colonie last week  including Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, who announced his diagnosis on Saturday.

Two other officials  Essex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Shaun Gillilland and Moriah Town Supervisor Tom Scozzafava  told the Times Union they tested positive following the event which wrapped last Wednesday.

Gillilland confirmed he learned of two additional infections on Sunday, bringing the total of known cases up to five.

A who's who of the state's top-ranking politicians addressed attendees during the three-day event, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Attorney General Letitia James and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

McCoy informed NYSAC following his diagnosis, according to a spokeswoman, Mary Rozak. Hes not aware of other attendees who contracted the virus, Rozak said.

Previous tests revealed the county executive had antibodies against the virus, an indiction that he had already contracted COVID-19. Rozak said that exposure and infection were likely the result of McCoy's packed travel schedule prior to the pandemic's U.S. onset in early-2020.

NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario wished McCoy a speedy recovery on behalf of the advocacy group and said the organization has notified attendees to encourage them to monitor their health symptoms and take appropriate precautions.

NYSAC has not been contacted by any other county official or conference attendee who has tested positive for the virus, said Acquario, who urged those who do test positive to follow the guidelines for tracing, isolation and quarantining measures.

We are now in the 25th month of COVID and our county leaders have been at the forefront of protecting the health and well-being of the public, Acquario said. Lets use this as an opportunity and reminder as concerts, sporting events and conventions return, that we may be done with COVID but COVID isnt done with us. New Yorkers should get vaccinated, boosted, and to take all other recommended health precautions.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

"We are not aware of any staff testing positive prior to or since the NYSAC event," a spokeswoman for The Desmond said Sunday evening.

The potential outbreak comes as the virus is waning across the U.S. and local, state and federal regulations have largely been scrapped.

Statewide, the number of hospitalizations are at their lowest levels since Aug. 3, according to the governors office. The state logged 12 deaths on Saturday. Statewide, the seven-day average for positive infections is 1.87 percent  slightly lower than the Capital Regions 2.52 percent.

But two months after the omicron variant propelled caseloads to record-breaking levels, scientists and public health experts are warily eyeing the emergence of a more contagious subvariant of omicron, known as BA.2, from Western Europe.

"Case numbers are still dropping nationally, but BA.2 accounts for a growing proportion of those infections, rising to almost one-quarter of new cases last week," the New York Times reported on Saturday. "The subvariant is estimated to be 30 to 50 percent more contagious than the previous version of Omicron, BA.1."

Fewer than half of Americans who have received primary vaccine doses have received booster shots, according to the New York Times, placing the nation more at risk in the event of another surge.
The much-anticipated video call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden took place on the evening of March 18. The White House issued a very terse press release. I was told by an international relations expert that every time the American side issued something terse for an occasion like this, it usually comes with a positive outcome.

The official Chinese version of the event, presumably the report by Xinhua news agency, is a lengthy one. There are several key messages worth highlighting here.

Most important of all, it contains a paragraph of the statement from President Biden, and in addition, another paragraph of what President Xi reiterated exactly what Biden has said. In other words, the following is repeated twice in the Xinhua report, once by Biden and once by Xi quoting Biden:

"The U.S. does not seek a new Cold War with China; it does not aim to change China's system; the revitalization of its alliances is not targeted at China; the U.S. does not support 'Taiwan independence'; and it has no intention to seek a conflict with China."

Being mentioned twice in this historic conversation underscores the importance of this set of commitments. Biden's reiteration, on the part of the United States, clearly serves as the foundation for any possibility of cooperation between the two countries, especially at a critical moment in light of the conflict in Ukraine.

President Xi also brought up the issue that the agreement reached in their last virtual meeting in November has not been thoroughly followed through by some individuals on the U.S. side.

In terms of China's stance on the Ukraine matter, several new points were reported. First, Xi indicated that the United States and China, being the two members of the UN Security Council and two largest economies, do have the international obligation to strive for world peace and stability.

China has proposed solutions to address the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and is willing to contribute more. China, together with other countries, supports the negotiation effort for a peaceful solution. The White House press release also mentions that "the President underscored his support for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis." It, therefore, appears that China and the U.S. are on the same page over this issue.

Nevertheless, Xi also proposes that the United States and NATO should have direct dialogue with Russia to address the security concerns of Russia and Ukraine. It is not known what Washington's response is on that proposal.

When it comes to sanctions, it appears that China will have some pushback against Washington's recent coercive rhetoric. But certainly, it doesn't mean that China would be on the Russian side either. Xi said that all-around and undifferentiated sanctions would only hurt ordinary people, and, if further escalated, would lead to a severe global crisis in trade, finance, energy, food, and production-supply chain networks.

It's worth noting that the White House press release said that Biden "described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia..." The definition of "material support" seems to be a key point here.

Would maintaining normal trade relations with Russia, as many other countries have done, including India, Turkey, Brazil and other major economies, qualify as "material support"? I'd assume that what the White House calls "material support" is possibly to mean the provision of military equipment. This rhetoric was first diffused by a Financial Times report. But China has already refuted it and said that such an intention based on quoting anonymous Pentagon sources is pure disinformation.

As President Xi articulated in the video call, whatever the circumstances, there is always a need for political courage to create space for peace and leave room for a political settlement. One solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict should be based on negotiations, not sanctions as the latter only leads to a deterioration in the current situation and make local people suffer.
ALBANY  The Girl Scouts are not immune from disruptions in the supply chain so if you ordered cookies from local scouts you'll have to wait an extra month for your supply of Thin Mints, Samoas, and Trefoils.

Late last week, the local Girl Scout council informed families that shipments of the cookies will be delayed about a month because the baker, Little Brownie Bakers, suddenly ran short of a key ingredient used in Samoas and Trefoils. Those popular cookies that account for about one third of the cookies ordered by local customers.

"We understand this information is very frustrating to hear and stressful, especially when you need to explain it to your Girl Scout," the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York wrote in an email to families.

Shipments of cookies were expected to arrive this week, according to the council. But the organization learned on Wednesday that Little Brownie Bakers faced the ingredient shortage and notified families to brace for a delay. It was unclear which ingredient was in short supply or what specific supply chain issue caused the shortage. The company has not responded to a message from the Times Union.

"Your troop leader will be able to begin picking up your troops cookies between April 23rd and April 27th," the council wrote in an email to scout's families. "We also need to shift the dates of our entire cookie season due to the availability of these cookie varieties."

The scouts started notifying customers of the delay over the weekend.

The delayed shipments will delay the start of sales at cookie booths until April 30. Online ordering will be extended to May 8.

It's not the first sign of problems with cookie production. In February, the local Girl Scout council urged scouts to stop selling to stop selling Smores (yes, they're different than Samoas) due to similar production challenges.

The upstate scouts aren't the first to feel the impact of supply chain problems.

In February, scout councils in Pennsylvania began warning that the delivery of cookies would be delayed by the shortage of ingredients needed in recipes.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

Little Brownie Bakers has been supplying cookies to the Girl Scouts for 35 years. The operation was a part of a portion of Kellogg's that the company announced would be sold to the Italian company Ferrero in 2019.

The Girl Scouts were founded in 1912 and currently count 2.5 million girls and adults as members worldwide.
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ALBANY  Markers, crayons and paint covered the long table where adults sat hunched over their creations, while music played in the background. Some focused on their artwork in silence, while others fell into conversation about their pieces, or their life experiences.

Im grateful for my life, one woman said, in front of her a watercolor painting of flowers blooming from a vase, the words, Love is in the air written in cursive next to the flowers.

Every week, adults gather at the Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless in West Hill to create. Some days its knitting, other days its Irish step dancing, but the favorite class tends to be watercolor painting. Started by Albany Medical College students in 2019, the art program is meant to be a therapeutic outlet for those who are low-income or experiencing homelessness.

Everybody has a lot of stressors, and this is just a time for everybody to come together and re-center ourselves together, said Katie Mancini, a first-year medical student and co-lead of the art program. These people have so many things going on in their lives that theyre tackling, and they dont have a lot of time for (self-care).

For Lillie Tibbs, a 54-year-old Albany native who experienced homelessness after her house burned down, the art classes were one of the things she pursued to keep positivity in her life. She loves to paint pictures for her six children, such as a diamond ring for her daughter named Diamond, as wells as houses, flowers and birds.

Tibbs has experienced plenty of downs in her lifetime, including an abusive relationship and addiction. But none of that compared to experiencing homelessness.

Being homeless was the lowest bottom that I had been through due to the pandemic, she said. It affected me mentally. So anything thats positive and constructive, Im interested in. It gets my mind off of all the things that are going on in my life.

Its not just the artwork that helps Tibbs feel better, but the sense of community  she doesnt always get out of the house and socialize with other people, but the classes are a space where she can connect with others and feel supported in a world that often discriminates against her. In the art class, shes not judged  shes just human.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

Tibbs experience is exactly why Interfaith Partnership was eager to collaborate with Albany Med on the art program. Their services often focus on basic needs such as food and shelter, but a holistic approach is critical to support people experiencing homelessness, they said.

As human beings, we have all these other needs, as well as being able to express ourselves emotionally, said Kristen Giroux, deputy director of Interfaith Partnership.

The classes have also provided the medical students with the opportunity to connect with communities that tend to be more distrustful of the health care system due to a history of mistreatment within health care. On the flip side, those communities are also learning more about health care.

But for many who participate, its simply one of the most relaxing hours of their week.

Recently, Tibbs was finally able to find a new apartment. Now she uses her paintings to decorate the walls of her new home.
New York leaders are well-intentioned in their desire to ensure that the people and communities that have suffered from the racially unbalanced enforcement of marijuana laws are the first to reap the benefits of legalization.

Unfortunately, the proposed licensing policy needs work if the state is to realize that goal.

No fair person would deny that people of color have been disproportionately searched, arrested and prosecuted over the years in the war on drugs in general and marijuana in particular. An analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union of data from 2010 to 2018 found Black people were, on average, 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for possession than white people, despite similar usage rates, and more than 2.6 times more likely in New York. Most of the arrests were for relatively minor possession, not for big-time drug dealing.

As the ACLU and many others  including lawmakers  have argued, the question isnt merely whether to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use, but also how to undo the harm of this pattern of racially lopsided enforcement  harms that include incarceration, lifelong criminal records, and difficulty getting jobs, housing, financial aid and so on.

In its effort to right those wrongs, Gov. Kathy Hochuls administration has proposed to give first priority for dispensary licenses to people with a record of marijuana offenses, or who have a close family member with such a record, and who also have experience successfully running a small business.

Again, we get the intent here. Who has been more affected by the war on marijuana  a war that, remember, is all but over now that adult recreational use, cultivation and sales have been legalized in New York  than people who have been arrested over the years? And since the state obviously cant hand out retail licenses to every person who has ever been arrested for a low-level marijuana offense, some kind of proven business experience seems logical.

Well put aside the knee-jerk reaction of politicians who portray this as some wild soft-on-crime idea, a simplistic view that fails to see the need to somehow compensate people who were on the receiving end of racially disproportionate enforcement.

But the plan needs work. It requires a close look at the original offenses to ensure that people werent involved in violent or other serious crimes. And it should not reward people who werent harmed long-term, nor penalizing those who were.

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What would that look like? For starters, the first dispensary licenses shouldnt go to someone who was busted when they were a white middle class college student and, with the help of a lawyer paid by Mom and Dad, got right out on bail, pleaded to a minimal charge, had the case sealed and went on to run the family business. The more likely beneficiary ought to be a Black man from a poor neighborhood who was not-so-randomly stopped by police, tricked into emptying his pockets on the street, then charged with a misdemeanor for public possession, and left with a criminal record that made it hard for him to even get a job, much less a business loan.

How to better write that into regulations is the challenge not just the Cannabis Control Board but a fair and just society faces. As the board prepares to take public comment on the proposal, this is the time for New Yorkers to help New York get it right.

It isnt about singling out people who broke marijuana laws for special treatment. Its about trying to find a way to meaningfully make amends to people and communities that were unfairly singled out for selective enforcement of those laws that no longer even exist.
Now that we're enjoying slightly warmer weather, the instances of doggie attacks are likely to increase.

Accordingly . . .

Animal Control has never been dependable in Kansas City and we're sorry to report that circumstance hasn't changed much despite increased taxes and a shift in protocols.

We think the policy angle of recent neighborhood frustration is important . . .

Remember that KC Pet Project recently took animal control services and made quite a few promises at improvement.



Now . . .



Via social media TKC was recently directed to a bit of an uproar over a recent doggie attack in Raytown and charges (allegedly) sent to the victim.



To be honest, the narrative needs a bit of work but the basics are clear enough . . .

Neighborhoods promised vast improvements in animal control are getting stuck with bills instead.

Again, we want locals to recall that KC Pet Project not only promised taxpayers the world in order to pass GO bonds . . . They also said they'd help pay for a new shelter.

Here's what local animal lovers assured:



"In addition to the Citys $18M in GO funds contribution, the private sector will raise an additional $8M in construction costs, for a total construction cost of $26M for the 55,000-60,000 square foot campus facility."



To be clear . . .

THAT MONEY WAS NEVER DELIVERED OR REPORTED AND INSTEAD WAS FORGIVEN WHEN KC PET PROJECT TOOK OVER ANIMAL CONTROL!!!

For anyone watching closely, the whole thing is just another sketchy KCMO voter betrayal . . . Among several.

And so . . .

Whilst we regret doggie attacks we want voters to think about THE CONTEXT of miserable city services and so many empty promises from politicos with no accountability for elected officials and no questions from local media.

You decide . . .
The Ontario government has launched a new service and grant program supporting Indigenous, Black and other racialized entrepreneurs. - Pexels photo
A 25-year-old Toronto man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with a February homicide in North York.
The board of directors of Opportunity Bank of Montana has named Laura Clark, executive vice president, chief financial officer, and chief operating officer, to the position of President, effective April 1, 2022. She will join the board at that time. Clark joined the bank in 2014 as senior vice president/chief financial officer. Her experience spans 40 years and includes a variety of executive positions. Clark holds a bachelor's degree in business from Montana State University in Billings. She serves as a board member of Montana Independent Bankers.
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NORWALK  Since lifting the citywide mask mandate last month, Norwalk continues to see a decline in its positivity and case rates, according to Mayor Harry Rilling.

From March 4 to March 18, the citys case rate has decreased from 6.8 to 5.5 cases per 100,000 residents. Norwalks test positivity rate has also decreased slightly from 2.7 to 2.4 percent, Rilling said.

However, we must remain vigilant, Rilling warned. As of March 17, Fairfield County now leads the state with the most COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Fairfield County has 33 hospitalizations, while New Haven County has 31 and Hartford County has 21. Rilling said this is relevant as we continue to monitor the omicron subvariant, BA.2, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated made up about 23 percent of new COVID-19 cases nationwide this past week.

Most Norwalk residents are protected, though. Rilling said he remains proud of Norwalks high vaccination rate. More than 78 percent of the citys residents are fully vaccinated, and nearly 40 percent of residents have received a booster shot, he said.

Getting fully vaccinated, along with the booster, continues to be the most effective way to protect yourself and your loved ones from this virus, Rilling said. Individuals who are unvaccinated have a three times greater risk of getting infected with COVID, eight times greater risk of hospitalization and 16 times greater risk of dying from the virus compared to people who have been vaccinated, according to Rilling and Gov. Ned Lamont.

We continue to encourage those eligible and not up to date on their vaccine and booster doses to do so if they havent already, Rilling said.

For information on vaccine clinics in Norwalk, visit NorwalkCT.org/Vaccine.

COVID-19 testing continues to be available at Shady Beach Monday through Thursday from 2 to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information on testing, visit NorwalkCT.org/Testing.
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Montana State University Billings held its first in-person science expo since 2019 on Friday.

244 young scientists from all over Eastern Montana presented 170 projects spread throughout several floors of the Health and Science building, in addition to professional exhibits. Students from grades 1-12 are allowed to compete.

I think this is more organized than anything I did growing up, said Joseph Miscimarra, who teaches courses at the Wise Wonders Childrens Museum as an AmeriCorps member. Its almost like a mini version of the peer review process that goes on in actual scientific communities.

Judges score the students on originality, and how they apply the scientific method to explain how their results supported or refuted their hypothesis, said Caleb Music, a volunteer judge.

With the younger kids, I really like to make sure that they have a good time. Getting kids in STEM, more than anything, is the important part of this," he said.

Reese Griesmer, a seventh grader from Lockwood School, described how the phase of the moon affects how many stars are visible in the night sky. She posted her findings on a tri-fold poster board and on a tri-fold brochure for judges to view.

As an astronomy enthusiast, she used her high-end camera, a telescope, and a sky ruler to make observations. Griesmer had an idea of what she would find, but she wanted to find out with the tools and without having to consult Google.

Her teacher assigned students to participate.

At first I didnt want to, but as it came closer, I got more and more excited, Griesmer said.

Trask Wickens, a classmate of Griesmer, built bridges to see what designs would hold the most weight. In a matter of about a minute and a half, he built one of the designs to display  out of pencils and rubber bands.

I was looking at some less expensive materials and something that I could do pretty quickly and easily, and still make it kind of complex, he said, like a true engineer.

His smaller bridge holds 14 pounds before the pencils themselves break. The larger bridge is taller and wider, holding 5.4 pounds before collapsing.

Berns Barker is a sixth grader from Luther primary school in Red Lodge. He built a Tesla coil and tested how the coil disrupted signals from internet routers, phones, and a radio.

A tesla coil is an electrical resonant transformer circuit that was designed by Nikola Tesla in 1891. It produces high-voltage, low-current and high frequency alternating current electricity.

The only one that showed difference was the radio, Barker said. I think its because the internet and phone were better at finding signals.

Barkers mom, Carla, added that organizers are cautious about safety, so most of the presentations consisted of visuals on poster boards.

Our eighth grader did a microbiology experiment, and she had to have a hood and a supervisor, she said.

Carla also appreciates the feedback from judges because they are experts or are working in the field in the category that they judge, she said.

I was afraid he was going to electrocute the dogs, she added. And he did burn a hole in the kitchen chair because of the soldering gun.

The science expo is a tradition for the rural school because the curriculum there emphasizes science, she said.

The MT National Guard also demonstrated virtual reality to study anatomy, a wind tunnel, and a hand-held, infrared device that displayed its heat imaging on a screen. These tools are used in the military in various applications, and the crew teaches about the technology at schools throughout the state.

The crew recently demonstrated at Skyview and West high schools, said Steve Weber, a staff sergeant who teaches full-time about STEM and history. Students at West engaged in virtual reality simulations to learn about engines, he said.

Weber emphasized how critical VR is in modern military training.

When you start a tank, its five gallons of fuel. Every time you shoot the gun, its hundreds of thousands of dollars, so rather than do that, well go into a simulator and do that all day long and train the exact same way, he said.

The winning student will compete at the Montana State Fair in Missoula on March 28.

Another top project will be judged in the national Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta in May.

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Tullahoma, TN (37388)

Today

Mostly cloudy early. Scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day. High 84F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms in the evening, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Almost three years after his passing, the legacy of Wayne Chance lives on. Today Vision on M
On March 18, two civilians were killed and three more were wounded in the Russian shelling of Avdiivka, Donetsk region.

"Russians continue to shoot at civilians. A nine-storey building, a shop, and an administrative building came under fire in Avdiivka today. According to preliminary information, two civilians were killed and three more were wounded. We clarify the details," Head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko posted on Facebook.

Russia wants to make Ukrainians feel fear, inciting only anger instead, he stressed.

"We will take revenge for every death," Kyrylenko added.

On February 24, Russian president Putin announced the beginning of a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops shell and destroy infrastructure, massively fire on residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, and ballistic missiles.

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Almost 208,000 Ukrainian refugees, mostly children and women, have arrived in Germany since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

That's according to the German Federal Police, Ukrinform reports.

According to official data, there are 207,742 Ukrainians in the country, but the real figure may be higher or lower, as checks at internal EU borders are not carried out, and the registration process, and thus the provision of assistance and the settlement of social issues, is not finalized. Calculations are made mainly on the basis of inspections on public transport used by refugees to get to German cities.

At the same time, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) launched the aid portal Germany4Ukraine.de in four languages. It is an information platform for refugees from Ukraine, thanks to which they receive a reliable source of verified information with basic recommendations on the first steps upon arrival in Germany.

Photo: picture alliance / ZB Matthias Todt
The Ukrainian President's Office plans to implement weekly initiatives to support the Ukrainian economy.

Deputy Head of the President's Office Rostyslav Shurma said this during a nationwide telethon broadcast by Ukrainian TV channels, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"I think we will develop and implement several new initiatives every week, and all of them will focus on simplifying the tax system, further filling it with financing and liquidity, stimulating job creation," Shurma said.

According to him, a program of compensation to employers for keeping and creating jobs is currently being prepared. The Office is developing a state program for the reconstruction of Ukraine, which will also create additional jobs.

As Ukrinform reported, according to the Ministry of Economy, 75% of businesses have stopped working in the areas where hostilities are taking place.

The war with Russian invaders has been going on in Ukraine since February 24.

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On March 19, the Ukrainian military carried out several counterattacks, inflicting losses on Russian invaders in equipment and personnel.

"The Azov Regiment counterattacked in Mariupol today [March 19], eliminating up to 50 Russian soldiers, several units of Russian military equipment. In fact, the town is holding on, the town is fighting," Adviser to Ukraines Minister of Internal Affairs Vadym Denysenko said on the air of the nationwide telethon, Ukrinform reports.

He added that the Ukrainian military had also launched a counterattack in Zaporizhzhia direction.

"Up to 60 Russians were killed, several units of equipment were destroyed. I would also like to mention the Belarusian direction. Belarusian guerrillas helped us by actually disabling the railway towards Ukraine," said the adviser.

Thus, he added, "it is currently impossible to reach Ukraine by rail from Belarus, which would complicate logistics for the Russian Federation."

On February 24, Russian president Putin announced the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops shell and destroy key infrastructure, massively fire on residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages using artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, and ballistic missiles.

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During their Ukraine deployment Ramzan Kadyrovs Chechen units are believed to have lost hundreds of soldiers before eventually returning to Grozny on March 13.

This was reported by Radio Svoboda with reference to the SBU counterintelligence agency, Ukrinform reports.

On March 13, pro-Russian Telegram channels published a video of a military meeting with the participation of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, purportedly shot in the basement somewhere in Ukraine, a few kilometers from Kyiv.

However, SBU counterintelligence operative have denied the report, confirming that Ramzan Kadyrov never came to Ukraine since Russia invaded, while on March 13, his Chechen units were rotated out of Ukraine to Chechnia, via Belarus.

On February 26, some 450 Kadyrovs fighters tried to set their boots on the Ukrainian land outside the Hostomel airport near Kyiv, in an attempted landing operation. This didn't work out. Some of the forces did manage to disembark from one of the planes and immediately got under fire on the runway. The total death toll of Kadyrov's units as of February 28 amounted to several hundred,"an interlocutor in the SBU counterintelligence told Radio Svoboda.

On March 4, a detachment of about 1,200 ethnic Chechen national guardsmen arrived from Belarus via the Chornobyl exclusion zone. These included Battalion North (commander Magomed Tushayev, later killed in action), South (Hussein Mezhidov), and Akhmat-Grozny riot police unit (Anzor Bisayev). Kadyrovs units set up their camp in the woods outside the settlement of Borodianka near Kyiv. According to the SBU, one night the ammunition stock got blown up in the camp, killing a number of fighters on the spot.

"Since then, they have been more cautious and have split into several groups. However, they took no direct part in the battles, only being engaged in harassing the locals in the area of Borodianka, Babyntsi, Katiuzhanka, and up to Liutizh, while at the same time shooting videos for social media," said the SBU counterintelligence.

According to the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Liudmyla Denisova, it was a Kadyrovs unit who seized a psychiatric facility in Borodianka, with 600 patients and staff in it.

"We see that they have been present on the territory of Ukraine since the beginning of conflict, but as a result, we have never seen their participation in firefights. As we call them, these are PR troops. That is, they might make plenty of videos and photos, showing them walking around wielding rifles, raiding households, as well as allegedly distributing humanitarian aid and caring for civilians. But this is pretty much all their activity that weve seen throughout this time," Ruslan Leviev, founder of the Conflict Intelligence Team, told Current Time.

Finally, the SBU says, on March 13, Kadyrovs units were extracted from Kyiv region out of Ukraine, via Belarus and further by air  to Chechnya. At the same time, Ramzan Kadyrov recently claimed he was sending to Ukraine a thousand more fighters.
In Luhansk region, about 12,500 civilians have been evacuated through three humanitarian corridors.

Head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration Serhiy Haidai wrote this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"In total, we have managed to evacuate almost 12,500 civilians from Luhansk region through three humanitarian corridors. At the cost of huge efforts, the political leadership of the state negotiates with the racists about ceasefire regime, because the life of every Ukrainian is priceless," Haidai wrote.

He added that yesterday it became possible to save 670 residents of Luhansk region, they were evacuated through the humanitarian corridor. The most difficult thing was to take people out of Popasna and Rubizhne as the fighting was ongoing there.

The governor also added that when rescuing his compatriots, the head of the Popasna City Military and Civil Administration, Mykola Khanatov, suffered a blast injury.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying key infrastructure facilities, conducting massive shelling of residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles.

Martial law was imposed in Ukraine and general mobilization was announced.

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The threat of an offensive by troops from the Republic of Belarus in the Volyn direction is high, but Ukrainian defenders are ready to repel, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The threat of an offensive from the Republic of Belarus in the Volyn direction is assessed as high. Ukraine's defense forces are ready to fight back," the General Staff said, Ukrinform reports.

Earlier, the Interior Ministry informed that Russian military equipment is approaching the Belarusian border in order to try to enter the territory of Ukraine with some forces.

The war with Russian invaders has been going on in Ukraine since February 24. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying key infrastructure facilities, conducting massive shelling of residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles.

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The Russian Federation uses destructive artillery  Kinzhal and Bastion systems  to strike peaceful cities and asks for CSTO assistance.

25th day of the war. Due to failures in the offensive, RF switched to more destructive artillery  Kinzhal & Bastion systems are used against peaceful cities. RF is also panickingly looking for reserves in manpower pulling everything from the Pacific direction & begging the CSTO, Mykhailo Podolyak, Adviser to the Head of the Office of President of Ukraine, posted on Twitter.

On February 24, Russian president Putin announced the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops shell and destroy key infrastructure, massively fire on residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages using artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, and ballistic missiles.

Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

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The letter from Patrick Thiele needs several corrections. Trump is the only president in the past 25 years who didnt allow Russia to invade another nation. Bush let Russia have Chechnya. Obama allowed Russia to take Crimea. Now Russia is attempting to take all of Ukraine.

Putin intends to reunite the former Soviet Union.

Trump quietly told Putin there will be grave repercussions if he tried. Thus, Putin behaved himself during the four years of Trump's presidency. In addition, North Korea was put on notice to quit testing missiles, which they did. We got rid of the disastrous Iran agreement and with sanctions Iran pulled in their horns.

Majority of support for NATO has come from the United States. Trump told the NATO nations pay their fair share or the U.S. would withdraw its support. The NATO nations are stepping up and paying their share of the bill.

Trump gave Ukraine millions in training and arms. All Obama did was give Ukraine blankets.

It has become apparent to the whole world that Biden is only interested in climate change, flooding the southern border with terrorists and gender politics and has no foreign policy interests. This has emboldened Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un.

Bidens misguided policies on climate change have caused gasoline prices to double and likely they will double again. Our grocery prices are up 10% and will continue to climb as Biden has no interest in doing anything about it.

Sure makes me wish we had Trump back as president.

Clinton Kegel

Billings

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Hundreds of locals went to a pro-Ukrainian rally, carrying blue and yellow symbols, in the occupied town of Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region. The Russian military dispersed the people, began beating and detaining them.

As Ukrinform reports with reference to social media, Russian soldiers detained pro-Ukrainian protesters and used physical force. Shots were fired in the street.

It also became known that Russian invaders kidnapped activist Tetiana Typakova, an active participant in anti-occupation rallies. She was abducted from her own home. Now she, as well as other public figures  Vitaliy Shevchenko and Volodymyr Sushko  are held captive.

As reported, the invaders kidnapped first deputy mayor of Enerhodar Ivan Samoydiuk. A rally in support of him was held in the town today. People say they will gather every day until the enemy releases Samoydiuk.

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Currently, six countries have already launched investigations into Russias war crimes.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova on Twitter, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Six countries have already launched investigations into Russias war crimes: Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden. We are closely cooperating with them to speed up the exchange of information and evidence, Venediktova noted.

A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting a war. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile strikes on residential areas in Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians.

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Azovstal, a metallurgical giant based in Mariupol, the Ukrainian city now being viciously attacked by Russian invaders, was completely shut down only once  in 1941, the year that Nazi Germany attacked Ukraine.

This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security with reference to a video address by Azovstal CEO Enver Tskitishvili, seen by Ukrinform.

"We will return to the city, rebuild the enterprise and revive it. It will work and bring glory to Ukraine the same way it always has. Because Mariupol is Ukraine. Azovstal is Ukraine," Tskitishvili said.

He noted that since February 24, the ecological load on the city of Mariupol has been reduced to a completely safe level. "Coke batteries no longer pose a threat to the lives of residents. We also stopped the blast furnaces correctly," he added.

The CEO recalled that Azovstal had stopped operations completely only once  in 1941, and in September 1943, when Mariupol was liberated from Nazi Germany troops, the reconstruction of the plant began.

As Ukrinform reported, Azovstal metallurgical plant in Mariupol is being heavily bombed by Russian invaders, along with the whole city, but the enterprise remains Ukrainian.

On February 24, Russian President Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops simultaneously crossed into Ukraine from the north, east, and south (Crimea). They have been destroying cities and killing civilians. Key infrastructure and households are being hit by Russian artillery, missiles, and bombs.
Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk appealed to the speakers of the parliaments of 10 countries and the IAEA to immediately take all possible measures to withdraw Russian troops from the territories of Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

"Today, the democratic world cannot turn a blind eye to the acts of Russian terrorism against Ukraine. The place of terrorists is on the dock. I am sure that we will soon see all the accomplices of this terrible crime behind bars. I underscored this in my appeals to the heads of parliaments of 10 countries," Stefanchuk posted on Facebook.

Stefanchuk called on Argentine, Brazilian, Guatemalan, Honduran, Dominican, Costa Rican, Paraguayan, Panamanian, Peruvian, Uruguayan partners, and the IAEA to take all possible measures immediately to withdraw Russian troops from the NPPs and take these and other facilities of Ukraine under the protection.

"I thanked the colleagues for their consistent support for Ukraine, in particular within the UN, as well as for strongly condemning Russia's invasion of our country. At the same time, I pointed out the need for more decisive and active actions of the world community aimed at deterring the aggressor and ending the war," Stefanchuk noted.

He added that he expected Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru to join sanctions against Russia "which will prevent it from continuing to commit war crimes against Ukraine and our people."

As reported, Russian troops captured Zaporizhzhia NPP on the night of March 4. The plant's staff continues to work but is forced to coordinate its actions with the invaders.

As a result of enemy shelling on March 16, the 750kV Kakhovka high-voltage transmission line, which supplies electricity from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, was damaged.

On the first day of the aggression, Russian troops captured the Chornobyl NPP.

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In talks with Turkey, the U.S. authorities raised the issue of the possibility of Ankara sending Kyiv S-400 anti-aircraft systems earlier acquired from Russia.

This was reported by Reuters on Sunday, March 20, Ukrinform reports.

According to the publication, the highest-ranking US officials have floated the issue with Turkey over the past month with no formal request being made.

In addition, as noted, Washington called on other nations to supply Ukraine with S-300s and S-400s.

It should be recalled that Turkey and Russia in 2017 signed a contract for the transfer of S-400 missile defense systems worth $2.5 billion. In July 2019, the first deliveries came in.

In response to Ankara's purchase of four S-400 divisions, Washington excluded Turkey from the list of its partners in the production of the latest F-35 fighter jets and withdrew its offer to supply Patriot missile systems.

Meanwhile, the governments of the Netherlands and Germany, at NATO's request, will supply Slovakia with Patriot missile systems to replace the S-300s that could be handed to Ukraine.
The State of Israel can help the Ukrainian people to defend themselves, as well as Ukrainian Jews, in the war with the Russian Federation.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his video address to the Knesset, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The President of Ukraine reminded the Israeli that Russian missiles had hit Babyn Yar in Kyiv, where more than 100,000 victims of the Holocaust were buried. On the first days of the war, Russian shells also damaged the city of Uman, which is annually visited by dozens of thousands of Jews to make a pilgrimage to tzaddik Nachmans grave.

What will be left of such places in Ukraine after this terrible war? I am confident that every word of my address is echoing in your hearts with the pain, as you feel what I am talking about. Why are we still asking the whole world for help? We are asking you for help Even regarding simple visas. What is this? Indifference? Calculation? Or mediation? I will let you find answers to these questions on your own. I will note just one thing. Indifference happens. Calculations are often erroneous. And mediation can be between the states but not between good and evil, Zelensky said.

In his words, everyone knows that the Israeli anti-missile defense is the best and most powerful, weapons are strong, and citizens are good, as they can defend the interests of the state, the interests of the people. Zelensky stressed that Israel could definitely help the Ukrainian people to defend themselves, as well as Ukrainian Jews.

One can ask for a long time, why we cannot receive weapons from you; why Israel has not imposed strong sanctions on Russia; why you are not putting pressure on Russian business But, the answer is up to you, dear brothers and sisters. And you, the Israeli, will have to live with this answer then. Ukrainians made their choice. Eighty years ago, we were saving Jews, and that is why the Righteous among the Nations are among us. The people of Israel, now you have to make a choice too, Zelensky stressed.

A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting a war. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile strikes on residential areas in Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians.

mk
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has come to hospital to visit Kyiv Regions residents, who were wounded when evacuating, and a driver of the American journalist, Brent Renaud, who was killed by Russian invaders.

The relevant statement was made by the Office of the President of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

In particular, Zelensky visited the Vlasenko family, who came under fire by the Russian occupiers when evacuating from the city of Vorzel, Kyiv Region.

According to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Vlasenko family moved to Kyiv Region from Crimea, when the peninsula got occupied by Russia, as they did not want to take Russian citizenship.

When the Vlasenkos car came under fire, their 16-year-old daughter, Katia, covered her 8-year-old brother, Ihor, with her body and got seriously wounded. When Ihor saw his sister bleeding, he left the car and began to shout at occupiers. Their mother, Tetiana, also suffered shrapnel wounds. Tetiana and Katia will have to undergo treatment for several months, but they managed to survive.

Zelensky gifted the Vlasenko family a tablet for education, flowers, sweets and fruit.

At hospital, the President of Ukraine also communicated with other residents of Kyiv Region, who are undergoing treatment, a territorial defense member and a driver of the American journalist, Brent Renaud, who was shot dead by Russian invaders in Irpin.

mk
Annie Charnley Eveland is a retired newspaper editor and journalist. A freelance writer, she produces the weekly Etcetera column Sundays in the Union-Bulletin. Send news with contact name and daytime phone number to acereporter1979@gmail.com.
Walla Walla VA Veterans Home resident Dodie Perry greets a visiting therapy horse from Blue Mountain Therapeutic Riding on an April morning. Don and Mary Murphy brought the two horses for the benefit of quarantined VA residents in the facility on the grounds of the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center.
(@FahadShabbir)

Los Angeles, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Mar, 2022 ) :Hollywood's producers named "CODA," a heartwarming indie drama about a deaf family, the year's best film at their annual gala Saturday, throwing the race for next weekend's Oscars wide open.

"CODA," which cast deaf actors in several lead roles, follows teenage Ruby -- who can hear -- as she juggles pursuing her musical ambitions with her family's dependence on her to communicate.

The movie, released by Apple TV+, is now best-placed to vie with Netflix's Western "The Power of the Dog," the presumed academy Award frontrunner.

"I have always been drawn to stories that are filled with humanity," said producer Philippe Rousselet, accepting the award.

"And in a world where we see the lack of it every day, I'll take this tonight -- this award -- as a sign that there's still hope." The Producers Guild Awards, taking place with Oscars voting now under way, have correctly predicted 11 of the past 14 winners of the best picture Academy Award.

"Encanto" won the PGA's best animated film, strengthening its own Oscars bid before voting ends Tuesday.

"Summer of Soul" -- musician Questlove's first movie, about the huge "Black Woodstock" festival that took place in 1969 Harlem -- racked up another best documentary win.

The Academy Awards take place in Hollywood on March 27.

"In music, coda means the end of a movement. But our film is the beginning of one," said "CODA" actress Marlee Matlin.

"It's a wonderful thing that audiences have embraced our movie and it's wonderful to be making history," she said, before it took the night's top prize.

Earlier in the night, Steven Spielberg praised "my brother" George Lucas as he presented the "Star Wars" creator with the PGA's career achievement award.

"George and I met as two of the most nerdy film junkies in California... Across all the years we competed against each other, we propped each other up, we cheered each other on. We made each other better," said Spielberg.

Lucas told the audience he was most proud of his work to usher in "digital cinema," which has largely replaced traditional celluloid reels, and has accelerated 3D and computer effects which dominate many superhero blockbusters today.

But Lucas recognized that some of his peers including Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan have still not fully joined the digital revolution and believe that traditional film still offers a richer aesthetic.

"There's a whole group of them -- everybody around is like 'Oh, digital, that's not movies, that's something else!'" he said, as Spielberg laughed off-stage.

Lucas shared the Milestone Award with Kathleen Kennedy, his heir at Lucasfilm, which is now owned by Disney.

Disney was this week hit by employee protests over its initially hesitant reaction to Florida's so-called "Don't say gay" bill.

Kennedy said "women, artists of color, LGBTQ and differently labelled artists and producers" had given Hollywood a "more inclusive, diverse, richer, more sophisticated and nuanced sense of our responsibilities for social, racial and economic justice." The proposed law, which would prohibit discussing LGBT topics in classrooms, has been condemned as discriminatory by critics.

- tv prizes -Saturday's PGAs, voted on by 8,000-odd producers, honored film as well as television, with HBO's "Succession" winning the top drama prize.

"Ted Lasso" continued its comedy awards sweep, "Mare of Easttown" took limited series, and Peter Jackson's "The Beatles: Get Back" won the non-fiction prize.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th March, 2022) Almost 90% of Japanese are concerned about potential threats to Japan's security and the possibility of "China's invasion of Taiwan," according to a poll conducted by Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun together with the Center for Social Research.

The poll was conducted on Saturday by sending messages to cellphones and calling randomly selected numbers. In total, 1,040 Japanese participated in the survey.

According to the poll, 46% of respondents said that they were "extremely concerned" about potential threats to Japan's security, and another 41% said that they were "somewhat concerned.

" Only 3% of Japanese did not express any anxiety over security threats.

When asked about the possibility of "China's invasion of Taiwan" amid the events in Ukraine, 56% of respondents said they were "deeply concerned" and 33% said they were "somewhat concerned."

On February 24, Russia began a military operation in Ukraine responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The United States and its allies, including Japan, responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia, while many foreign leaders expressed concern about the deteriorating security environment both in Europe and in the world.
MacKenzie Scott has donated $281 million to Boys & Girls Clubs of America and 62 local Boys & Girls Clubs around the country, the 160-year-old nonprofit announced Thursday. It is the largest public gift Scott has given so far.

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2022/03/18/breaking-news/mackenzie-scott-donates-281-million-to-boys-girls-clubs/?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia's siege of the port city of Mariupol is an act of terror that will be remembered for centuries, amid reports that thousands of residents have been deported to Russia.

By Stefan J. Bos

With ongoing Russian shelling in the background, some residents of Mariupol carefully walk between the rubble of ruined buildings. The local council says Russian forces bombed a Mariupol art school on Saturday, in which 400 residents had taken shelter.

Previously, the Russian military allegedly hit civilian targets, such as a children's hospital and a theater where up to 1,300 people were hiding.

With rescue efforts ongoing, the final death toll of these attacks wasn't apparent. However, Moscow has denied it targets civilian sites.

Local authorities also say Russian forces have deported thousands of residents to Russia. Yet, Russian news agencies acknowledged that several hundred of what Moscow calls refugees had been carried in buses from Mariupol.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of war crimes. "Mariupol will go down in history as an example of war crimes. To do this to a peaceful city, that the occupiers did, is an act of terror that will be remembered for centuries," he said.

Many of Mariupol's 400,000 residents have been trapped for more than two weeks. Russia seeks control of the city which would help secure a land corridor to the Crimea peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Battlefield suffering

As the war continues, so does the suffering on the battlefields. The death toll is climbing on both sides, including those whose lives had just begun. Thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have already died since the war broke out in earnest on February 24.

In recent days, Ukrainian forces outside Kyiv have recovered Russian dead bodies in the hope of exchanging them for prisoners of war. Local residents admit that some of the killed Russian soldiers were dumped in bomb craters.

Ukrainian President Zelensky claims Russian forces have encountered stiff resistance. "In places where there were especially fierce battles, the bodies of Russian soldiers pile up among our line of defense. And no one is collecting these bodies."

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the assault on Ukraine, which began on February 24, a "special operation." He claimed it aims to demilitarize Ukraine and root out people he views as Nazis and dangerous nationalists.

And Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lashed out at what he views as Western propaganda. "So we know the manners and the tricks which are being used by the Western countries to manipulate the media," the minister complained.

"We understood long ago that there is no such thing as an independent Western media. In the United States, only [broadcaster] Fox News is trying to present some alternative point of view," he added.

However, Western nations disagree. They call it an "aggressive war of choice," displacing millions and have imposed punishing sanctions on Russia aimed at crippling its economy.

Despite the setbacks, both sides have indicated they want to continue peace talks in which Turkey plays a mediating role.
Victoria, TX (77901)

Today

Partly cloudy and windy during the morning with scattered thunderstorms developing during the afternoon. High 88F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms in the evening. Partly cloudy skies overnight. Low 71F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Music Time in Africa is VOAs longest running English language program. Since 1965, this award-winning program has featured pan African music that spans all genres and generations. Ethnomusicologist and Host Heather Maxwell keeps you up to date on whats happening in African music with exclusive interviews, cultural information, and of course, great music -- including rare recordings from the Leo Sarkisian Library of African Music.
Alona Fartukhova has been coming to Berlin's Ukrainian Orthodox Christian community every day since she arrived in Germany five days ago from war-torn Kyiv. The 20-year-old refugee has been attending daily prayers for peace and helped organize donations for her compatriots back home.

On Sunday, Fartukhova joined dozens of other Ukrainian worshippers at a red brick stone church in the German capital who sang together, lit candles, and received blessings from the head of the community, Father Oleh Polianko. Later they put medical crutches, sleeping bags, diapers, big boxes of gummi bears and countless jars of pickles  which were piling up everywhere inside the church  into big cardboard boxes to be sent to Ukraine.

"It's some help for our army, and it is ... a lot of things for children" said the university student, who fled by herself and is now living at a hotel in Berlin, as she stacked boxes onto the church pews. "It is so good that a lot of people support us, we really appreciate it."

Across Europe, Ukrainians gathered for church services Sunday to pray for peace in their war-torn country. Newly arrived refugees mingled with longtime members of Europe's 1.5 million-strong Ukrainian diaspora at houses of worship all over the continent from Germany to Romania to Moldova.

Since Russia attacked Ukraine more than three weeks ago, over 3.38 million people have fled the country, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Altogether, 10 million people have fled their homes  more than 6 million of them have been displaced internally, the UNHCR said Sunday.

Most have escaped to neighboring Poland, Romania or Moldova, but as the war continues many are moving farther west.

Germany has registered more than 200,000 Ukrainian refugees but the real numbers are expected to be much higher as Ukrainians don't need a visa to come to Germany, and federal police only register refugees entering Germany by train or bus. Ukrainians coming to Germany from Poland by car are normally not registered.

Members of Germany's Ukrainian immigrant community, which counts around 300,000 people, have not only been raising money and collecting donations, but also driven the goods to the border and beyond and on their way back to Germany have taken along refugees. Families already living in Germany have squeezed together to accommodate refugees and are helping them find jobs and get their kids into schools.

The diaspora Ukrainians' religious communities  mostly Christian Orthodox, but also some Catholic and Jewish communities  have been leading refugee initiatives and have also become an anchor for those worrying about their families back in the war.

Polianko, who heads the 500-member-strong Orthodox Christian community in Berlin, held some one-on-one prayers on Sunday with worshippers who were especially distressed. He then gave blessings "for the souls of our soldiers who are fighting in Ukraine, and also for the souls of our soldiers who have died in Ukraine."

Because the Berlin community has been so overwhelmed by donations, they temporarily moved from their small church building in the city's Hermsdorf neighborhood to the bigger church of the Lutheran Philippus Nathanael community in Berlin-Friedenau. Here, they have plenty of space to organize donation drives and a wide driveway for trucks picking up the boxes, says Andriy Ilin, the deputy head of the community.

The Lutherans are currently holding their own services in a nearby community center.

"Initially, they offered us the church for March, now they've extended it to April, and they kindly let us know that if we need it beyond that, they will allow that too." Ilin said.Elsewhere in Europe, local worshippers also opened their churches to welcome Ukrainians.

In Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, locals and refugees alike assembled for an Orthodox prayer service on Sunday.

Angelica Gretsai, a refugee from the northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, lit candles just before the religious service in Russian began at a small Sfintul Gheorghe church.

"(I pray) for peace of course, for peace in Ukraine, for these two peoples (Russians and Ukrainians ) to make up, for this war to be no more," Gretsai said adding that she was yearning to go back home and be with friends and family.

"I'm basically alone here, it's the first time I came to Moldova, she said, adding that she was staying with some distant relatives she had never met before. Moldova has welcomed more than 360,000 refugees since Russia invaded Ukraine.

In Suceava, Romania, south of the Ukrainian border, locals and new arrivals from Ukraine held a service together at St. John's church. Romania has welcomed more than half a million refugees from Ukraine since the beginning of the war and several of them found their way to the church service.

Ariadna Belciug, a local resident at the service, said she was praying "especially for the children, because no one deserves to go through these times."

"I pray for them to be all right, to be safe and for better days for them to come," Belciug added.
Botswana will allow unvaccinated travelers into the country, provided they produce a negative COVID-19 test result. Thats a reversal from last month, when the nation started denying entry to travelers who were partially vaccinated or unvaccinated and not willing to get a free shot.

Botswana Ministry of Health spokesperson Christopher Nyanga said in a statement the decision to allow the unvaccinated into the country was meant to ensure smooth entry for travelers.

I wish to indicate that these changes now allow partially vaccinated or unvaccinated people to enter the country, if they comply with the required testing requirements, he said. It is only when one is not fully vaccinated and is also not willing to undergo COVID-19 testing at the port of entry, that they will be charged and fined or taken to a court of law.

There was confusion over what determined a fully vaccinated person. In Botswana, the vaccine validity period is 180 days, while Europe gives the same vaccines a 270-day validity period.

Nyanga says the vaccine validity discord was taken into consideration when dropping the vaccine mandate.

Due to discordant periods for taking booster shots between Botswana and other countries, and for purposes of smoothening international travel, the definition of being fully vaccinated in Botswana will no longer include a booster shot, he said. Having completed the primary vaccine series will be considered sufficient for one to be allowed entry, without the need to present a negative PCR test result.

Cindy Kelemi , director of the human rights organization Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV-AIDS, welcomed the governments move.

We have always maintained that the response to COVID-19 does not necessarily require for criminalization to be used as a strategy, she said. And not allowing entry to those who are not vaccinated is actually a violation of peoples rights. Therefore, it was only reasonable for the government to retract its previous guidelines and remove the barring of people who are not vaccinated, into Botswana."

Since the introduction of vaccine mandates on Feb. 14, Botswanas tourism industry says, it has suffered huge losses, with canceled bookings worth $10 million.

A tour guide in the Okavango Delta, Keletso Sedume, said he expects the situation to improve now that COVID-19 entry requirements have been eased.

"It is good news as there was a drop of tourists coming to the delta in the last few weeks, he said. We heard it is because some were reluctant to vaccinate and had canceled their bookings. We hope to see them come in now."

Botswana authorities say they have vaccinated more than 71% of the adult population, which is one of the highest vaccination rates on the continent.
Vote counting was under way in East Timor's presidential elections Saturday with two former fighters for independence  one current and one former president  considered to be the front-runners, each accusing the other of causing a yearslong political paralysis.

Ahead of the election day, former President Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, had a lead over incumbent Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres in an opinion survey. Four women were among 13 other candidates, the highest number of women taking part in the countrys fifth election since independence.

Official results were not expected until Thursday.

"I am confident that I will win the election again," Guterres told reporters after casting his vote in Dili, the capital. "I call on people to accept whatever the result and I am ready to work with whoever wins this election."

Guterres, 67, is from the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor party, known by its local acronym Fretilin. Ramos-Horta, 72, is backed by the rival National Congress of the Reconstruction of East Timor, known as CNRT, a party led by former Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, also an ex-resistance leader who remains influential.

More than 835,000 of the country's 1.3 million people were registered to vote. The winner will take the oath of office May 20, the 20th anniversary of East Timor's independence from Indonesia, which invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975.

If none of the candidates secures more than 50% of the votes in the first round, a runoff between the two top vote-getters is scheduled for April 19.

Tensions between Fretilin and CNRT, the two largest parties, led to the resignation of Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak in February 2020 after the government repeatedly failed to pass a budget.

Ruak agreed to stay on until a new government is formed and to oversee the battle against the coronavirus pandemic with a $250 million war chest. His government has operated without an annual budget and has relied on monthly injections from its sovereign fund savings, called the Petroleum Fund.

Guterres refused to swear in nine people nominated by CNRT as Cabinet ministers in 2018. CNRT has accused Guterres and Fretilin of acting unconstitutionally and illegally seizing the post of speaker of parliament.

Fretilin said that Ramos-Horta is unfit to be president, accusing him of causing a crisis as prime minister in 2006, when dozens were killed as political rivalries turned into open conflict on the streets of Dili.

A clash between Fretilin and CNRT supporters also broke out in 2018, leaving more than a dozen injured and cars torched.

Ramos-Horta, speaking to the media while casting his vote, said the benefits of his party's development plans would be spread more widely and vowed to work closely with Gusmao to implement them.

"We have voted based on our own wish for a new president who is able to maintain stability, to develop our economy and to change the current situation," Ramos-Horta said.

East Timor's transition to a democracy has been rocky, with leaders battling massive poverty, unemployment and corruption. The nation continues to recover from the bloody break for independence two decades ago, with an economy reliant on dwindling offshore oil revenues and bitter factional politics.

Joaquim Fonseca, a political analyst at RENETIL, a youth organization established during Indonesia's occupation of East Timor, said that no single party would be able to form a government on its own, making coalitions necessary.

"This remains a challenge for both of the candidates," said Fonseca, who is also East Timor's former ambassador to the U.K. "At this point, there is no absolute certainty that either of the candidates will bring the desired changes."

The U.N. estimates that nearly half of East Timor's population lives below the extreme poverty line of $1.90 a day and half of the children younger than 5 suffer physical and mental stunting as a result of malnutrition.

"I do hope the winning president will look after the clean water, the roads to villages and health facilities," said Lucio Cardozo, a Dili resident.

Oil revenues, which finance more than 90% of government spending, are rapidly dwindling and the country's nearly $19 billion sovereign wealth fund could be empty within a decade as the government's annual withdrawals exceed its investment returns, according to La'o Hamutuk, an East Timorese research institute.

While more than 30% of the population is illiterate, the wealthiest earn more than 42% of the national income and the bottom half take only about 16%, said Dinna Prapto Raharja, an international relations analyst and the founder of Synergy Policies, an independent consulting firm based in Jakarta.

"This is a big gap that's not easy to bridge unless there is a fundamental governance change from whoever wins the 2022 election," she said. "The elite may need to discuss different models of sharing power."
Houthi rebels attacked a facility run by oil company Aramco in Jizan, southern Saudi Arabia, the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the rebels in Yemen said in a statement Saturday.

The rebels also hit a desalination plant in Al-Shaqeeq, said the coalition statement, quoted by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The coalition said four drones launched into the southern region had been intercepted and destroyed near Yemen. That region is regularly targeted by Houthi drone and missile attacks.

It later announced that the Dhahran Al-Janoub power station, near Jizan, had also been attacked. The SPA posted photos and a video clip showing firefighters tackling a blaze at the site.

The latest announcement comes after an oil refinery in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, was attacked on March 10 by a drone, an operation claimed by the Houthis.

Earlier this week, the Houthis rejected an invitation from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to attend talks on the Yemen conflict, to be held in Riyadh from March 29.

Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition in Yemen in support of the internationally recognized government, which has been engaged in a bloody conflict against the Houthis since mid-2014.

The war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, directly or indirectly, and displaced millions, in what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

On Wednesday, the U.N. voiced disappointment after a donors' conference raised $1.3 billion, far short of the $4.27 billion target.

Houthi rebels often target airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, one of the world's largest oil exporters, against the backdrop of the kingdom's leadership of the military coalition against them.

This latest attack comes as Aramco prepares to announce its 2021 results on Sunday.

Global oil markets are in a state of confusion over the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and effect it will have on energy supplies.
Intelligence agencies worldwide are warning that Taliban rule in Afghanistan is radically reshaping terrorist and militant groups in South Asia and around the world.

Specifically, intelligence and counterterrorism officials say that despite Taliban promises to sever ties with al-Qaida and oppose terror groups such as the Islamic State's Afghan affiliate, as codified in the 2020 Doha agreement with the United States, there has been scant evidence of progress.

"The Taliban is attempting to maintain pressure on ISIS [Islamic State group]," the top general at U.S. Central Command told lawmakers in Washington on March 15. "They're finding it difficult to do."



"They're much less firm on the al-Qaida issue, in terms of opposing them and trying to limit them," CENTCOM's General Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie added.

A recent United Nations report based on member state intelligence echoed those fears.

"There are no recent signs that the Taliban has taken steps to limit the activities of foreign terrorist fighters in the country," the report said. "On the contrary, terrorist groups enjoy greater freedom there than at any time in recent history."

Despite such concerns, some diplomats, such as the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, have expressed hope the Taliban will crack down.

Thomas West told the U.S. Institute of Peace on Feb. 15 that he believed the Taliban were "very sincere in their intent to contain" Islamic State terrorists.

Here is a look at the Taliban and the major terrorist organizations now operating in Afghanistan, and how they have fared in the six months since U.S. and coalition forces left the country.

Taliban

Since its emergence in 1994, the Taliban movement, which calls itself the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, has been led by an emir, a central figure ostensibly appointed for life by a religious council of Taliban leaders.

Like his two predecessors, the current emir, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has made no public speeches and leads a reclusive life in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province. He has left the management of day-to-day government affairs to his appointed caretaker Cabinet in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Various estimates by U.S. intelligence agencies and United Nations member states put the number of Taliban fighters between 58,000 and 100,000, with numbers fluctuating according to the time of year and battlefield conditions.

A U.N. report issued in June 2021, prior to the U.S. withdrawal, noted the Taliban force size was "robust in spite of significant attrition rates" over the past few years.

The Taliban have also benefited from the presence of some 8,000 to 10,000 foreign fighters in Afghanistan, most of whom are aligned with the Taliban. The Taliban's defense minister recently said in an interview that the group is trying to build a 110,000-strong army.

Intelligence shared publicly by the United States and United Nations member states further accuses the Taliban of continuing to work closely with al-Qaida and maintaining ties with other terrorist groups, pushing some to become part of a new Taliban-run Afghan military force.

And even if the Taliban are planning to crack down on cells of IS-Khorasan, Islamic State's affiliate in Afghanistan, they may not have the right capabilities.

"I don't think what we'll see from the Taliban will be traditional [counterterrorism] as we think of it," Colin Clarke, director of research at the global intelligence firm The Soufan Group, told VOA last year.

"It's much easier to play a spoiler role than to perform effectively in the role of counterinsurgent," he said. "I think the Taliban could be effective in clearing an area, but it will struggle more with holding it."

For their part, Taliban officials have publicly denied that terrorism is an issue for Afghans under their leadership.

"We do not see anyone in Afghanistan who has anything to do with al-Qaida," Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference in Kabul last September.

"The ISIS that exists in Iraq and Syria does not exist here," he added. "We are committed to the fact that from Afghanistan, there will not be any danger to any country."

Islamic State Khorasan Province

The Islamic State terror group's Afghan affiliate is a sworn enemy of both the Taliban and al-Qaida, which has deep and long-standing ties to Taliban leadership. But IS-Khorasan is also one of the groups that has benefited the most from the Taliban takeover.

As Taliban forces asserted control over Afghanistan, they emptied out many of the country's prisons, including the Parwan prison at Bagram Airfield, which had held hundreds of IS-Khorasan fighters.

Taliban commanders quickly executed former IS-Khorasan leader Abu Omar Khorasani, but many other IS followers were allowed to escape.

At the time, U.S. military officials said the prison releases helped swell IS-Khorasan's ranks from several hundred to at least 2,000 "hardcore" fighters. IS-Khorasan was also blamed for the August 26 bombing at Kabul airport that killed 13 Americans and more than 170 Afghans.

Intelligence shared by U.N. member states suggests that since then, IS-Khorasan has nearly doubled in size, to about 4,000 fighters, half of which may be from outside Afghanistan.

The same intelligence estimates say that the group, which lost all the territory under its control in early 2020, now "controls limited territory in eastern Afghanistan" and that it is "capable of conducting high-profile and complex attacks."

IS-Khorasan also appears to be benefitting from financial support from its core in Syria and Iraq, receiving more than $500,000 over the past six months, according to some intelligence estimates.

U.S. defense officials have further voiced concern about IS-Khorasan regenerating the capability to launch attacks against the U.S. and other foreign targets, initially warning that the group could launch global operations starting in April 2022.

More recent assessments by U.S. military intelligence officials indicate that the group is more focused at the moment on cementing its support within Afghanistan itself and that IS-Khorasan may not be ready to carry out external operations for another 12-18 months.

Al-Qaida core

Since its initial statement at the end of August congratulating the Taliban on its victory, al-Qaida leadership has been mostly silent on the situation in Afghanistan, though al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri referenced "the defeat of the Americans" in a video released this month.

Zawahiri himself is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan, and intelligence agencies from a number of countries assess he is in ill health.

Intelligence shared with the U.N. for a recent report, however, indicates al-Qaida is benefitting from "a significant boost" due to the U.S. withdrawal and Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

"Some of its [al-Qaida's] closest sympathizers within the Taliban now occupy senior positions in the new de facto Afghan administration," according to the U.N. report, which also says chances are now good that Zawahiri's likely successor, Saif al-Adel, will seek to leave Iran and establish himself in Afghanistan.

Western counterterrorism estimates from before the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan suggested the al-Qaida core perhaps commanded several hundred fighters across at least 15 Afghan provinces. And in September, a top U.S. intelligence official said that there were "indications of some potential movement of al-Qaida [officials and followers] to Afghanistan," though, he cautioned, "It's still early days."

While U.S. officials remain concerned that al-Qaida will focus again on conducting foreign attacks, a recent report based on U.S. military intelligence assessments indicates that the group has been keeping a low profile at the Taliban's request, and that the Taliban, who are seeking to gain international recognition for their new government, are likely to dissuade al-Qaida leaders from launching attacks.

Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent

One of al-Qaida's key offshoots, al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent, has as much of a presence in Afghanistan as the group's core.

Intelligence estimates from U.N. member states say AQIS has up to 400 fighters in Afghanistan, spread across Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, Nimruz, Paktika and Zabul provinces.

AQIS fighters, including native Afghans and fighters from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Myanmar (Burma), are said to have fought alongside Taliban against the U.S.-backed government prior to its collapse. Earlier U.S. intelligence assessments said it appeared that AQIS fighters were actively integrated into Taliban units.

AQIS leader Osama Mehmood and AQIS deputy Atif Yahya Ghouri are both thought to reside in Afghanistan.

Haqqani network

The Haqqani network is widely considered to be the most influential and strategically successful extremist group in the region. While nominally loyal to the Taliban, the network, as described by the U.N., is "semi-autonomous," maintaining ties with both al-Qaida and IS-Khorasan.

The group boasts a "highly skilled core of members who specialize in complex attacks and provide technical skills, such as improvised explosive device and rocket construction," according to the U.N.

It also oversees a force of between 3,000 and 10,000 traditional armed fighters in Khost, Paktika and Paktiya provinces.

The network is run by Sirajuddin Haqqani, a son of the late mujahedeen commander and network founder Jalaluddin Haqqani. For much of its existence, the group has been based in Pakistan's tribal areas as it operated across the border in Afghanistan. The more than 40-year-old Haqqani has a $10 million bounty on his head from the U.S. government and works as a deputy emir of the Taliban as well as the interior minister of Afghanistan.

The Haqqanis have been accused of perpetuating some of the deadliest and most sophisticated attacks against U.S., Indian and former Afghan government targets in Afghanistan since 2001.

The network is believed to have strong ties to Pakistani intelligence and al-Qaida. The U.S. designated it a foreign terrorist organization in 2012.

Intelligence gathered over the past year from some U.N. member states said that at times, the Haqqanis have acted as a go-between for the Taliban and IS-Khorasan, and that with the tacit approval of the Taliban, they directed the Islamic State affiliate to attack the now defunct U.S.-backed Afghan government.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan

Most active on the 2,640-kilometer-long border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, is an insurgent group involved in terrorist attacks in both countries.

The latest U.N. intelligence estimates put the number of TTP fighters at between 3,000 and 5,500.

The group's stated objectives are to end the Pakistani government's control over the Pashtun territories of Pakistan and to form a strict government based on Islamic Shariah law.

U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the Pakistani military have killed or captured several TTP leaders over the past two decades.

The group's current leader, Noor Wali Mehsud, has publicly declared allegiance to the Afghan Taliban leader.

The Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan has reportedly reenergized the TTP, and Pakistani officials have sought the Afghan Taliban's assistance in dealing with the group.

The U.N. says those efforts have made some progress.

"Mediation from the Taliban has led to a reduction in TTP attacks against Pakistan," a recent U.N. report found, adding that one country's intelligence agency said the Taliban have been involved in talks aimed at allowing TTP family members to peacefully resettle in Pakistan.

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, or IMU, was founded in the late 1990s with help and financial support from al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden, and several IMU leaders have served as part of the al-Qaida hierarchy. The group has sought to replace the Uzbek government with a strictly Islamic regime.

IMU launched its first attack in February 1999 by simultaneously detonating five car bombs in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital. The group is also believed to have carried out attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In 2015, then-IMU leader Usman Ghazi and other senior members of the group shifted allegiance from al-Qaida to the rival Islamic State. But the move did not sit well with Taliban leaders, who launched a major military campaign against Ghazi, killing him and nearly wiping out the group.

IMU's force size was estimated at several hundred in 2018, but the group was reportedly battered by a large-scale Taliban onslaught in Afghanistan's Faryab province that same year.

As of mid-2021, intelligence suggested IMU had broken into Uzbek and Tajik factions, with the Uzbek faction possibly entertaining the idea of joining IS.

Recent intelligence suggests the remnants of IMU were fighting alongside the Taliban as they took over Afghanistan, which has earned the terror group more freedom of movement.

Khatiba Imam al-Bukhari

Khatiba Imam al-Bukhari (KIB) was founded in 2011 by fighters who left the IMU and fought alongside the Taliban against the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

The group is led by Dilshod Dekhanov, a Tajik national.

KIB's forces are in Afghanistan's Badghis province, though the group is also thought to have about 100 or so fighters in Syria, possibly in Latakia or Idlib governorates.

According to the U.N., KIB's numbers in Afghanistan have been growing due to the successful recruitment of locals. KIB not only has received money from the Taliban but also raises funds through its leadership in Syria.

Intelligence shared with the U.N. indicates Dekhanov visited Kabul in September, asking the Taliban to unify KIB and IMU under his leadership.

Dekhanov's request was denied, reports say, with Taliban officials pushing to make the KIB part of a new Taliban army.

Islamic Jihad Group

According to intelligence assessments shared with the U.N., the Islamic Jihad Group is considered "the most combat-ready Central Asian group in Afghanistan" and known for expertise in "military tactics and the manufacture of improvised explosive devices."

The group is led by a Kyrgyz national named Ilimbek Mamatov. The group's second-in-command, Amsattor Atabaev, hails from Tajikistan.

IJG's fighters operate across Badakhshan, Baghlan and Kunduz provinces, fought alongside Taliban forces against the previous government, and even got some financial support from the Taliban over the past year.

Like KIB's leader, Mamatov is reported to have asked Taliban leaders to unite key Central Asian groups under his leadership. But, reports say, his request was rejected.

Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement/Turkistan Islamic Party

The Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), was first established in the Xinjiang region of China, with its first reported attack in 1998.

After 2001, it began getting help from both al-Qaida and the Taliban, and it has been consistently active in Afghanistan since 2007.

According to intelligence estimates provided by U.N. member states, ETIM has between 200 and 700 fighters in Afghanistan training and plotting for attacks on Chinese targets.

Most of the ETIM fighters had been in Badakhshan province, which borders China. But according to a recent U.N. report, the Taliban recently relocated many of the fighters "to both protect and restrain the group."

Recent intelligence suggests that ETIM fighters have embraced the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and that members have been encouraged to forge deeper ties with Afghanistan.

"They also anticipate that the Taliban de facto administration will provide them with refugee status and passports, enabling them to travel internationally," the U.N. said in a recent report.

In addition to the group's close ties with the Taliban and al-Qaida, it has been reported to collaborate with other groups in Afghanistan including TTP and Jamaat Ansarullah, an ethnically Tajik faction of the IMU.

Intelligence also suggests that IS-Khorasan has increased its recruiting of ETIM members.

Lashkar-e-Islam

Lashkar-e-Islam was founded in the Khyber district of Pakistan in 2004 but relocated to Afghanistan's Nangarhar province in 2014, following clashes with the Pakistani military.

Since coming to Afghanistan, Lashkar-e-Islam has clashed with IS-Khorasan, with major skirmishes taking places in 2018 as the two groups fought for control of territory and resources.

Hezb-e-Islami

Hezb-e-Islami, or "Party of Islam," was founded in 1976 by former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

The group shares much of the same ideology as the Taliban, and its fighter have assisted in Taliban in the past.

In 2015, Hekmatyar ordered his followers to help IS fighters in Afghanistan but never pledged allegiance to IS.

Hezb-e-Islami was known to target U.S. forces in Afghanistan, carrying out a series of attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in from 2013-15.

Lashkar-e-Taiba

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or "Army of the Pure," was founded in Pakistan in the 1990s and is sometimes known as Jamaat-ud-Dawa.

Led by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and aligned with al-Qaida, the group is perhaps best known for carrying out the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, which killed more than 160 people.

LeT established an office in Quetta, Pakistan, in 2006 to assist the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the group has also reportedly sent fighters to Afghanistan to assist the Taliban in their efforts.

In June 2021, a blast outside Saeed's home killed three people. The U.S. is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to Saeed's conviction in the Mumbai terror attacks.
There's no room in the morgue at Mazyr. It's filled with the bodies of Russian soldiers.

At one hospital in this Belarusian city about 60 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, the hallways and wards are filled with the sounds of soldiers moaning from their battlefield wounds.

At the main train station, Russian soldiers have been recorded on video ferrying stretchers  apparently holding wounded servicemen  from a military ambulance to a waiting train operated by Russia's state railway company.

And in Naroulya, a town still closer to the Ukrainian border, residents report that a Russian field hospital has been set up in a former motor depot, and wounded Russian soldiers are being flown in from Ukraine, treated briefly, then shipped on to Mazyr and the regional capital, Homel.

Now in its fourth week, Russia's war in Ukraine continues to extract a horrific toll on Ukrainian civilians and soldiers on both sides. Some of the deadliest attacks and fighting have happened near the Belarusian border close to Homel; near the Russian border in Kharkiv and Sumy in the east; and around southern port cities such as Mariupol and Kherson.

Full and reliable casualty counts have been hard to come by. Among civilians, the United Nations has recorded 780 killed and more than 1,250 wounded  but it estimates that the actual figures are much higher, and Ukrainian officials say thousands of civilians have been killed.

The toll among combatants has also proved elusive, with experts saying each side seeks to exaggerate the losses of the enemy and minimize its own.

In Russia, coming up with an accurate tally is even harder, due to government regulations that have clamped down on independent reporting  and even made uttering the words "war" and "invasion" a potentially criminal offense.

But in the Belarusian regions bordering Ukraine, residents and medical workers have reported a rising tide of corpses and maimed servicemen being shipped out of Ukraine and then sent elsewhere for further treatment  or burial.

More than 2,500 soldiers' corpses had already been shipped from the Homel region back to Russia by trains or by plane as of March 13, according to one employee of the Homel regional clinical hospital.

Like all the people who spoke with RFE/RL, this individual asked not to be named out of fear of retribution or prosecution by Belarusian or Russian security agencies.

The figure could not be independently verified.

'It Was Unbelievable How Many Corpses There Were'

Ukraine's military claims that more than 14,000 Russians have been killed since Russia launched the invasion on February 24 -- a number that is much higher than most independent estimates. The military has not released formal casualty figures, saying it is a state secret, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that about 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed.

Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, claims that more than 2,870 Ukrainian soldiers and paramilitary fighters have been killed, and around 3,700 wounded. Its only official tally of Russian casualties came on March 2, when the ministry said that 498 soldiers had been killed and 1,597 wounded.

Earlier this week, U.S. intelligence put the Russian military death toll at more than 7,000  and said that is a conservative estimate.

This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Click to reveal This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing - Click to reveal The bodies of 12 dead Russian soldiers in a refrigerator car at the Voznesensk railway station in Voznesensk, Ukraine, March 16, 2022

One place to look for evidence of Russian military deaths is the Homel region: Wedged into southeastern Belarus, it borders Russia to the east and Ukraine to the south. The city of Homel is Belarus's largest after Minsk, and a major hub for trade and transport.

Under strongman leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka, Belarus has increasingly become a vassal state of Russia, according to experts. Lukashenka has voiced strong backing for Russia's war, allowed deployment of major Russian military units in the country, and threatened to send Belarusian forces into Ukraine.

Before the invasion, tens of thousands of Russian troops were positioned close to the Ukrainian border. An unknown number of them crossed from the Homel region and pushed south toward Kyiv, but they have advanced slowly and suffered substantial losses.

In Mazyr, whose population is around 100,000, the city's only morgue was overflowing with corpses as of March 3, according to eyewitnesses. "It was unbelievable how many corpses there were," said one Mazyr resident who frequently drives through the city and nearby areas for business.

WATCH: Russian forces are meeting fierce resistance and taking casualties as they try to move towards the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. On March 18, a Ukrainian special search group collected the dead bodies of Russian soldiers in the hope they could be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war.

He said he had seen many "black sacks" being loaded from military ambulances onto Russian railway cars. "Passengers at the Mazyr train station were shocked by the number of corpses being loaded on the train," he said. "After people started shooting video, the military caught them and ordered them to remove it."

In Homel, the regional capital, a laboratory for the city's main hospital was refitted earlier this month, with existing equipment being moved out and beds and other medical equipment being brought in, residents said.

Homel residents told RFE/RL that wounded Russian soldiers were being brought to three separate medical facilities in the city, including one specializing in cancer treatment.

A doctor at Mazyr's main city hospital told RFE/RL that the facility was now under guard by police and security agencies, and that doctors had been threatened with firing if they spoke about conditions. The doctor said that all physicians on staff, even those from more specialized professions, had been tasked with treating wounded Russians.

"There are not enough surgeons. Earlier, the corpses were transported by ambulances and loaded on Russian trains," the doctor said. "After someone made a video about it and it went on the Internet, the bodies were loaded at night so as not to attract attention."

At Hospital No. 4 in Homel, officials began to discharge current patients on March 1 in order to make room for wounded Russians, according to multiple residents whom RFE/RL spoke to. "There are so many wounded Russians there -- it's just a horror. Terribly disfigured. It is impossible to listen to their moans throughout the whole hospital," said one resident who was treated in the Homel hospital.

Another Homel doctor said there was growing concern among city residents that there could be shortage of everyday medications for the general population. "People are panicking, but so far there is [medical] help and there is enough medicine. What will happen next is still unknown," the doctor said. "It's likely there will be problems with anti-tetanus drugs."

Tetanus is a common ailment afflicting soldiers suffering from shrapnel and bullet wounds.

At Homel's Center for Radiation Medicine, about 400 Russian troops are currently being treated, according to employees. The influx of troops has also prompted at least one hospital employee to call for donations  of diapers, wet wipes, soap, shampoo, water, cookies, and clothes to help the soldiers.

Hanna Krasulina, a spokeswoman for exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, told Ukrainian television on March 2 that morgues in Mazyr were crowded with dead Russian servicemen, some of them from Chechnya.

"We must inform both the Chechens and the Russians that the Belarusian morgues in the south of Belarus are already being filled with the corpses of their soldiers," she said. "This is important to let them know. We will not allow Russian propaganda to hide it."
By Zuowang

For some time there was a question haunting in my heart: why it is the nation Canadians , the most gentle nation firstly rebels the covid-19 tyranny when this dictatorship is spreading all over the world?

Soon I found the answer, because our Canadians love freedom best!

But there are still many of Canadians who are scared by the epidemic then they become enslaved by the government craving for unlimited power, whatever the name is WEF, communism or Nazism.

However, our truckers dont do and they really know what is happening! Our freedom has been stolen! Enough is enough! They stand up! They are fighting for freedom!

I will remember those people for ever: that young man in the rally said to me I am so sorry to you immigrant because it is a mess now in this country but we should unite to defend freedom. The trucker in that beautiful red truck, his name is Csaba Vizihe was beaten by a police man and a woman protester cried, he said, dont cry my sister, everything will be fine. The police man asked him, is she your sister? He answered, yes and you are my brother.

I will never forget Wayne Narvey, this First Nation warrior was arrested twice as a terrorist during two weeks only because he joined this peaceful protest. In his all live streams I have never seen any trace of hate, frustration or fear and he is so brave and composure facing those uniforms thugs.

The Freedom Convoy was cracked down , but it should be remembered in the history of Canada. Obviously, the working class Canadians are people who really shape the definition of Canadians because they are wise enough to cherish freedom. With courage from them our southern cousins truckers are circling their capital to demonstrate. Furthermore,dont forget those rallies in Europe. People are waking up.

Turn back domestically, now following steps belong to other Canadians who love freedom too.

It is not a problem resulting from non-vaccined people! The authoritarians divided us into a vaccined group and a non-vaccined one.They plant seeds of discrimination and hate intentionally among Canadians!No,no ! Dont jump into the pitfall! We should unite together

The real disaster is the Third World War in the area of ideology. When the scientific monster Frankenstein first emerged individually in public every one would be alarmed. But if the scientific extremists filter information to abet netizens?

Now there are overwhelming news to tell us Ukraine is the only one justice side so we should freeze the overseas Russian bank accounts ?Why are there so many fake photos and videos from this war?

All of superstition to Science persuades us the ridiculous Covid-19 mandates. Why do you think it is fair to be forced to jab? Who will get profit from this mandate policy ?When high technology is creating the digital ID and the government can easily freeze any bank account when it is disagreed, are you scared?

We have lost the freedom of belief because the priest was arrested, we have lost freedom of speech because of the m-103 bill, we have lost the freedom to travel because we dont have vaccine QR codes. How can these happen and when did they begin?

Unfortunately, the strength of light is very weak now. However,If we resist we still have hope to win otherwise we are sneaking into the world of the fiction 1984. Factually, We can get indirect experience of extreme left wings domination from Soviet Union, China,and North Korea.

The crisis of Canada democratic system has been exposed in the Sun and it owes our truckers! How many canadiens are really aware that we have already been deprived most of freedom in the charter?

If we still keep silent and indifferent to the elephant in the room, What will wait for us in the future?

All Canadians, wake-up! please care about domestic politics rather than the foreign war. Dont be the poor frog anymore and its in the warm water which is soon boiling.

Presently,the freedom convoy is over, but a dead seed produces many seeds.

Lets continue opposing the tyranny!

Defend freedom for our children!Torch relay! Make Canada free again!
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has told his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had shaken the "foundation of international order" and required a clear response, he said Saturday.

India and Japan are party to the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), a security framework that also includes the United States and Australia, but India is the only Quad member not to have condemned the invasion.

Japan has imposed sanctions on dozens of Russian individuals and organizations since the start of what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine and has accepted Ukrainian refugees.

"We (Kishida and Modi) confirmed any unilateral change to the status quo by force cannot be forgiven in any region, and it is necessary to seek peaceful resolutions of disputes based on international law," Kishida told reporters after meeting Modi in New Delhi.

Kishida also announced plans to invest 5 trillion yen ($42 billion) in India over five years. India signed agreements with units of Japan's Suzuki Motor for an investment of around $1.4 billion to produce electric vehicles and batteries in Modi's home state Gujarat that also involving a vehicle scrappage scheme, but it was not clear if this was part of the 5 trillion yen total.

The leaders expressed their seriousness about the conflict in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis there. Modi refrained from commenting directly on Ukraine but noted that geopolitical incidents were "presenting new challenges."

Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India's foreign secretary, told reporters that the two leaders had "assessed broader implications particularly for the Indo Pacific region. They underscored the importance of safety and security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine."

Japanese foreign direct investment into India has mainly been in the automobile, electrical equipment, telecommunications, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. Since 2000 investments into India have been around $27.28 billion.

In 2020, the two countries signed an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement that allows for reciprocal stocks of food, fuel and other supplies between their defense forces.
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all times EDT:

9:33 p.m.: Speaking in a video address early Monday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the Russian bombing of a school in Mariupol where about 400 civilians had taken refuge. They are under the rubble, and we dont know how many of them have survived, he said. But we know that we will certainly shoot down the pilot who dropped that bomb, like about 100 other such mass murderers whom we already have downed.

7:48 p.m.: Late Sunday, Russia demanded Ukrainian forces lay down their arms in the besieged eastern port city of Mariupol. Shortly after, however, Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk responded, saying early Monday, There can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms.

5:52 p.m.: Management of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site said Sunday that 50 staff members who had been on the job since the plant was seized by Russian forces three weeks ago have finally been rotated out and replaced.

They were there for far too long. I sincerely hope that remaining staff from this shift can also rotate soon, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi was quoted as saying in an IAEA statement issued Sunday night.

5:09 p.m.: Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management, on Sunday called on Ukrainian forces to lay down your arms in the eastern port city of Mariupol where Moscow said a terrible humanitarian catastrophe was unfolding, according to Reuters. Mizintsev made the statement in a briefing distributed by the Russian defense ministry.

4:41 p.m.: Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Ukraine plans to send nearly 50 buses on Monday to evacuate people from the Mariupol region, Reuters reports. She also said 7,295 people were evacuated from Ukrainian cities through humanitarian corridors on Sunday, said, with four out of seven planned routes working.

4 p.m.: Greeces consul general in Mariupol, the last EU diplomat to evacuate the besieged Ukrainian port, said on Sunday the city was joining the ranks of places known for having been destroyed in wars of the past, according to a Reuters report.

1:43 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a video address to Israels parliament Sunday, calling for the country to take a stronger stand against Russia. According to AP, Zelenskyy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to carry out a permanent solution against Ukraine. That was the term used by Nazi Germany for its genocide of some 6 million Jews.

12:51 p.m.: At least 8,000 turned out in Berlin for an open air concert in support of Ukraine. The Sound of Peace concert at the citys landmark Brandenburg Gate on features German music stars such as Marius Mueller-Westernhagen, who was to perform his iconic song Freiheit, or freedom in German, violinist David Garrett, singer Peter Maffay, and the bands Revolverheld and Silbermond, according to AP.

11:43 a.m.: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to CBS about increasing Russian attacks on civilians in Ukraine.

11:24 a.m. During their first attempt to rescue a group of orphans in eastern Ukraine, the shelling was so intense the battle-hardened former U.S. combat veterans had to give up. We had to put them back in the shelter and come back 48 hours later. And then we got them, in the meantime, three of their teachers had been killed, former Green Beret Jeremy Locke told VOA in an interview in Poland shortly before he was heading back in on another mercy dash to guide orphans in eastern and southern Ukraine to safety. Locke is the chief of operations for Aerial Recovery, a team of former U.S. military veterans. They are working with Ukraines Defense Ministry and Salam, a charity which helps refugees, to evacuate orphans from hot spots. So far they have evacuated 478 orphans and reckon they have at least another thousand to go. Jamie Dettmer has the story.

11:00 a.m.: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says there are no plans for President Joe Biden to travel to Ukraine when he visits Europe this coming week.

9:45 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNN that he is ready for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin but warned that failure to reach an agreement would mean that this is a third World War.

9:00 a.m.: The United Nations says 10 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country.

8:20 a.m.: Theres no room in the morgue at Mazyr. Its filled with the bodies of Russian soldiers. At one hospital in this Belarusian city about 60 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, the hallways and wards are filled with the sounds of soldiers moaning from their battlefield wounds. At the main train station, Russian soldiers have been recorded on video ferrying stretchers  apparently holding wounded servicemen  from a military ambulance to a waiting train operated by Russias state railway company. RFE/RL has the story.

7:30 a.m.: Pope Francis has issued some of his strongest statements regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it a repugnant war. The violent aggression against Ukraine is unfortunately not slowing down, he told thousands gathered in St. Peters Square for his weekly Sunday address. It is a senseless massacre where every day slaughters and atrocities are being repeated, he said.

6:02 a.m.: Officials in Ukraine have yet to release the death toll following a Russian missile attack Friday on a military base where soldiers were sleeping in barracks, now destroyed, in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv.

We arent allowed to say anything because the rescue operation isnt over and the families havent all been informed, military spokesperson Olga Malarchuk told Agence France-Presse.

One soldier told AFP that 50 bodies have been found, while another said there could be as many as 100 dead under the rubble.

5:28 a.m.: Poland, which is scrambling to handle more than 2 million refugees from Ukraine, is calling for the worlds richest countries to help Ukraine rebuild, The Washington Post reports.

5:04 a.m.: UNICEF told the BBC that Russias attack on Ukraine is hampering humanitarian aid efforts. Inside the country this is a childrens crisis. For children who've fled across the border this is a children's crisis. Its simply staggering, a UNICEF worker told BBC Breakfast.

4:23 a.m.: The U.K.s latest intelligence report says Russia will continue to use its heavy firepower to support assaults on urban areas, the BBC reports.

3:45 a.m.: The Associated Press reports the bombed school was an art school and that the building was destroyed. There was no immediate word on casualties.

3:16 a.m. BREAKING - Russia bombed a Mariupol school sheltering some 400 people, the BBC reports.

2:42 a.m.: Ukraine has suspended the activities of 11 political parties with Russian links, Al Jazeera reports.

2:02 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video message Sunday to Facebook, saying that Russias attack on Mariupol is an act of terror that will be remembered for centuries, CNN reports.

1:14 a.m.: The Associated Press reports that the Russian cosmonauts yellow-and-blue are not a homage to the Ukrainian flag, and that the colors were chosen six months ago.

There is no need to look for any hidden signs or symbols in our uniform, cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev said in a statement on the Russian space agencys Telegram channel. A color is simply a color. It is not in any way connected to Ukraine. Otherwise, we would have to recognize its rights to the yellow sun in the blue sky.

12:41 a.m.: Chinas vice foreign minister, Le Yucheng, says NATOs growth and expansion is to blame for the conflict in Ukraine, The New York Times reports.

12:05 a.m.: U.S. officials confirm that Russia launched hypersonic missiles against Ukraine, CNN reports. Its the first known use of the missiles in combat. Here, VOAs Jeff Seldin explains what hypersonic missiles are and who has them.

12:01 a.m.: The BBC reports that 1,500 media outlets spreading Russian propaganda have been blocked in Ukraine since the invasion began.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Malawi Sunday launched a polio vaccination campaign after the country in February confirmed its first case, 30 years after it eradicated the disease.

UNICEF, the World Health Organization and other partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative are leading the campaign, which targets over 20 million children in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania by July.

The vaccine rollout comes after it was confirmed last month that a 3-year-old girl was paralyzed by wild poliovirus in Malawis capital, Lilongwe.

Until February, Malawi had last reported a polio case in 1992. The southern African country was declared polio-free in 2005  15 years before the whole continent achieved the same status.

UNICEF says over 9 million children are to be vaccinated in the first round of the mass campaign in Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi.

UNICEF said the mass immunization will also target children previously vaccinated.

We need to vaccinate children who have been vaccinated before because it takes multiple doses of the polio doses to get fully immunized as regards to polio and every additional dose gives children extra protection, says Rudolf Schwenk, UNICEF's representative in Malawi.

Schwenk says if some children are not immunized during the campaign, starting Monday the risk of polio will remain not only in Malawi but in neighboring countries as well.

So far, UNICEF has procured over 36 million doses of polio vaccine for the first two rounds of immunizations of children in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.

In Malawi, the U.N. childrens agency is set to administer 6.8 million doses of the polio vaccine to be used in the first two rounds of vaccination in March and April, targeting 2.9 million children.

Three more rounds of vaccination will follow in the coming months, covering a total of more than 20 million children from the targeted four African countries.

However, in Malawi some health experts fear the immunization campaign would meet with vaccine resistance, as has been the case with COVID-19 vaccine in Malawi.

But UNICEF says efforts were made already to increase acceptance and demand for the polio vaccine among parents and communities.

So we have worked with faith leaders, with high-level government officials, we have spoken to community leaders and with our partners we have done sensitization discussion to help the understand the importance of vaccinating the children, said Schwenk.

He also says they have distributed information, education and communication materials across Malawi and aired radio messages about the advantages of the polio vaccine.

Dr. Mike Chisema, the manager for the Expanded Program on Immunization in the Ministry of Health in Malawi, told journalists Thursday that the government was ready for the polio vaccination campaign despite shortage of health care workers.

Issue of human resource remains a challenge," he said. "Its not just about this particular program of outbreak response alone. But what is most important to note is that we have the teams that are available; our health surveillance assistants who do this work all the time. But its a question of adding the numbers over time. But we will work to manage with available human resource on the ground.

In a statement released Sunday, UNICEF said in partnership with the World Health Organization they have trained health care workers in all the countries where they are administering the polio vaccine.

In Malawi they have trained 13,500 health workers and volunteers, 34 district health promotion officers. While in Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia they have trained a combined total of about 3,000 health care workers.
Three weeks before facing a midterm recall referendum, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will on Monday inaugurate his first major infrastructure pet project -- a controversial new airport for Mexico City.

Built at a military air base outside the capital, Felipe Angeles International Airport is meant to take the pressure off the city's Benito Juarez airport.

But so far only a few airlines have agreed to use it, for a small number of mostly domestic flights.

Benito Juarez, which handled a record 50.3 million passengers in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic and is located within Mexico City, is one of the busiest airports in Latin America.

Felipe Angeles, named after a general in the Mexican revolution, divided opinion from the start.

After taking office in 2018, Lopez Obrador canceled another airport project launched by the previous government that was already one-third complete.

He branded the $13 billion project a "bottomless pit" rife with corruption and decided instead to turn the Santa Lucia military air base into a second airport for the sprawling Mexican capital.

Lopez Obrador tasked the military with overseeing construction of the new airport at a cost of around $3.7 billion.

The army is also involved in construction of a tourist train in the Yucatan Peninsula -- another one of the president's major infrastructure projects, which also include an oil refinery in the southeastern state of Tabasco.

Lopez Obrador has hailed the new airport as an example of his government's austerity and efficiency, with zero cost overruns.

"It's a modern airport built by military engineers in record time, at a low cost and with the most advanced technology and quality materials," he said ahead of the opening.

Airport officials acknowledge that Felipe Angeles is not expected to be profitable until 2026.

In the meanwhile, it will be funded with public money.

Voters to have say

The opening comes as Mexicans prepare to vote on April 10 in a referendum championed by Lopez Obrador on whether he should stay in office.

While the president argues that the vote is an important democratic exercise, critics accuse him of wasting resources and even plotting to circumvent the constitutional limit of a single six-year term.

Lopez Obrador, who took office in December 2018, has promised not to seek reelection, following accusations by opponents that the referendum is a step towards trying to stay in power.

He enjoys a public approval rating of around 58%, according to opinion polls.

Lopez Obrador has overseen a series of referendums since taking office on controversial issues including his "Maya Train" railroad project and canceling the partially finished Mexico City airport.

Felipe Angeles airport will begin operating with only eight daily flights from national airlines Volaris, VivaAerobus and Aeromexico, as well as Venezuela's Conviasa -- the only international service.

On Friday, Lopez Obrador said that he had personally invited the president of Delta Air Lines to operate from the new hub, though it is unclear if the U.S. carrier will accept.

Benito Juarez's location in eastern Mexico City is far more convenient for many residents of the capital than Felipe Angeles, which is located about 40 kilometers north of the city's historic district.

A planned rail link to connect the airport with the capital's suburban train network is not scheduled to be completed until the second half of 2023.

The government admits that it will take longer to get to Felipe Angeles, so it has promised to reduce the time it takes to check in.
The Russian editor who protested Moscow's invasion of Ukraine during a state TV news broadcast called Sunday for other Russians to speak out against the "gruesome war."

While working for Channel One television in Moscow, Marina Ovsyannikova barged onto the set of an evening newscast Monday, holding a poster reading "No War."

She was subsequently detained, fined 30,000 rubles ($280), and then freed pending possible further prosecution, but has turned down a French offer of asylum.

On Sunday she described to US media her decision to protest as "spontaneous," but said a sense of deep dissatisfaction with her government had been building for years  a feeling she said many of her colleagues shared.

"The propaganda on our state channels was becoming more and more distorted, and the pressure that has been applied in Russian politics could not leave us indifferent," she told ABC News program "This Week."

"When I spoke to my friends and colleagues, everyone until the last moment could not believe that such a thing could happen  that this gruesome war could take place," she said from Moscow, speaking through an interpreter.

"As soon as the war began, I could not sleep, I could not eat. I came to work, and after a week of coverage of this situation, the atmosphere on [Channel One] was so unpleasant that I realized I could not go back there."

Ovsyannikova said she considered joining a protest in a public square, but saw that protesters were being arrested and faced jail time.

"I decided that maybe I could do something else, something more meaningful... and I could show to the rest of the world that Russians are against the war, and I could show to the Russian people that this is just propaganda."

She said she hoped to "maybe stimulate some people to speak up against the war."

The sign she held up behind a news reader said: "Stop the war. Don't believe propaganda. They are lying to you here."

Ovsyannikova, who has resigned her job, told France 24 television on Thursday that her protest had "broken the life of our family," with her young son particularly anxious.

"But we need to put an end to this fratricidal war."
During their first attempt to rescue a group of orphans in eastern Ukraine, the shelling was so intense the battle-hardened former U.S. combat veterans had to give up.



We had to put them back in the shelter and come back 48 hours later. And then we got them, in the meantime, three of their teachers had been killed, former Green Beret Jeremy Locke told VOA in an interview in Poland shortly before he was heading back in on another mercy dash to guide orphans in eastern and southern Ukraine to safety.



Locke is the chief of operations for Aerial Recovery, a team of former U.S. military veterans. They are working with Ukraines Defense Ministry and Salam, a charity which helps refugees, to evacuate orphans from hot spots. So far they have evacuated 478 orphans and reckon they have at least another thousand to go.



But the numbers will change depending how the war unfolds, Locke, who was born in Oregon, says. He is a giant of a man, neatly bearded and fit-looking. But despite his height and the soldierly bearing of his team, few people have been noticing either him or his team as they come and go from the hotel they are basing out of in Warsaw, Poland. They are discreet, quiet, soft-footed and unassuming.



Locke, who last saw service as a Green Beret in northern Syria, talks matter-of-factly about what his team has been doing and what they have seen in Ukraine. But his eyes darken when he said: I've been in combat five years of my life, and it is no place for a kid. It is not even a place for an adult.



He says the kids they rescue are in varying physical and emotional shape when they reach them. It depends on where they come from, he says.



One group of kids we brought out, they had been in a shelter or in a cellar for about a week, and it took us two attempts to get them. The first attempt, the shelling, was just too bad. We had to put them back in the shelter and come back 48 hours later. And in the meantime three of their teachers were killed, so they were in pretty bad shape. They were hungry and cold and tired, and they were very quiet. They were in shock, he explained.



He says he feels terrible when he has to leave the kids and go back later when it is safer to load them up on buses and trucks and get them out. We do have a responsibility to make sure they are not hurt or killed when we move them, he says.



At least if they are inside a bunker or whatever, and there is shelling or whatever happening above them, they are in relative safety. They may not have much food and all that stuff, but we have to be sure when we go get them that we're not taking them out of a place of safety and putting them in harm's way. So that's what is really difficult about the job, he says.



Aerial Recovery has been working with Salam and local Ukrainian and Polish authorities to try to ensure any orphans who are relocated will be safe and not prey for traffickers. There have been fears the kids could be lost track of, or that smuggling gangs might snatch them. There have been some unverified reports that some Ukrainian men may have kidnapped displaced kids to help them leave Ukraine. All 18-60 year-old men are required to remain in the country in case they need to be conscripted, one waiver, though, is if they have three young children.



In a speech earlier this month, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said she had been receiving some reports of criminals taking orphans from orphanages in Ukraine, crossing the border pretending that they are relatives to the child and then using them for trafficking purposes. Ukrainian and Polish authorities have been endeavoring to ensure there are clear paper trails for evacuated and parentless kids.



Locke says at first most NGOs were planning for the kids to be moved across the border into Poland, but that has shifted with most kids placed in safety and now sheltered in western Ukraine  with the effort being overseen by the child services department of Lvivs local government. But some children are being moved into east Poland with the Ukrainian authorities establishing procedures with NGOs to process displaced kids.



The average age of the orphans Lockes team has been evacuating is about 10 years-old and under, but I would say the majority of them are between 13 and 14 years-old, he says. His team of nearly two dozen has medical support. A lot of our guys are former Special Forces medics and combat medics. And we have medical equipment we keep with us, he says.



And then when we arrive at our destination near Lviv, we screen them and a lot of them are sick with respiratory ailments. One of the kids we brought out had AIDS. We have had a few with diabetes. But we sometimes know what their medical needs are before we even get to them. We have insulin with us or whatever we need.
North Korea has conducted a missile launch, apparently using a multiple rocket launch system, South Koreas military said Sunday, the latest in a frenzy of North Korean missile tests.

The statement from the South Korean military did not specify the range, direction, or exact type of weapons launched, but said the military is closely monitoring the situation.

South Koreas Yonhap news agency reported North Korea fired four rockets over the span of an hour from South Pyongan province into the sea off the countrys west coast.

Seouls National Security Council held an emergency meeting to discuss the launch, the report added.

So far this year, North Korea has conducted 11 rounds of launches, as it systematically works through a wish list of strategic weapons laid out last year by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Last week, a failed North Korean missile launch resulted in a mid-air explosion that reportedly rained debris near Pyongyang. North Korea has stayed silent about that incident. The launch appears to have been particularly reckless, since it occurred at North Koreas main international airport.

U.S. officials have warned North Korea could soon test a new intercontinental ballistic missile, possibly under the guise of a satellite launch.

A multiple rocket launch system test would likely be seen as less provocative than a long-range missile launch, but analysts warn that this kind of weapon still poses a major threat to South Korea.

North Korea in 2019 repeatedly tested a new super-large-caliber multiple rocket launcher, which U.S. officials labeled KN-25.

The KN-25, which fires rockets from a four-tube mobile launcher, blurs the distinction between multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) and short-range ballistic missiles, according to the CSIS Missile Defense Project, a project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Many analysts consider the KN-25 to be a ballistic missile system, because it fires such large weapons.

By repeatedly testing the KN-25, defense analysts say North Korea has successfully reduced the amount of time it takes to launch successive rockets from the system, making it more likely to survive a conflict.
Pope Francis released his long-awaited reform program of the Holy See bureaucracy Saturday that envisions greater decision-making roles for the laity and gives new institutional weight to efforts to fight clerical sex abuse.

The 54-page text, titled Praedicate Evanglium, or Proclaiming the Gospel, replaces the founding constitution Pastor Bonus that St. John Paul II wrote in 1988.

Francis was elected pope in 2013 in large part on his promise to reform the bulky and inefficient Vatican bureaucracy, which acts as the organ of central governance for the 1.3 billion-strong Catholic Church. He named a Cabinet of cardinal advisers who have met periodically since his election to help him draft the changes.

Much of the reform work has been rolled out piecemeal over the years, with offices consolidated and financial reforms issued. But the publication of the new document, for now only in Italian, finalizes the process and puts it into effect in June.

The document was released Saturday, the ninth anniversary of Francis' installation as pope and the feast of St. Joseph, an important figure to Francis' ministry.

The new reform emphasizes the missionary and charitable focus of the church as well as the need for the Vatican to be at service both to the pope and local dioceses. It envisages greater roles for laity, making explicitly clear that lay people  not just priests, bishops or cardinals  can head a major Vatican office, and that all staff should reflect the geographic universality of the church.

In one of the major changes, it brings the pope's advisory commission on preventing sexual abuse into the Vatican's powerful doctrine office that oversees the canonical investigations of abuse cases.

Previously, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors existed as an ad hoc commission that reported to the pope but had no real institutional weight or power. It often found itself at odds with the more powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which reviews all cases of abuse.

Now the advisory commission is part of the newly named Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, where presumably its members who include abuse survivors can exert influence on the decisions taken by the prelates who weigh whether predator priests are sanctioned and how.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who heads the pontifical commission, welcomed the change.

"For the first time, Pope Francis has made safeguarding and the protection of minors a fundamental part of the structure of the church's central government: the Roman Curia," O'Malley said in a statement. "Maintaining its status as a separate body within the dicastery that enjoys direct access to the Holy Father and with its own leadership and staffing, the renewed and re-affirmed Pontifical Commission will play an increasingly incisive role in ensuring the church is a safe place for children and vulnerable persons."

Other changes involve making the pope's personal envoy for charity and alms into the head of a dicastery in its own right, making clear the importance that this service-oriented job has for Francis. The position is currently headed by Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, who recently headed a humanitarian mission to Ukraine on behalf of the pope.

In addition, two Vatican offices for evangelization are merging into one Dicastery for Evangelization. Previously the Vatican had an entire parallel bureaucracy dedicated to supporting the church in the developing world where Catholics are a minority, with another office dedicated to reviving the faith in countries where Catholicism is already heavily present. The new office combines them and is headed by the pope, assisted by two deputy prefects.

Overall, the reform document calls for a "healthy decentralization" to give more decision-making authority to local bishops rather than have Rome continue to be the central clearinghouse for governance decisions. But the text also makes clear that such authority cannot touch on matters of "doctrine, discipline and communion," a warning that individual bishops conferences cannot stray from core tenets of church teaching.

It seeks to break down the siloed nature of the bureaucracy, in which each congregation operated on its own fiefdom, by seeking to encourage greater communication and collaboration among offices. In a break with the past, it calls for the heads of Vatican offices to meet regularly as a group with the pope rather than just individually. In essence, it calls for the Vatican bureaucracy to function more like a Cabinet that meets regularly with the head of state.

It makes clear that each "dicastery" as the departments are known, is considered equal to one another. Previously the Vatican secretariat of state had an outsized role of influence and importance, followed closely by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Now, all dicasteries are equal.
A United Nations watchdog panel is warning that South Sudan could plunge into massive violence if elections are held before the government implements constitutional provisions aimed at solidifying the countrys shaky peace agreement. The three-member Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has submitted its latest report to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

South Sudan has had a three-year transitional period to implement provisions of the Revitalized Peace Agreement ending the countrys civil war, which was to be followed by general elections in 2023.

However, Commission members say key areas of the peace agreement remain unimplemented. They say that and continuing violent conflict in parts of the country, as well as widespread, systematic human rights violations, preclude the possibility of free and fair elections.

The commissions chair, Yasmin Sooka, said the conflict has displaced 4 million people both within the country and as refugees in neighboring countries. She said nearly 9 million people need humanitarian aid. She said the government is riddled with corruption and the countrys treasury is being looted by the political elite.

She said civil rights are repressed, with human rights activists and journalists routinely facing death threats and arbitrary detention. She said conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls is widespread and systematic throughout South Sudan.

In this climate of fear and terror, how can we talk about constitution-making, elections, and transitional justice? Are national consultations even possible? The growing political crisis threatens to exacerbate the existing humanitarian and human rights crises, which cause widespread suffering and makes the life of many South Sudanese unbearable, said Sooka.

Commission member Andrew Clapham said core elements of a constitution are not yet agreed to. He said both constitution-making and elections require considerable legal, institutional, security and logistical arrangements. He said all are yet to be established.

Beyond these key legal and procedural considerations, it is critical to recognize the risks of further polarization and political violence around these elections, particularly when insufficient groundwork has been laid for the process. The consequences of a rushed poll, within a contested political system and without requisite security and democratic conditions in place, could indeed be disastrous, said Clapham.

South Sudans Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ruben Madol Arol disputes the Commissions claims. He said his government is making progress in the implementation of the provisions in the Revitalized Agreement.

However, he said lack of outside support is hindering progress in this regard. He said South Sudan needs technical assistance and capacity-building to move the process forward. He appeals to the U.N. Council and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide these tools.
Hoping to restore some normalcy after fleeing the war in Ukraine, thousands of refugees waited in long lines Saturday in the Polish capital of Warsaw to get identification cards that will allow them to get on with their lives  at least for now.

Refugees started queuing by Warsaw's National Stadium overnight to get the coveted PESEL identity cards that will allow them to work, live, go to school and get medical care or social benefits for the next 18 months. Still, by midmorning, many were told to come back another day, the demand was too high even though Polish authorities had simplified the process.

"We are looking for a job now," said 30-year-old Kateryna Lohvyn, who was standing in the line with her mother, adding it took a bit of time to recover from the shock of the Russian invasion.

"We don't yet know (what to do)," she added. "But we are thankful to the Poles. They fantastically welcome us."

Maryna Liashuk said the warm welcome from Poland has made her feel at home already. If the situation worsens, Liashuk said she would like to stay permanently in Poland with her family.

"If the war ends and if there is someplace to return to, we will do that. And if not, then we simply will remain here," Liashuk said.

Poland has so far taken in more than 2 million refugees from Ukraine  the bulk of the more than 3.3 million people the U.N. says have fled since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Hundreds of thousands more have also streamed into Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania.

Most of the refugees fleeing Ukraine have been women and children, because men ages 18 to 60 are forbidden from leaving the country and have stayed to fight.

Polish authorities said more than 123,000 refugees have been given the ID numbers  including more than 1,000 each day in Warsaw  since the program was launched Wednesday.

Svetlana, a Ukrainian woman from Ivano-Frankivsk who has lived and worked in Poland for more than 10 years, says relatives have come to Poland. She said receiving the Polish ID numbers will make a huge difference for everyone from Ukraine.

"This is really so important to us that we can officially look for work, send children to school and be active here," Svetlana said. "It really changes the way we feel here."

Refugees can receive one-time benefit of 300 zlotys ($70) per person and a monthly benefit for each child under 18 of 500 zlotys ($117). Those who find jobs will have to pay taxes just like Polish workers.

Pavlo Masechko, a 17-year-old from Novovolynsk in the Volyn region of western Ukraine, has been trying to rebuild his life in the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow. Before the war, Masechko had plans to come to Poland to study when he finished high school, but he says being forced out of his country by war is something completely different.

"This is so stressful to leave your country in this moment like this," said Masechko, who has joined a local school in Poland since arriving. Now, Masechko's Ukrainian teacher is seeking to organize classes online that were suspended when Russia attacked.

"When the situation started, it was very difficult for me to focus on other things. But time passed and now the situation is more stable and stable in my head also," he said. "I have started to focus again on other things in my life."

Many of the refugees from Ukraine have since moved on to other countries in Europe, mostly to stay with friends and family. Some, however, have chosen to go back home even as the end of the conflict is nowhere in sight.

Among them was 41-year-old Viktoria, who was waiting Saturday with her teenage daughter Alisa to board a train back to Zhitomyr in central Ukraine.

"For the last five days it has been quiet," Viktoria said. "Our local authorities are good. They prepared everything for us there so we can go back to work, have normal life and children can have online education."

Alisa said she is not afraid to return and wants to reunite with the rest of the family who are still in Ukraine.

"My relatives are there," she said.
COMPILED BY DAVID ROBINSON

March 20, 2022

Welcome to Buffalo Next. This newsletter from The Buffalo News will bring you the latest coverage on the changing Buffalo Niagara economy  from real estate to health care to startups. Read more at BuffaloNext.com.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK

A quick read of news from the past week and a look ahead at what's coming next.

Craft beer is big  and a pair of local breweries have initiatives in the works to get even bigger.

Not big enough. As work on the new Thin Man Brewery at 156 Chandler St. comes to a head, there are a few changes in store  mainly because no one took into account the length of the delivery trucks.

Rocco Terminis Signature Development Buffalo is asking the Buffalo Planning Board on Monday night to allow it to more than double the length of its loading dock to 67 feet from just 25 feet because the 48-foot semi-trucks that the brewery will receive wouldnt fit otherwise without blocking the right-of-way.

The brewery is sandwiched between other buildings that Termini also built on the street  including the Tappo Day Club  as part of more than $40 million in development on the street in the past six years.

Pressure Drop wants to be more than a brewer. Lexi R. Craine is asking the Planning Board for a special-use permit for Pressure Drop Brewing Co.  an Old First Ward microbrewery that began producing beer in 2017 but doesnt have a tasting room  to expand.

The brewery plans to open a bar, restaurant and outdoor patio at 1672 Elmwood Ave., with interior seating for 58 and 20 outdoor seats.

Week 2 of Kaleida Health union talks: Western New York's largest health care provider and the Communications Workers of America Local 1168 and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East will sit down in Buffalo for their second week of joint bargaining.

The two unions, which represent about 6,300 Kaleida workers, met with the health system for the first session Wednesday when the bargaining committee presented Kaleida with a 247-page noneconomic proposal. They also met Thursday, and will continue meeting two-days-a-week until the bargaining schedule eventually gets expanded.

The two sides are working toward a new master agreement, with the current three-year deal set to expire May 31. Negotiations will likely go well past that date, however.

"Since I've been part of it, the earliest that we've ever ratified the contract was in early July," said James Scordato, 1199SEIU's vice president of the Western New York hospital division.

Networking for local salon and barbershop owners. 2021 43North startup competition winner ShearShare is hosting a networking event for salon, spa and barbershop owners.

ShearShare, a tech company founded by husband and wife team Tye and Courtney Caldwell in Texas, matches licensed beauty and barbering professionals to unused salon space.

The event is from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Monday at Seneca One tower. Visit the company's Instagram page, @shearshare, for more information and to RSVP.

Upstate New York Business Leader Survey results revealed. The Siena Research Institute, which conducted the survey in partnership with the Business Council of New York State, collected input from more than 500 upstate business leaders.

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership at 8 a.m. Wednesday will host a "CEOs Speak" webinar to discuss results of the survey. The event is free to Partnership members and the cost is $50 for nonmembers.

CATCH UP ON LAST WEEK

Tech company plans for jobs expansion. AML RightSource, a Cleveland-based company that expanded into Buffalo in 2019, announced Friday it is expanding its presence in Western New York. AML, which helps banks and financial services companies detect fraudulent transactions, will be adding 363 jobs in Buffalo and plans to expand its office space in downtown's Seneca One tower.

500 more jobs are coming to Moog. Moog Inc. is expected to create 500 new jobs through a $25 million expansion that will help it upgrade its local facilities and add new equipment. New York has agreed to provide the company with up to $15 million in Excelsior tax credits if Moog meets its hiring targets.

Yogurt facility planned for Town of Batavia. La Fermiere, a family-owned French yogurt and desserts company, plans to build a $25 million plant in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, with an eye toward opening it in summer or fall 2023. The plant is expected to have 150 jobs within five years.

Daemen joins movement from college to university. Daemen College in Amherst became Daemen University on Thursday  the latest Buffalo Niagara institution to take advantage of a new state definition of what qualifies as a university. The new definition has started a trend toward small, private colleges seeking university designation to boost their reputations and enrollment.

ICYMI

Five reads from Buffalo Next:

How a business accelerator in Buffalo aims to make entrepreneurship accessible to all: EforAll opened its Buffalo office in May and is helping entrepreneurs from Buffalo's underrepresented communities grow their own businesses. Their goal is to transform Buffalo one small business at a time.

How Silo City hopes to create a new neighborhood along the Buffalo River: Generation Development Group, the firm behind the planned conversion of the American and Perot malting warehouses into several hundred apartments and commercial space, is seeking to transform an area better known for its grain, shipping and industrial past into a trendy new place for living.

How Mercy Hospital strike set the stage for key contract talks at rival Kaleida Health: The Catholic Health contract reached in the fall sets a benchmark that Kaleida Health officials will need to consider as they negotiate with their workers. Kaleida's master agreement that covers about 6,300 of its workers expires May 31.

Big changes coming for Athenex: A new focus and major cuts to costs, workforce: The Buffalo biopharmaceutical company will undergo a major shift to slash its expenses by 50% and focus on "promising cell therapy programs," while selling off "non-core" assets. The attempted turnaround has already begun with Athenex selling off its lease at the state-funded drug manufacturing plant in Dunkirk.

Record low unemployment in January is sign of a tight job market: The bottom line: There are plenty of jobs available for workers who have the skills to fill them, but many people still aren't ready to jump back into the labor pool.

The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the regions economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Deputy Business Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.

Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com.

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David Robinson Deputy Business Editor I'm the News' deputy business editor. I grew up in New Hampshire, went to Syracuse University and started working at The News in 1985. Follow David Robinson 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

Michael Petro Reporter Michael J. Petro is a business reporter for The Buffalo News. The Buffalo State College graduate is a former sports writer who previously served as the editor of both The Sun and Buffalo Law Journal. Follow Michael Petro 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

Janet Gramza Higher Education Reporter I'm the new Higher Education reporter on The Buffalo News business enterprise team. I previously worked at The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com and Syracuse's Rosamond Gifford Zoo. I'm a Rochester native with family in Buffalo. Email me at jgramza@buffnews.com. Follow Janet Gramza 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

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Jonathan D. Epstein News Business Reporter I've been a business reporter at The Buffalo News since 2004, now covering residential and commercial real estate and development amid WNY's resurgence. I'm an upstate native, proud to call Buffalo my home, and committed to covering it thoroughly. Follow Jonathan D. Epstein 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

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Russia continues its attack on Ukrainian cities as its invasion is in its fourth week. The U.N. says 10 million people are now displaced both in and out of Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden travels to Europe this coming week to meet with allies to discuss the crisis. VOAs Arash Arabasadi has more
Energy giant Saudi Aramco said Sunday its 2021 net profit soared by more than 120%, due to higher crude prices, as global economic growth recovered from a pandemic induced downturn.

The announcement came hours after Yemen's Houthi rebels -- against whom Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition -- targeted several locations, including Aramco facilities, in cross-border armed drone attacks.

Aramco, Saudi Arabia's cash cow, did not say if the attacks caused damage.

"Aramco's net income increased by 124% to $110.0 billion in 2021, compared to $49.0 billion in 2020," the company said in a statement.

Aramco achieved a net income of $88.2 billion in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic hit global markets, resulting in huge losses for the oil and aviation sectors, among others.

A strong rebound last year saw oil prices recover from their 2020 lows, and they have soared to highs not seen since 2014 this year, amid global supply shortages and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Aramco floated 1.7% of its shares on the Saudi bourse in December 2019, generating $29.4 billion in the world's biggest initial public offering.

"Our strong results are a testament to our financial discipline, flexibility through evolving market conditions and steadfast focus on our long-term growth strategy," Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser said in a statement.

"Although economic conditions have improved considerably, the outlook remains uncertain due to various macroeconomic and geopolitical factors," he said.

"But our investment plan aims to tap into rising long-term demand for reliable, affordable and ever more secure and sustainable energy," he added.

"We recognize that energy security is paramount for billions of people around the world, which is why we continue to make progress on increasing our crude oil production capacity, executing our gas expansion program and increasing our liquids to chemicals capacity."

Since Mohammed bin Salman's appointment as crown prince in 2017, Saudi Arabia has sought to diversify its oil-dominated economy.

In February, the kingdom -- one of the world's top crude exporters -- moved 4% of Aramco shares worth $80 billion to the country's sovereign wealth fund.

The transfer was also as a sign that Saudi Arabia wants to further open the oil giant and "crown jewel" of the Saudi economy, the Arab world's largest.

The crown prince said last year that Aramco was in talks to sell a 1% stake to a foreign energy giant.

Brent crude is currently selling at more than $100 per barrel -- in part due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia is the world's largest producer of gas and one of the biggest oil producers and is grappling with mounting Western sanctions.

Oil-rich Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, have so far resisted Western pressure to raise oil output to rein in prices, stressing their commitment to the OPEC+ alliance of oil producers, which Riyadh and Moscow lead.
Arab media based in the United Arab Emirates cast a positive light on the visit of Syrian President Bashar al Assad to both Abu Dhabi and Dubai on Friday, to meet the top rulers of the important Gulf state, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and Dubai's Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.

Assad's meeting Friday followed a visit by the UAE's foreign minister, Abdullah bin Zayed, to Moscow a day earlier, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin, whose country deployed troops to Syria in 2015 to support the Assad government, has been urging Arab states to normalize ties with Damascus.

Washington-based Gulf analyst Theodore Karasik told VOA that "Assad's visit to the UAE has been in the works for a long time," but that its timing has some relation to "Russia's aggression in Ukraine and the (apparent imminent resumption of) JCPOA or 2015 nuclear agreement between the P5+1 states and Iran."

Karasik also argued that the Emirates' decision to host Assad reflects "unhappiness" with current U.S. policy and bilateral relations, prompting the UAE "to take matters into their own hands." He added the rehabilitation of Assad "goes to the heart of a UAERussia strategic agreement that was signed in 2019," but suspects that it will "attract U.S. sanctions" at some point.

Al Jazeera TV reported that U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told the Qatari-owned station that the U.S. "does not support the rehabilitation of Assad, nor the normalization of relations by other states with him," and that "stability in the region is dependent on a political process that represents the will of the Syrian people."

Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, told VOA that a number of other countries, including Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Algeria, are leaning toward renewing ties with the Assad government, but that he thinks the Cairo-based Arab League is not likely to give Syria its seat back this year.

He said that despite the inclination of some states to resume ties with Assad, the opposition of Qatar, the hesitancy of Saudi Arabia to go along, and the outright veto of the U.S. is likely to prevent a wholesale normalization with the Syrian regime beyond the UAE and Jordan.

Abu Diab added that he doesn't think the Arab League will "resume relations with Damascus this year," and that "Assad will need to start taking back refugees before some Arab states will agree to normalize ties with him."

Joshua Landis, who is heads the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, tells VOA that "the US wants the Arab states to keep Syria isolated in order to punish Russia, but the Arabs are not playing ball."

Landis argues that the Arab states "feel that the US has not taken their interests sufficiently into account." "Saudi Arabia," he notes, has defied [US President Joe] Biden's request that it pump more oil," while the UAE feels compelled to "work with Syria to combat Islamic extremists."

Both Syria and the UAE also have economic reasons to improve ties with each other, given that Damascus' economic relations with Russia and Belarus are suffering since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while the UAE needs to improve ties with both Syria and Iran to help it to reduce its exposure to the conflict in Yemen.

Egyptian political sociologist Said Sadek told VOA that the Arab League summit, due to be held in Algeria in November, is expected to consider returning Syria's seat in the body to the Assad regime. He said that Algeria's president has been to Cairo to discuss the status of Syria, among other things, and that there could be a change to the status quo.
Media watchdogs in southern Africa are calling on the governments of Angola, Eswatini and Zimbabwe to do more to protect press freedom following the publication of the Freedom in the World 2022 Report which says those countries are among the most oppressive authorities to media in the region.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa said it was concerned that Eswatini and Zimbabwe authorities were strangling the media as published in the recent Freedom in the World 2022 Report.

Tabani Moyo is the director of Media Institute of Southern Africa.

"Eswatini is stubborn or notorious for shutting internet twice in 2021 alone in response to protests in that country. Zimbabwe mainly not free considering issues around proposals on the regulation of the (inter)net. But also remember that Zimbabwe is in the process of introducing the amendment of the Criminal Law Codification Reforms Act which seeks to criminalize the engagement of citizens with [foreign] embassies. Angola is in election season, its behavior, we will be watching closely. But also of interest were countries that were from southern Africa in terms of internet freedom, said Moyo.

That was reference to Angola, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Zambia, in 2021 August, shut down internet during elections. Zimbabwe throttled the internet during this month when political parties were starting campaigning. Then you have a little bit of progression in South Africa, which is still within the free nations. And Angola being one of the countries on the look out due to the election season. Beginning of the year, I wrote projections on state of the freedom in southern Africa, and this report tallies [with] what I projected and actually affirming projections around trends that were likely going to see in 2022, said Moyo.

Kindness Paradza, Zimbabwe deputy information minister dismissed the report saying it is nonsense. Who has been harassed, detained, jailed or killed in the last 12 months? he asked.

Tafadzwa Mugwadi is from Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwas ruling ZANU-PF party.

Government has done adequate reforms to ensure that our journalists and media house continue to enjoy the space thus so far open in Zimbabwe under the second republic it is therefore mischievous, erroneous and a dangerous lie by the Freedom House to allege that there is no freedom of the media in Zimbabwe, said Mugwadi.

When President Mnangagwa took over from the late Robert Mugabe in 2017 he promised that citizens would enjoy all freedoms enshrined in the Zimbabwe constitution. But his critics say that promise is still far from being a reality.
WASHINGTON  Multiple countries are talking about efforts to develop hypersonic weapons, describing them as "game changers." But what are these weapons? Who has them? And just how revolutionary are they?

What are hypersonic weapons?

Hypersonic weapons fly at speeds of at least Mach 5 and are highly maneuverable and able to change course during flight. They are different from ballistic missiles, which can also travel at hypersonic speeds (of at least Mach 5) but have set trajectories and limited maneuverability.

What are the different kinds of hypersonic weapons?

There are two main categories of hypersonic weapons: hypersonic glide vehicles and hypersonic cruise missiles.

Hypersonic glide vehicles are launched from a rocket. The glide vehicle then separates from the rocket and glides at speeds of at least Mach 5 toward a target.

Hypersonic cruise missiles are powered by high-speed, air-breathing engines

What is their significance?

The ability to launch highly maneuverable weapons at hypersonic speeds gives any country a considerable advantage, because such weapons can evade just about any defense system currently in use.

"It doesn't matter what the threat is. If you can't see it, you can't defend against it," General John Hyten, the former vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an audience in Washington in January 2020.

As the commander of U.S. Strategic Command in 2018, Hyten said, We don't have any defense that could deny the deployment of such a weapon against us.  Our defense is deterrent capability.

U.S. officials have said that while there are some ground-based radars that can detect hypersonic weapons, there are not enough to give adequate warning of an attack. Officials, like the now-retired Hyten, have advocated the construction of a space-based radar system.

How are hypersonic weapons different from ballistic missiles?

Ballistic missiles can also travel at hypersonic speeds of at least Mach 5, but they have set trajectories and limited maneuverability.

What countries are developing hypersonic weapons?

The United States, Russia and China are all developing hypersonic weapons. Additional countries are conducting research on weapons, while others have made claims about testing hypersonic weapons that cannot yet be verified.

Here is a closer look at some of the countries developing these weapons:

United States

The U.S. military requested $3.8 billion for the development of hypersonic weapons for fiscal year 2022, and another $246.9 million for hypersonic defense research. Most U.S. hypersonic weapons are still in the development or testing phase, but at least one system is expected to reach early operational capability this year. U.S. hypersonic weapons are armed with conventional warheads.

Russia

Russia has been pursuing hypersonic weapon technology since the 1980s. Russian military officials said Saturday, March 19, that they fired hypersonic missiles for the first time in Ukraine to target what they said was an underground weapons storage site in the west of the country. In 2018, President Vladimir Putin boasted about the Kinzhal hypersonic missile and the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle. Moscow is also developing the Tsirkon, a ship-launched hypersonic cruise missile. Reports indicate the Avangard carries a nuclear warhead. Russian news outlets have further claimed that the Avagard has been deployed in service since December 2019.

China

U.S. military and intelligence officials say China is pursuing hypersonic cruise missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles, and that at least one missile capable of carrying hypersonic glide vehicles may now be in use. The U.S. officials say Beijing has conducted hundreds of hypersonic weapons tests between 2016 and 2021, while Washington conducted only nine tests during the same period. General Mark Milley, U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described a high-profile Chinese hypersonic test carried out in August 2021 as very significant.

"We're witnessing one of the largest shifts in global geostrategic power  it only happens once in a while," Milley said.

North Korea

North Korea claims to have successfully test-fired two hypersonic missiles so far this year  one on January 5, and the latest on January 11, according to state-run Korea Central News Agency. U.S. officials have so far not confirmed the claims, describing the launches only as ballistic missile tests. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said hypersonic missiles would greatly increase his countrys nuclear war deterrent, a position that many experts say puts South Korea at risk.

Other countries

Australia, India, France, Germany and Japan are developing hypersonic weapon technology. Iran, Israel and South Korea are also reported to have done what has been described as foundational research on hypersonic weapons.

Sources: Congressional Research Service, VOA reporting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for comprehensive peace talks with Moscow in a video address released Saturday, as Russia reported its first hypersonic missile strike on Ukrainian territory.

The time has come for a meeting, it is time to talk, Zelenskyy said. The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russia's losses will be such that it will take you several generations to recover."

Zelenskyys appeal for another round of talks came one day after Russia's lead negotiator said the sides have moved closer to agreement on the issue of Ukraine dropping its bid to join NATO.

Vladimir Medinsky said Friday the two countries are "halfway there" on the question of Ukraine adopting neutral status.

Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted, "Our positions are unchanged. Cease-fire, withdrawal of troops & strong security guarantees with concrete formulas."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow expected its invasion of Ukraine to end with a comprehensive agreement on security issues, including Ukraines neutral status, according to Russias Interfax news agency.

Meanwhile, Russia said Saturday that its hypersonic missiles had destroyed an underground depot for missiles and ammunition Friday in Ukraines western Ivano-Frankivsk region. Russian news agencies said it was the first time it used the advanced weapons system in Ukraine since it invaded on February 24.

Russias hypersonic missiles claims were not independently confirmed. A Ukrainian air force spokesperson verified the attack, but said Ukraine had no information on the type of missiles used.

Russian forces still stalled

The latest British defense intelligence assessment of the conflict, made Saturday, concluded that Russia has been forced to change its operational approach and is now pursuing a strategy of attrition.

This is likely to involve the indiscriminate use of firepower resulting in increased civilian casualties, the ministry warned.

Russian troops have failed to seize control of Kyiv, a major objective of the Kremlin, as the invasion enters its fourth week.

Ukraines National Police said in a statement Saturday on Telegram that Russia was attacking the northwestern suburbs of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, while the regional Kyiv government reported the city of Slavutych, north of Kyiv was completely isolated.

In Mariupol, Avdiivka, Kramatorsk, Pokrovsk, Novoselydivka, Verkhnotoretske, Krymka and Stepne, Russias bombardment has damaged at least 37 residential buildings and infrastructure facilities, and killed or injured dozens of civilians, the national police statement added.

In Mariupol, police officer Michail Vershnin pleaded for help, according to reporting by The Associated Press.

Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed, and it has been wiped off the face of the earth, he said speaking in Russian in the video filmed Friday that was authenticated by the AP. It showed several buildings on fire and what sounded like explosions could be heard.

After Ukraine said Friday that it had temporarily lost access to the Sea of Azov, Moscow said Saturday its troops had breached Ukrainian defenses to enter the strategic southern port city of Mariupol.

Also Saturday, Ukraine said that a Russian general had been killed in attacks on an airfield outside the southern city of Kherson, the fifth senior Russian officer killed since the invasion began.

Humanitarian corridors, casualties

In other developments, humanitarian corridors were opened Saturday, allowing a total of 6,623 people to evacuate from various Ukrainian cities, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office. He reported online that 4,128 of those people escaped from Mariupol.

The United Nations human rights office reports that more than 847 civilians had been killed and upward of 1,399 have been wounded as of Friday, while warning the actual count likely is significantly higher. The Ukrainian prosecutor generals office said 112 of those killed were children.

Officials in Kyiv said Saturday that since the start of the invasion more than three weeks ago, 228 people had been killed in the capital city, including four children. In a statement, the administration reported 912 people have been wounded, though all these figures remain unconfirmed by outside sources.

Nearly 3.3 million people have fled the war in Ukraine, according to U.N. estimates.

The U.N. migration agency said Friday that in addition to those who have left the country, nearly 6.5 million people have been displaced inside Ukraine and that another 12 million people have been stranded or unable to leave parts of Ukraine because of heightened security risks or a lack of resources.

US-China talks

On the diplomatic front, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a rare videoconference call Friday.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden conveyed "very directly, leader to leader, what the implications and consequences would be" if China provided material support to Russia.

"China has to make a decision for themselves about where they want to stand and how they want the history books to look at them and view their actions," she added.

China's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement after the nearly two-hour discussion that "conflict and confrontation" is "not in anyone's interest."

VOA's White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara, Congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson and U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.

Some information also came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
WARSAW, POLAND  Russian military officials said Saturday that they fired hypersonic missiles for the first time in Ukraine to target what they said was an underground weapons storage site in the west of the country.

Kinzhal missiles travel so fast, at Mach 9, they are meant to be able to evade detection by defense systems, and when announcing the missiles development in 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin described them as invincible.

The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aero-ballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday. The strike was on Friday, but the Russian claim has not been independently verified.

Ukrainian military officials say the use of the Kinzhal missiles further highlights how Russia has failed to meet strategic battlefield goals with conventional ground forces and is intensifying both indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure and the use of high-precision strikes to try to terrorize Ukraine and break its will to resist.

The General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces said Saturday Russia had conducted 14 missile strikes and 40 air raids on targets, mainly civilian ones, across Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

They have also acknowledged Russian claims that its soldiers have entered the center of the besieged port city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine, which has been shelled and starved for days in a siege that has left the town of 300,000 with little food or water and without electricity and internet. Bodies have been left in the streets or covered up on balconies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday the city was experiencing the greatest ordeal in its history, in the history of Ukraine.

Mariupols mayor, Vadym Boichenko, appeared to confirm Russian claims of a penetration deep into the town, saying skirmishes were raging near where he was sheltered.

With Mariupol apparently on the brink of falling, the General Staff has acknowledged that it has lost access to the Sea of Azov temporarily because Russian forces have managed to tighten their grip around Mariupol.

But while Russian forces make some progress in the south of the country, if haltingly, they remain stalled in the north of the country and may have given up for now trying to press into Kyiv.

Satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies, a space technology and earth-observation company, appears to show the Russians building protective dirt berms near the villages of Ozera, of Zdvyzhivka and Berestyanka, northwest of Kyiv, and around Antonov Air Base. The berms may be there to guard against Ukrainian counterattacks, Western officials say, after a series of successful ones, conducted mainly at night, in recent days that pushed back Russian units northwest and east of Kyiv.

However, the berms might also indicate the Russians are digging in, they say.

Going into the fourth week of Russias war on Ukraine, and Russian forces have not managed to overrun the major cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv, in northeast Ukraine, nor neighboring Sumy, and they have not been able to target the Black Sea port of Odesa yet because of Mariupols defiance, and as a result of stiff resistance in Mykolayiv, where Russian Gen. Andrey Mordvichev, was killed this week, according to Ukrainian authorities, the fifth Russian general to have died in the fighting in Ukraine.

Thanks to the courage and training of the Ukrainian armed forces, the occupying troops were stopped in almost all directions. Difficult battles in Kharkiv region  especially heavy battles near Izium, Zelenskyy said in a video address Saturday. Kyiv region, Sumy region, Chernihiv region, in the south of our state  the army stopped the invaders. The initial plan of the Russian military to seize our state failed. And it is felt that they do not know what can be done with us. It seems that their military commanders are not able to offer their political leadership anything but cruel and misguided tactics to deplete us, deplete Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.

Institute of the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank monitoring the shifting battlefield, believes that aside from territorial gains around Mariupol, Russian forces have made no major ground gains and that the invading units are likely being engulfed by morale and supply problems.

But Western defense officials and independent military strategists are raising concerns about one battlefield maneuver the Russians might try, warning Russian forces may seek to engineer a pincer movement targeting the city Dnipro on the Dnipro River by dispatching forces southwest from Kharkiv and northeast from Kryvyi Rih. If they could manage to pull off such a maneuver, it would entrap a large portion of Ukrainian ground forces currently containing Russian forces in Donetsk and Luhansk, they say.
China has reported it first COVID-19-related deaths in more than a year.

The two deaths were recorded in Jilin, a northeastern province.

China is battling a surge of coronavirus infections.

The new wave of cases has resulted in Chinese health officials tightening COVID-19-related restrictions, at a time when many Western countries are lifting COVID-19 mandates.

The coronavirus emerged in Chinas Wuhan province more than two years ago.

Meanwhile, health officials in Hong Kong say the number of COVID-19 cases there has now exceeded a million. On Friday, Hong Kong reported it had recorded 20,082 new infections and 206 new deaths.

The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention is urging countries that have received displaced people from Ukraine to make COVID-19 testing and vaccination a priority at reception centers.

While vaccination for COVID-19 remains the most essential intervention to prevent hospitalization and death, many of the people fleeing Ukraine are expected to not be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the center said in a statement Friday.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Saturday that it has recorded more than 468 million global COVID infections and more than 6 million deaths. Johns Hopkins said nearly 11 billion vaccines have been administered.
Some Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) supporters have allegedly been attacked by suspected Zanu PF activists in Harare East where recalled Member of Parliament, Tendai Biti, is seeking re-election in the forthcoming by elections.

In a tweet, political activist Emmanuel Zellers Gumbo said, We participated in almost every election in Harare East, but non of these past elections were as violent as this by-election .... On Friday 18/03/22 they attacked our members in Tafara & Gletywn, today they attacked 3 in Msasa and defaced our posters.

Police spokesperson, Senior Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, was unreachable as he was not responding to calls on his mobile phone.

Meanwhile, CCC top supporter Godfrey Karembera, who was allegedly assaulted by the police and is facing a disorderly charge, has been remanded in custody to Monday.

A Harare magistrate conducted a bedside court session for Karembera, who is affectionately known as Madzibaba veShanduko, in the capital city amid tensions in the country ahead of the March 26 by-elections.

In a tweet, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said, @MadzibabaV will spend weekend in remand prison after a Harare Magistrate refused to entertain his lawyer @DougColtarts submissions on fact that he has been overdetained & assaulted in police custody. The Magistrate said that Coltart can raise those issues on Monday.

Meanwhile, the High Court has ordered the Zimbabwe Republic Police not to interfere with the CCC rally set for Masvingo on Sunday.

According to CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere, the rally is on  The courts have interdicted the police from interfering.

Police had indicated that they dont have adequate manpower to provide security for the CCC rally as the ruling party will also be holding two similar rallies in the city on Sunday.
With many small businesses failing during the economic downturn of coronavirus lockdowns, three sisters in the U.S. state of Colorado chose the pandemic to open Denvers first Vietnamese coffee shop. VOA's Scott Stearns went to their cafe to hear their story.
Woburn, MA (01801)

Today

Partly cloudy skies. High 69F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to cloudy skies overnight. Low 46F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
As a California-based wealth advisory firm works to complete its renovation of the former William Dorsheimer House on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, its principals are expanding their portfolio with a second prominent acquisition  in the heart of Orchard Park.

Two executives of Crux Wealth Advisors  Travis Alexander and Chris Campbell  have acquired a two-story brick building at 6506 E. Quaker Road, with a rounded facade that wraps around the corner of East Quaker and North Buffalo Street at the Four Corners intersection. The building had been owned by David Hart of Hart Hotels and Orchard Park developer Peter Krog. Alexander and Campbell paid $3.225 million.

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Located across the street from Mangia Ristorante & Caffe, the 24,228-square-foot building is home to Wells Fargo Advisors, OP Social Tap & Grill restaurant and Mongoose Research, a technology communications consulting firm. Now the 16-year-old building will also house a second local office for Long Beach, Calif.-based Crux, which is affiliated with Raymond James Financial Services.

"Its a pretty well-known property, and transactions like this dont come along that often," said Campbell, an Orchard Park native and vice president of Crux, who brought the 6-year-old money management firm to his hometown. "That building is known and referenced when everybody is giving directions."

Crux will not be taking over the entire building for its office space. After spending nine months negotiating a lease and then a purchase with the sellers  who own OP Social  Crux wants to keep the restaurant in place. The business recently completed a "massive renovation" that included a new artisan pizza oven and improvements to the bar to make it more upscale, Campbell said.

"We want them to be able to thrive," Campbell said. "Theyve got a lot of really awesome ideas about the growth of the restaurant and things theyd like to implement in the future. Theyve been tied to the community for a really long time, and their reputation speaks for itself."

Mongoose, which has been hiring 15 to 20 employees a year because of its own growth, will also stay, Campbell said.

"Were not coming in there to take over the whole space and do a bunch of renovations," he said. "Its a fairly new building."

This is the second local real estate transaction for Crux in just over a year, after it acquired the one-time Delaware Avenue home of a two-time New York State lieutenant governor in late 2020 for $1.09 million, and then unveiled plans for a $2 million renovation.

Construction was delayed for a couple of months by preservation concerns but has been in full swing for the past five months, with plans for completion and opening in May.

Were continuing to try to foster the ability to have a positive impact on the community, said Alexander, founder and CEO of Crux.

Located at 434-438 Delaware Ave., the 9,536-square-foot mansion  long since converted to offices  was designed by H.H. Richardson and built between 1869 to 1871. The orange brick and gray sandstone house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and will now have office space for 20 financial advisers and 10 staff members.

"It just falls in line with our expansion initiatives," Campbell said. "Our objective is not to have a bunch of offices in locations that are not unique. We want the client experience that we provide to be different and set us apart from everyone else. We also want to make sure that the clients are comfortable and part of that comfort is being known."

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Tacloban city (35.7 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : i was busy using my phone then i feel my bed shaking and i thought its just me but it is really an earthquake | One user found this interesting.

Ormoc City (33.2 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : I felt the earthquake and it felt like it was lasting a long time. It wasn't serious enough to warrant taking cover, but I got prepared in case it changed. My phone gave a notification of the earthquake immediately.

Tanauan / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s : One circular motion then a sharp upward thrust and it was over.. Additional information. Cracked cement above living room window / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s

Cebu City, Central Visayas (128.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 2-5 s : Woke up due to unusual shaking for about 5 se to ten seconds max with a swinging water movement in dispenser.

Janssen St., Sitio Ipil, Basak San Nicolas, Cebu C (132 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : laying in my bed in the 2nd floor of our house, felt like my room is shaking, observing things and a sound of a wood in my room made a cracking sound

Naga, Cebu (150.8 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 5-10 s : I am on the top level of a bunk bed so admittedly, an earthquake was not the first thing I thought of ????. It was a very light swaying, as if rocking a baby to sleep.

Talisay (138.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 2-5 s : Going to sleep, when I felt swaying, more of a side to side motion. Didn't last long, but surreal none the less.

Apas, Cebu, Central Visayas (124.1 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 2-5 s : I was sitting on floor and I can feel earthquake. While there was water bottle next to me it was shaking.

Cebu City, Central Visayas (129.6 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : I was laying on bed when I suddenly felt my bed shake thought it was just me but i stopped moving and felt it was real

Cebu City, Central Visayas (129 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : inside my room on 3rd floor , was lying on bed, was shaking that's how I noticed it like my bed was moving little bit

cebu (122.3 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s : my bed started shaking | One user found this interesting.

Quest Hotel Cebu / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : I was on the 9th floor of Quest Hotel in Cebu. My room swayed from side-to-side, and continued to sway after the initial shock.

Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 15-20 s : I was on the bed sleeping on that afternoon when I suddenly felt the bed shaking, so I woke up and realized it was an earthquake.

San Francisco, Camotes, Cebu / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : For a second I thought I was just dizzy but I was lying down and then I heard our walls and roof shudder as the shaking became stronger.

Palo / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : Light shaking Felt mostly indoors. Wakes light sleepers, may vibrate like heavy traffic or cause a jolt. Possible rattling or creaking.

Mahayag, Albuera, Leyte / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Light shaking Felt mostly indoors. Wakes light sleepers, may vibrate like heavy traffic or cause a jolt. Possible rattling or creaking

Dulag, Leyte / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : I was sleeping and all of a sudden the cabinet goes down, I got awake for the loud noise the earthquake was making. It was very scary.

Cebu City / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Kinda felt like on a boat rocking sided to side woke my wife and I up from sleep. We are on 6th floor.

Tacloban city / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : The shaking is not that strong although I feel. The shaking of my bed and the house but only in a seconds.I heared also my nephew was awake and went out from his room reporting to my mom that thier is an earthquake..

Baybay City, Leyte / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Seems like a strong one, heard rattling sound, shook my bed for about 20 seconds. Shaking intensity is perhaps a magnitude of 6??

Hilongos,Leyte / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single lateral shake / 5-10 s : Light shaking..wooden walls creaked a bit.i knew it was an earthquake coz the loose sliding door was shaking a bit

Tabontabon Leyte / Light shaking (MMI IV) / single vertical bump / 15-20 s : I feelt my head shaking and eyes moving around but the things it is shaking by that quake i thought that i am shaking by someone but its already an quake .

City of Talisay / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s I was laying on my bed when I initially fest a thud. Then a stronger vertical push. It was just a few seconds but it was enough to make me feel like a big truck passed by. (reported through (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s

Tacloban city (32.7 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : bed shook so intense that i woke up tp it and felt it for how many seconds

Ormoc, Leyte, Bisayas orientales (30.3 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt

Tacloban City, Patoc (0 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

I was soundly asleep in my bedroom. (21.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : I trembled in fear and hurriedly ran out of the house.

Minglanilla Cebu (143.4 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Cebu city (125.6 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : Felt it on 27 floor of apartment

Ormoc City (31.6 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Was my first earthquake, just wonder whats happen. But all was fine.

Burauen Leyte (4.2 km NNE of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 30-60 s
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Back in 2016, when renewable power developer Hecate Energy was looking for a prime location for a solar energy farm, Copake, New York, caught the companys attention. Its easy to understand why: Solar panels take up space. Copake, a rural upstate hamlet of gentle hills and bucolic pastureland, has plenty. There is also an electrical substation nearby to handle the power that the solar farm would produce. And with Democratic political leadership, and a relatively liberal bent, Copake seemed poised to be a welcoming environment for renewable energy.

By the beginning of 2017, Hecate was striking lease deals with local farmers for a 60-megawatt installation on multiple parcels of land, to be called Shepherds Run solar farm. The company conducted feasibility studies and environmental analyses. It planned for traffic flow and animal migration and stormwater runoff.

Then it all bogged down. The town changed its zoning rules in April 2017 to try to thwart large solar development. Then it went to court to try to stop Shepherds Run.

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With about 3,000 residents, depending on the number of second-home owners who are in town at any given moment, Copake is the sort of place that affluent residents of New York City value precisely because nothing much happens there. The downtown consists of two roads dotted with a few homes and a handful of small businesses  including a wine shop  converging on a traffic circle. Theres no stoplight.

Nor did it appear, after steady opposition, that there would be a solar farm. But then, last month, something surprising happened: A self-organized working group of Copake residents, aided by volunteer experts, presented what seemed very much like a civic plan to embrace the project. They agreed to work together to reinforce Hecates commitment to being a community partner, and secure community support for Shepherds Run.

It was quite a turnaround. Just a couple months before the February presentation, at the end of November, a 90-minute Zoom meeting conducted by a local group opposed to Shepherds Run had featured a litany of horrors that would ensue if Hecate ever managed to mount its solar panels in Copake. More than 100 people had participated. Now, some leaders of that call were joining with local solar power advocates to support a slightly modified version of Shepherds Run, calling it a model project for the state and urging locals to get behind it.

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After they watched the working groups crisp, professional presentation, which also took place over Zoom and was accompanied by the release of a new website explaining the proposal, the 140 or so participants were invited to provide feedback. Almost everyone who spoke expressed some level of support. It was dizzying. A plan that had been publicly battered for five years  and is still opposed by local politicians  suddenly had momentum.

Ive worked on geothermal projects in Ethiopia, hydro projects in Africa and South America, geothermal in Papua, New Guinea. I mean, Ive done some projects in some crazy, crazy jurisdictions, said Alex Campbell, Hecates project manager for Shepherds Run. And Ive never encountered anything remotely close to this.

There is an element of mystery to the sudden reversal. But there are also lessons about planning, leadership and local politics for renewable energy advocates. Perhaps the most important lesson is that its possible to win converts and overcome local opposition to development. But Copake is a cautionary tale as well. Because if it takes the better part of a decade to site a medium-size solar project in a rural community with a liberal political disposition, the transition to clean energy could well be a slow-motion disaster.

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***

To slow climate change, carbon-powered electricity must be replaced by energy derived from wind, solar, hydro and other noncarbon sources. However, zero emissions cannot be attained merely by supplanting fossil-fuel-powered electricity with emissions-free power. In New York, for example, three in five homes are heated by natural gas  not electricity. If homes and buildings and automobiles all make the transition to electricity, then additional electricity must be generated to meet that increased demand.

Yet even that wont be enough. Because wind and solar are less consistent than gas and coal, and because battery technology is still evolving, some overbuilding is necessary. The cheapest way to produce power around the clock and around the year is to build more solar than you need, said Richard Perez, a researcher in atmospheric sciences at the State University of New York at Albany. Disposing of excess solar power is clean and easy, Perez said: You simply throw it away.

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New York States efforts to abandon fossil fuels have been characterized by both consensus and failure. In 2019, after consistently falling far short of previous renewable energy goals, New York adopted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. It set goals of 70% renewable electricity by 2030, 100% emissions-free electricity by 2040 and net-zero carbon emissions in the state by 2050.

Under a Net Zero by 2050 transition to renewables, according to the International Energy Agency, solar power would become the worlds largest source of electricity. Yet even presuming widespread adoption of rooftop solar panels on homes and commercial buildings, reaching zero emissions will require hundreds of commercial solar farms in a state as large as New York.

Fewer than two dozen renewable projects have been approved in the state in the past decade. Under the new expedited process, the state has green-lighted three solar farms and one wind facility.

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Both wind and solar energy are land-intensive, requiring at least 10 times as much land per unit of power produced as natural-gas plants. That fact is key to a new generation of political conflicts. Who will provide the land? Where will new transmission lines run? It took years to get approval of transmission lines to run clean power to downstate New York from a hydropower station in Quebec  and those lines were planned underground and out of sight.

Even though people like wind and solar power in the abstract, a Brookings Institution report notes, some object to large projects near their homes, especially if they dont financially benefit from the project.

The technical capacity of renewable energy generation is now running ahead of political capacity. Financial capital, too, is more abundant than political capital. Investors are eager. But time and again, communities resist clean power installations. Even projects that survive regulatory and legal gauntlets face long delays. Plans for wind farms in New Yorks rural Lewis and Steuben counties took more than four years to gain approval.

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In theory, just about everyone is in favor of solar energy. But the struggle to put a specific energy project on a particular parcel of land in an actual community is proving to be a very different matter.

***

In the Covid summer of 2020, Juan-Pablo Velez was living in Columbia County in upstate New York. Like other New Yorkers of mobility and means, he had left Brooklyn for open space and a better chance, pre-vaccine, of dodging the pandemic. He eventually bought a house in Copake. Like Velez, a software engineer at Spotify, many weekenders were working full-time from their home offices in the countryside.

Velez, 34, had been a climate activist in college. Visiting the local farmers market one day, he learned that a solar project was planned for Copake. There are these people handing out pamphlets saying, Have you heard about these solar farms coming to town? And I was like, No, that sounds great, he recalled. And they said, No, its terrible. Its going to ruin the town. Its going to kill birds. Their claims seemed very strange to me, he said.

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Velez attended a town meeting and was stunned by the amount of opposition to Shepherds Run. Solar power is a miracle, he said. We can use as much of it as we can get. Yet people were as upset as if it was a coal plant going into their backyard.

Velez connected with Dan Haas, a retired special education teacher who has lived in Copake for three decades and is a longtime climate activist. I met him in late November at the local fire station, where Hecate was conducting a community open house on Shepherds Run.

Plans for Shepherds Run had already been reduced in geographic size  though not power output  more than once. The latest proposal, featured on displays at the firehouse, included ground-mounted solar panels on galvanized steel tracks. The installation would be up to 12 feet above ground, about the height of field corn stalks, the company noted. There would be 220 acres of panels inside fencing, and another 35 acres of footprint  what the company called temporary and permanent disturbance required to construct the project, including access roads, buried collection lines, the substation, fencing, etc.

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The event at the firehouse was well-attended, but young people were scarce. Residents read the companys promotional materials on a series of white boards, or peppered company representatives with questions about the projects size, how much money would flow to the town, whether local energy costs would be reduced and why the company couldnt build the project somewhere else. The mere fact that Hecate, based in Chicago, had homed in on a small upstate town on the New York side of the Berkshires aroused suspicion. Why us?

Haas was there as a representative of Friends of Columbia Solar, the local group that he and Velez had started to support the project. Wearing a yellow Friends of Columbia Solar shirt, he stood at one end of the room answering questions from skeptical neighbors who tried to puzzle out his views.

Dan, why are you supporting this?

Its all about climate change.

Why does it have to be in Copake?

We have an electrical substation and willing landowners.

The night before Hecates open house, a group called Sensible Solar for Rural New York had held its own 90-minute Zoom meeting. The event featured a parade of horribles that would flow from Shepherds Run: It was too big. It was poorly sited. It would blight community viewsheds. It would squander prime farmland. It would harm flora and fauna.

Darin Johnson, a leader of Sensible Solar, described Hecate as a Chicago-based company that had negotiated behind the scenes with a local farmer. Everything about the project was wrong. Slapping down an industrial-scale solar facility in the middle of an agriculture-and-tourism-centric region is not a smart decision, he said. The land chosen for the solar farm was too hilly. Also, too forested. No sensible renewable energy developer would put solar panels there.

***

Richard Stedman, a sociologist at Cornell University, has been studying community reaction to renewable power proposals in upstate and western New York. The hesitancy in Copake is not unique.

When were talking about rooftop, and even community-scale solar, its almost a motherhood-and-apple-pie thing, Stedman told me. Theres super, super strong support and very little opposition. When discussion turns to what Stedman calls utility-scale solar, such as Shepherds Run, public support falls dramatically. We basically see the bottom drop out.

Opponents of Shepherds Run insisted that their activism wasnt fueled by the privileged outsourcing of civic responsibility known as Not In My Backyard. It was never about opposition to solar, and it was never about opposition to solar in our backyard, said Meredith Kane, a leader of Sensible Solar, when we spoke soon after the November Zoom meeting. In fact, we are always chagrined when its said that, Oh, its NIMBY. Its not NIMBY. We understand large-scale renewables are coming to New York. I mean, its active state policy and its right. We need this.

Yet NIMBY sentiment is a recurring element of conflict over renewable energy installations. Stedman, and Roberta Nilson, a graduate student, have found that many upstaters are coming to view renewable energy projects as a kind of assault. Theyre beginning to frame it in a way that they feel they are being treated unfairly, Stedman said. They feel the state approves projects without adequate input from the community. And they feel that upstate is being exploited to power New York City.

Theres a phrase for it in the literature, Stedman said: energy colonialism. The idea is that upstate New York is almost being perceived by these folks as a colony of downstate, he said. Similar resentments hold sway far outside New York, and have been similarly mobilized for political gain.

At one point in the November Zoom meeting, a Sensible Solar member made a presentation about the towns lawsuit against the project, which a judge had recently ruled against. But she added a side commentary: I just want to say that, you know, nuclear energy is emissions free, but for some reason has not been considered part of the solution by New York State.

The reason for that omission is no great mystery. Construction of nuclear power plants in the U.S. has been stymied by relentless opposition. One existing plant in New York, Indian Point, was permanently shut down last year in response to public pressure, ending its supply of clean power to New York City. The site still contains radioactivity; it just produces no electricity. More fossil-fuel energy had to be directed to the city to replace what was lost.

***

Both Friends of Columbia Solar, which supported Shepherds Run, and Sensible Solar, which until last month worked against it, waged public campaigns. Last summer, Friends of Columbia Solar ran two advertisements in a local paper. The first asserted that the project would help combat climate change while also making it possible to cut taxes, support farmers and pay less to power homes.

Shepherds Run would pay at least several million in taxes locally, though its unclear if that would result in any tax cuts to others. It would definitely pay farmers to house solar panels on their land. It seems far less likely that it would prompt lower electricity costs except that as the supply of cheap electricity rises, costs should, theoretically, go down.

Weeks later, Sensible Solar published a response ad. Calling Shepherds Run a wolf in sheeps clothing, the ads first sentence described Friends of Columbia Solar as an organization claiming no connection to Hecate Energy. The obvious implication was that the rival group had nefarious ties that it was keeping secret. The ad went on to denounce misleading facts promoted by Friends of Columbia Solar, including assertions that Shepherds Run would in any way benefit local residents.

In a small town, innuendo travels fast even without paid advertising. However, the implication of corruption wasnt an artifact of local knowledge. There was no reason to believe that people who had supported solar power for years, even decades, were somehow on the take. The attack was a partisan commodity, an off-the-shelf product of the political marketplace: Youre bought; your views are illegitimate.

***

How Sensible Solar leaders moved from that attack mode to a cooperative mode, culminating in the Zoom presentation in February, is a little mysterious. Perhaps the towns recent loss in court prompted reconsideration. Between the legal setback and the states transition to a fast-track approval process, its possible that some began to conclude that Shepherds Run couldnt be stopped, and that it was best to try to shape the project to advantage. That view wasnt shared by Shepherds Run project manager Alex Campbell; in early December he told me that he viewed the prospects of completing the project at less than 50%.

The idea for a community working group that would combine Sensible Solar leaders with advocates from Friends of Columbia Solar had surfaced many months before. (Campbell said he had encouraged the groups to work together himself.) The notion was for the two groups to stop feuding and search for common ground. If they could agree on a compromise plan for Copake solar power, they could then present a united front to Hecate and potentially get a better deal for the community.

But Sensible Solars commitment to solar in Copake was sketchy, and Friends of Columbia Solar seemed more interested in advancing solar power than in negotiating benefits for the town. Months went by and the working group didnt happen. Until, suddenly, it did.

The foundation of the working group was a yearslong friendship between Sensible Solars Meredith Kane and Friend of Columbia Solars Dan Haas. Months of rancor had not destroyed their mutual trust. Haas is a calm, patient man. Kane, a retired corporate real estate lawyer with decades of experience negotiating deals, has the kind of solid political skills that can ease the way to compromise.

The working group shrewdly made itself larger, reaching out to experts who could shape the plan while also diffusing tension among the principals. Two landscape architects agreed to volunteer their services, reimagining Hecates rudimentary camouflage of solar panels with their own plan for a more sophisticated array of trees and shrubs that would better suit the local environment while also enhancing views. Two well-known regional environmental groups  Columbia Land Conservancy and Scenic Hudson  agreed to join.

I spoke separately to folks from Friends of Columbia Solar and Sensible Solar, said Columbia Land Conservancy president Troy Weldy on a Zoom call that included Dan Haas and Meredith Kane. And I told them, I dont want to get involved unless youre committed to finding a solution. And it was clear to me after a period of time that they really were.

By the time the group produced the February Zoom meeting, the working group had a 45-slide deck ready. It was an extraordinary achievement by a small group of volunteers working together in a compressed time frame.

It was also not far removed from Hecates own plan. Significantly, the working groups re-envisioned Shepherds Run would still produce 60 megawatts of solar power on roughly the same footprint to which Hecate had previously retreated. In addition to more creative landscaping, the plan called for public pathways for biking and walking, grazing space for sheep and solar panels for the public high school, with a proposal for charging electric school buses.

Hecate responded to the working group plan on its own Shepherds Run website, listing points of agreement while remaining enthusiastically noncommittal about proposals, such as fair compensation to impacted homeowners, that the company seems unlikely to embrace.

Property values promise to be a sticky component of local energy politics. While resident fears of losing home equity are understandable, its hard to know how a solar farm would actually influence property values in a place like Copake, especially over the long run as people grow more accustomed to seeing panels in rural settings. A study by researchers at the University of Rhode Island suggests the impact on property values is generally small. But its reasonable to think it might be somewhat larger in Copake. In one of our conversations, Hecates Alex Campbell described Copake not as a farm community but as a community with farm views.

He wasnt being facetious. The phrase captures the rural gentrification attending Copakes second homes. It also captures what those homeowners are looking at, and for.

***

Sunshine alternated with snow flurries on the December day when I met Campbell in Copake. The air was blustery and cold. He arrived at our meeting place in a Tesla. When you work in the solar industry, I guess, you drive an electric car.

I followed Campbell in my own carbon-emitting vehicle to one of the Shepherds Run sites. Each of us had brought a dog along and, since there was no traffic, we let them loose after we parked. The site was an empty field on a corner, with a forested hill rising gently in the rear. Solar panels here would be readily visible from both roads. But generous landscaping could help camouflage them.

Campbell led me to other Shepherds Run parcels. They were all different, but also more or less the same; mostly open pieces of land surrounded by trees on one or more sides, with a few homes nearby. Some parcels would be easier to camouflage than others. None seemed likely to ruin Copake, as Sensible Solars ubiquitous yard signs warned.

After touring the Shepherds Run parcels, I sat down at a local diner with Campbell. Hes 38 and has a masters degree in renewable energy. He lives in a townhouse now, but had previously built his own high-efficiency home with solar on the roof to power his Tesla. I asked him if he had ever expected, when he started a career in renewable energy, to be cast as the bad guy in a public drama.

He chuckled, but not in a way that conveyed amusement. Never did, he said.

One of the findings by Stedman, the sociologist, is that the more people view their community as central to their identity, the more they resist changing it. Its hardly a shocking discovery, but its one that renewable energy developers are going to have to reckon with again and again. People protest changes to their local community across the political spectrum, said Jennifer Ifft, an associate professor in agricultural economics at Kansas State University who has studied rural land-use issues.

***

Shepherds Run looks like it might finally be poised for takeoff. But five-plus years of stops and starts, retreats and reboots, was occasioned by a small number of people who didnt like the look of changes coming their way. It wasnt just the sight of solar panels that annoyed them. Some objected to a big company pushing its way into town.

Being against big business  and accusing your opponents of being bought by it  has a long tradition in American social activism. But its remarkably unhelpful in the context of climate change. Mom-and-pop shops are not well-positioned to revolutionize the complex energy systems driving a $24 trillion U.S. economy. And given the pace of climate change, its not an exaggeration to say that the health of the planet will depend in part on the health of the bottom lines of solar and wind developers.

Still, resentment, suspicion and animosity are part of American politics, and must be accounted for. To generate more clean power from more Shepherds Runs, the U.S. is going to need more civic working groups to blunt opposition and ease development. Kane, Haas and their colleagues put in an extraordinary amount of labor. But they produced a plan that, so far at least, appears to have calmed local anxieties and transformed a Chicago plan into a Copake plan.

The group put aside bad feelings and dared to work out a collective vision  viewshed  of what the project should be, while keeping the parameters grounded in reality. Then they made a detailed case, clearly communicated, to their neighbors. The presentation was so good, in fact, that no one bothered to ask how exactly they had managed to get from where they had been just a few months ago to where they are today.

Copake shows how easy it can be to throw wrenches in the works of renewable energy development. It also shows how civic politics can function at a high level. If New York State wants to smooth the transition to renewable energy, Copakes working group demonstrates a political formula that can work. It just needs to start sooner in the process, and work more quickly.

Credible civic leadership  even in the face of opposition from elected officials  makes a difference. Local input is crucial to winning local support. There are many Copakes yet to go. And time is short.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Francis Wilkinson writes about U.S. politics and domestic policy for Bloomberg Opinion. He was previously executive editor of the Week, a writer for Rolling Stone, a communications consultant and a political media strategist.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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Danny Hong shows where the water reached up to him during flooding in his basement apartment in the Queens borough of New York last September. (AP)

Researchers say individuals should respond to the hazard most pressing at the time and be prepared to move locations if necessary.
Buffalo lawmakers are exploring codifying a policy, begun in 2019, that reimburses former homeowners after their properties are sold at foreclosure auctions instead of sending any surplus funds to the state.

Common Council members are concerned that the policy for reimbursing any funds left after taxes and fees are paid could too easily be undone by a future administration  or even the current one  if it is not written into law.

At the suggestion of the Western New York Law Center, lawmakers are considering codifying the new process, which would mean the Council would have to be involved in any changes.

One thing that we are concerned about in particular is that this is just a policy right now, said Amy Gathings, an attorney in the foreclosure department at the Law Center, which represents low-income residents.

Its not codified anywhere, and the city is not required to do it. Our concern is if this is not codified, that based on budget conditions or if a new administration comes in thats not supportive of this procedure, the homeowners right to access their surplus funds could be taken away very easily, so were requesting this procedure to be codified, Gathings said during the Council's Finance Committee meeting last week.

A resolution will be presented at Tuesday's Council meeting directing the corporation counsel to explore the possibilities of codifying the policy for the disbursement of surplus funds. If codification is possible, city lawyers will draft an ordinance that clearly outlines the process for disbursement. The resolution also directs the corporation counsel to clarify notification procedures and timeframes.

Starting with the citys 2019 auction, the city took title to all the properties on the foreclosure lists before they were auctioned off. As the title holder, the city keeps all surplus funds from the sale of the property after all back taxes, user fees, fines and water bills are paid. But the city sends notices to individuals who may be entitled to all or some of the surplus so they can make a claim for the money.

Under the former process, the city did not send notices letting people know they may be entitled to a surplus. Any money collected above what the city was owed went to the Erie County comptroller  who handled unclaimed funds for the county  and then eventually to New York State. The title holder and/or lien holder at the time of the auction could go through a court process to apply for the funds through the state.

Of the homes sold in the 2019 auction, 104 properties netted a combined surplus of $3.6 million.

None of that surplus has been dispersed yet to former owners because of public health concerns stemming from Covid-19, which prompted the Law Department to delay the dispersal process, officials said.

But with Covid transmission rates stabilizing at a low rate and the state of emergency being lifted in the City of Buffalo, it is time to establish a clear plan of action to begin the ... disbursement process, the resolution says.

Administration officials have said the next auction may be held in October or spring 2023.

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Three conservative Supreme Court justices declared this month that the Constitution should be read to give state legislatures unlimited control of electoral procedures, and a fourth said the issue is important enough for the whole court to consider. Thats scary because it could eventually block even state courts from stopping partisan cheating.

Whats most important about the issue, however, isnt the remote (for now) danger that a majority of the court might make a disastrous decision that undermines democracy. Its the new kind of reasoning that the conservatives are using to reach their preferred result.

Its a legal theory that departs from the method of constitutional interpretation favored by a generation of conservative legal thinkers, originalism. Thats the idea championed by the late Justice Antonin Scalia that the intentions of the framers should determine the meaning of the Constitution.

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Now some conservatives want to sideline originalism in favor of textualism, the literalist notion that the words of the Constitution have to be interpreted according to their dictionary meaning, even if the historical evidence clearly points in the opposite direction.

This theory is about to split the courts conservatives. Right when a dominant conservative majority is poised to change the face of constitutional law, its members are starting to find they cant agree on what the true conservative position should be.

The reason is a deep tension between two parts of Scalias jurisprudence: originalism, which says the Constitution means what its writers took it to mean, and textualism, which says words in a law should be understood according to their modern linguistic, or literal, meaning.

Time, Place and Manner

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To understand the radicalism of whats going on, start with a congressional redistricting case that the Supreme Court declined to hear on March 7, Moore v. Harper. The North Carolina legislature had enacted a partisan gerrymander. The states supreme court invalidated it twice.

Ordinarily, that would be the end of the matter. The Constitution says in Article II, Section 4, that the time, place and manner of electing U.S. representatives and senators shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof. That makes the states method into a matter of state law. The U.S. Supreme Court has no jurisdiction over questions of state law. Consequently, the North Carolina Supreme Courts decision that its own state constitution bars extreme partisan gerrymandering should not be a matter on which the U.S. Supreme Court can rule.

Enter constitutional literalism. Lawyers representing some North Carolina state legislators argued that the federal Constitution must be understood literally when it says that the manner of choosing legislators shall be set by the state legislature. That would mean that a state supreme court couldnt overturn its own state legislatures votes on the matter.

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The consequences of this literalist argument would be two. First, that the U.S. Supreme Court would suddenly be able to intervene in the case, because it would no longer be a case solely about state law. Instead, it would be a case about the U.S. Constitution, on which the high court gets the final say. Politically, that would be a huge win for conservatives, who control the U.S. Supreme Court and 30 state legislatures but not as many state supreme courts.

Second, if the literalist argument were somehow correct, then state legislatures could do whatever they wanted in designing districts without worrying that their own state courts could overturn them. The North Carolina partisan gerrymander would be reinstated. And since the federal Constitution has not been interpreted to bar partisan gerrymanders, the process could be repeated anywhere.

The good news is that the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, leaving the North Carolina supreme court decision in place. That was reasonable, because the literalist reading of the elections clause of the Constitution makes no legal or historical sense.

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Most obviously, state legislatures are creatures of state constitutions. If a state legislature violates the state constitution, the state supreme court must hold it to account. Thats constitutional law 101, the view embodied in the famous Marbury v. Madison case that established the logic of judicial review of unconstitutional legislative action 219 years ago.

Almost as obviously, there is no way the framers of the Constitution intended for state legislative actions with regard to elections to be exempt from state judicial review. Nor could the framers generation have read the Constitution that way. The scholars who have researched the historical question are all but unanimous on this. There is no evidence whatsoever that the elections clause of the Constitution was meant literally. Thats because the framers understood that legislatures only exist pursuant to state constitutions. When they said legislatures in the state should set election rules, they meant it was up to the state legislatures to do so pursuant to their own state constitutions.

Textualism Versus Originalism

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Here is where things get really interesting. The three justices who dissented from the North Carolina ruling  Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch  all call themselves constitutional originalists. Originalism is part of the basic conservative legal philosophy shaped and expressed by Scalia and uniting conservative legal thinkers under his banner.

Yet in arguing for reversing the North Carolina state supreme court decision, Alito didnt mention the original meaning of the Constitution even once. Instead, he wrote that the language specifies a particular organ of a state government, and we must take that language seriously.

Invoking language is a reference to a different part of Scalias jurisprudential worldview, namely textualism. But textualism is a theory Scalia favored for interpreting statutes passed by Congress, not for the Constitution.

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In a sense, textualism is a form of anti-originalism. It stands for the idea that, to understand a law, you shouldnt ask what the legislature meant to say or what the laws purpose is. You should just look at what the law says. Textualists usually insist they arent literalists, following the words to absurd conclusions. But the embarrassing truth is that they have no convincing theory of how to avoid following the words literally, because they cant rely on intent or purpose to say what result is absurd and what result isnt.

Right about now, you might be asking, how could Scalia be both a textualist and an originalist? One theory advocates ignoring the history of a laws enactment in ascertaining its meaning. The other says that history is decisive in interpretation.

The short answer is that Scalia himself claimed to distinguish statutory interpretation (use textualism!) from constitutional interpretation (use originalism!). He didnt have a great answer for why this interpretive distinction should exist. The most charitable reconstruction of his view is that he always wanted to constrain judicial discretion. He believed, rather doubtfully, that historical originalism constrained judges by virtue of relying on historical facts. He believed that looking to legislative intent or purpose in reading statutes gave judges too much leeway.

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Words and Meaning

Todays conservative justices struggle to maintain the distinction between textualism and originalism. The first intra-conservative showdown on this question took place in 2020 when the court decided Bostock v. Clayton County, ruling that a provision of the 1964 civil rights law barring workplace discrimination on the basis of sex should be extended to protect gay and transgender people. The antagonists were Alito and Gorsuch  both of whom were on the same side in the North Carolina elections case.

In Bostock, Gorsuch, writing for a majority that included Chief Justice John Roberts and four liberal justices, grounded his logic solely in textualism. He didnt care what the drafters of the 1964 law thought, or could have thought. Because discrimination against gay and transgender people is based on their sex, without which they wouldnt be singled out, he concluded that it was because of sex under the law.

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Alito wrote an indignant dissent. He compared Gorsuchs opinion to a pirate ship, flying the false flag of Scalian textualism. In good originalist fashion, he pointed out correctly that the framers of the civil rights law never dreamed of protecting gay people, much less transgender folks.

Perhaps because he didnt want to admit using originalism in a statutory-interpretation case, he insisted that textualism could not yield Gorsuchs conclusion. But he was wrong. The Bostock logic was exactly what textualism yields: a literal following of words. Liberals could applaud the result, but the logic was doubtful at best.

A better way to reach the same conclusion would have been to say that the true purpose of the law was to prevent discrimination based on irrelevant sex-related characteristics. The liberals would gladly have signed that opinion. But Gorsuch could not have written it without undermining his credentials as a follower of Scalia, because Scalia deemed legislative purpose an illegitimate basis for statutory interpretation.

The split in Bostock roiled young conservatives. Now the same problem  the inherent tension between textualism and originalism  is poised to shape another internal conservative fight, this time in the realm of constitutional, not statutory, interpretation.

Flipping the Script

In the North Carolina case, originalism wont give the conservatives the result they want. So Alito instead relied on the same kind of literalist textualism he deplored in his Bostock dissent. Gorsuch voted to join his Bostock adversary now adopting his textualist principle, and in a constitutional case, where, according to Scalia, textualism shouldnt apply. Alito can justly be charged with self-contradiction here. He should be reading the originalist historical evidence  and he isnt.

The same charge of inconsistency may be leveled at Thomas, ordinarily the courts most consistent constitutional originalist.

As for the other conservatives, it would appear that they are less inclined to abandon originalism where the historical evidence is robust. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a separate opinion stating that he is open to hearing the North Carolina case, evidence that he wants to consider the originalist historical evidence more closely. Had he voted to grant review of the state supreme court decision, there would have been four votes to hear the case, which is all it takes. That he chose not to indicates that he probably favors a full review of the evidence.

Justice Amy Coney Barretts silence hints that she may turn out to be the truest Scalian on the court: textualist in statutes but originalist in constitutional law. You can be sure she looked at the historical evidence before deciding to vote against hearing the case. And it is overwhelmingly likely she saw that the evidence did not support the Alito position. A former law clerk to Scalia, she didnt want to commit the fallacy of being a textualist in a constitutional case.

Roberts surely also realizes the Alito position is absurd. He cares deeply about judicial restraint, another Scalian principle that is increasingly ignored by activist conservatives. To overturn the North Carolina state courts decision would be activism of a high order.

When the Supreme Court does take up the elections clause, the conservatives are likely to be divided into two camps, each reflecting a different aspect of Scalias legacy. Conservatism may be ascendant. But it isnt always going to be triumphant. It will be in part a victim of its own success.

Scalias jurisprudence was instrumental in unifying conservative legal thinkers. Now its going to haunt them for a generation.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Conservative Justices Are Walking Into Their Own Trap: Noah Feldman

 Once Again, the Most Important Supreme Court Term Ever: Stephen L. Carter

 The Scalia I Knew Will Be Greatly Missed: Cass Sunstein

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

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Global electronics suppliers looking to diversify their manufacturing footprint beyond China are taking advantage of growing demand for sophisticated components used in electric vehicles to shift production closer to their customers overseas. Its a smart move that could allay fears that the supply chain is too dependent on one location amid shortages and geopolitical tensions. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight New corporate clients, a need to tailor vehicles to local markets and a willingness among some governments to subsidize the costs of setting up factories have turned electric vehicles into a catalyst for companies to expand capacity around the world.

Foxconn Technology Group, Pegatron Corp., Compal Electronics Inc. and Wistron Corp., all from Taiwan, are world leaders in assembling electronics products for the likes of Apple Inc., Sony Corp. and Dell Technologies Inc. They also supply systems used by electric vehicle makers such as Tesla Inc. and Volkswagen AG. Right now, they largely do so in China.

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But the Covid-19 pandemic revealed the fragility of global supply chains and the high risks associated with having a concentration of manufacturing capacity in just one region. Foxconn last week was forced to shut production in the southern city of Shenzhen because of a Covid outbreak. Most of Foxconns peers have faced similar hurdles over the past two years as authorities seek to stem Covids spread. Geopolitical tensions, notably between Washington and Beijing but now encompassing much of the world, exacerbate the sense that more production diversity is needed.

Thats where EVs come in. Governments, manufacturers and global clients are all driving the trend to move production of electric vehicles, including their high-tech components, closer to consumer markets. Localization makes sense: Cars are physically larger and thus more expensive to ship. And domestically produced vehicles can be a source of national pride for consumers.

Some electronics makers, such as Foxconn, are ready to take on final assembly, or share that work with car-brand clients. Others like Pegatron and Wistron are focused on the systems and components. Meanwhile, governments see a chance to spur new industries and provide more employment opportunities by manufacturing EVs domestically. Many are offering incentives to have the vehicles made on home soil.

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Still, shifting high-tech manufacturing out of China takes time. The country became the worlds manufacturing heartland over the past three decades because of an abundance of workers and favorable local policies. As labor-intensive factories popped up there, so too did the myriad international suppliers who provide everything from raw materials to components. Because desktop computers, laptops and smartphones are easily shipped across the globe, there has been more reason to create mega-factories than have production capacity distributed around the world.

Asked in a recent earnings call about the high cost of building new facilities to make chips, cars and vehicle batteries, Foxconn Chairman Liu Young-wei told investors not to worry: A lot of that expense will be borne by local partners or governments. There is a certain hubris to that statement, but he isnt wrong. Foxconn plans to replicate what it calls a build, operate and localize model by getting local authorities and businesses on board  which means having them foot the bill.

India, Indonesia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are all keen to work with Foxconn to make electric vehicles and associated components. Pegatron, another assembler of iPhones, last year announced a $164 million investment in the U.S. to focus on vehicle electronics and control systems (Tesla is already a client). Wistron said it is confident it will soon make a profit from EVs, and last year announced a deal with Indias Optiemus Electronics Ltd. to jointly develop and produce electronics used in phones and cars.

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Electronics manufacturers are experts at securing incentives packages. Tesla chief Elon Musk has famously said that he doesnt like subsidies, yet the U.S. company has received plenty. In emerging markets like Indonesia and Thailand, EV brands and their supply-chain partners may not even need handouts if the governments in those countries put competitive barriers in place. Instead of giving tax breaks, free land or cash, they can simply implement quotas to ensure a minimum ratio of vehicles sold in the country are electric. That alone would help EV companies get an advantage over their combustion-engine peers. And should more of those traditional players offer electric models, then all the better for the contract makers of electronics.

Crucially, the economics of vehicles are vastly different to those of consumer devices, reducing the need for a supply chain that is highly concentrated in one region. While batteries are currently the key cost of an electric car, electronics account for 40% and are set to rise to 50% by 2030  which means a $40,000 vehicle could be packed with $20,000 worth of chips, sensors and connectors.

The risk with these moves is that manufacturing partnerships dont always work out. In 2019, electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc. signed a deal with Ford Motor Co. to jointly develop a car. Less than three years later the arrangement was canceled for unspecified reasons. Foxconns plans to work with Chinas Byton were put on hold last year because the latter seemed to run out of money. No doubt many more tie-ups between manufacturers, local governments and vehicle clients will come to naught. If theyre lucky, the deals will fail before ground is broken on new factories and not too much money is lost. At worst, they will be stuck with large, embarrassing and costly failures like Foxconns foray into Wisconsin.

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Regardless of whether a specific project succeeds, there is a clear trend to ensure that the EV supply chain doesnt suffer from the same concentration risk as consumer electronics. Thats sure to make future executives, and politicians, sleep a little easier.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Elon Musk Has It All Wrong on State Subsidies: Anjani Trivedi

 The Real Reason This Apple Supplier Is Keen on EVs: Tim Culpan

 Rivian Learned the Cost of Overcharging Car Buyers: Chris Bryant

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Tim Culpan is a technology columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Based in Taipei, he writes about Asian and global businesses and trends. He previously covered the beat at Bloomberg News.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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President Joe Bidens administration has proved itself remarkably innovative in confronting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Two lines of policy are especially notable. One was breaking new ground by releasing a vast amount of U.S. intelligence to pre-empt the Russian disinformation campaign that was to accompany the invasion, thus denying President Vladimir Putin control of the narrative and discrediting Moscows claims that the war was forced upon it.

The second was the masterfully coordinated policy of economic strangulation against Russia, including cutting Russian banks off from international financial markets and pressing private companies to pull out of Russia and stop their exports to that country. The ruble plummeted about 40% in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, and Moscow has shut down the stock market for some three weeks now.

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Interestingly, these innovations  relying on information networks to pre-empt propaganda and using economic levers in concert with private companies  reflect the evolution of the late 20th- and early 21st-century state. This evolution is bringing into being what we separately have called the market state, a constitutional order that augments and even displaces the preferred methods of the industrial nation-state, which regulated and at times intervened in the market by creating state-owned enterprises, mass conscription of armed forces and dense bodies of regulation.

In place of the nation-states structures, market states deploy techniques like sovereign wealth funds, the all-volunteer military and the partial deregulation of industries, womens reproduction and narcotics use.

These innovations of the market state suggest to us other lines of policy that could serve to end the war in Ukraine favorably.

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For example, on March 8, the Polish government proposed that it deploy all 28 of its MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. base at Ramstein in Germany, so that Washington in turn could then provide them to Ukraine. (Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly the Soviet-era planes.) In exchange, the U.S. would replace the MiGs with comparable, used aircraft for Poland.

This idea was shot down the next day by U.S. officials. There were sensible reasons for this  in part that it might aid Putins efforts to portray the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as the aggressor  but the rejection came as a brutal disappointment to Kyiv.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacted in an address to the Ukrainian people: Listen, we have a war. We do not have time for all this signaling. This is not ping-pong, this is about human lives  Solve it faster, do not shift the responsibility  send us planes.

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But suppose Poland simply sold its MiGs to an international business group, incorporated in a non-aligned state that is not involved in imposing economic sanctions against Russia or supplying weapons to Ukraine. This corporation could take delivery of the aircraft in Poland, sell the fighter planes to Ukraine, which would pick up the aircraft from the new owners and fly them to Ukrainian bases. This could be done on a lease-purchase basis or some other deferred payment plan. Thus the market state can make progress where the nation-state is stifled.

Similarly, market states regularly use nonprofit, nongovernmental groups to fill the gaps created when the states themselves are unable or unwilling to act. So we propose that the International Committee of the Red Cross or the International Rescue Committee or some other similar organization begin a humanitarian re-supply of Kyiv using vehicles clearly marked as part of a humanitarian convoy whose contents have been publicly searched to remove any weapons or war materiel.

This convoy could provide food, medicine and other humanitarian aid to Kyiv while picking up refugees for the round trip to Poland or another bordering state to return once more with aid. (The ICRC and IRC are currently able to provide only limited aid to the Ukrainians, primarily to refugees in Poland.) It would be the Berlin Airlift of 1948 updated to the 21st-century state by relying nongovernmental agencies, not government airplanes.

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A third example: The United Nations Security Council is hardly likely to establish courts like the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to investigate and prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine. Since Russian officials would be the principal targets of these courts, Russia is virtually certain to veto them.

However, the International Criminal Court has within its jurisdiction the crime of aggression, defined as, the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, integrity or independence of another State.

The ICCs jurisdiction is not dependent on a referral from the Security Council pursuant to a resolution adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. It can also be engaged on the request of a state party to the Rome Statute of 1998, so long as the aggression has been committed by a national of a state party or on the territory of a state party. Alas, neither Russia nor Ukraine is a state party. (Nor is the U.S.)

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Ukraine, however, is a state party to the European Court of Human Rights. While an applicant for relief from that court does not have to be a citizen of a state party, complaints submitted to the court must concern violations of the European Convention on Human Rights committed by a state party. Russia, having been expelled from the Council of Europe, is no longer subject to the jurisdiction of the ECHR.

What is needed is an applicant that will complain that Ukraine has violated the applicants political and civil rights in its attempts to protect its citizens from Russian bombardment. That complaint would be effectively used by both the complainant and Ukraine  which would urge Russian aggression as a defense to the complaint  as the basis for an investigation of Russian aggression. The court could award interim measures when there is immediate risk of harm such as death. After an investigation, the court could refer its findings to the Security Council.

We are under no illusion as to whether the Security Council could avoid a Russian-engineered veto, despite the language of Article 27 of the UN Charter that parties to a dispute before the Security Council must abstain from voting. But such a trial would expose wrongdoing even if there is no specifically legal sanction, and such global exposure may bring about a political reaction more effective than a courts decree.

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Together, these three examples would not just provide relief to the embattled Ukrainians and punish Russia for its unprovoked invasion of a sovereign neighbor. They would demonstrate that the capabilities of the emerging informational market state can augment those of the industrial nation-state not just with respect to geo-economics, flexibility and the free flow of people and ideas, but in ensuring global justice and human rights as well.

More from other writers at Bloomberg Opinion:

 My Grandmother Was in the Winter War. It Was as Ugly as This One: Leonid Bershidsky

 A Losing and Desperate Putin Could Be Terrifying: Hal Brands

 Well Miss Globalization When Its Gone: Matthew Yglesias

Want more Bloomberg Opinion? Click here.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

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Philip Bobbitt is a professor at Columbia Law School and director of its Center for National Security. He is the author of The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History.

Gregory Treverton, former director of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, is a professor of international relations at the University of Southern California.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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In November 1939, soon after Hitlers Germany invaded Poland, another massive European country likewise attacked a smaller neighbor: Russia invaded Finland. After vicious fighting through a long and bitter winter, the war ended with the Moscow Peace Treaty, in which Finnish concessions fell far short of what Stalin had hoped for in launching his invasion.

Despite being heavily outgunned and outmanned by the Soviet Army, the Finns were able to largely fight the Russians to a standstill in what they call the Winter War. The scenario was eerily similar to the situation unfolding today in Ukraine, where President Vladimir Putins Russia is facing ferocious resistance from the scrappy Ukrainians.

Over a decade ago, when I visited Helsinki as the supreme allied commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the first place the Finns took me was to their Winter War Museum. We spent two hours there, and I was fascinated by the courage portrayed in the dioramas, exhibits, maps and photographs from the war. I treasure a gift the Finns gave me of a map showing the troop locations, and the names and faces of the Finnish generals around the border.

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The Finns were outnumbered roughly two to one in terms of trained soldiers, but the more staggering differences were in tank and combat aircraft inventories. The Finns had just a few dozen of each, while the Soviets had around 5,000 tanks and 4,000 aircraft. Yet by the end of the conflict, the Finns had inflicted five times as many killed in action on the Soviet army as among their own.

While the Soviet advantages in the air and with mechanized operations eventually overcame much of the Finnish resistance, the determined nature of the defenders and the threat of an ongoing insurgency did much to shape the peace. Despite the pre-war goals of conquering the entire country and installing a puppet regime, the Soviets finally settled for a small slice of Finlands territory (around 10%) and a pledge of Finnish neutrality.

What can we learn from the Russo-Finnish War that informs our approach to events in Ukraine today?

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First and most importantly, we should appreciate that a determined military force, fighting on home terrain, can face down daunting odds to achieve success on the battlefield. The Finns have a long and fierce sense of independence, as do the Ukrainians, despite Russian protestations in both wars. I know firsthand the high quality of both nations militaries, which deployed under my command in Afghanistan and on other NATO missions.

When soldiers are fighting to protect their children, parents and spouses  and the independence of their nation  they have a significant morale advantage over conscripts and reservists. This was true for the Finns and remains a significant factor in the Ukraine war.

A second issue that applies in both instances is the importance of outside assistance. Volunteers from around the free world made their way to Finland to fight in the Winter War, notably from neighboring Sweden. The Finns received combat equipment and diplomatic assistance as well from many nations. The League of Nations condemned the Soviet invasion of Finland, much as the United Nations has censured Russias actions.

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Increased outside assistance remains crucial for the Ukrainians, and the U.S. and its allies should intensify the level of sanctions on Russia and supply even more weapons than provided for in President Joe Bidens new $800 million package. Additional Javelin and other anti-armor missiles, Stingers and similar weapons for anti-air warfare, Switchblade drones, machine guns, ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades are crucial. Ukraine is desperate for a long-range air-defense system, such as the Soviet-made S-300 that Slovakia has offered to send to Kyiv. The proposal to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland, which the U.S. quashed on March 9, should be revived.

Finally, the Western democracies need to think about how the war ends. While the ideal outcome would be a complete defeat for Putin and a humiliating withdrawal of all his forces from Ukraine, that appears unlikely  especially given the nuclear arsenal with which Russia can in effect blackmail the world.

Here the lesson of the Russo-Finnish War is that a diplomatic compromise may be necessary. Ukraine may have to provide a guarantee of neutrality and agree to give up some of the territory that is already de facto in the hands of Russia: Crimea and the Donbas region in the east.

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In return, President Volodymyr Zelenskiys government would receive security guarantees  perhaps from the U.S. and the U.K., building on the Budapest Memorandum that Ukraine signed in 1994 when it gave up its nuclear weapons after the fall of the Soviet Union. (A document that has now proved worthless in the face of Russian aggression.)

In some sense, everyone will dislike such an outcome. Much like the Soviets in Finland, Putin will be frustrated that he failed to conquer and annex the entire country. The Ukrainians will be unhappy with the loss of their territory, as the Finns were. The U.S. and its allies will dislike removing sanctions against Putin despite his evident war crimes (although may be partly mollified if it calms the global economy).

But that outcome would stop the fighting, get Ukrainian refugees home, and allow the nation to continue as a sovereign albeit neutral state. Sometimes neutrality has advantages: Finland was able to serve as the negotiating place for the 1975 Helsinki Accords, which among other things guaranteed new human-rights protections for Soviet citizens.

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Although there are obvious differences, the lessons of the Russo-Finnish War provide important lessons as we consider how to conclude an awful chapter in European history. The keys will be not just the continuing spirited resistance of the Ukrainians and more outside assistance, but also a willingness for compromise on all sides.

More from other writers at Bloomberg Opinion:

 My Grandmother Was in the Winter War. It Was as Ugly as This One: Leonid Bershidsky

 A Losing and Desperate Putin Could Be Terrifying: Hal Brands

 Well Miss Globalization When Its Gone: Matthew Yglesias

Want more Bloomberg Opinion? Click here.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

James Stavridis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a retired U.S. Navy admiral and former supreme allied commander of NATO, and dean emeritus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is also chair of the board of the Rockefeller Foundation and vice chairman of Global Affairs at the Carlyle Group. His latest book is 2034: A Novel of the Next World War.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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U.S. to call Myanmar repression a 'genocide' Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The Biden administration intends to declare that Myanmars years-long repression of the Rohingya Muslim population is a genocide, U.S. officials said Sunday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to make the long-anticipated designation on Monday at an event at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the move had not yet been publicly announced.

The designation does not in and of itself portend drastic new measures against Myanmars military-led government, which has already been hit with layers of U.S. sanctions since the campaign against the Rohingya ethnic minority began in the countrys western Rakhine state in 2017. But it could lead to additional international pressure on the government, which is already facing accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

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Human rights groups and lawmakers have pressed both the Trump and Biden administrations to make the designation.

More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar to refugee camps in Bangladesh since August 2017, when Myanmars military launched a clearance operation in response to attacks by a rebel group. Myanmars security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and the burning of thousands of homes.

 Associated Press

Likely rise in cases not a full surge, Fauci says

A likely rise in U.S. coronavirus cases probably wont amount to a full-scale surge or prompt a renewal of widespread restrictions, one of President Bidens top advisers said.

The bottom line is we likely will see an uptick in cases, as weve seen in the European countries, particularly the U.K., Anthony S. Fauci, Bidens chief medical adviser, said on ABC Newss This Week on Sunday. Hopefully we wont see a surge. I dont think we will.

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The BA.2 subvariant of omicron is driving up cases in Europe and Asia, and now accounts for about 30 percent of infections in the United States, where indoor mask and vaccine requirements have largely been rolled back.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has argued the country needs to be prepared to resume measures such as requiring masks in indoor public spaces, Fauci said, Right now, at this point, I dont see that.

U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline. BA.2 is about 50 percent more transmissible than the original omicron, but it doesnt cause more severe illness or evade immunity from vaccinations or an earlier infection, Fauci said.

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Firefighter dies in Okla.: A firefighter has died in one of several wildfires that broke out Sunday in Oklahoma, authorities said. The name of the firefighter who died in the wildfire in Comanche County was not immediately released. Lawton, the county seat, is about 90 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Amy Hawkins, the spokeswoman for Comanche County/Lawton Emergency Management, said that as of late Sunday afternoon, there were two major wildfires still burning in the county and that some evacuations had been ordered. She said that the wildfire in which the firefighter died had been contained by late Sunday afternoon and that the state fire marshal will be investigating.

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4 Marines killed in Norway are identified: The U.S. Marine Corps has identified the four Marines who died when their Osprey aircraft crashed Friday in a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle during a NATO exercise. The men, all assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, Marine Aircraft Group 26, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., were identified as Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz, 27, of Fort Wayne, Ind.; Capt. Ross A. Reynolds, 27, of Leominster, Mass.; Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy, 30, of Cambridge, Ohio; and Cpl. Jacob M. Moore, 24, of Catlettsburg, Ky. In a statement, a Marine Corps spokesman said the bodies were removed from the crash site and were in the process of being returned to the United States. The cause of the crash remained under investigation, but Norwegian police reported bad weather in the area.

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Born in Mexico, Ivan Morales came here at least nine years ago and had worked at farms in Perry, Pavilion and Alexander, said his friend, Patricia Hurd.

When he wasn't working, Morales enjoyed listening to music, singing and dancing. He loved wearing his yellow Converse shoes. Hurd and others called him "Punk," because of the way he styled his hair: short with a "fauxhawk" in the front.

Now, Hurd, friends and family are only left with memories of him.

Morales, 30, and Marcelino Gomez Hernandez, 29, were found stabbed to death late March 11 inside a worker bunkhouse at Blumer Dairy Farm in the Town of Alexander. Investigators in Genesee County have released limited details about what may have happened, but they have charged two suspects with second-degree murder.

While they await answers, family and friends are raising money in the hopes of sending Morales' and Hernandez's bodies to Mexico for burial. While Hurd didn't know Hernandez, she said Morales had just started working and living at the longtime Alexander farm within the last few months.

"He was a really good guy," Hurd said. "This should have never happened."

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate what may have transpired that night in the trailer, located behind barns on the 450-cow farm on Route 98 owned by third-generation dairy farmers.

Two charged in double homicide in Genesee County Raul Cruz, 18, of Warsaw, and Prince N. K. Wilson, 23, of Albion, were charged with second-degree murder and arraigned in Batavia Town Court Saturday.

What investigators have said is that Morales and Hernandez were found dead shortly after the Genesee County Emergency Communications Center received a call just before 10 p.m. March 11 about a disturbance at the property. A fire also had been started in the residence where their bodies were found.

A day later, the sheriff's office announced it had arrested Raul Cruz, an 18-year-old Warsaw resident, and Prince N. K. Wilson, a 23-year-old from Albion, in connection with the double homicide. Cruz, taken into custody in Warsaw, and Wilson, arrested in Batavia, were charged with second-degree murder and ordered held without bail in Genesee County Jail.

The sheriff's office released the identities of Morales and Hernandez on Friday but provided no further information except that the victims were both born in Mexico and had been employed and living in the United States.

Genesee County Sheriff's Office identifies double homicide victims The identities of two men who were found stabbed to death on March 11 at a dairy farm in the

As the investigation continues, Hurd said she's praying for the best.

"My friend's not here to have a voice, and me and my friends are going to be his voice, and we're not going to stop until we get justice," she said.

Right now, Hurd and other friends are focused on raising money to get Morales' and Hernandez's bodies to Mexico. Two fundraising campaigns have launched on GoFundMe.

One, labeled "Help Marcelino RIP," had raised $1,644 as of 2:30 p.m. Saturday. "His wife and children are asking for help for the financial hardships this tragedy has caused the family," the fundraiser's description reads. Messages and calls for funds posted on Facebook indicate Hernandez had only been in the United States for a few months.

The other, called "Help Ivan's family in Mexico," had raised $3,037 as of the same time Saturday. The fundraiser's description notes Morales' brother in Georgia and his mother asked to have the campaign set up to help his family back home.

Hurd and other friends also plan to collect donations in the community. In fact, she made her own donation buckets, with a photo of Morales and a message in Spanish and English, noting that the funds will go toward sending his body to his family in Chiapas, in southern Mexico.

She painted the buckets yellow like the Converse shoes that Morales loved to wear  a reminder of her friend.

Jon Harris can be reached at 716-849-3482 or jharris@buffnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByJonHarris.

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After two years of lockdowns, our relationship with Zoom, Teams and similar online video platforms are here to stay. But while researchers now know Zoom fatigue is real  a fact that academics from Stanford University confirmed over a year ago  our ability to easily work from anywhere is shifting the bar for employers considering policies on flexible work.

A recent study from Accenture on the future of work found that 63 per cent of high-growth companies have already adopted a productivity anywhere workforce model. With the right resources, the report states, people can be productive and healthy in any environment  remote, onsite or a hybrid model.

Laetitia Caron, Senior Digital Acquisition Strategist at ServiceNow, with her toy poodle Teddy, who is her regular companion when she works from home.

ServiceNow is one company ready to take flexibility to the next level. From 2022, a Work from Anywhere benefit means ServiceNow employees are allowed to work for up to 30 calendar days a year from any location in Australia, New Zealand, or a country where they hold citizenship.

Senior digital acquisition strategist with ServiceNow, Laetitia Caron, joined the company in August 2019. Her role is now far more home-based than pre-COVID, and she has colleagues based across Australia and Asia.
Grocery prices are set to rise, thanks to a perfect storm of soaring fuel costs and supply disruptions. After a period in which the price of many everyday items like milk and bread actually fell (down, down, prices are down, remember?) this will be a shock to many household budgets.

One of the major factors driving down costs in recent years was the entry of new foreign supermarket brands like Aldi and Costco.

Yall know Im an Aldi fan, after I did an analysis which found it was about 10 per cent cheaper than Coles for my typical shop.

Giant tubs of salted pretzels, rolls and rolls of toilet paper: You have to buy them all in bulk, which can be challenging for single-person or small households. Credit:Dionne Gain

This week, I decided to check out Costco for the first time to run a similar analysis. Ill get to the results of that. But first, here are my top tips for getting the most out of a Costco trip.
Electric vehicle registrations have more than tripled in Victoria over the past four years, as car dealers report a surge in recent interest due to soaring petrol costs.

New data from the state government shows that in June 2021, there were 10,311 registered electric vehicles in Victoria, up from 3398 vehicles in June 2018.

Su Dharmapala made the switch to an electric vehicle in November and hasnt looked back. Credit:Penny Stephens

The postcode that covers Sunshine, Albion, Sunshine North and Sunshine West boasts the highest number of electric, hydrogen or plug-in electric-hybrid cars in the state, with 549 registrations. Its followed by the Werribee and Point Cook areas, where there are 218 registrations, and the City of Melbourne, with 213 cars.

Grattan Institute transport and cities program director Marion Terrill said motorists in the Sunshine, Werribee and Point Cook areas were likely to drive greater distances than their inner-city counterparts and might be making the switch to electric cars for economic reasons.
Donna Bennett has been sober for exactly 707 days. She knows this because of an app on her smartphone, which also tells her how much money she has saved and how many days shes added to her life by staying off the sauce.

The paralegal is part of an online community supporting people to get and stay sober. They use online groups and apps, some backed by neuroscience, to fight urges and stay motivated.

Donna Bennett enjoys a non-alcoholic avo-colada. Credit:Peter Rae

When the pandemic struck in 2020, and many Australians were drinking in record numbers, Ms Bennett had an epiphany.

The Wollongong local had just returned from a big weekend in her hometown, Melbourne, where shed had a scary blackout.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison insists he is not worried by the comprehensive election defeat the Liberals have suffered in South Australia, although a senior minister says there are lessons for the looming federal poll.

But Labor has pointed to the Prime Minister as being a drag on the state Liberals and is hopeful some of the swings in South Australia can be replicated federally.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has thanked outgoing South Australian premier Steven Marshall for playing a constructive role during the pandemic.

On Saturday night Steven Marshalls state government became the first incumbent to lose an election during the pandemic.

The Liberals had 23 seats going into the election but were on track to hold just 13 as counting continued on Sunday. Labor was ahead in 28 of 47 lower-house seats, with six independents ahead in other electorates.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese is digging in and refusing to call an inquiry into the alleged bullying of Kimberley Kitching, as anger grows among the late senators supporters about her treatment by the Labor leadership group.

Mr Albanese sought to quell disquiet among supporters of Senator Kitching on Saturday, insisting the ALP had processes in place to deal with bullying and harassment complaints. He paid tribute to the senator.

Labor senator Kimberley Kitching died earlier this month from a suspected heart attack. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

These processes have been in place since 2018. And they were improved with the unanimous support of every member of the ALP caucus and every member of the ALP national executive in 2021 following an extensive review and improvement of these processes led by Sharon Claydon and women members of the ALP national executive and caucus, he said.

And everyone was a part of that process. We have an ongoing process that people can participate in. We can always do better. I will say this. The Labor family are mourning the passing of Kimberley Kitching.
The federal government will soon launch a $13 million COVID-19 booster advertising campaign and is planning a school holiday vaccination blitz to get millions of doses into arms before winter.

More than 6.3 million Australians  about a third of those eligible  are yet to be boosted, including 900,000 over-60s and 180,000 First Nations people, while 2 million children aged between five and 11 have had only one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 1.1 million are yet to receive a single dose.

Two million Australian children have had only one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Credit:Shutterstock

Weve gone from a supply challenge to a demand challenge, Operation COVID Shield co-ordinator Lieutenant General John Frewen said.

We are working with all providers to look at ways we can encourage more people to come forward for a booster and to encourage parents to get their kids vaccinated.
Police have only so many places to take someone who appears to be suffering from a mental health issue.

There's jail or the psychiatric emergency room.

If the person wants help in Buffalo, options are few. But after Monday's shooting of a man on Hertel Avenue by Buffalo police officers, another option is getting some attention: the crisis stabilization center, a 24-hour operation that provides a comprehensive array of services that take a holistic approach to helping a person in need. A visitor would have access to a doctor who could prescribe medication, detox care, crisis counseling, as well as housing services, peer support, social skill development and employment assistance.

Video shows police officer screaming 'Why?' after shooting man who ran at them with a knife Buffalo police on Wednesday released a 3 minute 44 second video from a body-worn cameras of one of the police officers who shot a man armed with a knife who was having a mental health crisis early Monday morning.

"The community, the City of Buffalo needs more resources that officers can utilize to get individuals the help that they need," said Buffalo Police Capt. Amber Beyer. "There needs to be a crisis stabilization center, where we can use that as a drop-off when people arent appropriate for the emergency room, but they also need more than an outpatient clinic."

Right now, no such facility exists in Western New York. The state has plans to fund some of these facilities starting later this year.

A crisis stabilization center would offer services for children and adults suffering from a mental health issue. Someone receiving services at a center would not be permitted to stay longer than 24 hours.

Police would be able to take people to the center. Having this type of facility would help alleviate the overburdened psychiatric emergency facility at ECMC, Beyer said.

Sometimes, police encounter people who don't meet the criteria for an involuntary transport to Erie County Medical Center's psychiatric emergency facility, the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, also known as CPEP. They would have to be considered an imminent threat to themselves or others for that to happen.

Police can take someone there who volunteers to go, like they did with Dominique Thomas earlier this month. On Monday morning, less than a week after that trip to the ER, the 30-year-old called police again. In the darkness outside his Hertel Avenue apartment building, two police officers shot him after he charged at them with a knife.

Police had other interactions with Thomas before the two this month. He remains hospitalized after being shot multiple times.

A crisis stabilization center would be most useful when a person is not considered an imminent danger at the moment but is demonstrating the need for more intervention or is asking for more help than can be provided in an emergency setting, said Beyer, who also coordinates crisis intervention training for the department.

After police shot Thomas, Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said there is a "resource problem" when it comes to dealing with those suffering from mental health issues.

Buffalo police's Behavioral Health Team pairs specially trained officers with mental health clinicians. Since the team was created in October 2020, more than 800 people who previously would have been arrested or taken to the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, known as CPEP, at ECMC were referred to other services.

In about half of these instances, called "diversions," people are left at home or at a scene where they encountered police and are given information about available help, Beyer said.

In the other half, officers take people to a place that offers services, she said. Those include Spectrum Health and Human Services' urgent care clinic on Main Street, the Restoration Society's Empowerment Academy on Elm Street and the Help Center on the ECMC campus.

ECMC's Help Center offers services similar to what would be offered at a crisis stabilization center, according to a spokesperson. It's open to walk-ins from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily.

While the police department's Behavioral Health Team's normal hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, Beyer has recently been scheduling the team to work occasional nights and weekends, Beyer said.

Mental health services are offered on a continuum and patients have different needs, so it's important to meet them where they are in order to provide what help, said Elizabeth L. Mauro, CEO of Endeavor Health Services, a local nonprofit that provides mental and behavioral health services, including alongside city police.

While crisis stabilization centers will be able to treat people in the middle of a crisis, they are geared towards being more preventative in nature, Mauro said.

The centers are distinct from what exists now; they would offer all a variety of services, marrying different components under one roof, she said.

"Different services resonate with different people," she said.

Earlier this year, the state issued a request for proposals for 12 "intensive crisis stabilization centers"  three in New York City and one in each of the nine economic development regions outside the city, including Buffalo. Proposals are due in June.

Dissolved Buffalo police advisory board wants answers about recent police shooting Buffalo lawmakers have started the process of creating a new Police Advisory Board, but the former board is still making moves.

The facilities will be licensed by the state Office of Mental Health and the Office of Addiction Services and Supports.

Earlier this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state would allocate $100 million of federal block grant funding over five years for the development of this type of crisis center. The state also plans to develop similar facilities known as "supportive crisis stabilization centers."

Momentum is building nationwide to create facilities for people to get immediate care for mental health crises and connect them to services, said Alexis Piquero, a University of Miami criminologist who serves on the Violent Crime Working Group of the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank.

Piquero pointed to a new project in Miami where a facility geared toward people with mental illness who are repeatedly arrested for minor offenses is set to open soon. Part of the Miami-Dade Criminal Mental Health Project, it's designed to be a one-stop shop that provides psychiatric services, job training and up to a year of housing.

Such efforts can be helpful, but they're not panaceas, Piquero said.

"We live in a world where we have people who need help and have access to things where they can hurt themselves," he said. "...It's like the homeless situation. Nobody wakes up and says: You know, I want to be homeless or I want to have a mental health problem."

News Staff Reporter Maki Becker contributed to this report.

Reach Aaron at abesecker[at]buffnews.com or 716-849-4602.

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Russian forces have pushed deeper into the besieged and battered city, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help. In the capital, Kyiv, at least 20 babies carried by Ukrainian surrogate mothers are stuck in a makeshift bomb shelter, waiting for parents to travel into the war zone to pick them up. Some just days old, the babies are being cared for by nurses who cannot leave the shelter because of constant shelling by Russian troops who are trying to encircle the city. Russian attacks on Mariupol (pictured on March 10 after the shelling of a residential area), have included war crimes, says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Credit:AP The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the wars worst suffering, would mark a major battlefield advance for the Russians, who are largely bogged down outside major cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II. Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth, Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said from a rubble-strewn street in a video addressed to Western leaders that was authenticated by The Associated Press.

Details also began to emerge on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) about a rocket attack that killed as many as 40 marines in the southern city of Mykolaiv the previous day, according to a Ukrainian military official who spoke to The New York Times. Russian forces have already cut Mariupol off from the Sea of Azov, and its fall would link Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, to eastern territories controlled by Moscow-backed separatists. It would mark a rare advance in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance that has dashed Russias hopes for a quick victory and galvanised the West. Ukrainian and Russian forces battled over the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraines interior minister, said on Saturday. One of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe is actually being destroyed, Denysenko said in televised remarks. The Mariupol city council claimed hours later that Russian soldiers had forcibly relocated several thousand city residents, mostly women and children, to Russia. It didnt say where in Russia, and AP could not immediately confirm the claim.

Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukraines president, said the nearest forces that could assist Mariupol were already struggling against the overwhelming force of the enemy or at least 100 kilometres away. There is currently no military solution to Mariupol, he said late on Friday. That is not only my opinion, that is the opinion of the military. In Mykolaiv, rescuers searched the rubble of the marine barracks that was destroyed in an apparent missile attack on Friday. The regions governor said the marines were asleep when the attack happened. It isnt clear how many marines were inside at the time, and rescuers were still searching the rubble for survivors the following day. But a senior Ukrainian military official, who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity to reveal sensitive information, estimated that as many as 40 marines were killed, which would make it one of the deadliest known attacks on Ukrainian forces during the war. The Ukrainian President earlier called for comprehensive peace talks with Moscow and also urged Switzerland to do more to crack down on Russian oligarchs who he said were helping wage war on his country with their money.

Zelensky, who makes frequent impassioned appeals to foreign audiences for help for his country, told an anti-war protest in Bern that Swiss banks were where the money of the people who unleashed this war lay and their accounts should be frozen. Ukrainian cities are being destroyed on the orders of people who live in European, in beautiful Swiss towns, who enjoy property in your cities. It would really be good to strip them of this privilege, he said in an audio address. Neutral Switzerland, which is not a member of the European Union, has fully adopted EU sanctions against Russian individuals and entities, including orders to freeze their wealth in Swiss banks. Volunteers unload a van full of bedding for refugees at the Zaporizhzhia Circus. Credit:Kate Geraghty The Russian military said on Sunday it has carried out a new series of strikes on Ukrainian military facilities with long-range hypersonic and cruise missiles.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said the Kinzhal hypersonic missile hit a Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv. The strike marked the second day in a row that Russia used the Kinzhal, a weapon capable of striking targets 2000 kilometres away at a speed 10 times the speed of sound. The previous day, the Russian military said the Kinzhal was used for the first time in combat to destroy an ammunition depot in Diliatyn in the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine. Konashenkov noted that the Kalibr cruise missiles launched by Russian warships from the Caspian Sea were also involved in the strike on the fuel depot in Kostiantynivka. He said Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea were used to destroy an armour repair plant in Nizhyn in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine. Konashenkov added that another strike by air-launched missiles hit a Ukrainian facility in Ovruch in the northern Zhytomyr region where foreign fighters and Ukrainian special forces were based. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the US couldnt confirm the use of a hypersonic missile.

Britains defence attache to the United States said British intelligence believes Russia has been taken aback by the Ukrainian resistance to its assault and has so far failed to achieve its original objectives. Across Ukraine, people have been trapped in their homes and unable to escape shelling. Credit:Kate Geraghty Russia has been forced to change its operational approach and is now pursuing a strategy of attrition likely to involve the indiscriminate use of firepower resulting in increased civilian casualties, Air Vice-Marshal Mick Smeath said in a statement. Putin appeared on Friday at a rally in Moscow where he lavished praise on his countrys military. We have not had unity like this for a long time, Putin told the cheering crowd.

Loading The rally took place as Russia has faced heavier-than-expected losses on the battlefield and increasingly authoritarian rule at home, where police have detained thousands of antiwar protesters. Estimates of Russian deaths vary widely, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands. Russia had 64 deaths in five days of fighting during its 2008 war with Georgia. It lost about 15,000 in Afghanistan over 10 years, and more than 11,000 in years of fighting in Chechnya. UN bodies have confirmed more than 847 civilian deaths since the war began, though they concede the actual toll is likely much higher. The UN says more than 3.3 million people have fled Ukraine as refugees. The north-western Kyiv suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin and Moshchun were under fire on Saturday, the Kyiv regional administration reported. It said Slavutich, 165 kilometres north of the capital, was completely isolated.

Evacuations from Mariupol and other besieged cities proceeded along eight of 10 humanitarian corridors, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, and a total of 6623 people were evacuated. Nannies take care of newborn babies in a basement converted into a nursery in Kyiv. Credit:AP Waiting to board a bus at a triage centre near the Moldova-Ukraine border, a woman named Irina said she decided to leave home in Mykolaiv this week after a loud explosion shook the walls, waking her young daughter. Can you imagine the fear I had, not for me but for my child? said Irina, who didnt provide her last name. So we made decision to arrive here, but I dont know where we are going, where well stay. Vereshchuk said planned humanitarian aid for the southern city of Kherson, which Russia seized early in the war, could not be delivered because the trucks were stopped along the way by Russian troops.

Ukraine and Russia have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict but remain divided over several issues, with Moscow pressing for its neighbours demilitarisation and Kyiv demanding security guarantees. The site of a bombing that damaged residential buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine. Credit:Heidi Lev Putin spoke by phone on Saturday for a second time this week with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. The Kremlin said Putin outlined fundamental assessments of the course of the talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, while Bettel informed him about contacts with the leadership of Ukraine and other countries. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Putin of using the talks as a smokescreen while his forces regroup. We dont see any serious withdrawal of Russian troops or any serious proposals on the table, she told the Times of London. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, during a Saturday visit to NATO ally Bulgaria, said the Russian invasion had stalled on a number of fronts but the US had not yet seen signs that Putin was deploying additional forces.

Loading Around Ukraine, hospitals, schools and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked. At least 130 people survived the Wednesday bombing of a Mariupol theatre that was being used a shelter, but another 1300 were believed to be still inside, Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliaments human rights commissioner, said on Friday. We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them, Denisova told Ukrainian television. A satellite image from Maxar Technologies released on Saturday confirmed earlier reports that much of the theatre was destroyed. It also showed the word CHILDREN written in Russian in large white letters outside the building.

Zelensky said more than 9000 people were able to leave Mariupol on Friday along a route leading 227 kilometres to the city of Zaporizhzhia  which is also under attack. Southern Ukraines Zaporizhzhia region announced a 38-hour curfew after two missile strikes killed nine people on Friday. Russian forces have fired on eight cities and villages in the eastern Donetsk region in the past 24 hours, including Mariupol, Ukraines national police said Saturday. Dozens of civilians were killed or wounded, and at least 37 residential buildings and facilities were damaged including a school, a museum and a shopping centre. In the western city of Lviv, Ukraines cultural capital, which was hit by Russian missiles on Friday, military veterans were training dozens of civilians on how to handle firearms and grenades. Its hard because I have really weak hands, but I can manage it, said one trainee, 22-year-old Katarina Ishchenko.
Riyadh: Yemens Iran-aligned Houthi group fired missiles and drones at Saudi energy and water desalination facilities, causing a temporary drop in output at a refinery but no casualties, the Saudi energy ministry and state media said on Sunday.

Drone strikes hit a petroleum products distribution terminal in the southern Jizan region, a natural gas plant and the Yasref refinery in the Red Sea port of Yanbu, the ministry said in a statement.

Firefighters try to extinguish a blaze at an Aramco terminal in the southern border town of Jizan, Saudi Arabia. Credit:AP

The assault on Yasref facilities has led to a temporary reduction in the refinerys production, which will be compensated for from the inventory, it said, referring to Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and China Petrochemical Corporation.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser told a call about the firms earnings there was no impact from the attacks on its supply to customers.
New York: Even in the days leading up to her deportation, Anna Sorokin appeared not to believe media speculation that she would soon be sent back to Germany. The rumours were devastating to the fake German heiress, who prefers to be called Anna Delvey and whose exploits were fictionalised on Inventing Anna, a Netflix series created by Shonda Rhimes and released last month.

Since her 2017 arrest and subsequent 2019 conviction by a Manhattan jury for bilking banks, stealing a private jet, skipping out on hotel bills and conning New Yorks elite, Sorokin, 31, had spent just six weeks out of custody, following completion of her minimum four-year sentence in February 2021.

Sorokin arrives in court in New York in 2019. Credit:AP

Then, last March, amid a bevy of media appearances, at a routine check-in at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in lower Manhattan, ICE authorities arrested her on charges of overstaying her visa.

From detention cells in New Jersey and at Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen, New York, Sorokin, who was born in Russia but has family in Germany, fought her deportation for almost a year. Once, in a phone interview, she referred to deportation as feeling like a big L on my end.
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One person was killed, and another person was rushed to the hospital after a shooting at the Speedway gas station on Poplar Level Road, according to Louisville Metro Police.
Leaked records shows that years before they joined in storming the nation's Capitol, the right-wing "Oath Keepers" took in hundreds of members from across New York.

Some said they were ready for action.

Im talented in recon and able and willing to aid in removing any and all possible threats, Chaz Rossow of Cheektowaga told the Oath Keepers as he became a member. Vest and firearms with night vision equipment in hand and ready to go.

Able to assist in storage, organizing and loading of food, water and weapons caches, Larry J. Colson of Rochester told the Oath Keepers when he joined. Willing to do whatever is necessary to help my fellow Oath Keepers!

I will not do anything illegal, but I will protect the values of the Constitution at all costs, wrote Joshua Brewer of Jefferson County. The combat veteran went on to say he can reload ammunition, has a healthy supply of reloading materials and a full complement of armorer tools.

Irene Adamczuk of Rochester wrote that she could do almost anything needed in a crisis.

I know how to shoot, she added.

The Oath Keepers call themselves the "Guardians of the Republic." The Anti-Defamation League describes them as a loose collection of right-wing, anti-government extremists who, like other players in the militia movement, suspect a shadowy conspiracy has co-opted the federal government and intends to strip Americans of their rights.

New York's membership roll features almost 2,000 names and, over the years, included police officers, prison guards and a high-ranking member of the New York Guard, a companion agency to the National Guard. But members also have drifted away or left outright because, some said, they misjudged what the organization stood for.

Colson, for example, said he was never active. Brewer, the veteran from Jefferson County, said he's embarrassed that his fleeting association with the Oath Keepers provides a link, however faint, between him and the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

Military training

The Oath Keepers differ from most militia groups by recruiting current and former military personnel, law enforcement officers and first responders, all of whom took the oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Catrina Doxsee studies the militia movement for the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank. She said military or law enforcement training enhances the skills needed to manage an operation or carry out violence.

"It is very concerning," she said. But particularly on the law enforcement side, there is the concern that people who are tasked with enforcing the laws within the United States, previously and currently, may also be pledging allegiance to this group that is specifically working against the power of the federal government or state government.

None of the New Yorkers charged in the Capitol riot is named on New York's roll of Oath Keepers. But Oath Keepers were among those accused of forcibly entering the building on Jan. 6, 2021, to prevent the transfer of power to the winner of the presidential election, Joseph R. Biden. The Oath Keepers contingents stood out, federal prosecutors say, because they used the single-file stack formation taught by the military to move through the crowd.

An indictment charges Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes of Texas and 10 others with sedition. It also describes Rhodes as an early advocate for storming the halls of power. According to prosecutors: The day Biden was projected as the winner, Rhodes messaged Oath Keepers leadership to say they must now do what the people of Serbia did when Milosevic stole the election. Refuse to accept it and march en masse on the nations Capitol.

Daniel Devlin of Buffalo, who served in the Vietnam War and worked in law enforcement in Phoenix said he has served as the head of the Oath Keepers in New York since the 2017 death of its previous president.

He said the Oath Keepers in New York have transitioned away from the national group as the national group becomes more fragmented. Still, he is not ready to criticize the people who marched on the Capitol, people who "believed the Constitution was not being adhered to," he said.

"I just don't want people to think that people associated with Oath Keepers or even the concept are automatically thinking about overthrowing the government," he said. "People on Jan. 6 were not interested in overthrowing the government, they were interested in defending it and supporting it and making sure it worked the way, they believe, it should work.

"And then," he said, "there were some people who, I don't know what they were doing."

The national organization did not respond to requests for comment for this article. But lawyers for Rhodes are providing both him and, in effect, his organization with a vigorous defense as they try to free him pending trial.

Despite the attempts to portray the Oath Keepers as an offensive paramilitary group intent on overthrowing the American Government, the lawyers wrote in a brief, the facts show that these characterizations are untrue, unfounded and almost always stem from those who simply disagree with their stated mission.

The Oath Keepers provide security at conservative rallies, and thats what they were doing on Jan. 6, the lawyers say. Yes, they used the stack formation taught by the military as one of the best ways to enter an unknown and/or hostile situation, the lawyers wrote, but went on to say that one stack soon left the building to escort some beleaguered Capitol Police officers to safety.

Uniformed members

In January 2021, the Oath Keepers list of members featured almost 40,000 names, according to a roll that an insider turned over to a nonprofit site for news leaks called Distributed Denial of Secrets. The roll, obtained by The Buffalo News, shows about 1,980 of those people resided in New York.

Of those, 103 came from Erie County, more than any other county in the state except the more populous Long Island counties of Nassau and Suffolk and the smaller Hudson Valley county of Orange. The former head of the Oath Keepers in New York, State Police retiree John Wallace, lived in the Hudson Valley until his death.

Wallace retired from the State Police long before he joined the Oath Keepers in 2013. But he was not the only member with a law enforcement background.

Vincent Augeri, a State Police lieutenant on Long Island, joined in 2010 because he thought the Oath Keepers meshed with his generally conservative views, said a lawyer who spoke to The News for Augeri. But after joining online and paying the first-year fee, Augeri had no involvement, attorney Stephen G. DeNigris said. The lawyer said Augeri  who is "in a position where he investigates these groups from a law-enforcement perspective"  does not identify at all with what some Oath Keepers did on Jan. 6, 2021.

The State Police acknowledged that one of its troopers had been an Oath Keeper and, without using Augeri's name, said "the trooper was not an active member of the organization and did not violate any State Police policies."

Locally, Lackawanna Police Lt. David Darmstedter did not want to talk to The News about his involvement, which began in 2013, according to Oath Keepers records. Former NFTA Transit Officer Casey R. Coggins did not return telephone messages seeking comment about his name appearing on the roll.

A high-ranking employee of New Yorks Division of Military and Naval Affairs joined in 2016. Lt. Col. Ed Keyrouze offered to recruit through his contacts in the New York Guard, a federally recognized self-defense force of 400 volunteers that serves as an auxiliary to New Yorks National Guard. It falls under the umbrella of the Division of Military and Naval Affairs, which investigated Keyrouze's involvement when it came to light last year.

He joined the Oath Keepers under the impression that it was a motorcycle group for former military people and members of law enforcement, said division spokesman Eric Durr. He heard nothing from the group and let his membership lapse after one year. The review concluded Keyrouze was not aware of the group's political philosophy, and that he had never been actively involved, Durr said.

Current and former employees in the state corrections system have joined the Oath Keepers, but those who spoke to The News said they drifted away. Frederick L. Germain of Rochester, for example, told the Oath Keepers when he joined that he was a certified firearms instructor and an instructor on "law enforcement general topics." But the Oath Keepers didnt look like they aligned with my principles, Germain told The News. Refusing to elaborate, the now-retired parole official said he left the Oath Keepers after one year.

Justin Von Der Heyde, who works at the Green Haven Correctional Facility in Dutchess County, said he joined in 2014 hoping the Oath Keepers would somehow help thwart the SAFE Act, then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos landmark legislation to regulate assault rifles. Von Der Heyde said he never attended meetings or participated as a member.

The Oath Keepers roll indicates Corey Mogavero, who works at the Wende Correctional Facility, signed up for an annual membership in 2014, but he says he only agreed to accept the newsletter and soon realized he had no interest in the group.

Timothy A. Lewalski of Alden, who state records show also works at Wende, told the Oath Keepers he was a Department of Corrections sergeant. He did not return a Buffalo News message seeking comment.

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision blocks an employee from affiliating with a group that will interfere with the impartial and effective performance of their duties." But that restriction alone does not bar Oath Keepers membership.

Regardless, the state prison and parole system expressed concern about any employee joining the Oath Keepers if that leads to illegal or unethical conduct.

The News found other instances when the names of Oath Keepers matched the names of law enforcement officers in New York but could not conclude they were the same people.

Their true numbers?

Rhodes, who founded the Oath Keepers in 2009, has said the organization has tens of thousands of members. The roll obtained by The News contains about 38,000 names nationwide. However, the number of people who consider themselves active members could be far less. The Anti-Defamation League estimates some 1,000 to 3,000 members are active Oath Keepers, though the League admits the groups influence extends beyond that number.

Every New Yorker who spoke to The News about their involvement said they no longer participate in the Oath Keepers, if they ever did. That includes those who had once expressed zeal for the cause.

I received a letter from them that had a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution, some stickers, and I think maybe some pamphlets or something but don't really remember, and it all wound up in the trash, said Brewer, the Army veteran in Jefferson County who told the group he owns armorer tools.

Brewer said he joined in 2015 and mentioned his military training and background as a way to identify with members.

I had just left active duty and suddenly felt a bit lost and perhaps even useless after spending my entire adult life serving our country, he told The News in an email. He said he grew concerned about the social unrest in Ferguson, Mo., following the police killing of Black teenager Michael Brown. Brewer said he was upset by the destruction and that a sniper, in apparent retribution, killed five police officers in Dallas.

Brewer thought the Oath Keepers were turning up to help law enforcement. But he saw negative press about them, too, and became glad he never really got involved aside from paying for an initial membership. As for Jan. 6, 2021: I would not have taken part in any such activities, Brewer said, and I'm frankly embarrassed that there is any linkage at all between myself and something like that.

Colson, the Rochester resident who once offered to store weapons caches, says he still has a favorable view of the Oath Keepers to the extent that they are committed to upholding the Constitution. But hes not active and never was, he said. I really fell by the wayside, to be honest, he said.

Adamczuk, the Rochester woman who told the organization she can shoot, refused to comment on her participation.

Rossow, who told the Oath Keepers he was willing to aid in removing any and all possible threats, did not respond to several requests for an interview.

The Oath Keepers organization has been dented. Facebook lists it as a militarized social movement and banned it from the platform. So did Twitter. Its founder is in jail, accused of participating in a seditious conspiracy. Federal prosecutors have secured cooperation from the head of Alabama's Oath Keepers, who has pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding for his role in the Capitol breach.

Devlin, the head of New York's membership, said he wants to rename it the "New York God and Country Oath Keepers," to distinguish it from militia-style organizations.

"Some people have chosen various groups of Oath Keepers in order to stress the importance of people honoring their oath. Oath Keepers here in New York, under my leadership, they are focused on that. There may be other people in New York who want to go the militarized aspect, and they are calling themselves Oath Keepers. They are separate from us."

The national organization's website still carries an appeal for new members, and offers visitors a way to donate to Rhodes' legal fund.

The online activity of the group has continued more or less at the same rate, said Doxsee, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. There is still a lot of online discussion continuing to spread the conspiracy theories and the ideology of the group online..."

The Oath Keepers organization or its remnants, she said, will continue to add to this extremist ideology and mythology of the so-called patriots defending freedoms from a tyrannical government.

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A look at tornado damage in Lebanon Junction, where the NWS said there was winds up to 105 mph.
Alexis Morris and Eric Effinger are running for president and vice president of the Western Student Association. Election week ends Friday, March 26.
National Nurses Week is May 6 to May 12, an annual celebration that recognizes the critical role nurses perform in our hospitals and for our community. This year, we recognize our nurses for their continued commitment and unfailing dedication to our patients and their families, and for alway
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Pat McGuinness saw no option. After going through the hardest kind of loss for any parent, he quietly went to John Courtney, who serves as president of the organization that oversees Buffalos annual St. Patricks Day parade, to give up one of the great honors of his life.

I dont think, he told Courtney, I can still be your grand marshal.

Courtney understood. He is president of Buffalos United Irish-American Association, which coordinates the parade. Courtney admires McGuinness, a child of Irish immigrants who was selected as grand marshal as an executive committee member of long community service, which caused Courtney to offer his old friend some gentle advice.

Do this for Caitlin.

I was ready to step down, McGuinness said, and he said no, no, no, no.

After hard reflection, McGuinness changed his mind. When the annual St. Patrick's Day downtown parade begins at 2 p.m. Sunday at Niagara Square, you will see him with his wife, Lois, near the front. The celebration will follow by one day the annual "Old Neighborhood" parade in the Old First Ward, thus closing out a joyous string of community St. Patrick's celebrations that had been on hold since the arrival of the pandemic, with all its heartbreak, two years ago this month.

McGuinness will spend the day surrounded by family, including his twin brother, Paul, who was delighted when Pat asked him to wear a sash as deputy grand marshal. They will travel the route in a green Jeep carrying the image of Caitlin McGuinness, Pats daughter, who died in December 2020 from complications linked to Covid-19  placing her among 970,000 Americans claimed by the virus in the last 24 months.

He lost her nearly a year after learning he would be grand marshal of a St. Patrick's parade that would be postponed in 2020, and again in 2021. Friday, at the Buffalo Irish Center, Pat and Lois spoke of Caitlin as a parade angel with distinctive pink hair. They were guests at an annual St. Pats luncheon that featured an address from Gov. Kathy Hochul, who described the center as a vibrant piece of where I come from  and whose mother, McGuinness said, was a friend of his mom's.

Sean Kirst: At St. Patrick's Day parade, celebrating gratitude shared by Irish and Six Nations This is about peace and friendship, about respecting differences and seeing each other as full human beings, and thats what lacrosse can show you, said Claudia Jimerson of the Cayuga Nation.

Yet McGuinness was also a central part of Fridays gathering. He took part in a flag-raising coordinated by a Western New York Maritime Charter School honor guard to the piping of Paul Mance, pipe major with the Erie County Sheriffs Pipe and Drums.

The hardly-need-a-jacket warmth of that March day only reinforced the traditional power of the whole St. Patricks celebration in Buffalo, ranked this winter as the snowiest large city in the nation. The festivities always provide a green symbol of hope in a Great Lakes community eager for the spring, but that sense of potential rebirth is amplified by the return of so many St. Patrick's traditions, mothballed since 2019.

People cheerfully and continually remind McGuinness, a natural and exuberant storyteller, that fate has made him the longest-tenured grand marshal in parade history. There were times when he wondered if and when it would resume. I was afraid Covid might snag it again, he said, a concern he understands in the most aching of ways.

To appreciate the tale demands knowing the family saga. His dad left Ireland for Toronto in the 1950s to become a Gray Line bus driver, McGuinness said. At the same time, John McGuinness began corresponding with Violet Kennedy of Limerick  yes, McGuinness said, his mother was a distant relative of THE Kennedys  letters that increased in emotion and frequency until the young couple took a lifetime chance.

Violet left for Canada, and married John. They later settled in Lake View, a move their children assume was made for better work. John took a job at the Ford Stamping Plant and he and Violet stayed busy raising seven kids, including Pat and Paul. The twins were so tight that Paul says to this day they cannot be absolutely sure who is who, for this reason.

Pat was born first, by nine minutes. Once Paul arrived, their mom put a red dot on one infant's ankle and a black dot on the other as a way to tell her identical twins apart. But when the babies were brought back to her, the dots had been washed off. Violet was pretty sure which was which, and they are fine with however she called it, because this much is certain:

They were and remain as close as close could be. They shared bunk beds as children and long careers as phlebotomists as adults before they retired from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, where Pat was also a donor recruiter  duties that cause him to speak with particular warmth and admiration of the many children he saw as patients.

Sean Kirst: In Buffalo, a St. Patrick's Day without Joe Kelley Buffalos Irish-American community is celebrating its first St. Patricks Day in 88 years without Joe Kelley, who was raised at Father Bakers orphanage and became a Western New York champion of Irish

Paul is not on the executive committee for the parade, so when Pat was honored as grand marshal for his service, he requested and was granted this wish:

His wife and twin brother will be at his side as deputy marshals, as will Barry Griffith, a fellow Hibernian and close friend, and McGuinness' daughter Patricia  who, with Caitlin, was one of Pat's daughters from a first marriage to Donna McGuinness. McGuinness, a grandfather, later became a dad to a joined family of four children through his marriage to Lois, with whom he lives in Lockport.

Caitlin's presence and memory will be central to the parade. McGuinness said Caitlin found out as an 8-year-old that she had diabetes, a disease she struggled with throughout her life. Always determined and strong-willed, her father said she was hospitalized 15 months ago after learning she had Covid, during the period when hospital visits were tightly restricted.

McGuinness vividly recalls his relief when his daughter did well enough to be released. On the ride home, he told her with emotion he was glad she was OK, that he had feared he would need to plan a funeral. Caitlin surprised him with this response:

Someday, she said, when it was really time to make those plans, she wanted her ashes to be mingled with the roots of a sapling so she could go on as "part of a tree," her father said.

A day later, McGuinness can tell you to the second exactly where he was  watching on television as the Buffalo Bills defeated the New England Patriots  when he received the call: A blood clot the doctors said was tied to Covid had moved into his daughters lung and taken her life, at 30.

McGuinness kept his promise. Caitlins ashes  as she wanted  are now part of a young tree.

At that moment, unable to imagine wearing the sash in a parade after such loss, he told Courtney he thought it should be someone else. But Courtney feels the same way as his sister, parade chief of staff Brigid Knott, who said McGuinness embodies everything the event is meant to be  a statement of service, heritage, community and family.

Hes an excellent person, said Courtney, who offered counsel that McGuinness contemplated, then embraced:

Let the parade serve as ultimate tribute.

With family all around him, McGuinness intends to travel the route to honor Caitlin  and Brian McGuinness, a younger brother who died years ago in an automobile accident. And their late parents, who in classic fashion left behind much they loved in Ireland  at a time when even a long-distance phone call was no easy thing  to devote themselves to building new lives for their children, near Buffalo.

McGuinness will bring all of it to a landmark St. Patrick's parade that returns after an absence of three full years, causing Knott, a main organizer, to say this of the grand marshal:

If the world itself has changed since he was selected, all he endured  and all he loves  make him a perfect choice.

Sean Kirst is a columnist with The Buffalo News. Email him at skirst@buffnews.com.

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Today

Cloudy skies. High 66F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

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Cloudy in the evening, then off and on rain showers after midnight. Low 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Sky-high gas prices are pushing electric vehicles (EVs) further into the spotlight as of late, as more drivers think seriously about going electric.

Sky-high gas prices are pushing electric vehicles (EVs) further into the spotlight as of late, as more drivers think seriously about going electric. A woman prepares to plug in her EV in Markham, Ontario on Wednesday April 15, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Sky-high gas prices are pushing electric vehicles (EVs) further into the spotlight as of late, as more drivers think seriously about going electric.

Marketing professional Ash Molaei is one those people.

"Gas prices are a big reason why I'm considering switching my relatively new sport utility vehicle for an electric one," he said in an interview.

The average gas price across Canada was $1.70 per litre Friday, according to the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), up 38 per cent from a year ago. Some parts of the country have seen prices broach $2 per litre in recent weeks.

Sixty-one per cent of Canadians say rising gas prices and oil supply challenges have convinced them that it is time to buy an EV, according to a recent KPMG survey, with 51 per cent of respondents saying they will never buy a gas-powered vehicle again.

Meanwhile, six per cent of Canadians say they ordered an EV in the past month.

"My next vehicle will 100 per cent be electric," Molaei said.

Joanna Kyriazis, program manager of clean transportation for Clean Energy Canada at Simon Fraser University, says EV drivers can insulate their wallets from geopolitically driven fossil fuel price swings such as what we're seeing as a result of the war in Ukraine.

"Owning an EV means you never have to drive by the sign outside the gas station and worry about what price you might see," she said in an interview.

"Fully charging a 413-kilometre range 2021 Chevy Bolt at home would cost $5 to $13, depending on which province you live in."

Cost can still pose a deterrent. A new electric vehicle in Canada ranges between $32,000 and $160,000. At-home charging stations are an additional upfront payment and range from $300 to $700. When parts and labour are tacked on, that can add another $1,200 to $2,000.

Kyriazis says that prices are likely to come down, however. The price of batteries used to power EVs are already dropping due to factors including growing manufacturing capacity, higher demand for batteries from leading manufacturers and new battery cell and pack designs, according to a November 2021 report from strategic research provider BloombergNEF.

Kyriazis explains that even though the upfront costs are generally higher compared to conventional vehicles, EVs could be more cost-efficient in the longer term.

"It doesn't take very long, sometimes just a year or two, before fuel savings make your EV cheaper than your gas car," she said.

There are some additional incentives: there's a federal rebate of up to $5,000 and a growing number of provinces and territories offer rebates as well.

In Ontario, where a previous rebate was later cancelled by Premier Doug Ford, the province and federal government announced millions in funding support for domestic hybrid car production last week but both Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dodged questions on the possibility of incentives to help Canadians buy them.

The steeper price tag does not worry Molaei. It is Canadas lack of infrastructure for EVs that he is concerned about, like making it easier for people to charge their vehicles at home overnight.

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He also likes to go on a lot of road trips, so the lack of charging stations in remote areas is something he is thinking about.

Cara Clairman, founder and CEO of Toronto-based Plugn Drive, says we need to approach charging stations a little differently than we approach gas stations, and also ensure that we have banks of chargers, not just one thrown out in the middle of nowhere.

"We dont need them everywhere," she said in an interview. "We need to map out the places people would likely stop and want to eat or even shop during longer trips and put chargers there."

Another hurdle is the lack of vehicles available and the length of time it will take for buyers to receive them  a year in many cases. Lingering supply chain issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic could keep wait times long.

With interest in EVs growing, automakers are increasingly choosing Canada to put their EV strategies into action. Honda Canada Inc. announced Wednesday that it would spend $1.38 billion over six years to upgrade its Alliston, Ont., plant to make electric hybrid vehicles. Earlier this month, General Motors Co. and South Koreas Posco Chemical announced a deal to build a plant in Becancour, Que., to produce battery materials for EVs. GM is also preparing to launch Canadas first full electric vehicle manufacturing plan in Ingersoll, Ont., later this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2022.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Yemens Houthi rebels unleashed one of their most intense barrages of drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia's critical energy facilities on Sunday, sparking a fire at one site and temporarily cutting oil production at another.

In this photo provided by the Saudi Press Agency, firefighters try to extinguish a blaze at an Aramco terminal in the southern border town of Jizan, Saudi Arabia, early Sunday, March 20, 2022. Yemens Houthi rebels unleashed a barrage of drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia early Sunday that targeted a liquified natural gas plant, water desalination plant, oil facility and power station, Saudi state-run media reported. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Yemens Houthi rebels unleashed one of their most intense barrages of drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia's critical energy facilities on Sunday, sparking a fire at one site and temporarily cutting oil production at another.

The salvo marked a serious escalation of rebel attacks on the kingdom as the war in Yemen rages into its eighth year and peace talks stall.

The attacks did not cause casualties, the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen said, but struck sites belonging to one of the world's most important energy companies and damaged civilian vehicles and homes. The coalition also said it destroyed a remotely piloted boat packed with explosives dispatched by the Houthis in the busy southern Red Sea.

Hours after oil giant Aramco's CEO Amin H. Nasser told reporters the attacks had no impact on oil supplies, the Saudi energy ministry acknowledged that a drone strike targeting the Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company caused a temporary reduction in the refinerys production."

The disruption, as oil prices spike in an already-tight energy market, will be compensated for from the inventory," the ministry said, without elaborating.

Another aerial attack later in the day struck a fuel tank at an Aramco distribution station in the port city of Jiddah and ignited a fire. Later at night, the roar and thump of missile interceptors rattled the port city as the Saudi military coalition said it destroyed more projectiles over Jiddah. Residents posted footage on social media showing streaks of light from missile defenses pierce the dark sky.

The relentless wave of strikes revealed the expanding reach and precision of the rebels and the persistent gaps in the kingdoms air defenses. A sophisticated strike in 2019 on Aramco oil facilities knocked out half the kingdoms oil production and threatened to ignite a regional crisis  an attack that the U.S. and Riyadh later alleged came from Iran.

The attacks on Sunday came as Saudi Arabia's state-backed Aramco, the world's largest oil company, announced its profits surged 124% in 2021 to $110 billion, a jump fueled by renewed anxieties about global supply shortages and soaring oil prices.

In this photo provided by the Saudi Press Agency, a damaged car is parked at an Aramco terminal in the southern border town of Jizan, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, March 20, 2022. Yemen's Houthi rebels unleashed a barrage of drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia early Sunday that targeted a liquified natural gas plant, water desalination plant, oil facility and power station, Saudi state-run media reported. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

Aramco, also known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., released its annual earnings after weeks of intense volatility in energy markets triggered by Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The international oil benchmark Brent crude spiked over $107 on Sunday after nearly hitting a peak of $140 earlier this month. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have so far resisted Western appeals to increase oil production to offset the loss of Russian oil as gasoline prices skyrocket.

Yehia Sarie, a spokesman for Yemens Iran-backed Houthis, said the rebels had launched a wide and large military operation" in retaliation for the Saudi-led aggression and blockade that has turned much of Yemen into a wasteland.

The escalation followed a flurry of diplomacy over the weekend in Omans capital of Muscat. The U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, met with the chief Houthi negotiator and Omani officials to discuss a possible truce during the holy month of Ramadan" in early April, the U.N. mission said.

The White House condemned the attacks, blaming Iran for supplying the Houthis with missile and drone parts, as well as training and expertise.

It is time to bring this war to a close, but that can only happen if the Houthis agree to cooperate with the United Nations, said U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The United States stands fully behind those efforts.

The Saudi-led military coalition reported aerial strikes on a range of facilities: an Aramco liquified gas plant in the Red Sea port of Yanbu, an oil storage plant in Jiddah, a desalination facility in Al-Shaqeeq on the Red Sea coast and an Aramco oil facility in the southern border town of Jizan, among others.

The extent of damage on Saudi infrastructure remained unclear, and the ministry said only the Yanbu refinery saw a temporary drop in output. A joint venture between Aramco and China, the $10 billion Yanbu Aramco Sinopec Refining Company on the Red Sea pumps 400,000 barrels of oil a day.

The Saudi Press Agency shared photos of firetrucks dousing leaping flames with water and a trail of rubble wrought by shrapnel that crashed through ceilings and pocked apartment walls. Other images showed wrecked cars and giant craters in the ground.

The barrage comes days after the Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council invited Yemens warring sides for peace talks in Riyadh  an offer dismissed out of hand by the Houthis, who demanded that negotiations take place in a neutral country.

Negotiations have floundered since the Houthis have tried to capture oil-rich Marib, one of the last remaining strongholds of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government in the countrys north.

Yemens brutal war erupted in 2014, after the Iran-backed Houthis seized the countrys capital, Sanaa. Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a devastating air campaign to dislodge the Houthis and restore the internationally recognized government.

But years later, the war has settled into a bloody stalemate and created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

Coalition airstrikes have struck civilian targets in Yemen like hospitals, telecommunications centers and wedding parties, drawing widespread international criticism.

Repeated Houthi cross-border attacks have rattled world energy markets and raised the risk of disruptions to output at Aramco sites.

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As part of its 2021 report, Aramco said it stuck to its promise of paying quarterly dividends of $18.75 billion  $75 billion last year  due to commitments the company made to shareholders in the run-up to its initial public offering. Nearly all of the dividend money goes to the Saudi government.

Despite Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmans increasing efforts to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil, the kingdom remains heavily dependent on oil exports to fuel government spending.

Riding on its 2021 income surge, Aramco said it expects to raise its capital expenditure to between $40 and $50 billion this year to meet growing energy demand, a sizable increase from last years spending of $31.9 billion.

Aramco shares were up over 3% on Sunday to trade around 43.20 riyals ($11.50) a share on Riyadhs Tadawul stock exchange.

___

Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Tom Strong in Washington contributed to this report.
OTTAWA - Two more Conservative MPs joined the party's leadership roster Sunday, with Ontario's Scott Aitchison and British Columbia's Marc Dalton launching their campaigns.

A man is silhouetted walking past a Conservative Party logo before the opening of the Party's national convention in Halifax on Thursday, August 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

OTTAWA - Two more Conservative MPs joined the party's leadership roster Sunday, with Ontario's Scott Aitchison and British Columbia's Marc Dalton launching their campaigns.

Aitchison, 49, chose a craft brewery in his hometown of Huntsville, Ont., for his opening event, promising to bring an end to the hyper-partisan antics and political games that are the norm now in Canadian politics.

"More partisan bickering is simply not the answer," he said, as an energetic crowd waved colourful signs simply printed with the word "Scott" on them.

"Solving problems requires real leadership. I've been in Parliament now two terms. And I am dismayed by the energy wasted on political games, instead of getting things done. What's missing in Ottawa is leadership."

He promised a campaign free of attacks on his opponents that focuses on the economy, national and global security, climate change and housing.

Dalton, 61, did his launch on Twitter, saying in a posted video that one of his first actions as leader will be to initiate a public inquiry into how the federal Liberals handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dalton accused the Liberals of using pandemic contracts to line the pockets of their friends, making decisions based on politics rather than public health, and ignoring evidence about vaccine injuries to push ahead with "coercive measures to get people vaccinated."

Both men were first elected to the House of Commons in 2019. Aitchison previously served as a councillor and then mayor in Huntsville, and Dalton as a B.C. Liberal MLA.

Their entrance means there are now four sitting MPs running, including Pierre Poilievre and Leslyn Lewis.

There are now eight candidates in total, with the four sitting MPs joined by former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Brampton, Ont., Mayor Patrick Brown, independent Ontario MPP Roman Baber and Saskatchewan businessman Joseph Bourgault.

The Conservatives are choosing their third leader in five years after Erin O'Toole was voted out of the job by the Conservative caucus in early February.

The candidates have until April 19 to enter the race and until June 3 to sell memberships. The vote will take place Sept. 10.

Aitchison's pledge not to run a campaign of attacks is in stark contrast to much of what has been happening in the race so far.

Brown and Poilievre went at each other directly on Twitter last week after Brown accused Poilievre of supporting "discriminatory policies" that target immigrants while a cabinet minister in 2015.

He referred specifically to Poilievre's support for a ban against women wearing a niqab during citizenship ceremonies, which was a policy of the former Conservative government that was eventually struck down by the courts.

In response Poilievre accused Brown of outright "lies" about everything from the niqab ban policy, to his position on carbon taxes and Ontario's new sex-ed curriculum.

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Poilievre in turn has levied sharp attacks at Charest, a former Progressive Conservative party leader nationally who led the provincial Liberals in Quebec. Poilievre has said Charest is not a true Conservative.

Poilievre, with endorsements from 44 current Conservative MPs, is considered the front-runner in the contest, well eclipsing caucus endorsements for Charest, who has nine, and Brown and Lewis who both have two.

On Saturday, Brown got a big endorsement boost from Calgary MP Michelle Rempel Garner, who had declined to endorse anyone in either of the last two contests.

Aitchison's sole MP endorsement Sunday came from Kenora MP Eric Melillo.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2022.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version misspelled Marc Dalton's first name.
It takes a special kind of courage for a national leader, determined to defend his nation, to have to take out his begging bowl again and again, around the world on video. But Volodymyr Zelenskyy has done so without flinching, with eloquence and with severe warnings to those who fail to listen to his appeals.

Opinion

It takes a special kind of courage for a national leader, determined to defend his nation, to have to take out his begging bowl again and again, around the world on video. But Volodymyr Zelenskyy has done so without flinching, with eloquence and with severe warnings to those who fail to listen to his appeals.

The Ukrainian presidents powerful performances before Canadian, American and German legislators this week  and the European Parliament last week  have clearly consolidated the support of their citizens on each occasion. Even if our leaders have continued to be less than heroic in their response.

In Canadas case, we were hesitant to provide necessary military support until the Russians had actually invaded. We cannot provide a no-fly zone. But in its absence we must provide all the advanced drones, anti-aircraft and anti-tank systems we have access to. What are we waiting for? The West must accelerate the flow of lethal weapons to Ukraine if we are not to be deservedly denounced later.

But with every passing day, the Russian military is exposed as a cowardly and even incompetent war machine. That the worlds third largest military is now stalemated by a nation with less than 10 per cent of its capacity makes the inevitable outcome increasingly clear: Vladimir Putin will be defeated.

So now we face the question of how to rebuild a global security alliance when one powerful player has made clear it has no intention of being bound by any security agreements, and another, China, has signalled it is a happy co-conspirator in a lawless international order.

Some of the foreign policy elite dare to suggest that Ukraine should make real concessions to win a ceasefire. Like what  agreeing to Putin creating a pair of vassal states on the nations eastern border, carved from Ukrainian territory? What dangerous nonsense.

No, the only appropriate response today is how the West can ensure Russia pays heavily for its war crimes, including reparations and referrals to the International Court of Justice. Then we need to reimagine the global security alliances that were created after the last upheaval  Russias seizure of much of Eastern Europe after the Second World War.

Zelenskyy has shown not only breathtaking courage and eloquence; he has also outlined a powerful new security vision. In Washington, he raised the prospect of a post-NATO alliance. One that might accommodate Finland, Sweden, Ukraine and others as new partners of a broader security alliance. He has flagged the reality that the old boundaries between NATO members and non-members is now blurring, as everyone on Russias borders is at risk.

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Putins ambition was never merely to occupy and subjugate Ukraine, a goal he now understands is too bloody and costly to achieve. Rather, it was to restore Russias ability to strip nations from Finland to Turkey of their military capacity to resist his strategic demands. A new alliance to frustrate that ambition is now unavoidable.

Putin is being fought to a standstill, with steadily weakening morale in his military and increasing unrest in Russia. His demands at the negotiating table are softening. A ceasefire in place is unacceptable; Putin will merely use it to rearm. Sanctions must stay in place until Putin removes all his invasion forces, agrees to compensation and signs enforceable security guarantees.

Russia has never been a normal country. Its permanent paranoid victimhood has roots in 250 years of Mongol occupation. As a result, it has never been competently governed, let alone governed other than by oppression. It is time that the world recognizes this tragic national neurosis and treats Russia accordingly.

Zelenskyy has blazed the only safe path to a sustainable security balance for decades to come: defeat Putin in Ukraine, and demonstrate our determination to never again permit such an outrageous attack. This breach of the security norms that have protected Russia as much as the rest of the world for more than seven decades must not stand.

Canada should make up for its earlier querulousness by showing leadership on arms and humanitarian assistance, and laying out the tough conditions that Ukraine and the West will impose on Russia for its transgressions.

Robin V. Sears was an NDP strategist for 20 years and later served as a communications adviser to businesses and governments on three continents. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @robinvsears
BERLIN (AP)  Alona Fartukhova has been coming to Berlins Ukrainian Orthodox Christian community every day since she arrived in Germany five days ago from war-torn Kyiv. The 20-year-old refugee has been attending daily prayers for peace and helped organize donations for her compatriots back home.

Members of the Ukrainian Orthodox community, who have found shelter for their church service in an evangelical church, and refugees from Ukraine celebrate a church service and pray for peace between boxes with collected aid supplies in Berlin, Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Steffi Loos)

BERLIN (AP)  Alona Fartukhova has been coming to Berlins Ukrainian Orthodox Christian community every day since she arrived in Germany five days ago from war-torn Kyiv. The 20-year-old refugee has been attending daily prayers for peace and helped organize donations for her compatriots back home.

On Sunday, Fartukhova joined dozens of other Ukrainian worshippers at a red brick stone church in the German capital who sang together, lit candles, and received blessings from the head of the community, Father Oleh Polianko. Later they put medical crutches, sleeping bags, diapers, big boxes of gummi bears and countless jars of pickles  which were piling up everywhere inside the church  into big cardboard boxes to be send to Ukraine.

"Its some help for our army, and it is ... a lot of things for children" said the university student, who fled by herself and is now living at a hotel in Berlin, as she stacked boxes onto the church pews. "It is so good that a lot of people support us, we really appreciate it."

Across Europe, Ukrainians gathered for church services on Sunday to pray for peace in their war-torn country. Newly arrived refugees mingled with long-time members of Europe's 1.5 million-strong Ukrainian diaspora at houses of worship all over the continent from Germany to Romania to Moldova.

Since Russia attacked Ukraine more than three weeks ago, over 3.38 million people have fled the country, according to the United Nations refugee agency. Altogether, 10 million people have fled their homes  more than 6 million of them have been displaced internally, the UNHCR said on Sunday.

Most have escaped to neighboring Poland, Romania or Moldova, but as the war continues many are moving further west.

Germany has registered more than 200,000 Ukrainian refugees but the real numbers are expected to be much higher as Ukrainians dont need a visa to come to Germany, and federal police only register refugees entering Germany by train or bus. Ukrainians coming to Germany from Poland by car are normally not registered.

Members of the Ukrainian Orthodox community, who have found shelter for their church service in an evangelical church, sing during a church service and prayer for peace in Berlin, Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Steffi Loos)

Members of Germany's Ukrainian immigrant community, which counts around 300,000 people, have not only been raising money and collecting donations, but also driven the goods to the border and beyond and on their way back to Germany have taken along refugees. Families already living in Germany have squeezed together to accommodate refugees and are helping them find jobs and get their kids into schools.

The diaspora Ukrainians' religious communities  mostly Christian Orthodox, but also some Catholic and Jewish communities  have been leading refugee initiatives and have also become an anchor for those worrying about their families back in the war.

Polianko, who heads the 500-member-strong Orthodox Christian community in Berlin, held some one-on-one prayers on Sunday with worshippers who were especially distressed. He then gave blessings "for the souls of our soldiers who are fighting in Ukraine, and also for the souls of our soldiers who have died in Ukraine."

Because the Berlin community has been so overwhelmed by donations, they temporarily moved from their small church building in the city's Hermsdorf neighborhood to the bigger church of the Lutheran Philippus Nathanael community in Berlin-Friedenau. Here, they have plenty of space to organize donation drives and a wide driveway for trucks picking up the boxes, says Andriy Ilin, the deputy head of the community.

The Lutherans are currently holding their own services in a nearby community center.

"Initially, they offered us the church for March, now they've extended it to April, and they kindly let us know that if we need it beyond that, they will allow that too." Ilin said.

Elsewhere in Europe, local worshippers also opened their churches to welcome Ukrainians.

In Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, locals and refugees alike assembled for an Orthodox prayer service on Sunday.

Angelica Gretsai, a refugee from the northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, lit candles just before the religious service in Russian began at a small Sfintul Gheorghe church.

"(I pray) for peace of course, for peace in Ukraine, for these two peoples (Russians and Ukrainians ) to make up, for this war to be no more," Gretsai said adding that she was yearning to go back home and be with friends and family.

"I'm basically alone here, it's the first time I came to Moldova,' she said, adding that she was staying with some distant relatives she had never met before. Moldova has welcomed more than 360,000 refugees since Russia invaded Ukraine.

In Suceava, Romania, south of the Ukrainian border, locals and new arrivals from Ukraine held a service together at St. John's church. Romania has welcomed more than half a million refugees from Ukraine since the beginning of the war and several of them found their way to the church service.

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Ariadna Belciug, a local resident at the service, said she was praying "especially for the children, because no one deserves to go through these times."

"I pray for them to be all right, to be safe and for better days for them to come," Belciug added.

___

Nicolae Dumitrache in Chisinau, Moldova and Eldar Emric in Suceava, Romania contributed reported.

__

Follow all AP stories about Russia's war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
Rep. Lee Zeldin recalls the decision he faced about a year ago as he mulled running for governor of New York in 2022.

The Suffolk County Republican was sure  as he is now  that his party will in November reclaim a House of Representatives majority. A plum committee assignment  maybe a powerful chairmanship  would await. It would prove an exciting time for a rising Republican in Washington.

But Zeldin is giving it all up to challenge incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul or another Democrat in November. He thinks polls showing Hochul with a commanding lead are skewed. New Yorkers are tired, he says, of one-party rule in Washington, Albany and New York City. And as in most mid-term elections, he recognizes that the out-of-power party triumphs.

In a 45-minute interview during his upstate swing a few days ago, Zeldin outlined the path he sees to victory  a path no Republican gubernatorial candidate has successfully trod since George E. Pataki in 2002. For him it boils down to New York's economy, public safety, quality of public schools and ending Covid mandates that infringe upon personal freedom.

"If you ask the first 30 people you see out on the street: What are your top issues?" he said their answers will reflect his priorities. "The issues they are citing are issues I'm on the right side of, and Kathy Hochul is on the wrong side of."

Zeldin, 42, is embracing one of the most critical elements in any decision about running for office  timing. The combination of right time and right place, identifying the issues and a "motivated" turnout among moderate Democrats, independents and Republicans can prevail, he says, even in dark blue New York.

"People who are analyzing the race right now and trying to handicap it," he said, "don't seem to be in tune with the political reality of this balance of power."

Republicans eye conservative Democrats

An Iraq War veteran who still serves in the Army Reserves as a lieutenant colonel, Zeldin doesn't sound all that different from other Republicans before him. He rails against Albany policies that he says send people and companies to more business-friendly states. He complains about new laws that critics say allow criminals to post cashless bail and roam the streets, even if New Yorkers overwhelmingly elected those who passed them.

Zeldin returns to timing, theorizing the political pendulum may be swinging back to the center (as does Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi in the Democratic primary). It all presents the opportunity, he says, for Republicans to capture conservative Democrats as did Pataki in 1994 against former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, when the incumbent's opposition to the death penalty ranked as a major issue. The result was three consecutive victories for Republican Pataki  even in Democratic Erie County.

He thinks Hochul, a moderate Democrat while representing the state's most Republican congressional district a decade ago, no longer reflects Democrats in bellwether counties like Erie. He has heard it over and over, he said, even during a recent visit to the governor's native Hamburg.

"This is not the Kathy Hochul she was as a member of Congress, or not the same Kathy Hochul as a local official," he said. "She'll say she has 'evolved.' I believe that will have a negative impact in November.

"We're going to win Erie County," he added.

Zeldin: 'I won't be outworked'

Analysis: Harry Wilson throws a wrench into the Republican gubernatorial campaign Rep. Lee Zeldin seemed the shoo-in Republican candidate for governor, but now a primary looms with Harry Wilson in contention. But why did he decide so late?

Zeldin is already airing television ads with some of the $5.6 million he reported in January, highlighting his Army service and seven successful elections as a congressman and state senator. Already he assumes fall campaign mode as financier Harry J. Wilson, the unsuccessful Republican candidate for comptroller in 2010, launches his own primary effort to capture the GOP nod for governor.

Wilson will spend $12 million of his own money, he pledges, and is saturating the March airwaves with a promise to tap his business skills and "turn around" New York. Former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino (the unsuccessful GOP candidate for governor in 2014) and former Trump administration official Andrew Giuliani are also in the race.

But Zeldin emerged from this month's Republican State Convention in Nassau County as the overwhelming favorite of party leaders, forcing his rivals to circulate their own designating petitions for the June primary ballot. Now Zeldin has to overcome Wilson's deep pockets and make his case to Republican voters before he can even think about facing a Democrat.

"I'm not saying this to be rude, but these other candidates have already lost," he said. "I take nothing for granted and it's not like I am being overconfident. I won't be outworked, and I have a well-oiled machine with great chemistry."

Zeldin's votes figure into Dem strategy

Democrats, however, are already hinting at the kind of campaign they will wage against Zeldin. They point to his votes against certifying Joe Biden's election as president and his conservative positions in a liberal state.

On Monday night, Zeldin attracted about 250 people to a meeting of the 1791 Society, which promotes gun rights and preserving the Second Amendment. That ranks as an important part of his platform, he says, even though Republican efforts to repeal the strict gun control law known as the SAFE Act have always foundered. He thinks voters should show some type of identification at the polls and does not contest that Democrats will most likely try this fall to link him to Donald Trump in a state where the former president wins neither popularity nor political contests.

"The Democrats will guarantee losing the November election with that kind of strategy," he said, insisting that undecided and independent voters are more interested in his "save our state" message focusing on freedom, public safety, taxes and public education.

Would he support Trump for president in 2024?

"I am focused on my election this November," he says in what has become his stock answer to questions about Trump.

Erie County Democratic Chairman Jeremy J. Zellner dismisses most of Zeldin's claims, especially winning in Hochul's home turf.

Analysis: Republicans, on their marks ... Some observations from last weeks two-day GOP conclave on Long Island, already producing 2022 election themes.

"No one running for governor in the last 140 years knows our community better than Kathy Hochul," he said. "And even if you take away the fact that Kathy is from here, she has brought a pragmatic way of working at the Capitol, and I'm not sure that would continue under a Zeldin administration."

Already, Zellner seems to summarize Democrats' strategy against their 2022 opponent, pointing to Zeldin's votes against certifying Biden's election and against his impeachment in 2021.

"We arent likely to support an individual who voted against the certification of a legitimate presidential election," Zellner said, "and refuses to hold Donald Trump accountable for his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection."

Fracking, gas taxes an election issue as prices rise

The sense of timing upon which Zeldin relies this election year continues to serve him. Early last week, in the natural gas rich areas of Binghamton and Elmira, the candidate advocated lifting state prohibitions against fracking and reversing rejection of new pipelines. And with gasoline prices nearing all-time highs across the state, Zeldin said it's time to do more than "consider" rolling back the state's tax at the pump.

He doesn't hesitate to link Hochul to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his ignominious exit from office last August after accusations of sexual harassment, hiding negative nursing home data and using state staffers to help write a book on his pandemic experiences.

He likes what his internal polls tell him, thinks he feels a new "energy" in his Republican organization and believes his fortunes lie in the hands of moderate Democrats and independents in promising territory like Erie County.

"Wherever I travel people are talking about the same issues," he said, "and I also have not seen this awareness of what to do about it."

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LVIV, Ukraine (AP)  As it continued its barrage of the besieged city of Mariupol, Russia demanded that Ukrainians put down their arms and raise white flags on Monday in exchange for safe passage out of town.

Medical staff rest in a basement used as a bomb shelter at the Ohmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

LVIV, Ukraine (AP)  As it continued its barrage of the besieged city of Mariupol, Russia demanded that Ukrainians put down their arms and raise white flags on Monday in exchange for safe passage out of town.

Ukraine angrily rejected the offer, which came hours after officials said Russian forces had bombed an art school that was sheltering some 400 people.

While the fight for control of the strategically important city remained intense, Western governments and analysts see the broader conflict shifting to a war of attrition.

Russian Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said it would allow two corridors out of Mariupol, heading either east toward Russia or west to other parts of Ukraine.

Mariupol residents were given until 5 a.m. Monday to respond to the offer. Russia didn't say what action it would take if it was rejected.

A woman touches a banner depicting Russian President, Vladimir Putin with the text "We will never forget. We will never forgive" during a protest against Russia's war in Ukraine, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, March 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

But Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk said no.

There can be no talk of any surrender, laying down of arms. We have already informed the Russian side about this, she told the news outlet Ukrainian Pravda. I wrote: `Instead of wasting time on eight pages of letters, just open the corridor.

Mariupol Mayor Piotr Andryushchenko also rejected the offer, saying in a Facebook post he didnt need to wait until morning to respond and cursing at the Russians, according to the news agency Interfax Ukraine.

A man walks at dusk in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Russian forces pushed deeper into Ukraine's besieged and battered port city of Mariupol on Saturday, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

The Russian Ministry of Defense said authorities in Mariupol could face a military tribunal if they sided with what it described as bandits, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Previous bids to allow residents to evacuate Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities have failed or have been only partially successful, with bombardments continuing as civilians sought to flee.

Speaking in a video address early Monday, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said about 400 civilians were taking shelter at the art school when it was struck by a Russian bomb.

A child with her face covered by a large Ukrainian flag sings the Ukrainian national anthem during a protest against Russia's war in Ukraine, in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, March 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

They are under the rubble, and we dont know how many of them have survived, he said. But we know that we will certainly shoot down the pilot who dropped that bomb, like about 100 other such mass murderers whom we already have downed.

Tearful evacuees from the devastated Azov Sea port city have described how battles took place over every street."

The fall of Mariupol would allow Russian forces in southern and eastern Ukraine to link up. But Western military analysts say that even if the surrounded city is taken, the troops battling a block at a time for control there may be too depleted to help secure Russian breakthroughs on other fronts.

A woman receives communion inside the "Transfiguration of Jesus" Orthodox Cathedral, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Three weeks into the invasion, Western governments and analysts see the conflict shifting to a war of attrition, with bogged down Russian forces launching long-range missiles at cities and military bases as Ukrainian forces carry out hit-and-run attacks and seek to sever their supply lines.

Ukrainians have not greeted Russian soldiers with a bunch of flowers, Zelenskyy told CNN, but with weapons in their hands.

Moscow cannot hope to rule the country, he added, given Ukrainians' enmity toward the Russian forces.

A mother embraces her son who escaped the besieged city of Mariupol and arrived at the train station in Lviv, western Ukraine on Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

The strike on the art school was the second time in less than a week that officials reported an attack on a public building where Mariupol residents had taken shelter. On Wednesday, a bomb hit a theater where more than 1,000 people were believed to be sheltering.

There was no immediate word on casualties in the school attack, which The Associated Press could not independently verify. Ukrainian officials have not given an update on the search of the theater since Friday, when they said at least 130 people had been rescued and another 1,300 were trapped by rubble.

City officials and aid groups say food, water and electricity have run low in Mariupol and fighting has kept out humanitarian convoys. Communications are severed.

Family members and Ukrainian servicemen attend the funeral ceremony of marine Alexandr Khovtun, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 20, 2022. Khovtun died in combat in the town of Huta-Mezhyhirska, north of Kyiv. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

The city has been under bombardment for over three weeks and has seen some of the worst horrors of the war. City officials said at least 2,300 people have died, with some buried in mass graves.

Some who were able to flee Mariupol tearfully hugged relatives as they arrived by train Sunday in Lviv, about 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) to the west.

Battles took place over every street. Every house became a target, said Olga Nikitina, who was embraced by her brother as she got off the train. "Gunfire blew out the windows. The apartment was below freezing.

In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv, Ukraine, early Sunday, March 20, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Maryna Galla narrowly escaped with her 13-year-old son. She said she huddled in the basement of a cultural center along with about 250 people for three weeks without water, electricity or gas.

We left (home) because shells hit the houses across the road. There was no roof. There were people injured, Galla said, adding that her mother, father and grandparents stayed behind and "dont even know that we have left."

Unexpectedly strong Ukrainian resistance has dashed Russian President Vladimir Putins hopes for a quick victory after he ordered the Feb. 24 invasion of his neighbor. In recent days, Russian forces have entered Mariupol. But taking the city could prove costly.

Members of the Ukrainian Orthodox community, who have found shelter for their church service in an evangelical church, sing during a church service and prayer for peace in Berlin, Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Steffi Loos)

The block-by-block fighting in Mariupol itself is costing the Russian military time, initiative, and combat power, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in a briefing.

In a blunt assessment, the think tank concluded Russia failed in its initial campaign to take the capital of Kyiv and other major cities quickly, and its stalled invasion.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukrainian resistance means Putins forces on the ground are essentially stalled.

A refugee woman eats in Brovary, Ukraine, Sunday, March 20, 2022, after 1,600 people, of which half are children according to authorities, were evacuated from the village of Bobrik, reportedly under Russian military control. Russian forces pushed deeper into Ukraine's besieged and battered port city of Mariupol on Saturday, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Its had the effect of him moving his forces into a woodchipper, Austin told CBS on Sunday.

In Ukraine's major cities, hundreds of men, women and children have been killed in Russian attacks.

In Kyiv, emergency services reported four people killed by shelling not far from the center of the capital Sunday. Loud explosions were heard as a shopping center and cars in a parking lot caught fire, they said.

People gather outside their destroyed buildings after a bombing in Satoya neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In a video address to the Israeli parliament on Sunday, Zelenskyy urged the lawmakers to take stronger action against Russia. accusing Putin of trying to carry out a final solution against Ukraine. The term was used by Nazi Germany for its genocide of some 6 million Jews during World War II.

Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, also noted that a Russian missile struck Babi Yar -- the spot in Kyiv where over 30,000 Jews were slaughtered in 1941 by the Nazis  and is now Ukraines main Holocaust memorial.

Zelenskyy later thanked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for trying to help find a negotiation track with Russia "so that we sooner or later start talking with Russia, possibly in Jerusalem.

It would be the right place to find peace if possible, Zelenskyy said.

He also said he'd had a call Sunday with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss support for Ukraine during this week's summit of the Group of Seven and NATO.

The U.N. has confirmed 902 civilian deaths in the war but concedes the actual toll is likely much higher. It says nearly 3.4 million people have fled Ukraine.

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Estimates of Russian deaths vary, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands.

Some Russians also have fled their country amid a widespread crackdown on dissent. Russia has arrested thousands of antiwar protesters, muzzled independent media and cut access to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

___

Associated Press writer Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, and other AP journalists around the world contributed.

___

Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
FROM THE DESK OF EXTENSION

University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension Dodge County

Talking with children about scary events is difficult, said Patricia Carroll, human development and relationships educator with University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension in Dodge County. The University of Minnesota published an article that might help families talk to their children about the war in Ukraine. The tips in the article can also serve as a tool to talk with children about other scary events by simply replacing the details about the war with details about whatever tough topic is occurring. Here is the article from the University of Minnesota:

The war in Ukraine has affected all of us and brought constant images from our news sources. This can be frightening, especially for children, and often results in a host of questions.

American television host Fred Rogers has great insight for parents and caregivers that applies here:

Anything thats human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting and less scary.

Before we talk with children, its important to make sure we have mentally and emotionally grounded ourselves. First, remember both you and your child may have feelings of anxiety, worry, fear and grief. Know that these are completely normal responses to stressful situations and, rather than trying to correct their negative emotions, you should honor their feelings. Kids dont need us to fix everything; they need us to be present while they experience it. This is a teachable moment for you to model how to handle these emotions.

If you are part of the military community, this war hits close to home. Military kids arent thinking only of the war in Ukraine, the constant talk of impending global conflict is worrisome and brings about anxiety. They are close to war without being on the battlefield because they are fearful for the safety of their parents.

Be mindful of what you take in

In addition to modeling emotions, focus on managing what you can manage. You have influence over what your family experiences within your home. Its important to remain mindful of the news your child is exposed to and the conversations between adults and other children in their lives. Monitor the news you and your child are receiving. Ask yourself, What information can my child or I handle today? What is helpful now? Choose what is most meaningful, not what happens to appear in front of you. Pay attention to how information affects your own stress and anxiety because this can spill over to children of all ages. Be mindful of your childs behavior for possible signs of trauma. A traumatic experience is defined as an event that overwhelms a persons ability to cope. Examples of behaviors associated with trauma include: avoiding talking about the trauma; disruption in sleep patterns or frequent nightmares, and intrusive thoughts related to the traumatic event.

Once you feel ready, start the conversation. Ask your child what they know and whether they have questions. Address the questions as honestly and age appropriately as possible. If you dont have the answers, search for them with your child.

Remember to communicate carefully and listen to your child with empathy. Ask yourself: Who do I want to be on the other side of this stressful situation? How does that guide my behavior now?

Guiding the conversation

Talking about the topic might feel overwhelming. The answers to these questions are complex, and families should consider an ongoing discussion about what is happening, especially as the news about the war evolves.

Who is involved in this war? Discuss the names of countries mentioned in the news articles, online or television news with your children.

Where is this war happening? Find a map or a globe and have your school age child locate those countries mentioned in news articles, online or on television news.

Why did the war start? Wars start for many different reasons. You might want to explain some of the reasons: competition over territory and resources, historical rivalries and grievances, and in self-defense against an aggressor or a perceived potential aggressor. One analogy to use is if someone were to come and take all of the toys because they wanted more. Would that be okay?

What can we do to help? Brainstorm some ideas with your child about ways you can help them grasp what they are hearing or seeing in the news.

Parents may, understandably, be hesitant to talk about such heavy topics with their children. Keep in mind that global crises will have an effect upon children whether you acknowledge them or not. Even if it feels difficult, the healthier choice is to talk with your kids and remember what Mr. Rogers said, When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting and less scary.

A web version of the article available at https://extension.umn.edu/family-news/how-talk-your-kids-about-war.
Weather Alert

...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers in Indiana... Wabash River from Lafayette to Montezuma. White River at Elliston and Edwardsport. .Multiple rounds of rain over the last few days is bringing minor flooding along lower portions of the White River and upper portions of the Wabash River. Additional rainfall Thursday evening through Friday evening should keep portions of the White and Wabash above flood stage through the weekend. 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 NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE... * WHAT...Minor flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Wabash River at Lafayette. * WHEN...Until further notice. * IMPACTS...At 14.0 feet, Lowland flooding is in progress. High water affects river cabins near North 9th Street. Low county roads are nearly impassable. Tapawingo Park in West Lafayette begins to flood. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 9:30 PM EDT Wednesday the stage was 11.3 feet. - Recent Activity...The maximum river stage in the 24 hours ending at 9:30 PM EDT Wednesday was 11.3 feet. - Forecast...The river will rise to 13.2 feet early Friday morning. It will then fall to 12.4 feet and begin rising again early Saturday morning. It will rise to 13.7 feet Sunday morning. It will then fall again but remain above flood stage. - Flood stage is 11.0 feet. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
Aerial photo taken on Feb. 17, 2022 shows the Cambodia-China Friendship Tboung Khmum Hospital in Tboung Khmum Province, Cambodia. [Photo by Ly Lay/Xinhua]

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua)  Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone conversation with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Friday, with both sides agreeing to promote Belt and Road cooperation.

The two sides should engage in high-quality joint Belt and Road construction, speed up the construction of major projects such as highways, airports and special economic zones, and expand cooperation in emerging fields such as finance and digital economy, Xi said.

Xi noted that with the joint efforts of both sides, China-Cambodia relations have withstood tests and grown even more unbreakable.

Facing major global changes and the pandemic, both unseen in a century, China and Cambodia have firmly promoted the building of a community with a shared future, setting an example of forging a new type of international relations, he said.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the China-Cambodia free trade agreement should be fully tapped to push bilateral trade to a new level, Xi said.

The Chinese side will import more high-quality agricultural products from Cambodia, carry out more cooperation with Cambodia to improve people's welfare, and implement such projects related to roads and education in rural areas, so as to help develop agriculture in Cambodia and lift farmers out of poverty, he noted.

China will continue to support Cambodia in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and explore new models of people-to-people and cultural exchanges with Cambodia against the backdrop of the pandemic.

Aerial photo taken on March 1, 2022 shows the National Road No. 3 in Takeo Province, Cambodia. [Photo by Ly Lay/Xinhua]

Xi stressed that China firmly supports the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the regional cooperation architecture, and supports the bloc in playing a bigger role in regional and international affairs.

China also supports Cambodia in carrying out its duty as the rotating president of ASEAN this year, Xi said, adding that China stands ready to work with Cambodia and other ASEAN countries to push for the continuous development of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership.

Hun Sen sincerely congratulated China on the successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics and the successful convening of the "two sessions."

The prime minister said he believes that under the strong leadership of President Xi, China will make more great achievements.

The rapid growth of Cambodia-China bilateral trade and smooth progress of major projects under the framework of jointly building the Belt and Road have demonstrated the achievements of their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and the building of a Cambodia-China community with a shared future, Hun Sen said, adding that it shows Cambodia and China are true ironclad brothers.

Cambodia firmly adheres to the one-China policy and firmly supports China's position on issues related to Taiwan and Xinjiang, he noted.

The Cambodian side is ready to take the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries next year as an opportunity to deepen exchanges and cooperation in economy and trade, agriculture, as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges and other fields, and advance the Belt and Road cooperation, so as to lift the Cambodia-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new level.

Hun Sen thanked China for providing material supplies, vaccines and other assistance to Cambodia in its fight against COVID-19, expressing his hope for stronger anti-pandemic cooperation.

As the rotating chair of ASEAN this year, Cambodia will continue to actively promote the development of ASEAN-China relations, he added.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine. The two sides agree to uphold a balanced and fair position and make positive efforts to promote peace talks.

(Source: Xinhua)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015 file photo, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, right, talks with David Moore following her office's refusal to issue marriage licenses at the Rowan County Courthouse in Morehead, Ky. Although her appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied, Davis still refuses to issue marriage licenses. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Emergency services attend large fire on Beechley Road

Update: We have been told the fire has been extinguished, and did not affect any buildings.

No detail has been released.

Original information below:

Emergency services are attending a large fire in Hightown this evening.

The North Wales Fire & Rescue Service have said, North Wales Fire Service and North Wales Police are in attendance at a large fire on Beechley Road Wrexham.

Please avoid the area.

Top image: Archive picture.
Weather Alert

...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers in Indiana... Wabash River from Lafayette to Montezuma. White River at Elliston and Edwardsport. .Multiple rounds of rain over the last few days is bringing minor flooding along lower portions of the White River and upper portions of the Wabash River. Additional rainfall Thursday evening through Friday evening should keep portions of the White and Wabash above flood stage through the weekend. 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 NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL TUESDAY AFTERNOON... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Wabash River at Montezuma. * WHEN...Until Tuesday afternoon. * IMPACTS...At 18.0 feet, Montezuma agricultural levee is overtopped. Fourteen hundred acres of low bottomlands flood. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 9:45 PM EDT Wednesday the stage was 13.1 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage late tomorrow evening to a crest of 18.0 feet Saturday evening. It will then fall below flood stage early Tuesday morning. - Flood stage is 14.0 feet. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
Press Release

March 19, 2022 Construction of more Cagayan Valley bridges a pathway to success - Gordon Senator Richard J. Gordon said that he will push for construction of more bridges in the Cagayan Valley to help give a big jolt to the local economy. Gordon, during his visit to the northern provinces of Cagayan and Isabela, noted that improving and building bridges will help cut travel time to other points of the country, which will increase economic gains in the area. "With the construction of these bridges, it literally becomes a pathway to progress for the millions living in Northern Luzon, because the faster delivery of goods signal more progress to the people here," said Gordon. "They should take advantage of the various existing seaports, freeports, and airports in the area, because these are means to increase the production and distribution of agricultural produce elsewhere," he continued. Gordon traveled to the area as a guest candidate of the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem, where they were warmly received by residents. Aside from Cagayan, he flew to nearby Isabela to speak to local leaders and voters, which culminated in a grand rally in Echague, where about 10,000 eager supporters packed the venue. Gordon also mentioned that he will push to revive the port of Aparri, and the airport in Lal-lo through the passage of the Regional Investment and Infrastructure Coordinating Hub (RICH) bill. "Northern Luzon is a perfect area where we could implement the RICH bill if it's passed into law because there are so many underutilized seaports and airports that we could use here," remarked the senator. "Products could freely get exported to other places, and the government could easily find tenable land to be able to convert into a one-stop shop, where agriculture, business, and government could harmonize with one another to attend to the needs of the economy," he continued. As senator, Gordon pushed to improve the lives of the members of the agriculture sector by authoring and sponsoring Republic Act (RA) 10969, which provides free irrigation service to small farmers. He also penned RA 11231, which simplifies the process of farmers in obtaining their land so that they could get ample support from banks and government agencies. Gordon, as chairman of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), had repeatedly responded to aid victims of various typhoons that have affected the area. The PRC provided homes, livelihood assistance, cash grant, food and non-food items worth Php 266 million to about 77,000 families in the two provinces. During the pandemic, the PRC molecular laboratory in Isabela was also instrumental in testing thousands of residents in the area. As Tourism secretary, Gordon promoted various tourism sites in Cagayan Valley such as various caves, the Sierra Mountain range, waterfalls, and rivers.
Adrien Brody has learned that when beloved actor Jack Nicholson summons you to his house, you show up.

In a new interview with the Sunday Times, Brody claims that, ahead of the 2003 Oscars, About Schmidt star Nicholson requested that all the other Best Actor nominees convene beforehand to discuss potentially boycotting the ceremony in light of it falling just four days after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Brody, nominated for The Pianist, joined fellow nominees Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine and Daniel Day-Lewis as they gathered at Nicholson's house over scotch and cigars.

As the only man in the group to have not already won an Oscar, Brody was reluctant to skip the show.

I said, I dont know about you guys, but Im going, Brody, 48, told the U.K. newspaper. I said, I kind of have to show up. My parents are coming. This doesnt come around too often. I know you guys are all winners. You can sit it out. But I cant.

Ultimately, the actors chose to attend the ceremony, where a 29-year-old Brody became the youngest Best Actor winner in history, a record he holds to this day. However, some stars did choose to not show up out of respect for the Iraq War, including Elizabeth Taylor, Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Russell Crowe and Tom Cruise, according to the Guardian.

When Brody took the podium to receive his unexpected honor, he delivered a swooping kiss on presenter Halle Berry. However, he changed the lighthearted tone of the moment when he shared a poignant message about the war.

"I'm filled with a lot of sadness tonight because I'm accepting an award at such a strange time. My experience of making this film made me very aware of the sadness and the dehumanization of people at the times of war, and the repercussions of war," he shared, mentioning a friend from Queens who was stationed in Kuwait at the time. "Whomever you believe in, if it's God or Allah, may he watch over you, and let's pray for a peaceful and swift resolution."

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Despite the tremendous acclaim Brody received as a result of The Pianist, he admitted he can't bring himself to view it these days.

"I cant even watch the film. I cant. I kind of cry when I talk about it," said Brody, who shared that he sold his car, disconnected his phones and gave up his home to fully immerse himself in the role of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jewish musician forced into the overcrowded Warsaw Ghetto. Brody even broke up with his girlfriend, lost a dramatic amount of weight and learned how to play Chopin on the piano.

These days, Brody has found love with Marchesa co-founder Georgina Chapman, the ex-wife of Harvey Weinstein. Last summer, the couple made their red carpet debut together.
In the just-released supernatural horror movie Umma, Sandra Oh plays Amanda, who operates a remote honey-making farm with the help of her daughter Chris (Fivel Stewart) and family friend Danny (Dermot Mulroney). Amanda's idyllic life is terrifyingly disturbed when she receives the remains of her recently-deceased mother (MeeWha Alana Lee), a Korean immigrant whose less-than-kindly clutches Amanda had thought she escaped years before.

"Amanda becomes haunted by the ghost of her mother and by the fears of turning into her mother," says writer-director Iris K. Shim.

Sandra Oh UMMA

Saeed Adyani/Sony Pictures Sandra Oh in 'Umma'

Shim had written the role of Amanda with Sandra Oh in mind but thought it unlikely the Killing Eve actress would sign on to the project.

"I had never seen her in a movie like this," says the director. "But she was very much interested in the core of the story, not only the Korean-American identity, but exploring the mother relationship. As soon as she understood that element of the story, she was excited about the film."

Umma is Shim's directorial debut and is produced by Spider-Man and Evil Dead filmmaker Sam Raimi.

"His producing partner, Zainab Azizi, got the script first," says Shim. "She really connected to the script on a personal level, and she brought it to Sam. He was very much involved in the development process, and obviously he's such a horror icon, and so he did give a lot of good ideas and suggestions about the horror elements of it."

Shim grew up in Chicago without much encouragement to become a filmmaker.

"My parents were fairly traditional immigrant parents, the arts in general weren't something that they were pushing, they were just hoping that their kids would have a stable life with a stable career," she says. "A lot of my friends, they weren't that interested in movies, so I didn't really have a group of friends running around making 8mm short films. The only faces I saw onscreen that looked like me, those movies were coming from Asia, so it was a little bit difficult to see myself actually being allowed to do this. But it was always something I gravitated towards."

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After studying psychology at college Shim directed the 2010 true crime documentary The House of Suh, about siblings accused of being responsible for a murder in suburban Chicago. Determined to pursue a career in narrative movies, Shim studied film at Columbia in New York and then headed to LA, where she got a job as assistant to director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), who was making the 2017 Jackie Chan-starring action-thriller The Foreigner.

"That was something that I could brag to my parents about," she says. "Hey, look, a Jackie Chan movie! They were very excited about that."

Director Iris K. Shim attends pre-release screening of Sony's upcoming horror film "UMMA" at CGV Cinemas Movie Theater on March 15, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.

Unique Nicole/Getty Iris K. Shim

Shim was set to start shooting Umma (the Korean word for "mother") in early 2020. You can probably guess what happened next.

"We were actually prepping in Vancouver in January, 2020, and then got shut down with COVID," says Shim. "In the fall of 2020, we decided to shoot in LA instead. This was before vaccines, so everyone was still very nervous being around a lot of people, but everyone was just excited to be back and being creative again. Despite the fact that we were shooting in COVID, there was a really lovely energy on set."

Shim is keen to confirm that the director's relationship with her real-life mother is much less tortured than the one depicted in the film between Amanda and her mom.

"That is true," she says with a laugh. "Sometimes I feel bad that I made this movie!"

Watch the trailer for Umma below.

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Halyna Hutchins, her husband Matthew Hutchins, and their son, Andros. Handout

Matt Hutchins said Halyna Hutchins' family is in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

Matt said her parents stayed in Kyiv, Ukraine, "to prepare for the worst."

Halyna Hutchins, 42, died in October 2021 while working on Alec Baldwin's film, "Rust."

The family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer, killed on the set of "Rust" last year, is "trapped" in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

Halyna's widower, Matt Hutchins, shared the news to his private Twitter account on Friday and explained that her family was in Kyiv, according to NPR.

"Ukrainian refugees need humanitarian corridors. Halyna's family is trapped in Kyiv because of the danger of travel," he wrote, according to the outlet. Hutchins reportedly added that Halyna's parents, Olga and Anatoly Androsovych, have stayed in Kyiv "to prepare for the worst."

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion into Ukraine on February 24. Parts of Kyiv continue to face attacks from Russian forces, and some civilians, including Ukrainian actress Oksana Shvets, have died.

Hutchins continued that Halyna's mother has been a nurse for more than a decade and continues to work at a local hospital "because her country needs her, but also because they cannot leave safely," NPR reported.

Hutchins reassured his Twitter followers that Halyna's sister, Svetlana, and her 3-year-old daughter traveled from Kyiv to Romania before continuing into Western Europe, according to the outlet.

Representatives for Hutchins did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The outlet reported that Halyna was born in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, in 1979 and spent her childhood on a Soviet naval base. She later kept her Ukrainian citizenship after moving to the US and married Hutchins. The two were married for 16 years and share a 9-year-old son named Andros.

halyna hutchins

Halyna Hutchins attends the SAGindie Sundance Filmmakers Reception at Cafe Terigo on January 28, 2019 in Park City, Utah.Fred Hayes/Getty Images

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Halyna died in October 2021 after an on-set incident while working on Alec Baldwin's film, "Rust." Authorities said that Baldwin fatally shot Halyna and injured director Joel Souza when he discharged a prop gun.

Following Halyna's death, Hutchins told Insider's Natalie Musumeci that he was still processing the incident.

"I don't think there are words to communicate the situation," he said. "I am not going to be able to comment about the facts or the process of what we're going through right now, but I appreciate that everyone has been very sympathetic."

In February 2022, Halyna's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baldwin over the shooting. Later that month, Hutchins publicly spoke out for the first time since Halyna's death and said he was "so angry" that Baldwin hadn't taken responsibility.

"The idea that the person holding the gun causing it to discharge is not responsible is absurd to me," he said during his appearance on Today.

Read the original article on Insider
Thank you, Canada. It took longer than it should have, but our across-the-river neighbor announced last week that, as of April 1, Covid testing would no longer be required for travel into that country.

Travelers in both directions must still be vaccinated and entry into Canada still requires uploading proof of vaccination to an app before crossing. Neither demand is especially burdensome.

Its been a long time coming. The two countries closed their borders as the Covid-19 pandemic overran the continent two years ago. Canada reopened its border to travelers last August, but required expensive and time-consuming molecular testing for travelers. The United States reopened its border in November. Both require vaccinations.

Canada eased its testing requirement Feb. 28, and on April 1, will end it altogether. Get ready, Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Some, including Reps. Brian Higgins and Chris Jacobs, are mildly critical that both countries still require proof of vaccination, but the decision isnt unreasonable: Covid-19 is still with us, enough that both Pfizer and Moderna, makers of the two dominant vaccines, are requesting emergency authorization for a second booster shot; Pfizer for those 65 and older, Moderna for all adults. And an Omicron subvariant is sweeping through Europe. It is expected to reach the United States and cause a spike in infections, though possibly not hospitalizations.

If there is a glitch in the new rules, it is that some travelers may neglect to upload their information to the ArriveCAN app. That could cause backups at the bridges. Still, we suspect that most Western New York travelers will be well aware of the requirements before reacquainting themselves with the joys of Canada.

It will certainly be desirable to do away with the vaccination requirement at some point and with the ArriveCan app. That day will come. For now, though, both countries are maintaining a perfectly acceptable level of caution.

  

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
Prince William and his wife Kate arrive at Philip S. W Goldson International Airport to start their Royal Tour of the Caribbean (WireImage)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have kicked off their royal tour of the Caribbean despite the cancellation of a major visit casting a shadow over their trip to Belize.

Residents of a village the royal couple were due to visit on Sunday protested over a range of issues, including a dispute over the Cambridges helicopter landing site.

A spokesperson for Kensington Palace confirmed that the visit was moved to a different location as a result of the sensitive issues involving the community in Indian Creek.

The Akte il Ha cacao farm in Indian Creek village was set to be Prince William and Kate Middletons first full-day engagement in Belize, but villagers staged a protest on Friday opposing the visit.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Belizes prime minister Johnny Briceno and his wife Rossana (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)

According to local reports, the village has been in open conflict over an adjoining, contested property with Flora and Fauna International, a conservation charity that William supports as a patron.

Belize media outlet Channel Seven reported that the dispute centred on tensions between citizens and the state about the meaning of consent in the context of communal land rights  rights to lands that were expunged in the colonial period by the British.

Despite the row, William and Kate were all smiles as they arrived in Belize on Saturday afternoon after an 11-hour long haul flight from the UK.

They were welcomed by Belizes Governor General Froya Tzalam as they stepped from the Voyager ministerial jet ahead of an official meeting with prime minister Johnny Briceno.

The Belize Defence Force formed a guard of honour to greet the couple and William inspected the personnel after military songs were played by the units band.

The visit to Akte il Ha farm will be replaced with a similar visit that will see the couple tour a chocolate producer on Sunday and later travel to the cultural centre of the Garifuna community in Hopkins.

The couple arrived on Saturday after the trip was delayed (AFP via Getty Images)

William and Kate will then visit a beachfront village, where they will be greeted with a demonstration of Garifuna culture and learn about efforts to preserve Belizes barrier reef.

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A Kensington Palace spokesperson said the couple were very much looking forward to visiting the Caribbean region and to having the opportunity to thank communities across Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas for the support they had shown for the Queen.

Other members of the royal family who will be embarking on royal tours this spring in honour of the Queens Platinum Jubilee include the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Princess Anne and husband Sir Tim Laurence.

Additional reporting by PA
FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis holds the weekly general audience at the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, continuing his implicit criticism of Russia, called the conflict in Ukraine an unjustified "senseless massacre" and urged leaders to stop "this repugnant war".

"The violent aggression against Ukraine is unfortunately not slowing down," he told about 30,000 people in St. Peter's Square for his weekly Sunday address and blessing.

"It is a senseless massacre where every day slaughters and atrocities are being repeated," Francis said in his latest strong condemnation of the war, which has so far avoided mentioning Russia by name.

"There is no justification for this," he added.

Moscow says the action it launched on Feb. 24 is a "special military operation" designed not to occupy territory but to demilitarise its neighbour and purge it what it sees as dangerous nationalists. Francis has already rejected that terminology.

"I beg all the players in the international community to truly commit themselves to stopping this repugnant war," the pope said, drawing loud cheers and applause from the crowd.

"Even this week missiles and bombs hit civilians, the elderly, children and pregnant mothers," he said.

Russia denies targeting civilians.

Francis spoke about his visit on Saturday to a Rome hospital that is treating children wounded in Ukraine.

"One was missing an arm and another had a head wound," he said.

Francis also asked people to guard against potential human trafficking of those fleeing Ukraine.

"Let's think about these women, these children ... who are without work, separated from their husbands. They will be sought by the 'vultures' of society. Please. Let's protect them," he said.

Poland has seen indications that human traffickers may be targeting refugees fleeing the Ukraine war, officials and aid workers have said. Some preventative efforts have been put in place.

The city of Berlin has warned Ukrainian refugees not to accept offers of money or accommodation at the main train station due to concerns that they might be lured into forced prostitution or other forms of human trafficking.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by David Clarke, Frances Kerry and Pravin Char)
Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned of a third World War if talks with Vladimir Putin fail to achieve peace following Russias invasion of Ukraine.

[I]f these attempts fail, that would mean ... a third World War, Mr Zelensky told CNN via video link on Sunday. The leader also repeated his belief that Russian forces were working to exterminate Ukraines civilian population.

Unfortunately, our dignity is not going to preserve lives. So I think that we have to use any format...[to reach] the possibility of talking to Putin, Mr Zelensky told CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria.

The Ukrainian leader spoke as the one-month anniversary of Russias invasion looms this week. Ukraine has resisted the attacks across several fronts and has dealt thousands of casualties to Russias armed forces in a matter of weeks, according to US intelligence agencies. The scale is comparable to the US losses in Iraq and Afghanistan over more than a decade.

However Mr Zelensky said that the brutal war was taking a heavy toll on Ukraines civilian population. Millions of Ukrainians have fled their homeland in recent weeks.

We were losing people on a daily basis, innocent people on the ground. ... Russian forces have come to exterminate us, to kill us, he told CNN.

US lawmakers continue calls for more military and humanitarian aid to be sent to Ukraine as the cost of the Biden administrations response climbs ever higher.

The US has vowed not to engage in a situation that would lead to a direct military conflict with Russia, but has shipped anti-air, anti-tank and other heavy weaponry to Ukraines armed forces. There has been stern warnings for Moscows potential allies against doing the same for Russia.

In the last week those warnings culminated in a meeting between White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and top Chinese officials in Europe over whether Russia would receive economic or military support from Beijing for its invasion. On Sunday, Chinas ambassador to the US denied that such aid would occur.
Sen. Dick Durbin on Sunday defended the Biden administration's decision to not facilitate the delivery of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine from Poland.

"There are other ways for us to provide surface to air missiles and air defenses that will keep the Russians at bay in terms of their aerial attack," Durbin, D-Ill., told ABC "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos. "There are other ways to do that that are consistent with the NATO alliance and would not jeopardize expanding this into World War III or even worse."

MORE: Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia commits 'war crimes' in Mariupol, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a virtual address to Congress on Wednesday, pleading with the U.S. for additional military aid, further sanctions and a no-fly zone over Ukraine to stop the Russian invasion. Zelenskyy also asked the U.S. to assist with the delivery of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine from Poland, but the Biden administration has held firm against the request, insisting that is an offensive move that could lead to World War III.

Sen. Dick Durbin tells @GStephanopoulos that sending Polish fighter jets risks expanding crisis into World War III or even worse. There are other ways for us to provide surface-to-air missiles and air defenses that will keep the Russians at bay. https://t.co/eiu1Ag3BP5 pic.twitter.com/2LbuUyXNxI  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 20, 2022

There is bipartisan support for sending planes, with Democratic members of Congress in favor, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

"We're asking for one-third of the Polish Air Force to be sent into Ukraine," Durbin, the Senate majority whip, added.

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MORE: Ukraine's Zelenskyy invokes Pearl Harbor, 9/11, calls out Biden in plea to Congress for more US help

While President Vladimir Putin has shown no signs of backing down, Durbin said Ukraine has shown no signs of backing down either and the U.S. firmly stands with the Ukrainian effort to stop the Russian invasion.

"The desperate things that he's doing now killing innocent civilians and children, for goodness sakes, he will have a stained name in history forever for this," Durbin said of Putin.

President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping spoke Friday morning and Biden made clear the "implications and consequences" if China aligns with Russia, according to the White House readout.

MORE: Biden warns Xi of 'consequences' if China aids Russian invasion of Ukraine

"How about tougher economic sanctions right now, not only on Russia, but also potentially for China?" Stephanopoulos pressed. "We know that President Biden spoke with President Xi on Friday. It doesn't appear that China, at least not yet, is ready to back off their support for Putin."

Durbin told Stephanopoulos that Xi must "decide his place in history and China's place in the world" and he thinks Biden made that clear in the call, but did not answer whether he thinks the U.S. should implement sanctions on China.

President Xi has to decide his place in history and Chinas place in the world. If theyre going to be part of Putin and his barbaric conduct in Ukraine, hes going to run the risk of discrediting his own nation, @SenatorDurbin warns. https://t.co/Aw8ShZBYdm pic.twitter.com/BHtrDQmu1d  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 20, 2022

If (China) is going to be part of Putin and his barbaric conduct in Ukraine, he's going to run the risk of discrediting his own nation, Durbin said.

Stephanopoulos pressed Durbin on GOP criticism that Biden is turning to dictators for oil while blaming high gas prices on the Russian invasion when he could ramp up American oil production.

"One of the things we've seen at home recently is, of course, inflation, higher gas prices across the board," Stephanopoulos pressed. "President Biden has said that the sanctions on Putin are at least part of the issue there for causing the rise in the prices. But our next guest, Senator Barrasso, has taken that on."

Sen. John Barrasso said Tuesday that "Biden would rather turn to dictators like those in Iran and those in Venezuela rather than turn against the climate elitists who dictate the energy policy of that Democratic Party and of his presidency. So now he's trying to pass the buck to Vladimir Putin."

Asked to respond, Durbin said the Biden administration is working to reduce the impact of cutting off Russian oil and that it is "completely wrong" to blame Biden's efforts to stop Putin for inflation, saying "other countries are going through the same inflation."

Its hard to deny that cutting off Russian oil sources wont have impact on U.S., @SenatorDurbin says. But I think its just completely wrong to blame Pres. Biden and his efforts to stop Putin and say these are the reasons why were having inflation." https://t.co/DWCWt2EpAV pic.twitter.com/3TJGLV18k1  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 20, 2022

Confirmation hearings for Biden's historic Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, will begin Monday. Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, will preside over the hearings.

MORE: Biden nominates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be first Black woman on Supreme Court

Stephanopoulos asked Durbin about recent GOP attacks on Jackson, including a series of tweets from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that incorrectly suggest Jackson is soft on child pornography. Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler gave Hawley's assertion "Three Pinocchios."

Senate Judiciary chair @SenatorDurbin says Sen. Josh Hawley is wrong, hes inaccurate and unfair in his analysis of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Hes part of a fringe within the Republican PartyHe doesnt have the credibility he thinks he does. https://t.co/rC9Su06yxZ pic.twitter.com/fPRfsYqxGk  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 20, 2022

Durbin slammed Hawley's attacks, calling them inaccurate and unfair, and said Jackson has been scrutinized more than any person he could think of.

"There's no truth to what he says and he's part of the fringe within the Republican Party," Durbin said. "This was a man who was fist-bumping the murderous mob that descended on the Capitol on Jan. 6 of the last year. He doesn't have the credibility he thinks he does."

Durbin defends Biden administration decision on fighter jet deliveries to Ukraine originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

CHISINAU, Moldova  The hem of her purple skirt brushed the tile floor as Kristina Paleshev anxiously paced while cradling her wailing infant daughter, Maria.

Sitting at a table with aid workers, forms and documents spread before him, her husband, Oleksandr, once again explained what had happened: The Russian artillery shelling that killed their neighbor. The heartbreaking decision to abandon their home in Mykolaiv. The frightening eight-hour drive across western Ukraine to the Moldovan border. The car breakdown just as they arrived in Chisinau, the Moldovan capital. Their five kids who awake during the night at any loud noise, frightened they're again under attack.

"We want to go back. I love my country and my town," says Kristina Paleshev, 38, whose family fled their home in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, for Chisinau, Moldova. "Im crying because our people are being killed. This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

"We want to go back. I love my country and my town," Paleshev, 38, said, as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Im crying because our people are being killed.

Paleshev, her husband and their kids are among the 3 million refugees who have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion Feb. 24. While most refugees, especially those from the Kyiv area, have flowed to Poland, an estimated 350,000 have entered Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries.

Most of the evacuees are women and children; most men of fighting age have been ordered to stay behind to defend their country. Now, government workers and aid groups are conducting a hurried symphony across multiple languages, from Russian and Romanian, which is spoken in Moldova, to French and English. They're fingerprinting and photographing refugees, double-checking documents and providing emergency cash to the most needy.

Paleshev said her kids are still having nightmares.

They cry at night, even now," Paleshev said. "Every noise they hear makes them afraid. They cannot believe there is no war in this country. They just want to be safe.

One-year-old Maria Paleshev wipes tears from her eyes as she sits on the lap of her mother Kristina Paleshev, 38, as the family of seven receive assistance from the UNHCR in Chisinau, Moldova, on Thursday, March 18, 2022. The family fled their home in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, after Russian troops invaded. This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

And although the flow of refugees across the Moldovan border had dropped from tens of thousands a day to about 2,000 now, according to aid groups, there's no end in sight as Russian forces escalate their assault and target civilian areas.

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Paleshev's family fled with little more than the clothes on their back, daughter Maria wearing the same insulated snow pants three days later. They remembered to grab documents and a few toys and drove nearly nonstop past Odesa and along the Ukrainian coast, crossing the border the day before.

In three weeks weve had 3 million people displaced, and we dont know when this will stop, said Kisut Gebreegziabher, a spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees.The heavy flow of refugees into Moldova  even though about two-thirds of them have passed through on their way to other European Union nations  is raising concerns across the small country, which is only slightly larger than the state of Maryland and has fewer residents than Kansas. Moldova is spending more than $4 million a day on refugee services, according to some estimates. Its per-capita household income is $2,145 a year, compared with $33,700 in the United States.

More: Millions of refugees are fleeing Ukraine. Where are they going?

Congress approved $13.6 billion in Ukraine-related aid last week, including $6.7 billion for refugee assistance and economic aid to countries including Poland and Moldova, but the money has not yet begun flowing. In the interim, U.S.-based aid groups like Catholic Relief Services and Samaritan's Purse are filling the gaps.

Margot Durin, a CRS program manager, said Moldovans are worried that the influx of refugees could overwhelm their country. She said the vast majority of refugees are stopping over in Moldova as they flee southern Ukraine, proverbially catching their breath in a safe place before heading west to European Union countries offering residence and work permits.

Kristina Paleshev, 38, holds her daughter Irina, 5, with her other children Nicolay, 7, center, Oleksandr, 4, right center and Ivan, 11, right, as a volunteer with Carutas Moldova assists the family at the Ukrainian refugee processing center in Chisinau, Moldova on March 18, 2022. This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

Sitting in her temporary office, borrowed from Moldovan immigration offices, Durin helped local volunteers and U.N. staff register Ukrainian evacuees for housing and transportation. Many Moldovans in the Chisinau area have opened their homes to refugees.

"The solidarity the Moldovans are showing with the refugees is amazing," Durin said.

Moldovans offer shelter to refugees

Like a Pied Piper, Dr. Gilad Gassner weaved through a refugee shelter in the center of Chisinau, handing out plastic medals and party horns to kids who have few toys of their own. Hundreds of refugees are staying in temporary shelters across the city, including this one at the main convention center, which had been operating as a COVID-19 treatment site.

Within minutes of his journey, the honking and buzzing of the kazoo-like party favors echoed around the building, giving the shelter the feeling of a child's birthday party as clowns in masks and costumes sang songs, made balloon animals and blew soap bubbles, setting some refugees' dogs barking.

Iris Lia Sofer, a physician with Dream Doctors, helps brighten the day for Ukrainian refugees at the Moldexpo International Exhibition Center in Chisinau, Moldova. This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

Anya Guzhiyenko smiled as her son, Sasha, 4, shook a giant slinky toy and clashed balloon swords with another refugee. Guzhiyenko and her son fled Mykolaiv and arrived the night before. Mykolaiv, which is near Odesa, has been heavily bombed by Russian forces, and reports have said dozens of people have been killed.

Its good here, Guzhiyenko said via a translation app. We feel safe.

More: Full of stoicism and unspoken fear, Ukrainian men steel for battle as they say goodbye to families

A pediatrician from Israel, Gassner and a volunteer team of doctors and medics flew to Moldova a few days earlier, working with the national government to get emergency certification to practice.

Inside the shelter, Gassner said the distractions were deliberate: The families are suffering from ailments ranging from generalized anxiety to constipation caused by long bus journeys in which there wasn't time to stop for bathroom breaks. The team handed out everything from blood pressure medication to antacids and ibuprofen and referred people with greater needs to local hospitals and dentists.

They havent slept. Theyre in great stress from things they saw back home, and t hey dont know the future," Gassner said.

Kristina Paleshev, 38, kisses her youngest daughter, Maria, as her son Nicolay, 7, roams the room allotted for the family of seven from Mykolaiv, Ukraine at a refugee housing center Moldexpo International Exhibition Center in Chisinau, Moldova. This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

Psychiatrist Rachel Gissan, 41, who works with Gassner, said many of the refugees just need to feel heard and are empowered by telling their escape stories.

People are having a normal response to an abnormal situation," she said. "People dont want to be labeled as sick. They want to move on. They need to function. So they have this facade and they keep on going. Even if their child is coughing and they have high blood pressure, people wont come to us for help. We have to go ask them.

More: Jimmy Hill, American killed in Ukraine, was 'true to his love' and stayed with sick partner

'We just need time'

Standing in the weak March afternoon sun outside the shelter, Oleksandr Paleshev raised a whistle to his lips and blew, signaling kids Ivan, Nicolay, Irina and namesake Oleksandr to gather back around as Kristina walked up carrying little Marina. Kristina still had on her purple skirt, and Marina was still wearing her snow pants, but both smiled.

After visiting the processing center the night before, Kristina and Oleksandr decided to try their luck in the United Kingdom, which is offering work permission to refugees. Before her kids were born, Kristina was a web designer, and she remembers fondly the English people with whom she worked.

Kristina Paleshev, 38, helps her son, Ivan Paleshev, 11, the oldest of five children, with his fingerprint scan at the refugee processing center in Chisinau, Moldova. This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

The family decided to sell or abandon their broken car  it is at a nearby mechanic awaiting parts  and fly to London with Kristina's sister and her family, who convoyed out of Mykolaiv with them. A day before, she had tearfully longed to return home. Now she hopes for a fresh start but isn't sure how soon they will leave.

Meanwhile, the family of seven is sharing four single beds in a 10-by-24-foot partitioned space in the convention center turned refugee site. The kids haven't been sleeping well. They usually go to bed at 8, but the noisy shelter means they don't get to sleep until about 10, she said.

Still, the thought of a better life away from the terror of the Russian attack has her feeling optimistic. Although they have left behind their house and all their belongings, the family is together. That's what matters, she said.

Every day is better, every next day is better. Im hopeful," she said. The kids are happy. Everything will be good, I think. We just need time.

Kristina Paleshev, 38, comforts her 1-year-old daughter, Maria, at a Ukrainian refugee processing center in Chisinau, Moldova. The family of seven fled the war from their home in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, days earlier. This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

More:

Lindsey Graham called for Putin's assassination. Even discussing it brings danger to US, experts say.

Putin war crimes in Ukraine will be investigated, but Russian leaders unlikely to be prosecuted

Biden warns Xi of supporting Russia as US-China relations face 'crossroads' over Ukraine invasion

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russian assault could overwhelm Moldova
If you've ever wondered what the inside of a private jet looks like ('cause, same), then wonder no more, as Kate Middleton and Prince William just shared a very rare photo from the inside of their royal plane.

Taking to Instagram, the Cambridges revealed they'd touched down in Belize  as part of their royal tour to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee  by posting a photo from their royal plane to Instagram.

"Arriving in Belize, the first stop of our Caribbean tour!" they wrote in the caption, referencing the other countries they'll be visiting on their trip, which are Jamaica and the Bahamas. To reach Belize, Kate and William travelled for 11 hours on the RAF Voyager, which we're sure you'll agree looks pretty glam.



The behind-the-scenes snap clearly went down a royal treat with fans, racking up over 100k likes in just a few hours and plenty of excited comments. "Have an amazing time. So excited to watch this tour," said one royal follower, with another commenting: "Im so excited to follow your days [in] those beautiful countries."

As is tradition, the duo were photographed departing the air craft  in matching blue outfits no less  and were greeted on the ground by Belize's Governor General Froya Tzalam before heading off to meet prime minister Johnny Briceno. "It's lovely to be here," William said upon meeting the PM and his wife. "Thanking you so much," Briceno replied, adding: "We're so happy you're here!"

But, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's trip hasn't been off to the smoothest start, with one key stop on their Belize tour being called off at the last minute. The duo were scheduled to visit a cocoa farm after landing in Belize, however the plans were scrapped following protests by locals over Indigenous rights. According to OK!, protestors branded Kate and William's visit as "colonialism" and a "slap in the face".

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On top of that, local news station Channel 7 reported that there was a disagreement over where the couple's helicopter would land for their visit to Belizes Toledo District and Flora and Fauna International, the conservation charity William supports as patron.

"We don't want them to land on our land, that's the message that we want to send," Sebastian Shol, chairman of Indian Creek village, said [per Daily Mail]. "They could land anywhere but not on our land."

Photo credit: Getty Images

The pair's week-long trip continues.

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Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) asks questions during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss the on-going federal response to Covid-19 on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.





Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on Sunday suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin should not be allowed back into the "world order" and that the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine should be a moment in which the globe rethinks its dependence on Russian energy.

NBC "Meet The Press" moderator Chuck Todd asked Murphy whether Putin should be allowed back at the negotiating table should there be a ceasefire agreement between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky be reached.

"[H]e was in the world order because we allowed for our allies and the United States to be dependent on the products that he produced. So no, we should not allow Vladimir Putin back into the world order," Murphy told Todd. "But we should also be wise to the fact that this is the moment to make the United States, Europe, the rest of the world independent of the product that Russia makes, oil and gas. And if we don't do that, then you will ultimately be forced to keep him at the table."

Ukrainian and Russian officials have engaged in peace talks over the past week but no agreements have been made to end Russian's invasion in Ukraine as it stretches beyond its third week.

"This is ultimately up to President Zelenskyy as to the terms of this agreement. But if President Zelenskyy makes the choice to reject these claims of annexation, the United States people will be with him. The United States will stand with Ukraine if that is a bottom line for the Ukrainian government," Murphy said.

"I think neutrality is on the table. I think sort of increased devolution of power to some of these eastern regions should be on the table. Annexation will be a very tough pill for Zelenskyy to swallow, and the United States is going to support him in whatever decision he makes."
Prince William and Duchess Kate had a change in plans after the first stop of their Caribbean tour was canceled due to "sensitive issues," according to Kensington Palace.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are embarking on week-long visits to three Commonwealth countries  Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas  on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II and her Platinum Jubilee year, which marks her unprecedented 70 years on the British throne.

The royals were scheduled to meet Mayan families who run cacao farms in Belize's Indian Creek village, but that visit was taken off their schedules.

"Due to sensitive issues involving the community in Indian Creek, the visit has been moved to a different location," Kensington Palace said in a statement provided to USA TODAY.

Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee: How the UK will celebrate her unprecedented anniversary

Prince William (right) and Duchess Kate arrive at the village of Hopkins in Belize on March 20, 2022.

Villagers told local broadcaster 7 News Belize they weren't informed or consulted on William and Kate's plans to arrive at the village by helicopter.

"We don't want them to land in our land, that's the message that we want to send. They could land anywhere but not in our land," Indian Village chairman Sebastian Shol told the local news outlet.

Channel 7's report showed residents holding signs reading, "Not your land not your decision" and "Prince William leave our land."

According to a statement from the Belize government, provided by Kensington Palace, the royals' stop at Indian Creek was only "one of several sites being considered" for their visit.

"Due to issues in the village, the Government of Belize activated its contingency planning and another venue has been selected to showcase Maya family entrepreneurship in the cacao industry, the statement said.

On Day 2 of their trip, the royal couple instead visited a cacao factory where they were shown how Belize's Maya chocolate is made, visited the small coastal village of Hopkins to learn more about the Garifuna community's culture, and planned to learn about Belize's marine conservation efforts.

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The Cambridges go on tour: Prince William, Duchess Kate off to sunny Caribbean to mark queen's Platinum Jubilee

The Caribbean tour is the Duke and Duchess' first joint official overseas tour since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which shut down most royal travel. It's also the royal couple's first trip to the Caribbean, which has been enthusiastically visited in the past by Will's father and brother, Prince Charles and Prince Harry.

The three countries Will and Kate are visiting are among the 15 in the Commonwealth (including the United Kingdom) for which the queen remains the head of state.

Last year, Barbados chose to switch from a constitutional monarch to an elected head of state, marking the first time since 1992 that a Commonwealth realm became a republic. Although that move was accepted with grace  the queen's heir, Prince Charles, attended the ceremony in November  the Cambridges' mission is to remind remaining realms of the queen's devotion to duty and the stability of continued ties to the British crown.

Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff, Maria Puente

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prince William, Duchess Kate cancel Belize stop after protest
Photo: JHVEPhoto (Shutterstock)

A pending lawsuit filed in 2020 includes claims of racial discrimination by seven former agents of State Farm Insurance, the nations largest property and casualty insurer. A similar lawsuit was filed by an Indian American man just last month, and the New York Times reports that there are dozens more.

Darryl Williams of Chicago filed a claim with State Farm when a pipe burst in his Southside building housing six apartments. While devastated, he knew he could at the very least count on his insurer to clear the damages. In an even more devastating turn of events however, his claim was denied with the claims adjuster telling Williams that he did not believe his retelling of the story.

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We have a lot of fraud in your area, Williams recalls being told, and like most folks in said area, Mr. Williams is Black. Without assistance from the company, he was eventually forced to sell his building in order to cover the mounting bills.

But Williams was not willing to take this loss lying down. In 2019, he sued State Farm for racial discrimination, although the judge was not convinced there was enough evidence to move forward with the case. Enter Carla Campbell-Jackson, a Black woman that had worked for State Farm for 28 years. That is, until 2016 when she was abruptly fired for what the company alleged as the sharing of confidential information, a claim she denies. She believes her firing came as a last ditch effort to run her out after shed brought up concerns about the company wrongly accusing Black people of fraud in order to deny their claims, just as they had done to Mr. Williams.

Campbell-Jackson also sued state farm, and then went on to agree to testify on the Behalf of Williams.

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Recent allegations of discrimination do not reflect the State Farm culture, Roszell Gadson, a State Farm spokesperson reportedly stated via email. We use our business as a force for good and believe that racism has no place anywhere in society.

Robert McLaughlin, a lawyer for Campbell-Jackson says he represented over 150 current and former State Farm employees who have brought their own racial discrimination cases against the company.

Gadson said that the insurer denies the accusations, and that State Farm will vigorously defend ourselves in court.
Volodymryr Zelenskyy, 'accidental' Ukrainian president battled the Russian invasion

The initial United States response to Russias invasion of Ukraine has been marked by an unusual level of unanimity in public opinion.

According to an Economist/YouGov poll, Americans view Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky favorably by a 60-17 margin and believe by a 70-11 margin that Vladimir Putin is ordering the commission of war crimes. According to the Navigator group, Putin has a net favorability rating of negative 79 even among Republicans.

How could this happen, given that only two years ago the mainstream Republican position was that the Ukrainian government was corruptly involved in supporting the Biden family (or something) and framing Russia for the theft of Hillary Clintons emails? And that until just two weeks ago the right-wing media were praising Putin for defending heterosexuality and free speech?

One could speculate:

 Regular Republicans, particularly older ones, may not have paid close enough attention to the ins and outs of Trumps misconduct, and the right-wing intellectual rationalizations thereof, to realize that Russia was supposed to be on their side now. Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, for instance, apparently thinks the countrys government is still communistas did 52 percent of Republicans in a Economist/YouGov poll which concluded March 1. Another 18 percent said it was socialist. (44 percent of Democrats said communist and 10 percent said socialist. The correct answer, I guess, would be authoritarian-capitalist with significant input from government-backed organized crime figures?)

 The right-wing echo chamber is such that many of its figures had actually convinced themselves that the purported Russian threat to Ukraine was being concocted for some arcane, corrupt reason by the Biden administration and the liberal media, leaving them flat-footed and temporarily embarrassed when an invasion actually took place.

 There are a number of Republicans who still have some influence within the party, like Karl Rove and Lindsey Graham, who came up during the heady days of shipping U.S.-made weapons to anyone who would promise to use them against the Soviets, up to and including the literal Osama bin Laden. They are aware that Russias economic system is not communist but are still genuinely excited about the idea of someone trying to kill Russian guys.

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 Ukraine is unmistakably an underdog in this conflict, while Russia is unmistakably the aggressor, and TV news reporting, even on Fox, has highlighted Russias attacks on civilians.

But there are cracks in this structure. Mega-MAGA Republican North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn told donors over the weekend that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies. (I have no idea what he means by the ideologies part, nor have I been able to find outmy best guess is that Ukraine is presumed to be woke because Putin has criticized gender fluidity and cancel culture and the GOPs newer members assume that everyone else is as motivated by cultural rage as they are, rather than by economic and security interests.) Tucker Carlson, meanwhile, has been airing a theory, previously circulated by a QAnon social media account and the conspiracy site InfoWars, that the U.S. has been working with Ukraine to develop biological weapons.

Some Republican leaders in Congress, probably for the reasons outlined above, have tried to keep these kinds of theories from gaining ground in their caucus. Will they continue to be successful? Let me answer that question with a series of other questions: Have they been successful in convincing their voters not to elect people who say things on Facebook about how the Rothschild family may have started a wildfire in California using a space laser? Were they successful in convincing their voters to take the COVID vaccine? Did they convince their voters not to believe in QAnon theories about Democratic pedophilia and cannibalism? Did they convince their voters not to believe that Venezuela, Cuba, and likely China rigged the election for Joe Biden?

No, and in fact that last claim was made at Republican National Committee headquarters. Past results do not always predict future performance, but they often do, and in this case they predict that some sizable number of Republican voters, media figures, and elected officials will decide that they support the bombing of Ukraine because liberals dont want them to. Once that decision is made, the consensus that Zelensky is the hero and Putin is the monster will sink into the same slurry of conspiracy theories that swallows everything else.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Because Dems see Zelensky as hero, GOP will paint him as sex criminal
I get to be outdoors, in the fresh air and play in the dirt, said Steve Benzel, a third-generation Alliance farmer.

Benzel went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for pre-engineering and realized after one year that key patch engineering and desk work were not for him. He joined his two younger brothers and dad on the family farm in 1977.

I wanted to be able to be free to come and go as I please anytime I wanted to without being required to be in a certain spot, he said.

Benzel is a third-generation Volga German farmer; his great-grandfather worked in a German farm camp in Russia in the early 1900s. Benzels family immigrated to the U.S. before the Russian Revolution began in 1917.

The young family most likely settled in the Panhandle because it is an agriculture community and they were able to continue farming. Benzels grandfather was 3 or 4 years old at the time.

They got the heck out of there before that Bolshevik Revolution happened, Benzel said. They came over as farm laborers, and they found places to live and work. They never really talked about it much, but they had German Bibles when I was growing up and they spoke German amongst themselves.

Benzel and his two brothers, Trent and Carl, were raised in Box Butte County farming the familys 1,200 acres that relied heavily on gravity irrigation. He recalls working with tubes and dirt ditches using gravity to flood fields.

I worked my tail off when I was a young kid, Benzel said. Gravity irrigation is a dying art that I really dont miss, but I was in a lot better shape back then.

Through the years, the Benzel family leased, bought and sold farm ground near Alliance. In the early 1980s, the family began transitioning to pivot irrigation. It would be nearly 20 years later and many added acres before they accumulated "the mighty nine," in reference to their center pivots.

In the early 90s, I took a hiatus and sold cars for about three or four years just to try something different, Benzel said. I had enough of that business and ended up back on the farm because my dad was sick and needed the help.

In 1998, Benzel's father passed away from cancer, sealing Benzels future in the farming industry. He explained that at this stage some families could afford the risk and venture out to farm on their own, but the Benzel trio could not. The brothers gravitated to separate farm responsibilities. Benzel mainly does the planting while Trent and Carl do spraying, combine duty and other field work.

The brothers farm 1,700 acres, which Benzel considers fairly small for the Panhandle area. Most of the land is irrigated by the nine center pivots, and the remainder of their ground is dry-land.

He recalls that after his father passed away, he made the decision to become involved in agriculture organizations in the Panhandle.

Benzel went to his first Nebraska Dry Bean Commission meeting and found himself on the board of directors with the organization for about 17 years. Roughly six years ago, Benzel also became involved with the Nebraska Sugar Beet Growers Association. He humbly reflected on thinking at the time that these groups must have been desperate to include him and elect him to board positions.

Among Benzels activities in Panhandle grower organizations is his involvement with the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center. He has been working with the extension centers on-farm research team for several years by planting variety trials and participating on discussion boards. Benzel said it was his involvement with the bean commission that gave him the extension contacts and interest.

John Thomas is the crop/water systems extension educator positioned in Alliance, and among his many duties is coordinating on-farm research for that area of the Panhandle. Benzels farm is one of a handful that are planting small plots, harvesting them and sharing the data to advance research. On-farm research initiatives study a number of factors including seed variety, bug infestations, weed management and harvest of the crops.

Thomas said the Benzel farm has been an asset to the research effort because of its direct harvest of beans and because he is a progressive farmer, always questioning current practices.

I just appreciate growers that are willing to participate, Thomas said. It does take a little of their time; it slows them down a little bit. But theyre willing to participate, they learn and it also helps the community of growers to learn. So I appreciate guys like Steve (Benzel) that are willing to do this.

While Benzel is active in furthering farm research in the Panhandle, the brothers will likely be the final instalment of the third-generation farming family. His wife, Lori, teaches fourth grade at Grandview Elementary in Alliance and will be retiring soon. Their oldest son works with farmers as a loan officer in Sidney and their youngest son is a Lancaster County clerk living in Lincoln.

Between the three of us (the brothers), we could handle the workload. So we really didnt look down the road far enough to think well, maybe someday buy some land for these kids, Benzel said. We encouraged them to go off, get a college education and get jobs. Plus they just really never grew up working on the farm like we did. So thats where were at. I think this just might be the end of the line for this bunch.

Nicole Heldt is a reporter with the Star-Herald, covering agriculture. She can be reached at 308-632-9044 or by email at nheldt@starherald.com.

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Iran is ready to meet India's energy security needs, its ambassador to India was quoted as saying on Friday, as negotiations continue between the world powers and Tehran on the lifting of sanctions against the OPEC-member.

Iran used to be the second-largest oil supplier to India but New Delhi had to halt imports from Tehran after former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran and re-imposed sanctions on its oil exports.

"Rupee-rial trade mechanism can help companies from both the countries to deal with each other directly and avoid third party intermediation costs," Ali Chegeni was quoted as saying by Indian facilitation body MVIRDC World Trade Center.

India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, covers over 80% of its crude oil needs with imports.

India and Iran had devised a barter-like mechanism to settle trade where Indian refiners were paying for Iranian oil in rupees to a local bank and the funds were used by Tehran to pay for imports from India.

Due to sanctions, the India-Iran trade declined sharply from $17 billion in the fiscal year to March 2019 to less than $2 billion in April-January, the first 10 months of this fiscal year.

Chegeni said, "If both countries launch rupee-rial trade mechanisms, the bilateral trade could grow to $30

billion".

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai; Writing by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
Rep. Liz Cheney on Sunday said that Putin should not benefit from his assault on Ukraine.

Cheney said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the Russian leader should be granted new territory.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has called for concrete negotiations with Moscow to halt the violence.

Rep. Liz Cheney on Sunday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should not "reap any rewards" for his invasion of Ukraine, pointing to territory that could potentially be ceded to Russia during peace talks.

During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," the Wyoming Republican stressed that Russia should not be rewarded for its relentless attacks against Ukraine nearly four weeks after they began invading the country.

"I think it's very important that Putin not reap any rewards at all for this aggression," she said. "I think territorial gains would be a reward for him."

She added: "I think that we cannot be in a situation where the security and the peace that has been guaranteed really since 1945 on the continent of Europe, certainly, suddenly now, powers believe that by the kind of onslaught that you've seen, the kind of war crimes, the kind of brutality you've seen Putin unleash that they can gain from that."

Cheney  who has been vocal against any sort of political sympathies towards Moscow in recent weeks  stressed that while the United States would remain firmly on the side of Ukraine, it would articulate that Putin should not stand to gain geographic advantages after Russian military forces delivered a ferocious assault on the country.

"I do think it's critically important for the United States and for NATO to be clear. Obviously, we are going to support President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy," the congresswoman said. "But we need to be very clear  we do not believe Putin should be able to gain to benefit from the actions he's taken."

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During a separate Sunday interview, Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine and Russia must come together to halt the conflict.

"If there is just a 1 percent chance for us to stop this war, I think that we need to take this chance," he told CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

The conflict has already displaced 6.5 million people throughout Ukraine and led to the departure of another 3.2 million individuals, according to the United Nations migration agency.

Per a US intelligence estimate, 7,000 Russian troops have died in the conflict, while roughly 1,300 Ukrainian troops have been confirmed as among those killed.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Prince William and Kate Middletons Caribbean tour hit a snag right out of the gate, after Belizean locals protested the couples plans to land a helicopter in their village before touring a cacao farm.

According to The Mirror, which previously reported the news, indigenous residents of Indian Creek village were also upset about the princes ties to a conservation charity called Flora and Fauna International, which is controversial among some members of the population.

The couple canceled their visit to the farm.

William and Kate are commencing a tour to Belize, the Bahamas, and Jamaica, a trip the British press has characterized as an effort to promote the British Crown. Last year the nearby island of Barbados ditched the royals and became a republic.

According to the Belize outlet 7 News, Indian Creek village has been in open conflict with FFI, which owns an adjoining, contested property.

The publication noted that discontent comes in the context of ongoing agitation about the meaning of consent in the context of communal land rights. Those rights to lands were expunged in the colonial period by the British.

In a statement cited by The Guardian, FFI said it had acquired the contested land from a private party last winter but is committed to open and continuous dialogue with locals. According to the newspaper, FFI has further vowed to conserve and protect the areas wildlife while supporting the livelihoods and traditional rights of local people.

The chairman of the village, Sebastian Shol, remained opposed to the royals arrival, telling The Daily Mail, We dont want them to land on our land, thats the message that we want to send. They could land anywhere but not on our land.

Another village resident was pictured earlier this week holding a sign that read: Prince William stop helping FFI [take] our land.

Even without the cacao tour, the royal couples Caribbean trip is expected to continue apace. They were slated to arrive over the weekend in Belize, followed by a meeting with the countrys prime minister.

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China's coronavirus outbreak is having a big impact on global oil prices, highlighting how Beijing's decisions can affect gas prices in the United States and around the world.

A strict coronavirus-fueled lockdown of major Chinese factories and industrial cities has led to a sharp drop in oil prices while sparking fears of widening supply chain disruptions. The price of oil fell Wednesday to $98, just $4 a barrel above where they were before Russia invaded Ukraine.

That fall came despite forecasts by the International Energy Agency on Wednesday that the world oil market could be short 3 million barrels a day of Russian oil if the conflict in Ukraine drags on.

While oil prices rebounded back above $100 a barrel on Thursday and Friday, the sudden fall highlighted the vital importance that Chinese demand for oil has on global prices - even in the United States.

Here's where China gets its oil - and how that impacts prices elsewhere.

As the world's largest energy consumer and biggest oil importer, China consumed about 4.6 billion barrels of oil in 2019 - the last year for which the United States Energy Information Agency has statistics.

China is also highly dependent on foreign oil imports. Though it is the world's fourth largest oil producer - following the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Russia - China's domestic production only makes up about 30 percent of its demand, supplying about 1.4 billion barrels of oil and other refined petroleum products. Virtually all of China's own production is used domestically.

Between January and February 2022, China imported 632 million barrels of crude oil, according to S&P Global. Most of that was refined domestically, although China also imported 34 million barrels of refined petroleum products, and exported 54 million - making it a net crude oil consumer but a net refined petroleum product exporter.

Before the coronavirus outbreaks and lockdowns in Shanghai and Shenzhen, Chinese crude oil imports for 2022 were expected to meet or exceed 2020's record levels, which saw the People's Republic import nearly 11 million barrels per day, as Reuters reported. That's 12 percent of total global production, a quantity that many analysts expected would drive oil prices above $100 a barrel even without the conflict in Ukraine.

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China's biggest supplier for the first half of 2020 was Saudi Arabia (17 percent); followed by Russia (16 percent); Iraq (12 percent); Angola (8 percent); Brazil (7.5 percent); Oman (6.8 percent); the United Arab Emirates (5 percent); Kuwait (5 percent); Malaysia (3 percent); and Norway (2.5 percent), according to S&P Global.

But in terms of the crude that fills China's independent refineries - which are distinct from state-owned enterprises like Sinopec, and which are key swing producers of domestic products like gasoline - Russia came first in January 2022 (17 percent); followed by Saudi Arabia (11 percent); Malaysia (11 percent); Iraq (11 percent); Oman (11 percent); UAE (1o percent); Brazil (5 percent); Norway (4 percent); Kuwait (3 percent); and Nigeria (3 percent), according to S&P Global.

These independent refineries began cutting production - and therefore demand - earlier in March when oil surged above $130 a barrel, as S&P Global reported. That built on previous declines in 2021, which saw China's annual crude oil imports fall 5 percent - its first decline in 20 years - as the Politburo sought to draw down what it saw as excessive fuel production.

It also came on the heels of a 33 percent cut in China's refined fuel exports in February, as China's government sought to ensure domestic supplies of fuel.

Though China doesn't buy crude oil from the United States, it imported 14 million barrels of refined U.S. petroleum products in December 2021, down from a May 2020 spike of 46 million barrels. In 2020, China had only imported about 2 million barrels, according to the EIA - a level of volatility that helps show why the Chinese economy has such a powerful effect on world prices.
America's flush charter schools received at least a $1 billion windfall during the pandemic from the Paycheck Protection Program.

America's charter schools received at least a $1 billion windfall during the pandemic, an unneeded cash infusion for most from a federal program intended to bail out struggling small businesses, USA TODAY has found.

More than 1,000 of the publicly funded but privately operated schools that educate a fraction of U.S. children jumped at the chance to collect forgivable loans up to $10 million after Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program in March 2020.

The hastily launched program was designed to save small businesses during the pandemic by helping them cover employee salaries and other costs.

While more than 90% of all eligible businesses across the country took the roughly $800 billion in loan allocations, charter schools were among the first to get the money  ahead of mom-and-pop shops and minority-owned companies  during the early days of the crisis when the economy was cratering and many business owners scrambled to get a financial lifeline.

And charter schools were uniquely positioned to get the loans  even though they continually received funding from taxes, just like traditional public schools. But unlike those schools, which educate the vast majority of American children, charters qualified for what would eventually become pots of free money because they are considered a business.

Did charter schools need PPP money?

A USA TODAY investigation, based on public records, found 93% of the charter schools may not have needed the money because they were in states that continued to fund them at the same level as before the pandemic, or at even higher levels in some cases. These schools also had access to federal COVID-19 grants.

Records show some of the private companies that operate the charter schools used the money to pad savings accounts or, in one case, hand millions of dollars to an investor.

USA TODAY's investigation is based on publicly available documents from 1,139 charter schools, as well as federal and state agencies, including 37 departments of education that oversee local funding for charter schools.

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"It makes me furious because there was absolutely no reason for those (charter) schools to get that money and take it from small businesses," said Carol Corbett Burris, a critic of charter schools and executive director of the Network for Public Education Foundation, an advocacy group in New York City. "They successfully double-dipped."

The loan program had enough leeway to allow small businesses, including charter schools, to qualify without showing any financial need. Federal regulations only required businesses seeking the loans to say they faced "economic uncertainty" and the money was necessary to support ongoing operations.

Carol Corbett Burris

The federal government would forgive the loans if businesses kept employment and wages close to pre-crisis levels in the months after they received the money, according to a January 2022 paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Charter school advocates said operators were entitled to the loans, which ranged from $150,746 to $9.8 million, because they are technically private businesses.

"Funding is always difficult to secure but was even more challenging during the pandemic," said Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Rees added that charter schools typically receive less public funding than traditional school districts and Congress intended for them to get the money because of "the special nature of these unique public schools."

Critics have a different view.

A congresswoman who has monitored the program said that while the schools may have done nothing legally wrong, their decisions to take the money were "terrible." And one superintendent who leads an inner-city San Diego charter operation said that despite the legality, the behavior was unethical because financially strong charter businesses took money from those truly in need.

Empower College Prep, a charter school in Phoenix, Arizona, had over $800,000 in PPP loans forgiven.

"At the time PPP became available, we had not suffered financially," said David Sciarretta, superintendent of the Albert Einstein Academies, which has 1,450 students from kindergarten to eighth grade at two San Diego campuses. "I saw PPP as a way to help small businesses, especially those in the service sector.  There is a fiscal way to look at it, and there's a moral and ethical way to look at it."

While Sciarretta declined to call out specifics schools, USA TODAY found, for example, that at least 14 affiliates of the California-based charter chain Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) took a collective $28.4 million in loans and had them forgiven at locations around the U.S.

Its national headquarters in San Francisco, meanwhile, saw its bottom line swell 56% to $75 million during the first year of the pandemic.

The KIPP Foundation said its headquarters is a distinct organization that is separate from its local charter organizations that make independent decisions based on the "financial needs" of its schools.

Over a dozen schools that are part of the charter-school chain Knowledge is Power Program had millions in PPP loans forgiven at locations around the U.S., even thought its national headquarters in San Francisco saw its fund balance increase 55% to $75 million during the first year of the pandemic.

Small portion of PPP saved jobs

Congress created the PPP program in the early stages of the pandemic to provide uncollateralized, low-interest loans to small businesses.

Unable to quickly disburse the money, Congress used private banks, which were paid a 1% to 5% processing fee per loan.

However, the program, which ran through May 2021, was far from efficient.

According to the NBER research, the program kept up to 3 million workers employed an additional year at a cost of up to $258,000 per job retained.

The researchers found up to 77% of all loan money flowed to business owners and company shareholders as well as creditors and suppliers of PPP-receiving firms. Researchers also found that Congress continually altered the rules so nearly every PPP loan qualified for forgiveness.

The report did not break down business sectors, such as charter schools.

"It did some good," said lead researcher David Autor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "But it was for a low rate of return and a very high cost."

Autor, who said he supports charter schools, said those operators saw a chance to get free money from the government.

"They did what everyone else did, and that's problematic," he said.

Yet Autor said among the "misuses" of loan funds, charter schools weren't even "above the median of egregious."

Did charter school students benefit?

Today, 44 states and Washington, D.C., have 3.4 million students in roughly 7,700 charter schools, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in Washington, D.C. That's just more than 7% of all public school students.

The exact percentage of students who benefitted from the forgiven PPP loans from operators in 37 states who sought loans is difficult to determine. That's because federal records only show that the extra money went to more than 1,100 operators, and most of those businesses run a chain of schools.

Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Rees, of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, said the schools, on average, receive 70% of the public funding from local and state taxes that goes to traditional district schools, forcing charter operators to raise additional funds to cover rent, maintenance and utilities.

"PPP loans were a lifeline for charter schools, enabling them to pivot quickly to absorb the extra expenditures related to the pandemic such as providing laptops, Wi-Fi hotspots, and additional teacher and staff training," Rees said.

Rees, whose organization had its $680,182 loan forgiven, said she had no problem with Primavera, headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, paying millions in shareholder distributions while also having its loan forgiven.

"Two facts can coexist," she said. "The school may have needed the PPP loan and the management company may have earned a dividend for its overall business performance. They are not the same."

Chu, the California congresswoman, disagrees.

She said it was not the intent of the loan program for companies to give away millions of dollars to shareholders.

"It was to keep businesses afloat during this tough time. It was not to make a huge profit for CEOs or investors," she said.

No oversight

Critics say charter schools are allowed to use less stringent auditing rules and have non-elected oversight boards, and their operators can make unlimited amounts of money through their budgets.

Primavera founder Damian Creamer

While SBA officials declined repeated requests for interviews to USA TODAY, a cadre of public policy advocacy groups said they have met with the agency and are pressuring the SBA to take a second look at financially stable charter schools that had their loans forgiven and may have misappropriated the money.

They note that in addition to the forgiven loans, all U.S. charter schools had access to federal COVID-19-related grants to implement social distancing and to disinfect schools. (Traditional public schools were eligible for those grants but not PPP loans.)

Primavera, records show, accepted nearly $2 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds in addition to getting a similar-size loan forgiven.

Damian Creamer, the school's founder, has received $23.6 million in shareholder distributions since 2017, records show. He declined to comment.

A Primavera instructor teaches an online math class.

Clare Crawford, senior policy adviser for In the Public Interest, which conducts research on how tax dollars are used, spent the past two years examining charter schools and PPP loans.

Her organization is among those pressuring the SBA to claw back money from charter schools because she alleges that many charters operators misused PPP money.

"There's no routine oversight to see what happened with the money," said Crawford, who blames state and federal officials.

USA TODAY's findings

USA TODAY's investigation into charter schools and PPP loans was based on IRS, SBA, state Departments of Education and charter school documents as well as more than a dozen interviews.

The findings include:

The range of forgiven loans was $150,746 to $9.8 million. The largest went to River Springs Charter School in Temecula, California.

River Springs Superintendent Kathleen Hermsmeyer said her charter network, the largest in California, enrolled 1,000 more students after the pandemic began. She said the loan was used for technology, hiring more teachers and payroll, and the state didn't cover additional expenses for specialized charter schools like hers that provide remote or hybrid learning.

Her network and others have filed a class-action suit against the state for more money.

The Marco Island Charter Middle School Band performs in 2018 in the school gym. The school was among other charter schools in Florida that saw their PPP loans forgiven.

About 10% of charter schools getting PPP loans lost public funding. Only Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri and Nevada slightly cut that funding during the health crisis, while the remaining states did not. However, Georgia and Missouri later restored all lost revenue, meaning about 93% of charter schools getting forgiven PPP loans lost no public funding.

California led all states with $335 million in forgiven PPP loans for at least 268 charter schools. New York was second with $114 million in forgiven loans for at least 86 charters. In Florida, at least $67 million was forgiven for 92 charters, while in Arizona, nearly $57 million was forgiven for 94 charters.

Delaware was last with a $150,928 forgiven loan for a single school.

The Redding School of the Arts participates in the Redding Lighted Christmas Parade in 2020. California led all states with $335 million in forgiven PPP loans for at least 268 charter schools.

At least 22 nonprofit companies that run charter schools and obtained loans in excess of $2 million reported having more than 500 employees, above the federal cutoff to be considered a small business eligible for PPP loans. Of those, 13 schools had more than 600 employees, and one had 1,302.

Among the 118 charter schools that had forgiven PPP loans in excess of $2 million, the majority had financial records showing they didn't need the money because of large fund balances and wealthy donors for some charters.

What's next?

Aliya Sabharwal, campaign manager for Americans for Financial Reform, said her group and five other public policy organizations met in January with SBA Deputy Chief of Staff Arthur Plews.

The goal: Determine if any of the forgiven loans that her organization claims were improperly used could be clawed back.

Sabharwal, whose group works to fight racism in the country's financial system, said SBA officials indicated to them that they have the power to get money back if recipients misused funds.

"Maybe charter schools were eligible and they didn't break any rules and there was no outright fraud, but the spirit of the program was that it was explicitly for small businesses," she said.

Plews did not respond to requests for comment.

Arlene Martinez, who is deputy executive director for Good Jobs First and is part of the group, said while she's hopeful the SBA will get some of the money back, government officials also told them that their "hands were tied under the former administration" on how much can be done.

"They still have a lot of power to make sure this does not happen again," said Martinez, whose group compiles data and promotes accountability in economic development.

Autor, the MIT economics scholar, said he expects to see more media scrutiny now that loans are being forgiven.

"But the money will not be recovered in a substantial sense," he said, noting officials don't have a strong interest in getting the money back. "The media does not have enough capacity to shame everyone who needed to be shamed."

However, Chu said she has been assured by SBA officials that they have begun working through a massive backlog of fraud tips for the entire PPP loan program and are working with the Department of Justice.

"They have gotten thousands of tips," Chu said. "It tells me that many feel there could have been some underhanded businesses with loans."

Have a tip on business or investigative stories? Reach the reporter at craig.harris@usatoday.com or 602-509-3613 or on Twitter @CraigHarrisUSAT or linkedin.com/in/craig-harris-70024030/









Coming soon

A small San Diego charter school chain that caters to low-income children could have used a PPP loan, but school leaders decided to turn it down for ethical reasons.

The KIPP Foundation made $27 million during COVID, so why did taxpayers pick up a near identical tab in PPP loans?

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: U.S. charter schools get paid twice with $1 billion forgiven PPP loans




Saudi Arabia said Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis fired missiles at various energy and water desalination facilities on Saturday night and Sunday morning, Reuters reported.

In a statement on Sunday, Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said the drones and missile strikes hit a petroleum products distribution terminal in the Jizan region, a natural gas plant, and a Yasref refinery in the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

"The assault on Yasref facilities has led to a temporary reduction in the refinery's production, which will be compensated for from the inventory," Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that a number of distribution plants were hit, causing fire to erupt at one plant. Officials said the fire was controlled and no causalities were reported.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarea confirmed that the militant group attacked a number of facilities in Saudi Arabia.

A Saudi-led military coalition said the militant group also targeted other locations, such as a water desalination plant in Al-Shaqeeq, a power station in Dhahran al Janub and a gas facility in Khamis Mushait. Saudi defense forces reported intercepting a ballistic missile and nine drones, Reuters reported.

United Nations special envoy Hans Grundberg has said both sides have discussed a possible treaty to end the seven years of fighting, which has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions of others facing starvation, Reuters noted.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan condemned the attack in a statement on Sunday.

"The United States stands fully behind those efforts, and we will continue to fully support our partners in the defense of their territory from Houthi attacks. We call on the international community to do the same," he said.
Mar. 20Hours after New Mexico State was eliminated in a hard-fought loss to Arkansas Saturday in the NCAA Tournament's second round, NMSU announced Sunday that men's basketball head coach Chris Jans is leaving to accept the same position at Mississippi State.

"It's no secret that Chris Jans' name has been in the mix for a number of other jobs, especially after what he has done for our program over the last five seasons," said New Mexico State athletic director Mario Moccia in a statement from the school. "This is an opportunity for Chris that is long overdue. What he accomplished in Las Cruces will be remembered forever, and we wish Chris the best of luck as he continues his head coaching career."

Moccia said NMSU will consider associate head coach James Miller for the head coaching position.

Mario Moccia on what he's looking for in new MBB coach at New Mexico State. Says here that if James Miller is interested, he'll automatically be a finalist for the job. pic.twitter.com/iqAFUReAhv

 Colin Deaver (@ColinDeaverTV) March 20, 2022

Since taking over as the Aggies' head coach prior to the start of the 2017-18 season, the Fairbank, Iowa, native went 122-32 (.793) which included a 63-13 (.829) showing in Western Athletic Conference regular-season contests. Only Gonzaga's Mark Few possesses a better in-conference winning percentage than Jans' mark when taking a look at each and every NCAA Division I head coach in that same span, NMSU said.

NMSU said the search for Jans' replacement is national and begins immediately. Moccia is looking for two basketball head coaches: Women's coach Brooke Atkinson's contract was not renewed.
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Prince William and Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton and Prince William kicked off their eight-day royal tour of the Caribbean with a candid photo of their arrival in Belize.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge touched down at Philip S. W Goldson International Airport in Belize on Saturday after an 11-hour flight from a Royal Air Force base in England.

"Arriving in Belize, the first stop of our Caribbean tour!   ," the couple captioned a personal photo on Instagram that showed them from inside the plane.

William and Kate, who changed into their arrival clothes on the plane after their long flight, walked down the steps to an awaiting red carpet. Kate, who paid tribute to her host country's flag by wearing a blue lace Jenny Packham skirt suit and a matching clutch, and William, who wore a light blue suit, were then greeted by the Governor-General of Belize, Froyla Tzalam and her husband Daniel Mendez.

For more on Prince William and Kate Middleton's Caribbean tour, listen below to our daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day.

The couple traveled alongside their 15-strong entourage and members of the U.K. media in the British government RAF VIP Voyager jet across the Atlantic to Belize.

RELATED: Kate Middleton and Prince William Share a Fun Tradition with Their Kids Before They Travel

The royal family uses the RAF VIP Voyager jet to travel around the world in an official capacity. The specially designed plane is available to the royal family and British government officials.

While off-duty, members of the royal family have been known to use both private planes and budget airlines.

Upon William and Kate's arrival in Belize on Saturday, the couple was whisked off to their first official meeting with Prime Minister Johnny Briceno and his wife Rossana Briceno.

"It's lovely to be here," William told the prime minister after he and Kate arrived at the Laing Building in Belize City.

Kate Middleton and Prince William

JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP via Getty Kate Middleton and Prince William

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"We're so happy you're here," Prime Minister Briceno replied as he and his wife then invited Kate and William to have a seat in an area of his office that overlooks the ocean.

"It's such a lovely view," Kate said.

RELATED: Kate Middleton and Prince William's Caribbean Royal Tour Details Revealed

Kate Middleton and Prince William

Jane Barlow - Pool/Getty Kate Middleton and Prince William meet the Prime Minister of Belize Johnny Briceno and wife Rossana Briceno, at the Laing Building, Belize City, as they begin their Caribbean tour

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The couple is representing William's grandmother Queen Elizabeth on their tour of the Caribbean, which will also see them travel to Jamaica and the Bahamas. The tour will help celebrate the monarch's Platinum Jubilee year, which honors her record-breaking 70 years on the throne.
Marina Ovsyannikova, the Russian television producer who defiantly condemned Russias war on Ukraine during state evening news, said Sunday that she doesn't intend to leave the country because she is a patriot.

I'm very grateful to Mr. Macron for his offer, but I have publicly refused to take political asylum in France because I am a patriot, she said in discussing an offer made by French President Emmanuel Macron on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

I want to live in Russia. My children want to live in Russia. We had a very comfortable life in Russia. And I don't want to immigrate and lose another 10 years of my life to assimilate in some other country.

Last week, Ovsyannikova disrupted a TV newscast by holding up an anti-war sign behind the woman reading the news. She was subsequently fined 30,000 rubles for "hooliganism" and could face up to 15 years in prison under a recently enacted law forbidding anyone from speaking out against the Russian government's war narrative.

She said she took that risk because it's Putin's war, not Russian people's war and the propaganda on our state channels was becoming more and more distorted.

A soon as the war began, I could not eat. I could not sleep. I came to work and, after a week of coverage of this situation, the atmosphere on the first channel was so unpleasant that I realized that I could not go back there, she continued.

I could see what in reality was happening in Ukraine. And what we showed on our programs was very different from what was going on in reality.

Ovsyannikovas first instinct was to participate in the protests on the street, but she realized that wouldnt be that effective. Her condemnation of the war on TV garnered massive attention by news outlets and on social media around the world.

She said she hopes her act of defiance shows the world that many Russians are against the war and inspires more Russians to speak up.

To the Western governments working to combat Vladimir Putins efforts, Ovsyannikova said that the sanctions imposed are probably a correct decision but that they are affecting ordinary Russian citizens too.
A bright pop, catch your eye color  thats how Crazy Glazed Co-Owner Saundra Cunningham described the business trademark pink that coats its walls, fills its website and sprinkles its decorations.

The doughnut shop at 204 N. Hanover St. in Carlisle officially opened with a ribbon-cutting at 9 a.m. Saturday.

It started as just a fun project for us, because it was something that we really enjoyed, she said. We liked the doughnuts, and its turned into so much more, and its exciting to see everyone excited about our product.

Customers can enjoy made-to-order vanilla cake doughnuts with a variety of glazes and toppings. The online menu displays over 30 options, including apple pie, maple bacon, dirt, samoa and pina colada. Lucky leprechaun and white chocolate raspberry doughnuts will also be available for a limited time.

I think the brown butter salt glazed doughnut will be a big hit, co-owner Kelly Cloud said.

Doughnuts are $2 each, $10 for a half-dozen and $19 for a dozen.

Crazy Glazed also features a number of drinks to complement the doughnuts, and Cloud anticipates lotus energy spritzers to be popular. The menu outlines six of the plant-based energy drinks comprised of club soda, juices and a number of flavors.

Fresh-squeezed lemonade and orangeade in numerous flavors, Italian cream soda, and four different cold brews are among other drinks the shop offers.

Cloud said Carlisle needed a doughnut shop because other than Dunkin Donuts, it didnt have one.

I think its perfect for downtown, Cloud said of Crazy Glazed. It goes along with everything else that we have here.

Cunningham said the business originally started with the intention of operating out of a trailer.

Whenever we were getting close to finishing that, this property became available for rent, so were doing this and then were also going to be doing the trailer at different events this summer, Cunningham said.

Cloud said the trailer remains a plan for Crazy Glazeds future, however she wanted to focus on getting the shop running first.

As soon as were ready, then were going to reach out and probably do some little local festivals, maybe go to some local neighborhoods, things like that, she said.

Crazy Glazeds Facebook page lists the business hours as 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday to Sunday.

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

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Bret Stephens

The usual date given for the start of World War II is Sept. 1, 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. But that was just one in a series of events that at the time could have seemed disconnected.

Among them: Japans invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Italys invasion of Abyssinia in 1935. The remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936 and the Spanish Civil War, which started the same year. Anschluss with Austria and the Sudeten crisis of 1938. The Soviet invasion of Poland weeks after the German one and Germanys western invasions the following year. Operation Barbarossa and Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The point is, World War II didnt so much begin as it gathered, like water rising until it breaches a dam. We, too, have been living through years of rising waters, although it took Russias invasion of Ukraine for much of the world to notice.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin has convened top officials to consider recognizing the independence of separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. Such a move would ratchet up tensions with the West amid fears that the Kremlin could launch an invasion of Ukraine imminently. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Before the invasion, we had the Russian invasions of Georgia, Crimea and eastern Ukraine; the Russian carpet bombing of Aleppo, Syria; the use of exotic radioactive and chemical agents against Russian dissidents on British soil; Russian interference in U.S. elections and massive hacks of our computer networks; the murder of Boris Nemtsov and the blatant poisoning and imprisonment of Alexei Navalny.

Were any of these sovereignty violations, legal violations, treaty violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity met with a strong, united, punitive response that could have averted the next round of outrages? Did Western responses to other violations of global norms  Syrias use of chemical weapons against civilians, Beijings eradication of Hong Kongs autonomy, Irans war by proxy against its neighbors  give Vladimir Putin pause?

In short, did Putin have any reason to think, before Feb. 24, that he wouldnt be able to get away with his invasion?

He didnt. Contrary to the claim that Putins behavior is a result of Western provocation  like refusing to absolutely rule out eventual NATO membership for Ukraine  the West has mainly spent 22 years placating Putin through a long cycle of resets and wrist slaps. The devastation of Ukraine is the fruit of this appeasement.

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., introduces Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to speak to the U.S. Congress by video at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022.

The Biden administration now faces the question of whether it wants to bring this cycle to an end. The answer isnt clear. Sanctions have hurt the Russian economy, arms shipments to Ukraine have helped to slow the Russian advance and Russias brutality has unified NATO. This is to the presidents credit.

But the administration continues to operate under a series of potentially catastrophic illusions.

Sanctions may devastate Russia in the long term. But the immediate struggle in Ukraine is short-term. Insofar as one of the main effects of sanctions has been to send tens of thousands of middle-class Russians into exile, they actually help Putin by weakening a potent base of political opposition. As for the oligarchs, they might have lost their yachts but theyre not about to pick up their guns.

Arming Ukraine with Javelin and Stinger missiles has wounded and embarrassed the Russian military. Providing Kyiv with MiG-29 fighter jets and other potentially game-changing weapon systems could help turn the tide. Refusing to do so may only prolong Ukraines agony.

Frequent suggestions that Putin has already lost the war or that he cant possibly win when Ukrainians are united in their hatred for him or that hes looking for an offramp  and that we should be thinking up ingenious ways to provide him with one  may turn out to be right. But they are grossly premature. This war is only in its third week; it took the Nazis longer to conquer Poland. The ability to subdue a restive population is chiefly a function of the pain an occupier is willing to inflict. For a primer on that, look at what Putin did to Grozny in his first year in office.

Refusing to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine may be justified because it exceeds the risks NATO countries are prepared to tolerate. But the idea that doing so could start World War III ignores history and telegraphs weakness. Americans squared off with Soviet pilots operating under Chinese or North Korean cover in the Korean War without blowing up the world. And our vocal aversion to confrontation is an invitation, not a deterrent, to Russian escalation.

There is now a serious risk that these illusions could collapse very suddenly. Theres little evidence that Putin is eager to cut his losses; on the contrary, to do so now  after incurring the economic price of sanctions but without achieving a clear victory  would jeopardize his grip on power.

Bottom line: Expect him to double down. If he uses chemical weapons, as Bashar Assad did, or deploys a battlefield nuclear weapon, in keeping with long-standing Russian military doctrine, does he lose more than he gains? The question answers itself. He wins swiftly. He terrifies the West. He consolidates power. He suffers consequences only marginally graver than the ones already inflicted. And his fellow travelers in Beijing; Tehran, Iran; and Pyongyang, North Korea, take note.

How does the next world war begin? The same way the last one did.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Commentary: WWIII starts when the West fails to push back
You are the owner of this article.
CWU Aviation professor Amy Hoover received the 2022 National Certified Flight Instructor of the Year by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and General Aviation Awards Industry Board.
The news makes for a sickening split screen.

We see the ravages of Russias war on Ukraine, where its as if the black-and-white scenes of carnage and fleeing refugees in World War II Europe  scenes consigned to history books, we thought  have been updated in horrific, real-time color. Vladimir Putins heinous war has united the Ukrainian people.

Then theres the coverage of the figurative war here in America, a culture war waged by Republicans against women, minority groups, LGBTQ people, educators, public health officials and just about anyone not of a right-wing mindset. This needless conflict divides us, for Republicans political gain.

Such domestic battles are a luxury of peace and prosperity. Im reminded of conservatives culture wars amid the good times at the turn of the century, before 9/11 made a mockery of the invented threats and brought Americans together against a real one. For a time.

The juxtaposition with the real war in Ukraine isnt all thats maddening about the political wars of choice in state capitals.

Its also that the culture warriors claim to be fighting for freedom. Yet freedom to these mostly white, male conservatives often comes at the expense of others who dont look or think like them.

Even as Ukrainians suffer bombings of hospitals, a maternity center, apartments and schools, our bloodless war proceeds on its several fronts: Against womens constitutional right to abortion before a fetus viability. Against teachers rights to speak freely about race and gender. Against transgender youth and their parents. Against public health officials dealing with a once-a-century pandemic thats killed nearly a million Americans.

On abortion rights, Republican-led states arent even waiting for the conservative U.S. Supreme Court to turn back the clock a half-century. Theyre rushing either to ban abortions at 15 weeks gestation, significantly before a fetus is viable (the latest bill just went to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign), or to go further and copy Texas plainly unconstitutional law that ended nearly all abortions in that state, home to 7 million women of reproductive age.

Texas devilishly wrote its law to avert federal court review, dangling cash bounties to spur citizens to sue anyone who even unknowingly helps a woman whos more than six weeks pregnant get an abortion. Under the legal threat, clinics ceased most services.

Predictably, Texans are traveling elsewhere. At least 5,500 women sought help in six neighboring states in just the first three months after the law took effect in September. Now comes a Republican lawmaker in Missouri, inspired by Texas law, whos concocted a way to stop women in her state from going to Illinois or Kansas to exercise their reproductive rights: Attack womens freedom to travel, too!

The bill, the brainchild of state Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, is now before the Missouri House. It would invite anyone to sue a person who helps a Missourian get an abortion out of state, whether thats a hotline operator making appointments or a doctor providing the service.

Its another patently unconstitutional gambit, but one that could have a chilling effect if clinics in the neighboring states want to avoid legal battles.

Texas Republicans, meanwhile, continued their pioneering ways in the culture war by opening a new offensive, against transgender kids and their families.

Gov. Greg Abbott, acting late last month on a nonbinding legal opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton, directed state officials to investigate parents for abuse if they help a child medically transition to the gender with which the youth identifies. The Texans sprung this plan just as the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that gender-affirming medical care made teenagers 60% less likely to suffer depression and 73% less likely to be suicidal.

By last week, Texas had opened investigations of at least five families. What a blatant invasion of personal liberty from the state that unironically advertises Dont mess with Texas. As if transgender kids and their parents dont deal with enough stigma, bullying and even the threat of violence.

Yet copy-cat Idaho aims to one-up Texas: Its state House voted Tuesday to make it a felony for a doctor to help transgender children. A record 147 bills against transgender people were introduced in 34 states last year, according to the pro-LGBTQ Human Rights Campaign, including successful measures to bar transgender girls from womens sports.

LGBTQ issues more broadly are the target  along with racial justice and history  of a raft of so-called parental rights bills to restrict what teachers can say or assign in classrooms from pre-K through college.

Last week Floridas Legislature sent its Dont Say Gay bill to DeSantis, as well as a separate measure limiting what teachers and employers can say about race and diversity. Georgias Republican lawmakers are moving to ban the teaching of what they vaguely call divisive concepts about race.

PEN America, which keeps a monthly roundup, says theres no recent parallel to the number of book bans and educational gag orders. The organization laments a willingness, and even eagerness, to bring the weight and power of government to bear on controlling classroom speech.

In Russia, Putin is cracking down further on speech, too, just as hes moved against gay rights and abortion. If Republicans in this country truly stood for freedom, their domestic agenda wouldnt have so much in common with his.
To the editor -- Responding to Richard Dezarn's letter complaining about "the tirade against former President Trump" by liberals. That worries me about the state of our democracy. The time to worry is before we lose something precious, not after we've lost it.

Trump made it plain that he adores autocrats, calls them geniuses. How could anything be more at odds with democratic ideals? When he so plainly tells us who he is, BELIEVE him!

He condemned repeatedly the institutions and principles that are the foundation of open government. He threatened to "lock up "political rivals, referred to journalists as "the enemy of the people", lied repeatedly about the 2020 election, vilified immigrants and their countries and called judges "biased." This is fascism. Trump is a wannabe fascist because he admires them.

Heroic presidents like Biden have put America first by helping and mobilizing our allies, by promoting shared security, prosperity and freedom from common dangers like Putin. Trump did not value NATO because he is an unethical weasel with no redeeming qualities to lead us toward preserving liberty, justice and peace.

I write letters to be a "drum major for justice," to quote Martin Luther King Jr. (and the Old Testament prophets.)

SUE JANUSCHEITIS

Yakima
Ten days after the adjournment of Washingtons 2022 legislative session, Republicans are shaking their heads over what might have been.

I think broadly it was a session of missed opportunities and misplaced priorities by the majority party, Senate Republican Leader John Braun said in a Thursday visit with the Yakima Herald-Republics editorial board.

It was a session, agreed Sen. Curtis King of Yakimas 14th District, that could have been a whole lot better.

The 60-day, off-year session was an ambitious one that will be remembered, among other things, for expanding the states revised budget by $5 billion  to $64.1 billion  and for the passage of the first substantial transportation package in seven years. The nearly $17 billion initiative pays for building and repairing roads and bridges, and funds public rail and transit projects, as well as bike and pedestrian projects over the next 16 years.

The plan, which Democrats claim is the greenest in state history, relies on the states new carbon cap-and-trade program, federal dollars and $2 billion from the states $15 billion budget surplus.

To Republicans chagrin, it also counts on sharp fee increases  about $2.7 billion worth, according to King  that vehicle owners will soon feel.

As the Republican leader on the Senate Transportation Committee, King said he and other Republicans worked hard on a proposal that wouldve spared raising fees, but they were rebuffed by Democrats.

They did not want to hear our input, King said. We got absolutely no response.

The Democrats go-it-alone strategy for the session led to several other pieces of breakthrough legislation that Republicans were powerless to stop  such as rules limiting new guns sold or manufactured in the state to 10-round magazines.

That approach left Republicans devoting a lot of energy to pushing back against numerous Democratic ideas that they simply couldnt stomach. The time Republicans spent resisting the things they didnt want, Braun and King said, left little time to promote their own priorities  enhancing public safety, keeping life affordable and building trust in public institutions.

So while Republicans can take some solace in what they prevented this session, their inability to advance more of their own agenda leaves them frustrated for the moment.

Theyre not alone in their discontent. Lawmakers across the country  the ones in minorities, at least  are bitterly familiar with the feeling of being outvoted and shut out of key decisions by the majority party.

Thats politics.

But with recent polling suggesting dramatic increases in the number of Washington voters who identify as Republicans, Braun and King might enjoy warmer receptions from Democrats on future trips to Olympia.

Thats politics, too.

While its unlikely Washington will turn red anytime soon, Braun and King are hoping future legislative sessions will include more cooperation, more compromise, more honest give-and-take discussions.

Thatll take party leaders  on both sides of the aisle  reining in the outliers who shriek extremist nonsense from the far reaches of their respective parties.

The key, Braun said, is to be reasonable.

Common sense has to prevail, King added.

We couldnt agree more. Failure to give serious consideration to all legitimate and sincerely offered points of view is perhaps the greatest missed opportunity of all.
A couple of months ago, The Woodlands resident Jay Coons, 67, was scrolling though Facebook when the former Houston-area patrol commander with 40 years law enforcement experience came across an unnerving photo.

Staring back at him was a middle-aged woman displaying a dejected appearance as she sat in a patrol cruiser with her hands apparently restrained. At the time of the photo, the unidentified woman had just been detained by the Montgomery County Precinct 5 Constables Office for allegedly being caught in possession of a controlled substance on FM 1488.

Shared by Precinct 5 to its around 6,400 Facebook followers, the photo drew a range of emotions in the comments from many expressing sympathy with the sullen-faced womans circumstances. The overwhelming majority of the 83 respondents chastised the Magnolia agency as exploitative for having uploaded the image.

I dont see a legitimate public service, or public interest served, by a law enforcement agency putting this out there and humiliating these people just because they can, Coons said in an interview.

For Pct. 5 Constable Chris Jones, roadside detention photos posted on Facebook fulfill a need for transparency during a controversial time for policing.

Right now, law enforcement has a lot of scrutiny going on about what we do out there, so were wide open about what we do, Jones said. I believe its a way of letting the public know that were out there taking care of business and what were doing out there on a daily basis and what were having to deal with as law enforcement.

Although the four other Montgomery County constables offices Facebook pages occasionally post photos at scenes of criminal apprehension, none are as glaring as Precinct 5s. No law enforcement agency in the county highlights their roadside detentions with as much frequency as Precinct 5.

The practice of posting these pics took off about a year ago or so, the constable said. As of Friday on the Precinct 5s Facebook page, there were about 40 photos posted since Jan. 3 that depict people handcuffed following apprehension.

Right to know

Taking the helm at Precinct 5 in 2018 upon county commissioners appointing him to succeed Constable David Hills 36-year tenure, Jones was elected to the office in 2020. Jones, who has been at the constables office for 25 years now, said his force is committed to targeting drugs and DWIs in the increasingly urbanized if still heavily rural area.

Launching Precinct 5s patrol division in 2015, he sees the unambiguously candid snapshots as an extension of what he calls proactive patrolling.

We want people to know were making arrests, he said. We want people to know that were out there trying to clean up our streets, trying to get drugs off our streets.

All photos, Jones explained, are of individuals whose charges have been formally accepted by the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office. Each photo is captioned in all caps with the disclaimer, all subjects are innocent until proven guilty with a disclosure tacked on about the images being public information.

Coons, who teaches criminal justice at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, acknowledged the public has a right to know about arrests. He argued booking photos, which are taken upon a detainee being processed at a jailing facility, serve a legitimate function to the public.

We have a fear of government and rightfully so. When the government reaches out and deprives you of your liberty, we want to make sure we have a record of that and exactly who was taken, Coons said. There is a reason that we need an official record when the government deprives someone of their liberty.

The photos being shared by Precinct 5, however, are not from the detainees jail booking. For Coons, the constables offices postings are done for the sake of publicity and not the publics right to know.

Meredith Duncan, a University of Houston law professor, said Texas ethics rules in criminal cases permit lawyers to disclose the identity, occupation and family status of the criminally charged.

If its in the public record, its not a violation of the ethics rules, Duncan said.

None of Precinct 5s Facebook posts identify the apprehended by their name, but do give a brief description of their alleged offense.

Theres a difference between what were authorized to do by law and what we ought to be doing, said Coons, who teaches police ethics.

Most of the roadside detainee photos on the Facebook page appear to be taken with the officer clicking the camera as the subject is instructed to look in the direction of the lens. Many of these photos garner laughing emoji reactions and mocking comments from users.

When he stumbled upon the constables offices Facebook page, its photo collection gave Coons pause.

He said the roadside detainee photos reflect the alleged offenders worst day of their life, and that those subjected to such humiliating experiences may never get over them.

Katya Dow, also a University of Houston law professor, is concerned by the stigmatization these photos may potentially carry for those pictured.

If these cases are eventually dismissed for somebody, that should be treated as if it never occurred, Dow said. Youre putting a label on (detainees) as having done something wrong and its out there for the public to see even after charges have been cleared.

Still snapping

Jones said no one featured on the agencys Facebook page has requested to have their photo removed. He said the agency would comply if a requester had their record expunged, which generally means charges were dismissed and officially removed from public view.

The lawman has no intention on halting the photos postings.

No one, Jones said, has ever approached him in public to complain about the postings. Most people online or in person, praise the agencys efforts, he mentioned.

Some people like it. Some people might not like it, but most of the time we get praised for it more than anything else, Jones said. As long as I keep getting those thanks, were gonna keeping doing what were doing.

jose.gonzalez@chron.com

twitter.com/jrgzztx
Its hard to pick up a foreign policy journal or even turn on the TV without encountering someone predicting, recommending or lamenting a new Cold War with Russia, China or both.

This is entirely understandable and even justifiable, if you mean a new period of strategic competition, pressure and geopolitical tension that falls short of all-out war. Such a lower-case cold war is already on display.

The U.S. and our allies are doing nearly everything short of declaring a hot war on Russia for its immoral aggression against Ukraine. Things are not so tense with China, but theres a broad consensus, particularly among Republicans, that containing China  to use a Cold War term  should become central to American foreign policy. And even many who disagree believe we are entering a new Cold War with China whether we want one or not. After all, sometimes wars, cold or hot, are not wars of choice.

I agree that new cold wars with Russia and China are simultaneously necessary and not necessarily desirable. But I worry that the semantic confusion of the historic Cold War and this new cold war could get us into trouble. George Orwell observed in Politics and the English Language that if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation, even among people who should and do know better.

The Cold War was wholly a creature of its time. Indeed, as Orwell himself observed in his 1945 essay You and the Atom Bomb, our conflict with the Soviet Union was a product of the nuclear age, and he predicted that nuclear weapons would make the kind of war that had just concluded a few months earlier unlikely.

The fear of nuclear war still constrains our actions  and I hope our adversaries  but the differences between the Cold War era and today are profound.

To start, the Cold War was not a time of sustained peace. The Korean and Vietnam wars were part of the Cold War, as were the Soviet invasions of Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan.

It was very easy to cut off economic relations with the Soviet Union, because we had so few to begin with. The same holds to a large extent with contemporary Russia, which may be a nuclear superpower but is an economic piker. Its GDP is less than half of Californias (Russias per capita GDP is an eighth of Californias).

Meanwhile, China is the worlds second largest economy and a global manufacturing powerhouse. Any expectation that the U.S. and the international community would sever ties with China over a Taiwan invasion the way they have over Russias invasion of Ukraine seems overly optimistic. China crushed democracy in Hong Kong and is putting Uyghurs in concentration camps, and the international business community has for the most part shrugged.

The Soviets vowed to liberate the world from capitalism, bourgeois democracy and religion. That kind of ideology made it comparatively easy to garner political support for containment  yet even then, there was ample domestic and international opposition to Americas anti-communist policies.

Indeed, under God was officially inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance to differentiate America from the godless Communists. When Sen. Homer Ferguson, R-Mich., introduced the legislation, he said, I believe this modification of the pledge is important because it highlights one of the real fundamental differences between the free world and the Communist world, namely belief in God.

No one in the House or Senate spoke in opposition to the change.

For good or ill, it seems implausible anything like that would be possible today. Religion no longer binds the nation the same way and our domestic culture wars  whether over COVID-19 pandemic response or school curricula or Vladimir Putin as anti-woke hero  do not seem very compatible with a new cold war. And freedom itself is no longer the rallying cry it once was on either the left or the right.

Orwell argued that some phrases come to us like parts of a prefabricated hen-house and end up doing our thinking for us. We may indeed face a new cold war, but we need fresh thinking that doesnt necessarily flow from old phrases like Cold War.

Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast.

Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast.

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In the village of Beregsurany, on the Hungary-Ukraine border, a crowd of volunteers are tending to refugees flooding in, cooking them pancakes, and helping them to continue their journeys.

In contrast to the refugee crisis of 2015, the Hungarian media is celebrating those helping, and welcoming the new arrivals. John Domokos meets the villagers and displaced Ukrainians of all ages, who've suffered traumas, and are coming to terms with life never being the same again.



Source: The Guardian





MTI Photo: Zsolt Czegledi
New Delhi: The government is planning to merge Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BBNL) with the loss-making state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) this month, a senior official has said.

BSNL chairman and managing director PK Purwar at a recent event organised by the All India Graduate Engineers and Telecom officers Association (AIGETOA) said that the government is giving the telecom firm an opportunity for a turnaround.

"The government has taken a policy decision that BBNL is going to be merged into BSNL. This means all work of BBNL at the pan-India level is going to come to BSNL," Purwar said at the All India Conference of AIGETOA on March 13.

Referring to his meeting with the union telecom minister, Purwar said he had an hour-long meeting to this effect.

BSNL already has a network of over 6.8 lakh kilometer of optical fibre cable (OFC) network.

With the proposed merger, BSNL will get 5.67 lakh kilometer of optical fibre which has been laid across 1.85 lakh village panchayats in the country using Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

Special purpose vehicle (SPV) BBNL was formed in February 2012, to lay out optical fibre network across 2.5 lakh village panchayats across the country using USOF and provide its access to all telecom operators on a non-discriminatory basis.

Telecom operators are required to pay an 8 per cent licence fee on their revenue from sale of telecom services which includes a 5 per cent levy for USOF.

The state governments do not levy right of way (RoW) charge on laying of OFC by the BBNL, which helps it in saving a significant amount compared to the fees that telecom operators are required to pay.

A query sent to the Department of Telecom and BBNL elicited no reply in the matter.

However, few BBNL officials said that employees in the department are not in favour of the proposed merger due to non-performance of BSNL on Bharatnet project in the past and pending dues of vendors despite payment already made to the state-run telecom firm by the SPV.

The officials shared a common view that private telecom operators also contribute to USOF and transferring BBNL assets under one player will be against idea and objective of creating the SPV, which was to provide access to rural broadband network on non-discriminatory basis to all players.

When contacted, Purwar said "no such views are in notice of BSNL. The delivery of BBNL to meet the objectives of Bharat Net is much below the desired level. BSNL, as a custodian of USOF assets, will ensure that all such assets are made available to all TSP/ISP and other agencies on arm length principles."

In his speech at the conference, BSNL CMD asked employees to tighten their belt and put their best foot forward for the growth of BSNL, as the political leadership has given a free hand for the turnaround and there is going to be no capex crunch for the next two years at least.

Purwar said, "in the budget, provision of around Rs 45,000 crore has been made for BSNL. It was earlier Rs 24,000 crore. Earlier provision was only for spectrum. Now, it is spectrum, capex and others. So the government wants to give you a free hand. Can you perform?"

He said that the company is in the last stage of testing for 4G and may approach the board for placing a small order in the month of March, so that supply can start in the month of May and June and ground-level network testing and experience can be done.

"Then it should be taken further after a commercial discussion. The government's expectation is very clear from us. The Prime Minister wants it to be (done) by August 15," Purwar said.

He said that the next phase of telecom growth will come from fibre-to-the-home service and in the coming days, 1 lakh mobile base stations will serve as a point of presence for the distribution of fibre-based broadband connections to the subscribers.

"If we lose this opportunity then there is no way that we will have an alternate option. The government is going against its stated policy for BSNL. If you see what is the policy for CPSE.

"The government's policy is to either perform or perish. The government wants to give BSNL a chance so that BSNL becomes a strategic asset. We have a responsibility to prove ourselves," Purwar said.

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New Delhi: After a gap of two years witnessing the worst days ever in the business, this year the Holi festival's sales provided a tremendous boon for business in the country including Delhi and for which the retail sector of the country was eagerly waiting.

The Holi festival sales registered around a 30% increase in the business on the occasion of Holi compared to last year. According to an estimate on Holi, business worth about Rs. 20,000 crore happened in the country and the best part is that there was no sale of Chinese goods.

Earlier, China exports India Holi festival material to India worth about Rs.10 thousand crores every year primarily of colors, toys, balloons etc.-said the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) today.

Now having a great enthusiasm from Holi business, the traders across the country are gearing up for forthcoming wedding season in April-May month which they hope will bring huge business-said the tallest leader of the traders in the Country and Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) today which has a huge following of more than 40 thousand trade associations across the country representing 8 crore traders.

Khandelwal complimented Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his managerial skills in fighting with covid and as a result of which the covid restrictions were lifted throughout the Country enabling the traders and the public to celebrate Holi festival with great fervor and spirit after two years of covid ordeal. Country made items like herbal colors and gulal, water gun, balloons, Chandan, dress material registered a huge sale while on the other hand sweets, dry fruits, gift items, textiles, flowers and fruits, toys, furnishing fabric, Kirana, FMCG products, consumer durables, pooja material etc. also had tremendous sales giving an indication of better days for the trade in the future.

Khandelwal further said that the practice of celebrating Holi through congregational meetings, Holi Milan celebrations, and street hangings has been going on for centuries and provides a big advantage of business to small traders. Lakhs of such programs were organized in the country. In Delhi alone, there were more than 3,000 such Holi get-togethers held. Apart from this, a large number of other various social programs were organized this year and people will come out in large numbers visiting various markets across the Country giving a shopping boon in the markets, particularly a week before the Holi.

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Three Hindu youths were gravely injured in a knife attack while they were exiting the cinema hall after watching the movie `The Kashmir Files. The incident took place in Fazilnagar in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh.

The victims have been identified as Sachin, Krishna and Rahul. The youths had gone to the cinema hall to watch the last show of `The Kashmir Files` on Friday night. After the screening of the movie was over, the three raised nationalist slogans while exiting the cinema halls.

Irked by the sloganeering, some local Muslim men first argued with the Hindu youths, and when the arguments turned heated, they attacked the Hindu youths with knives and inflicted severe injuries.

The victims were then rushed to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in the Fazilnagar block. After preliminary treatment, the doctors referred them to the nearby medical college.

The police have launched a probe into the matter. An FIR was registered and a search operation was initiated to nab the accused men. Station House Officer (SHO) Akhilesh Kumar Singh assured that the accused would be arrested soon.

`The Kashmir Files` narrates the 1990 genocide of Kashmiri Pandits. The movie is inspired by the true stories of Kashmiri Pandits. It takes viewers back to 1989, when conflict erupted in Kashmir due to rising Islamic Jihad, forcing the majority of Hindus to flee the valley.

According to estimates, lakhs of the valley`s Kashmiri Pandit inhabitants migrated between February and March 1990. More of them fled in the years that followed until just about a few hundred families remained in the valley by 2011.

The movie based on video interviews with first-generation Kashmiri Pandit victims of the Kashmir Genocide was released in India on March 11.
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will hold a meeting with his party MLAs from Punjab via video conference on Sunday.

The meeting of the AAP MLAs will be held in Mohali and Kejriwal will join it via video conferencing from Delhi at 12 noon.

In the meeting, Kejriwal is expected to guide the newly elected MLAs on governance issues as well as review a blueprint for the road ahead.

The virtual meeting comes just a day after the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab instated a new cabinet consisting of 10 ministers including a woman.

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 10 ministers at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh.

Soon after the oath taking ceremony, Mann held the first cabinet meeting with his council of ministers and announced and approved filling up 25,000 vacant posts in various state departments, including 10,000 in the police force.

This "historic" decision is believed to open new vistas of employment for the youth by providing jobs to them in the government sector through a transparent and merit-based mechanism, he said.

The AAP logged a sweeping win in the recently elected Punjab Assembly polls winning 92 seats in the 117-member House.

The AAP leader and the party`s face for recently held Punjab Assembly polls Bhagwant Mann took oath as the Chief Minister of the state on March 16 in Bhagat Singhs native village Khatakar Kalan.

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New Delhi: At the invitation of 'friend' Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israel PM Naftali Bennett will pay his first official visit to India on April 2. The visit will take place on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Israel and India.

During his visit, Bennett will meet PM Modi and other senior government officials, as well as visit the Jewish community in the country.

This visit will reaffirm the important connection between the two countries. The purpose of the visit is to advance and strengthen the strategic alliance between Israel and India and to expand bilateral ties. Bennett and Modi will also discuss the strengthening of cooperation in a variety of areas, including innovation, economy, research and development, agriculture and more.

WATCH: You're the most popular man in Israel, come join my party: Bennett tells PM Modi

"I am delighted to pay my first official visit to India at the invitation of my friend, Prime Minister Modi, and together we will continue leading the way for our countries relations. Modi restarted relations between India and Israel, and this is of historic importance. The relations between our two unique cultures  the Indian culture and the Jewish culture  are deep, and they rely on deep appreciation and meaningful collaborations," Bennett said.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to visit India in early April, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister @NarendraModi PM Bennett: "I am delighted to pay my first official visit to India at the invitation of my friend @PMOIndia Modi."https://t.co/yCxknQzTv8 pic.twitter.com/tBQDtlmXJx  Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) March 19, 2022

"There are many things we can learn from the Indians, and this is what we strive to do. Together we will expand our cooperation to other areas, from innovation and technology, security and cyber, to agriculture and climate change," he added.

The two leaders had first met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow last October, where Prime Minister Modi had invited Bennett to pay an official visit to the country.
New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday addressed a meeting with all the newly-elected AAP MLAs in the state. The leaders will be joined by Aam Aadmi convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who will talk to the MLAs virtually from Delhi and said that the whole country is talking about Punjab CM's work.

"The whole country is talking about Bhagwant Mann and his works. Compensation for crops damaged in October has been released and farmers will get cheques in the coming days. You have done good work within 3 days of forming the govt," said Kejriwal.

The whole country is talking about Bhagwant Mann and his works. Compensation for crops damaged in October has been released and farmers will get cheques in the coming days. You have done a good work within 3 days of forming the govt: AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/qYCyYb0NF9  ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2022

The meeting of the AAP MLAs was held in Mohali. Aam Aadmi Party Punjab affairs co-in-charge Raghav Chadha also joined the meeting.

In the meeting, Kejriwal is expected to guide the newly-elected MLAs on governance issues as well as review a blueprint for the road ahead.

The virtual meeting comes just a day after the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab instated a new cabinet consisting of 10 ministers including a woman.

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 10 ministers at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh.

Soon after the oath taking ceremony, Mann held the first cabinet meeting with his council of ministers and announced and approved filling up 25,000 vacant posts in various state departments, including 10,000 in the police force.

The AAP logged a sweeping win in the recently elected Punjab Assembly polls winning 92 seats in the 117-member House.

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Jammu: PDP President Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday accused the BJP of pushing the country towards another division by dividing people on religious lines.

The former J&K chief minister hurled the allegation while praising first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru for his "secular" credentials and "steering" India on the path of development and prosperity.

"(Pakistani founder Muhammad Ali) Jinnah divided this country in the past but today every attempt is being made to divide the country once again on communal lines. These people (BJP) want another division," Mehbooba said, addressing party workers in R S Pura near here.

The former chief minister said the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was killed by Nathu Ram Godse and "his ideology is being practised today by hundreds and thousands of Godse's followers."

She said the people have to fight the "nefarious designs" of the BJP and other fascist forces unitedly.

"If we allow this religious division to happen, the sacrifice of freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh will go in vain. Therefore, do not allow Gandhi to die once again," she said, adding her party would not allow the Gandhian ideology to die.

Claiming that the BJP will not get any space in Kashmir, she said only their paid agents are holding the party flag there while it is imperative for Jammu to stand up and take on "communal forces".

She said Jammu has been home to all religious faiths and beliefs and the city has accepted everyone from across Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of their faith.

"Jammu is facing maximum brunt after the abrogation of Article 370 (in August 2019). Not only business and economy but cultural identity of Jammu and its people is at stake," she said, adding industrialists and business houses from outside are being lured here.

Mehbooba claimed nobody would come to Kashmir due to the deteriorating situation here.

"Nehru went to jail for freedom of the country and steered it on the path of development and prosperity. He ensured colleges, universities and hospitals for the people, unlike the present dispensation which has only one agenda to rule by creating a divide among the people," she said.

She said the BJP government has no plans to get rid of the problem of growing unemployment among youths.

"They have ruined the country. They started their clandestine designs with Jammu and Kashmir where the situation is much worse than the rest of the country," the PDP leader claimed.

ALSO READ: Weaponizing pain of Kashmiri Pandits: Mehbooba Mufti slams Centre for endorsing The Kashmir Files

"The existence of Jammu and Kashmir is in danger under the BJP and the youths have a greater responsibility as the coming generations will question their stand in the face of the BJP's onslaught on their identity and culture," she asserted.

She urged her party workers to strengthen the party and said there is a need to foil the "vicious designs" of the vested interests who are hell-bent to weaken the PDP.

She said youths have a decisive role in taking Jammu and Kashmir out of the morass of disappointment and hopelessness.

"The PDP cannot take this fight to a logical end alone and the youths will have to come forward to play a decisive role," she added.

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New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday (March 20) held talks with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg covering a range of issues including bilateral economic ties as well as the implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In a tweet, Jaishankar described the discussions as "fruitful" and said new bilateral economic possibilities were identified.

Schallenberg arrived in India on Saturday on a three-day visit.

"An interesting evening with Austrian FM @a_schallenberg who spent his early years in New Delhi. Appreciated his insights on India's progress in the last decade," Jaishankar said on Twitter. (sic)

"Held wide ranging & fruitful discussions. Reviewed our bilateral cooperation & identified new economic possibilities," he said.

An interesting evening with Austrian FM @a_schallenberg who spent his early years in New Delhi. Appreciated his insights on Indias progress in the last decade. Held wide ranging & fruitful discussions.Reviewed our bilateral cooperation & identified new economic possibilities. pic.twitter.com/WUlCXGhL8Z  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) March 20, 2022

On his part, Schallenberg said regional security issues including the situation in Indo-Pacific and the global implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine figured in the talks.

"Thanks to my Indian counterpart @DrSJaishankar for the excellent discussion on further strengthening our bilateral relations and economic cooperation. Also spoke about regional security issues, incl. In the #IndoPacific, and the global implications of #Russia's war in #Ukraine," he tweeted. (sic)

Austria, a member of the European Union since 1995, is an important link for India in its relationship with Europe, especially with countries of central and Eastern Europe.

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TMC candidate for by-election to the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday took a jibe at the BJP for labelling him as an outsider, wondering what the saffron party makes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi contesting from Varanasi.

Sinha, who would be filing his nomination on Monday, told reporters at Andal Airport in Paschim Bardhaman district that he was sure the electorate of Asansol would root for Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, who always stood for the development of Bengal.

If for national figures like the PM, contesting the Lok Sabha polls from anywhere is accepted, then the same holds true for me as well, the actor-turned-politician said.

Bengal BJP leaders like Sukanta Majumdar and Agnimitra Paul had recently labelled Sinha as an outsider in the state.

Sinha said he was touched by the love and warmth of the people of Asansol, pointing towards the cheering crowd at the airport.

The BJP would be trounced by the people of Asansol, who will vote for insaf' (justice), he asserted.

Sinha is pitted against BJP's Agnimitra Paul.

The Left Front fielded senior CPI(M) leader Partha Mukherjee as its candidate for the by-election to the Asansol Lok Sabha seat.

By-polls to the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency and the Ballygunje Assembly seat will be held on April 12, and votes will be counted on April 16.
Kohima: Nagaland on Saturday created history by becoming the first State Assembly in the country to implement the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) programme to become completely paperless.

The Nagaland Assembly Secretariat has attached a tablet or e-book on each table in the 60 members` assembly amid the ongoing Budget session.

"Nagaland becomes India`s 1st Legislative Assembly to successfully implement National e-Vidhan project.

Now members can use electronic devices to participate in House proceedings. This initiative encourages paperless operations and reflects the government`s commitment towards Ashta Lakshmi," tweeted Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi as NeVa works under the supervision of his ministry.

According to the official note, NeVA is a work-flow system deployed on NIC Cloud, MeghRaj which helps the Chair of the House to conduct the proceedings of the House smoothly and to conduct Legislative Business of the House in a Paperless manner.

NeVA is a device neutral and member-centric application created to equip them to handle diverse House Business smartly by putting entire information regarding member contact details, rules of procedure, list of business, notices, bulletins, bills, starred/unstarred questions and answers, papers laid, committee reports etc.

in their handheld devices/ tablets and equip all Legislatures/Departments to handle it efficiently.

NeVA completely eliminates the process of sending out a notice/request for the collection of data. The application hosts a secure page for each Member of the House for submitting questions and other notices.

The aim of the project is to bring all the legislatures of the country together, in one platform thereby creating a massive data depository without having the complexity of multiple applications.

Paperless Assembly or e-Assembly is a concept involving electronic means to facilitate the work of Assembly.

It enables automation of the entire law-making process, tracking of decisions and documents, sharing of information.

The expenses for implementing NeVA is funded by the Centre and the state government on a 90:10 sharing basis.

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New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party meeting, which will decide the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, is likely to be held today (March 20, 2022).

The meeting is going to be attended by party`s central observers for Uttarakhand Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi and Union Minister Prahlad Joshi.

As per BJP President Madan Kaushik, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government in the hill state.

Further, Kaushik informed that chief ministers of various states will also attend the induction. In this meeting the political future of Pushkar Singh Dhami, the current Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, is likely to be decided.

Giving information to ANI on Wednesday, a senior state BJP leader on anonymity had said that there is a festival of Holi in the Kumaon division on March 19, due to which the meeting of the legislature party will be held on March 20.

According to the party`s state president Madan Kaushik, all the party MLAs have been asked to reach Dehradun after Holi.

Uttarakhand outgoing Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami resigned to pave way for the formation of the new government in the state after the conclusion of the Assembly elections.

Following his resignation, around seven MLAs have met Dhami to offer to vacate their seats for him to contest for re-election in the event he`s elected leader of the legislature party of the BJP in the state.

Ganesh Joshi and Arvind Pandey, who were Dhami`s Cabinet colleagues, also announced their support to him.

Dhami was defeated by the Congress candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri by a margin of 6,579 votes. Dhami got a total of 41,598 votes with a vote share of 44.8 per cent as against Kapri who got 48,177 with a huge vote share of 51.89 per cent.

The BJP won the popular mandate for the second consecutive term in Uttarakhand, bagging 47 seats in the 70-member Assembly.

(With ANI inputs)

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New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday (March 19, 2022) held his first Cabinet meet and approved filling up 25,000 vacant posts in various state departments, including 10,000 in the police force.

Mann announced the decision in a video message and said that the process of advertisement and notification for these jobs would be initiated within a month. He said the jobs will be given on merit.

The chief minister said 10,000 jobs will be given in the Punjab Police and the rest in various other departments, boards and corporations.

There will be no discrimination, no "sifarish" (recommendation) and no bribe, Mann added.

Chaired the first cabinet meeting. The Punjab cabinet has approved notification of 25,000 job vacancies within one month. As we promised before the election, jobs opportunities for our Punjab's youth will be the topmost priority of AAP Govt. pic.twitter.com/rRElBoJxc2  Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) March 19, 2022

This "historic" decision would open new vistas of employment for the youth by providing jobs to them in the government sector through a transparent and merit-based mechanism, he said.

Unemployment, notably, has been one of the major issues that Mann's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had raised during the recently-concluded Punjab assembly polls and the party had promised to take the first cabinet decision of offering jobs after it came to power.

"In the coming days, we will also fulfil our rest of the guarantees (poll promises)," Mann stated.

The Cabinet also cleared the presentation of supplementary demands for grants for the year 2021-22 to be presented in the ensuing assembly session.

This decision would provide a budget for additional or excess expenditure incurred by various departments during the financial year 2021-22 to liquidate the pending liabilities, according to an official release.

Further, in accordance with the provisions contained in Clause (3) of Article 203 of the Constitution of India, the Cabinet also gave approval to present the Supplementary Demands for Grants of the Government of Punjab for the year 2021-22.

Chief Minister @BhagwantMann led #PunjabCabinet gives nod to provide 25,000 government jobs to youth in its maiden meeting. Okays presentation of supplementary demands for grants for 2021-22. Also gives nod to present vote on account for year 2022-23. pic.twitter.com/cZ5IO0tSI2  CMO Punjab (@CMOPb) March 19, 2022

Earlier on Saturday, 10 AAP MLAs, including a woman member, were inducted into the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab's Cabinet. Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 10 ministers at a ceremony at Guru Nanak Dev auditorium in Punjab Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh.

                                3         ,        pic.twitter.com/PFYVTvUwZT  Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) March 19, 2022

The leaders who have become a part of the Bhagwant Mann's cabinet are Harpal Singh Cheema, Baljit Kaur, Harbhajan Singh ETO, Vijay Singla, Lal Chand Kataruchak, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Bram Shanker and Harjot Singh Bains.

(With agency inputs)

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New Delhi: Ever since the release of the movie The Kashmir Files issue of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandit has peaked and sparked a political blame game between the Congress and BJP.

While the BJP and its allies continue to target Congress for the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits, the Congress has now countered by saying that it cant hide its failure under the garb of a film.

However, Congress has responded by saying it was late PM Rajiv Gandhi who gheraoed the Parliament and protested against the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.

"It was Rajiv Gandhi, then LoP, who gheraoed Parliament when the exodus was going on and urged the government that it should help the victims but nobody listened. He was in pain as he has family roots in Kashmir. Who was running the government -- it was led by VP Singh with the support of the BJP, said Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala.

During 10 years of the UPA rule from 2004 to 2014 the government killed 4241 terrorists while 3000 jobs were given to Kashmiri Pandits as the PM package; 5911 transit houses were built while in the BJP`s eight years of rule only 520 jobs were given and 100 transit houses were built, they are only reopening old wounds but doing nothing," Surjewala added.

Later, the party Chief Minister in Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel, who watched the film said that it is based on half-truths and the BJP is making an issue out of it.

The Congress has time and again rejected the charge of not doing enough for Kashmiri Pandits and said that whatever was done for the welfare of the Pandits has been done by the Congress.

The party said that in the PMO led by the first Prime Minister to Indira Gandhi the Kashmiri Pandits were given the utmost importance. People like Makhan Lal Fotedar till he breathed his last were given importance in any decision taken on the issue of Kashmir by the party.

Congress also alleged that Modi is raising the issue for political dividends but doing nothing. The issue of Kashmiri Pandits has heated up since the release of the film and after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about it.

PM Modi said on March 15 that films like this need to be made so that people can know the truth. Modi said that there have been attempts to conceal the truth from the nation for a very long time and films like `The Kashmir Files` need to be made to bring out the truth before the people.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Ramvichar Netam`s residence was robbed in the Ambikapur city of Chhattisgarh`s Surguja district, informed Chief Superintendent of Police, Ambikapur on Sunday.

He also said that an amount of Rs 1 lakh was allegedly stolen from the house of BJP MP and the guards are being questioned for investigation."Thieves broke the lock of residence of BJP RS MP on March 18. Rs 1 lakh was stolen from the house, guards are being questioned. We`re investigating the matter," Akhilesh Kaushik, CSP Ambikapur told ANI.

Further investigation is underway.
New Delhi: A day after Sanjay Raut rejected reports of a possible alliance with All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the upcoming civic polls, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday (March 20) said that Shiv Sena is a "Hindutvavadi" party and termed Asaduddin Owaisis party the "B" team of BJP.

Calling AIMIM's offer for an alliance a "conspiracy" by the BJP, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) CM said this is being done to defame Shiv Sena, as per PTI.

Addressing Shiv Sena MPs and other functionaries via video call, Thackeray said, "The Shiv Sena will never ally with the AIMIM, which is the 'B' team of the BJP. The BJP is using Hindutva only for political gains.

The Maharashtra CM claimed BJP has ordered AIMIM to offer an alliance, raising questions on Shiv Sena's Hindutva.

"Who has sought an alliance with the AIMIM? This is a game plan and conspiracy of the BJP. The AIMIM and the BJP have a tacit understanding. The BJP has ordered the AIMIM to defame the Shiv Sena, to raise questions on Shiv Sena's Hindutva. Accordingly, the AIMIM leaders are making the offer of alliance, he alleged.

Thackeray's statement comes after AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel on Saturday said that his party can ally with the Shiv Sena-led MVA to stop the BJP from coming to power, leading to an irked response from Sena.

Meanwhile, Thackeray asked party workers to fight the BJP's aim to rule the entire country from the panchayat-level to the Parliament.

Underling the difference between Sena and BJP, the Maharashtra CM said that his party has not severed ties with Hindutva. "We play politics for Hindutva. They are using Hindutva only for politics. This is the main difference between them and us," he added.

ALSO READ: BJP promoting 'The Kashmir Files' with eye on upcoming Assembly polls: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut

(With PTI inputs)

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New Delhi: The BJP will elect its Chief Minister for Uttarakhand during the Legislature Party meeting on Monday (March 21).

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the observer for government formation in Uttarakhand, and Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture (MoS) Meenakshi Lekhi will arrive tomorrow for BJP Legislature Party meeting in Dehradun, state media in-charge Manveer Chauhan informed.

Defence Min Rajnath Singh and MoS MEA Meenakshi Lekhi will be arriving tomorrow for the Legislature Party meeting to be held in Dehradun where the CM's name will be declared. Swearing-in ceremony will take place after the meeting, Chauhan was quoted as saying by ANI.

The newly-elected Uttarakhand BJP MLAs will elect their leader who will become the next chief minister of the hill state.

Uttarakhand BJP chief Madan Kaushik said the decision to call a meeting of the MLAs was taken after state BJP leaders including caretaker CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Trivendra Singh Rawat (both former CMs) and others met the party's central leadership at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's residence in Delhi. BJP president JP Nadda and general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh were also present in the meeting, PTI reported.

The BJP legislative party will meet on Monday evening after the MLAs have taken oath as members of the Uttarakhand assembly, Kaushik added.

Earlier today, Dhami, who lost from his Khatami seat, said the process of government formation in the state is underway, adding that the BJP's central leadership will take a call on the next CM.

The BJP returned to power in the hill state after bagging 47 seats in the 70-member Assembly.

ALSO READ: Uttar Pradesh BJP's legislature party meet likely on March 24: Sources

(With agency inputs)

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Six people were killed after a car crashed into a crowd of people who had gathered to attend a local carnival on Sunday morning in Strepy-Bracquegnies, near La Louviere, Belgium.

Abnother 10 people were sent to nearby hospitals with life-threatening injuries and 27 were slightly injured, Deputy Crown Prosecutor Damien Verheyen said.

As a group of carnival-goers were marching towards the town center, a car came from the back at high speed and crashed into group, pulverized a large number of people, continuing its way before stopping a little further down, La Louviere mayor Jacques Gobert told reporters.

The two men who were in the car, both from La Louviere and born in 1988 and 1990, were arrested, Verheyen said. He added that a reconstruction of the facts will be held in order to establish the exact route of the vehicle and any potential motive.

The incident happened at 5 a.m. local time. Strepy-Bracquegnies is located 30 miles (50km) south of Brussels.

There was no evidence that a chase with police led to the incident, officers said, contrary to earlier reports. They also said as yet no elements showed that the incident could be considered as a terrorist attack.

Authorities said five emergency vehicles and 16 ambulances were sent to the scene to transport the victims to various hospitals in the region  70 non-injured people were evacuated from the scene.

Belgiums King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo were expected to visit the scene on Sunday at 4 p.m. local time.

De Croo wrote on Twitter that his thoughts were with victims and their relatives.

Horrible news from Strepy-Bracquegnies. A community gathering to celebrate has been hit in the heart, he wrote.

Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden also tweeted her condolences to the families and friends to those who died and were injured in the incident.

What was supposed to be a friendly party turned into a tragedy. We are following the situation closely, she wrote in a tweet.

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New Delhi: The Basavaraj Bommai-led government on Sunday (March 20, 2022) decided to give a 'Y' category security to all the three judges of the Karnataka High Court, who had pronounced the verdict in the hijab row, after they received death threats.

The Karnataka Chief Minister also instructed the officials to probe the complaint filed in Vidhanasoudha Police Station in which some people had issued death threats to the three judges.

"We've decided to give 'Y' category security to all three judges who gave the Hijab verdict. I have instructed DG and IG to probe the complaint filed in Vidhanasoudha PS thoroughly in which some people gave life threats to the judges," Bommai was quoted as saying by ANI.

We've decided to give 'Y' category security to all three judges who gave the Hijab verdict. I have instructed DG and IG to probe the complaint filed in Vidhanasoudha PS thoroughly in which some people gave life threats to the judges: Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai in Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/cQxFyfcfOL  ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2022

The development comes a day after two people were held in connection with issuing death threats to the Special Bench judges of the Karnataka High Court. The arrests were made after multiple complaints were lodged against the accused in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Earlier last week, the special bench comprising Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justices Krishna S Dixit and Khaji Jaibunnesa Mohiyuddin, while dismissing the petitions demanding hijab in classrooms, had underlined that wearing of hijab is not an essential part of Islam.

"We are of the considered opinion that wearing of Hijab by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practice in the Islamic faith,'' the three-judge High Court bench had said.

It is notable that the hijab protests in Karnataka had started in January this year when some students of Government Girls PU college in the Udupi district of the state had alleged that they had been barred from attending classes.

During the protests, some students had claimed they were denied entry into the college for wearing hijab. Following this incident, students of different colleges had arrived at Shanteshwar Education Trust in Vijayapura wearing saffron stoles.

The girls later approached the Karnataka High Court and demanded that they should be allowed to enter classrooms while wearing hijabs.

Meanwhile, a fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Karnataka High Court verdict. The top court on Wednesday had said that it would list other pleas on the issue for hearing after Holi vacation.

(With agency inputs)

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Washington: Kanye West`s performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards has been scrapped following his online posts. A representative for the artist confirmed to Variety, claiming that the artists team received a phone call on Friday night informing him he had been "unfortunately" removed from the lineup of performers for the show due to his "concerning online behaviour."

While West was not among the first list of performers announced on Tuesday, he may have been a planned performer.

Kanye was suspended from Instagram for 24 hours this week after posting a racial slur directed at The Daily Show host Trevor Noah via an Instagram post after Noah discussed the ongoing feud between West, his former wife Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend, Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson, on his show.

Meanwhile, Noah will be hosting the Grammy Awards ceremony. The award ceremony will be broadcasted live on Sunday, April 3, 2022, at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on CBS and will be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+, as per Variety.
MUMBAI: After ditching home-cooked food on Saturday night, actor Vicky Kaushal did not forget to burn calories by working out.

On Sunday morning, Vicky took to the Instagram story and gave fans a glimpse of his sweaty look post-workout. He dropped a shirtless selfie, in which he can be seen flaunting his beard and toned upper body.

Vicky also added a Punjabi song 'Fully Loaded' and 'sweat it out' sticker to his selfie. Take a look at his post below:

On Saturday night, Vicky and his wife Katrina stepped out for dinner along with their family. Pictures of the newlyweds, fondly called by fans as VicKat, went viral on social media, from their family dinner with Katrina's mom Suzanne Turquotte, Vicky's parents Sham and Veena Kaushal along with his brother and actor Sunny Kaushal.

For the dinner, Katrina chose to wear a denim shirt with a denim skirt. Vicky wore smart casuals while Suzanne looked simple and elegant in a black-and-white outfit.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, Vicky and his wife Katrina Kaif left fans in awe of them with their stunning red carpet appearance at Dharma Productions CEO Apoorva Mehta's birthday party on Friday.

Vicky and Katrina exchanged vows in a grand yet intimate ceremony at Six Senses Fort Barwara in Rajasthan on December 9, 2021.

On the work front, Vicky will be seen in director Laxman Utekar's yet-to-be-titled film with Sara Ali Khan and Meghna Gulzar's 'Sam Bahadur'. Katrina has 'Tiger 3' in her kitty with co-star Salman Khan.

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MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan on Sunday (March 20) treated his fans to pictures of his break with college friends in Goa.

Taking to his Instagram Handle, the 'Dhamaka' actor shared several glimpses where he can be seen posing with his friends for the camera, enjoying dinner and pool party.

Sharing a 'Life update', he wrote, "Life update. Meri Goa trip ho gayi college friends ke sath. Feeling purposeless now."

Meanwhile, on the work front, Kartik will be seen in his upcoming film, 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2'.

Apart from this, he has 'Shezada', 'Captain India', 'Freddy', and Sajid Nadiadwala's untitled next in his kitty.

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NEW DELHI: There's hardly any reason for people in Ukraine to cheer. But a few Ukrainians, especially comedians in Sumy area, have been trying their best to lift each other's mood.

As per The Kyiv Independent, a Ukraine media outlet, three comedians performed for about 100 viewers in one of the bomb shelters in Sumy, a regional capital in northern Ukraine, on March 19.

After getting to know about comedians' efforts to create smiles in Ukraine while the country is battling a war, netizens lauded them.

"This makes me smile. #Sumy #Ukraine #BombShelter #Comedians #ComediansPerformStandUpShowInBombShelter #StandWithUkraine," a social media user commented.

Indian stand-up comedian Vir Das, too, appreciated them.
New Delhi: Aadhaar card has become a crucial document for Indian residents. The 12-digit virtual ID issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is required by various state and private authorities to offer services to the customers. However, cardholders are required to update the details on Aadhaar card to continue receiving the services. So, if you have changed your residence, you can easily change the address on your Aadhaar card by either visiting the official UIDAI website or visiting your nearby Aadhaar enrollment centre.

UIDAI allows cardholders to change Aadhaar-linked details such as name, age, e-mail, phone number and address, among others. Cardholders are required to provide the supporting documents to make changes to Aadhaar cards.

According to the UIDAIs official website, cardholders can update their address online via Self Service Update Portal (SSUP). Cardholders will have to pay Rs 50 plus GST for the demographic updates.

Step to change the address on Aadhaar card:

Step 1: First, you need to visit the official UIDAI website at http://uidai.gov.in/.

Step 2: On the home page, you need to go to the 'My Aadhaar' section.

Step 3: Select the 'Update Demographics Data Online' option in that section.

Step 4: Select the 'Proceed to Update Aadhaar' button.

Step 5: Click on the Send OTP button.

Step 6: Enter the six-digit OTP received on your phone number to verify details.

Step 7: Now, you need to visit the demographics data section. Enter the asked details.

Step 8: Select the Proceed option.

Step 9: Upload the scanned copies of verification documents.

Step 10: Click on the submit button. Also Read: Are you an SBI account holder? Now, open FD account online via net banking and save tax; check how

Step 11: You will now have to check the preview of the Aadhaar card update. You will get an Update Request Number (URN) to check the status of the request. Also Read: Centre plans to merge BBNL with BSNL this month: BSNL CMD

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New Delhi: Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has added 15.29 lakh net subscribers during January 2022, as per the provisional payroll data released on Sunday. According to the press release issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, a month-on-month comparison of payroll data also indicates an increase of 2.69 lakh net subscribers addition in January 2022 as compared to the net additions during the previous month of December 2021.

Of the total 15.29 lakh, net subscribers added during the month, around 8.64 lakh new members have been registered under the social security ambit of EPF & MP Act, 1952 for the first time.

Approximately 6.65 lakh net subscribers exited but re-joined EPFO by continuing their membership with EPFO instead of opting for final withdrawal. The payroll data also reflects a declining trend in the number of members exited since July 2021.

Age-wise comparison of payroll data shows that the age group of 18-25 years has registered the highest number of net enrolments with 6.90 lakh additions during January 2022, which is around 45.11 per cent of total net subscribers added during the month.

This is followed by the age group of 29-35 years with a healthy addition of around 3.23 lakh net enrolments. This indicates that many first-time job seekers are joining the organized sector workforce in large numbers and signifies a crucial stage for an individual`s potential in terms of earning capacity.

State-wise comparison of payroll figures highlights that the establishments covered in the states of Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are in lead by adding approximately 9.33 lakh subscribers during the month, which is around 61 per cent of total net payroll addition across all age groups.

Gender-wise analysis indicates that net female payroll addition during the month is approximately 3.20 lakh during the month, the ministry said. The share of female enrolment is approximately 21 per cent of the total net subscribers addition during the month of January 2022 with an increase of 57,722 net enrolments over the previous month of December 2021.

As per the Ministry statement, Industry-wise payroll data indicates that the `expert services` category (consisting of manpower agencies, private security agencies and small contractors etc.) constitutes 39.95 per cent of total subscriber addition during the month.

In addition, a growing trend in net payroll additions has been noted in industries like expert Services, Engineering Contractors, Trading (Commercial Establishments), and Building and Construction industry etc.

The payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as the updation of employee records is a continuous process. The previous data hence gets updated every month. From the month of April-2018, EPFO has been releasing payroll data covering the period September, 2017 onwards.

EPFO is committed to extending social security benefits in the form of Provident, Pension and Insurance Funds to the organized workforce of the country covered under the aegis of Employees` Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. Also Read: Facebook account locked? Heres why Meta is locking FB profiles of users

With extensive use of social media nowadays, EPFO is also available on Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook to help the subscribers and address their issues. Also Read: Shark Tank investor Ashneer Grover reacts to Ashish Chanchlanis Sasta Shark Tank; Check what he said

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New Delhi: The second developer preview of Google's Android 13 operating system has been released. DP2 includes several new features, such as notification permissions and Bluetooth LE audio support, which will be available to users when the company officially releases the Android 12 successor. Furthermore, the second developer preview of the Android 13 operating system includes a feature that alerts users if an app is consuming too much battery in the background.

According to Google, 'Android 13 introduces a system notification that appears when your app consumes a large amount of device battery during a 24-hour period.' "If the system detects high battery usage from your app while the app is displaying a notification that's associated with a foreground service, the system waits until the user dismisses the notification or the foreground service finishes, and shows the notification only if your app continues to consume a large amount of device battery," according to the company.

However, Google has made some exceptions for apps and situations that need to run in the background. System apps and system-bound apps, companion device apps, apps running in Demo Mode on a device, device owner apps, profile owner apps, persistent apps, VPN apps, apps with the ROLE DIALER role, and pps that the user has explicitly designated to provide "unrestricted" functionality in system settings.

In previous editions of its Android OS, Google has continually worked to improve device battery life. With the release of Android 8 Oreo, the company issued a similar warning. However, in the case of Android 13, alerts are less unpleasant because they appear just once every 24 hours.

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New Delhi: Facebook is locking out people who did not activate the `Facebook Protect` programme and the users complain that that company sent a mysterious, spam-like email which they ignored for security reasons. Several Facebook users took to Twitter, complaining about the spam-like notification in an email titled "Your account requires advanced security from Facebook Protect", which they did not open due to privacy concerns.

"I got locked out from Facebook indefinitely today because I didn`t respond to emails from FB (that looked like a scam) about its new Facebook Protect system, which I was required to enable by today. So far, the text and security key options don`t work, many report," one affected user tweeted late on Friday.

The Facebook email told the users that they were required to turn on the Facebook Protect feature by a certain date, or they would be locked out of their account.

According to the social network, Facebook Protect is a "security programme for groups of people that are more likely to be targeted by malicious hackers, such as human rights defenders, journalists, and government officials".

The first deadline was March 17 and now, several people are being locked out of their Facebook accounts. Some can`t even get in even if they turned the feature on.

"Dear @FacebookApp: Your new Facebook Protect, which I didn`t ask for, keeps texting me an identical two-factor verification code, which continues to not work. I`m now effectively locked out of my account. This is heightened security? Guess I`ll spend more time on Twittera," another user said in a tweet.

Some other users complained that they couldn`t get through the activation process even before the deadline and so are effectively locked out of their accounts.

"This Facebook protect thing is so annoying because it`s not letting me turn it on and I need Facebook for work so I`m really hoping Facebook fixes the stupid code," one affected user posted. Also Read: Instagram rolls out new safety tools for parents in US

The company was yet to comment on sending spam-like notifications on Facebook Protect. Also Read: SBI is offering benefits worth up to Rs 2 lakh to its customers for free, check details

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New Delhi: OnePlus 10 Pro, the company's latest flagship smartphone for 2022, is slated to arrive later this month in India and other markets. OnePlus has officially teased the India launch of the OnePlus 10 Pro, which was released in China earlier this year. The OnePlus 10 Pro is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU and will fight in the Indian market with the Samsung Galaxy S22, iPhone 13, iQoo 9 Pro Legend, and others. Furthermore, rumours say that the smartphone manufacturer will also release the OnePlus TV Y1S Pro 43-inch with the OnePlus 10 Pro later this month.

The official OnePlus India Twitter handle previewed the launch. "Something10ng strong is coming," the firm promised, implying the OnePlus 10 Pro. The company has not specified a precise date for the launch, but it has stated that it will take place in March. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau stated last month at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022 that the OnePlus 10 Pro will be released in India and other countries later this month.

The OnePlus 10 Pro was released in China featuring a 6.7-inch QHD+ LTPO display, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 1,300 nits. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU is combined with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage in the smartphone. The smartphone has a 5,000mAh battery and supports 80W rapid charging as well as 50W wireless charging.

The OnePlus 10 Pro has a triple rear camera with a 48-megapixel Sony IMX789 primary shooter, a 50-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor, and an 8-megapixel telephoto shooter. The smartphone includes a 32-megapixel selfie camera on the front. The camera was created in collaboration with Hassleblad, a Swedish camera manufacturer.

OnePlus 10 Pro has 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.2, GPS/ A-GPS, and a USB type-C port for connectivity.

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After a lengthy planning process, controversy and death threats, the tiny town of Scottsville could see its first substantial housing development in the towns modern history if its Town Council approves a special-use permit Monday night.

The council is scheduled to vote at its monthly meeting on the permit for 36 homes on about 12 acres of a property on Bird Street next to the former Hyosung Tire plant. Scottsvilles mayor, who supports the plan in part to stanch an exodus of residents in the town of 524 residents, can cast a tie-breaking vote.

The permit request and a possible increase in population have prompted concerns from Scottsville residents and surrounding community members, who worry about maintaining the areas small-town character.

Could this be the best thing that happens to Scottsville? Possibly. Could this be the worst? Possibly, but I think weve done our due diligence, and we have to make a call about whether we want to have more people in Scottsville or not, Councilor Stuart Munson said in an interview.

Since the special-use permit application was submitted last year, the number of proposed houses has decreased from 48 to 36. Another application for 24 houses on Blenheim Road has been put on hold.

The proposals already have sparked controversy and even threats. A former councilor resigned in November, sold her house and moved out of the area after she was threatened and intimidated by community members who were against the proposals.

One bad apple just puts a blemish on the whole pile, and 99.9% of the people in Scottsville are nice, decent, honest, care-for-your-neighbor type people, but there are three or four out there that have shown themselves to be real jerks, Mayor Ron Smith said at a work session after the resignation.

He said the people said things to the councilor like we know where you live and if this thing passes  well take care of it.

Community members who have spoken at public meetings about the permit have expressed concerns about traffic, storm water runoff and the size of the development.

We want development, but we want responsible growth commensurate with the size of our town, Cenie Re Sturm, a town resident, has said at multiple town meetings. We want growth to be community driven, not developer and landowner driven.

Retreading a factory site

Since the tire plant closed more than a decade ago, the town has been discussing visions for revitalization of the former factory and the surrounding land.

The plant on Bird Street was purchased in 2011 by Charles W. Hurt, a local real estate entrepreneur, developer and founder of Virginia Land Co., for $600,000. The plant sits on 41 acres and is adjacent to an empty nearly 20-acre parcel, both owned by limited liability companies, or LLCs, under Hurt.

A company that produces apple spirits looked into buying the building in 2010, and it was suggested as an alternative to a proposed outdoor police firing range in 2012. The former factory and nearby property havent been sold since Hurts purchase.

Scottsvilles Town Administrator Matt Lawless said at a council work session this month that part of the work hes done with state economic development officials is to try to recruit another industrial user to the factory, with only a handful of tours and responses from prospective code-named businesses.

Ive responded to five of these code-named projects over the years, and none of them got very far, he said. The feedback I get from the state government is that the Hyosung building is obsolete, mainly due to its distance from the interstate and its 15-foot ceilings, which are low by todays standards.

Since 2018, when the towns Comprehensive Plan was last updated, Scottsville has been planning and trying to generate interest for someone to redevelop the former factory into a mixed-use site. The town has received multiple grants totaling $341,000 for studying, planning the area and preserving wetlands with public access, which have resulted in a market study and a small area plan for West Downtown.

In 2020, the council approved the small area plan, which included recommendations for the factory site, as well as support for private-sector construction of homes on the factory hillside.

The town has taken a number of other steps to promote redevelopment of the specific Bird Street property where the special-use permit for housing is being proposed. Last year, council voted 4-3 to rezone it from Industrial to Village Residential. Council also voted to add incentives for cluster development to Village Residentially zoned land where there is public water and sewer service.

A $123,000 grant awarded last year is funding a survey and floodplain map amendment for the town and the factory site.

This past week, it was announced that the town won a $75,000 planning grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Developments Industrial Revitalization Fund, which it can use toward more detailed environmental studies, site surveys & measurements and traffic studies around what the community hopes to see in the redevelopment. Lawless said that can be used as a package of data to give to investors who may be interested in the site.

Permit in process

The special-use permit has been working its way through town processes since September. The Planning Commission in November voted 2-1 to recommend approval of 36 houses instead of 48 houses.

The town has also worked on conditions for the permit, which as of now include requiring the final site plan to conform generally to the concept plan shown in the application; building at least six and no more than ten duplex homes on the site, with the remainder being detached single-family houses; a phase two environmental impact study on the site; publicly-accessible trails; sidewalks; and native plants used in the development.

Its certainly been an iterative process; weve worked through it with our client, every word of those conditions, said Kelsey Schlein, a project manager at Shimp Engineering, the firm representing Hurt on the permit application.

Most special-use permit and rezoning requests do not include direct involvement from possible homebuilders during the public portion of the process, but since that has been a concern from some councilors, a representative from Charlottesville-based Southern Development, which will pursue development of the site if approved, will be at Mondays meeting, said Justin Shimp, founder and principal engineer of Shimp Engineering.

In February, the council voted 4-3 to defer the final special-use permit vote to its March 21 meeting to address additional questions and hear from the builder.

Munson, the town councilor who has said he wants to see a contract from a builder, said he wants to see a serious attempt to move forward on homes built if this permit is approved.

Thats the core of my concern  [I want] to be sure, as much as possible, that what we see proposed is going to be what we get, and we get it sooner rather than later, he said.

The town, which is about 1.5 square miles, lost 42 residents between the 2010 and 2020 census. The mayor, who only votes to break ties, supports the project, in part to support the town.

If we added 50 new residents over the next two or three years, wed be back where we should be right now, he said. As far as our residents go, its just hard for me to understand why some people cant grasp this particular concept that in order to keep a community vibrant and keep that community and the town functioning, you need residents.

The Town Council will meet at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at Victory Hall, 401 Valley Street. Virtual access is also available via Zoom, and a link is available at Scottsville.org.

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New Delhi: Custom officials in Tamil Nadu seized an antique idol which was being passed declared as 'new bronze antique finish idol' in the export documents.

Based on specific intelligence, the officers of Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU), Bengaluru Airport and Air Cargo Commissionerate intercepted a shipment in the International Courier Terminal that was attempted to be exported to Malaysia by Tamilnadu-based exporter.

The 28-year-old exporter from Kumbakonam was arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Further investigation is under process.

ALSO READ: Australia expected to announce Rs 1500 crore investment in India

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Zurich: At least 902 civilians have been killed and 1,459 injured in Ukraine as of midnight local time on March 19, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Sunday (March 20).

Most of the casualties were from explosive weapons such as shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes, OHCHR said.

The actual toll is thought to be considerably higher since OHCHR, which has a large monitoring team in the country, has not yet been able to receive or verify casualty reports from several badly hit cities including Mariupol, it said.

Meanwhile, air raid sirens sounded across Ukrainian cities on Sunday (March 20) and Russia`s defence ministry said cruise missiles were launched from ships in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, as well as hypersonic missiles from Crimean airspace.

The hypersonic missiles travel faster than five times the speed of sound and their speed, manoeuvrability and altitude make them difficult to track and intercept.

They were deployed by Russia for the first time in Ukraine on Saturday, Russia`s Interfax news agency reported, in a strike which Moscow said destroyed a large underground depot for missiles and aircraft ammunition.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Command confirmed the attack in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region, but said the Ukrainian side had no information on the type of missiles used.

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Lviv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said early on Sunday the siege of the port city of Mariupol would go down in history for what he said were war crimes committed by Russian troops.

To do this to a peaceful city, what the occupiers did, is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come, Zelenskyy said in a video address to the nation.

Russian forces have pushed deeper into the besieged and battered city, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help.

In the capital, Kyiv, at least 20 babies carried by Ukrainian surrogate mothers are stuck in a makeshift bomb shelter, waiting for parents to travel into the war zone to pick them up.

Some just days old, the babies are being cared for by nurses who cannot leave the shelter because of constant shelling by Russian troops who are trying to encircle the city.

The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the war's worst suffering, would mark a major battlefield advance for the Russians, who are largely bogged down outside major cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II.

Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth, Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said from a rubble-strewn street in a video addressed to Western leaders that was authenticated by The Associated Press.

ALSO READ | Russia will pay the price of war for generations, Ukraine President Zelensky warns Putin

Details also began to emerge Saturday about a rocket attack that killed as many as 40 marines in the southern city of Mykolaiv the previous day, according to a Ukrainian military official who spoke to The New York Times.

Russian forces have already cut Mariupol off from the Sea of Azov, and its fall would link Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, to eastern territories controlled by Moscow-backed separatists.

It would mark a rare advance in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance that has dashed Russia's hopes for a quick victory and galvanized the West.

Ukrainian and Russian forces battled over the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said.

One of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe is actually being destroyed, Denysenko said in televised remarks.

The Mariupol city council claimed hours later that Russian soldiers had forcibly relocated several thousand city residents, mostly women and children, to Russia.

It didn't say where, and AP could not immediately confirm the claim.

Zelenskyy adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the nearest forces that could assist Mariupol were already struggling against the overwhelming force of the enemy and that there is currently no military solution to Mariupol.

ALSO READ | Mariupol residents starving, Russian forces denying water, food to refugees: Authorities

Despite the siege in Mariupol, many remained struck by Ukraine's ability to hold back its much bigger, better-armed foe.

The United Kingdom's Defense Ministry said Ukraine's airspace continued to be effectively defended.

Gaining control of the air was one of Russia's principal objectives for the opening days of the conflict and their continued failure to do so has significantly blunted their operational progress," the ministry said on Twitter.

Russia is now relying on stand-off weapons launched from the relative safety of Russian airspace to strike targets within Ukraine, the ministry said.

In Mykolaiv, rescuers searched the rubble of the marine barracks that was destroyed in an apparent missile attack Friday. The region's governor said the marines were asleep when the attack happened.

It wasn't clear how many marines were inside at the time, and rescuers were still searching the rubble for survivors the following day.

But a senior Ukrainian military official, who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity to reveal sensitive information, estimated that as many as 40 marines were killed, which would make it one of the deadliest known attacks on Ukrainian forces during the war.

Estimates of Russian deaths vary widely, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands. Russia had 64 deaths in five days of fighting during its 2008 war with Georgia. It lost about 15,000 in Afghanistan over 10 years, and more than 11,000 in years of fighting in Chechnya.

Russia's number of dead and wounded in Ukraine is nearing the 10 per cent benchmark of diminished combat effectiveness, said Dmitry Gorenburg, a researcher on Russia's security at the Virginia-based CNA think tank.

The reported battlefield deaths of four Russian generals out of an estimated 20 in the fight signal impaired command, Gorenburg said.

Russia would need 800,000 troops almost equal to its entire active-duty military to control Ukraine long-term in the face of armed opposition, said Michael Clarke, former head of the British-based Royal United Services Institute, a defense think tank.

Unless the Russians intend to be completely genocidal - they could flatten all the major cities, and Ukrainians will rise up against Russian occupation - there will be just constant guerrilla war, said Clarke.

The Russian military said Saturday that it used its latest hypersonic missile for the first time in combat. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Kinzhal missiles destroyed an underground warehouse storing Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk.

Russia has said the Kinzhal, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the US couldn't confirm the use of a hypersonic missile.

UN bodies have confirmed more than 847 civilian deaths since the war began, though they concede the actual toll is likely much higher. The UN says more than 3.3 million people have fled Ukraine as refugees.

Evacuations from Mariupol and other besieged cities proceeded along eight of 10 humanitarian corridors, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, and a total of 6,623 people left.

Vereshchuk said planned humanitarian aid for the southern city of Kherson, which Russia seized early in the war, could not be delivered because the trucks were stopped along the way by Russian troops.

Ukraine and Russia have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict but remain divided over several issues, with Moscow pressing for its neighbour's demilitarisation and Kyiv demanding security guarantees.

Around Ukraine, hospitals, schools and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked.

At least 130 people survived the Wednesday bombing of a Mariupol theater that was being used a shelter, but another 1,300 were believed to be still inside, Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament's human rights commissioner, said Friday.

We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them," Denisova told Ukrainian television.

A satellite image from Maxar Technologies released Saturday confirmed earlier reports that much of the theater was destroyed.

It also showed the word CHILDREN written in Russian in large white letters outside the building.

Russian forces have fired on eight cities and villages in the eastern Donetsk region in the past 24 hours, including Mariupol, Ukraine's national police said Saturday. Dozens of civilians were killed or wounded, and at least 37 residential buildings and facilities were damaged including a school, a museum and a shopping center.

In the western city of Lviv, Ukraine's cultural capital, which was hit by Russian missiles on Friday, military veterans were training dozens of civilians on how to handle firearms and grenades.

It's hard, because I have really weak hands, but I can manage it, said one trainee, 22-year-old Katarina Ishchenko.

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Lviv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Saturday (March 19, 2022) for comprehensive peace talks with Moscow and also urged Switzerland to do more to crack down on Russian oligarchs who he said were helping wage war on his country with their money.

British intelligence warned that Russia, frustrated by its failure to achieve its objectives since it launched the invasion on Feb. 24, was now pursuing a strategy of attrition that could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

Russian forces have taken heavy losses and their advance has largely stalled since President Vladimir Putin launched the assault, with long columns of troops that bore down on Kyiv halted in the suburbs.

But they have laid siege to cities, blasting urban areas to rubble, and in recent days have intensified missile attacks on scattered targets in western Ukraine, away from the main battlefields.

Zelenskiy, who makes frequent impassioned appeals to foreign audiences for help for his country, told an anti-war protest in Bern that Swiss banks were where the "money of the people who unleashed this war" lay and their accounts should be frozen.

Ukrainian cities "are being destroyed on the orders of people who live in European, in beautiful Swiss towns, who enjoy property in your cities. It would really be good to strip them of this privilege," he said in an audio address.

Neutral Switzerland, which is not a member of the European Union, has fully adopted EU sanctions against Russian individuals and entities, including orders to freeze their wealth in Swiss banks.

The EU measures are part of a wider sanctions effort by Western nations, criticized by China, aimed at squeezing Russia`s economy and starving its war machine.

In an address earlier on Saturday, Zelenskiy urged Moscow to hold peace talks now.

"I want everyone to hear me now, especially in Moscow. The time has come for a meeting, it is time to talk," he said in a video address. "The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russia`s losses will be such that it will take you several generations to recover."

Britain`s defense attache to the United States said British intelligence believes Russia has been taken aback by the Ukrainian resistance to its assault and has so far failed to achieve its original objectives.

"Russia has been forced to change its operational approach and is now pursuing a strategy of attrition" likely to involve the "indiscriminate use of firepower resulting in increased civilian casualties," Air Vice Marshal Mick Smeath said in a statement.

Putin, who calls the action a "special operation" aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine and purging it of what he sees as dangerous nationalists, told a rally on Friday in Moscow that all the Kremlin`s aims would be achieved.

On Saturday, Russia said its hypersonic missiles had destroyed a large underground depot for missiles and aircraft ammunition in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region. Hypersonic weapons can travel faster than five times the speed of sound, and the Interfax agency said it was the first time Russia had used them in Ukraine.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Command confirmed the attack, but said the Ukrainian side had no information on the type of missiles used.

Ukraines defense ministry said in its late Saturday night update that Russian forces continued their offensive in the eastern Donetsk region, but Russian troops were forced to regroup in some areas in Ukraines south and additional reserves were deployed there.

The ministry also said that the "moral and psychological condition of the (Russian) personnel is low and deteriorating with each passing day of hostilities."

The Ukrainian military command in charge of forces in two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine said they had fought off 10 attacks on Saturday, destroying a total of 28 tanks, armored personnel carriers and armored cars and killing more than 100 soldiers. Reuters was unable to independently corroborate the claim.

The U.N. human rights office said at least 847 civilians had been killed and 1,399 wounded in Ukraine as of Friday, with the real figure likely much higher. The Ukrainian prosecutor general`s office said 112 children were among the dead. Russia says it is not targeting civilians.

Kyiv authorities said on Saturday that 228 people had been killed in the capital since Russia`s invasion began, including four children.

A further 912 people have been wounded, the Kyiv city administration said in a statement.

Reuters has not been able to independently confirm casualty figures.

`KNOW HOW TO FIGHT`

Ordinary Ukrainians have joined the effort to defend their country, such as at a training facility in Odessa, a picturesque, multicultural Black Sea port, where young urban professionals were learning about handling weapons and applying first aid.

"Every person should know how to fight, how to make medicine," said 26-year-old graphic designer Olga Moroz.

More than 3.3 million refugees have fled Ukraine through its western border, with around 2 more million displaced inside the country. Ukraine has evacuated 190,000 civilians from front-line areas via humanitarian corridors, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Saturday.

"I`ll go (to Germany) for three weeks but I hope I can go home after that," said Olga Pavlovska, a 28-year-old refugee in the Polish town of Przemysl, hoping Zelekskiy`s calls for comprehensive peace talks will end the invasion.

Hundreds of thousands have been trapped in the port city of Mariupol for more than two weeks with power, water and heat supplies cut off. Bodies amid the rubble are a common sight. Local officials say fighting has reached the city center and heavy shelling kept humanitarian aid from getting in.

About 600 residential buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv have been destroyed and are unfit for habitation since the start of the Russian invasion, Kharkiv`s regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said.

Rescue workers were still searching for survivors in a Mariupol theater that authorities say was flattened by Russian air strikes on Wednesday. Russia denies hitting the theater.

Interfax quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying Moscow expected its operation in Ukraine to end with a signing of a comprehensive agreement on security issues, including Ukraine`s neutral status.

Kyiv and Moscow reported some progress in talks this week toward a political formula that would guarantee Ukraine`s security, while keeping it outside NATO, though both sides accused each other of dragging things out.

China has not condemned Russia`s invasion, though it has expressed concern about the war.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said on Saturday that Western sanctions against Russia were getting "more and more outrageous."

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New Delhi: Amid the Russia-Ukraine ongoing war, all the three Russian cosmonauts who reached the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday were donned in yellow and blue outfits like a Ukrainian flag. This gesture gave rise to speculation whether the trio was standing in support of Ukraine, reported CNN.

However, once the speculations began, the head of Roscosmos, which is the Russian space agency, took to social media to bash the rumours and said sometimes colour yellow means yellow.

"Here some bandit cowards and their Anglo-Saxon sponsors don`t know what else to come up with in their information war against Russia. "Sometimes the colour yellow is just the colour yellow. The flight suits of the new crew were designed to match the colours of the emblem of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, from where all three cosmonauts graduated.

The Roscosmos head also added some media attachments to his Telegram post and added that the crew were not representing Ukraine but wearing colours from their alma mater: Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the CNN report said.

Why Yellow and Blue?

As per another Roscosmos official, the design of the uniforms was coordinated long before even the Russia-Ukraine conflict unfolded.

Similarly, when the three cosmonauts arrived at the space station on Friday, they took some callers phones out of which one asked about the yellow colour.

To this, Commander Oleg Artemyev, responded jokingly, "We actually had a lot of yellow material, so we had to use it. So that`s why we had to wear yellow."

However, social media users aren't convinced with the explanation and believe in a hidden message!

Russian astronauts say they "just happened to have some yellow fabric that needed to be used" The People will always find a way to get their message across -- in spite of their oppressors #wtpBLUE Roscosmos via AP pic.twitter.com/EkXctIDkHK (@ChaplainheArt) March 19, 2022

Yeah... F*ck you Putin!

10 Points to Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveyev and Sergey Korsakov, who are no doubt in trouble with their boss, having arrived at the international space station and when the hatch opened they had changed their flight suits to match the Ukrainian flag pic.twitter.com/3DKUz2iWa6

 Martin J Keatings (@MartinJKeatings) March 19, 2022

About the space programme, the three astronauts Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov will spend the next six-and-a-half months aboard the space station.

Meanwhile, Russia had started a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk people`s republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.

(With ANI inputs)

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The bell of quittance  Q-U-I-T-T-A-N-C-E  tolled for 15 would-be spelling champions at the Daily Progress Regional Spelling Bee Finals on Saturday. But the judges bell did not toll for Henry Mathewes, who came away the new regional champion with that winning word.

Saturdays regional bee was the first in two years, as COVID-19 had led to cancellation of last years bee. The 2020 bee had been one of the last public gatherings before the historic March shutdown of schools, businesses and government offices across the country.

Henry, an eighth-grader at Henley Middle School in Albemarle County, said he prepared for the spelling bee with three lists of words, ranked from easiest to hardest.

The people who really helped me study the most are my mom for the first spelling bee and my sister and grandmother for this one, he said.

In fewer than two hours, the field of 16 student-finalists was down to just three  Henry, Seven Gray of Lakeside Middle School and Nicholas Culbertson of Fluvanna Middle School.

Nicholas came in third, after correctly spelling words like pendulous and necrotic, while Seven, who finished second, spelled protectorate and consternation with ease.

The bee  which brings together students from public and private elementary and middle schools in Charlottesville, Staunton, Waynesboro and the counties of Albemarle, Augusta, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson  was postponed by a week due to the winter storm across the region last weekend. Last year the Daily Progress Regional Spelling Bee Finals were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for the first time since the newspaper started holding the bee in 1952.

Richard Alblas, spelling bee coordinator for The Daily Progress, said fewer students participated this year, as not as many schools held school spelling bees this school year due to COVID-19.

Normally, we have 25 students on stage and this year we had 16 students on stage, so it wasnt as big as in previous years, but the spellers were just as good as previous years, he said.

Henry, sponsored by The Daily Progress, will move on to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, held annually at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland. This years national finals will take place May 30June 3.

Albemarle High Schools auditorium was filled with families and supporters of the contestants. Albemarle County Schools Superintendent Matthew Haas was in the audience and congratulated Henry, saying he looked calm and confident on the stage.

Students spelled hipsterism (the quality or state of being characterized by a keen, informed awareness of or interest in what is new or smart; extremely alert and knowing) and anime (a style of animation originating in Japan that is characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes), new additions to the 2022 version of Words of the Champion, a study guide put out by Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Jane Sathe, features editor at The Daily Progress who is a judge for the bee, said the national bee is working to get more languages of origin and more recently-coined words into the lists sent to the regional bees.

It was refreshing to see how well the students were ready to tackle very different words, she said.

Denticulate (having small teeth covered with small, pointed projections), acumen (keenness and depth of perception, discernment, or discrimination especially in practical matters) and contrariwise tripped up students.

Henry said he couldnt remember the most difficult word he spelled, but he reflected on the most confusing word he heard  wearisome.

The word that I was confused about was wearisome, because I thought theyd said worrisome, he said.

Catriona Shuve, a seventh-grader at Jackson P. Burley Middle School and family friend of Henrys, asked for a definition  tiresome, tedious  and proceeded to spell out W-O-R-R-I-S-O-M-E.

I could have sworn it was worrisome, but I guess what the judges say goes, Henry said.

The bell tolled for Catriona.

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Hong Kong: 14.1k COVID-19 cases detected

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is looking into 14,149 additional COVID-19 cases, of which 5,876 were detected by nucleic acid tests and 8,273 were identified via rapid antigen tests.

At a press briefing this afternoon, Centre for Health Protection Communicable Disease Branch Head Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said that 1,035,059 cases have been identified and 5,683 patients passed away since the onset of the fifth wave of the epidemic.

Meanwhile, the Government issued a statement to clarify a media report concerning fatal COVID-19 cases who had been vaccinated. The statement said the Sinovac and BioNTech vaccines available in Hong Kong are safe and highly effective in protecting against severe disease and death from COVID-19 infection.

Separately, the Government made restriction-testing declarations to cover several buildings where sewage samples tested positive for the virus.

They are Shing Hing House of Kwai Shing East Estate in Kwai Chung, Hang On House of Wo Lok Estate and Oi Tat House of On Tat Estate in Kwun Tong, Fu Sing House of Fu Cheong Estate in Sham Shui Po and Choi Yuk House of Choi Yuen Estate in Sheung Shui.

As there were positive sewage test results in several housing estates and buildings in Wong Tai Sin, Tai Po, Kowloon City, Sham Shui Po and Yau Tsim Mong, the district offices will distribute COVID-19 rapid test kits to relevant residents as well as cleaning workers and property management staff working in those areas from tomorrow.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.

This story has been published on: 2022-03-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Press Release

March 20, 2022 De Lima to gov't: Stop promoting gambling, address its social costs and ill effects Re-electionist Senator Leila M. de Lima bewailed Mr. Duterte's justification of the continued operations of e-sabong because of its supposed generation of billions in revenue. De Lima, a social justice and human rights champion, lamented how Duterte has chosen to drumbeat the purported huge revenues derived from online cockfighting instead of acknowledging its ill effects. "There is no reason to allow e-sabong to continue to operate if it brings more harm than good. Hindi dapat ibinibida ng gobyerno yung malaking kita sa sugal. Sa halip, ang dapat ipinapaliwanag sa mga tao ay ang mga hindi magandang epekto ng sugal lalo na sa mga kabataan," she said. "We can always recover economic losses by other means or sources, but the social costs and harm done to our youth's psycho are irreversible," she added. In his public address, Duterte maintained that he is not keen on suspending the operations of e-sabong, stating that the government is getting billions of pesos from its operations. Following the disappearance of at least 31 sabungeros, it may be recalled that the Senate transmitted to Malacanang and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) its resolution calling for the suspension of e-sabong operations in the country. Duterte reportedly told lawmakers they would understand his position if they have an idea of just how much e-sabong generates in terms of revenue. The lady Senator from Bicol pointed out that the legalization of gambling and e-sabong has only further strengthened the network of jueteng gambling lords and their power and influence over national and local politics. "Let us not forget that corruption, which continues to be prevalent in the country and is considered as the most basic problem of Philippine society, is also rooted in jueteng as a form of gambling," she said. "Now, jueteng lords have started to diversify and invest in legal gambling. This has served to reinforce the conduct of illegal jueteng by a sheer monopoly of power over the gambling industry by jueteng lords," she added. Aside from its corrupting effect, De Lima stressed that e-gambling carries with it a lot of auxiliary vices and crimes that are truly alarming. She said these include prostitution, human trafficking, drugs, money laundering and now kidnapping or serious illegal detention and possibly, murder. "It costs too much to police. It is not something that we should promote to our people as a way of life. Hindi kailanman matutumbasan ng ipinagmamalaking kita ng gobyerno ang masisirang kinabukasan, lalo na ng kabataan," De Lima said.
A house was damaged but no houses lost after a ceiling reportedly caught fire at an Albany duplex Saturday morning, March 19.

Albany Fire Department responded to a call 11:26 a.m. at 845 27th Ave. SE, where firefighters contained a small fire to a ceiling, spokeswoman Sandy Roberts said.

She said 15 firefighters responded with four firetrucks, including one ladder truck and an ambulance. Lebanon Fire District assisted the department, sending two firefighters and an additional ambulance.

Fire crews had left the scene by 11:40 a.m.

No details about the source of the fire or injuries were available by press time.

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I got an email from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., this week that caught my eye. It wasn't personal but instead one of those fundraising E-blasts that populates one's inbox if one has signed up for political newsletters. Usually I ignore these, but this one had such a catchy subject line  "Biden is Putin 2.0"  that I decided to take the bait.

"We just witnessed a major injustice wrought by a despot who has zero regard for human rights," the email began. "No, not Putin  President Joe Biden."

It gets worse from there.

Greene hurls a series of nonsensical accusations at the administration before asking for financial support: "I desperately need your help to make sure I'm still in Congress to stop Biden's tyranny. Please donate today." It ended with "God Bless America," which given the content of the email, felt more like gaslighting than patriotism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin bombed a maternity and children's hospital during an agreed-upon cease-fire. Meanwhile, Greene is trying to rile up supporters over the so-called tyranny of a president who, last I checked, was trying to get a child tax credit extension through Congress to help reduce childhood poverty  a metric in which Greene's state, Georgia, ranked sixth.

In somewhat peaceful times, that fundraising email would be considered partisan hyperbole designed to rile a sleepy base. But these are not peaceful times. When a nuclear power facility in Ukraine was under attack early this month, NPR reported, "Russian forces repeatedly fired heavy weapons in the direction of the plant's massive reactor buildings," and a shell landed just 250 feet from one.

Perhaps some members of Congress needed a reminder that war is raging and the stakes could not be higher.

"Remember Pearl Harbor, terrible morning of Dec. 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in English in a video address to U.S. lawmakers Wednesday. "Remember September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories, in battlefields, when innocent people were attacked from air, yes, just like no one expected it, you could not stop it. Our country experience the same, every day, right now in this moment."

It's apropos for Zelensky to cite the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11, because like today, the country was deeply divided prior to those events. Will a surge of patriotism unite Americans this time as it did when the U.S. was attacked?

Before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Americans couldn't even agree on whether the president had been legitimately elected. The Supreme Court decision that delivered the White House to George W. Bush was not yet a year old when the World Trade Center was attacked. So while Bush made history by becoming the first man since Benjamin Harrison in 1888 to win the presidency despite losing the popular vote, let's just say it wasn't the kind of history that brought people together. What brought us together was the attack on our homeland. Bush went from a slightly declining job approval rating during the summer of 2001 to the highest in Gallup history at 90% by the end of September.

Similarly, the country was not united in the years leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Just as Biden struggled to get his ambitious Build Back Better plan off the ground, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had watched elements of his New Deal suffer setback after setback  and not just from lawmakers. In the fall of 1935, Gallup had found that 60% of Americans thought "expenditures by the Government for relief and recovery" were too large. In response to a conservative Supreme Court that invalidated some of his initiatives, Roosevelt announced a plan to pack the court with liberal justices, a maneuver some on the left have urged Biden to attempt. That's how deep partisan division ran.

And then Pearl Harbor was bombed and the U.S. was unequivocally pulled into World War II. As happened for Bush after 9/11, the country rallied behind Roosevelt. That's not to say Republicans agreed with all of his liberal policies or decisions, only that there's not a whole lot of documentation of members of Congress comparing him to Hitler on the precipice of war.

I don't believe the country is more divided now than it has ever been. From my perspective, the Civil War era still holds that title. However, we do seem to be more confused about what it means to be patriotic, a concept already complicated by our racist past.

Anyway, while Russian forces were preparing to play roulette with Europe's largest nuclear power plant, Greene was preparing to speak at a conference organized by a white supremacist who encouraged pro-Putin chants before bringing her out on stage.

"God Bless America" indeed.

Look, criticizing elected officials is an essential element of American society, so I'm hardly advocating for censorship of Greene's political speech. But under these circumstances, she should show some discretion herself. It's not at all clear how much further the U.S. can wage a proxy war before finding itself in a direct one. Now is not the time for choosing party over country, especially for a few campaign bucks.

Americans understood that after Pearl Harbor. We understood it after 9/11. Now that Biden is sending an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine while calling Putin a war criminal for the first time, my hope is it won't take another attack on our homeland to get the Greenes of the right wing to understand it today.

LZ Granderson is an Op-Ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times.
Europe rewrote its migrant playbook for Ukrainian refugees. Some fear it's not enough.

Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg Displaced Ukrainians make their way to a platform at Lviv-Holovnyi railway station in Lviv, Ukraine, on March 14.

BERLIN  Squat white container homes line the runways of the former Tempelhof Airport, used 75 years ago for the airlift that sustained West Berlin through the Soviet blockade.

Now its sustaining Lena, 48, who fled her home outside Kyiv with hopes of reaching Tel Aviv; her 14-year-old son clutched a paper printout with directions to a local health and social affairs office said to be helping with plane tickets.

Different plans preoccupied 29-year-old Vika, who expected to remain in Berlin, find work and send her son to kindergarten. A third mother had her sights set on Stockholm.

After war, this is very good, said Lena, a dressmaker. We have a bed, bathroom and good food. But its not forever.

These mothers and many like them have refuge from Russias assault on Ukraine thanks to a vast humanitarian response facilitated by rail companies, international organizations and everyday citizens. But their aspirations depend also on Western governments, whose initial reaction, say critics, was delayed and undermined by wishful thinking.

As the scale of the crisis became clear, European leaders forged political consensus absent from prior humanitarian disasters, setting aside procedures still being used to block other asylum seekers in a discrepancy shaped by race, geography and geopolitics. Now, the continent is under pressure to manage the arrivals under the terms of its new playbook. And formidable questions loom  about dispersing the refugees equitably across the West, about finding the wherewithal to set them up with meaningful lives and about sustaining the public support necessary for social cohesion.

I think, fundamentally, the resources to accommodate many more people in Europe were always there, said a European security official speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to address unfolding events. The political willingness was lacking.

Under pressure from their citizens, whose displays of solidarity have helped catalyze policymaking, European governments are clearing space for housing in their capitals. They are offering financial assistance to members of the public willing to take in refugees. And, perhaps most notably, they are bypassing ordinary asylum rules and offering Ukrainians temporary protection under a never-before-used directive that guarantees visa-free travel across the European Union and the right to housing, work, health care and education for at least one year.

Together, the acts show how Europe is responding differently than it did to the crisis buffeting the continent in 2015, when 1.3 million people, many fleeing the civil war in Syria, came in search of asylum. As numerous nations closed their borders, Germany became a beacon, and authorities in Berlin turned to temporary measures like the container homes at Tempelhof. They were going to be dismantled but now have new purpose.

Thats where the similarities end. More than 3 million Ukrainians have already fled their country, with much of the burden falling on neighboring Poland, Romania and Moldova  some of the poorest nations in Europe, and ones not prepared with robust programs of refugee integration.

The emergency, stemming from a conflict with the potential to redraw an Iron Curtain across Europe, has inspired some to look to earlier analogues, including previous uses of Tempelhof.

European leaders have a model in the 1948 Berlin airlift, the most important turning point in postwar European history, said Gerald Knaus, chairman of the European Stability Initiative, a think tank with operations stretching from Berlin to Brussels to Istanbul. When Soviet forces blockaded access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin, the United States and Britain responded by airlifting food and fuel to Tempelhof, landing one plane every 45 seconds at the height of the campaign. The operation transformed an airport built by the Nazis into a symbol of liberty and logistical ingenuity.

Stalins blackmail failed, and it was that humanitarian gesture that created the foundation for Western institutions, from NATO to the Council of Europe, we still rely on today, Knaus said in an interview.

Today, a different sort of airlift should join not just European nations but also the United States and Canada, Knaus said, in a proactive effort to resettle refugees across the West. A Ukrainian woman arriving in Moldova will not find her way alone to Barcelona, he said.

His proposal is finding positive reception from Brussels to Germanys Bundestag, where Joachim Stamp, the refugee and integration minister in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germanys most populous state, this week made the case for such cooperation. Stamp asked the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to work with his French counterpart to evacuate 1 million refugees from Poland and oversee their resettlement throughout Western Europe, and possibly also in North America.

Otherwise, certain countries will be overwhelmed, he warned.

We will do whatever is necessary, but there also needs to be a European solution for this, Stamp said in an interview.

That kind of high-flown ambition, applied not just to revitalizing military defense but to succoring refugees, Stamp said, would confront Vladimir Putin with something he doesnt know: humanity.

On the ground, immigration officials and aid workers still see incomplete cooperation and bureaucratic roadblocks. Thats partly because authorities in Germany, Europes largest economy and its de facto leader, failed to anticipate a mass movement of refugees, some argue.

As late as Feb. 16, the interior ministry said there was currently no evidence of migratory movements. By Feb. 22, two days before Russias full-scale invasion, the interior minister, Nancy Faeser, said any exodus would mainly affect neighboring countries, vowing that Germany would help provide humanitarian assistance.

The interior ministry on Thursday debuted an online portal for those fleeing Ukraine. Yes, more could have been done by the federal government, Stamp said, while also maintaining that its impossible to be prepared for a situation of this scale.

An official in the German interior ministry, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address sensitive matters, said state leaders also dragged their feet, offering shameful answers when asked how many refugees they could accept. Authorities are now relying on a quota system based on population and tax revenue.

Burden sharing is made more difficult by incomplete estimates of how many refugees have crossed into the country, the official said, as those with biometric passports are not required to register for 90 days unless asking for health or social support. Officially, 197,000 arrivals have been registered in Germany, according to police figures made public Friday.

Refugees who forgo registration and public assistance also have more say over where they reside. A large group of new arrivals recently brought by bus from Berlin to a town in eastern Germany  part of an effort by the interior ministry to distribute people around the country  were dissatisfied with their destination and asked the bus driver to return them to the capital, the official said.

Meanwhile, officials in Berlin, which is host to the countrys largest refugee office, are overwhelmed simply processing residence permits. The capital was anticipating receiving 100,000 people in short order, in a city of 3.7 million, officials said. Finding them a place to stay even for a night is a challenge, said one official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to candidly address ongoing planning.

Franziska Giffey, Berlins mayor, said the city is at the limits of our capacities.

Aid groups have sprung into action, relying on muscle memory from the response in 2015. Many expect that Germanys reputation as a haven will inspire Ukrainian refugees to flock to its train stations and bus terminals.

I called one of my friends and said, We have to reactivate the network from 2015, said Holger Michel, who helps lead Freiwillige Helfen, or Volunteers Help, which has been directing traffic at Berlins main train station, slotting new arrivals into temporary housing or sending them on to other cities.

Soon, state authorities took on a larger role, Michel said, and have so far been more receptive to volunteers than in 2015. If I have a problem, theres a number I can call 24 hours a day, and someone will at least try to find a solution, he said. A recent argument broke out over the use of blankets by refugees sheltering in train stations, which authorities said presented a fire hazard, Michel said.

Im working with 20% children, he said. I need blankets.

An interior minister from an E.U. government told associates he had goose bumps when the bloc moved this month to grant blanket protections to Ukrainians, using a directive created during the 2001 refugee crisis in Kosovo but never activated since.

It was a testament, said Ylva Johansson, the blocs immigration commissioner, of the pace and the scope of our collective reaction.

We learned lessons from 2015, she affirmed in a written statement to The Post.

Inchoate European cooperation offers hope, said Knaus of the European Stability Initiative, but the only alternative to temporary protection was chaos and closing the borders. The deeper test, he said, is what happens next.

Meanwhile, there are strains. In virtually every instance, public pressure has been necessary for governments to deepen their international commitments.

Nowhere is that dynamic more apparent than in Britain, said Alf Dubs, a member of the House of Lords and a former child refugee. After sustained criticism, the government loosened rules providing safe haven only to immediate family members.

There are enormous demands from the public that we should do more, Dubs said, lamenting that Britains exit from the E.U. makes its position, especially on visa requirements, out of sync with the bloc.

But among E.U. member states, too, resettlement efforts have been ad hoc. Some jurisdictions are offering cash incentives to shelter refugees; others are not. Religious congregations and activist organizations are pursuing specific aims. One of the buses sent from Portugal to retrieve refugees marooned in Poland was operated by an animal rescue group, which brought medicine and other materials to Warsaw and returned with children, adults, cats and dogs.

The interior ministers of Poland, Germany and France have established an informal team to coordinate refugee assistance, but buy-in from other Western powers stands in question. The German interior ministry is seeking to broaden the dialogue to all of Europe, according to the interior ministry official, and to secure a real pledge from every European country of how many people theyre willing to take, of how many trains theyre going to send.

Johansson said she was encouraged by delegations of French, German, Czech and Austrian transit officials who were joined at the Polish border by rail executives. This network will need to grow as capacities in specific locations are reached, she said.

Polish President Andrzej Duda, during a recent visit from Vice President Kamala Harris, pressed Americans to shoulder a bigger burden, including by expediting visas for Ukrainians with family in the United States.

For his country, Duda warned, the influx could quickly become a refugee disaster.

In Warsaw, which has received more than 300,000 Ukrainians in a city of about 1.8 million, the mayor, Rafa Trzaskowski, appealed for a relocation system whereby we start relocating people in Europe and in the world.

But the mayor wasnt waiting for an official E.U. program, he said in an interview, instead communicating directly with municipal officials in France and Austria about sharing Warsaws burden. This is just a huge improvisation, Trzaskowski said. It cant work like that much longer.

Polands position stands out because of its staunch refusal seven years ago to accept an E.U. quota system to resettle mostly Muslim refugees. Even today, Poland is turning back migrants from the Middle East at its border with Belarus, part of a geopolitical standoff with that country, while throwing open its border with Ukraine, showing the discrepancy in policies, said Adam Bodnar, a professor of law at SWPS University and a former Polish ombudsman for human rights.

The exigencies of a land war in a neighboring country required a different response, said Bodnar, but the political calculations were distinct, too. Migration from Ukraine was never regarded by the Polish government as a political opportunity, he said. Because we respect the Ukrainians  because they already have family here and look very similar, Im sorry to say it  the government cannot play the other card.

Still, the government will have no shortage of challenges, Bodnar said. And public opinion could shift, too, he warned, if Poles tire of their burden and politicians capitalize on nationalist tensions that have flared between the two countries in the past.

In the short term, expectations about immediate access to housing and work could provoke conflict, he said. Medical needs may be exacerbated by rising cases of the coronavirus across swaths of Europe. The rental market in major cities is already tight. And a language barrier in certain industries will create frustration, predicted Bodnar.

In Warsaw, as across Europe, authorities are resorting to unusual methods of expanding the housing stock. In the Polish capital, there are plans to convert apartment buildings that once housed Russian diplomats, known locally as Szpiegowo, or Spyville, into quarters for Ukrainian refugees. Italian authorities say they will shelter refugees in seized mafia properties.

National governments will have financial backing through special funds made available by the European Commission. How they choose to distribute the resources could vary widely. In Germany, a working group will find answers on costs by April 7, officials said this week.

We need something better and faster, Knaus said. Countries need to inspire each other.
Welcome to The Denver Gazettes Metro Moves. Youll get the latest metro Denver openings, closings, hiring and promotion briefs here. To submit your companys news, drop an email to dennis.huspeni@gazette.com.

New hires

The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce hired Rachel Beck as its new senior director of government affairs and executive director of the Colorado Competitive Council, according to a news release.

Beck, vice president of government affairs for the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation, starts March 31.

We are thrilled to welcome Rachel to the Chamber team, President and CEO J. J. Ament said in the release. The Colorado Competitive Council is the premier business organization and advocacy group in Colorado. C3 has statewide reach and a diverse group of investors determined to take a collaborative approach to policy development. With her background and experience, I have no doubt that Rachel will be an asset to our organization and region in her dual role as senior director of government affairs for the Chamber and executive director of C3.

She has served on the board of directors for the Council of Neighbors and Organizations, the Palmer Land Trust, the Colorado Springs Press Association and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs Gallery of Contemporary Art. Beck earned a masters degree in political management from George Washington University.

The opportunity to combine my knowledge of business issues with the dedication and reach of these organizations is an honor, and I cannot wait to see all we accomplish on behalf of Colorado employers, Beck said in the release.

Investment bank Piper Sandler Cos. continues to grow its Denver-based special district group, with six hires in 2022 alone, bringing the group to almost 30 employees, according to a news release.

Minneapolis-based Piper (NYSE: PIPR) hired Sheila Mares as senior vice president and Ludvig Ragnarsson as vice president, the seventh member of the practice groups quantitative team.

We are delighted to have Sheila and Ludvig on the team, as we continue to add the resources needed to serve our growing client base, Zach Bishop, managing director of the special district group, said in the release. Sheila and Ludvig add crucial components to our team of market-leading experts who work to ensure that home ownership remains attainable by increasing the supply of housing to meet the needs of our growing communities.

Both came from D.A. Davidson. Mares spent eight years there as a member of the banking and administrative teams. Ragnarsson was quantitative analyst for two years.

Earlier this year, Piper hired Michael Lund to be the special district group's senior vice president. He adds significant capabilities and client relationships from his 20 years in the industry, according to the release.

Promotion

BKD CPAs & Advisors promoted Jennifer Hallam to a Denver-based regional marketing role and hired Cecily Waters to fill Hallams previous position in the Colorado/Salt Lake practice unit, according to a news release.

Hallams regional marketing director role covers 14 markets in eight states, including Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado and Utah.

Jennifer brings a collaborative approach to our marketing structure and a wealth of experience working in different sized markets and industries, North Region Managing Partner Jeff Ronsse said in the release. Having a wide range of experience within BKD provides a great perspective for working with our firm leadership and industry leaders to develop and implement growth opportunities.

Hallam is on the board of the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, is a Mile High United Way Women United member and an active alumna with her Leadership Denver class (2009).

Waters planned and executed integrated marketing communications plans for clients in the hospitality, IT, software and hardware, and health care industries. She is a 2010 graduate of Auburn University with a bachelors degree in communications.
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Q: Why is the Dothan Dixie Standpipe listed in the National Register of Historic Places?

A: The water tower was the first water storage tank constructed in Dothan. It provided citizens with the citys first water service when it went online in 1897, laying the foundation for a progressive city that saw its population grow from 3,275 in 1900 to 7,016 in 1910 and 10,034 by 1920.

Located at the intersection of East Powell and North Saint Andrews streets, the standpipe was constructed by contractors Guild and White of Chattanooga, Tennessee, with project engineering services provided by R.T. Ghent.

Mayor James Robert Young, who served eight years as Dothans mayor, played a significant role in the plans to build the standpipe and provide water and fire protection to the town that had been incorporated in 1885.

Soon after taking office, he led the city through the sale of $20,000 in sanitary and improvement bonds which financed the construction of the tower and drilling of the artesian well, according to the registration form submitted to the National Register of Historic Places in 2016

The water tower is 16 feet in diameter and 100 feet tall. According to the registration form, only four other water towers were constructed in Alabama prior to 1920.

Constructed of riveted steel, the cylindrical tower has a capacity of 150,000 gallons of water, which is retrieved from a 625-foot deep artesian well, the form says. Since the tanks first day of operation, the 119-year-old structure has continued to function. This is a testament to the quality of craftsmanship and materials utilized to construct the standpipe and to the commitment of maintaining the structure by the city.

The standpipe is situated on a small surrounding greenspace known as Dixie Park, which was established at the time of the standpipes construction in 1897. The tower and park is near the Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, which is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The standpipe served as the focal point and organizing element for the development of Dothans original downtown center, the form says. The town center and adjacent blocks were known at the time as the Dixie District, and most businesses used the reference Dixie to brand their buildings and businesses. As a result, among other structures in the area, the standpipe was known as the Dothan Dixie Standpipe.

Mayor Young negotiated the sale of municipal bonds to finance the construction of the tower, drill the well, and establish Dothans water works. He also funded the citys fire department, increasing Dothans attractiveness as a place to settle and prosper.

Water service not only provided quality of life and health benefits to its citizens, it also enabled the citys fire protection service to provide a very high level of property protection, the form says.

An 1898 Dothan map by the Sanborn fire insurance company highlighted the standpipe and its role in fire protection. The map provides notations regarding the standpipes pumping capacity as: 1/2 million gallons per 24 hr. period provided by a Worthington Compound Pump with water pressure 45 lbs. per square inch.

The significance of water and fire services made possible by the construction of the standpipe should never be underestimated, the form says.

At the time of the standpipes construction, fire was of great concern, particularly in towns where most structures were built of wood, the form says. In addition, most people did not have property insurance; in the event of a catastrophic fire, most would lose everything. However, after the standpipe came online, Dothan was able to provide its citizens with the protection afforded by a significant accessible water supply, firefighters, and equipment.

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Wayne Chancey, a Wiregrass native who co-founded The Headland Observer in 1966 and The Ashford Power and The Dothan Progress, died Friday at his home in Headland. He was 78.

Chancey was born in the Center Community near Newville on Sept. 9, 1943. He graduated from Newville High School in 1961 and graduated from Auburn University in 1965 with a degree in journalism.

His first day on his first reporting job with The Advertiser Company after he graduated from Auburn was the day the Selma March arrived in Montgomery.

While at Auburn, he was a member of the U.S. Marines Platoon Leaders Class and attended officers training school in Quantico, Va. He also attended Jones Law School in Montgomery. He was founder of The Headland Chamber of Commerce and served as its first president.

He was co-founder with Dr. James Vann of The Headland Observer in 1966 and co-founder of The Ashford Power and The Dothan Progress with Harold Herring. Chancey served as editor and publisher of all three newspapers and was president of Chancey-Herring Publishers Inc.

He was a partner with Jimmy Morris in Morris and Chancey Homes and Morris and Chancey Insurance, and served as president of both. He was a former member of the board of directors of Wiregrass Bank and Trust Company and a member of the banks loan committee.

He was a former member of the Dothan-Houston County Chamber of Commerce board of directors, a former member of Alabama Press Association board of directors, a former member of the Headland Capital Corporation board of directors and a former member of the Headland Industrial Development Board.

He was founder, editor, publisher and president of Wiregrass Today, a daily newspaper that operated in Dothan in the 1980s. He was a former member of the Headland Kiwanis Club and a longtime member of The First Baptist Church of Headland and a former Sunday School teacher. At the time of his death he was retired from Wayne Chancey Real Estate and Development, Dothan.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at The First Baptist Church, Headland, with the Rev. Eddie Colley and the Rev. Cecil Sanders officiating. Wright Funeral Home & Crematory will direct.

The family will receive visitors on Monday from 5-7 p.m. at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the charity of your choice. Burial will follow in the Haleburg Baptist Cemetery.
Nguyen Thi Quyen works at a garment factory near her home in Ben Tre Province in the Mekong Delta, March 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Nam

Ignoring exhortations to stay back, many migrant workers left HCMC for their hometowns as the Covid-19 pandemic robbed their livelihoods. Today, many say they made the right decision.

As the clock strikes 6 in the morning, Nguyen Thi Quyen, 38, wakes her children up.

After having breakfast together, she takes the kids, aged nine and five, to school. Then she goes to work at a factory around one kilometer away.

"I made the right decision, leaving the city and returning home."

Quyen and her husband left their hometown in Thanh Phu District of Ben Tre Province in the Mekong Delta for Ho Chi Minh City 14 years ago.

She worked for a shoe company while he made a living as a driver. Their two kids were born in HCMC, but their salaries were never enough to raise the children in the southern metropolis and they had to send them back to Ben Tre, where they lived with Quyen's mother.

Last year, when HCMC became the epicenter of Vietnam's fourth Covid-19 wave, she was worried if she or her husband would die in the city, orphaning their children. She decided to quit the job that gave her an income of VND9 million ($393) per month and return home.

Early October last year, when the fourth wave was basically under control, Quyen got a job at a garment factory near her home in Hoa Loi Commune, Thanh Phu District.

Today she is "happy" even with a much lower salary of VND5 million a month because her life is now stable and she can live with her children and take care of them every day. Her husband is still in HCMC.

Le Phuc Ngoan, 23, also left HCMC last year, fearing Covid-19 impacts.

Three years ago, Ngoan, a resident of the delta's Can Tho City, had found a job with a factory in the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in HCMC's District 7.

He was paid VND10 million per month. He worked four days every week, but had to take night shifts.

"I had to trade my health to earn that high salary, but even then, the cost of living in HCMC was too high."

Despite this, it was not until the Covid-19 outbreak became "too complicated" that he decided to get back home.

Not long after he returned, Ngoan found a job at the Hung Phu 2B Industrial Park in Can Tho.

Every day, he drives 30 minutes to work and does not have to pay any rent. With a salary of VND7 million per month, he can even save something and support his parents, thanks to cheaper living costs in Can Tho.

When the Covid-19 outbreak was brought under control across HCMC and neighboring provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai, all localities that are home to major industrial hubs and hit hardest by the fourth wave, social distancing measures were eased in early October and tens of thousands of migrant workers decided to return to their hometowns.

In most cases, the returnees explained they had run out of money after losing their jobs due to the outbreak and that home was their safest bet. They were afraid that yet another outbreak could happen with restrictions loosened, which would mean that they would once again be stuck in their small rented rooms under strict social distancing with zero income and greater fear of the pandemic.

According to the General Statistics Office, about 1.3 million migrant workers left for their hometown, and 30 percent of them were from the Mekong Delta.

Mekong Delta provinces are yet to come up with complete data on the number of people that have returned and chosen to stay, but cases like Quyen and Ngoan are not rare. Many workers have made the same choice.

Preliminary statistics compiled in Ben Tre Province show that almost 20,000 people had returned to the province and 6,000 have decided to stay, said Nguyen Van Chuong, an official with the provincial labor department.

Pham Thien Nghia, chairman of Dong Thap Province, said that of an estimated 75,000 returnees, 25,000 want to stay back and local businesses are in need of more than 30,000 workers in total.

Vu Minh Tien, director of the Hanoi-based Institute for Workers and Trade Unions, said that in recent years, businesses have had the tendency to move factories from big cities to provinces to enjoy incentives offered to investors by those localities.

After the fourth Covid-19 wave, with a large number of migrant workers returning home, the trend has grown even stronger.

Tien said that in most cases, workers don't have to pay rent when they work in their hometowns. In their own houses, they will also spend less on electricity and water compared to rented apartments in the city.

At the same time, they can stay with their children or have relatives to take care of them when they work overtime instead of having to spend extra sum to hire babysitters as in big cities, he added.

According to the living wage survey conducted by the Labor Relations Research Center in 2016 and the Consumer Price Index from 2016 to 2021, the minimum living wage in HCMC in 2021 was VND7.56 million per month, while it was almost half that at around VND4.7 million in some provinces like Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta and Thai Binh in the north.
British intelligence warned that Russia, frustrated by its failure to achieve its objectives since it launched the attack on Feb. 24, was now pursuing a strategy of attrition that could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

Russian forces have taken heavy losses and their advance has largely stalled since President Vladimir Putin launched the assault, with long columns of troops that bore down on Kyiv halted in the suburbs.

But they have laid siege to cities, blasting urban areas to rubble, and in recent days have intensified missile attacks on scattered targets in western Ukraine, away from the main battlefields.

Zelenskiy, who makes frequent impassioned appeals to foreign audiences for help for his country, told an anti-war protest in Bern that Swiss banks were where the "money of the people who unleashed this war" lay and their accounts should be frozen.

Ukrainian cities "are being destroyed on the orders of people who live in European, in beautiful Swiss towns, who enjoy property in your cities. It would really be good to strip them of this privilege," he said in an audio address.

Neutral Switzerland, which is not a member of the European Union, has fully adopted EU sanctions against Russian individuals and entities, including orders to freeze their wealth in Swiss banks.

The EU measures are part of a wider sanctions effort by Western nations, criticized by China, aimed at squeezing Russia's economy and starving its war machine.

In an address earlier on Saturday, Zelenskiy urged Moscow to hold peace talks now.

"I want everyone to hear me now, especially in Moscow. The time has come for a meeting, it is time to talk," he said in a video address. "The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russia's losses will be such that it will take you several generations to recover."

Britain's defense attache to the United States said British intelligence believes Russia has been taken aback by the Ukrainian resistance to its assault and has so far failed to achieve its original objectives.

"Russia has been forced to change its operational approach and is now pursuing a strategy of attrition" likely to involve the "indiscriminate use of firepower resulting in increased civilian casualties," Air Vice Marshal Mick Smeath said in a statement.

Putin, who calls the action a "special operation" aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine and purging it of what he sees as dangerous nationalists, told a rally on Friday in Moscow that all the Kremlin's aims would be achieved.

On Saturday, Russia said its hypersonic missiles had destroyed a large underground depot for missiles and aircraft ammunition in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region. Hypersonic weapons can travel faster than five times the speed of sound, and the Interfax agency said it was the first time Russia had used them in Ukraine.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Command confirmed the attack, but said the Ukrainian side had no information on the type of missiles used.

Ukraines defense ministry said in its late Saturday night update that Russian forces continued their offensive in the eastern Donetsk region, but Russian troops were forced to regroup in some areas in Ukraines south and additional reserves were deployed there.

The ministry also said that the "moral and psychological condition of the (Russian) personnel is low and deteriorating with each passing day of hostilities."

The Ukrainian military command in charge of forces in two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine said they had fought off 10 attacks on Saturday, destroying a total of 28 tanks, armored personnel carriers and armored cars and killing more than 100 soldiers. Reuters was unable to independently corroborate the claim.

The U.N. human rights office said at least 847 civilians had been killed and 1,399 wounded in Ukraine as of Friday, with the real figure likely much higher. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said 112 children were among the dead. Russia says it is not targeting civilians.

Kyiv authorities said on Saturday that 228 people had been killed in the capital since Russia's attack began, including four children.

A further 912 people have been wounded, the Kyiv city administration said in a statement.

Reuters has not been able to independently confirm casualty figures.

'Know how to fight'

Ordinary Ukrainians have joined the effort to defend their country, such as at a training facility in Odessa, a picturesque, multicultural Black Sea port, where young urban professionals were learning about handling weapons and applying first aid.

"Every person should know how to fight, how to make medicine," said 26-year-old graphic designer Olga Moroz.

More than 3.3 million refugees have fled Ukraine through its western border, with around 2 more million displaced inside the country. Ukraine has evacuated 190,000 civilians from front-line areas via humanitarian corridors, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Saturday.

"I'll go (to Germany) for three weeks but I hope I can go home after that," said Olga Pavlovska, a 28-year-old refugee in the Polish town of Przemysl, hoping Zelekskiy's calls for comprehensive peace talks will end the war.

Hundreds of thousands have been trapped in the port city of Mariupol for more than two weeks with power, water and heat supplies cut off. Bodies amid the rubble are a common sight. Local officials say fighting has reached the city center and heavy shelling kept humanitarian aid from getting in.

About 600 residential buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv have been destroyed and are unfit for habitation since the start of the Russian attack, Kharkiv's regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said.

Rescue workers were still searching for survivors in a Mariupol theater that authorities say was flattened by Russian air strikes on Wednesday. Russia denies hitting the theater.

Interfax quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying Moscow expected its operation in Ukraine to end with a signing of a comprehensive agreement on security issues, including Ukraine's neutral status.

Kyiv and Moscow reported some progress in talks this week toward a political formula that would guarantee Ukraine's security, while keeping it outside NATO, though both sides accused each other of dragging things out.

China has not condemned Russia's attack, though it has expressed concern about the war.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said on Saturday that Western sanctions against Russia were getting "more and more outrageous."
Press Release

March 20, 2022 Lacson Presidency to Pursue Virology Institute vs Covid Mutations, Prioritize MSMEs in Recovery More at: https://pinglacson.net/article/lacson-presidency-to-pursue-virology-institute-vs-covid-mutations-prioritize-msmes-in-recovery A Philippine Virology Science and Technology Institute that will be the country's first line of defense against Covid and any of its future mutations will be pursued under a Lacson presidency. Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson stressed this Saturday evening as he said the institute will be the hub of research and development efforts to address the threat of Covid and other novel viruses. "Ipu-pursue ko ito dahil ito ang magliligtas sa atin. Hindi na tayo mag-import. Lalakasan natin ang research and development sa pamamagitan ng Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines (I will pursue this because this will save us. We will no longer import knowhow. We will strengthen research and development through this institute)," Lacson, who is running for President under Partido Reporma, said at the Commission on Elections' First Presidential Debate. "It is not a question kung handa o hindi handa ang Pilipinas. Dapat lagi tayong handa for the next pandemic, Deltacron man o maski anong variant, o bagong pandemic (It is no longer a question of whether we are ready. We should always be ready for the next pandemic, be it Deltacron or any other variant, or any new pandemic)," he added. As early as May 2020, Lacson filed a bill for the institute but the bill did not pass the Senate. However, Lacson noted the 2022 budget has set aside P982 million as a startup fund for the institute. Also, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is eyeing to build the facility at New Clark City. On the other hand, Lacson said this will go hand in hand with his commitment to ensure a historic increase in funding for research and development, from the "pathetic" current 0.4 percent of the national budget. Lacson also said this should be complemented by a proactive approach by the government in dealing with threats from viruses. "Dapat proactive tayo mag-isip at hindi nagre-react (We should be proactive instead of reactive)," he said. Meanwhile, Lacson said micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) should get top priority of the government in its efforts to help the economy recover from the pandemic. He said the MSME sector accounts for 99.5 percent of our enterprises, with 400,000 Filipinos having lost their jobs due to the pandemic. "Kailangan ng comprehensive fiscal stimulus para sa ating MSMEs. Tulungan natin sila ibangon kasi napakalaki ng tama sa ating economy na galing sa sektor ng MSMEs (We need a comprehensive fiscal stimulus for our MSMEs. We should help them recover because of the great damage they sustained when the pandemic hit our economy)," he said. Lacson said the MSMEs need to be made aware of government programs to help them, including a P2-billion agricultural guarantee fund pool.
Elko County Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the Nannini Administration Building. Members will discuss a draft of the Fiscal Year 2023 Predation Management Plan, a Hunting Expenditures Survey by the University of Nevada, regulations on migratory waterfowl seasons and bag limits, and the First Come First Served tag program.

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Elko Convention & Visitors Authority board of directors will meet at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Cedar Room at the Elko Convention Center. Members will discuss the 2022/23 tentative budget, selecting an auditing firm, and scheduling a strategic planning workshop. Also to be discussed are options for the ECVA to collaborate with other organizations and/or entities for economies of scale, administrative support and sustainability of operations.

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Elko City Council will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Elko City Hall. Members are scheduled to consider and possibly approve designating $500,000 in ARPA Funds to local small businesses that experienced a direct negative economic impact as a result of the public health emergency; award a bid on the Spruce Road Reconstruction Project and adopt the 2022 Street Inventory and construction project list; and possibly accept a proposal from Matrix Consulting Group in the amount of $49,000 to conduct an analysis of the management and organization of the Elko Fire Department.

The council will also consider and possibly approve a resolution concerning flooding in the vicinity of the Humboldt River and establishing a maintenance program in furtherance of the goals of the Humboldt Area Recreation Program (HARP).

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Elko County School District board of trustees meets at 5:30 p.m. in the board room at 850 Elm St. Action items include proceeding with the payment of COVID retention bonuses; permission to continue the Natural Gas Conversion Project at Spring Creek and Liberty Peak elementary schools; acceptance of the bid for fiber installation at Flagview, Wells and Wendover; review of the calendar for Battle Born Youth Academy; and an application to operate an alternative schedule for approximately 1,800 students.

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Spring Creek Association board of directors will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Spring Creek Association Office. Members will review and discuss allocation of the 2021 Carry-Forward funds.

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Spring Creek residents are invited to attend one of five workshops Thursday through Saturday to discuss the Associations five-year strategic plan. The meetings at the Fairway Community Center are open to community stakeholders, including Spring Creek residents, property owners and business owners.

On March 24, the first meeting runs from noon to 3 p.m., with the second session starting at 6 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m. The next day, meetings are scheduled from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. on March 25. On March 26, the final meeting starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m.

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Katya Hill tried to talk her brother out of it. She urged Jimmy Hill to postpone his trip to Ukraine as she saw reports of Russian tanks lining up at the border. But he needed to help his longtime partner, who has been suffering from progressive multiple sclerosis.

He said, I dont know what I would do if I lost her, I have to try to do everything I can to try to stop the progression of MS, Katya said. My brother sacrificed his life for her.

James Jimmy Hill, 68, was killed in a Russian attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv that was reported Thursday, as his partner Irina Teslenko received treatment at a local hospital. His family says she and her mother are trying to leave the city, but because of her condition they would need an ambulance to help and it was unclear when or if that could happen.

In an interview from Pittsburgh Saturday, Hills sister called her brothers relationship with Irina a beautiful love story, but unfortunately it has a tragic ending.

Katya Hill said Irinas illness had progressed to the point that she had lost the ability to walk and much of the use of her hands. She said her brother  a native of Eveleth, Minnesota, who was living in Driggs, Idaho  had spent months trying to secure treatments to stop the progression of the disease and had finally arranged for treatment in February.

Katya said her brother thought the world wouldnt let the invasion happen.

Katya said the two met while her brother, who taught social work and forensic psychology at universities in various countries, was teaching a class in Ukraine. He knew instantly that he was in love and they spent years together, talking for hours every day on the phone when Jimmy was back in the Unites States.

Katya said in the last few weeks as the bombings grew more frequent and resources more scarce, her brother had been daydreaming of ways to get Ukrainian families to the U.S. to set up a little Ukraine at his Airbnb properties he owned in Idaho and Montana. She said her brother loved Ukraine and even on the day he was killed, friends had helped her piece together that he had decided to stay to be with Teslenko and her mother at the hospital.

It was initially reported that Jimmy was gunned down while waiting in a breadline, but Katya said the family had received new details through their senators and from Jimmys friends in Ukraine Saturday.

Katya said Jimmy and a friend who lives near the hospital had gone to an area where they had heard buses were waiting to evacuate people who wanted to leave the city via a safe corridor. There were more than a thousand people already waiting in line, and Jimmy told the friend he was going to return to the hospital. The friend told Katya that Russian shelling began as he was leaving, and the blast that killed her brother had caused the friend to lose hearing in one of her ears.

Katya said her family is still waiting to hear directly from the U.S. State Department to get details of where his body is.

Chernihiv police and the State Department confirmed the death of an American but did not identify him. The Associated Press reached out to the State Department to confirm details of Hills death, but had not received information as of early Saturday.

In poignant posts on Facebook in the weeks before his death, Hill described indiscriminate bombing in a city under siege. Katya said he had described increasing hardships in a Facebook Messenger group, starting each day by saying he was still alive.

But electricity and heat had been cut off, and food and supplies were becoming more scarce. Katya said he would go out to wait in line for food and supplies and bring back whatever he could for the hospital staff.

Most patients at the hospital had moved to the basement bomb shelter, but Irina and her mother remained in the upper levels because of the cold and so she could continue the treatment.

Katya said Irinas mother had been told about Jimmys death, but had not wanted to tell her daughter. She said they had hoped for help to evacuate back to their home village southeast of Kyiv, where Irinas father was waiting, but it was unclear whether they could find an ambulance to take them or a safe route for the trip.

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Most Russian forces more than 25km from centre of Kyiv - UK intelligence

In its latest intelligence update on Russias invasion of Ukraine, the UKs Ministry of Defence says most Russian forces remain more than 25 kilometres from the centre of Kyiv, but can be expected to attempt to surround the Ukrainian capital in the weeks to come.

Heavy fighting continues north of Kyiv, the update says. "Russian forces advancing on the city from the north-east have stalled. Forces advancing from the direction of Hostomel to the north-west have been repulsed by fierce Ukrainian resistance. The bulk of Russian forces remain more than 25 kilometres from the centre of the city.

Despite the continued lack of progress, Kyiv remains Russias primary military objective and they are likely to prioritise attempting to encircle the city over the coming weeks.
The Ukrainian port city of Mariupol has been a major target of Russian President Vladimir Putin. As a critical connecting point to the Black Sea, and providing a land mass with those regions of Russian separatists, the invasion has seen the harshest impact on its residents.

Mariupol residents forced into Russia

Reports are that thousands of Mariupol residents have been forcibly deported to Russia, something described as "disturbing" and "unconscionable" if true by US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Sunday.

More on Russia-Ukraine conflict:

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," Thomas-Greenfield said the United States had not yet confirmed the allegations made on Saturday by the Mariupol city council via its Telegram channel.

"I've only heard it. I can't confirm it," she said. "But I can say it is disturbing. It is unconscionable for Russia to force Ukrainian citizens into Russia and put them in what will basically be concentration and prisoner camps."

Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, igniting a conflict that has led to more than 900 civilian deaths and nearly 1,500 injuries as of 19 March, according to the U.N. human rights office.

The Mariupol city council also said Russian forces bombed an art school on Saturday in which 400 residents had taken shelter, but the number of casualties was not yet known. Reuters could not independently verify the claims by the city council. Russia denies targeting civilians. The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Saturday for comprehensive peace talks with Moscow.

The United States supports those attempts, Thomas-Greenfield said on Sunday, adding that the negotiations "seem to be one-sided," with little response from Russia. Poland will formally submit a proposal for a peace-keeping mission in Ukraine at the next summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday.

When asked about the Polish proposal, Thomas-Greenfield reiterated President Joe Biden's commitment to refrain from sending US troops into Ukraine.

"Other NATO countries may decide that they want to put troops inside of Ukraine," she said. "That will be a decision that they have to make."

Turkey is also attempting to mediate a ceasefire in Ukraine, which NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised during an interview on Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press.

"Turkey is doing some real effort to try to facilitate, support talks between Russia and Ukraine," Stoltenberg said. "It's far too early to say whether these talks can lead to any concrete outcome."

Earlier this month, NATO rejected Ukrainian calls to set up a "no-fly zone" over Ukraine to help it protect its skies from Russian missiles and warplanes. When asked on Sunday whether a no-fly zone would be considered if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine, Stoltenberg raised concerns that such a step could escalate the conflict.

Full screen A residential building in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO REUTERS

"Our allies support Ukraine," he said. "But at the same time it is extremely important we prevent this conflict from becoming a full-fledged war between NATO and Russia that will cause much more damage, much more death, destruction than what we are seeing now in Ukraine."

How are Russia-Ukraine negotiations going?

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began a little over three weeks ago, diplomats from both countries have been negotiating behind the scenes. These negotiations, thus far, have not been fruitful. Accusations of bad faith and false promises have been lodged by both sides, but it is Russia that holds the power to stop the attacks on civilians, infrastructure, and Ukrainian forces.

The Ukrainian government seems to be considering conceding some of the demands made by the Kremlin, as they do not have the security guarantees to prolong the war. However, even when the sides agree there are countless decisions that go into the details.

In recent days, Volodymyr Zelensky has stated publicly that he has cooled on the admissions of Ukraine to NATO if it could open a door to peace. However, the Russian demand goes beyond NATO membership for its western neighbor. The main sticking point for Vladimir Putin is the neutrality of Ukraine.

During his daily address early in the morning on Saturday 19 March, President Zelensky affirmed that "negotiations on peace, on security for us, for Ukraine - meaningful, fair and without delay - are the only chance for Russia to reduce the damage from its own mistakes."

Speaking directly to those in Moscow, Zelensky said "It's time to meet. Time to talk. It is time to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russia's losses will be so huge that several generations will not be enough to rebound."

In an interview, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovs referred back to the history of the collapse and agreements that were made between former Soviet Republics and Russia which stipulated "that Ukraine would be a non-aligned and militarily neutral state." In recent years as Ukraine has showed increasing interest in joining NATO and aligning itself closer with the European Union are seen as a threat to Russian security.

Spoke with @SecBlinken on efforts to bring an end to Russias brutal war of aggression against Ukraine and multiple war crimes. To this end, it is crucial to further strengthen Ukraines defense capabilities, apply more pressure on Russia, and use all available diplomatic tools.  Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 18, 2022

Regardless of if the threat is real or perceived, the Kremlin is responsible heinous acts of violence targeting civilians that will not soon be forgotten. This does not mean, however, that the US and the EU should not be doing everything within their power to bring the conflict to an end diplomatically. If they are not direct participants in the conflict, then they have the full suite of diplomatic tools available to work towards peace. Creating silos and natural echo chambers will only elevate the most reactionary and extreme voices.

Global powers that are truly interested in protecting the future of Ukraine, must allow its people to decide its directions. If concessions on neutrality must be made, countries who have promoted the cause of the Ukrainian people should ensure that they are able to decide it. The people of Ukraine, like those around the world, should not be pawns in a proxy war between two nuclear powers living in the last century. New leadership, new citizens, new perspectives, a changing world, demand the respect and flexibility of a global order that strives towards peace. The challenges the world faces when it comes to climate change, hunger, global inequalities, and wide health disparities, will not be solved by replaying the horrors of the twentieth century.

How close is a deal between Russia and Ukraine?

Lavrov mentioned on 17 March that the two parties are working on "specific language" relating to the neutral status of Ukraine, that he believes is "close to being agreed upon." President Zelensky has also shown greater optimism in the ability of both sides to reach an agreement to a ceasefire or permanent end of the conflict.

President Putin has drawn the line at NATO expansion but has agreed that Ukraine is entitled to "security guarantees." It seems that the negotiations are stalling over the ability of diplomats to decide what these "guarantees" might be and whether the Kremlin will agree to stop the invasion over the terms.

Ukraine, almost since its founding, has been pulled in different directions by the West and Russia. It is now becoming clear that neither side was interested in neutrality. Now, as the Ukrainian people struggle for their future, their leaders understand that these security guarantees and protections will be critical to that objective.
The mid-term Senate race in Ohio goes to the primaries on May 3 and it is all up for grabs now that the two-term incumbent Rob Portman (Rep) has announced that he will not seek re-election. The race in this staunchly Republican state is to be fought between the GOP candidates and here are those declared.

Mike Gibbons and Josh Mandel get in each others faces at tonights GOP #OHSen forum hosted by FreedomWorks.



You watch what happens, Mandel says. pic.twitter.com/fQuqfHxXHT  Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) March 18, 2022

More:

Matt Dolan

The Ohio state senator from the 24th district since 2017 is an attorney by trade and jointly owns the Cleveland Guardians with his father Larry.

Mike Gibbons

An investment banker with working class roots, he was previously a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2018

Josh Mandel

The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Iraq War veteran served as Ohio state treasurer from 2011 to 2019. He was a nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2018

Neil Patel

An Indian-born Ohio businessman, Patel made his name as a hotelier and insurance agent. He has run for the Senate in 2010 and 2014.

Mark Pukita

An IT executive with a background at IBM, Pukita started his own company in 1996 and wants to bring his business acumen to the Senate

Jane Timken

The chair of the Ohio Republican Party since 2017, Timken has staked her colors on her belief that the November 2020 presidential election was fraudulent.

J. D. Vance

The author of Hillbilly Elegy, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and venture capitalist Vance has campaigned on creating manufacturing jobs and building a wall on the Mexican border.

Dolan swipes at Timken for hiring Corey Lewandowski, saying it sends a clear message to Republican voters, and women across Ohio, that she holds political hacks in higher regard than fighting for a safer and more secure future for Ohio families. #OHSen https://t.co/Wua73jFCon  Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) March 18, 2022

Perhaps no race in the nation better represents the ground shift that has happened in the Republican Party over the last six years than the one in Ohio. Ohio twice voted for President Barack Obama and has long courted the more moderate Republicans has swung decisively to the right. And the leading candidates in the race have been working to out-Trump one another as they try to woo his endorsement as well as his voters.

In a show of just how confrontational politics have become in recent years, two Republican candidates squared off during a heated debate. No longer content to simply attack Democrats, Josh Mandel and Mike Gibbons decided to throw some mud at each other in a tense exchange, forcing a moderator to pull the two apart.

Ohio Republican Senate candidate JD Vance has gone from conservative darling to potential also ran in part because he outed himself as Putin GOP.https://t.co/yxiTHhQ6rf via @politicususa  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) March 18, 2022

Gibbons and J.D. Vance are leading the pack in most polls, but with the tempers of the electorate as frayed as their candidates, any number of things can happen between now and May.
Australia will provide Ukraine, at the request of the Ukrainian government, with at least 70,000 tonnes of thermal coal to strengthen energy security, according to the Facebook page of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine.

"Australia is recognized internationally as a leading and reliable supplier of energy resources. We thank our Australian partners for helping Ukraine at this difficult time, when our state is resisting an illegal and brutal military invasion by Russia," Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko said.

As noted in the message, the Australian government has worked with enterprises of the country's coal industry to accumulate coal volumes, which will be the country's contribution to providing Ukrainian consumers with reliable electricity. The cost of coal and its delivery will be covered by the Australian government.

Australia's Whitehaven Coal will arrange the appropriate shipment. Now, along the government line, together with the Ukrainian side, the issue of prompt delivery is being worked out, the Ministry of Energy said.
21 out of 22 large enterprises resume work in Dnipropetrovsk region  authorities

Medium and large-sized businesses have resumed work in Dnipropetrovsk region  21 out of 22 large enterprises have started operating, Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration has reported, citing its head Valentyn Reznichenko.

He called the resumption of activities of entrepreneurs "a return to normal life."

The head of the administration urged everyone who has the opportunity to get to work.

"We need the economy to work. For people to get paid. For Ukraine to become even stronger. For us to survive  a country, a region, a city, a village," Reznichenko said.
The Crypto Fund of Ukraine, initiated by the Ministry of Digital Transformation, has raised more than $60 million for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"Crypto assets significantly scale Ukraine's efforts to raise additional funds to support our army," the ministry emphasizes.

According to the ministry, in the first days of the war, cryptocurrency donations helped cover the urgent needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. More than 34 million crypto donations were spent on the purchase of body armor, thermal imaging optics, medical supplies, dry rations, helmets and walkie-talkies.

The ministry also reminded that all official crypto wallets of the ministry are collected on the website.

People from all over the world can donate crypto assets
Press Release

March 20, 2022 Lacson Prepared to Put Life on the Line Anew for Filipinos More at: https://pinglacson.net/article/lacson-prepared-to-put-life-on-the-line-anew-for-filipinos After risking his life for Filipinos in his 50-plus years in public service, Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson is prepared to once again put his life on the line for the Filipino people - this time, as the leader the nation badly needs. Lacson said Saturday evening that he is offering his competence, qualification and experience - the traits a leader needs - to fight for the Filipino people. "Mula sa pagiging sundalo at alagad ng batas na lumaban sa terorismo, rebeldeng komunista at pusakal na kriminal; bilang Chief PNP na nagpatino at naglinis ng hanay ng kapulisan; bilang Senador na kailanman hindi nabahiran ng korapsyon, nais ko pong ipagpatuloy na magsilbi sa ating bayan (From a soldier and law enforcer who has fought terrorists, communist rebels and criminals; as a Philippine National Police chief who cleansed the police force of rogues; and as a Senator who never allowed corruption to taint him, I wish to continue giving my brand of service to our nation)," he said in his closing statement at the Commission on Elections' First Presidential Debate. Lacson spent 20 years in the Philippine Constabulary and 10 in the PNP, and 18 years in the Senate. He also served as Presidential Assistant on Rehabilitation and Recovery to help those affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). As a law enforcer and lawmaker, Lacson earned enemies due to his integrity, as well as his stern discipline and leadership by example. The Partido Reporma standard-bearer pointed out that among the current crop of presidentiables, only he has placed his life on the line in the service of the Filipino people. He noted the nation now faces humongous problems, ranging from an economy battered by the pandemic and by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine; a ballooning debt that has exceeded P12 trillion; and corruption in the government, among others. "Among all the Presidential aspirants --narito man o laging absent -- walang sinuman kundi ako ang sadya at aktwal na nagsugal ng sariling buhay sa pagligtas sa panganib ng sinuman (Among all the presidential aspirants both present and absent here, no one else has laid his life on the line in the Filipino people's service)," he said. He added it takes a competent, qualified and experienced leader to turn campaign promises into reality. "It takes a leader who is competent, qualified and experienced, to turn the promises of unity, Bilis Aksyon, Angat Buhay into reality. Kailangan natin ng Pangulo na handang ipaglaban kayong lahat para ipanalo ang sambayanang Pilipino (We need a President who is ready to fight and win for the Filipino people)," he said.
Ukrzaliznytsia notes a gradual reduction in the volume of humanitarian cargo and calls on Ukrainians to consolidate the assistance of friends in Europe.

"The first wave of aid is slowly fading away. The Europeans mobilized in the first weeks of the war and every day brought tens of tonnes of aid to the borders with Ukraine. Now the amount of aid is decreasing, but the need for humanitarian aid in cities that are being destroyed by Russian orcs is only growing," the report says.

The company also reported that they had already received another batch of humanitarian aid from friendly countries in Lviv, which will be sent by freight wagons to other cities of our state today.

Among the goods are medicines, clothes, hygiene products, food.

In total, since the beginning of the war, Ukrzaliznytsia has transported 1,199 freight wagons of humanitarian aid and about 6,700 tonnes in passenger trains.

"Call on your friends, acquaintances, organizations seeking to support Ukraine to collect and transfer humanitarian aid. The points of transport of aid to Ukraine through Poland are working," Ukrzaliznytsia stressed.
On Sunday, March 20, a partial rotation of personnel and evacuation of persons who were on the territory of the occupied plant was carried out at Chornobyl nuclear power plant, the press service of the plant reports.

"During this day, 64 people were taken out: 50 people of the Chornobyl NPP shift personnel, nine employees of the National Guard of Ukraine (8 women and 1 cancer patient), one employee of the State Emergency Service, four stalkers," Chornobyl NPP said on Facebook.

Some 46 volunteer workers of the station went to replace the evacuated personnel of Chornobyl nuclear power plant to perform their duties and ensure the functioning of the enterprise.

It is noted that the staff was at the workplace for about 600 hours, heroically performing their professional duties and maintaining an appropriate level of security.
On the night of Saturday to Sunday, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced the decision of the National Security and Defense Council, which decided to suspend the activities of a number of political parties, including the Opposition Platform - For Life! and Shariy Party.

"The National Security and Defense Council decided to suspend any activity of a number of political parties for the period of martial law, namely, Opposition Platform  For Life!, Shariy Party, Nashi, Opposition Bloc, Left Opposition, Union of Left Forces, Derzhava, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Socialist Party, the Party of Socialists, Volodymyr Saldo Bloc," he said.

According to the president, the Ministry of Justice was instructed to urgently take comprehensive measures to ban the activities of these political parties.

"Any activity of politicians aimed at a split or collaboration will not be successful, but will receive a harsh response," the president said.

"Everyone should take care of the interests of the state, the interests of Ukraine. Because it is for us, for the sake of life," Zelensky said.
Invaders drop bombs on art school No. 12 in Mariupol where about 400 citizens hiding

On Saturday, March 19, the Russian military dropped bombs on art school No. 12 in the Livoberezhny district of the city, where about 400 citizens were in the shelter, the City Council has reported.

"Yesterday, Russian invaders dropped bombs on art school No. 12 in the Livoberezhny district of Mariupol, where about 400 Mariupol residents were hiding  women, children and the elderly," the city council said on the Telegram channel.

The city council said that the building was destroyed, and civilians are still under the rubble.

"Information on the number of victims is being verified," the city council said.
A total of 115 children have died in Ukraine amid the armed aggression of the Russian Federation since February 24, more than 140 have been injured, according to the Telegram channel of the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) on Sunday morning.

Most of the victims were in Kyiv (58), Kharkiv (36), Donetsk (29), Chernihiv (30), Mykolaiv (22), Zhytomyr (15), Sumy and Kherson (14 each) regions.

"On March 19, 2022, in a shelling by the Russian military in the city of Rubizhne in Luhansk region, a residential building was destroyed. From under its rubble, rescuers got two children. They were given cardiopulmonary resuscitation, trying to save them, but in vain. The children did not survive. another child with her mother was found them under the rubble. Unfortunately, doctors declared the death of the woman, and the child was saved. Her condition is stable and satisfactory," the PGO said.

Also on March 19, a man and a 9-year-old boy were killed in a shelling of residential buildings in Kharkiv, the PGO reported.

According to the office, due to regular bombing and shelling of civilian infrastructure and residential areas by the Russian armed forces, 489 educational institutions have been damaged at the moment, 69 of them have been completely destroyed.

"These data are not final, since there is no opportunity to inspect the sites of shelling in the areas of active hostilities and in the temporarily occupied territories," the PGO said.
On Saturday, March 19, Ukrainian air defense destroyed three helicopters of Russian invaders, the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has reported.

"On Saturday, March 19, the enemy significantly reduced its presence in the Ukrainian sky. Therefore, unfortunately, air defense shot down only three Russian fascist helicopters today. So the daily plan for the disposal of air Russians has not been fulfilled!" the Air Force Command said on Saturday night.

According to the report, the Air Force is waiting for modern air defense systems and fighters from the allies.

"Currently, the Air Force is successfully beating the invaders with weapons of the 1980s, and the Russians are using the latest weapons against us  hypersonic missiles and aircraft, significantly superior to ours, both in number and in combat characteristics," the Air Force Command said.

The Command added that the situation may change "when modern equipment from partners comes into service and we close the sky from the Russian terrorists."
There is no railway communication between Ukraine and Belarus  Ukrzaliznytsia head

There is currently no railway communication between Ukraine and Belarus, Oleksandr Kamyshin, Board Chairman of Ukrzaliznytsia, has said.

"I recently appealed to the Belarusian railway workers not to follow criminal orders and not to carry Russian military trains towards Ukraine. Today, I can say that there is no railway communication between Ukraine and Belarus," Kamyshin said on the Current Time TV on Saturday.

At the same time, he said that he would not voice the details, but "he is grateful to the Belarusian railway workers for what they are doing."

Answering a clarifying question from the presenter, Kamyshin confirmed that the railway lines connecting Ukraine and Belarus have been in an unusable condition "from a certain moment of the war."
Arestovych: Russia manages to gather certain reserves, transfer dozen or two battalion tactical groups to Ukraine, it is the last thing they can throw here

Russia has chosen the most senseless plan of action in Ukraine, which will only lead to an increase in the number of dead Russian military, Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to the head of the President's Office, has said.

"They [Russia] were able to accumulate certain reserves. The state and volume of these reserves are now difficult to accurately express on the air of the telethon. However, I can say that this is a dozen or two battalion tactical groups and their quality is rather doubtful," Arestovych said on the air of the national telethon on Saturday, answering the question of the hosts about the likelihood of an offensive by the occupiers in the eastern and northern directions.

According to the adviser to the head of the Presidential Office, the reserves accumulated by Russia include a core of professional military personnel, while the other part of these reserves consists of mobilized law enforcement officers and mercenaries of private military companies.

"There is a core of combat brigades that arrived from Russia and this is the last thing they can throw here, and some are policemen from some Bashkiria who were caught, given machine guns and said: "Go fight in Ukraine." And some are PMC members," Arestovych said.

He said that these battalion tactical groups will not play a significant role either in the east or in the north, adding that the Ukrainian Defense Forces will do everything possible to defend the country and, perhaps, "something will happen that the Russians will not be able to act skillfully at all in one direction or another."

"A week ago, we talked and I said that there would be a "fork:" either they would agree to negotiations, or they would agree to negotiations after the next attempt to capture something there... They chose the most stupid course of action, i.e. they will throw into battle these scratched reserves. As a result, we will return to negotiations anyway. There will simply be 10,000 more Russians killed. Why is this necessary, this is a question of the Russian people to their government," the adviser to the head of the President's Office said.
The Ukrainian military are holding the defense in all directions, repelling the attacks of the Russian occupiers near Izium. The enemy suffers significant losses and refuses further participation in offensive operations, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported.

"The Ukrainian Defense Forces continues its defense operation in the Eastern, Southeastern and Northeastern directions. Measures of the martial law regime, stabilization actions, and territorial defense tasks are being carried out. The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine repulses concentrated missile and air strikes and air attacks of the enemy, air cover of densely populated cities, important industrial facilities of Ukraine and troops operational groups," the ministry said on its Facebook page at midnight on Sunday.

In the southern direction the front line of defense was restored along some borders. In this direction the enemy is forced to regroup, deploy additional reserves, take measures to restore the combat effectiveness of units.

In the Donetsk direction Russian occupation forces are conducting assaults and fire.

In the Volyn and Polissia direction the enemy did not carry out the active action, building fire control systems, engineering support and logistics in preparation for the attack on the city of Kyiv.

Offensive operations are also not underway in the Siverski and Slobozhansky directions. Enemy forces are shelling Ukrainian settlements.

Near Izium the enemy tried to break through the defenses of our troops, but was unsuccessful, the assault units of the invader were actually destroyed.

The occupiers suffer significant losses. The moral and psychological condition of the personnel is low and deteriorating with each passing day of hostilities. Punitive units of the Russian Guard involved in hostilities have lost a significant amount of weapons and military equipment. Recovery of losses is due to outdated and partially defective equipment.

The commandant's office of the Russian city Belgorod is investigating case about 10 servicemen of the 138th Motorized Rifle Brigade who took part in the offensive in Kharkiv and, due to heavy losses, refused to take part in hostilities and incited the rest to return home.

"It is noteworthy that the head of the 652nd ISPO group of the Russian terrorist forces was severely reprimanded for his weak work on the creation of the so-called "Kherson People's Republic". The Kremlin leadership is not satisfied with the fact that due to popular opposition there is not even a conditional demonstration "picture," the ministry said.
Thousands of civilians are dying of starvation on the outskirts of Mariupol blocked by Russian invaders  in the village of Manhush and the village of Melekine in Donetsk region, Head of the Regional Military Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko has said.

"The Russian occupation authorities are carrying out [a policy of] the genocide of the Ukrainian people! Right now, in the captured Manhush and Melekine, thousands of Mariupol residents who managed to hide from Russian air bombs are dying of hunger. This is a crime against humanity," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

The Donetsk Regional Military Administration demands the occupation administration to comply with the rules of warfare and provide civilians with water and food, as well as enable them to leave the combat zone.

"We are ready to save our citizens  for this we need a safe corridor from the enemy. I appeal to all world leaders  press on the Kremlin. Don't let people die of hunger!" the head of the administration added.
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Russian occupiers shelled the village of Velyka Kostromka in Dnipropetrovsk region with Grad multiple rocket launchers, Head of the Military Administration of Kryvy Rih Oleksandr Vilkul has said.

"At half past eight in the evening today [March 19], orcs hit Velyka Kostromka, a suburb of Zelenodolsk, with Grad multiple rocket launchers: they smashed one house, a street and a gas pipeline were slightly damaged, but thank God, no casualties. Our fire service extinguished everything," Vilkul said in his video message.

The village of Velyka Kostromka is part of the Zelenodolsk amalgamated territorial community, the center of which is the city of Zelenodolsk, located on the banks of the reservoir of the Kryvy Rih TPP.
Rada chairman calls on parliamentarians of all countries to call on their govts to close sky over Ukraine

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk calls on parliamentarians around the world to call on their governments to close the sky over Ukraine

"You can also call on your governments to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine. You must do this for the sake of millions of people in Ukraine, for the sake of European and world security," Stefanchuk told the participants of the special meeting devoted to the Situation in Ukraine, organized by the geopolitical group 12+, within the framework of the 144th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which is taking place in Nusa Dua in Indonesia.

According to Stefanchuk, the war has been going on for the fourth week, and this indicates that the measures taken are not enough. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada set as an example the parliaments of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which called for closing the sky over Ukraine.

"We call on you to mobilize the potential of the deputies of your national parliaments to stop Russia, end death and destruction and stop the war crimes of the Russian occupiers against Ukrainian citizens, women and children," Stefanchuk said.

The head of the Ukrainian parliament expressed hope that the Inter-Parliamentary Union would voice its principled position against Russia's flagrant violation of international law.

According to the website of the Ukrainian parliament, Stefanchuk addressed the participants of the meeting online.
Three people killed, two of them children, two more injured in shelling of Rubizhne over past day  police

Over the past 24 hours, in a shelling of Rubizhne (Luhansk region) by Russian invaders, three people have been killed, including two children, and two have been injured. A total of 24 facilities in Rubizhne and Severodonetsk have been damaged or destroyed, Head of Luhansk Regional Military Administration Serhiy Haidai has said.

"During the shelling in Rubizhne, three people were killed, two of them were children, two (one child) were injured," the press service of Luhansk Regional Military Administration quoted Haidai as saying on Sunday morning.

In addition, the Russians destroyed 24 houses in Rubizhne and Severodonetsk over the past day, seven people were saved. In the shelling by the Russian army during March 19, about 30 facilities were damaged or destroyed in these two cities, and of these 12 multi-apartment and 12 private residential buildings, an educational institution in Rubizhne, warehouses, utility buildings, and infrastructure facilities.

"Our rescuers, as soon as they entered the service on the morning of February 24, were almost never at home. The Russian invasion led to 19 powerful fires yesterday in Luhansk region. Seven residents of the region were rescued. In addition, the employees of the State Emergency Service remained to dismantle the rubble after extinguishing fire, delivered water and food for the population in bomb shelters," Haidai said.
The Russian army is deliberately creating conditions for a humanitarian crisis in the temporarily occupied territories in order to force the local population to collaborate, and a harsh administrative and police regime is being imposed. The occupiers are trying to make up for losses at the front in the so-called "DPR," where a new wave of mobilization has been announced, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) has reported.

"During the day the enemy did not conduct active offensive operations, focusing on replenishing current losses, restoring partially destroyed equipment, transferring foreign mercenaries to border areas with Ukraine, solving chronic logistics problems of the occupying forces that operating in Ukraine," the General Staff said on its Facebook page on Sunday.

The General Staff said that the occupiers use terrorist methods to impose a brutal administrative and police regime, deliberately creating conditions for a humanitarian crisis in the temporarily occupied territories. "So, last night to the Kherson area from the city of Apostolove of Dnipropetrovsk region 14 trucks with foodstuff and medicines of the first necessity had been moved. The russian occupiers did not give access to humanitarian convoy for moving without reason. In this way occupiers try to force the local population to collaborate. At the same time, the invaders are distributing leaflets with proposals to appeal to the occupation administration, citizens are promised to cancel credit debts, and local entrepreneurs are given preferences in doing business."

The enemy suffers significant losses, as a result of which the number of refuseniks to fight in Ukraine is increasing.

"It became known that just one serviceman from the combined detachment of the 331st Guards Parachute Landing Kostroma Regiment, which took part in the fighting in the Kyiv direction, survived, and he is in hospital. Against the background of similar circumstances, the command of the russian Black Sea Fleet is urgently taking measures to replace 130 defectors-contractors of the 810th Marine Brigade with 7 paratroopers. The FSB decides on their further service," the General Staff said.

In addition, in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk region, "russian curators announced another wave of mobilization to replenish the 1st Army Corps. The maximum age of the demobilized has been raised to 65 years. The same is expected for the TOT of Luhansk region, given that trucks filled with killed in actions soldiers arrive daily from the area of the 2nd Army Corps to the settlements of Luhansk, Sorokine and Dovzhanske."

"russian terrorist forces continue to violate openly International Conventions on the Rules of War. The facts of using the uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to carry out subversive and discrediting actions by russian saboteurs are being recorded," the General Staff said.
Prime Ministers of India and Japan call for peaceful resolution of situation in Ukraine

Indian and Japanese Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Fumio Kishida on Saturday called for peaceful resolution of the situation in Ukraine during a meeting in Delhi, Japan Times has reported.

The leaders urged an "immediate cessation of violence," and noted that the only way to resolve the conflict is through dialogue and diplomacy.

Kishida and Modi also stressed the importance of ensuring the security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine and overcoming the humanitarian crisis that has developed in Eastern Europe due to the arrival of Ukrainian refugees there, Japan Times said.

In addition, the leaders discussed the strengthening of economic ties between the countries and the situation in the Indo-Pacific region.

INDIA-JAPAN-CALL-UKRAINE
The city of Mariupol in Donetsk region was shelled from the ships of the Russian occupation fleet on Sunday, according to the Telegram channel of the Azov regiment.

"The city of Mariupol has just been fired upon by four ships of the Russian navy. The enemy continues to cynically destroy the Ukrainian city, using the entire arsenal available to it. After aviation, artillery, various systems and tanks, the Russian invaders are destroying the city with heavy weapons of warships," the regiment said.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has registered signs of the preparation of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus for a direct invasion of the territory of Ukraine.

"Signs of the preparation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus for a direct invasion of the territory of Ukraine have been recorded. The defense forces of our state are ready to fight back. The direct involvement of Belarusian troops in the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, against the will of the rank-and-file military and the vast majority of the Belarusian people, will be a fatal mistake for Alexander Lukashenko," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Facebook on Sunday.

The General Staff also warns of the continuing threat of long-range missile strikes by the Russian aggressor against Ukraine.

"There is still a threat that the enemy will launch missile strikes with long-range precision weapons, including the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system," the General Staff said.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also said that the state, position and nature of the actions of the Ukrainian defense forces have not undergone significant changes over the past day.

"Defenders securely hold the occupied areas and lines," the General Staff said.
U.S. officials have confirmed that the Russian Federation has used hypersonic missiles against Ukraine for the first time, CNN has reported.

"US officials confirmed to CNN that Russia launched powerful hypersonic missiles against Ukraine last week, the first known use of such missiles in combat. Russia claimed it deployed hypersonic missiles on Friday to destroy an ammunition warehouse in western Ukraine," CNN reported.

As reported, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the possibility of further use of hypersonic missiles by the Russian aggressor.
The United Nations and Ukrainian partners have delivered the first convoy of emergency humanitarian aid to Sumy region, head of Sumy Regional State Administration Dmytro Zhyvytsky said.

"Seven trucks, 130 metric tonnes of essential aid that will directly help about 35,000 people: medical supplies; bottled water; ready-to-eat meals and canned food; plumbing repair equipment to help 50,000 people," Zhyvytsky wrote on Telegram on Sunday.

According to him, a safe delivery of cargo to the regional center was planned for several days, and the opening of a humanitarian corridor was expected.

"We succeeded, and I thank everyone who joined this process," he wrote.
In Kyiv, as a result of shell fragments hit residential building, fire breaks out, there are victims

On Sunday, March 20, at about 13:59, the Rescue Service received a message about a fire in a multi-storey residential building in Sviatoshynsky district of Kyiv, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reports.

"Upon arrival, the rescuers found that as a result of the impact of shell fragments, a fire broke out on the balcony of the fourth floor of a ten-storey residential building and two private cars," the Telegram channel said.

The fire was localized at 14:24 and eliminated at 14:41.

Residents are being evacuated from the building. So far, six people have been evacuated.

According to mayor of the capital Vitali Klitschko, five people were injured in the fire, two of them were hospitalized.

"At the moment, there are no dead," the mayor said.

Firefighters and paramedics continue to work at the scene of the fire.
Russia and Ukraine managed to bring their positions closer on a number of points during the talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

"There is convergence on the two countries' positions on the critical issues. We observe that they almost agreed on the first four articles, but decisions on some issues need to be given at the leaders' level," Cavusoglu said in the interview.

When asked if an immediate ceasefire could be expected, the official said "if the parties do not retreat from their current positions, we can say that we hope for a ceasefire. There are open channels between the leaders. It is now known."
Liudmyla Denisova, the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights, announces a serious humanitarian catastrophe in Manhush and Melekyne, to which residents of Mariupol, Chernihiv and Kherson region have fled.

In her message on the Telegram channel on Sunday, Denisova indicated that the Russian army "turns occupied and surrounded settlements into concentration camps where the civilian population is starving."

So, according to her, the inhabitants of Mariupol, who fled from the bombing of Russian invaders in Manhush and Melekyne, are dying of hunger.

"The occupiers do not allow humanitarian supplies with food, medicines, essentials," the ombudsperson said.

Also, as Denisova emphasized, Chernihiv suffers from a humanitarian catastrophe, where there is no electricity, no heat, no water. He recalled that during the week there have been fruitless negotiations with the occupying forces regarding the evacuation and the humanitarian corridor.

"The occupiers did not allow 14 trucks with humanitarian aid to enter Kherson region. Russian militants forced 14 trucks with humanitarian aid to return halfway," she added.

In addition, according to her, humanitarian cargo cannot reach the settlements of Kharkiv, Kyiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions where hostilities are taking place.

"Depriving the civilian population of food and medicine is nothing but torture and a direct violation of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights," the ombudswoman added.
Total miscalculations in the strategy and tactics of the Russian army are caused by the fact that the General Staff of the Russian Defense Ministry did not have an objective analysis of the situation in Ukraine, adviser to the head of the President's Office of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak is convinced.

"This is the first reason for the stunning fiasco of the 'second army of the world,' which is rapidly growing. It is obvious that all the staff analytics of General Gerasimov's subordinates were built on the theses of the Russian propaganda about the 'nationalist battalions'," Podoliak wrote on the Telegram channel.

The second reason Podoliak called the extreme mortality among the highest operational command of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.

"This is a sign of the total unpreparedness of the army. They fight only with numbers and cruise missiles. Dozens of officers of the middle and tactical levels have been killed. All these are direct signs of the weak coherence of military units, the lack of understandable logistics, unwillingness to fight in modern conditions," Podoliak said.

"All this, of course, demoralizes the Russian army - although contractors and conscripts do not understand the human language and writing well, they realized that their top leadership is completely mediocre. So, further - only mass deaths of Russian military personnel in Ukraine," he added.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down another missile fired by the Russian Federation over the territory of Vinnytsia region, the head of Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration, Serhiy Borzov, said.

"Our Armed Forces continue to shoot down missiles over Vinnytsia region, a Russian missile has just been shot down," Borzov said in a video message on the Telegram channel.

He noted that the situation in Vinnytsia region is calm, there are no active hostilities.
We expect China and U.S. to join forces to stop Russian aggression - Stefanishyna

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna says Ukraine expects China and the United States to join forces to stop Russian aggression

"We expect that China, the United States and major countries of the Western world will join their efforts to stop the aggression of the Russian Federation and the war on the territory of Ukraine. Now the political leadership of the PRC in this direction is much more important than any other decisions of military cooperation," the Ukrainian Media Center said in a statement, citing a briefing by Stefanishyna.

According to her, in recent years, Ukraine has been building strong and stable relations with China.
The Ukrainian side is ready for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CNN.

"I am ready to negotiate with him. I have been ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations we will not be able to end this war. I think that we should use any format, any chance, to be able to negotiate, an opportunity to talk to Putin. But if these attempts fail, it will mean that this is the third world war," Zelensky said.

At the same time, he stressed that Ukraine under no circumstances can give up its territorial integrity.

"No compromises related to our territorial integrity and our sovereignty, and the Ukrainian people spoke about this, they did not meet Russian soldiers with a bouquet of flowers, they met them bravely, they met them with weapons in their hands," Zelensky said.

"If we were a NATO member, a war wouldn't have started. I'd like to receive security guarantees for my country, for my people. If NATO members are ready to see us in the alliance, then do it immediately because people are dying on a daily basis. But if you are not ready to preserve the lives of our people, if you just want to see us straddle two worlds, if you want to see us in this dubious position where we don't understand whether you can accept us or not  you cannot place us in this situation, you cannot force us to be in this limbo," the head of state said.

"I requested them personally to say directly that we are going to accept you into NATO in a year or two or five, just say it directly and clearly, or just say no. And the response was very clear, you're not going to be a NATO member, but publicly, the doors will remain open," he said.
Abductions of representatives of local authorities and activists, as well as attempts of intimidation, continue in the territories seized by Russian troops, Liudmyla Denisova, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, reports.

"Currently, Ivan Samoydiuk, the first deputy mayor of Energodar, Zaporizhia region, has been kidnapped. Armed Russian soldiers detained him at a checkpoint at the entrance to the city and took him away in an unknown direction," Denisova wrote on the Telegram channel.

In addition, the invaders began physical, psychological pressure on the inhabitants of Energodar, active in their public activities. They continue to look for those Energodar residents whose principled position they see as a threat. According to preliminary information, over the past two days, the Russians detained at least 12 local patriots, who were intimidated, taken out of the city, tortured and humiliated.

Several dozen demonstrators were detained in Berdiansk during a peaceful pro-Ukrainian rally. Their whereabouts are currently unknown.

In Mariupol, when leaving the city, the invaders force men to undress and check for patriotic tattoos.

"Kidnapping, illegal detention, humiliating and cruel treatment of the population of the occupied territories are the violation of Articles 3 and 34 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. I appeal to international partners to increase sanctions pressure by all possible means and isolation of the aggressor state of the Russian Federation for the release of Ukrainian hostages and the withdrawal of troops from all over the territory of our state," Denisova urged.
Homeowners who shelter IDPs for free will get about UAH 450 per/month for each to compensate for utilities - Regional Development Ministry

Homeowners who host internally displaced persons (IDP) free of charge will receive about UAH 450 per month for each person to compensate for utility bills, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development reports.

"Homeowners who host internally displaced persons free of charge will receive guaranteed state support in the amount of about UAH 450 per month for each sheltered person, regardless of age, to compensate for utility bills," the agencys press service said.

In particular, people who have housing and are ready to host internally displaced persons should inform the local authorities about their readiness to host IDPs.

To do this, you must contact the local authorities with an application and provide the necessary information. Also, this information can be provided through the Prykhystok website, and in the future it will be possible to do this through the Diia application.

"The local authorities will begin to form a register of housing stock available for placement. This will allow accommodating as many people as possible," the report says.

The ministry emphasizes that resettlement in housing will take place only with the consent of the owners who agreed to provide asylum.

"Monthly, homeowners who sheltered displaced persons in their homes for free will receive a payment from the budget through the local authorities," the department concluded.
U.S. President Joe Biden does not plan to visit Ukraine during his visit to Europe next week, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said.

"The trip will be focused on continuing to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against President Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but there are no plans to travel into Ukraine," she said on Twitter.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to the members of parliament, the government and the people of Israel, said that the people of Ukraine during the Second World War made their choice by saving the Jews, now the Israelis are facing the same choice.

"Ukrainians made their choice 80 years ago. They saved the Jews. And therefore among us there are Righteous Among the Nations. The people of Israel! Now you have such a choice," Zelensky said.

In his address, the president spoke about the fall of Russian missiles on Babyn Yar in Kyiv, where tens of thousands of Holocaust victims are buried, as well as the shelling of Uman, which the Israelis annually visit for pilgrimage to the grave of tzadik Nachman.

"What will remain of all these cities of Ukraine after this terrible war? I am sure that every word of my appeal in your hearts is reflected in pain, because you feel what I am talking about. But can you explain why we are still turning to the whole world for help. We are turning to you for help, elementary visas. What is it? Indifference, calculation, or just mediation ... I will only say one thing: indifference kills. Calculations are often erroneous, and mediation can be between states, but not between good and evil," the head of state said.

"Everyone in Israel knows that your missile defense is the best, most powerful. Everyone knows that your weapons are strong, that you are great. You know how to defend your state interests, the interests of your people and you can definitely help our people. Protect the lives of Ukrainians, the lives of Ukrainian Jews. We can ask for a long time why we cannot get weapons from you or why Israel has not imposed sanctions against Russia, why it does not put pressure on Russian business. But the answer is still up to you. Dear brothers and sisters! And then you have to live with this answer," Zelensky summed up.
Number of those who left Ukraine for EU, Moldova on March 19 remains at level of about 50,000 - Border Service

Almost 50,000 people crossed the state border from Ukraine to the EU and Moldova on March 19, while more than 50,000 crossed the day before, the State Border Service said on Sunday.

"Passenger traffic on the western section of the border has been stable in recent days," the report says.

At the same time, according to it, Poland accounted for 90% of those who left, while recently this figure was about 65%.

"We recommend choosing checkpoints on the borders with Hungary, Slovakia, Romania to cross the border in the EU," the State Border Service said.

According to the agency, the flow of people entering Ukraine continues to increase. In particular, on March 19, their number exceeded 21,000, including more than 17,000 citizens of Ukraine, while on March 13 these figures were 15,000 and 13,000, respectively.

"The vast majority are men who are ready to defend the country. In total, more than 334,000 of our compatriots have returned to Ukraine since the beginning of open armed aggression," the ministry said.

The State Border Service recalled that all checkpoints on the western border (except Dzvinkove) operate around the clock.

It also said that over the past 24 hours, over 970 vehicles with humanitarian cargo were registered at the western borders, while the day before - more than 900, and in previous days 800 such vehicles were allowed through.

According to the UNHCR, as of 13:00 on March 19, a total of 3.39 million people left Ukraine since the beginning of the war, of which Poland accepted 2.05 million, Romania and Moldova  600,450, Hungary  305,520, Slovakia  245,570.
The occupiers disrupted the "green corridors" for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Mala Rohan (Kharkiv region), Oleh Sinehubov, the head of the regional military administration, said.

"We were informed about provocations, and that's what happened: the occupiers disrupted the green corridors. Therefore, it was decided to unload the aid elsewhere," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

He also said that communication with another humanitarian convoy heading for Volchansk was interrupted as soon as it entered the temporarily uncontrolled territory.

"Another humanitarian convoy of ambulances, buses and trucks was heading to Volchansk. As soon as they entered the temporarily uncontrolled territory, the connection was cut off. Now we are trying to establish the location with the Office of the President, with Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk. Probably the column is under the control of the occupying forces. Doing our best to get our people back," Sinehubov wrote.

At the same time, he noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine stopped the attempts of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to become more active in the direction of Derhachi and Izium.

"We observed the activity of enemy troops, they tried to activate in the direction of Derhachi, Izium, but were utterly defeated by our Armed Forces. We are ready for any scenarios!" Sinehubov wrote.
The Ministry of Health of Ukraine has banned the sale and use of 39 medicines produced in Belarus.

According to the agency's website, the matter concerns drugs whose manufacturers and/or applicants have a legal address and/or address of doing business in the Republic of Belarus.

The validity of registration certificates for these medicines was terminated by the order of the Ministry of Health of March 19.

The ministry clarifies that these medicines, already imported and put into circulation on the territory of Ukraine, can be sold and used in Ukraine before their expiration date.

"All Belarusian factories, whose products were presented in Ukraine, produced generics, that is, non-original drugs. Similar generic medicines are produced by Ukrainian pharmaceutical companies, so the rejection of Belarusian drugs does not pose any threat or harm to the provision of medicines to Ukrainians," the department emphasizes.
In the future, the authorities of the Russian Federation will tell their soldiers that they did not send them to war in Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said.

"For the first time I will address Russian soldiers in a language they understand. Remember, the Russian soldier, the phrase" We did not send you there" will be the main one in relation to you in the next couple of decades from your power. Don't you believe? Ask the "Afghans" and other "heroes of the liberation wars"," Stefanchuk wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
Putin will not be able to take over Ukraine, no matter how many troops he sends  Russian prisoner of war

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not succeed in seizing Ukraine, no matter how many troops he sends, Alexei Zheleznyak, a soldier of the 34th separate motorized rifle brigade stationed in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic of Russia, who surrendered, has said.

"Putin, without declaring war, is bombing residents, hospitals, cities of Ukraine. People of Russia, don't look at the zombies. The Ukrainian people are a brave people. They will stop this [Russian] equipment even without weapons. They are united. No matter how much Putin sends his troops here, he will not capture this territory... Our commander-in-chief is a liar and a deceiver of all our people. He deceived not only us, but the whole of Russia. He simply made fascists out of us," Zheleznyak said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.

Another captured soldier Mustafaev Mugsad (34th separate motorized rifle brigade of the Russian Federation) asks fellow citizens to look for truthful information about what is happening in Ukraine.

"How people are sitting in basements for days, how they die. I wouldn't say if I didn't see it myself... People will remember our aggression for centuries... People, military men of Russia, finally take off your rose-colored glasses and see what is happening in Ukraine," he said, apologizing for the fact that "the troops of the Russian Federation brought grief and destruction, in one day crossing out the peaceful life of the Ukrainian people."

According to Igor Rudenko, signalman of the 126th separate coastal defense brigade of the Russian Federation, his "decision to surrender was the right decision."

"I surrendered, remained alive and this is the right decision... I know that the Russian troops have already lost, because the Ukrainian military will simply destroy them. Despite how many of them there will be ... About 15,000 of them have already died... If you [military of the Russian Federation] have the honor remains, do not repeat my mistakes. Take the troops away, because Putin does not need us. He does not even take the corpses. They are thrown into mass graves. It's hard to see," Rudenko said.

He also added that he is an ethnic Ukrainian, a native of Dnipropetrovsk region. "I'm on my knees asking for forgiveness from the people of Ukraine for having betrayed my people," the prisoner of war said, adding that he would not lay down his hands and would bring the truth to the world, because he was aware of the criminal order of his command to fire salvo fire on residential buildings in Kherson areas.

Among other things, Rudenko said that preparations for the invasion of Ukraine had been carried out in his unit since January 2022.

In turn, the commander of the automobile department of the 126th separate coastal defense brigade of the Russian Federation, Alexander Fomenko, appealed to his fellow citizens to take them out into the streets and protest against the actions of the Russian authorities in Ukraine.

"I ask you to take to the streets. Do not be afraid of our government. They will not trample on the crowd. Yes, they will detain 10,00-20,000 people, but there are more of you. You can go out and stop this chaos. Peaceful people suffer here, children" the prisoner of war said.
EgyptAir carried 680 Egyptian Coptic pilgrims on Thursday evening to visit the holy sites in Jerusalem, after pilgrimage trips had been suspended for two years due to the pandemic, sources at EgyptAir said.
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Amnesty International on Wednesday accused a powerful Libyan armed group of abuses against migrants and Tripoli residents.
The Biden administration has begun expelling Cubans and Nicaraguans to Mexico under pandemic-related powers to deny migrants a chance to seek asylum, expanding use of the rule even as it publicly says it has been trying to unwind it, officials said Wednesday.
Egyptian film critic Ahmed Shawky was chosen last week to head the jury of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) competition at the 75th Cannes International Film Festival.
Russia said its forces would cease fire at the Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and open a humanitarian corridor for civilians for three days beginning Thursday.
The Ukraine war will cast a dark shadow on the political, security, and economic situation in Libya should Russia use it as an excuse further to intervene.

Russias war on Ukraine, launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 February, has raised many questions about its possible impact on the situation in Libya, where there are concerns that the country will return to a situation of political strife amid an escalating crisis.

Russia became a major player in Libya in 2019 when it became unofficially involved through the presence of Wagner Group forces in the country as a result of a cooperation agreement with the Tobruk Parliament in 2018.

The Ukraine war will likely cast an even darker shadow on political, security, and economic conditions in Libya if Moscow takes steps to defuse growing pressure by the West and the USs European allies by intervening further in the situation in the country.

Libya continues to be a source of concern in much of Europe in terms of migration, energy, and security issues.

The political crisis in Libya escalated in recent days after the Tobruk Parliament chose a new government led by Fathi Bashagha to succeed the national-unity government headed by Abdel-Hamid Dbeiba, who is refusing to hand over power before parliamentary elections areheld in late June to elect a new legislative body.

His opponents in the east of the country disagree with Dbeiba, as do his allies in the West who want to succeed him.

Presidential elections in Libya slated for 24 December 2021 were postponed amid much controversy, accompanied by the obstruction of the democratic process and despite the hopes of the more than 2.8 million registered Libyan voters.

The escalation of the political crisis and growing differences between the Libyan rivals regarding the new political arrangements approved by the parliament have raised fears of a renewed conflict that would take Libya back to square one in the conflict that has been raging in the country.

The Western powers and the UN have stressed the need to avoid any further escalation or steps that could destabilise the situation further and are urging the Libyan actors to move forward towards the elections.

Russia, which has been reluctant to support the Western-sponsored peace process in Libya, could sabotage the process by disrupting political, security, and economic conditions in this member state of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The Western powers are counting on benefiting from Libyas oil and gas production to help fill the shortfall resulting from the impeded access of Russian energy supplies to international markets.

Politically, Russia is unhappy about the overthrow of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 in an uprising supported by the Western powers and NATO. It objects to Western arrangements made in Libya since 2015 to settle the crisis based on the Skhirat Agreement, amendments resulting from the Berlin Process in 2020 and 2021, and the Paris Conference on Libya.

In December 2018, Libyan Parliamentary Speaker Aguila Saleh signed a cooperation agreement with the Russian parliament during a trip to Moscow that included security and military matters and gave Russia its first taste of political and then military involvement in Libya.

It then intervened militarily during the campaign of Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army, to take control of Tripoli in April 2019, becoming a key player on the Libyan scene.

Since the Tobruk Parliament chose Bashagha as the countrys new prime minister on 10 February, Russia has been the only global power that has welcomed this step and called on others to respect it.

This indicates an undeclared insistence by Russia to undermine the Wests efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis, especially since its position is inconsistent with its reservations about Bashagha becoming prime minister, since he had promised the West to undermine Russias influence in Libya and not allow Moscow to establish military bases there.

Russian advisers have been giving political support to Saleh, who admitted as much during a meeting with his kinsman at his headquarters in Al-Qubba last year. The support has also been confirmed in the regional and international news media.

Over recent years, Russia has worked on renewing its links to several key figures in the former regime, notably by supporting the return of Seif Al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the former Libyan leader, to the political scene.

Russia believes it will benefit from undermining the Wests political process in Libya through its connections with Saleh and Haftar, both of whom are supporters of the overthrown regime and have strong influence on the domestic scene.

The two men helped to facilitate Russias return to Libya to compete with the Western powers after Gaddafis overthrow.

On the military and economic fronts, Russia has the ability to shatter the fragile ceasefire in Libya and turn off the main economic taps there through its paramilitary Wagner Group, which includes professional mercenaries and security contractors who play a substantial role in providing support to Haftars National Army.

The latter controls vital regions in the south and centre of Libya and participates in protecting major oil fields and facilities.

As the political crisis escalates in the country, some players in Libya have threatened to cut the countrys oil exports, leading to a strongly worded response from the US and its European allies warning against any such moves.

This is being seen as an attempt to head off attempts to use energy as leverage to force Dbeiba to step down and hand over power to Bashagha.

On 24 February, the embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and US warned against sabotaging or politicising the work of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), saying this would threaten Libyas peace and security.

In a joint statement, the five embassies called on all the players in the country to respect the unity, integrity, and independence [of Libya] and maintain the non-political and technical nature of the NOC, since its uninterrupted operations will benefit all Libyans.

Russia is expected to work to replace current UN Special Adviser to the UN secretary-general on Libya Stephanie Williams and appoint a new head of the UN Support Mission in Libya.

It is also expected to continue to undermine the Wests current political process in Libya by insisting on a new and more inclusive process, in order to usher in supporters of the former regime to key seats at the negotiating table if efforts to push for elections next summer fail.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 17 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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Until the missiles struck within walking distance of the cathedrals and cafes downtown, Ukraine's cultural capital was a city that could feel distant from the war. The early panic had eased, and the growing response to morning air raid sirens was not to head downstairs but roll over in bed.

But Friday's Russian airstrikes at dawn in Lviv, just outside the international airport, made nearby buildings vibrate and shook any sense of comfort as thick black smoke billowed.

Still, the hours after the airstrikes were absent of the scenes in other Ukrainian cities that have horrified the world: shattered buildings and people fleeing under fire. Lviv was already returning to its centuries-old role as an ever-adapting crossroads.

``In the morning it was scary, but we have to go on,'' said Maria Parkhuts, a local restaurant worker. ``People are arriving with almost nothing, and from where it's worse.''

The city has been a refuge since the war began nearly a month ago, the last outpost before Poland and host to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians streaming through or staying on. From the other direction come aid and foreign fighters.

Midstream is a city that, on the surface, carries on amid world heritage churches and coffee kiosks. Food delivery cyclists with backpacks of global brands wobble down the cobblestones. Yellow trams ding through narrow streets lined with the history of one occupation after another, from the Cossacks to the Swedes to the Germans and the Soviet Union.

The threat of another occupation by Russia, after so long a fight to break from its influence, and so close to the rest of Europe, is where the new Lviv emerges now.

``It's war,'' said Maxim Tristan, a 28-year-old soldier, of Friday's attack. ``It only makes us more motivated to fight.''

On a street corner, young men line up outside a weapons shop, passing around a gun sight. Anything's available if you have cash, one man said, prompting grins from the others. On the same block is a range for target practice, with the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the bull's-eye. Elsewhere in the city, military veterans train civilians how to shoot.

In a popular city park, a bunker from World War II has been reopened just steps from the playground. Outside an academy for architecture, men are filling sandbags. Some of the city's churches have wrapped up their statues and covered their stained-glass windows. Others leave their fate to God.

In the military section of the main cemetery are more than a dozen graves too new for marble crosses. The earth is piled with frosted flowers. The ground is marked with boot tracks. Behind the graves is open ground ready for several rows more.

Hours after Friday's attack in Lviv, activists placed 109 baby strollers in the square at the heart of the city to represent the children killed in the war.

Tattoo artists prick clients with patriotic symbols. A brewery turns to making ``Molotov cocktails.'' A street poster shows a woman in Ukraine's yellow and blue colors, jabbing a pistol into the mouth of a kneeling Putin. In the front room of a local business, a young woman sketches a drawing of a dove.

Volunteerism has seized the city. People are opening their homes, and local news outlets report on residents cutting up old clothing to make camouflage netting for checkpoints.

``War is not just people who fight,'' said Volodymyr Pekar.

The 40-year-old local businessman is behind a drive to dot the countryside around the city with yellow-and-blue billboards with slogans including ``God save Ukraine'' and ``Do not run, defend.'' He was uncomfortable with the profane language that emerged early on in war messaging, and he said the more religious villagers were too.

At the same time, Pekar has used crowdfunding to raise money for what he called two of Ukrainian soldiers' biggest needs: flak jackets and cigarettes.

``After you fight, you need to smoke,'' he said.

In the shadow of slogans and bravado are the estimated 200,000 people who have fled to Lviv from harder-hit parts of Ukraine. Embraced by the city's residents and absorbed into homes and shelters, they look the most nervous of all.

The displaced pick through boxes at aid collection points, scan notices, check their phones. Their presence has led Lviv to pivot from getaway to refuge: Instead of promoting local confectionaries and romantic places, the city's official tourism website now shares information on bomb shelter locations and radiation alerts.

Promising ``warmth for the soul,'' locals on Friday launched a distinctly Lviv series of free cultural walks for internally displaced people, with the aim of visiting galleries, the medieval quarter and more.

Just days ago, thousands of newcomers crammed the central train station at the height of the flood of refugees heading west. Now the station's platforms at times are almost bare, awaiting the millions who continue to roam Ukraine looking for a place of rest or a new purpose.

There was the furniture maker from the bombarded capital, Kyiv, who trained in air defense years ago and was on his way to an army post. Standing alone on the platform with a backpack and sleeping mat, he planned to visit his family in the western Transcarpathia region before heading east again.

Farther down the platform was a young couple, restlessly remaining in Ukraine because the man, 20, is of fighting age and is prohibited from leaving.

``I didn't travel my country this much. Now I have to,'' said the woman, Diana Tkachenko, 21. Their journey began last month in Kyiv on a crowded train and with no idea where they were going.

Their arrival in Lviv was terrible. Fellow travelers pushed and screamed, Tkachenko said. Some were coming from so far east, from Russian-speaking areas, that they didn't speak Ukrainian.

Their train had pulled into the most Ukrainian of cities. For Tkachenko, it was her first visit to Lviv.

``I walked a lot,'' she said. ``I tried to enjoy the place. It's really beautiful. It feels a lot more safe.''

But there were too many people and no place to live, she said. She and her boyfriend decided to head back east, toward Kyiv.

As their train prepared for departure, yet another was arriving.

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Russian forces pushed deeper into Ukraine's besieged and battered port city of Mariupol on Saturday, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help.

The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the war's worst suffering, would mark a major battlefield advance for the Russians, who are largely bogged down outside major cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II.

``Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth,'' Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said from a rubble-strewn street in a video addressed to Western leaders that was authenticated by The Associated Press.

Russian forces have already cut the city off from the Sea of Azov, and its fall would link Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, to territories controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in the east. It would mark a rare advance in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance that has dashed Russia's hopes for a quick victory and galvanized the West.

Ukrainian and Russian forces battled over the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said Saturday. ``One of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe is actually being destroyed,'' Denysenko said in televised remarks.

Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukraine's president, said the nearest forces that could assist Mariupol's defenders were already struggling against ``the overwhelming force of the enemy'' or at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.

``There is currently no military solution to Mariupol,'' he said late Friday. ``That is not only my opinion, that is the opinion of the military.''

Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelenskyy has remained defiant, appearing in a video early Saturday shot on the streets of the capital, Kyiv, to denounce a huge Friday rally in Moscow that Russian President Vladimir Putin attended.

Zelenskyy said Russia is trying to starve Ukraine's cities into submission but warned that continuing the invasion would exact a heavy toll on Russia. He also repeated his call for Putin to meet with him to prevent more bloodshed.

``The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russia's costs will be so high that you will not be able to rise again for several generations,'' he said.

Putin lavished praise on his country's military during the rally, which took place on the anniversary of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. The event included patriotic songs such as ``Made in the U.S.S.R.,'' with its opening line of ``Ukraine and Crimea, Belarus and Moldova, it's all my country.''

``We have not had unity like this for a long time,'' Putin told the cheering crowd.

The rally took place as Russia has faced heavier-than-expected losses on the battlefield and increasingly authoritarian rule at home, where Russian police have detained thousands of antiwar protesters.

Estimates of Russian deaths vary widely, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands. Russia had 64 deaths in five days of fighting during its 2008 war with Georgia. It lost about 15,000 in Afghanistan over 10 years, and more than 11,000 over years of fighting in Chechnya.

The Russian military said Saturday that it used its latest hypersonic missile for the first time in combat. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said Kinzhal missiles destroyed an underground warehouse storing Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine.

Russia has said the Kinzhal, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound.

Meanwhile, fighting raged on multiple fronts in Ukraine. U.N. bodies have confirmed more than 847 civilian deaths since the war began, though they concede the actual toll is likely much higher. The U.N. says more than 3.3 million people have fled Ukraine as refugees.

The northwestern Kyiv suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin and Moshchun were under fire on Saturday, the Kyiv regional administration reported. It said Slavutich, located 165 kilometers (103 miles) north of the capital, was ``completely isolated.``

Police of the Kyiv region said seven people were killed and five were wounded in a mortar attack on Friday in Makariv, a town roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the capital. They said the attack destroyed homes and damaged other buildings.

Ukrainian and Russian officials agreed to establish 10 humanitarian corridors for bringing aid in and residents out of besieged cities _ one from Mariupol and several around Kyiv and in the eastern Luhansk region, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Saturday.

She also announced plans to deliver humanitarian aid to the southern city of Kherson, which Russia seized early in the war.

Ukraine and Russia have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict but remain divided over several issues, with Russia pressing for its neighbor's demilitarization and Kyiv demanding security guarantees.

In a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, Putin said Ukraine was trying to ``drag the negotiations by making a series of new, unrealistic proposals,'' according to the Kremlin.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, meanwhile, accused Putin of using the talks as a ``smokescreen'' while his forces regroup. ``We don't see any serious withdrawal of Russian troops or any serious proposals on the table,`` she told the Times of London.

The British Department of Defense said in its latest intelligence assessment that the Kremlin ``has been surprised by the scale and ferocity of Ukrainian resistance'' and ``is now pursuing a strategy of attrition`` that is likely to involve indiscriminate attacks.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, during a Saturday visit to NATO ally Bulgaria, said the Russian invasion had ``stalled on a number of fronts'' but the U.S. had not yet seen signs that Putin was deploying additional forces.

Around Ukraine, hospitals, schools and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked.

At least 130 people survived the Wednesday bombing of a Mariupol theater that was being used a shelter, but another 1,300 were believed to be still inside, Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament's human rights commissioner, said Friday.

``We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them,`` Denisova told Ukrainian television.

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed a long line of cars leaving Mariupol as people tried to evacuate. Zelenskyy said more than 9,000 people were able to leave Friday along a route that leads 227 kilometers (141 miles) away to the city of Zaporizhzhia _ which is also under attack.

The governor of southern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, Oleksandr Starukh, announced a 38-hour curfew after two missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia's suburbs killed nine people Friday.

Russian forces have fired on eight cities and villages in the eastern Donetsk region in the past 24 hours, including Mariupol, Ukraine's national police said Saturday.

The attacks with rockets and heavy artillery killed and wounded dozens of civilians, and damaged at least 37 residential buildings and facilities, including a school, a museum and a shopping center, it said.

In the western city of Lviv, Ukraine's cultural capital, which was hit by Russian missiles on Friday, military veterans were training dozens of civilians on how to handle firearms and grenades.

``It's hard, because I have really weak hands, but I can manage it,'' said one trainee, 22-year-old Katarina Ishchenko.

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Russia said Saturday that it had unleashed hypersonic missiles against an arms depot in Ukraine, the first use of the next-generation weapons in combat, after Kyiv's embattled leader pressed for "meaningful" talks to end a conflict now in its fourth week.

Moscow also said its troops had broken Ukrainian defences to enter the strategic southern port city of Mariupol, and destroyed radio and intelligence sites just outside Odessa.

If confirmed, the use of Russia's new Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missiles, which can elude most defence systems, would mark a new escalation in Russia's campaign to force Ukraine to abandon hopes of closer ties with the West.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ignat told AFP that the weapons depot in Deliatyn, a village near the border with Romania, had indeed been hit but "we have no information of the type of missile."

"There has been damage, destruction and the detonation of munitions," he said. "They are using all the missiles in their arsenal against us."

Ukraine officials also admitted they had "temporarily" lost access to the Sea of Azov, though Russia has effectively controlled the coastline for weeks after surrounding Mariupol.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who unveiled the Kinzhal missile in 2018, has termed it "an ideal weapon" that flies at 10 times the speed of sound -- analysts say Russia is leading the hypersonics race, followed by China and the US.

'Time to meet'

Moscow's announcement came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again appealed for peace, urging Russia to accept "meaningful" talks in his latest Facebook video.

"This is the time to meet, to talk, time for renewing territorial integrity and fairness for Ukraine," he said.

"Otherwise, Russia's losses will be such that several generations will not recover."

Ukraine claimed Saturday that a Russian general had been killed by strikes on an airfield outside Kherson, just north of Crimea, saying he was the fifth top-ranking officer killed since the invasion began on February 24.

Fierce resistance has managed to stall Russian forces outside Kviv and several other cities in the east, making them vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks against supply lines.

Britain's defence ministry said Saturday that Russia has been forced to "change its operational approach and is now pursuing a strategy of attrition."

"This is likely to involve the indiscriminate use of firepower resulting in increased civilian casualties," it warned.

But as in previous negotiations there appeared to be little progress in reaching a ceasefire, with Putin accusing Ukraine of "numerous war crimes" during a call late Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Moscow of using the talks as a "smokescreen" as it carried out "appalling atrocities," saying she was "very sceptical" they would produce a breakthrough.

Fighting rages

Friday's attack on the arms depot was the latest strike in western Ukraine, which until a few days ago had remained relatively unscathed by Russia's push toward key cities from the north and east.

On Friday, Russian forces destroyed an aircraft repair plant near the airport of Lviv, where millions of people have fled as rockets and shelling continue to rain down on Kyiv.

In Mariupol, rescuers were still searching for hundreds of people trapped under the wreckage of a bombed theatre where over 1,000 people had been seeking shelter when it was struck on Wednesday.

There was still no information about potential fatalities, Zelensky said, but 130 people had been saved so far -- some "heavily injured."

"This is no longer Mariupol, it's hell," said resident Tamara Kavunenko, 58. "The streets are full with the bodies of civilians."

Russian forces also carried out a large-scale air strike on Mykolaiv in the south on Friday, killing dozens of young Ukrainian ensigns at their brigade headquarters.

"No fewer than 200 soldiers were sleeping in the barracks" at the time of the attack, a Ukrainian serviceman on the ground, 22-year-old Maxim, told AFP.

"At least 50 bodies have been recovered, but we do not know how many others are in the rubble," he said.

'Trapped'

More than 3.25 million refugees have fled Ukraine and countless others have sought havens in the country's west, though Putin said his forces were doing "everything possible" to avoid civilian casualties during his latest call with Macron, according to the Kremlin.

But Zelensky accused Russian forces of blocking aid around hotspot areas.

"I escaped war to reach stability, only to find myself trapped in another war," said Mazen Dammag, a Yemeni who fled his war-torn homeland nearly six years ago for Ukraine.

He and several friends hired taxis to take them from Odessa to Poland, some 1,000 kilometres north, and eventually Bremen in Germany, where he spoke with AFP by video.

Russia's ally China told US President Joe Biden on Friday that the war "in no one's interest," but showed no sign of giving in to US pressure to join Western condemnation of Russia.

Biden warned his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping of "consequences" for any financial or military aid for Russia, a move that could turn the standoff into a global confrontation.

Putin appears undeterred by further threats or sanctions, holding a triumphalist rally in Moscow on Friday to mark eight years since Russia's seizure of Crimea, saying his goal in Ukraine was "to rid these people from their suffering and genocide."

Talks stall

In a call to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin accused Ukrainian authorities of stalling talks by "putting forward more and more unrealistic proposals".

Russia wants Ukraine to disarm and disavow all Western alliances, in particular by joining NATO or seeking closer integration with the European Union -- steps that Kyiv says would turn it into a vassal state of Moscow.

Russia's top negotiator said Friday that Moscow and Kyiv had brought their positions "as close as possible" on a proposal for Ukraine to become a neutral state.

But Mikhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Zelensky taking part in the negotiations, said his country's position had not budged.

Switzerland said Saturday that despite its longstanding neutrality, it would impose the same sanctions against Russia as the EU.

President Ignazio Cassis said his country would not stand by in the "confrontation between democracy and barbarism," saying the war was being driven by "a devastating madness which shatters all the principles and values of our civilisation."

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Ukraine on Saturday called on China to join the West in condemning "Russian barbarism", after the US warned Beijing of consequences if it backed Moscow's attack on the country.

"China can be the global security system's important element if it makes a right decision to support the civilised countries' coalition and condemn Russian barbarism," presidential aide Mikhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

China has stayed out of the international outcry against Russia's actions in Ukraine, refusing to condemn President Vladimir Putin's invasion.

US President Joe Biden told Chinese leader X Jinping in a call Friday that any backing for Russia in its war in Ukraine would be costly.

The White House said that Biden described to Xi "the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians."

It did not give Xi's response.

Xi and Putin met last month at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, shortly before Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry affirmed Egypts keenness on promoting fields of bilateral cooperation with Pakistan at all levels in a way that achieves the aspirations of the Egyptian and Pakistani people and enhances both countries capability to confront several challenges.

During a meeting in Islamabad on Sunday, Shoukry and his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, looked into means of developing bilateral ties as well as discussed international and regional issues of mutual concern.

Shoukry hailed the positive progress in Egyptian-Pakistani ties in 2021 that was reflected in the visit of the Pakistani foreign minister to Egypt in February 2021 and the holding of the ninth round of Egyptian-Pakistani political consultations in Cairo in March 2021.

The two sides affirmed that they are looking forward to fostering continued communication and exchanging visits at all levels, according to a statement by Ahmed Hafez, the spokesperson for the Egyptian foreign ministry.

Egypts top diplomat is set to participate in the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which will be held in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In his meeting on Sunday, Shoukry expressed appreciation for Pakistans hosting of the 48th session of the CFM of the OIC, emphasising the continuation of cooperation and coordination between the two countries within the framework of the organisation regarding all issues of mutual interest.

Pakistan is the fourth and last stop for Shoukry in his Asian tour that started on Sunday, 13 March, with visits and meetings with officials from Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

During his tour, Shoukry delivered two messages from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. The first was handed to Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob during a meeting on 14 March in Kuala Lumpur. The second was delivered during a meeting in Singapore on 17 March to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, reflecting Egypts desire to strengthen bilateral relations between both countries.

The tour also included meetings by Shoukry, in his capacity as president-designate of the COP 27, with several officials tackling climate change challenges, as Egypt is set to host the coming UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh this November.

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Turkey on Sunday said Russia and Ukraine made progress on their negotiations to halt the invasion and the two warring sides were close to an agreement.

"Of course, it is not an easy thing to come to terms with while the war is going on, while civilians are killed, but we would like to say that momentum is still gained," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in live comments from the southern Turkish province of Antalya.

"We see that the parties are close to an agreement."

Cavusoglu this week visited Russia and Ukraine as Turkey, which has strong bonds with the two sides, has tried to position itself as a mediator.

Ankara hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in Antalya last week.

Cavusoglu said Turkey was in contact with the negotiating teams from the two countries but he refused to divulge the details of the talks as "we play an honest mediator and facilitator role."

In an interview with daily Hurriyet, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the sides were negotiating six points: Ukraine's neutrality, disarmament and security guarantees, the so-called "de-Nazification", removal of obstacles on the use of the Russian language in Ukraine, the status of the breakaway Donbass region and the status of Crimea annexed by Russia in 2014.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly appealed for peace, urging Russia to accept "meaningful" talks for an end to the invasion.

"This is the time to meet, to talk, time for renewing territorial integrity and fairness for Ukraine," he said, in his latest video posted on social media on Saturday.

Turkey said it was ready to host a meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We are working day and night for peace," Cavusoglu said on Sunday.

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Recently we have heard in the media a number of voices, including from Egyptian defenders of human rights, asserting that the Russian aggression towards Ukraine has revealed racial discrimination against Arabs in Europe. A number of accusations have been affecting Ukraine, that currently faces the war of unprecedented brutality, and have been as well affecting my country, Poland, that stays firmly supporting all the victims of Russian aggression.

I know how sensitive issues of discrimination, xenophobia and racism are in the Middle East, including Egypt. I know what burden of hardships and negative experiences Egyptians and other Middle Eastern nationalities were going through in the past. But precisely due to that, I cannot stay silent when such false and harmful accusations are being spread. Let me therefore evoke briefly a number of points:

First, about the Polish-Ukrainian border. There are 7 border crossing points on the Polish-Ukrainian border, ready to serve a couple of thousands people per day. Since February 24th, until March 18th, over 2 million people have already crossed this border, mostly women and children, war refugees, fleeing Russian artillery and rocket fire. People who have not experienced this kind of trauma, when your house is getting ruined by Russian bombs and you have to run out with what you can carry, might not understand the severity of this situation. Within hours, hundreds of thousands refugees appeared at the border. There were no hotels, no restaurants, no services for such crowds of people, because it was impossible to prepare all of this in such a short time for this kind of human tragedy. But the circumstances on place were equal for all  everybody who gathered at the border was feeling cold, all had to wait long hours. According to basic humanitarian principles, women and children have priority. And that is the only rule. Without any discrimination.

Second, about entering Poland. Since the beginning of the war the EU borders have been open for thousands of all refugees, African, Asian, European and others alike, who have escaped Ukraine and returned home safely. Our authorities simplified all procedures. All citizens of all the countries, fleeing Ukraine, were granted permission to enter Poland, even without visas, even without passports  we understand that there was no time for visa procedures, in these tragic circumstances documents could be lost or forgotten. We made this decision precisely because of humanitarian reasons and based on non-discrimination approach. Among 2 million refugees, who entered Poland, there were almost 1000 Egyptian citizens. The Egyptian Ambassador and his team in Poland have been working hard to ensure that all their compatriots receive all necessary support and help, given extraordinary conditions. His Excellency Mr Hatem Tageldin was sharing his first-hand observation with Egyptian media many times. He was always underlining positive and non-discriminatory approach of Polish authorities, including of course the border guards. Hundreds thousands of refugees have crossed the border to Poland and other EU countries, finding there safe shelter or returning home, to their respective countries. How many have crossed through Russia?

Moreover, since a couple of days the Egyptian Red Crescent launched an aid centre for people crossing the border at Medyka. I am sure, that their first-hand impressions would be worth listening to as well.

Third, about Europe and its attitude. In 2020 there were 2,6 million refugees in Europe. Mostly from Middle East. It means that the migration is a fact, and Europe is assisting a lot of migrants. It happens that some public persons might make some provocative statements  and those are immediately rejected and condemned by all serious politicians and parties. But we have to keep in mind proportions. Taking things locally: sometimes I find aggressive and offensive comments under posts on our Embassy`s FB page. Does it mean that they are representative for Egyptians? Of course, not, they are isolated and rare. Let us believe the reasonable majority and the facts, not the fake news.

* By Micha abenda, the Ambassador of Poland in Cairo

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Germany's economy minister is visiting the tiny, energy-rich state of Qatar to discuss improving stability in the energy market as Russia's war in Ukraine sends gas prices to new highs.

Robert Habeck met with Qatar's foreign minister and minister of state for energy affairs on Sunday about the short-term supply of liquefied natural gas, as Germany seeks to scale back its reliance on Russian oil and gas.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani spoke with Habeck about ways to boost energy cooperation and security, a Qatari government statement said.

Habeck is the latest Western official to visit the oil-rich sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf amid turmoil in energy markets as Europe seeks to wean itself off Russian energy sources while keeping skyrocketing gasoline prices under control.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia last week in a bid to convince the countries to pump more oil after prices spiked dramatically on supply disruption concerns.

Italy's foreign minister, after visiting Algeria, also went to Qatar, as the Italian government is intent on quickly reducing its reliance on Russian energy.

Italy is also looking to Azerbaijan, Tunisia, and Libya, to boost its acquisition of gas.

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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday urged Israel to abandon its effort to maintain neutrality following Russia's invasion, saying the time had come for the Jewish state to firmly back his country.

Zelensky, who is Jewish, made the appeal during an address to Israeli lawmakers, the latest in a series of speeches by videoconference to foreign legislatures.

In remarks that at several points compared Russian aggression to the Holocaust, Zelensky said that "Ukraine made the choice to save Jews 80 years ago."

"Now it's time for Israel to make its choice."

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has walked a careful diplomatic line since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.

Stressing Israel's strong ties to Moscow and Kyiv, Bennett has sought to preserve delicate security cooperation with Russia, which has troops in Syria, across Israel's northern border.

Bennett has held regular phone calls with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, including a three-hour meeting with Putin at the Kremlin on March 5.

While Ukrainian officials have voiced appreciation for Bennett's mediation efforts, Zelensky on Sunday implied that this too had proven to be a misstep.

"We can mediate between states but not between good and evil," the Ukrainian leader said.

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President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi praised Sunday in a meeting with Ugandan army commander Muhoozi Museveni the strong ties binding the two countries, reiterating Cairo's eagerness to continue boosting relations in various fields, the Egyptian presidency announced.

Egypts Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki attended the meeting between President El-Sisi and Museveni in Cairo.

El-Sisi asked Museveni to convey his greetings to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and highlighted the great cooperation potential that Cairo, Kampala and other Nile Basin countries enjoy, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said.

The president welcomed military cooperation between the two countries, especially regarding Ugandan participation in training courses organised by the Egyptian Ministry of Defence.

For his side, Museveni conveyed the greetings of the Ugandan president to El-Sisi and hailed the deep-historic ties between the two countries across all domains, especially the military ones.

Lt. General Museveni is the commander of Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) land forces.

On Saturday, Egypts Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Osama Askar in Egypt held a meeting with Museveni in Cairo where they discussed mutual military cooperation between the two countries.

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Egypt condemned on Sunday the latest attack perpetrated by Yemeni Houthi militias against a number of economic and civil facilities in Saudi Arabia that caused material damage earlier in the day.

Several drones and ballistic missiles were launched at energy and water desalination facilities, homes, and vehicles in the kingdom. No injuries or fatalities were reported, however.

An official statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Egypt condemns in the strongest terms the continued attacks by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia.

The foreign ministry affirmed that the attack represents a major escalation, a direct threat to the security and sovereignty of the kingdom, and a flagrant violation of the principles and rules of international law.

The statement also reaffirmed the close link between the security and stability of the two brotherly countries, stressing Egypts solidarity with Saudi Arabia in all measures it is taking to confront continued cowardly antagonistic actions.

The Houthis have been launching missiles at Saudi Arabia for almost seven years since a Saudi-led coalition that includes the UAE intervened in the Yemeni civil war to fight the militia. Several attacks were launched as well on the UAE.

Saudi Arabia has been involved in Yemens civil war since 2015, fighting against the Houthis, who overran the capital of Sanaa and ousted the internationally recognised government from power.

Egypt has repeatedly expressed its support to the unity of Yemens territory, condemning the use of the country as a launching pad for attacks against Saudi Arabia.

Furthermore, Egypt recently supported a UN Security Council resolution that aims to expand an arms embargo on Yemens Houthi militias in the hopes of putting a stop to Houthi attacks and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Yemen.

The Security Council had already imposed an asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo against Houthi leaders and top officials, but the latest resolution dramatically expands the arms embargo to include all Houthis, which the council says have threatened the peace, security, and stability of the war-torn country.

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Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi directed the government on Sunday to immediately prepare a package of measures to mitigate the impact of global economic crises on the Egyptian people, the presidency announced.

The directives were announced during El-Sisi's meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait, Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El-Qabbaj, among other senior officials.

The meeting reviewed the draft budget of the 2022/2023 fiscal year, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement following the meeting.

Maait briefed the president on the most prominent indicators of the 2022/2023 draft budget, which targets reducing the total deficit to about 6.3 percent of GDP and achieving a primary surplus of 1.5 percent of GDP.

The draft budget also aims to reduce the debt of the general budget agencies of the GDP to about 80.5 percent.

Revenue growth rates are expected to increase to 17 percent to reach about EGP 1.4 trillion (around $89 billion), while expenditure growth rates will increase to 16 percent to reach about EGP 2.7 trillion (about $172 billion), including EGP 365 billion for investment, EGP 400 billion for wages and EGP 323 billion for the social support system.

Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was also posted on efforts to develop the tax system, especially with regard to the electronic invoice system, as well as the executive position of measures to combat tax evasions

The president also reviewed the amendments to the draft income tax law, as well as a fresh strategy for developing the customs system.

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Fourteen civilians, including seven children, were killed in a camp for displaced people in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the local Red Cross said Sunday.

Seven adults and seven children, including a two-year-old, were all killed in the machete attack Saturday in the Ituri region, according to a Red Cross list seen by AFP.

Jean D'Zba Banju, a community leader in the Djugu area of Ituri, said CODECO militiamen entered Drakpa where they killed 12 people with machetes.

"CODECO militiamen entered Drakpa and started to cut people with machetes. They did not fire shots in order to operate calmly," Banju told AFP.

"The victims are displaced people who had fled Ngotshi village to set up in Drakpa," he said, adding that five other people were wounded.

CODECO is a political-religious sect that claims to represent the interests of the Lendu ethnic group.

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Talks on a new constitution for Syria resume this week in Geneva, with the United Nations mediator hopeful of making headway.

Back in October, the sixth round of discussions between 15 representatives each from President Bashar al-Assad's government, the opposition, and civil society, ended with no agreement on how to move things forward.

But UN envoy Geir Pedersen said the two co-chairs -- from the government and the opposition -- had now come up with an improved procedure for finding common ground on the final day of the talks, which will be on Friday.

"Syria remains one of the gravest crises in the world and there is a clear need for progress towards a political solution," Pedersen told reporters on Sunday.

The Syrian Constitutional Committee was created in September 2019 and was first convened a month later.

The tentative negotiations are aimed at rewriting the war-torn country's constitution. It is hoped the talks could pave the way towards a broader political process.

"The committee should work in a way that builds trust and confidence," Pedersen said.

"During this session, I hope to see the constitutional committee work with a sense of seriousness and purpose and determination to make progress that the situation demands.

"If the three delegations do what they have said they will do, I hope that we can see some steady progress."

'Good Meetings'

This seventh round of talks will focus on four principles: the basics of governance; state identity; state symbols; and the structure and functions of public authorities.

The delegates will spend one day working on each principle, before spending Friday trying to concretize any advances made.

Ahmad Kuzbari, the head of the government delegation, and Syrian opposition negotiations leader Hadi al-Bahra have co-chaired the talks thus far.

They traded barbs after October's sixth round of talks, pointing the finger at each other for the lack of progress.

But Pedersen said the co-chairs had now reached an understanding on how business should proceed on the last day, namely a better mechanism for revisions of proposed constitutional texts.

"I'm looking forward to seeing on Friday how this will be put into practice," the Norwegian diplomat said.

Pedersen met jointly with the co-chairs on Sunday, during which they decided on the four topics to be discussed this week.

That was followed by the three of them holding talks with the 15 civil society representatives.

Pedersen said they were "good meetings" and "hopefully that will make it possible for us to make progress through this week".

Syria's civil war erupted in 2011 after the violent repression of protests demanding regime change.

It quickly spiraled into a complex conflict that pulled in numerous actors, including jihadist groups and foreign powers. The war has left around half a million people dead, displaced millions, and devastated its infrastructure.

Throughout the civil war, the UN has been striving to nurture a political resolution.

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Prominent Egyptian director Khairy Beshara was celebrated Sunday on the third day of the 23rd edition of the Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts (IIFF).

At the Ismailia Cultural Palace, Khairy Beshara spoke to dozens of prominent filmmakers and critics, recalling memories of his five-decade career in film and documentary making.

Besharas discussion, held amid the Celebration of Beginnings Program, also included a signing for his latest book; Cinema and Reality, published by the festival.

After the talk, three of Besharas early documentaries that had been restored by the festival were screened; The Seagull, Dairy of a Doctor in the Countryside, and The Tank Hunter.

The multi-award-winning Beshara, 74, is one of the most important Egyptian directors from the 1990s. He established the neo-realism genre with many significant films like The Collar and the Bracelet (1986), Bitter Day, Sweet Day (1988), Ice Cream in Gleam (1992), Abracadabra America (1993), Traffic Light (1995), Crab (1990), Wild Desire (1991), Strawberry War (1993) and Nutshell (1995).

Beshara requested attendees start his talk with a minute of silence to mourn the departure of Egyptian actor Zaki Fateen Abdel Wahab, who died in Cairo on the same day.

Under the presidency of director Saad Hendawy, the IIFF, which runs through Wednesday, is screening over 107 films from 31 countries participating in the various competitions and programmes.

"We Must Fight"

Earlier on Sunday, renowned French director Ladj Ly, 41, who heads the jury of the international competition, presented a masterclass that reflected his experience in documentary filmmaking.

We must fight to make good documentaries, stated Lu, the winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for Les Miserables in 2019, the same film that earned him an Academy Award nomination.

Moments of 23rd IIFF

Also on Sunday, the festival organisers launched a photography exhibition titled "Back To Film," as well as launching a production workshop presented by Producer Hossam Elwan, in addition to the ongoing animation workshop for kids.

On Saturday, a special tribute event was held to honour late Egyptian critic Hossam Weify, one day after another celebration was held for the 100th birthday of late documentary director Salah El-Tohamy.

The Son of Upper Egypt

At the opening on Thursday, Egyptian director Awwad Shoukry was celebrated for his work that include a number of documentaries and short films like The Earring, The Stone-pit, Upper Egypt Train, Snakes Hunter & The Train

The 1978-graduate of the High Cinema Institute, Shoukry, on Friday, discussed parts of his career amid a signing event for the book The Son of Upper Egypt, written by critic Safaa El-Laithy.

Many activities are being held at the festival that is organised under the authority of the culture ministrys National Cinema Center, headed by Zainab Aziz.

It is sponsored by a number of public and private entities.

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The Chinese Zhurong rover landed on Mars in May 2021. (It was 14 May in the United States, but 15 May China.)

This HiRISE image, acquired on 11 March 2022, shows how far the rover has traveled in the 10 months since it landed.

In fact, its exact path can be traced from the wheel tracks left on the surface. It has traveled south for roughly 1.5 kilometers (about 1 mile). This cutout highlights the rover and the rover's path (with contrast enhanced to better reveal the tracks).

ID: ESP_073225_2055

date: 11 March 2022

altitude: 288 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_073225_2055 NASA/JPL/UArizona

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World famous ballet dancers from Russia and Ukraine, Argentina, Cuba, France and Japan came together on Saturday for a gala to raise funds for Ukraine and send a message of peace.

The yellow and blue flag of Ukraine flew outside the London Coliseum for the show, which aimed to raise more than 100,000 ($130,000, 120,000 euros) for the UK Disasters Emergency Committee collective of leading charities.

But one of the organisers, Ukrainian dancer and producer Ivan Putrov, told the packed audience before the "Dance for Ukraine" event started that 140,000 had already been donated.

"Please don't stop your support," he told them.

Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, was given a standing ovation, while Putrov's fellow organiser, Romanian ballerina Alina Cojacaru, said the show was "about democracy, standing for freedom and human values".

Both Putrov and Cojacaru trained in Kyiv and decided to mobilise the world of ballet for what they said was a "humanitarian appeal" in the face of Russia's invasion.

The team of world-leading dancers performing included Russia's Natalia Osipova, Argentina's Marianela Nunez and Japan's Fumi Kaneko, all from the Royal Ballet, and France's Mathieu Ganio from the Paris Opera.

Ukraine's Katja Khaniukova, Spain's Aitor Arrieta and the United States' Emma Hawes of the English National Ballet also took to the stage.

Putrov, who was a principal dancer with London's Royal Ballet from 2002-2010, said before the show that they intended to send a message to the West, those in Ukraine but also Russia.

"Some Russians will hear us and will raise their voice... because what's happening is outrageous," he told AFP.

"We as artists have talent and we need to use this talent to say what we believe in. Art has a voice and is the voice that we use.

"Is art appropriate in such a horrible circumstance? Of course it is, because it gives hope, it gives inspiration to people."

Loaded with symbolism

The evening opened with the Urainian national anthem and closed with "The Triumph of Love" from the ballet "Raymonda", with music by Russia's Alexander Glazunov.

The 13 symbolism-laden choreographies in between included "No Man's Land" by Liam Scarlett, "Lacrimosa" by Gyula Pandi and "Ashes" by Jason Kittelberger.

Russian composers including Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff also featured.

"Russian culture doesn't have anything to do with (President Vladimir) Putin, and equally Putin has nothing to do with Russian culture," said Putrov.

Osipova, one of the most famous Russian dancers outside her country, declined to be interviewed.

But her presence "signifies that Russia doesn't equal aggression", said Putrov.

Cuba's Javier Torres of the Northern Ballet performed "The Death of a Swan" by Camille Saint-Saens.

The piece is about a paraplegic who loses one of his limbs and "represents fighting for what you have lost", Torres told AFP.

"It talks about fighting to the end and that's how I wanted to interpret it," he said, thinking of "people who try to resist what happens to them", like the Ukrainians mired in war or the Cubans who have suffered under decades of US sanctions and embargoes, and "even by the Russians" in Soviet times.

"I have that pain, I have that anguish that every Cuban who lives outside of Cuba has, because we know the needs that are experienced there," he said.

He said he has not previously mixed art with politics, but Saturday's gala was "a humanitarian duty as a dancer, as a human rights defender, first as a person and then as an artist".

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Ukraine's southern port city of Mariupol was again the site of intense combat on Saturday as Russian forces bombarded the city, damaging a major steel plant. One local police officer pleaded to the West for help, saying Mariupol has been ``wiped off the face of the earth.''

Mariupol has been the site of some of the war's greatest suffering. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said early Sunday that what Russian forces did to the peaceful city of 430,000 ``is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come.''

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is interested in peace, and that ongoing talks with Russia are ``not simple or pleasant, but they are necessary.'' He has requested to meet directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but a meeting like that hasn't happened.

Here are some key things to know about the conflict:

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MARIUPOL?

A day after Russian forces cut off Mariupol's access to the Sea of Azov, Ukraine's interior minister said intense fighting continued, and the key Azovstal steel plant was damaged. Vadym Denysenko said Saturday in televised remarks: ``We have lost this economic giant. In fact, one of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe is actually being destroyed.``

An adviser to Ukraine's president said there was no immediate military help for Mariupol, saying the nearest forces able to assist were already struggling against Russian forces at least 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.

In a video post from a rubble-strewn street, which was authenticated by The Associated Press, Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin pleaded to Western leaders for help, saying: ``Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it has been wiped off the face of the earth.``

In a statement, the Mariupol city council said Russian soldiers have forced several thousand residents _ mostly women and children _ to leave and be relocated to Russia. It didn't say where in Russia and the AP could not immediately confirm the claim.

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OTHER CITIES IN UKRAINE?

In Mykolaiv, rescuers on Saturday searched the rubble of a marine barracks that was destroyed in an apparent missile attack a day earlier. It isn't clear how many marines were inside at the time, but a senior Ukrainian military official, who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity to reveal sensitive information, estimated that as many as 40 marines were killed.

Around Kyiv, the northwestern suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin and Moshchun were under fire Saturday, according to the Kyiv regional administration. It said Slavutich, 165 kilometers (103 miles) north of the capital, was ``completely isolated.''

More than 6,000 people were able to evacuate along eight of 10 humanitarian corridors Saturday, said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. That figure included 4,128 people from Mariupol, who were taken to the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.

In Zaporizhzhia, a 38-hour curfew was in effect until 6 a.m. Monday, after two missile strikes on the city's suburbs killed nine people. Local authorities say they continue to evacuate people from areas occupied by Russian troops.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said Russia is not recovering the bodies of its dead soldiers, saying that corpses ``simply pile up along our line of defense.''

He said Russian commanders keep sending in new units to keep up the offense. He cited a battle in Chornobayivka in the south, saying Ukrainian forces beat back the Russians six times, but the Russians kept ``sending their people to slaughter.''

ARE THERE NEW MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS?

The Russian military reported Saturday that it has used its latest hypersonic missile for the first time in combat. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said Kinzhal missiles destroyed an underground warehouse storing Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk region.

The Pentagon said the U.S. cannot confirm the Russians used a hypersonic missile.

The British defense ministry said the Ukrainian Air Force and air defense forces are ``continuing to effectively defend Ukrainian airspace`` and Russia has failed to get control of the air, which was one of the Kremlin's key objectives.

ARE RUSSIA AND UKRAINE TALKING?

The two countries have held several rounds of negotiations, but remain divided over key issues. Moscow wants Ukraine's demilitarization and Kyiv is demanding security guarantees.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Putin of using the talks as a ``smokescreen'' while his forces regroup. ``We don't see any serious withdrawal of Russian troops or any serious proposals on the table,'' she told the Times of London.

Zelenskyy said he discussed the course of the talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday. He said: ``Ukraine has always sought a peaceful solution. Moreover, we are interested in peace now.``

Meanwhile, Putin spoke by phone Saturday with Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. The Kremlin said Putin ``outlined fundamental assessments of the course of the talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives.``

HOW ARE UKRAINIAN REFUGEES FARING?

Thousands of refugees from Ukraine waited in long lines in the Polish capital of Warsaw to receive local identification papers that will allow them to move on with their lives.

Refugees started lining up by Warsaw's National Stadium overnight to get the coveted PESEL identity cards that will allow them to work, go to school and get medical care or social benefits for the next 18 months.

By mid-morning Saturday, many were told to come back another day because the demand was so high.

Poland has taken in more than 2 million refugees from Ukraine _ the bulk of more than 3.3 million people that the U.N. says have fled since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Hundreds of thousands have streamed into Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania.

A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers visiting Poland stopped by reception centers Saturday. The seven-member group led by Rep. Stephen Lynch, a Massachusetts Democrat, complimented the willingness of the Polish people to accept refugees. Some Poles have welcomed refugees into their homes.

HOW MANY CIVILIANS HAVE DIED IN UKRAINE?

That's hard to say. The U.N. human rights office says it has recorded a total of 816 civilian deaths and 1,333 civilian injuries since the war began, though it believes the figures are actually much higher.

The office of Ukraine's Prosecutor General reported Saturday that 112 children have been killed since the fighting started. More than 140 children have been wounded.

Dozens of civilians were killed and injured as a result of attacks over the past 24 hours in the eastern Donetsk region alone, Ukrainian police said Saturday. At least 37 residential buildings and infrastructure facilities were damaged in attacks on eight cities and villages.

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Ukrainian authorities said the Russian military bombed an art school where about 400 people had taken refuge in the port city of Mariupol, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said an unrelenting siege by Russian troops would go down in history for what he said were war crimes.

Local authorities said the school's building was destroyed and people could remain under the rubble. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Russian forces on Wednesday also bombed a theater in Mariupol where civilians were sheltering. City authorities said 130 people were rescued but many more could remain under the debris. A Russian airstrike hit a maternity hospital in Mariupol earlier in the war.

``To do this to a peaceful city, what the occupiers did, is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come,'' Zelenskyy said in a video address to the nation.

Mariupol, a strategic port on the Azov Sea, has been encircled by the Russian troops, cut from energy, food and water supplies and faced a relentless bombardment. Local authorities have said the siege has killed at least 2,300 people and some of them had to be buried in mass graves.

Russian forces have pushed deeper into the battered city, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help Saturday.

``Children, elderly people are dying. The city is destroyed and it is wiped off the face of the earth,'' Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin said from a rubble-strewn street in a video addressed to Western leaders that was authenticated by The Associated Press.

The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the war's worst suffering, would mark a major battlefield advance for the Russians, who are largely bogged down outside major cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II.

In the capital, Kyiv, at least 20 babies carried by Ukrainian surrogate mothers are stuck in a makeshift bomb shelter, waiting for parents to travel into the war zone to pick them up. Some just days old, the babies are being cared for by nurses who cannot leave the shelter because of constant shelling by Russian troops who are trying to encircle the city.

Details also began to emerge Saturday about a rocket attack that killed as many as 40 marines in the southern city of Mykolaiv the previous day, according to a Ukrainian military official who spoke to The New York Times.

Russian forces have already cut Mariupol off from the Sea of Azov, and its fall would link Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, to eastern territories controlled by Moscow-backed separatists. It would mark a rare advance in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance that has dashed Russia's hopes for a quick victory and galvanized the West.

Ukrainian and Russian forces battled over the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Vadym Denysenko, adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said. ``One of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe is actually being destroyed,'' Denysenko said in televised remarks.

The Mariupol city council claimed hours later that Russian soldiers had forcibly relocated several thousand city residents, mostly women and children, to Russia. It didn't say where, and AP could not immediately confirm the claim.

Zelenskyy adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the nearest forces that could assist Mariupol were already struggling against ``the overwhelming force of the enemy'' and that ``there is currently no military solution to Mariupol.''

Zelensky on Sunday ordered 11 political parties with links to Russia, the largest of which has 44 out of 450 seats in the country's parliament, to suspend activities during the period of martial law.

``Activities by politicians aimed at discord and collaboration will not succeed,'' he said in the address.

Russian forces have pushed deeper into the besieged and battered city, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help.

Despite the siege in Mariupol, many remained struck by Ukraine's ability to hold back its much bigger, better-armed foe. The United Kingdom's Defense Ministry said Ukraine's airspace continued to be effectively defended.

``Gaining control of the air was one of Russia's principal objectives for the opening days of the conflict and their continued failure to do so has significantly blunted their operational progress,'' the ministry said on Twitter.

Russia is now relying on stand-off weapons launched from the relative safety of Russian airspace to strike targets within Ukraine, the ministry said.

In Mykolaiv, rescuers searched the rubble of the marine barracks that was destroyed in an apparent missile attack Friday. The region's governor said the marines were asleep when the attack happened.

It wasn't clear how many marines were inside at the time, and rescuers were still searching the rubble for survivors the following day. But a senior Ukrainian military official, who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity to reveal sensitive information, estimated that as many as 40 marines were killed, which would make it one of the deadliest known attacks on Ukrainian forces during the war.

Estimates of Russian deaths vary widely, but even conservative figures are in the low thousands. Russia had 64 deaths in five days of fighting during its 2008 war with Georgia. It lost about 15,000 in Afghanistan over 10 years, and more than 11,000 in years of fighting in Chechnya.

Russia's number of dead and wounded in Ukraine is nearing the 10% benchmark of diminished combat effectiveness, said Dmitry Gorenburg, a researcher on Russia's security at the Virginia-based CNA think tank. The reported battlefield deaths of four Russian generals _ out of an estimated 20 in the fight _ signal impaired command, Gorenburg said.

Russia would need 800,000 troops _ almost equal to its entire active-duty military _ to control Ukraine long-term in the face of armed opposition, said Michael Clarke, former head of the British-based Royal United Services Institute, a defense think tank.

``Unless the Russians intend to be completely genocidal _ they could flatten all the major cities, and Ukrainians will rise up against Russian occupation _ there will be just constant guerrilla war,'' said Clarke.

The Russian military said Saturday that it used its latest hypersonic missile for the first time in combat. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Kinzhal missiles destroyed an underground warehouse storing Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk.

Russia has said the Kinzhal, carried by MiG-31 fighter jets, has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the U.S. couldn't confirm the use of a hypersonic missile.

U.N. bodies have confirmed more than 847 civilian deaths since the war began, though they concede the actual toll is likely much higher. The U.N. says more than 3.3 million people have fled Ukraine as refugees.

Evacuations from Mariupol and other besieged cities proceeded along eight of 10 humanitarian corridors, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, and a total of 6,623 people left.

Vereshchuk said planned humanitarian aid for the southern city of Kherson, which Russia seized early in the war, could not be delivered because the trucks were stopped along the way by Russian troops.

Ukraine and Russia have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict but remain divided over several issues, with Moscow pressing for its neighbor's demilitarization and Kyiv demanding security guarantees.

Around Ukraine, hospitals, schools and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked.

At least 130 people survived the Wednesday bombing of a Mariupol theater that was being used a shelter, but another 1,300 were believed to be still inside, Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament's human rights commissioner, said Friday.

``We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them,'' Denisova told Ukrainian television.

A satellite image from Maxar Technologies released Saturday confirmed earlier reports that much of the theater was destroyed. It also showed the word ``CHILDREN'' written in Russian in large white letters outside the building.

Russian forces have fired on eight cities and villages in the eastern Donetsk region in the past 24 hours, including Mariupol, Ukraine's national police said Saturday. Dozens of civilians were killed or wounded, and at least 37 residential buildings and facilities were damaged including a school, a museum and a shopping center.

In the western city of Lviv, Ukraine's cultural capital, which was hit by Russian missiles on Friday, military veterans were training dozens of civilians on how to handle firearms and grenades.

``It's hard, because I have really weak hands, but I can manage it,'' said one trainee, 22-year-old Katarina Ishchenko.

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Russia said Sunday it has again fired its newest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, destroying a fuel storage site in the country's south.

The Russian defence ministry also said it killed more than 100 members of Ukrainian special forces and "foreign mercenaries" when it targeted a training centre in the town of Ovruch in northern Ukraine with sea-based missiles.

"Kinzhal aviation missile systems with hypersonic ballistic missiles destroyed a large storage site for fuels and lubricants of the Ukrainian armed forces near the settlement of Kostyantynivka in the Mykolaiv region," the defence ministry said.

The ministry said the base had been used for the main supplies of fuel for Ukrainian armoured vehicles in the country's south.

The Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missiles were fired from airspace over Russian-controlled Crimea, the ministry said, adding that Kalibr cruise missiles launched from the Caspian Sea had also targeted the depot.

On Saturday, Russia said it had used the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles to destroy an underground missile and ammunition storage site in western Ukraine close to the border with NATO member Romania.

The Ukrainian armed forces confirmed to AFP on Saturday that the depot had been targeted but said they had "no information of the type of missile."

Russian analysts said the use Friday of the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in Deliatyn, a village in the foothills of the Carpathian mountains, was the first combat use of such weapons in the world.

The Russian defence ministry said that it also used long-range precision weapons against other facilities in Ukraine on Saturday evening and early Sunday.

Russian forces fired the Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea to target a plant in the northern city of Nizhyn used to repair armoured vehicles, the ministry said.

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Lagging behind Russia in developing hypersonic weapons, the U.S. Navy is rushing to field its first, with installation on a warship starting as soon as late next year.

The United States is in a race with Russia and China to develop these weapons, which travel at speeds akin to ballistic missiles but are difficult to shoot down because of their maneuverability.

The Russian military says it already deployed hypersonic missiles and claimed Saturday to have used one for the first time in combat against a target in Ukraine. The Pentagon couldn't confirm a hypersonic weapon was used in the attack.

The American military is accelerating development to catch up.

The U.S. weapon would launch like a ballistic missile and would release a hypersonic glide vehicle that would reach speeds seven to eight times faster than the speed of sound before hitting the target.

In Maine, General Dynamics subsidiary Bath Iron Works has begun engineering and design work on changes necessary to install the weapon system on three Zumwalt-class destroyers.

The work would begin at a yet-to-be-named shipyard sometime in fiscal year that begins in October 2023, the Navy said.

Hypersonic weapons are defined as anything traveling beyond Mach 5, or five times faster than the speed of sound. That's about 3,800 mph (6,100 kph). Intercontinental ballistic missiles far exceed that threshold but travel in a predictable path, making it possible to intercept them.

The new weapons are maneuverable.

Existing missile defense systems, including the Navy's Aegis system, would have trouble intercepting such objects because maneuverability makes their movement unpredictable and speed leaves little time to react.

Russia says it has ballistic missiles that can deploy hypersonic glide vehicles as well as a hypersonic cruise missile.

The U.S. is "straining just to catch up'' because it failed to invest in the new technology, with only a fraction of the 10,000 people who were working on the program in the 1980s, said U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat who's chair of a subcommittee that monitors the program.

"If we want to pursue parity, we will need to back this effort with more money, time, and talent than we are now,'' he said.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine serves as a backdrop as the Pentagon releases its budget proposal that lays out its goals for hypersonics and other weapon systems later this month.

The three stealthy Zumwalt-class destroyers to be equipped with the new weapons have plenty of space to accommodate them _ thanks to a design failure that works to the Navy's advantage in this instance.

The ships were built around a gun system that was supposed to use GPS-guided, rocket-boosted projectiles to pound targets 90 miles (145 kilometers) away. But those projectiles proved to be too expensive, and the Navy canceled the system, leaving each of the ships with a useless loading system and a pair of 155-mm guns hidden in angular turrets.

The retrofit of all three ships will likely cost more than $1 billion but will give a new capability to the tech-laden, electric-drive ships that already cost the Navy $23.5 billion to design and build, said Bryan Clark, a defense analyst at the Hudson Institute.

"The engineering is not that hard. It'll just take time and money to make it happen,'' Clark said.

The Navy intends to field the weapons on the destroyers in the 2025 fiscal year and on Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines in the 2028 fiscal year, the Navy said.

The destroyers would be based in the Pacific Ocean, where they would be a deterrent to China, should it become emboldened by Russia's attack on Ukraine and consider attacking Taiwan, Clark said.

The U.S. focus on hypersonic weapons represents a pivot after hesitating in the past because of technological hurdles. Adversaries, meanwhile, continued research and development.

Russia fired off a salvo of Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles in late December, heralding the completion of weapon testing.

But Russia may be exaggerating the capability of such super weapons to compensate for weakness in other areas, said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute.

For the time being, Russia doesn't have many of the weapons, and it's unclear how effective they are, he said.

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The US-made Patriot air defense system is on its way to Slovakia, Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad said Sunday, paving the way for Bratislava to possibly deliver similar hardware to Ukraine.

NATO member Slovakia said this week it was willing to provide its Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft system to Ukraine but only on the condition that it received a substitute to avoid an Alliance security gap.

US President Joe Biden promised to help Ukraine get air defense systems with a longer range than the shoulder-borne Stinger missiles already on the ground but to do so without entering into direct conflict with Russia.

The old S-300 system would be an ideal weapon since the Ukrainian army is already familiar with the hardware.

"I can confirm that the first units to deploy the anti-aircraft Patriot system are gradually arriving," Nad said on Facebook, adding the delivery would continue over the next few days.

On Friday, the Netherlands said it would deploy a Patriot battery to the Sliac military base in central Slovakia, and Germany confirmed it would send two more batteries to the country.

Nad reiterated that in the current circumstances, the Russian system had no future in the Slovakian armed forces after the invasion of Ukraine.

Bratislava would instead seek to replace the system with another that would be more compatible with Slovakia's allies and offer a better defense, he said.

Nad added the Patriot system would be temporarily based at Sliac, noting that there would be further consideration about where to deploy the hardware that "covers the largest possible territory in Slovakia".

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China's ambassador to the US said Sunday his country was not sending weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, but he did not definitively rule out the possibility Beijing might do so in the future.

In a lengthy phone call Friday, US President Joe Biden warned his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that there would be "consequences" if Beijing provided material support to Moscow as it prosecutes its war against Kyiv.

Asked Sunday on CBS whether China might send money or weapons to Russia, Ambassador Qin Gang spoke about the present, saying: "There is misinformation about China providing military assistance to Russia. We reject that."

Instead, "what China is doing is sending food, medicine, sleeping bags, and baby formula, not weapons and ammunition to any party," he said.

Beijing, which shares with Moscow a sense of hostility and resentment toward the United States, has been loath to criticize its Russian ally over the invasion of Ukraine, despite urging by US, British, and other officials.

Qin, interviewed on CBS talk show "Face the Nation," said Beijing was continuing to "promote peace talks and urge immediate cease-fire."

But the sort of public condemnation urged by many in the West "doesn't help," he said. "We need a reason. We need courage. And we need good diplomacy."

The Chinese foreign ministry has said the West must take Russian security concerns into account.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday lent his voice to calls for China to join in condemning the Russian invasion.

"As time goes on, and as the number of Russian atrocities mounts up, I think it becomes steadily more difficult and politically embarrassing for people either actively or passively to condone Putin's invasion," he told the Sunday Times.

Mikhailo Podolyak, a top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, pleaded with Beijing on Saturday to "condemn Russian barbarism."

Were Beijing to deliver military support to Russia, analysts say, it could transform an already explosive transatlantic standoff into a global dispute pitting the West against the world's second-biggest economy, prompting turmoil on international markets.

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After decades of being closed to visitors, a part of the Babylon fort located within the facade of the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo was inaugurated on Sunday.

This section of the fort was subjected to restoration, and it is the first phase of a comprehensive restoration project for the fort with the goal of opening the entirety of it to the public.

Hisham Samir  the assistant to the tourism minister for projects  explains that the facades of the newly inaugurated part of the fort were cleaned from dust and bird droppings, and damaged blocks were restored. A new lighting system was also installed to highlight the beauty of its architecture and original job for which it was constructed. Broken windows inside the fort were repaired as well.

The second phase of the fort restoration project started immediately after the completion of the first one and aims to restore the southern part of the fort found beneath the Hanging Church, known as Amr Gate.

The whole fort will be open for visits after the completion of the project.





























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KYODO NEWS - Mar 21, 2022 - 08:43 | World, All, Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Cambodian counterpart, Hun Sen, urged Russia on Sunday to immediately end the war in Ukraine and withdraw its forces from the country, condemning the aggression as "a grave breach of the United Nations Charter."

In a joint statement issued after their meeting in Phnom Penh, the leaders also called for the immediate cessation of violence in coup-hit Myanmar and demanded that the junta release ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other detainees and restore the democratic political system.

Kishida and Hun Sen "recognized that this aggression jeopardizes the foundation of international order which does not accept any unilateral change of the internationally recognized borders by force," according to the statement, although it did not single out Russia.

"We confirmed to closely cooperate to preserve the foundation of the international order," Kishida told a joint press conference with Hun Sen.

"War cannot be ended by war and peaceful solution is the only means," Hun Sen said, citing Cambodia's experience of fighting a civil war from 1970 to 1991.

Given Russian President Vladimir Putin's suggestion that the country could use its nuclear arsenal in the face of Ukraine's resistance and economic sanctions from Western nations, Kishida and Hun Sen stressed, "Neither threat nor use of all kind of weapons of mass destruction can ever be accepted."

As the veto power held by Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, has made the top U.N. decision-making body fall into disarray in addressing the Ukraine crisis, the leaders agreed that reform of the Security Council is needed as soon as possible and pledged to cooperate in coordinating its reform.

Following the Russian invasion of the former Soviet republic on Feb. 24, Tokyo has been ramping up pressure on Moscow through economic sanctions in lockstep with the United States and other Group of Seven major developed countries.

Meanwhile, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have not been united in taking a resolute stance on Russia.

Early this month, Cambodia, which chairs the 10-member group this year, voted for a U.S.-led U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine as one of the nearly 100 co-sponsoring nations of the resolution, along with Japan. The resolution was adopted with the approval of 141 members in total.

Seven other ASEAN nations, including Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, also voted for the resolution, while Vietnam, which has had friendly ties with Russia since its Soviet Union days, abstained from the council vote along with Laos.

The statement also said Japan and Cambodia reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace, stability and security "in the same spirit" in the Indo-Pacific region, where China's maritime assertiveness has grown.

Vowing to work together toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, Kishida and Hun Sen shared "the importance of urging countries concerned to avoid unilateral actions that would increase tensions or complicate the situation in the South China Sea."

The meeting also came just ahead of Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhonn's three-day trip from Monday to Myanmar as ASEAN special envoy. Myanmar's military detained Suu Kyi and toppled her democratically elected government in a Feb. 1 coup last year.

Cambodia has taken on active diplomacy toward improving the situation in Myanmar. In January, Hun Sen traveled to the country's capital Naypyitaw for talks with junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, becoming the first foreign leader to travel to the nation since the coup.

Kishida welcomed Cambodia's "active engagement" to break the deadlock in Myanmar, voicing "hope for fruitful outcomes" of Prak Sokhonn's upcoming visit.

Hun Sen said that he and Kishida called on all parties to exercise "maximum restraint."

Kishida and Hun Sen also pledged to promote their nations' bilateral cooperation in the security field, as this year marks the 30th anniversary of Japan's dispatch of Self-Defense Forces personnel to Cambodia, the first time the SDF joined in a U.N. peacekeeping operation.

Kishida is on a three-day visit through Monday, which also took him to India. On Saturday, Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi aired "serious concern about the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine" and urged an "immediate cessation of violence."

Related coverage:

86% back Japan's sanctions on Russia over invasion in Ukraine: poll

Japan, India will not tolerate attempts to alter status quo by force

Japan, Turkey condemn Russia invasion of Ukraine as int'l law breach
KYODO NEWS - Mar 20, 2022 - 12:51 | All, Japan

Japan marked the 27th anniversary Sunday of the nerve gas attack by the AUM Shinrikyo cult on the Tokyo subway system that killed 14 people and injured over 6,000, as the country moves to increase the safety of railways following a string of recent random attacks on passengers by individuals.

Officials of the subway operator Tokyo Metro Co. and relatives of the victims observed a moment of silence at a memorial service at Kasumigaseki Station at 8 a.m., around the time when the deadly sarin nerve agent was released in train cars on March 20, 1995.

The doomsday cult's founder Shoko Asahara, who masterminded the attack, and 12 of his former followers were put to death in 2018.

In all, five train cars were hit simultaneously on three separate lines during the morning rush hour, causing havoc at the stations and paralyzing the subway network in the capital.

The cult was later divided into three successor groups that remain under surveillance by public security authorities.

Sunday's ceremony came as Japanese authorities and train operators review steps to protect passengers on their services, which had long considered among the safest in the world, following a string of random attacks by individuals in the Tokyo area in recent years.

On Halloween last year, a man dressed like Batman villain the Joker attacked passengers on a train with a knife and started a fire in one of the cars, injuring 17. In August, another man was arrested after injuring 10 passengers in a knife attack, telling police he wanted to kill women who looked "happy."

In 2015, a man set himself alight on a shinkansen bullet train, killing himself and a passenger and injuring 26 others. Around 800 were on the train at the time.

"I'm concerned that the sense of crisis is fading (among those who do not know about the sarin gas incident)," said Shizue Takahashi, 75, who lost her husband in the attack. He was the deputy stationmaster at Kasumigaseki at the time.

Takahashi has been requesting that the government archive materials related to the incident in order to inform young people about it.

The government plans to oblige railway operators nationwide to install security cameras in newly built trains and will shoulder the costs for doing so.

A revised ordinance, meanwhile, enabled operators to conduct baggage inspections from last year.

However, while the government has called on operators to implement such checks with passengers' understanding and cooperation, some experts say that it will be difficult to introduce at train stations the kind of checks seen at airports.

Related coverage:

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17 hurt as knife-wielding man in costume starts fire on Tokyo train

Hanged ex-AUM member urged would-be terrorists to halt attacks
Pro-Life Groups to Hold Candlelight Prayer Vigil on Eve of Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution

March 20, 2022

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- Pro-life groups plan to hold a candlelight prayer vigil on the eve of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.



The vigil will be on Sunday, March 20, at 7:30 PM in front of the United States Supreme Court.



The confirmation hearings will begin on Monday, March 21.



The candlelight vigil is organized by Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution, which is a women's advocacy and educational group that works on issues of human rights and justice which empower and inspire women. It is affiliated with Stanton Healthcare which has life-affirming women's health clinics in America and internationally.



Here is Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution's statement on the confirmation hearings:

"On Monday, March 21, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.



"A Supreme Court Justice serves for life and is one of the most powerful members of our government as their decisions impact law and public policy for generations.



"Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution has serious concerns about Judge Brown Jackson's extremist views on late-term abortions, public expressions of faith and free speech.



"As Americans are growing much more uncomfortable with abortion on demand and want expanded restrictions, Judge Brown Jackson supports unlimited access to abortion for the full nine months of pregnancy.



"In light of this, we will be asking God to guide the members of Judiciary Committee as they select a nominee that will support the Constitution and embrace universal principles of justice. Stanton will also be praying for Judge Brown Jackson's full judicial record to be explored during the hearings."

For more information or interviews contact

Rev. Patrick Mahoney at: 540.538.4741

SOURCE Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution

CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741

Related Links

https://stantoninternational.org/sppc


KYODO NEWS - Mar 20, 2022 - 20:07 | All, Japan

A total of 85.8 percent of respondents support Japan's sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday, suggesting the public favors Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's firm stance against Moscow.

In the two-day telephone survey through Sunday, 91.2 percent backed the Japanese government's decision to accept evacuees from the war-hit Eastern European country.

Meanwhile, 75.2 percent expressed concern that Russia's aggression in Ukraine may propel China to attempt to forcibly seize Taiwan and the Senkaku Islands, a group of East China Sea islets controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing.

The approval rating for the Kishida Cabinet rose 3.5 percentage points from the February poll to 60.1 percent, while the disapproval rating decreased 5.5 points to 21.9 percent, according to the survey.

The support for his government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic increased 6.3 points to 60.4 percent.

Asked about the recent decision to fully lift the COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency in Japan, 53.3 percent found it appropriate, 32.3 percent said it was too early and 11.3 percent felt it was too late.

Regarding a proposal by the government and the ruling coalition to provide 5,000 yen ($42) to each pensioner as part of COVID-19 support measures, 66.0 percent did not find it appropriate.

As for Japan's relations with South Korea, 72.2 percent think bilateral ties will not change under President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol even though he has expressed a willingness to improve soured relations with the neighboring country.

Only 18.9 percent expect bilateral ties to improve, while 3.8 percent think otherwise.

Yoon, of the main conservative opposition People Power Party, will take office in May after being elected South Korea's new president earlier this month.

Tokyo-Seoul relations have soured over wartime labor compensation and other issues stemming from Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

As for this summer's election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, 42.1 percent said they will cast their proportional representation votes for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, led by Kishida.

It was followed by 13.3 percent for the opposition Japan Innovation Party, 9.5 percent for the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and 3.8 percent for Komeito, the junior coalition partner of the LDP.

The survey, reaching 646 randomly selected households with eligible voters and 1,814 mobile phone numbers, yielded responses from 524 and 529 people, respectively.

Related coverage:

Japan to slap new sanctions on Russia defense officials over Ukraine

U.S. reassures Taiwan of commitment amid Russian invasion of Ukraine

Japan Cabinet supported by 56%, views mixed on COVID response: poll
KYODO NEWS - Mar 20, 2022 - 09:52 | All, Japan

Some local governments in Japan have decided to halt exchange activities with their sister cities in Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine late last month, with a few municipalities openly criticizing the act and sending protest letters over the aggression.

A total of 43 municipalities in Japan have sister cities in Russia, according to the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations. But a majority of them are not considering completely severing ties with their partners.

The city of Hiroshima that was planning to celebrate the 50th anniversary of sister-city ties with Volgograd in the southern part of Russia said on March 9 it will cancel the dispatch of a delegation led by its mayor originally scheduled for September.

"Russia's invasion (of Ukraine) and remarks suggesting that the country may use nuclear weapons trample upon the feelings of Hiroshima that suffered an atomic bomb attack" in 1945 in the final phase of World War II, an official of the western Japanese city said.

The official also cited "safety concerns" as a reason for forgoing the dispatch.

Russian President Vladimir Putin placed his country's nuclear forces on high alert earlier this month, in the face of continuing resistance from Ukraine's troops and the rollout of economic sanctions from the United States and its allies.

Yuriko Koike, the governor of Tokyo, which is a sister city of Moscow, said at a press conference on March 11 that she will suspend exchange programs between the two cities.

Osaka city, meanwhile, sent a letter to its Russian sister city St. Petersburg, urging the country's forces to retreat from Ukraine.

"Invasion by armed forces is completely unacceptable. We call for the withdrawal of the troops as soon as possible to bring an end to the situation," Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui said in the letter.

In a similar move, Maizuru city in Kyoto Prefecture, which has ties with Nakhodka in Russia's Far East, criticized Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "The aggression is unacceptable because it disturbs the peace and stability of the international society," the city said in a statement.

Tottori Prefecture and Kamo city in Niigata Prefecture have released similar statements. Niigata city, which has ties with Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Birobidzhan, canceled a plan to dispatch its delegation to the country.

The announcements by Japanese municipalities to suspend exchange activities came as the Ukrainian Embassy in Japan called for an end to sister-city alliances between Russia and Japan in a Twitter post.

But many cities in Japan were not convinced by the embassy's call, as they perceive such interactions to be different from those conducted on a national level.

"The interactions between citizens offer a different channel. We'd like to observe the situation without taking an action," said an official of Akita city, which has ties with Vladivostok.

Meanwhile, the city of Wakkanai in Hokkaido expressed concern that suspending the exchange activities for a long time may affect the two nations' efforts to resolve a decades-old territorial row over four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan.

The spat over the group of islets off Hokkaido has prevented the two nations from signing a postwar peace treaty. They are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.

Related coverage:

Ukraine's Zelenskyy to virtually address Japan parliament next week

Japan begins accepting war-fleeing Ukrainians without guarantor

Japan to slap new sanctions on Russia defense officials over Ukraine
TAIPEI, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The Taiwan region of China reported 121 new COVID-19 cases, including three locally transmitted infections and 118 imported cases, the island's disease monitoring agency said on Sunday.

Of the new locally transmitted infections, two were connected to a cluster involving a wedding in Chiayi, and the third was reported in Tainan, the agency said.

To date, Taiwan has reported 21,905 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 15,503 were local infections. 
Photo taken on March 18, 2022 shows vivid light on Harbor Bridge in Sydney, Australia, as part of the Sydney Harbor Bridge 90th anniversary celebration. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)

A host of events are held in Australia's Sydney to celebrate the 90th year since the completion of Sydney Harbor Bridge, with a red F1 Vintage Electric Train and a New South Wales (NSW) Waratah Train heading across the bridge in opposite directions, symbolizing the meeting of "old and new."

SYDNEY, March 20 (Xinhua) -- To mark the 90th year since the completion of Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydneysiders headed into the harbor on Saturday to pay homage to the bridge that has connected and inspired generations of Australians.

A host of events littered Sydney's harbor as locals and tourists from across the city rang in the bridge's 9th decade of regular use, including a spectacular lighting up of the bridge at night, a number of pop-up art galleries and museums displaying the bridge's history, musical and dramatic performances, and a commemorative vintage train ride.

Kicking off the Saturday of festivities, a red F1 Vintage Electric Train and a New South Wales (NSW) Waratah Train, the city's most modern train, headed across the bridge in opposite directions -- a symbolic meeting of "old and new."

Train enthusiasts Andrew Murphy and Sean Lowry were among the lucky few who managed to snag two of the few tickets that sold out in record time.

"I've pretty much lived in Sydney my whole life," Lowry told Xinhua. "It's my first time being on the F1. So, I'm really excited to see Sydney's past and what kind of trains they had back then."

As the train rolled into the platform just north of Sydney Harbor Bridge, excited children and reminiscent seniors piled into the train for the historic ride.

A vintage train passes Harbor Bridge in Sydney, Australia, on March 19, 2022, as part of the Sydney Harbor Bridge 90th anniversary celebration. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)

Over the other side of the bridge performers and actors warmed up ahead of keen crowds. An actor dressed in newsboy attire from the 1930s passed out papers and touted facts about the bridge.

"Extra, extra read all about it, Sydney Harbor Bridge's construction used over 6 million rivets," he shouted to passers-by.

Plaques lined the harbor with facts and stories about the bridge's construction and long history, and performers brought brightness despite the dreary grey skies.

More than just a tourist destination, the bridge was first opened for public use on March 19, 1932. To this day it joins Sydney's northern and western suburbs and continues to play an integral role in the development of the nation's largest city.

NSW Minister for Transport and Veterans David Elliott praised the bridge as a vital part of Sydney's history on how its citizens move around the city.

"On this day 90 years ago, the Sydney Harbor Bridge came to life, and so too did the vision of a modern Sydney. More than 1 million people crossed the bridge on its opening day in trams, trains and on foot, which was almost the entire population of Sydney at that time," said Elliot.

Photo taken on March 18, 2022 shows vivid light on Harbor Bridge in Sydney, Australia, as part of the Sydney Harbor Bridge 90th anniversary celebration. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)

Despite what the scale of the feat might suggest, its construction and completion came at a time of extreme poverty in Australia's Great Depression when unemployment hit a staggering 32 percent in 1931.

Sophie Loy-Wilson, an expert in Australian history from the University of Sydney, said the bridge became a symbol of hope.

"The bridge was expensive, but it represented hope and a better life for Sydney people. Sandstone excavations caused dust and debris but also uncovered fossils and other treasures," said Loy-Wilson.

"The story of the harbor bridge is a story of a city on its knees, looking up towards the largest structure the city had ever seen, being pieced together across Sydney Harbor." 
BUDAPEST/WARSAW, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian fighter jets were alerted to intercept a civilian plane late Saturday night following information that the plane was carrying a bomb, the defence ministry said in a statement Sunday morning.

"The Hungarian Army's Gripens were alerted on March 19 at night because of a civilian Airbus A321 aircraft," the ministry said, adding that the plane was en route from Georgia to Poland.

"The plane was flying in Romanian airspace when it signaled a bomb threat to civilian air traffic control," the statement added.

The passenger Airbus was escorted by the aircrafts of the Romanian Air Force to the Romanian-Hungarian border, where the task was taken over by the fighter jets of the Hungarian Armed Forces, according to the ministry.

The Hungarian ministry also informed that the A321 aircraft was escorted out of Hungarian airspace, where the Slovak Air Force took over.

According to local media, the plane landed after 11 p.m. at Warsaw airport. After checking the plane and passengers' luggage, police announced that nothing dangerous was found onboard.

This type of bomb threat was the second one in a week. On Monday, the Gripen fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a civilian plane after air traffic control was told that the plane was carrying a bomb.

The Serbian Airbus A319 flying from Belgrade to Moscow was turned back at the Hungary-Slovakia border after Belgrade's control tower told Hungarian air traffic control that the plane had a bomb on board.

The Gripens identified the Serbian aircraft and escorted it outside Hungary's airspace towards Serbia. The Gripens remained in flight near the border until the Airbus A319 safely landed. 
Pro-Russian political parties to suspend their activity in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says 20 March, 16:44 Opposition Platform for Life party leader Yuriy Boyko (Photo:Opposition Platform for Life/ Facebook)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that due to Russia's war against Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council has suspended the activities of a number of political parties that have ties with the Russian Federation, during a video address on March 20.

Any activity of political parties during the martial law is suspended.

By the decision of the National Security and Defense Council during the martial law, any activity of Opposition Platform for Life, Shariy Party, Opposition Bloc, Nashi, Socialist Party of Ukraine, Union of Leftists, Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Left Opposition Party, Derzhava, Socialist Party of Ukraine, Volodymyr Saldo Bloc is suspended, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

 

The Ministry of Justice has been instructed to immediately take comprehensive measures to suspend the activities of the above political parties in Ukraine.

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Kathmandu, March 20

The construction of the Mainahiya-Sampatiya 132 kV transmission line deemed important for the Nepal-India energy exchange has gained momentum.

The double-circuit transmission line linking Mainahiya in the Rupandehi district of Nepal with Sampatiya (New Nautanahawa) in the Uttar Pradesh (UP) state of India has achieved 60 per cent progress in construction, according to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).

A target has been set to complete this project within mid-July 2023.

Foundations have been laid for 44 of 96 towers that will be erected across the 28-km transmission line. Similarly, five towers are already put in place.

Meanwhile, a team comprising Energy Secretary Devendra Karki among others recently monitored the project works and instructed for the timely completion of the project.
Home  Just In  Nepals music industry lacks enough drummers, but heres a commitment to changing the scene

It is Jay Ram Karkis 12th year in the Nepali music industry. Popularly known as Jay Ram, Karki is now one of the most prolific drummers in the industry. Over these years, he did the same job without losing any excitement.

Of late, he has started something differentmore exciting and more productive.

The joy and energy I found in playing the drums are incomparable to any other instruments,  says Jay Ram, adding he wants to pass that energy on other potential and emerging drummers now.

Recently, the 30-year-old Jay Ram Karki, associated with the TMR Trio, has started doing drum tutorials on his YouTube channel. He wants to utilise his skills by providing proper lessons to the younger ones.

There are people from far-flung who have access to the internet and can even afford the drums, but they lack institutions that can mentor them properly, says Jay Ram. So for those individuals, I have started making tutorial videos on YouTube.

The tutorial gives lessons from the basic level. He says he has been getting fruitful responses regarding the videos. I have tried my best to make the lesson clear and understandable, he says, I believe my small effort can contribute largely to the Nepali music scene.

A change he wants

There are a few reasons why Jay Ram Karki has been one of the few drummers that ruled the sector for over a decade. Firstly, the Nepali music industry lacks well-played drummers in good numbers. A single drummer is found playing in a couple of bands. Further, there is no consistency among the drummers. They either switch to another instrument, leave the country or else leave the job.

A drum set is financially unaffordable for many musicians and likewise it is not easily shareable as other instruments such as guitar and keys, says Jay Ram. Likewise, advancement in technology is also another important factor that has impeded the opportunities available in front of drummers.

Most of the studios at present prefer to program drums rather than playing it live. Doing so reduces the cost of studios. Programming is easy to do as it takes less time, space and effort.

Similarly, to some extent, instruments such as djembe and cajon have also replaced the drums, making the career of a drummer less attractive.

But, Jay Ram wants to change that.

A capable leader

Jay Ram Karki is Nepals experienced drummer. Photo: Chandra Bahadur Ale

It is highly likely that Jay Ram Karki will be able to effect that change given his dedication to the field.

He started playing the drums from his high school days. Prior to that, in his school days, he used to be a guitarist and a keyboard player. As there were already much better guitarists in his musical circle, Jay Ram says he picked up drums. Akin to present days, back then as well, the numbers of drummers were less. Hence, playing the drums fascinated him more than playing any other instrument. Afterwards, he joined a drum class in a music institution to hone his skills.

While many drummers failed to maintain consistency in Nepal, Jay Ram is an exception. Despite enormous ups and downs, he continued drumming. There was even a time when his family was against his love for music and drums. But, somehow he managed to continue the music.

When he started playing it, 12 years back, he never thought of devoting such a long time to it.

I was just concerned about practising, working hard and enhancing skills on music.

So what made him continue the music?

Financial and emotional backup from my friends, supporters, and senior musicians helped me maintain consistency in music. Even the one whom I dont know appreciated my work., says Jay Ram Karki. To acknowledge and respect their effort, I continued drumming. Those things still inspire me.

Jay Ram says, To maintain consistency is really a tough task, especially when it comes to music.

According to him, one should never be result-oriented instead be focused on giving the best.

Once you start giving the best quality, people will recognise you. All you need is patience. Things do not change overnight.

Jay Ram says he continued the job because there were many people who inspired him. But, the inspirations were different from time to time.

Today I may be inspired by one artist whereas tomorrow I may be inspired by another one. Mainly, the one who does the hard work to come up with quality music is my idol musician.

For him, it does not matter whether they (the idol musicians) are popular or not.

The value of versatility

Jay Ram Karki playing in his studio. Photo: Chandra Bahadur Ale

Jay Ram Karki was an active musician in a Nepali metal scene. Back then when he started playing the drums professionally, the metal scene of Nepal was thriving significantly. Every week, there used to be metal gigs. Bands like Pantera and Lamb of God were the talk of the town.

He even toured different places of Nepal and India by being associated with metal bands. Jay Ram was also a drummer for Binaash, one of the most recognised death metal bands in Nepal to date.

But later, his interest in metal music declined. Playing in a metal band continuously made him monotonous. I started getting bored with the metal.

As you need to focus on speed to play for the metal, I felt like it limited my drumming skills. To hone my drumming skills and knowledge I switched to another genre, says Jay Ram Karki.

He believes it was his best decision ever as it was also hard to sustain just by engaging in a metal band.

On the other hand, he also wanted to become a versatile musician. Subsequently, he even played for pop, jazz and rock bands. This made him realise that every music is beautiful in its own way and all of those genres helped him to understand the music vividly.

He thinks this versatile experience can help him teach the younger folks more effectively.

Besides producing YouTube tutorials, he is also a drum instructor in Rivals Music Land, a Lalitpur-based music institution.

A voluntary commitment

Jay Ram Karki wants to pass on his skills to young people. Photo: Chandra Bahadur Ale

He says he does not teach drums for money.

My main motive is I want to give a number of top-notch drummers to the Nepali music scene.

There are a few students of Jay Ram Karki who are already potential drummers. He says if he had asked for money, they could have never come to his contact to learn.

All he wants from them is dedication, determination and hard work.

Our music scene is in great need of quality drummers and I want to fill the gap, says Jay Ram.

But, a lot of musicians in Nepal go through a financial crisis. It is very difficult for them to become financially independent just by doing music. Yet, Jay Ram suggests there are a few other ways to cope with the challenge.

Firstly, he says musicians should not stick with a single genre.

It will be better if the musicians try to explore more genres ranging from folk to rock and metal, says Jay Ram Karki. Similarly, they should avoid lingering on a single platform and try doing everything including studio work, teaching, live sessions and others.

Another way for musicians to overcome financial problems is by starting a business related to music.

For instance, there are still very few standard music stores. One can think of running it, says Jay Ram.

For himself, music has never been a source of money only. Instead, it is a religion for him, he says.

Music has just not taught me about sound, but it has enlightened me about the art of living,  says Jay Ram. More than a decade I have devoted my life to music, and I am not quitting it anytime soon.

Instead, he wants to pass it on to several others like him.
Home  Just In  Nepals coal miners lose their right to workplace safety and dignity as they struggle to earn a living

Yam Bahadur Gharti from Ghorahi in Dang looks at the citys northern hills with distaste. Like other coal miners from Ghorahi, Gharti has spent most of his life at coal mines on the hill.

He did it to support his family and thought he would have done something good by now. But, three decades on, Gharti is still doing what he did when he was a teenager. He lost his youth to the mines and fears his youngest son, who has recently started going to the mines, will lose his.

I dont want his life to be the same as mine. Hes only 16 and when I look at him, I think about how Ive wasted my life here, he says.

This is the story of many coal miners who live within the borders of the Dang and Rolpa districts. Almost everyone from this area depends on these coal mines. Despite knowing that these mines are hazardous and do not have a safe working environment, hundreds of coal miners try to earn money for themselves and their families.

Mines for money

Tej Bahadur Thapa looks at a bag full of coal he extracted from the coal mine.

Like Gharti, Ramches Tej Bahadur Thapa has worked for the most part of his life in these mines. Now 56, Thapa has been working in these mines since he was 18. During these years he has seen everything in the dark tunnels.

He knows how scary is it for coal miners to work in the mines. He has injured his leg, seen a friend die and others buried alive. Yet, he continues to work at the mines. There was a time when he quit for a bit and went to India looking for work. But, as he did not find what he was looking for, he returned and got back into the mines.

Its not easy to work in India. Id rather work and die in my own country, says Thapa.

When his friend Mohan Lal Kami died after the tunnel collapsed, he reconsidered working in the mines. But as time went by, he realised that that is all he knew and him quitting would be disastrous for this family.

Post-1995, the area saw a lot of coal mines come into operation. As of now, there are 12 such places. Some of these coal mines go as deep as 500 metres.

These places source their coal miners from the surrounding villages. For the past 25 years, the locals have depended on the mines for money.

Safety compromised

Yam Bahadur Gharti works in the coal mine without proper safety equipment.

Some coal miners extract coal while some carry the extracted coal from the mines to the outside. Some do both as they extract coal and carry the 50 kg bag from the mines. But, they have been doing this mostly by learning on the job. No one has been trained nor do they have an idea about where to dig.

In 1998, Dil Bahadur Sarki was coming out of the 500-metre long mine carrying a bag full when a rock fell into the tunnel and hit him. The rock got stuck on his leg, after which he could not move.

I thought that was it. I was going to die, he says. But, thankfully, people came in and rescued me.

He lived to see another day but suffered serious bruises to his leg. The rock broke two of his toes which resulted in him being hospitalised for nearly three weeks.

They put a metal rod on my toes, after which I could move my legs again, he says.

There are hundreds of women who work in the coal mines of Nepal.

Despite the fear of dying, coal miners still go there because they do not have other opportunities to make a living. Most people who work there are from marginalised communities who rarely get to do what they really want. This results in them risking their lives to work in these mines where some families have lost everything.

Mohan Lal Kami went to work in the mines near Tirang in Ghorahi in March 2021 but never returned. This caused major problems at his home as his wife had just given birth. Less than a year since Kamis death, his wife Shanti also died leaving behind a nine-month-old daughter and three other children in a sorry state.

Likewise, Drupadi Ghartis family also had to undergo a lot of trauma due to the mines. Along with other coal miners, her husband, Bhakta Bahadur, had gone to work in the mines on December 13, 2021, but never returned. Locals told her that Bhakta Bahadur had been trapped in the mine after it collapsed. Now, Drupadi has the responsibility to look after her two sons and a daughter.

What do I do now? He went to work in the mines for us to have a better life, but the same mine took his life, she says.

The past decade has seen six of these deaths and multiple people being injured. Despite this, over 100 people go to work in these mines every day. Even though there is a risk, these coal miners are still not provided helmets, masks, clothes and first aid kits.

Coal mining in Nepal

The government knows that the coal mines are unsafe yet they dont monitor these mines.

According to the Department of Mines and Geology, there are other places apart from Dang where coal mining is done. It says nearly 100,000 tonnes of coal is extracted from mines in Palpa, Dang, Pyuthan, Salya, and Arghakhanchi.

The coal is used by brick kilns and various industries. Even though coal extraction is high in number, the to poor quality, big kilns still import coals from other countries.

Currently, five companies are mining coals in Dang. Coal Industrialists Federations president Roshan Dahal says that these coal mines are too old.

Despite this, the Department of Mines and Geology has not done anything to regulate and monitor because coal mining is not its priority.

Almost everyone from the Tosh Village in Dang works in these coal mines.

The information officer at the department, Narayan Baskota, says that since the mines are very small, they have not been able to get inside the mine to check it and set proper guidelines.

It is also very expensive and dangerous to monitor these mines, which is why we havent been able to regulate it, says Baskota.

He says the department knows how dangerous these mines are and that lack of training is a major threat to the lives of coal miners there.

The coal miners dig where they find coal and that results in the tunnel collapsing and people getting trapped, he says.

He says that companies are given permission to mine coals on conditions that they set up lights in the tunnel and also have oxygen available close by in case of emergency. The companies have also been told that they will have to provide the coal miners with helmets and boots. But, in Nepal, these rules are not heeded by the companies.

We havent had people coming to us with any written complaints. If they do, we will take action. We need more people who work there to come and give us feedback, says Baskota.
RTHK: Senior Russian naval officer killed in Mariupol

A deputy commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet was killed in combat in the besieged port city of Mariupol during what Moscow calls its military operation in Ukraine, officials said on Sunday.

"Captain 1st Rank Andrei Nikolayevich Paly was killed in the fighting to liberate Mariupol from Ukrainian Nazis," the governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram.

Sevastopol is a port city in Crimea  annexed by Moscow from Ukraine in 2014  and the base of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

Paly was an "open and decent person" and "enjoyed great authority in the fleet", Razvozhayev added.

Yekaterina Altabaeva, Sevastopol's lawmaker in the Russian upper parliamentary house, also confirmed the death.

"Sevastopol has suffered a heavy, irreparable loss," Altabaeva said on Telegram, adding that Paly had died during "battles for the liberation of Mariupol from Nazis".

There was no immediate confirmation from Russia's defence ministry. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2022-03-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Trend





The Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy has appealed to exporters, Trend reports with reference to the ministry.

"Proceeding from the decision of the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Economy will give a conclusion on export of some goods in connection with the steady increase in the world prices for main food products on the world markets due to the climate change and recent geopolitical processes, as well as the problems in the logistics and supply chain of these goods in the markets of neighboring countries.

In this regard, the businessmen involved in the export of these goods can contact the Ministry of Economy by mail or via (https://www.economy.gov.az/en/ ).

The received appeals will be considered and an appropriate response will be given within five working days.

The corresponding structures of the ministry of economy work on holidays as usual to ensure the continuity of the process.

The interested individuals may contact in connection with additional questions via 195-2.
Kathmandu, March 20

Nepal and Seychelles, an Eastern African country, have reached a deal to make a bilateral labour agreement between the two countries.

The agreement was made in a bilateral meeting between Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha, who is on a visit to Republican Seychelles, and Minister for Employment and Social Affairs Patricia Francourt and Minister for Home Affairs Errol Fonseka.

An agreement was reached to form a joint task force to bring the bilateral labour agreement to a conclusion in a month, shares the ministrys secretariat.

Minister Shrestha says Nepal is ready to sign a bilateral labour pact with Seychelles.

The joint task force will make necessary preparation on the issues such as minimum qualification, linguistic competency and minimum remuneration. The ministrys Undersecretary Thaneswor Bhusal is leading the joint task force on behalf of Nepal.

As many as 1,250 Nepali people now are working in Seychelles, Minister Fancourt informed on the occasion, adding the host government was interested to import Nepali workers after making the formal signing of the labour pact.
(Recasts with more panic buying, South China Morning Post report on mass testing)

By Farah Master

HONG KONG, March 1 (Reuters) - Hong Kong residents braced for a city-wide lockdown, emptying supermarkets and pharmacies on Tuesday, even as leader Carrie Lam called for calm and appealed for the public not to worry over a compulsory mass COVID-19 testing plan.

Mass testing for the city's 7.4 million residents is set to take place over nine days starting in the second half of March, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing an unidentified source.

The news sparked concerns many people will be forced to isolate and families with members testing positive would be separated.

Officials are planning to test people three times over nine days, with the government still deliberating whether a lockdown would be done on a district basis or citywide, the SCMP said.

Exemptions would be made for those who buy food, seek medical treatment and maintain societal operations. Hong Kong's stock market would continue to operate, Sing Tao newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.

Lam had previously said she was not considering a city-wide lockdown.

On Tuesday, she appealed to the public "not to fall prey to rumours to avoid unnecessary fears being stirred", saying the supply of food and goods remaining normal.

"There is no need for members of the public to worry, they should stay vigilant and pay attention to the information disseminated by the government so as to avoid being misled by rumours," Lam said in a statement.

Despite her comments, dozens of people queued to enter pharmacies and banks across the city, while many scoured empty shelves in grocery stores to stock up on whatever essentials they could.

Streets and shopping malls in the heart of the city's Central financial district were eerily quiet in what would typically be a busy lunchtime period.

The Chinese ruled city has seen coronavirus infections surge some 34 times to over 34,000 on Monday from just over 100 at the start of February. Deaths are also climbing, with facilities for storing dead bodies at hospitals and public mortuaries at maximum capacity.

Story continues

Hong Kong continues to stick to a COVID policy of "dynamic zero", the same as mainland China, which seeks to curb all outbreaks at any cost. The Chinese ruled territory has implemented its most draconian measures since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

The rules have exacerbated separation fears among many families, with many fleeing ahead of the mass testing scheme and the build out of tens of thousands of isolation centres.

The former British colony has reported over 205,000 coronavirus infections and 744 deaths in total, however over 400 deaths have been in the past week, with the majority being unvaccinated residents.

Lam, who inspected a mainland Chinese built isolation centre on Monday, said the team had raced against the clock to "create a miracle" in the city's construction industry.

The Tsing Yi facility, located in the northwest of the city, would provide around 3,900 rooms for infected people with mild or no symptoms and others who need to isolate, she said. (Additional reporting by Anne Marie Roantree and Jessie Pang; Editing by Michael Perry)
Elon Musk visited Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing. Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Elon Musk's business interests in China are facing growing scrutiny in Washington.

Lawmakers fear China could access classified information, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Utah's Chris Stewart said "anyone would be concerned if there are financial entanglements with China."

Elon Musk's business connections to China are at the center of conversations among lawmakers in Washington.

The Wall Street Journal reported that while SpaceX may not have direct ties to China, some Republican lawmakers are concerned China could gain access to classified information through the firm's foreign suppliers, which may have ties to Beijing.

Human rights issues are also a concern. In January, Tesla was under scrutiny for opening a showroom in China's controversial region Xinjiang, where the government has been accused of committing crimes against humanity.

The showroom opened a few weeks after President Biden signed a bill approved by Congress to ensure any imported products from Xinjiang weren't manufactured with forced labor.

Utah's Rep. Chris Stewart told the WSJ that despite being a fan of Musk and SpaceX, "anyone would be concerned if there are financial entanglements with China."

Musk's lawyer Alex Spiro, Tesla, and SpaceX did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Insider's columnist Linette Lopez previously wrote in an analysis that while Musk hasn't broken any US laws by "launching Xinjiang on its electric journey," it was as though he was spitting in the face of Washington by selling cars to the people who are profiting from the suffering of Uyghurs.

The president of the Alliance of American Manufacturing industry body, Scott Paul, told BBC in January: "Any company doing business in Xinjiang is complicit in the cultural genocide taking place there. But Tesla's actions are especially despicable."

In 2019, Musk acquired cheap land in Shanghai. It has now become a Gigafactory where half of Tesla's global deliveries in 2021 came from, Insider's Huileng Tan previously reported.

Story continues

Florida's Senator Marco Rubio told the WSJ in a statement that "any company operating in China is going to be pressured and exploited by the Chinese Communist Party."

In December, Rubio urged his Senate colleagues to support his American Financial Markets Integrity and Security Act. If passed, it would prohibit US investment in Chinese companies that pose threats to America's national security.

While Tesla owns its factory, China still owns the land on which it is built, and its contract requires the company to generate a certain amount of tax revenue in order to stay on the land, Insider previously reported.

Meanwhile, Tesla opened its first European plant in Germany last year, which had been built under a series of provisional permits.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Rating Action: Moody's changes Senegal's outlook to stable from negative, affirms Ba3 ratingGlobal Credit Research - 18 Mar 2022New York, March 18, 2022 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has today affirmed the Government of Senegal's Ba3 long-term issuer ratings and changed the outlook to stable from negative. The rating on Senegal's foreign-currency senior unsecured debt has also been affirmed at Ba3. The short-term rating was affirmed at Not Prime (NP).The outlook change to stable from negative reflects an increased likelihood in Moody's view that the government's debt burden will stabilise, and in the absence of new significant shocks, eventually embark on a downward trajectory over the coming years. In particular, as energy projects come on stream and significantly bolster economic growth, Senegal benefits from some resilience to the global implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Fiscal consolidation will be a protracted process in Moody's view given elevated spending pressures, but will be supported by ongoing IMF arrangements as well as efforts to strengthen domestic revenue generation.The affirmation reflects the view that Senegal's credit profile remains consistent with a Ba3 rating. Membership in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) significantly reduces risks arising from Senegal's high levels of foreign-currency debt and mitigates risks stemming from sizeable current account deficits. Notwithstanding a strong growth outlook, wealth and economic competitiveness remain low in global terms and relative to rating peers. Senegal's hydrocarbon prospects support the economy's long-term growth potential, but the government's gas-to-power strategy also presents the potential for higher than anticipated public spending.Senegal's local and foreign currency country ceilings remain unchanged at Baa2 and Baa3, respectively. The local currency country ceiling is four notches above the sovereign rating to take into account the moderate footprint of the government in the economy, the relative strength of the institutional framework, as well as the mitigating impact of Senegal's WAEMU membership on external imbalances. The foreign currency country ceiling maintains a one-notch gap to the local currency country ceiling to reflect Moody's assessment of limited transfer and convertibility risks due to the French Treasury guarantee of the peg between the CFA franc and the euro.RATINGS RATIONALERATIONALE FOR THE CHANGE IN OUTLOOK TO STABLE FROM NEGATIVEThe decision to stabilise the outlook is driven by the increased likelihood in Moody's view that Senegal's central government debt burden will stabilise from around 67% of estimated GDP in 2021 and, in the absence of renewed significant shocks, will eventually start declining.In particular, the anticipated onset of hydrocarbon production significantly bolsters growth prospects for the next few years, lending some resilience to the global implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Also, increased domestic revenue mobilization and IMF anchoring are likely to contribute to gradual improvements in fiscal outcomes. As a result, Moody's expects Senegal's overall fiscal deterioration, relative to the pre-pandemic period of 2019, to be in line with peers at the Ba3 rating level.The path for the debt burden will be driven to a large extent by a strong medium-term growth outlook. Moody's expects economic growth to temporarily reach close to 10% in connection with the development of hydrocarbon production, driven by two major gas and oil projects currently targeted for completion in 2023, Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) and Sangomar. Outside of the strong, albeit transient, effects on growth of the expansion of the hydrocarbon sector, a trend growth rate of around 5% will be anchored by efforts to improve the environment for business and private investment, as well as the development of human capital. The government is also aiming to develop the Yaakar-Teranga gas project to underpin its gas-to-power strategy, allowing for more reliable and less costly electricity and a reduced reliance on oil imports. However, a final investment decision has not yet been reached.The pandemic has led to a sharp increase in the budget deficit, which widened to 6.4% of GDP in 2020 and 6.3% of GDP in 2021 (including 0.9 percent of GDP in exceptional spending related to the use of Senegal's IMF SDR allocation). Fiscal consolidation will be a protracted process in Moody's view given elevated social spending pressures and the downside risks presented by elevated global oil and food prices. However, multiannual efforts to increase the domestic revenue base will support fiscal improvements, while concurrent IMF arrangements provide a policy anchor for the recovery phase from the pandemic. Hydrocarbon revenues will also contribute positively to the budget once Sangomar and GTA come on stream, but to a relatively limited extent  in line with Senegal's expected status as a medium-sized oil and gas producer.Moody's confidence regarding Senegal's shock-absorption capacity has also increased. Relative resilience to the economic shock of the pandemic was demonstrated by a growth rate of 1.5% in 2020 compared to a median contraction of 4.8% across Ba3-rated peers, stemming from a strong agricultural season and the relatively effective fiscal policy support provided by the government's response to the shock through the Economic and Social Resilience Programme (PRES), which amounted to around 7% of GDP. Government borrowing costs remained contained, in part due to strong concessional support and regional liquidity support measures. Progress on structural reforms has also continued throughout the pandemic.Overall, the stable outlook reflects Moody's assessment of relatively resilient credit metrics for Senegal. Resilience will be tested in the next few years, since Russia's invasion into Ukraine and subsequent policy responses in major markets increases the downside risks for the global macroeconomic outlook with elevated inflationary pressures due to high energy prices and a deceleration of economic activity.RATIONALE FOR AFFIRMING THE Ba3 RATINGThe factors supporting the affirmation of Senegal's Ba3 sovereign rating include the macroeconomic and currency stability provided by its WAEMU membership, which significantly reduces risks arising from Senegal's high levels of foreign-currency debt. Pooled regional foreign-exchange reserves also provide a backstop to the balance of payments. WAEMU's pool of foreign exchange reserves stood at USD15 billion in December 2021, with gross international reserves equivalent to almost 6 months of import cover. The associated stability will be crucial in mitigating the terms-of-trade shock of high global commodity prices.Senegal benefits from a number of supportive debt structure factors which mitigate the risks inherent in a high debt load. These include: (1) reduced foreign-exchange risk because of the CFA franc's peg to the euro, as well as swap arrangements for US dollar-denominated commercial debt; (2) the debt burden's long average maturity, at around 10 years; and (3) a comparatively high proportion of concessional debt at around 40% of total debt as of end-2021, which supports debt affordability. Moody's forecasts the government's interest payments to reach 10.5% of revenue in 2022, compared to the Ba3-rated median of 11.8%.Balanced against these credit supports are challenges stemming from low income levels and weak economic competitiveness in global and relative terms, weighing on the economy's revenue-generation capacity. Although expected to stabilise and eventually decline, high debt levels remain a constraint on the government's capacity to absorb shocks and support the development of the economy. Taking the outstanding debts of state-owned enterprises and parastatals into account would add another seven percentage points of GDP to the central government debt stock. Meanwhile, the ultimate costs of the government's gas-to-power strategy remain uncertain, and the ability to finance infrastructure upgrades in the energy sector may be constrained by Senegal's high government debt burden.ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONSSenegal's ESG Credit Impact Score is highly negative (CIS-4), reflecting its high exposure to environmental and social risks and moderate governance. Resilience to environmental and social risks is increasingly constrained by low income and high debt levels.Senegal's credit profile is highly exposed to environmental risks, reflected in its E-4 issuer profile score. Physical climate risk exposure is high and mainly reflects heat stress and some exposure to sea level rise. Water risks are also very high with almost half of the population exposed to unsafe drinking water. Sensitivity to environmental risks is exacerbated by the high share of employment in the agricultural sector at 30% of total employment.Exposure to social risks is highly negative as reflected in the S-4 issuer profile score. Favourable demographic trends are counterbalanced by a high total dependency ratio and weak educational indicators, including low secondary enrollment rates. Access to basic services is also impaired with only 70% of the population having access to electricity. Labour markets feature a high share of vulnerable employment without formal work arrangements at 63% of the total. These precarious work arrangements are partially mitigated by household income support via remittances accounting for about 10% of GDP.Senegal has a moderate governance score (G-3 issuer profile) supported by governance reforms implemented with the technical assistance of the IMF under consecutive policy coordination programs, and solid control of corruption and political stability rankings among all rated sovereigns in the Worldwide Governance Indicators. Challenges relate to the ongoing control of below-the-line spending that had added to the debt stock in the past few years, and to the improved debt management of state-owned enterprises that affect the government's funding requirements.GDP per capita (PPP basis, US$): 3,503 (2020 Actual) (also known as Per Capita Income)Real GDP growth (% change): 1.5% (2020 Actual) (also known as GDP Growth)Inflation Rate (CPI, % change Dec/Dec): 2.4% (2020 Actual)Gen. Gov. Financial Balance/GDP: -6.4% (2020 Actual) (also known as Fiscal Balance)Current Account Balance/GDP: -10.8% (2020 Actual) (also known as External Balance)External debt/GDP: 83.5% of GDP (2020 Actual)Economic resiliency: ba2Default history: At least one default event (on bonds and/or loans) has been recorded since 1983.On 15 March 2022, a rating committee was called to discuss the rating of the Senegal, Government of. The main points raised during the discussion were: The issuer's economic fundamentals, including its economic strength, have materially increased. The issuer's institutions and governance strength, have not materially changed. The issuer's fiscal or financial strength, including its debt profile, has not materially changed. The issuer's susceptibility to event risks has not materially changed.FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGSFACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADEUpward pressure on the rating would arise from a more rapid and material decrease in the debt burden than Moody's currently expects, thereby improving the government's capacity to absorb shocks. This would likely be related to sustained fiscal consolidation and durable improvements in domestic revenue generation.FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO A DOWNGRADEDownward pressure on the rating would arise from protracted delays in the pace of targeted fiscal consolidation, that point to a pronounced and lasting increase in the debt burden. Materially higher than anticipated costs related to the development of Senegal's hydrocarbon resources that affect the sovereign's fiscal strength would also be credit negative.The principal methodology used in these ratings was Sovereign Ratings Methodology published in November 2019 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1158631. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.The weighting of all rating factors is described in the methodology used in this credit rating action, if applicable.REGULATORY DISCLOSURESFor further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004.For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on its website www.moodys.com.Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at http://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1288235.The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the UK and is endorsed by Moody's Investors Service Limited, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5FA under the law applicable to credit rating agencies in the UK. Further information on the UK endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating. Elisa Parisi-Capone Vice President - Senior Analyst Sovereign Risk Group Moody's Investors Service, Inc. 250 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10007 U.S.A. JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376 Client Service: 1 212 553 1653 Marie Diron MD - Sovereign Risk Sovereign Risk Group JOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456 Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service, Inc. 250 Greenwich Street New York, NY 10007 U.S.A. JOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376 Client Service: 1 212 553 1653  2022 Moodys Corporation, Moodys Investors Service, Inc., Moodys Analytics, Inc. and/or their licensors and affiliates (collectively, MOODYS). All rights reserved.CREDIT RATINGS ISSUED BY MOODY'S CREDIT RATINGS AFFILIATES ARE THEIR CURRENT OPINIONS OF THE RELATIVE FUTURE CREDIT RISK OF ENTITIES, CREDIT COMMITMENTS, OR DEBT OR DEBT-LIKE SECURITIES, AND MATERIALS, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND INFORMATION PUBLISHED BY MOODYS (COLLECTIVELY, PUBLICATIONS) MAY INCLUDE SUCH CURRENT OPINIONS. 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Saying she found the reports "disturbing," Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Sunday the Biden administration has yet to confirm reports that Russia is seizing Ukrainian citizens and shipping them into Russia.

Speaking on CNNs State of the Union, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said, I've only heard it. I can't confirm it. But I can say it is disturbing.

It is unconscionable for Russia to force Ukrainian citizens into Russia and put them in what will basically be concentration and prisoner camps, so this is something that we need to verify. Russia should not be moving Ukrainian citizens against their will into Russia.

CNN reported that several thousand residents of Ukrainian city Mariupol have been taken by Russian forces. On Saturday, more than 4,100 people, including 1,172 children, were evacuated from the city, which endured deathly strikes on a maternity ward and theater, among other attacks.

More than 2.6 million people have fled Ukraine as of March 15, according to POLITICO.

While discussing the situation in Ukraine with CNNs Jake Tapper, Thomas-Greenfield couldnt preview what Ukraines possible negotiations with Russia would look like or how the United States would respond to them but she did say the U.S. supports the negotiating efforts being made by Ukraine.

Tapper also asked Thomas-Greenfield about the upcoming emergency NATO summit that President Joe Biden is attending and the peacekeeping mission Poland plans on proposing at the summit. Thomas-Greenfield reiterated Bidens message that the U.S. will not be putting American troops on the ground.

We don't want to escalate this into a war with the United States. But we will support our NATO allies. We have troops, as you know, in NATO countries, and the president has made clear that, if there's an attack on any NATO countries under Article 5, that we will support those countries and defend those countries.

The ambassador also said she couldnt preview the decisions that will be made at the NATO conference but that other NATO countries may decide whether or not they want to put troops in Ukraine.
Born of stubbornness and stupidity on the European continent, the First World War decimated a generation of young Britons and sometimes left the living envying the dead.

Among the latter is Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, a homicide detective still battling shell shock in Charles Todds superb series. The 24th installment, A Game of Fear (William Morrow, $28.99, 320 pages), finds Rutledge investigating a possible murder committed by a presumed ghost in Walmer, a village on the Essex coast.

Lady Felicia Benton, owner of Benton Hall, insists to local authorities that while looking from a window she saw Capt. Roger Nelson murder someone. But two problems exist: No body was found, and Nelson, an RAF pilot, was killed in a car crash near Benton Hall during the war.

Meanwhile, Mary Dunn approaches Rutledge to seek his help in discovering the fate of her son Gerald, who disappeared from his military role as an airplane mechanic at a nearby airfield and is thought to be a deserter.

When a local widow who works at Benton Hall is killed, Rutledge begins to link the events to Miles Franklin, a multiple murderer who escaped custody.

Atmospheric and moving, the novel bears all the hallmarks established for years by Todd, a pseudonymous mother-and-son writing team based in the United States; sadly, the female member of the team died in 2021.

A superior example of crime fiction, a haunting exploration of war and its legacies and a sterling reaffirmation of its authors humanity, A Game of Fear offers escapist pleasuresincluding a breathless climaxwhile simultaneously eliciting thought on intellectual and moral issues.

QUIRKY CRIME SHORTS

To celebrate his 100th short story, prolific British mysterian Peter Loveseyalso no slouch at novelscollects 18 brief pieces in Reader, I Buried Them  and Other Stories (Soho Crime, $27.95, 384 pages).

Clever and quirky, his choices focus on people whose lives are unexpectedly visited by crime.

Among the best are:

Sweet and Low, in which stolen beehives lead to a honey of a revenge plot.

Reader, I Buried Them, in which flowers at a monastery play a larger role than funeral tributes.

Ghosted, in which a writer of romance novels tries her hand at a darker genre.

The Deadliest Tale of All, in which a persistent journalist attempts to elicit confessions of wrongdoing from Edgar Allan Poe.

The Three Pie Problem, in which Peter Diamond solves a murder committed at an office Christmas party.

A special treat is the reappearance of The Bathtub, Loveseys first published short story, which drew praise and encouragement from Ruth Rendell, an icon of British crime fiction.

The short story form offers blessings for writers and readers alike. Its a treat I give myself between novels, trying out fresh ideas and new ways of developing them, Lovesey says. And readers who might balk at the length of novels receive tales that can be read in one sitting.

Treat yourself to a diverse collection that offers shocks and satisfactionsand ends neither in late nights nor bleary mornings.

THE WITCH IS DEAD

The witch is dead, but no one in Burning Lake is singing Ding Dong or dancing in the streets.

Thus begins The Witching Tree (Minotaur, $27.99, 336 pages), the third entry in Alice Blanchards series featuring police Detective Natalie Lockhart.

Veronica Manes, a Wiccan who led the oldest white-magic coven in the upstate New York town, was a beloved paragon of kindness. The manner of her deathshe was shackled to railroad tracks and torn to pieces by a trainhas horrified the townspeople. Especially Natalie, who in the past year has led two investigations, the first supercharged by connections to Natalies family.

Tired and traumatized, shes pondering resignation. Understanding the extent of her suffering, Lt. Detective Luke Pittman has assigned her to a secondary role in the new case.

In 1712, three innocent women were burned at the stake after being found guilty of witchcraft; the town celebrates its connection to witches, but in a light and benevolent manner. As the Veronica Manes case develops, questions arise: Are some residents weary of the witch connection? Has a rift developed within Veronicas group or between it and the towns alternative coven?

Blanchard concocts a gripping and unusual whodunit with a complex protagonist, a wealth of suspects, an enlightening look at Wicca, a sober portrayal of small-town fears, and a cliff-hanger conclusion that demands a fourth installment in her series.

May the simmering cauldron of her imagination soon yield one.

Jay Strafford, a retired Virginia journalist, now lives in Florida.
Davis Defense Group Inc. celebrated its 20th year of excellence by partnering with We Plant Trees to plant more than 200 native trees in the Stafford County area.

Volunteers from DDG, We Plant Trees and Friends of the Rappahannock joined together March 5 to plant more than 300 Virginia native trees to mitigate the environmental impact of new residential developments in the Stafford area. Types of trees planted included river birch, red maple, white oak, flowering and silky dogwood, American beech, eastern redbud and sycamore.

DDG supports and believes in We Plant Trees mission of inspiring others and working to cultivate a better world for our children that counters world trends such as global warming. It works to help create a future that considers and incorporates sustainable environmental practices into everyday life. DDG has been committed to giving back to the Stafford, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania region since its inception in 2002.

DDG donates thousands of dollars every year, which has an immediate positive impact for the charities in the communities we serve. In celebration of DDGs 20th anniversary, we are excited to continue this trend by creating something that can be enjoyed by future generations as well, said CEO Kristi Wilder. Doing this work alongside DDG team members and neighbors makes it all the more meaningful.

DDG is a fast-growing women-owned small business with three offices in the area and operations worldwide. DDG has provided professional service solutions to the United States Armed Forces since 2002. These services include business analytics, IT and cybersecurity, acquisition, engineering, medical science and technology, and education. Information about Davis Defense may be found at its website, davisdefense.com.
Three Stafford residents have been charged in connection with a recent theft spree during which an estimated $9,000 worth of property was stolen.

Much of the property, about $7,500 worth, has been recovered and returned to their owners, Sheriffs Maj. Shawn Kimmitz said.

Kimmitz said between Feb. 27 and March 9, deputies responded to seven thefts in the Hartwood area. Kimmitz said thieves broke into sheds and garages and took such things as chainsaws, weedeaters, leaf blowers, generators and power tools.

Many of those items were pawned at pawn shops in Spotsylvania County, police said. Deputies T.A. Vasquez and C.M. Sterne and Det. A Sanchez Jr., examined numerous pawn records and conducted multiple interviews in gathering evidence against the suspects, Kimmitz said.

Brandon C. Meade, 21, is charged with larceny with the intent to sell. Nicholas M. Sciarra, 23, is charged with larceny with the intent to sell, breaking and entering, larceny and trespassing. Gabrielle Bourne, 23, is charged with grand larceny, false pretenses, receiving stolen goods and trespassing.

Meade and Sciarra were in the Rappahannock Regional Jail Saturday. Bourne is free on bond.

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ANNUAL BLOOD DRIVE SET FOR CAITLYN BROWN

The family of Caitlyn Brown says they cant think of a better way to close out her senior year at Chancellor High School than by hosting their eighth annual blood drive.

Brown, 19, has Diamond Blackfan Anemia, a rare bone marrow failure disorder for which there is no cure. Throughout her life, shes required blood transfusions every two to three weeks to keep her blood levels in normal ranges.

Her parents, Charlie and Debbie Brown, have held the drives in an effort to pay back the blood shes used. Never has that been more important, the Browns said, than as the nation faces its worst blood shortage in more than a decade.

The blood drive is planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Chancellor High School. Appointments are limited and most of the 65 slots were taken at press time, but the Browns wanted to encourage people who may want to donate on their daughters behalf to make an appointment elsewhere at redcrossblood.org.

Caitlyn Brown has been dependent on blood transfusions since summer 2012 and has received almost 300 units of blood in her lifetime. Many with her condition face the same dependency so you can only imagine the amount of blood they need to live, her mother said. This is why blood donation is so very important.

The Browns also encourage people to register to be a bone marrow donor at bethematch.org.

At Saturdays blood drive, theyll hold a bake sale to benefit the Diamond Blackfan Anemia Foundation, which has provided support and information.

CHRONIC CONDITIONS TOPIC OF SERIES

RappahannockRapidan Community Services is offering a free Chronic Disease Self-Management Workshop that participants can do in their own time and at their own pace.

Available through a federal grant to the Virginia Department of Health, the series consists of weekly 30-minute phone calls with a trained leader and a free kit that includes a book about living with chronic conditions, a self-study guidebook and two CDs.

Those interested can join a small phone group or arrange a one-on-one series, and the workshop begins about a week after registration.

Topics covered include action-planning, decision-making, problem-solving, physical activity, understanding emotions, working with providers, communication, breathing techniques, healthy eating and better sleeping.

To register or for more information, contact bonnired@comcast.net or 540/547-4824.

SRMC EARNS TOP SAFETY AWARD

Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center received the 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award, placing it in the top 5 percent of nearly 4,500 hospitals assessed nationwide for patient safety by Healthgrades, which connects consumers, physicians and health systems.

The award evaluates the safety and quality of care at a hospital by measuring the rate at which serious, potentially preventable complications and adverse events occurred.

Four issues accounted for 74 percent of all issues: hip fracture due to an in-hospital fall; collapsed lung resulting from a procedure/surgery; pressure or bed sores acquired in-hospital; and catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in-hospital.

Cathy Dyson
By Trend





The First Deputy Minister of Defense - Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Army, Colonel General Karim Valiyev visited the units stationed in Shusha and Hadrut to conduct an inspection of combat readiness, Trend reports citing the press service of the Defense Ministry.

Bringing the units that were put on alert to a high level of combat readiness, commanders' practical skills in prompt decision-making and the use of forces, as well as strengthening the combat duty and other actions were worked out.

The Chief of the General Staff gave specific instructions to the relevant officials on further increasing the level of combat, physical and moral-psychological training, strengthening military discipline, as well as issues of logistic support.

Then Colonel General Valiyev got acquainted with the conditions created in one of the commando military units.

The Chief of the General Staff met with the military personnel and enquired about their concerns. It was once again brought to the attention of the military personnel that the courage and heroism shown by the Azerbaijan Army servicemen during the Second Karabakh War are highly appreciated by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ilham Aliyev.

Colonel General Valiyev, on behalf of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, congratulated the military personnel on the Novruz holiday and wished them success in their future service.

Then an official meeting was held with the participation of the command staff, and the tasks assigned to the Azerbaijan Army by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ilham Aliyev were brought to the attention of the military personnel.

Relevant instructions were given on further increasing the level of the units combat capability, improving the knowledge and skills of the command staff, studying the capabilities of weapons, equipment, and devices recently adopted into the armament, continuing to conduct exercises in conditions close to real combat, taking into account the experience gained in the Second Karabakh War and modern combat methods, as well as on increasing vigilance during the holidays.
When Marylander Chris Haley drives south to visit family in the Carolinas and Georgia, he finds himself thinking of other relatives as he transits Virginia on Interstate 95.

He remembers his uncle Alex, and the story he brought to light about their ancestor, Kunta Kinte, a man abducted in Gambia, Africa, taken to Annapolis, Md., and enslaved in Spotsylvania County. Haley shared those memories in an interview Friday.

On Tuesday, in a virtual discussion hosted by Germanna Community College, hell share more about his uncle, whose novel Roots and resulting TV miniseries prompted millions to research their own family histories and discuss the tough stuff of American history, including slavery.

The free conversation at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday is open to all; registration at germanna.edu is required. Also on the panel will be Charles L. Chavis Jr., director of African and African American Studies at George Mason University. Scott Ackerman, a history professor at Germanna, will moderate.

Roots was a revelation, which people have been talking about ever since, Haley said Friday. Before it, this history was shunted aside. Thats why what my uncle did was so amazing.

Alex Haley, who also wrote The Autobiography of Malcolm X, was credited by The New York Times in 2021 with having taught America about race.

His nephew, Chris, is the Maryland State Archives research director for the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland project. He was a teen when Roots hit the airwaves in 1977, but its impression on him is still fresh. Like millions, Haley stayed up for eight nights watching the drama on ABC about seven generations of a single African American familyhis own.

For me, watching it was an out-of-body experience. ... This was based on my ancestors, Haley recalled. It was like watching a cinematic version of an aspect of your life.

The next day, everywhere, Roots was peoples water-cooler chatter. It became huge, all of a sudden, he said.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Haley now lives in Prince Georges County, Md.

He said Roots changed peoples perception that having kin who were enslaved, or being of mixed race, were things to be ashamed of.

Accept your heritage, Haley said. Do not let it diminish you. Use it as a springboard to whatever direction you want to go, to empower you. Roots sparked a real shift in that thinking.

Roots showed you can be proud of your background, just by surviving it and pursuing joy in everyday life in your friends, children, community and fellowship.

At its heart, his uncles book was a family story about a boy trying to become a man, trying to make his father and grandparents proud, he said.

Everyone can relate to that, regardless of what you were born into or the challenges you face, he said.

Roots promoted the idea that the way you share that history is by talking about it, speaking about your story to your spouse or younger child, talking about who your father or grandparents were, so that can be passed along, he said.

He urged talking with family members and asking for letters or photos that include them. Talk about that person and what they meant to you, he said. Thats how that person stays alive.

Roots ended up helping everyone think this is worth doing, for people to know who came before them, regardless of your ethnic background, national origin, religious affiliation or what have you, Haley said. It is a universal story of people who have fathers, mothers, grandparents, uncles and cousins.

After acting on Broadway and at Universal Studios in Orlando, Haley sought to learn historical research methods and landed at the Maryland State Archives. Haley and his team have spent years building Marylands slavery database, opening windows into the past for thousands of people.

Haley is aware some have speculated Kunta Kinte was a fictional character, but he is confident the story is real, centered on his ancestors life in Africa and on Spotsylvania Countys Waller plantation.

Alex Haley and LeVar Burton, the actor who portrayed Kinte in Roots, once visited the plantation and its graveyard. Spotsylvania Judge A. Nelson Waller, who dined locally with the author in 1977, had watched the miniseries and said of its tale, Thats all part of history, just like the Battle of the Wilderness or the Second World War.

About 20 years ago, Chris Haley visited the plantation with two researchers, exploring what they believed was the Waller familys slave cemetery where Kinte is buried.

Several years ago, a member of the Waller family contacted him to inquire about holding a Haley and Waller family reunion, he said. The idea didnt go anywhere.

It wasnt for me to decide, he said. Haley had deferred the proposal to his father and uncle George, the family patriarchs, and Alexs children. His father died 10 years ago, George in 2015.

Haley and his kin post items regularly on Facebooks Alex Haley Family page.
Of all the places to find an insider on Russian politics, particularly one who knows what makes President Vladimir Putin tick, who would have thought to look in the woods of Spotsylvania County?

For there, in a $1.6 million home with lakefront views and bookcases stacked 10 shelves highas well as walls decorated with photos of people and places from around the worldlives Franz J. Sedelmayer. Born and educated in Germany, he also attended the University of Utah, served in the German Army Airborne, then joined the family business, selling defense products.

But perhaps the greatest schooling the 58-year-old received came in the 1990s, during the seven years he did business with the Russian Federation. Convinced that counterterrorism was a growingand lucrativefield and that Russia was more open to business, thanks to the policies of then-President Mikhail Gorbachev, Sedelmayer made a bid to teach special operations tactics to Russian police forces.

And he was successful, thanks in part to relationships built and friends made, including Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, a former KGB officer who was deputy mayor of St. Petersburg at the time.

He used to be a guy like us, right up our avenue, he was a reliable person to deal with in my days in St. Petersburg, Sedelmayer said in a 2021 video. He was one of the guys who was a handshake guy. We agreed on something with him and it would be done.

But Sedelmayer would see with his own eyesand through the devastation to his own business bank accounthow Putin changed as he rose to power. How that absolute power morphed into corruption as the man nicknamed Volodya was willing to do whatever it took to retain his chokehold.

It didnt happen all at once, but slowly and steadily, as Putin chipped away at the foundations of a free society, Sedelmayer said. He created a Russia that not only has bombed the military and civilian targets of its neighbor, Ukraine, but also punished its own citizens who protest the action. Anyone who even mentions war and peace can be arrested, said Sedelmayer, who keeps in touch with associates in both countries and throughout Europe.

Where Putin is today was unthinkable 20 years ago, he said.

In 2019, Sedelmayer predicted that Putinwho in previous campaigns seized land from the country of Georgia and the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine while the world watchedwould continue to flex his muscles whenever he needed to drum up support at home.

We can expect a lot more violence to come in the next years, Sedelmayer said.

KILLING EVERYTHING

Sedelmayer was more than an observer of Russian-style tactics, which he said at times made him feel like he was caught in an episode of The Sopranos, an HBO series about a New Jersey crime family.

He was a victim of their way of doing businessor at least the authorities tried to make him one. After hed built a successful business, SGC International, Sedelmayer equipped and trained police forces, including the KGBs first SWAT team based on Western principles.

In those days, all [Russian] law enforcement were military people, Sedelmayer said during an interview at his home. You see they havent changed their tactics, theyre bombing everything in [Ukraine], theyre killing everything on the ground. Thats their understanding of a surgical strike.

Likewise, police would kill everyoneincluding hostages in such situationsand consider the operation successful, he said.

Our mission became to introduce them to Western-style modern law enforcement. So any piece of equipment we sold came with training, including how to put on handcuffs because most Russian cops didnt even have handcuffs in those days, he said. They were tying them up with wires or rope, it was like the Middle Ages. They had cars that wouldnt run, crime labs that didnt work, it was just a complete disaster.

As his company progressed, the local police force wanted a piece of the financial pie and tried to take over his business. Sedelmayer appealed to Putin because the two had spent scores of hours together when the German first did business in Russia, Sedelmayer wrote in a 2019 opinion piece for The New York Times.

He sat in my headquarters on Stone Island as we conversed, in the almost-perfect German he likes to speak, over beer and Bavarian food. My trust in those early days was based on the fact that he acted rationally and appeared to be sincere in his interest in St. Petersburg, Sedelmayer wrote. Putin signed the registration papers for my security company and personally registered them. He advised and counseled me. He helped me expand my business.

But when his business was threatened, Putin turned a blind eye. Even though Sedelmayer had signed a 25-year lease on his military training compound, then-President Boris Yeltsin seized it for use as a state retreat.

Putin let it happen, Sedelmayer said, because by then, he was expecting a Kremlin post and was on his rise to power.

A DETERMINATION

The German businessman wasnt about to sit by and do nothing. Sedelmayer sued the Russian Federation, which others had tried but hadnt succeeded because the country always claimed sovereign immunity.

Sedelmayer not only won his case but he also received a settlement of more than $7 million from Russiaalmost three times the amount for which he had originally sued.

He became the only man to collect money from Vladimir Putin, according to the subtitle of the book Welcome to Putingrad. He and John Weisman, a regular on the New York Times bestseller list, wrote it in 2017 after Sedelmayer got his last payment from Russia.

Its both a compelling narrativehumorous at times and borderline terrifying at othersas well as look at the mindset and collective memory of a people whose leaders historically have ruled with a hammer. Its also a story thats particularly relevant these days, said Paul Miller, who lives in the same lakefront neighborhood as Sedelmayer.

Franz is a talker, outgoing, its what he does, as he brings people together by connecting them and has a determination to get things done, Miller said. Franz is a good friend and great neighbor.

Miller said Sedelmayer shares a trait with the late Colin Powell, Army officer and former secretary of state. He believes in looking into things for himself and is careful with experts, who as Powell said, sometimes have more data than judgment.

SUPERMAN LOST

He took his case to a Stockholm arbitration court, but it was hardly one-and-done. Part of Russias successful campaign to avoid payouts included wearing down its opponents.

Sedelmayer faced 143 different court cases in three countries. It took him 2 years to win a judgment but another 12 years for it be enforcedand for him to collect his money.

In the cigar room of the expansive home he shares with his Russian-born wife Vlada, Sedelmayer laughed easilyand oftenwhen recounting his experiences. Most times, there was barely the trace of an accent, but when asked why he was successful when others failed, it wasnt clear if he said he was hungry or ornery enough.

He actually said hungry, but both adjectives might apply.

Sedelmayer pushed full-court press against a system headed by someone who thinks himself Superman, said Jack Gosnell, U.S. consul general in St. Petersburg from 199194, on the book jacket. Superman lost.

Sedelmayer represented himself at times and had two attorneys at othersand ended up paying about $2 million in legal fees. They sometimes sought measures that hadnt been tried before to get Russia to pay up. One example involved Lufthansa, Germanys largest airline.

Every time Lufthansa planes flew into Russian territories, they had to pay Russia fees for using their airspace. Sedelmayer convinced the courts to make him a garnishee of those fees, to be a third party to whom the money would be paid as part of his claim.

Russia didnt like that and told Lufthansa that if it was going to pay Sedelmayer, then stay out of Russia.

That whole thing creates a political problem for everyone, which I love because eventually somebody has to pay me because Im not going anywhere, Sedelmayer said.

He got such a good education about beating the state-held system, Sedelmayer became a consultant who helps others in the same situation. And hes been paid to share his story in prestigious settings from Harvard University Law School to gatherings of London litigators.

TO WORLD WAR III

While many of the photos in his home show him laughing, Sedelmayer turns serious when he talks about Ukraine. Hes glad to see the United States and its allies standing up to impose sanctions against Russia after it invaded Ukraine.

We should have done it literally 10 or 12 or 15 years ago and we didnt and now the only choice we have is war or no war, he said. Think about it.

He believes his homeland of Germany and his adoptive home of Americahes here on a five-year investors visaand other NATO countries must give Ukraine the tools they need to survive. Not troops, but armament. Otherwise, there will be no end to Putins destruction.

Sedelmayer learned to play hard ball and believes nations who want to preserve democracy better do the same thing.

They should give the Russians a hard time, Sedelmayer said. You have to beat them in the field, you have to help the Ukrainians. Its not going to lead us to World War III. If we dont do that, thats what will lead us to World War III.

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As many Americans search for a reprieve from rising gas prices, one Stafford County church stepped up to assist on Saturday.

House of Victory provided free gas to dozens of motorists at Royal Farms on Plank Road in Fredericksburg. The first 100 vehicles that arrived at the gas station, starting at noon, were each given up to $50 worth of free fuel.
Americans have become too soft to defend democracy

Forget the uproar over whether Maus or Beloved belong in school libraries; the book that should be required reading for all American high school history students is Barbara Tuchmans Pulitzer prize-winning The Guns of August, which documents the inevitable stumble of Europe into the Great War. Allegedly, it inspired JFKs handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Americas students need to understand the world could be at such another juncture.

Very few Americans remember firsthand rationing of sugar, coffee, tires, gasoline and other products imposed to defeat the Axis powers. But while brave Ukrainians and their heroic president confront a nuclear armed madman, we will grumble over $5-a-gallon gasoline. Instead of ditching gas-guzzlers and driving less, so that economic sanctions can hit Russia hard, we will undermine our leadership for partisan gain and embolden our enemies to persist in their war crimes.

Boy, are we soft! My grandparents generation, which fought two world wars and lived through a worldwide depression, must be ruefully shaking their heads over our utter inability to tolerate any hardship, never mind that it pales in comparison to that of the citizens in Kyiv. I fear that only when once again American men and women are dying on a European battlefield will we be up to the task of confronting the enemies of democracy.

The theme of Winston Churchills Their Finest Hour speech is how the British people held the fort alone till those who hitherto had been half blind were half ready. Americans had best not be blind to Putins intentions, nor half ready to confront them with all the righteous might of the worlds strongest democracy.

John Buford

Bowling Green
Hundreds of former Afghan government judges from 34 provinces who had been removed and replaced by the Taliban have filed suit to regain their jobs.

In a March 20 news conference, the former judges demanded that the Taliban government return them to their positions and provide them with six months of salary.

The judges claimed that some 2,000 former magistrates were involved in the suit against the government.

Arafat Ghavam, one of the dismissed judges, told Radio Azadi that if no decisions are made about their fate within a month, they will have to leave the country.

"We have set a time for them to review our demands for a month, because if our demands are not met, most judges will have to leave the country and become immigrants, he said.

Should this happen, it will not be a good result for the governing system, for the nation, or for the people.

In response to previous judicial protests, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Radio Azadi that some judges had been dismissed for their alleged involvement in injustices and corruption in the previous pro-Western government.

Taliban government officials did not respond to Radio Azadi requests for comment on the latest protest and lawsuit.

Many of the former judges had sentenced Taliban and Islamic State extremist members, kidnappers, drug traffickers, and other criminals to prison over the past two decades.

One of the former judges who asked not to be identified told the German news agency dpa that the Taliban had conditionally allowed them to hold the news conference but that they were not allowed to complain directly about the Taliban.
Prosecutors in Pakistan said on March 20 that they have appealed to the countrys top court after a man was acquitted of murdering his celebrity sister in one of the most high-profile honor killing cases in the country in recent years.

Controversial social media star Qandeel Baloch -- who was dubbed the Kim Kardashian of Pakistan -- was strangled to death by her brother, Muhammad Waseem, in 2016.

Waseem had publicly said he had no remorse for the killing his 26-year-old sister over her intolerable behavior, after she posted racy pictures of herself with a Muslim cleric.

Waseem, 38, was sentenced to life in prison. But in February -- after spending six years in prison -- he was freed on a legal technicality that allows a victim's mother to pardon the crime.

A lawyer for Waseems mother said she had given "her consent" to pardon him.

"We have challenged his acquittal, which was granted to him on mere assumptions and technical grounds," state prosecutor Khurram Khan told the AFP news agency on March 20.

Khans said that the appeal was filed on March 18.

Hundreds of women in Pakistan are killed each year by male relatives in so-called honor killings for violating conservative norms and allegedly bringing shame to the reputation of their families.

Pakistani lawmaker Maleeka Bokhari said the Supreme Court has an opportunity to set an important precedent when the case reaches its doors.

Based on reporting by AFP and dawn.com
Pakistans lower house of parliament is scheduled to convene on March 25 to take up a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, in what has been described as the toughest test Khan has faced since coming to power in 2018.

The announcement was made by the lower house speaker's office on March 20.

An alliance of opposition parties filed the motion against Khan this month, saying he had lost his parliamentary majority after more than a dozen defections from his party, Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI).

The defections have left Khan with about a dozen seats fewer than the minimum -- 172 -- needed for a majority.

The joint opposition controls 163 seats in the lower house, but it could build a majority if most of the PTI defectors effectively join its ranks via a no-confidence vote.

In a public rally, Khan urged the lawmakers who had defected to return to the PTI.

"Get back. You will be forgiven. Like a father forgives his children," he told the rally.

The opposition accuses Khan of mismanaging the economy and foreign policy. Khan rejects such criticism.

Political analysts also say Khan has fallen out with Pakistan's powerful military, whose support is critical for any party to attain power.

No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed his full term in office.

Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, Reuters, and dawn.com
Jerd Smith is editor of Fresh Water News. She can be reached at 720-398-6474, via email at jerd@wateredco.org, or @jerd_smith.

Fresh Water News is an independent, nonpartisan news initiative of Water Education Colorado. WEco is funded by multiple donors. Editorial policy and donor list can be viewed at wateredco.org.
The process of organizing any event on its sovereign territory by Azerbaijan and the participation of international representatives in this event is beyond Armenias competence, Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said while commenting on the protest of the Armenian side in connection with the participation of a UN representative in the conference in Azerbaijans Shusha city, Trend reports.

"According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the UN representative in Armenia was summoned to the Armenian Foreign Ministry due to participation in the conference dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Azerbaijan-UN partnership on March 18 in Shusha city," Abdullayeva said.

The spokesperson added that the process of organizing any event on its sovereign territory by Azerbaijan and the participation of international representatives in this event is beyond Armenias competence.

"Armenia's interference in the internal affairs of other country is unfounded and unacceptable," Abdullayeva said. "Armenia's territorial claims against Azerbaijan show that it has not drawn the correct conclusions from the result of the 44-day Armenia-Azerbaijan Karabakh war."

The spokesperson said that this position of the Armenian Foreign Ministry is nothing but an attempt to hamper the joint peacekeeping efforts of Azerbaijan and the leading members of the international community in the region.

"We bring to the attention of the Armenian Foreign Ministry that Shusha is the indigenous territory of Azerbaijan," Abdullayeva said. "This city, the cradle of Azerbaijani culture, along with other territories, was liberated in 2020, and our territorial integrity was restored."

The spokesperson said that the UN has never taken a neutral position on the ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, on the contrary, it supported Azerbaijans territorial integrity in resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council.

"In this regard, it is unclear what kind of "neutral status" the Armenian Foreign Ministry is calling for," Abdullayeva said. "In conclusion, we would like to reiterate that the sooner Armenia accepts the realities of the post-conflict period in the region, the more useful it will be for this country."
Numerous political newcomers earned a place on the Republican June primary ballot Saturday during contentious assemblies at Vista Ridge High School, where a loud and passionate crowd made their disgust for current election processes and COVID-19 era lockdown policies clear.

The assemblies run by the Republican Party offer candidates a path to the ballot that can be cheaper and more accessible than petitioning, and the votes offered a fresh crop of Republicans a chance at office in numerous county and state house seats.

In the El Paso County sheriff's race, the field narrowed to three Republican candidates: Todd Watkins, Greg Maxwell and Joe Roybal, who is petitioning on. They are competing to replace Sheriff Bill Elder, who is term-limited. The victor will take over an office with a major staff shortage in a community with growing demands.

Former border patrol agent Todd Watkins received about 62% of the vote, got the loudest response from the crowd and promised to defend residents against unconstitutional mandates and regulations.

I pledge my loyalty to your rights, he said.

He also promised not to surveil the community and send tickets based on camera footage.

The Broadmoors Security Director, Maxwell, submitted petitions and achieved a high enough percentage of votes at assembly to make the ballot, Clerk and Recorder Chuck Broerman said. If county candidates submit enough valid petitions they only need 10% of the vote at assembly to compete and Maxwell captured 23% of the vote.

Maxwell promises to be a constitutional sheriff that would stand up to federal overreach. His diverse background in law enforcement and business would also set him apart and allow him to innovate to improve the office and make the community safer, he said.

Steve Noblitt, a lieutenant in the Colorado Springs Police Department, received 14% of the vote after promising to address staffing, burnout and long response times at the Sheriffs Office. He also said he would deport undocumented people committing crimes. He cast himself as a professional rather than a politician. He did not turn in enough valid petitions to advance with only 14% of the vote at assembly.

In the county commission races, Lindsay Moore was unopposed in the assembly and will face incumbent Holly Williams in District 1, the north-central region of the county. Moore promised to remove Dominion voting machines from the clerk's office.

Williams withdrew from the assembly process and will appear on the ballot after submitting a sufficient number of petitions, Broerman said.

In District 5, Dave Winney, a former Secretary of State candidate, will face off against incumbent Cami Bremer. Both garnered more than 30% of the vote at assembly, with Winney winning the majority.

In the clerk and recorder's race, Peter Lupia was the only candidate who went through the county nomination process and so he made the ballot and will face County Assessor Steve Schleiker in the primary. Schleiker submitted petitions.

Lupia promised an enthusiastic crowd he would eliminate Dominion voting machines from the county and return to hand-counting ballots. He also says he intends to advocate to the state for an end to mail-in voting and return to all in-person voting, among other major reforms, he said. Lupia, a businessman, said he will bring trust back in the elections process.

Outsiders are sometimes the best suited for the job, he said.

At the state level, many El Paso County seats will see a new face in November election following a few upsets, redistricting and announcements by incumbents not to run for reelection.

State Rep. Dave Williams, who is running to replace Rep. Doug Lamborn, said the trend showed voters were unhappy with incumbents generally. Williams shared the results of the House District races.

In House District 14, Rose Pugliese, an attorney who moved to Colorado Springs in late 2020, garnered a majority at assembly. Joe Woyte, a former City Council candidate, also made the ballot. Incumbent Shane Sandridge decided not to run for election.

In House District 15, newcomer Scott Bottoms beat out Vickie Broerman, a former Board of Health member, and Garfield Johnson, a former City Council candidate and businessman.

In House District 16, held by former Colorado Springs City Councilman Andy Pico, City Councilman Dave Donelson beat out Lisa Czelatdko, who also served on the City Council.

In House District 17, Rachel Stovall, a community activist, is unopposed in the Republican race.

In House District 20, a seat held by Tim Geitner, Don Wilson beat out veteran Israel Del Toro and Darcy Schoening, who is a Town of Monument trustee. Geitner decided not to run again.

In House District 21, Karl Dent, a former candidate for sheriff, beat out incumbent Mary Bradfield and Juli Henry. Dent, a Fort Carson veteran who started a private security company in Colorado Springs was sentenced to probation in October for felony trespassing.

In House District 22, Ken Degraaf, who promises to roll back government powers, beat out David Stiver, who worked on the Crime Victim Bill of Rights, his website states.

This story has been updated to correct the district that Bremer and Winney are competing in. An incorrect candidate was listed in District 20 race as well. Darcy Schoening was competing against Don Wilson and Israel Del Toro.
Coroner Dr. Leon Kelly will face a challenger in the June Republican primary following Saturdays El Paso County Assembly.

Kelly received 31% of the vote  a percentage higher than the minimum needed to make the ballot.

His competitor, Dr. Rae Ann Weber, was a write-in candidate who received the majority of the vote after promising the crowd that she would be a freedom doctor who would never support COVID-19 mandates or improperly sign a COVID-19 death certificate.

I will never sign away your business, your childrens education or any of your constitutional freedoms, she told the assembly.

Kelly said he never supported COVID-19 vaccine mandates. He also said he investigated deaths the state reported as being caused by COVID, and removed them from the data if they were improper.

While he volunteered to help with the public health response to COVID-19, his office's mission is to work on determining the cause of sudden and violent deaths.

The coroner does not have control over local COVID-19 mandates, and El Paso County never enacted its own local mandates. State mandates in effect earlier in the pandemic have been phased out.

Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen nominated Kelly for re-election and praised his abilities as a forensic pathologist and expert witness during criminal trials.

Dr. Kelly gives the victims of violent crime a voice that demands to be heard in the courtroom, he said. The more we know what went wrong in these deaths, the more equipped we are to prevent these deaths in the future, he said.

Weber, a family physician, noted that a coroner does not have to be forensic pathologist to do the job. She said she would provide proper oversight to the office and promised to investigate all deaths related to COVID-19 vaccines.

She is the co-founder of Family Care Center, an out-patient behavioral health care provider in town.

She told the crowd that she has received two complaints against her medical license during the pandemic for sharing so-called medical misinformation.

Weber has been active during the pandemic, advocating against masks and other measures, she said.

Colorado State Rep. Dave Williams backed Weber for her anti-mandate stances.

We need to throw out the COVID fear mongers, he said.
By Trend





A military unit of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has been inugurated in Sugovushan settlement, Tartar region.

President of Azerbaijan, Victorious Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the inauguration.

Minister of Defense Colonel General Zakir Hasanov reported to the head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva first watched the combat equipment lined up in a row.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces was informed of the conditions created in the military unit.

The President and the First Lady viewed conditions created at the military units canteen.

All conditions were created here for the servicemen for conducting their services at a high level.








Jon Caldara is president of the Independence Institute in Denver and hosts The Devils Advocate with Jon Caldara on Colorado Public Television Channel 12.
BOULDER  Almost one year after a gunman killed 10 people in a mass shooting at a neighborhood supermarket, the language and symbols of a community united in mourning are less omnipresent than they were.

Boulder Strong signs no longer hang in every single window. The fence around the King Soopers, erected to block off the crime scene but quickly repurposed as a grassroots memorial, came down last summer. The store reopened in February, after a whole-cloth remodel and with a facade that looks nothing like before.

Despite the visuals, make no mistake: This mountain oasis, defined by arts and outdoors, happiness and herbal tea, is still processing its grief and making peace, if such a thing is possible.

Its definitely been a rough year, trying to grow from that and learn from all those experiences that Ive been through. Its not getting any easier, and it never will be honestly, without her, said 21-year-old Matisse Molina, whose friend Tralona Bartkowiak  a woman who wasnt just her boss at Umba clothing store but a mom and sister, in one person  was killed in the shooting. Its taken a really big hit on my life. It was honestly one of the worst days of my life.

And in the life of the city she calls home.

On the afternoon of March 22, 2021, then-21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol in the King Soopers parking lot before moving inside to stalk the aisles. Ambulance crews from around the region responded to a scene that  uncharacteristically, tragically  had only one memorable, transportable injury: Alissa, who was shot in the leg prior to being taken into custody.

Those he killed were 20-year-old Denny Stong, Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Teri Leiker, 51; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; Jody Waters, 65; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49, and Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley.

Talley was one of the first officers on the scene at 3600 Table Mesa Drive. The 51-year-old officer, whod made the jump to law enforcement after a successful career in information technology, was a father of seven.

Friday morning, the department ceremonially parked a patrol car in front of the station and set out a poster-sized photo of Talley. They will remain there through Tuesday, as a place for community members to leave memorial notes, flowers and other items.

We did do this last year, and folks asked us  they wanted to pay their respects and asked how they could do it, said Dionne Waugh, spokesperson for the Boulder police, adding that the last year had been a very challenging one for her department  and likely will continue to be. I think this time of year is always going to bring up a lot of emotions in everybody, and it affects everybody differently.

Memorial celebrations in Boulder A patrol car will be parked at the Boulder Police Department at 1805 33rd St. through March 22. On Tuesday at 2 p.m., the Boulder Police Department will hold a Line of Duty Death commemoration. The event will be live-streamed. At 2:30 p.m., March 22, Boulder city offices and operations will have a moment of silence. Between 4:30-6 p.m. a citywide remembrance gathering will be held at Glen Huntington Bandshell on Canyon Boulevard. State, federal and local officials are expected to attend. Details about other private events will be posted on the Boulder Strong website at weareboulderstrong.com

In the months after Talley was killed, the department added his name to a memorial stone slab out front, as well as to a digital memorial display dedicated to fallen officers in the lobby. Officer Talleys death also carved a mark on the department in other, less publicly-visible ways, Waugh said.

Weve had officers  who have retired early and left in part or in large part because of last years tragedy. Weve had people join the profession inspired to protect their community because of Erics sacrifice," she said.

How the survivors of tragedy process emotions, and sometimes dont, is something Julie Ratinoff sees on a daily basis as an art-based clinician and interim manager at the nonprofit Boulder Strong Resource Center.

The center is a hub where those impacted by the shooting can get support and services. It was initially housed near the King Soopers on Table Mesa but moved to a building on Baseline Road last summer. The center is an art-filled space with comfy furniture, a lounge area and private rooms where people can get one-on-one counseling and trauma support, massage, yoga, as well as engage in a range of therapy.

Because there is no right way to process grief or trauma.

Trauma affects people in many different ways, and one thing we know is that not everyone is affected right away or is not aware that theyre affected, Ratinoff said. So we see people that are just starting to come in now. We have ... King Soopers employees that are regulars that have been coming in from the get-go. We may see people in a couple years that were affected.

Nonetheless, last week she said the center had seen an uptick of people in need, and she expected to see more still as the anniversary approaches.

We definitely expect to be pretty busy next week, and then after that," Ratinoff said. We see more people generally around anniversaries and holidays. But other days can be a trigger. A cloudy day. A Monday. All of those things that happened on that day can be events that trigger people.

The center also has a room with a big-screen TV where court hearings can be viewed in an environment where victims can also get the cushion of clinical support and peer support, if needed.

Thats also very triggering, and if youve been following the court proceedings its been going very slowly  so its going to be really hard for the victims families, Ratinoff said.

As we know healing is also tied into seeking that justice piece, and if that's not happening its really hard for people to fully heal and move on.

The man accused in the massacre faces 115 charges, including 10 counts of first-degree murder, and is undergoing mental health treatment for competence to stand trial.

A persons competence depends on them having a rational understanding of the case against them and the ability to participate in their own defense, and medical experts found Alissa incompetent last year. A recent court filing, however, indicates they believe he can likely have his competency restored with treatment and stand trial within a reasonable window of time.

His case has a status hearing scheduled for April 15.

Meanwhile, the city whose tranquility and illusions he shattered has made plans to take back the day:

Memorial celebrations are planned for the Tuesday afternoon, at locations including the downtown bandshell in the city's central park.

The King Soopers on Table Mesa Drive, however, will be closed Tuesday to memorialize the deaths.

The store first reopened in early February after months of renovations, and after considering whether to reopen the Boulder store at all, said a spokesperson for the store. Employees, however, soon made it clear they wanted their home back.

Spokesperson Jessica Trowbridge previously said about 50% of the people who worked at the store before the shooting chose to return, to a location that no longer resembles the place they used to work. "Table Mesa" has been added to the store's exterior sign. A mural of mountains and aspen trees titled "A New Day" by Boulder artist Lael Har adored a wall of the new vestibule. The upstairs break room, decked out in Broncos orange and navy, included the phrase "Table Mesa Strong" painted on one wall.

Art, and visuals, have a power that can be tough to quantify in words.

Ross Taylor, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, has given people impacted by the massacre an outlet for processing their grief through a portrait series, which is on display at the Museum of Boulder. He choked up when he talked about seeing how much it meant to Boulders police chief, Maris Herold, to participate when he saw her on the exhibits opening day.

She said, You did it right. You brought our community together, and that's a nice compliment from somebody who I know has navigated a lot of very difficult moments.

Quite a few officers ended up participating in the project. Taylor said it meant a lot to have the police department involved because it lends an important perspective of the scale of the tragedys response and impact.

These are people just like you and I; people who deeply care about the community. I feel lucky and truly honored, sincerely, to be able to bear witness to that and to have a better understanding of the mapping of the event.

Also among his subjects was Jen Douglas, a CU student who was at the store during the massacre. She brought the clothing she wore that day to have her portrait taken, which she hadnt worn since. Taylor took her portrait at the Boulder Strong Resource Center.

The experience gave her a moment of reclamation, putting the clothing back on and being photographed in that, and feeling comfortable and strong, she said.

Also part of the exhibit is a collection of artifacts, items and notes salvaged from memorial sites in the weeks and months after the tragedy. Those items were collected and curated by Chelsea Pennington Hahn, the Curator of Collections at the Museum of Boulder. She said that she and her colleagues recognized immediately after the shooting that their roles and lives were about to take a turn.

We pretty quickly realized that we are the main physical repository for objects related to Boulder history, so that would be our responsibility, to preserve this moment in Boulder history, and the story, Hahn said. And not just the event itself, but the community response as it unfolded over months. And at the time we didnt know what that was going to look like.

Hahn went out daily to photograph the fence and other memorial sites as they evolved.

I went out probably about once a week or so for the two and a half months it was up, collecting objects sort of focusing on things that would be easily damaged by rain and snow always making sure that objects had been out there for at least a couple of weeks, because we really wanted to treat it like it was a memorial first because it was, Hahn said. Then, "there was a really bad wind storm. The fence was getting knocked down. The city was, like, we need to do something, things arent safe here.

A selection of those collected memorials are on display at the Boulder museum. Thousands more are stored in museum space off-site.

"Boulder Strong: Still Strong" runs through April 10, and elements will be incorporated into a permanent exhibit.

Were planning to expand or add a piece of that into our permanent experience, The Boulder Experience that really focuses on the history of Boulder and what makes us who we are, Hahn said. And this is part of us now. This is a part of our history.

The Boulder museum normally is closed on Tuesdays, but it will be open on March 22 to serve as a community gathering place and touchstone for anyone who needs it.

Admission on March 22 is free.
Ted Johnston, 33, still feels like a kid. And it's no wonder: His days revolve around trains and tracks.

Johnston was promoted to lead The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway in mid-January. The railway is the highest in the nation, tucked against the mountains in Manitou Springs with 9 miles of track winding to the top of Pikes Peak. During the fall of 2017, a renovation of the track turned into a 3 1/2-year operation, costing $100 million to make over the track, trains and depot station. Johnston was brought on board in spring 2018 as assistant general manager to help with the renovation process and prepare for then-general manager Spencer Wren's retirement after 41 years with the railroad. Johnston ushers in a new chapter in the 130-year-old railway's history.

Johnston grew up in Oklahoma City and as a child he became a train enthusiast, collecting model trains with his dad. That childhood passion led to a career.

Johnston majored in supply chain management at The University of Oklahoma and entered a management training program with Union Pacific Railroad after he graduated. Johnston spent a year in the training program before he began overseeing hundreds of mile of track.

"It's just so unique being out on the railroad and having a whole territory where you're responsible for all the trains and the crews running the trains," Johnston said.

One morning  it was barely 3 a.m.  Johnston was woken by a phone call. A train with 30 cars had derailed and he was the one who responsible for cleaning it up.

"That was always the most exhilarating thing for me," Johnston said. "Fixing problems."

And his skills in problem solving didn't go unnoticed. When Johnston started running trains, he was a part of a region ranked last in safety across the Union Pacific Railroad system. He helped the region reverse its ranking to become the top-rated one for safety.

After six years with Union Pacific Railroad, Johnston moved to Washington, D.C., to work as a consultant with RL Banks & Associates, a company specializing in railroad economics and engineering.

"When I moved out there, being a kid from Oklahoma, D.C. was like a foreign country," Johnston said. "And the first two or three months, I was pulling my hair out. I was like, 'What have I done? This is the worst decision I've ever made.'"

But Johnston grew to love D.C. thanks to the relationships he made there, including his roommate.

"He knew a lot of people, knew all the great places to go," Johnston said.

But just a year into his life in D.C., The Broadmoor came calling. Leaders wanted Johnston to join their project to revamp the railway. Johnston traveled to Colorado Springs to see the operation and the prospects it held.

"After I saw it and kind of put together what they said they were going to do...I was like, 'Oh, this is something special.'"

Despite Johnston's railroading background, he never imagined he'd work on a passenger train operation, let alone a tourist railway like the cog.

From April 2018 onward, Johnston was there every step of the way to redo the one-of-a-kind railway. He spent evenings at Manitou Springs City Council meetings, afternoons with the shop crews and days managing the project, including keeping the various parts of construction on schedule and fielding challenges that arose.

While solving problems on the job energizes Johnston, the people he meets also captivate him.

"The railroad industry is full of the biggest test of character you could ever meet," he said. "And you know, just getting to know the people and learn their talents and learn what makes them go."

People like Lance Wheatley, who Johnston worked with closely during the revamp and since. Wheatley has spent nearly four decades with the railway, from working as an engineer to his current position as shop foreman.

Wheatley hopes to retire in several years and wants to leave Johnston in a good spot. He recognized the technical side of trains was not Johnston's strong suit, but said he is always willing to learn.

"He's very open minded, you know, a really good listener, assimilates what you tell him," Wheatley said. "He's able to contribute to problems if we come up with them and offer good solutions."

Jack Damioli, Broadmoor president and CEO, said he hired Johnston with the intention of him guiding the railroad into its newest phase. Damioli has been impressed by his leadership.

"Ted is a passionate railroad person," Damioli said. "He is a train buff and immediately hit it off with with the guys in the mechanics area."

But coming to Colorado Springs has meant more than a job for Johnston; it is where he plans to build a life with his fiance.

The couple anticipates getting married at The Broadmoor this spring, Damioli said.

"On a visit to Sea Island, (Georgia) he met a young lady there, fell in love, got engaged and (will) be married at The Broadmoor," Damioli said. "It is truly a family romance from the standpoint (at) our sister resort, he found his bride to be."

Since his arrival in the Springs, Johnston has seen key additions such as the Olympic & Paralympic Museum and the new Pikes Peak Summit Visitor Complex, alongside the revamped railway. As the city continues to grow with more restaurants, hotels and attractions, he sees the railway continuing to bolster tourism in the Pikes Peak Region.

"It's really impressive to me what has been done in the last four years to turn Colorado Springs into what it is now and I think it's going to be really impressive when a lot of that is finished."

Note: The railway's owner, The Broadmoor hotel, is owned by the Denver-based Anschutz Corp., whose Clarity Media owns The Gazette.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva have lit the holiday bonfire in Sugovushan settlement, Tartar region.

The head of state then congratulated the people of Azerbaijan. AZERTAC presents the message of congratulation.

Message of congratulation of President Ilham Aliyev

-Dear brothers and sisters,

I heartily congratulate you on the occasion of Novruz holiday.

This is the second time since our historic victory that we are celebrating Novruz in our native Karabakh land. I know that each of us, especially the former IDPs, were always saying on the eve of and on the holidays that we would celebrate the next Novruz in the liberated lands, in Karabakh, and this is already a reality. This is the second time we are celebrating this beautiful spring holiday in the liberated lands. Today, I lit the Novruz bonfire here in Sugovushan, the ancient land of Azerbaijan. Last year, I celebrated Novruz in Shusha, on the Jidir Duzu, which is so dear to each of us, and addressed the people of Azerbaijan from there. I am glad and happy that it has already become a tradition to celebrate Novruz here in our native land of Karabakh.

Sugovushan is a historic place of ancient Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani people have lived in these areas for centuries. However, in 1923, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was established illegally and without any grounds in our native Karabakh. The beautiful places of Karabakh were included in this so-called entity, including the city of Shusha and the settlement of Sugovushan. This was yet another injustice, yet another act of enmity against our people. Because Karabakh and its history are connected with the Azerbaijani people. The Azerbaijani people have lived in Karabakh for centuries. The so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region functioned here for many years during the Soviet era for purely political purposes. As you know, the Armenians pursued a policy of aggression against our people, and our native Karabakh and a part of East Zangazur were in the hands of Armenians for about 30 years. It had to end and it did. We saw that no negotiations or political steps were bringing us any closer to our goal. We saw and knew that we must be stronger and more determined to protect our rights and restore historical justice. The Azerbaijani state, the Azerbaijani Army, all our Armed Forces fulfilled this historic mission in 2020. We fought, shed blood, gave martyrs, liberated our homeland from Armenian occupation and returned to Karabakh. We have already settled here, we have returned here, we have returned to our homeland. Large-scale landscaping work is currently underway in all of Karabakh and East Zangazur. Cities are being rebuilt, villages are being rebuilt. Of course, our main goal is to return the former IDPs to their homeland as soon as possible.

Landscaping and construction works is in full swing in Sugovushan as well. Today I took part in several ceremonies here, including the restoration of residential buildings and the creation of tourist zones. In general, construction and landscaping work is underway in both Karabakh and East Zangazur. We must rebuild more than 10,000 square kilometers in a short period of time, with great efficiency and quality. Because during the occupation, the loathsome enemy destroyed all our cities and villages, destroyed and desecrated all our historical sites. We are a nation that builds and creates. Although just over a year has passed since the war, we are already building. I am confident that we will achieve all the plans and goals. In fact, we are already achieving them. These are the realities of the present-day Azerbaijan. The strong Azerbaijan of today is capable of doing all this. There is political will, there is economic power, our people are mobilized, national solidarity is at the highest peak, and, of course, our glorious and historic victory is a source of pride for each of us. We are rightly proud to be citizens of a victorious state. We are proud of our army and we are proud of our people. We are proud of our young people who made us happy, and we will be proud of them forever. We have returned to Karabakh and East Zangazur forever, and we will live here in our historical lands forever.

As I look at these beautiful places today, I see again just how beautiful our land is and how majestic our mountains are. We will add beauty and pleasure to all this historical beauty, and Azerbaijanis will live here comfortably, in peace, tranquility and security. The guarantor of peace and security is the Azerbaijani state and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

I am happy to convey congratulations to my dear people on the occasion of Novruz holidays from a liberated Karabakh. On this dear day, I would like to once again congratulate all the people of Azerbaijan on this wonderful holiday. I want to say again that I will continue to do my best to ensure that Azerbaijan always develops rapidly, goes uphill and fulfills all the tasks ahead. Karabakh is Azerbaijan!








On March 16, Larry Klemesrud sat with a table full of metal plaques depicting "thin line" American flags. As a crowd gathered in the boardroom at the Mitchell County Courthouse.

While Klemesrud, who serves as director of Mitchell County Veterans Affairs, took it upon himself to organize an event to honor area organizations that work to serve the community. Five organizations were presented with plaques, which featured the flag's traditional stars and stripes, but were customized to represent each organization.

Im showing my personal appreciation, Klemesrud said to the the attendees gathered. I greatly appreciate all you do.

Klemesrud presented a Thin Green Line flag to the Mitchell County Courthouse in memory of all veterans, past, present and future.

The Osage Fire Department also received a flag with a red axe substituted for the Thin Red Line associated with firefighters. Klemesrud said he was honoring them for teaching fire suppression at the nursing homes and for their continuing education to save lives in the entire community.

A Thin Blue and Red Line flag, which broadly represents law enforcement and first responders, was presented to Sheriff Greg Beaver and Osage Police Chief Brian Wright as a gift to their respective agencies.

For all the good work they do to help residents and veterans of Mitchell County, I deeply appreciate it, said Klemesrud.

One plaque presentation was a little more personal for Klemesrud, as he handed Jessa Ketelsen and Sasha Giles of Mitchell County Home Health Care and Public Health a Thin Med Flag with a red heartbeat pattern forming one of the stripes, along with an inscription that read In Memory of Sid and Lucille Klemesrud engraved along the bottom.

Years ago, my dad and my mother were given great care by home health, Klemesrud said. And I know home health was absolutely outstanding, (including) during our recent pandemic, the extra effort home health/public health put into getting organized, getting people their vaccinations and everything to support the community, and the relationship I have with home health helping veterans.

Another acknowledgment was also personal. Klemesruds aunt Mary Miller served as a surgical nurse at Mitchell County Regional Health Center. He handed a Thin Med Line plaque in his aunts name to CEO Shelly Russell, honoring the staff at the hospital.

This is for all the help theyve given people, what they did for the community and my parents years ago, and what youre doing for veterans, Klemesrud said.

This is not the first time Klemesrud has spearheaded an event honoring others. It is what he does. Last Veterans Day, Mitchell County Veterans Affairs sent ceremonial cakes to former soldiers, or their surviving spouses, now living in nursing homes.

As well, every Veterans Day, Klemesrud attends functions in the schools and at the cemeteries.

Im not looking for glory, Klemesrud said.

It makes me feel good, Klemesrud said of those gathered in the courthouse. I know all the good theyve done and all the calls they go on, not only for me and veterans affairs, but for other people in the county theyve helped.

I might get a call for a veteran with a mental health issue, or a lady who needs financial help, and from others in need. Or Ill get a call directly from home health, and Ill help them with one of their clients. Weve got a tremendous working relationship with home health and the doctors at the hospital.

Jason W. Selby is the community editor for the Mitchell Country Press News. He can be reached at 515-971-6217, or by email at jason.selby@globegazette.com.

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Since January 2019, Avance USA in Clear Lake has brought in roughly 150 employees between Iowa, Illinois and North Carolina. Among the Iowa spots filled, many are were in North Central Iowa.

Before starting her business, founder and president Jennifer Andrade worked as an economic developer. During her time in this role, she realized the regions unemployment had hit record lows and that local employers were losing faith in recruitment.

Andrade felt confident in her abilities to market the area to and boost the local workforce, so she founded Avance USA, a full-service domestic recruitment and relocation company.

Avance aims to recruit and retain employees in the area, focusing solely on filling permanent, full-time jobs. Many of the candidates the business works with are from Puerto Rico.

I knew that there were people there that were looking for opportunities and really the American dream, said Andrade. ... "Some people dont believe it exists anymore, but it does for somebody who is willing to take a chance and wants to work hard to build a new life for themselves and their family.

Andrade is well aware of the cultural differences between Iowa and Puerto Rico, so her company helps clients through the entire employment and relocation process.

In her recruitment presentations, Andrade touts the benefits of North Central Iowa, including having a great public education, lower cost of living than larger cities, lower crime rates and plenty of job opportunities.

Avance USA facilitates employers' required screenings and assists with the application and interview process. Most of Andrades team is bilingual to facilitate language translation.

Once a job offer is accepted, Avance USA gets started on the relocation process, including finding and assisting with housing, transportation and education.

Andrade said Avance USA works to offer a new life in 30 days, which is about how long the relocation period takes after a job acceptance.

When you can give people a good experience, they come, they like their job, they like their community, they see that they have a better life here than the one they left behind, and they are going to share that, said Andrade, noting one family referred six new families to the area through Avance USA.

Avance USA is contracted with 12 companies in North Central Iowa to help fill open positions. The business brought in more than 85 people to Iowa in the last 18 months. Andrade noted some of these families have bought homes in the area and further grew their families.

The community support has really been key in the success of being able to relocate that many people to the area and help them feel welcome, said Andrade.

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The value of Iowa farmland is at an all-time high, but is that positive for local farmers?

In 2021, the average value per acre of farmland in Iowa hit $9,751, up 29% and over $2,000 from the mark of $7,559 per acre in 2020, according to a farmland value survey conducted by Iowa State University. The jump from 2020 to 2021 is the biggest percent increase in valuation since 2011, and the second-largest over the past 40 years.

Farmland sales According to Iowa State University's farmland value survey, 74% of respondents reported more sales in 2021 than in 2020. The survey notes that is the highest mark since it began recording that information in 1986.

Sam Funk, an economist with the Iowa Farm Bureau Association, said the the valuations are up in part due to an increase in price in commodities that Iowa farmland is generally good at exporting, such as soy beans and corn. Additionally, Funk cites government payments to farmers and an ability of buyers to spend more money on land in the past year.

"You have a number of factors contributing to this," he said. "There's not one particular driver but a number of things coming together to create this."

Funk points to investor interest in farmland as a key contributor as well, with interest spiking from investors recently.

"They're looking for high-quality farmland to purchase because it is a distinct investment tool for them," Funk said. "They'll be able to capitalize on that long into the future; that's more stable than some markets that maybe aren't as productive."

Local farmer Chris Petersen said the spike in farmland value isn't necessarily a good thing. He and Funk expressed concerns that the rising cost of farmland could lead to younger farmers being unable to afford to enter the industry, leaving only outside investors able to afford the extraordinary costs.

"We're going to see less and less small, family farms, I think," Petersen said. ... "I'm one of those that don't see many positives in the price of farmland going higher. Big is not better ... and farms are getting bigger."

"When you think about young or beginning farmers, they may struggle to pay the cost of land," Funk said. "It's harder to get into it without having some sort of financial backing."

An additional concern is the rising costs of fertilizer and energy, Funk said.

"This is an extreme challenge for farmers in the state of Iowa right now," he noted. "This is going to potentially be a year of great challenges, or great opportunities."

But Funk did point to other nuances. For example, a young farmer looking to buy land may struggle, but a farmer looking to sell land is currently in a great situation.

"It really comes down to who you are. Every farmer needs to know their situation before making any decisions," he said.

Also, current world events play a role. If Russia and Ukraine go to war, corn prices could go up because Ukraine is among the top five countries to export corn. Then again, corn prices might go down because a largescale war could impact international trade.

And if corn prices increase or decrease, the value of farmland in Iowa could potentially follow suit.

"Not much we can do (to impact the price)," Petersen said. "It's out of our hands."

Zachary Dupont covers politics and business development for the Globe Gazette. You can reach him at 641-421-0533 or zachary.dupont@globegazette.com. Follow Zachary on Twitter at @ZachNDupont

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In Hampton, a community organization is leaning into preparing the Latino community for the workforce.

La Luz Centro Cultural has a legal department, education classes, a food pantry, translators and interpreters, as well as the SOMOS Latinx project and Gran Festival North Iowa. All of these programs work to promote cultural awareness and diversity with hospitality and supportive services for all, according to the organization's mission statement.

A lot of immigrants dont get past elementary school (in their native county). And so they move up here not knowing whats going on, not knowing how to do things. And then their children dont know what to do or how to do things either. And so theyre trying to bring up their children and not knowing how the United States works and not knowing how the school system works or anything like that, said Kyle Whalen, La Luz associate director.

Whalen said the community center works to help immigrants who dont speak English to become literate, as well as offering services for citizenship, group therapy and counseling and connect with other programs to help offset costs of living.

We just make sure that the community knows that were here to support whoever needs support.

In the past, La Luz has worked to get community members ready for the workforce but hadn't worked to directly link workers with available jobs. In December 2021, a grant that included 50 Google Career Certificates gave the organization the opportunity to provide the Latinx community with work.

The self-paced, online training program prepares participants for careers in the high-growth fields of project management, user experience design, data analytics, and IT support. With under 10 hours of study per week, it takes about six months to graduate with a Google Career Certificate. This program connects graduates with more than 130 top U.S. employers.

Whalen has high hopes for the program in Hampton, and expects to branch out into other communities.

The more (people) we can invite the more we can complete, the more scholarships we can get, Whalen said.

Future scholarships are based on rate of completion, so there's a need for participants to follow through. La Luz plans to offer the scholarship locally first, with no scholarship requirements other than the time it takes to complete. If somebody begins the course but cannot finish, they simply need to drop the course and the certificate will remain valid for the next user.

Applications are open for the Google Career Certificates at https://www.laluzcc.org/. La Luz offers computer access for community members without Wi-Fi or a computer of their own. Currently, there are 12 computers in their lobby, but Whalen said La Luz is working with other organizations to add to their stock. The computers are used for a number of programs, and ESL participants like Iveth and Jorge, who requested only their first names be used, use the computers regularly.

After purchasing a new building in 2019, La Luz has been steadily undergoing renovations to make its new building a welcoming space for the people they serve.

La Luz also is expanding its workforce to accommodate the expansion of programs theyve taken on. A program and public relations coordinator is needed to take charge of the new programs, maintain existing ones, and help prospective programs launch in the near future.

The center is launching programs for children, including a mentoring and tutoring service and a literacy program for infants through 5-year-olds. La Luz is also looking to expand its ESL classes, which are Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Plans are in the works to add classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays for beginners.

We do whatever we can to make sure that the Latinos are getting served around here," Whalen said.

Gretchen Burnette is a Weeklies Editor and Daily Reporter at the Globe Gazette. You can reach her by phone at 641.421.0523 or at Gretchen.Burnette@GlobeGazette.com

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IOWA CITY (AP)  Iowa City schools are planting the seed in students who might be interested in becoming teachers and promising them a job with the district  if one is available  after graduation from the University of Iowa.

The program, which is launching this spring, aims to support students interested in teaching careers, especially students of color. Its the next step in the districts Grow Our Own program, a part of its diversity, equity and inclusion plan.

This past fall, the district launched a two-year fellowship for educators interested in leadership positions in an effort to retain more underrepresented teachers, administrators and staff.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that district officials hope a similar program for students will help attract them back to the district, where they could help diversify the teaching staff. About 7 percent of teachers in the Iowa City Community School District are people of color, while 43 percent of the students are young people of color.

Carmen Gwenigale, district leadership fellow with the Grow Our Own program and former Spanish teacher at Liberty High School, said she hopes the program will guide students to their passion, whether thats being a teacher, school counselor or school administrator.

A student who loves cooking, she said, might be interested in being a culinary arts teacher and someday pass along that skill to future generations.

A career interest survey of the districts high school students showed more than 100 were interested in becoming teachers. Students with that interest began meeting with program leaders this week.

Amira Nash, associate director of partnerships and programs at the University of Iowa College of Education, and Alexei Lalagos, leadership fellow with the Grow Our Own program at Liberty High School, are hoping at least half of those students get invested in the program this spring.

Next year, the program will expand to all high school students. Those who are interested in pursuing a career in education can meet weekly with a teacher sponsor at their school.

If students decide teaching isnt for them, they still gain skills that can help them in whatever career they choose, Gwenigale said.

Many students  especially first-generation college students  arent sure how to pursue higher education, Gwenigale said.

If youve never had someone in your family go through the process of applying to college, it can seem really overwhelming, said Nash, who will work with the students once they are at the University of Iowa.

The students will be helped with their college application and given advice on financial aid and grant opportunities. Once on campus, theyll be informed about resources that provide academic help and mental health support.

The district is working with Educators Rising, a curriculum for students to learn about the profession and explore career opportunities, develop skills they need and make informed decisions about pathways to becoming a teacher.

Students will be encouraged to enroll in Kirkwood Community Colleges Education Academy to earn free college credit while theyre in high school and to explore their career interest.

Upon graduating from the UI, students are guaranteed a position in the Iowa City Community School District if there is an opening.

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John Deere will begin producing a self-propelled, driverless autonomous tractor in Waterloo before the end of 2022, company officials have confirmed.

Deere officials unveiled the tractor at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The vehicle will be part of the companys 8R tractor series, which is made in Waterloo.

We can confirm that the tractor will be made in Waterloo with limited availability this year, said Kelly Henderson, a spokesperson at Deeres Waterloo operations.

The head of a local economic development organization welcomed the news.

We couldnt be more thrilled, said Cary Darrah, executive director of Grow Cedar Valley. And its not surprising, since Deeres always been on the cutting edge. We will work with Deere and other manufacturers to help prepare a workforce to help with these visions, and these successes. She also said the new product should benefit Deeres local suppliers.

Deere officials at the Las Vegas show indicated the development is as historically significant to the company and the industry as when company namesake John Deere himself inventing the self-cleaning steelcast plow 165 years ago in 1837; and when Deere entered the tractor business in 1918 with its acquisition of the Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Co. in Waterloo, manufacturers of the famous Waterloo Boy two-cylinder tractor.

The company has been adding automated improvements to its machinery for 20 years, including its GreenStar global positioning system technology and its AutoTrac assisted steering system. In August, Deere announced it had acquired the four-year-old Silicon Valley company Bear Flag Robotics, a software firm based in Newark, Calif., for $250 million.

At the time of that acquisition, Bear Flag Robotics hailed itself as being committed to developing the most advanced autonomous tractors possible. The firm said it became involved with Deere in 2019 in Deeres startup collaborator program, enabling Deere to deepen its connection with startup companies whose technology has the potential to add value for their customers.

Since the completion of the program, we have successfully deployed autonomous tractors solutions at multiple farms across the United States, Bear Flag Robotics officials said. Pilot experiments with autonomous tractors could be seen in some farm fields in Northeast Iowa in recent years.

The autonomous tractor serves a specific purpose: feeding the world, Deere officials said at the Las Vegas unveiling. The global population is expected to grow from about 8 billion to nearly 10 billion people by 2050, increasing the global food demand by 50 percent. Furthermore, farmers must feed this growing population with less available land and skilled labor, in addition to perennial challenges like climate changes and pest control.

To use the autonomous tractor, farmers only need to transport the machine to a field and configure it for autonomous operation, Deere officials said. Using John Deere Operations Center Mobile, a computer application downloaded to a phone, tablet or other computerized mobile device, they can swipe from left to right to start the machine.

The autonomous tractor has six pairs of stereo cameras, which enables 360-degree obstacle detection and the calculation of distance  ensuring it is operating where it is supposed to, and is within less than an inch of accuracy, the Deere announcement explained. Camera images are projected through a neural network, a computer system that operates similar to the human brain and its nervous system.

While the machine is working, the farmer can leave the field to focus on other tasks, while monitoring the machines status from their mobile device, company officials said.

The several facilities making up Deeres Waterloo operations constitute the Moline, Ill., companys largest manufacturing complex in North America. The companys large row-crop tractors are made here. Additionally, Deeres Product Engineering Center in Cedar Falls is the hub of the companys new product research and development efforts. Deere employs about 5,000 people in Waterloo and has been hiring since late 2020, advertising for manufacturing and other positions and conducting a series of job fairs. It is the Cedar Valleys and Iowas largest manufacturing employer.

Over the past couple of years, Deere reconfigured its assembly operations and was able to roll out a new 8R tractor product line here in 2020  with extensive precautions in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic  to strong product acceptance and ongoing heightened market demand. The company is coming off a record earnings year and is predicting another for 2022.

Grow Cedar Valley works closely with local schools and postsecondary institutions on workforce development. Darrah indicated the new autonomous tractor should generate interest for prospective workers to get the training they need to produce such products.

Were committed to helping relay this information and these opportunities to the workforce that we will need to get it done, she said.

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Conversations between students and businesses are essential for the regions future, according to Hunter Callanan of the North Iowa Corridor EDC.

Its important to retain talent in North Iowa, Callanan says. This investment wont help hiring woes now, but if we dont impact students, we miss that chance to connect with them so they know the opportunities here.

As workforce specialist at the Corridor, Callanan works with schools and business leaders to make these conversations possible. Its also important to help schools offer opportunities for young people to identify their interests and build skills.

Activities include job readiness and interest inventories, presentations by employees of local companies, visits to actual business sites, job shadowing, and more.

For instance, a Discover Day program held in past years at North Iowa Area Community College gave students the chance to identify their interests and traits and pairs them with different careers in North Iowa that fit their individual profiles.

The Corridor lines up employees of local businesses to come talk with students about their jobs and how students can prepare themselves for that work. Its a way for young people to find out that opportunities exist right here, if they wish to stay or come back after further education.

The past two years have been challenging for maintaining many of these outreach programs, according to Callanan. The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented large gatherings, and presenters from local businesses are often too busy due to staffing shortages.

To be flexible, virtual options have been used to make these connections, such as mock interviews online. This alternate platform presents its own advantages for learning.

Its a time-saver to conduct virtual interviews, and a lot of business people are utilizing that now, Callanan says. Its a new twist on things students will have to prepare for. Callanan points out virtual interviews require different skills. It takes a higher level of energy to project yourself virtually. Its all-around harder to portray yourself when on screen. The interviewer cant see your body language. It takes more elaboration of answers. Facial expressions come across differently on screen than in person.

The responsibility for career readiness does not rest solely on schools. Callanan emphasizes to businesses that its in their best interests to talk to young people in our schools. Getting involved in NICs outreach to students at all grade levels is an important way for local companies to guarantee success in the future.

North Iowa is not alone in the U.S. with the problem of finding enough workers to fill positions. Callanan says, Its more important than ever that businesses interact with schools and help students see how their decisions now impact their lives posthigh school. Its a strategy in retaining our population. The key is exposing them to opportunities in North Iowa.

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Editor's Note: This is the fourth and final part of a series on Mason City's first "Trial of the Century."

Trial of the Century-Chapter IV

By 1900, there had been seven murders and murder trials prosecuted in Cerro Gordo County, five of those were women as defendants.

Lena Linhoff became number six.

Of the five women previously tried for murder, three were acquitted, and two had their convictions overturned by the Iowa Supreme Court.

The first Linhoff Murder Trial commenced in January 1902. Forty-two citizens of Cerro Gordo County were served with a summons to report for the process of jury selection.

Voir dire drug on for three days before the final panel of twelve were seated and sworn in.

The evidence at the trial now began to conflict with that given and sworn to just a few months before at the preliminary hearing and that had been a hodge-podge of inconsistency from the start.

The examination and cross-examination of witnesses became a theatrical drama worthy of Erle Stanley Gardner and Perry Mason. Decorum of that period was paused as witnesses were pummeled at length by both the prosecution and the defense.

The trial galumphed and slothed forward for three-weeks before Judge Clifford P. Smith handed the case over to the jurors. However, he sent them to deliberation with one unexpected instruction.

In his jury instructions, Judge Smith included manslaughter as a charge to be considered, in addition to "Murder in the First Degree".

The jury travailed for more than 3 days. The first jury poll was 7-5 for acquittal. The second poll showed 6-6 with one juror for conviction on the lesser charge of manslaughter. The jury now seemed locked as for another day and the 6-6 vote held fast.

By Saturday evening after requesting to have portions of the witness testimony read back to them, the jury stood 8-4 for conviction.

By Sunday at noon the count reverted to 6-6.

It now seemed to be a jury at deadlock in the same proportional split as the overall citizenry of Mason City herself.

Monday would see the jury submitting three ballots throughout the day. The first two, one after breakfast and one just after dinner read 5-7 for conviction.

Shortly before supper, the foreman polled the jury again and this time the vote was 11-1 for conviction.

11 jurors bound by their vote to convict pelted the one holdout during supper, and shortly thereafter delivered what came to be the final vote; 12-0 for conviction of the crime of manslaughter.

The late hour of the jury's conclusion did nothing to quell the buzz inside the courtroom. Whispers between the standing room only gallery were the beginning of a Mason City urban legend.

As the jury foreman read the verdict, "We the jury, find the defendant Mrs. Lena Linhoff guilty of manslaughter." Lena Linhoff, her husband August, and her family, friends, and supporters wept openly, while half of the gallery cheered.

The next two years would see an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court and that court granting a retrial right back in Mason City.

The retrial would last nearly a month, early in the year of 1904 and would see yet more contradictory testimony, legal grandstanding, disappearing witnesses and courtroom drama and intrigue.

And so the script written by, and acted out between the defense attorneys and Judge Clifford P Smith reached the desired conclusion in late spring 1904 when Lena Linhoff, at retrial, was found not guilty.

In the end, it was the court of public opinion that determined the final measure of punishment, exacting a pound of flesh not subject to the rules of courts or juries for both the Linhoff and Bromley families throughout the 20th Century.

The antipodean opinions regarding Lena's guilt or innocence cast the entire Linhoff family into pariahs. They left Mason City for Seattle, but never outran the stigma of getting away with murder, and that destroyed the family.

Belle Bromley and her two children, Neta and Harold moved back to Wisconsin and by 1905, she placed both children in foster homes. In 1906 she began using her baptism name and married a man named Goode. She would be mother to his three children, but never again be mother to her own.

Yet, the lawyers and judges slept well, continued their prosperity, and even enhanced their reputations from involvement in Mason City's Trial of the century. I guess some things never change.

JW Sayles is a Mason City resident and maybe Iowas own Samuel Clemens in the making? You be the judge. Opinions are his own.
Time and time again, the consequences of world events hit our hometowns across Iowa and the United States. Our reliance on foreign sources of energy continues to prove unsustainable.

As a Mason City native, I believe north-central Iowa could play a key role in securing our local and regional energy independence. Through wind power development, like Indigo Wind in Cerro Gordo and Franklin counties, we can supply ourselves and our neighbors with homegrown energy.

Additionally, wind farms provide tremendous opportunities for their landowner partners and communities. From diversifying income to creating jobs and boosting tax revenue for area schools and public works, these projects bring with them impactful benefits.

North Iowans have an opportunity to serve on the front lines in our quest for energy independence, but ultimately, it is up to individuals to decide whether to participate in wind projects. We entrust Iowa landowners with one of our most valuable resources, and their decisions regarding land use are best left private and beyond the reach of burdensome regulations.

The debate over wind farm development ultimately returns to the question of landowner rights. Should a private citizen have the freedom to decide what is best for his or her property? I believe most Iowans would overwhelmingly say yes.

Quinn Slaven

Mason City

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In the phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Omani Foreign Minister bin Hamad Al-Busaidi expressed hope that the final stapes will be taken in the Vienna talks as soon as possible, Trend reports citing Mehr.

Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Omani counterpart Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi held a phone call on expansion of bilateral ties as well as the latest regional and international developments.

During the phone conversation which was held on Saturday evening, Amir-Abdollahian referred to the close ties between Tehran and Muscat, expressing hope that the relations will be further expanded.

The top Iranian diplomat also thanked the Sultanate of Oman for its constructive and appreciable efforts to settle some issues including the cases of security prisoners.

The Omani foreign minister also expressed pleasure at Amir-Abdollahians comments and thanked him over the issues under discussion.

Al-Busaidi underlined the continuation of ties and close contacts between the two countries and voiced hope that the final stapes will be taken in the Vienna talks as soon as possible.
People who have learned to fly agree it is an amazing experience that never gets old.

However, theres a vast gender gap. In 2020, men comprised nearly 94% of active-duty pilots, according to Air Force Personnel Center data from October 2020. The numbers are similar for airline pilots and even drones (also known as small unmanned aircraft systems).

The Danville Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol is trying to bridge that gap.

Katherine Kit Lippert, a Danville nurse, was working in intensive care when a patient revealed her husband had experienced a heart attack and died while he was flying their airplane, and the patient landed the plane safely.

That day, Lippert decided she would learn to fly because she often flew with her pilot husband. It was an easy decision because she grew up around airplane talk.

My father flew in WWII and my mother was a flight instructor prior to getting married, she said.

She used to fly from Ohio to Missouri to go to college. One of her students, John Lane, started an airport and big training facility in Lebanon, Ohio.

Lippert has flown for decades and is now known as Maj. Kit Lippert, instructor pilot for the Danville Squadron of Civil Air Patrol, the Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.

She says the most challenging part about learning to fly was the studying part and attempting to understand weather.

Upset recovery flights and spinning the plane are the parts she enjoyed most.

Upset recovery is when a pilot learns how to get the plane out of inadvertent spins and unusual attitudes and get it level again, she said.

What Lippert had that most young women dont have was inspiration from others, and a female role model: a mother who was a pilot.

Encouragement

When another female pilot, Charlene Sufficool, first got to the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2012, she wanted to be an engineer or work in Intel. Her father was a mechanic for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds flying team, but it never occurred to her that she could be a pilot.

I never really thought of it as a possibility for me, she said.

But one of her commanders kept encouraging her.

He was like, No, really, I think you could be a female fighter pilot, she said.

His insistence changed her career goals. Now, Capt. Sufficool flies A-10 jets with the 354th Fighter Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.

It took a commander who believed in me as a woman to help me see what I could be, she said, and for me to believe in myself.

Again, confidence and inspiration from an outside source.

I feel free

Danville Civil Air Patrol Cadet Second Lt. Kayleigh Morris, a teenager, recently flew solo as a part of her flight training  a result of role models and encouragement from people who believed in her.

She had seen the squadrons flight instructor is a woman.

My Papa wanted to get his pilots license when he was in the Army, she said. But he didnt get to.

And what does this youthful pilot experience when she flies?

I feel free, she explained. Like nothing else in the world matters at that point in time. And I can just fly. Just being where the clouds are and looking down at Gods creation. And seeing how beautiful it is.

Morris also has earned a Civil Air Patrol recreational drone pilot qualification.

She also has female role model: her mother. Capt. Kristie Morris is an accomplished drone pilot who has earned multiple Civil Air Patrol drone pilot ratings as well as an FAA drone pilot license.

She is the director of operations for Civil Air Patrols drome program for the Virginia Wing and is helping move the needle in terms of using drones as a method of getting youth and adults  especially young women  interested in aviation and the STEM subjects that are involved in learning to fly drones.

Drones as entry point

Drones are a powerful entry point for getting youth interested in aviation.

Morris knows that often young women arent taught they are capable of being as good  or better  than the boys in aviation and STEM fields. In her previous experience as an apprentice coordinator for Southside Virginia Community College, Morris saw firsthand the critical need to encourage females to pursue STEM careers.

Currently Morris provides vendor support for Microsofts Girls in Engineering and Career Pathways for Women in Tech events.

Drones are  versatile and exploding with new technology  are reinventing certain areas of military tactics, delivery systems, agricultural aerial quality control, search and rescue, damage assessment after catastrophic weather events and anything else that needs to be observed lower and slower than airplanes can fly.

Females who learn to fly drones can have a rewarding career where female pilot participation is low and underestimated.

The Danville Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol uses multiple platforms to broaden teenagers knowledge and confidence about careers. They use airplanes, drones, rockets, robotic, and other attention-getting aerospace education kits that are also available to schools, including homeschool teachers.

The Squadron meets Tuesday evenings at Danville Regional Airport.

Learn more online at https://vawg.cap.gov/units/danville.
Author talk

Bill Slawter, author of Sit-Ins, Drive-ins and Uncle Sam: Coming of Age in the Era of Civil Rights and the Vietnam Draft, will discuss his newly published book with former News & Record reporter Jim Schlosser. The free event is set for 2 to 3 p.m. March 29 at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Haywood Duke Room, 607 N. Greene St. in Greensboro.

Memoir-based and extensively researched, the book weaves together the history of the 1960s civil rights movement in Greensboro and Slawters youth in the Glenwood community during those years. Questions and answers will follow the presentation.

Veterans program

A National Vietnam War Veterans Day program is planned for 11 a.m. March 29 at the Veterans Memorial Wall at Wrenn-Miller Park, 101 Guilford Road in Jamestown.

There will be a flag-raising, wreath-laying, playing of Taps and a keynote speaker.

The program will be run by Jane Thomas of the Rachel Caldwell Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

For information, call Bruce Dillon at 336-906-5362.

Also, the Randolph County Veterans Services invites Vietnam veterans to enjoy coffee and doughnuts from 8 a.m. to noon March 29 at Shaw Building, 158 Worth St. in Asheboro. Team members will distribute certificates, pins and more items to show appreciation for Vietnam veterans.

For information, call 336-318-6998. Also, visit www.vietnamwar50th.com.

Candidate debate

A debate will be held among the city of Greensboros candidates for mayor at 4 p.m. April 3 in UNCGs School of Education, Room 120.

Participating in the debate are each of the candidates who filed for mayor by the March 4 deadline: Mark Cummings, Justin Outling, Eric Robert and Nancy Vaughan.

The debate at UNCG will be moderated by Benjamin Briscoe, an anchor and reporter for WFMY-Channel 2, and Margaret A. Dudley, a private attorney in Greensboro.

This event is free and open to the public. Masks are required. The debate will also be livestreamed on WFMYs Facebook page.

Greensboros general election for mayor will be held Nov. 8. A primary is scheduled for May 17. The mayoral race was originally scheduled to be on the ballot in 2021 but was moved to 2022 due to redistricting delays.

The debate is hosted by the Greensboro Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the department of political science at UNCG.

To suggest questions, email socialaction@dstac.org.

Commission seeks applicants

The One High Point Commission, created by the High Point City Council to explore community reparations for the African American residents of High Point, will be accepting applications until April 8 in search of 11 individuals (nine voting members and two non-voting alternates) to serve.

Applicants must submit a resume, and finalists will be asked to appear for a brief interview before the One High Point Selection Committee. Individuals will be selected to serve on the commission by virtue of their education, training, activism or experience, particularly in the field of African American studies and reparatory justice.

The commission was created by resolution at a City Council meeting on Feb. 7. Per the resolution, the commission will be made up of two council members, nine High Point residents and two NAACP representatives. In addition, two High Point residents will be appointed as non-voting alternates.

The commission will submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the High Point City Council no later than a year from the date of the commissions first meeting. The commission will automatically dissolve 90 days after the date upon which the report is submitted to the council.

Interested individuals can apply at www.highpointnc.gov/159/Boards-Commissions-Application.

Commission meeting

The Commission on the Status of Women will hold its regular monthly meeting online at 6 p.m. March 29. Participants and the public can join the meeting via Zoom at tinyurl.com/mry5u542, using meeting ID 868 9224 9073. To join the meeting by phone, dial 929-205-6099.

The commissions mission is to improve the quality of life for women in Greensboro.

First Friday Night Live

Downtown Greensboro has announced the return of its First Friday Night Live concert series, featuring a new line-up of bands throughout 2022. The first concert of the year, sponsored by Southern First Bank, will be April 1 and feature The Shakedown, known for its R&B and dance covers.

Thanks to a grant from ArtsGreensboro, a new addition to the 2022 series will be the inclusion of street artists at each concert.

First Friday Night Live will be from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Southern First Bank parking lot at the corner of Greene and Market streets in Greensboro.

Visitors are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs/blankets. Beers can be bought on-site from local breweries, along with dining options from food trucks.

Food vendor and street artist applications are now being accepted for these concerts. Visit downtowngreensboro.org/first-friday for complete details.

Funding projects

The city of Greensboro will be receiving more than $10 million in federal funding for workforce development, an innovation district, public safety and transit services.

The funding secured will assist the following projects:

$3,008,800 for buses, bus facilities and bus equipment.

$3,000,000 for computer-aided dispatch system replacement to better equip Guilford Metro 911 to field incoming calls.

$3,000,000 for the Greensboro Innovation District, a designated area of the city to attract business and create high-paying jobs.

$1,600,000 for workforce development initiatives, including technology and support services.

For information, call 336-373-3769.

Virtual meeting

Greensboros Ad-hoc Committee on African American Disparity will hold a virtual meeting at 6 p.m. March 24. Participants and the public can join the meeting via Zoom at tinyurl.com/mrxzwrn8 using meeting ID 915 1305 6243. To join the meeting by phone, call 301-715-8592.

Greensboro City Council approved ACAADs establishment with the goal to review policies, procedures and regulations that create barriers to success for African American residents. ACAAD members research policy and procedures, obtain community feedback, and make recommendations to the council regarding ways to improve resource access for African American populations in the city.

Graham Walks

Graham Walks kicks off April 20. It is a five-week, self-motivating walking program designed to inspire participants to stay active.

The free program runs through May 25 and it is for ages 18 and older.

Participants set a goal and track their activity on an Activity Tracker Log.

Following the five weeks, all participants who submit their completed log by May 26 will be eligible to receive a Graham Walks T-shirt, as well as be entered into the grand prize drawing (one per person).

The program kicks off from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 20 at Shamrock Nutrition and from 4 to 6 p.m. April 20 at the Graham Historical Museum.

To register, visit www.GrahamRecreationAndParks.com.

For information, call 336-513-5510.

Send press releases to people@greensboro.com.
EDEN  A callous doctor delivered frightening news to Gwen Riddick when she was in 11th grade, leaving her vulnerable but with a resolve that defines her own medical practice today.

She was a freshman in college and a Pap smear to test her cervical cells for cancer had come back with some precancerous cellular abnormalities. She would need a colposcopy, an inpatient procedure during which a doctor closely examines the cervix, vagina and vulva and sometimes collects a tissue sample for biopsy to rule out cancer.

I didnt know what that was at all, said Riddick, an OB-GYN, who joined UNC Womens Health here in October. The care that I received was horrible care. There was no compassion. I was told that I had a very high risk of cervical cancer.

She asked the doctor to explain. The doctor was very blunt with me.: You dont know what this means? I just received very bad care, Riddick said recently from her office where she invites patients questions and provides careful explanations of diagnoses and care plans.

And I just always knew that when I got into a position where I would be able to care for other people as a physician  that education would be something that would be very important to me, because I know how it feels to have a negative report and a doctor not have compassion for you nor give you that information with good bedside manner.

Excelling despite adversity

Her warm tone is evident in Riddicks office, where she chats with staff in blue scrubs and snakeskin-print Crocs. Shes won her lifes race so far with tenacity and a refusal to see obstacles.

Born in Gates County in the northeastern part of the state, Riddick grew up the middle child of six in a home where money was scarce, but achievement was celebrated and support from her parents was abundant.

I always knew that I wanted to be a doctor, said Riddick. You know when you ask little kids what they wanna be in life? Thats what I always said because I wanted to help people. I didnt know what kind of doctor. Ive always been inspired to help others. Its just something Ive always had in my heart.

Growing up with two sisters and three brothers, money was tight when it came to the familys own medical care.

My family were financially disadvantaged, so we didnt have a lot of luxuries when it came to having our own doctor, per se. So, a lot of our health care was actually at the health department, Riddick said.

Classroom excellence

School was a place where Riddick found she could define herself and plan for a life that would lift her family economically, she said.

Since I was a little girl, Ive always wanted to achieve academically, she said. I remember in the second and third grade I wanted to make really good grades because my family  they were in poverty. I wanted to do really well academically so I could get a good job and earn enough money to be able to take care of my family.

But Ive always been more of the silent type of person, so youre really not going to know much about how Im doing academically because Im gonna monitor my grades myself. Im more humble about just doing well in any aspect of life, especially when were talking about academically.

So, during her 11th grade year it did come as a surprise that I was the top person in my class. No one saw that coming, she said with a chuckle.

But with this grand news came another big announcement that would complicate Riddick s young life.

I was at the top of my class, but at the same time  thats when I became pregnant, she said.

Because I was always that quiet person, it really took my parents by surprise. Because I did so well academically, they really didnt see, I guess, me also engaging in sexual activity, Riddick said.

But the Gates County High School valedictorian had major scholarship offers and my parents were very supportive of me, she said. They wanted to help me with my daughter so that I could go on and do what I wanted to do in life as far as going to college, Riddick said. They pushed me to stay in school and to do well.

Her baby arrives

On Nov. 11, 2000, Riddicks daughter, Aniya, was born.

I only took a three week maternity leave from high school because I wanted to keep up with my grades, she said. I really was inspired because I really wanted not to become a statistic. I wanted to achieve success academically. that was at the forefront of my mind  and being a mother, too.

My parents were able to help me raise my daughter while I went to college, said Riddick, who began studies on a full scholarship to UNC-Chapel Hill but transferred ultimately to East Carolina University in Greenville so that she could more easily commute home every weekend to be with her little girl.

Today, Aniya is following in her moms steps as a pre-med biology major at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., where she is a senior. And Aniya has a new baby brother, John Michael, 1, the son of Dr. Riddick and her partner John Powell of Eden.

Always the overachiever, Riddick graduated early from ECU in December 2004, and after a brief look into podiatry at a New York college, she found a better fit and settled into medical school at Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, Va.

I was able to take my daughter with me there because its a very rural area, Riddick said, adding that her strong church community there gave her tremendous support in raising Aniya, who was 7 at the time.

I really feel like God has been ordering my steps, Riddick said. I really was able to establish community there, so my church family really helped me a lot when it came to caring for my daughter at times when I did need to study for an exam or needed to go back on campus. It really does take a village to raise a child.

Money was tight during medical school for the single mom, too, she said. And by her second year, she received a National Health Service Corps scholarship that financed her final two years of study.

Her first position after graduation was at a Chesapeake, Va., practice, which she chose partly because she wanted her daughter to benefit from the citys highly ranked high school.

I was the sole female provider there for awhile, she said of the clinic.

In Chesapeake, she went into private practice for four years and was able to learn the business side of medicine there, Riddick said.

And as a condition of her NHSC scholarship, she also had to work double duty at the nearby Southeastern Virginia Health System, a medically underserved clinic. The NHSC requires that its scholars give back to communities in need in return for financial support.

Riddick went on to do her residency at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, Va., before moving in 2019 to South Boston, Va.

She chose the tiny rural town believing she could challenge herself there and build her skills as a country doctor, she said.

Working in Chesapeake had been a bit easy, Riddick felt, because shed been able to call on senior physicians for assistance.

I felt like I needed to develop myself, she said. I really wanted to learn to react ... in uncomfortable situations, whether in the OR or managing a patient.

In South Boston, just as her daughter began college, Riddick joined two other doctors and I was able to really become an even better laparoscopic surgeon  it forced me to grow, she said. It was not very easy. I couldnt just call someone in to help me or assist me with my surgeries. I wanted that challenge. Life in Chesapeake was very comfortable. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone.

The move to Eden

Riddicks next move to Eden came after a friend from residency recommended the UNC Womens Health practice and the small Rockingham County city as ideal for Riddick.

I wanted to be in a place where I could give back to the community, said Riddick, who treats around 25 patients daily here and delivers around 10 babies per month.

I want to be involved with teenagers when it comes to mentoring on a level outside of the office, so that is what attracted me to Eden.

Developing a mentoring program is one of her main future plans, Riddick said. Being able to provide counseling to an underserved and disadvantaged population is very important to me  and I feel like I would be able to empower young women here.

The Eden clinic and its practitioners have welcomed me with open arms here, Riddick said. I enjoy working with Dr. (Nigel) Buist and Dr. (Dionne) Galloway, as well. And I enjoy working with the staff here. Theyve been very warm.

For now, her most critical focus is fulfilling her personal promise to give patients the comfort of unconditional acceptance and compassion, along with a big dose of patient education.

My patients are very thankful to me that I relay information to them in a manner which they understand, Riddick said. I think thats why Ive always had a large following with patient care because I want for my patients to understand exactly whats going on with their health.

Her commitment to her patients and helping those in the community facing challenges is truly inspiring, said UNC Rockingham Health Care President and CEO Steven E. Eblin.

Prevention of HPV

Riddick urges her patients of all ages to take ownership of their health and she wants to get important messages to her youngest patients to spare them from future health problems.

A major focus: cervical cancer prevention through Gardasil vaccinations that prevent infection with the human papillomavirus, known as HPV.

It is estimated that HPV vaccines, such as Gardasil, may prevent 70% of cervical cancers, 80% of anal cancers, 60% of vaginal cancers, 40% of vulvar cancers and more than 90% of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers, studies show.

I counsel my young patients about the importance of birth control, taking preventive measures so they wont get cervical cancer  getting the Gardasil vaccine, using condoms to keep them from getting sexually-transmitted infections, the importance of routine STD screening if they are involved with any partner.

Girls and their parents need to talk about getting Gardasil at age 11-12, ideally, Riddick said, though the vaccine has been approved for use up to age 45.

I think some parents really have a hard time seeing their child is going to grow up and become sexually active, Riddick said. You have to remember how you were at that age. I think its really hard for parents to really see that.







Taking ownership of your health

Riddick stresses to patients the importance of taking real ownership of their own health and not really looking down on (them) or making them feel bad about their decisions in life, she said.

Fear of being judged can be a huge barrier for patients and keep them from coming in for doctor visits, Riddick said.

Her joy is bonding with patients

Creating a comfort zone in her office is the aspect of her practice that brings Riddick the most reward, she said.

I like establishing that relationship in the office in the patient room and allowing the patient to be vulnerable with me  very open and honest about whats going on with them  what brought them to their visit, Riddick said.

Theres no judgement. I remind my nurses, too, no judgement. If a patient wants an STD check and theyve just been here a month ago, no judgement, Riddick said. We all have been there, made bade decisions, bad choices, so thats very important to me.

She wants to offer help even beyond the sphere of healthcare, Riddick said.

I really enjoy educating my patients, telling them how I can help them, whether by doing an STD screening or by me giving them encouragement, or advice about their relationship, or talking to them about if they want to go to college  talking about anything in their life, Riddick said.

I think by me being transparent with my patients  letting them know about my story, letting them know I have compassion, that they can be honest with me ... helps. Ive been there. Ive done all of that, so theres no judgement. I just like to be a good model of what would Christ do, what would he say?

Contact Susie C. Spear at sspear@rockinghamnow.com, (336) 349-4331, ext. 6140 and follow @SpearSusie_RCN on Twitter.

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DANVILLE, Va.  As far as monumental moments, March 13, 2020, may not stand out as pivotal.

But it will be forever etched in history as the day the pandemic hit home for the Dan River Region.

With each passing hour that day, it became crystal clear the novel coronavirus had infiltrated daily routines. Community events were canceled in sweeping fashion as life virtually came to a standstill.

Then came the ultimate shock. Delivered via news release at about 2 p.m. that day, Gov. Ralph Northam ordered all Virginia schools closed for two weeks. In itself it would have marked the longest shuttering even compared with lingering impacts from a crippling snowstorm in the South.

At the time, even health experts couldnt fathom the fallout of COVID-19 would linger as long as it has.

But here we are.

We really had no idea what we were in for with the novel virus, Dr. Scott Spillmann, director of the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District, told the Register & Bee last week. While we knew there would be certain problems along the way, we didnt think it would last more than a few months, especially past the cold weather.

The two-year anniversary is marked with harsh realities. Some 24,707 cases of the illness caused by the coronavirus officially have been reported in Danville and Pittsylvania County. The true number is undoubtedly higher.

A total of 450 residents  family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers  have died at the hands of COVID-19.

When it all started, the economic impact dwarfed the implications to health and daily lives. After all, the precautions were put in place before any infections started swirling in the region.

That soon changed.

It was not until we had two outbreaks in long-term care facilities at the end of March (2020) that we all started to see the devastation that COVID-19 could cause, McKenna Luzynski, an epidemiologist with the Southside Health District, told the Register & Bee.

Nursing homes, filled with vulnerable individuals, were hit hard in the early days. Stringent lockdowns  all with an eye to keeping residents safe  quickly became the norm.

When it started, Chris H. Garrett, local health emergency coordinator with the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District, used the 1918 Spanish Flu as a benchmark for what was unfolding in real time.

COVID-19 is a different disease, but the overall planning and time expectations do not change, he explained. It seemed to follow the same pattern.

It soon became apparent those two-week shutdowns werent enough. The pause on life extended for the months ahead.

Long hours

To this day, Luzynski still goes to sleep each night with her work phone next to her bed in case someone needs her during the night.

I worked an average of 60-70 hours per week, the epidemiologist said of the early months in the pandemic. We all worked late nights and all day on the weekends.

Sometimes that meant being on the phone as late as 1 a.m. or answering a call at 4 in the morning.

Our epidemiologists were easily working 15 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week, Spillman said.

Garrett said it wasnt uncommon to have people on the job for about 80 hours in a week.

Over at Sovah Health-Danville, emotions were high for the uncharted territory.

When our care team initially started diagnosing COVID-19 in our hospital, we realized that symptoms of the virus can vary among individuals and spread very quickly, Dr. Sheranda Gunn-Nolan, market chief medical officer for Sovah Health, said. These two fundamentals were critical in how we treated and responded to the virus.

The health system with campuses in Danville and Martinsville wanted to ensure the community it was prepared and had contingencies ready.

Our quick response and preparedness in unknown conditions demonstrates the power of our employees, the strength of our team, and the value of our community-centered care, Gunn-Nolan told the Register & Bee. We wanted to assure our community that our providers and clinical teams are well-trained and prepared to manage outbreaks of viruses and infectious diseases, including the coronavirus. We were in this together  not just as a care team or hospital  but as a community.

Education

Virginia, led at the time by the only governor who was a doctor, became the first state in the nation to cancel classes for the rest of the year.

Few could have imagined the extent to which our lives and the education of our students would be disrupted, Pittsylvania County Schools Superintendent Mark Jones told the Register & Bee. During the initial days of the pandemic, we did not have the luxury of languishing in feelings of shock or disappointment.

Instead, schools were thrust into coming up with an action plan that extended far beyond the educational environment. In Pittsylvania County, the school nutrition departments staff was among the first to respond.

They put a plan in place for emergency distribution of meals the first week school was closed by order of Northam.

Even after the governor extended his temporary closure to encompass the balance of the 2019-2020 school year, positivity in the face of adversity characterized the response of every department within our school system in the weeks and months that followed as they rallied to formulate plans to meet the needs of our students throughout the pandemic, Jones said.

Danville Public Schools Superintendent Angela Hairston remembers watching TV as each state announced schools would be closed for the rest of the year.

While I was not the superintendent at the time, I could see from afar that Danville was well positioned because of access to technology and the investment in access to the internet, she said.

At the time, Hairston was the superintendent for Winston Salem/Forsyth County Schools in North Carolina.

Superintendents across the country were warned to begin planning for virtual and remote planning, she explained. Some school districts ramped up their virtual learning plan, while others struggled with the concept.

Many thought by fall of 2020 things would be back to normal, she said. Little did anyone realize a transformational shift in pandemic education was emerging.

Averett University  following step with other colleges throughout the nation  shifted to online learning and moved most employees to a remote working mode. In fact, that decision was announced the evening of March 12, 2020, a day before a cascade of closures engulfed the area.

It wasnt an easy determination to make, said spokesperson Cassie Jones.

This decision was incredibly difficult, she wrote in an email to the Register & Bee. Our campus community thrives on close, personal connections and access to supportive relationships between our students, faculty, staff and the larger community.

During a time of year when the college is full of energy, its campus was mostly empty.

Then when we realized we had to extend the remote instruction for the remainder of the semester, it was an incredibly emotional time for all of us, as these decisions did not come easily, Jones explained. They were informed with countless hours of debating, strategizing and following the guidance of health officials, all while keeping our students at the center.

It was a similar experience over at Danville Community College. Already on spring break, DCC added an extra week off for students. Later it also moved learning into the virtual realm.

In March of 2020, we closed our campus and moved to virtual operations with the intent of returning to campus in a few weeks, DCC spokesperson Faith ONeil said. No one could have predicted the magnitude of the pandemic or how long it would last.
Casting aside for a moment the heartbreaking blows the coronavirus pandemic dealt the Dan River Region over the last 730-plus days, there have been some rays of sunshine amid the dark clouds.

A striking advance in technology was an early side effect of the illness about two years ago. Working from home  for most  also seemed to bring an added bit of flexibility to what was previously a hectic work schedule.

Even for an advanced technical institution like Danville Community College, the pandemic swiftly forced a new wave of virtual education.

Although we would have never chosen to endure this pandemic, our faculty and staff were able to learn and use new technologies that will persist even after the pandemic ends, spokesperson Faith ONeal said last week. These technologies will allow better access for students who cannot physically be on campus.

But those interviewed by the Register & Bee for this series agree the top positive impact was a deeper sense of unity and connection with the community.

One of the biggest silver linings of the pandemic for us has been strengthened partnerships with other organizations in the area that are working towards the same goals, McKenna Luzynski, a senior epidemiologist with the Southside Health District, told the Register & Bee.

The constantly changing pandemic opened new lines of communications between the Virginia Department of Health, hospitals, medical providers and nonprofit groups.

As we emerge from COVID-19, well be able to build on this foundation to collectively move our community towards a healthier state, she said.

One of the first joint efforts in early 2021 was a community vaccination clinic that brought Sovah Health-Danville, the health department and Averett University  among others  together on a collaborative charge to get shots into the arms of eager Dan River Region residents.

We hosted the first vaccine clinic in the region, and are proud to have helped in the vaccination of thousands in our community, Cassie Jones, a spokesperson for Averett, told the Register & Bee. Seeing how a campus and community could unite to care for one another was incredible.

Jones described it as likely the single most significant accomplishment during the COVID-19 crisis for the university.

Dr. Scott Spillmann, director of the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District, also praised the newfound connections with faith organizations, governmental leaders and community groups, but said the personal experiences were the most powerful.

Just as fire does not destroy metal and purifies it, the pandemic has brought our team closer together and weve learned to rely on each other even more, he said.

Beyond the tangible aspects, the ordeal over the last two years strengthened the bonds of coworkers tossed into a nightmarish situation.

Any time a team endures a high stress situation, they grow closer, said Dr. Sheranda Gunn-Nolan, market chief medical officer for Sovah-Health. We continue to be amazed by the strength and perseverance of our team members as we approach year three of this pandemic, and we are so grateful for our employees and physicians for their continued dedication to our patients.

And its not just health care workers who built a better team. Education leaders said teachers also have a new bond emerging.

Among the most positive impact has been the sense of common purpose and community that was strengthened among staff throughout the division during the pandemic, explained Pittsylvania County Superintendent Mark Jones.

But perhaps the greatest impact is a greater awareness of overall health.

We see people taking control of their health more than previously with routine conversations and discussing risks and the need for preventative care, Gunn-Nolan said.
In light of the developing catastrophe in Ukraine, one wonders if President George W. Bush regrets not having taken a harder line against Russian President Vladimir Putin when he invaded Georgia in 2008. Or if President Barack Obama wishes he had tried harder to muster NATO and the rest of the free world to resist Putins annexation of Crimea in 2014.

But thats the trouble with overused cliches such as Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. They sound surpassingly wise but, in practical terms, they dont tell us very much about how we should behave now.

Often cliches such as these raise more questions than they answer. If Bush had resisted Putin in 2008 or Obama had in 2014, we do not know whether Russia would be currently residing quietly within its national boundaries or whether we would have already experienced World War III and would now be facing World War IV, the one that Einstein supposedly said would be fought with sticks and stones.

In fact, the best that the cliche might do for us now is to remind us that in ten or twenty years we may look back on 2022 and wonder why we didnt act more decisively to prevent a ruthless autocrat from brutally destroying a country with nascent inclinations toward democracy, the rule of law and the free world.

Of course, its not as if were doing nothing. The sanctions and the military and humanitarian support are damaging the Russian economy and are helping Ukrainians resist the assault on their country.

But few argue that the sanctions are going to be enough to stop Putin. And while military aid is welcomed by the Ukrainians, it may be only enough to help them prolong  rather than win  the war and drive the casualty toll into the many thousands. Proxy wars never turn out well for the proxies.

When we consider this war in 20 years, what will we wish we had done differently?

We may wish that Bush and Obama had been more resistant in 2008 and 2014. We may wish that President Donald Trump had exhibited a stronger commitment to NATO. We may reevaluate Trumps treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Would Ukraine have been in a better position to resist Putin if Trump had welcomed the callow Zelenskyy into the fold of the free world and endorsed his anti-corruption efforts and the inclinations of his country toward the West? Would things be different now if Trump had not given the impression of conditioning an Oval Office visit for Zelenskyy and military aid for Ukraine on Zelenskyys agreement to investigate the Bidens?

And in 20 years will we wish that the Biden administration had made a greater commitment to stopping Putin militarily? My preference is for soft power and diplomacy. But its a sad fact of history that often only hard power  military force  will stop an autocrat such as Putin.

Putin may not be Hitler. But Hitler wasnt Hitler until he became Hitler, and Putin is demonstrating an alarming Hitlerian willingness to commit any atrocity necessary in order to win. Putin may look like Hitler only in retrospect, and, in retrospect, we may wish that we had done what was necessary to stop him.

But heres a regret that I hope we dont have in 20 years: May we not fail to fully understand the stakes in the current conflict. Autocracy is on the rise and democracy based on laws and aspirations for equality are under threat.

Trumps biggest mistake may have been to encourage Putin with a false equivalency between our nation and his. When a commentator pointed out in 2017 that Putin is a killer, Trump defended him: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent?

Touche. But we must not let our mistakes and failures confuse us about the essential difference between our nations commitment to democracy, equality and the rule of law and the brutal totalitarianism currently expressing itself in Ukraine. May we not recognize only 20 years later that its a distinction worth fighting for today.
Question: Ive been following the Mark Meadows story. If Meadows did something illegal, who would be responsible for charging him? And could he be charged on the state and federal level?

A.A.

Answer: Meadows was the chief of staff during President Donald Trumps administration. He is also a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 11th district in North Carolina. He left the House to become Trumps chief of staff.

Meadows listed the address of a mobile home in the mountains of North Carolina when he registered to vote. Its unclear whether Meadows ever lived in the mobile home.

He has not been charged with any crime.

By state statute (N.C.G.S.  163-22(d)), the N.C. State Board of Elections is the agency that investigates allegations of violations of election laws.

Patrick Gannon, the spokesman for the board, said that, When warranted by evidence, the State Board refers cases to district attorneys or U.S. Attorneys offices for further investigation or prosecution at their discretion.

We do not generally comment on specific incidents or investigations, or whether a particular matter is being investigated, Gannon said.

According to the state boards Elections-Related Investigations Priorities Policy, such cases are investigated by the general counsel, chief investigator, and other staff members who are needed. They will talk with the executive director about the investigation when necessary.

If a referral to prosecution is warranted, the general counsel or designee will approve the referral in writing. Updates will be provided to the executive director on an ongoing basis.

The State Bureau of Investigation, however, has been asked to look into the situation.

Attorney General Josh Steins office asked the SBI to look into Meadows voter registration after a local prosecutor requested on Monday that state authorities oversee any probe of the matter, N.C. Department of Justice spokeswoman Nazneen Ahmed said in an email.

Q: I have a lot of used syringes. Where can I dispose of them? I know Im not supposed to throw them in the trash.

L.S.

A: Youre right, needles and other sharp implements should never be thrown directly into the trash.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality recommends placing used syringes and needles in a heavy plastic bottle such as laundry detergent comes in. When the bottle is full, seal the top with heavy tape and place it in the trash.

 Melissa Hall

Winston-Salem Journal

Email your questions to mike.kernels@greensboro.com. Include Ask a Reporter in the subject field.

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GREENSBORO  John Swaines vision to expand the International Civil Rights Center & Museum and its offerings is nearly within reach.

The museums CEO is hopeful as he faces a tight timeline on gathering the funds to make it happen. He needs to secure $5 million by March 31 toward the $10.25 million purchase price of the adjacent commercial property at 100 S. Elm St. The museum has a contract on the five-story brick building.

Swaine is asking Guilford Countys Board of Commissioners and the city of Greensboro to each provide a $1 million grant by that deadline. Hes also asking each entity to provide $200,000 per year for five years toward the purchase.

The current owner will finance half of the purchase price, after the closing with $5 million down, according to information provided to commissioners. There are a number of ongoing discussions to secure the additional needed money, Swaine said while the board met during its retreat Friday at Bur-Mil Park.

A lot of pieces have been moving, Swaine told commissioners about this opportunity for expanding a site he said has been central for important gatherings, discussions and education in the community.

Commissioner Carly Cooke asked about the normal process for such a request, saying she wanted to ensure the board was doing its due diligence on behalf of taxpayers. Vice Chairwoman Carlvena Foster said the project was a win-win because it supports residents desire for more culture and arts, and signals a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Commissioner Frankie T. Jones Jr. made a motion to direct staff to develop and recommend terms of a grant agreement that would provide the museum with a total of $2 million to include: $1 million toward buying the building (2.2 acres of property), and $200,000 per year for five years to complete the property acquisition.

Commissioner Kay Cashion seconded the motion. Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin Skip Alston, a co-founder of the nonprofit Sit-In Movement Inc., which made the museum possible, waited in another room during the museums presentation and until after commissioners voted.

Commissioners unanimously supported the motion and expediting the request, a process that normally takes between 30 to 60 days. Commissioners asked that the proposed grant agreement be presented to them for consideration no earlier than Wednesday and no later than March 29.

Jones, an attorney and a vice president at Lincoln Financial, asked that the grant agreement include: sufficient assurances that county funds would be used for their intended purpose; repayment provisions in the event that the planned project is not completed and maintained for a reasonable period of time; and requirements for information sharing by the museum.

Museum leaders told commissioners they have made a similar request to the city of Greensboro, which is expected to consider it this coming week.

The questions asked were very much appreciated, Swaine told the News & Record after the meeting.

Swaine, in his 13th year with the museum, said he is working hard to quickly obtain financial commitments, such as a $500,000 gift toward the purchase from a local foundation. Because of confidentiality around the pending property purchase, Swaine said he was limited to how much he could say publicly before Fridays appearance before commissioners.

Cultural designations

In addition to expanding the museum, leaders also emphasize the importance of preserving the place where, on Feb. 1, 1960, four young Black men from N.C. A&T sat down at a whites-only lunch counter in downtown Greensboro and sparked a fight for civil rights heard around the world.

Museum leaders say buying the property is a crucial piece for consideration to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and there are only 24 sites with this designation in the United States. Among them are the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon.

The museum would become the first cultural site in North Carolina to obtain the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. Staff have been working on this effort for the past six years, according to Will Harris, a University of Pennsylvania professor who serves as principal scholar at the museum.

Were asking you to help us help Guilford County, Harris told commissioners.

A World Heritage Site designation is the gold standard and would bring worldwide recognition, Harris said, adding it would put the county brightly on the map again.

The museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a top site on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, as well as a member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, according to information presented to commissioners.

Museum leaders want to bring more permanent and rotating exhibits to Greensboro, including those with international interest.

A financial way forward

In background documents for the grant request, a section titled Financial Way Forward said the museum has experienced a positive transition during the past five years and must now expand to serve more guests.

Although the museum saw a drop in tourism revenue in 2020 amid the start of the pandemic, it also saw an immediate return in visitation when the museum reopened in September of that year with expanded services and different tour formats.

Dillon Tyler, the museums tour director, told commissioners that the museum attracts more than 70,000 paid visitors annually. Other visitors have enjoyed the museum and its educational programs virtually.

As for the museums outstanding debt, documents provided by the museum show a Small Business Administration loan of $150,000 from April 2021 to be repaid over 30 years, and a federal COVID-19 relief Paycheck Protection Program loan/grant of $86,466 that is under review by Self-Help to be forgiven. All other commitments are current, documents showed.

There are current tenants in the building at 100 S. Elm St. and, as leases expire, the museum will be working to design and plan for exhibits. The museum would receive monthly income from those leases.

We expect there to be little to no loans taken to develop the full museum, officials said in documents provided by the museum to commissioners.

In 2013, the museum asked for a $1.5 million forgivable loan from the city, which elected officials approved in September of that year. In 2014, the city proposed taking over the museum  a proposal that the museums board rejected.

In 2016, the museum said it had turned a profit and announced in 2018 it had retired its debt to the city.

In 2020, Swaine told the News & Record that the loan was a learning experience, but a necessary one.

When we thanked the residents for the forgivable loan of $1.5 million, that was a critical investment into the infrastructure at the time by the city to move the institution forward, he said. It is now doing far better.
Spring is around the corner  and that means your seasonal allergies could start to bother you.

As plants release pollen into the air, many people are dreading the impending discomfort.

But with the coronavirus still spreading, what are some ways to tell whether your symptoms at this time of year are due to allergies? Heres how health experts describe the difference between common allergy and COVID-19 symptoms.

What are some common symptoms?

There are some signs that are more common with COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted on Twitter in February. Those include:

Body aches

Fever or chills

Losing taste or smell

Shortness of breath

For allergies, more common symptoms include eyes that are itchy and watering. People with allergies may also experience shortness of breath if they have asthma or other related conditions.

Generally if were seeing a lot more itchy watery eyes, sneezing, itchy nose, were thinking most likely its going to be allergies, Dr. Shyam Joshi of Oregon Health & Science University said in a KGW-Channel 8 report.

But Joshi told the TV station its not always easy to tell the difference between allergies and COVID-19 symptoms.

The CDC list shows that some signs for each can overlap. Those include:

Coughing

Fatigue

Headaches

Runny or stuffy nose

Sneezing

Sore throat

The range of symptoms for COVID-19 is quite broad, based on different variants, Dr. Sara Narayan, an allergy and immunology specialist at Emerson Hospital in Massachusetts, said last month in an online post. In addition, people who are vaccinated but have a breakthrough infection, may experience different symptoms than those who are not vaccinated. Symptoms of COVID-19 infections can now range from asymptomatic to mild upper or lower respiratory symptoms, to severe pneumonia.

So, what do you do if youre not sure whats causing your symptoms? Health experts recommend getting a COVID-19 test early if you think you have the disease and seeking help if you have trouble breathing or show other signs of an emergency.
By Trend





Georgias petroleum and petroleum oils imports from Iran in January 2022 amounted to $184,450, which is an increase of 845 percent, compared to the same period of 2021 ($19,510), Trend reports via the National Statistics Office (Geostat).

The same figure also increased by 15.7 percent, compared to $159,350 worth of petroleum and petroleum oils imports from Iran in December 2021.

However, Georgias petroleum and petroleum oils imports from Iran in January 2022 decreased by 17.1 percent, compared to the same period of 2020 ($222,610).

Thus, Iran ranked 14 among main petroleum and petroleum oils exporters to Georgia in January 2022. Meanwhile, Romania ($19.1 million), Turkmenistan ($13.9 million), and Azerbaijan ($11.7 million) were top on the list.

Georgias total imports of petroleum and petroleum oils in January 2022 amounted to $72.7 million  an increase of 98 percent, compared to $36.7 million over the same period of 2021.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians faces a labor shortage so severe at its two casinos in the N.C. mountains that tribal leaders are considering workers from other countries and housing them in multiple dorms.

Nearly 800 good-paying jobs with benefits are unfilled at Harrahs Cherokee Casino Resort and another 90 at Harrahs Cherokee Valley River Casino in Murphy, tribal council member Boyd Owle said at a March 3 council meeting, according to a recording of the meeting on the tribes website.

The July opening of the Catawba Indians Two Kings Casino Resort in Kings Mountain 35 minutes from Charlotte made the need for foreign workers more pressing, Cherokee leaders said at the meeting.

Competition is now here, Cherokee Principal Chief Richard Sneed told the council. Its in Charlotte.

Youre right, Owle replied. Weve got a new kid in town, right down the road, 2 1/2 hours. I do see the need for workforce housing.

Harrahs Cherokee Casinos employs about 3,300 workers.

The Catawbas opened a single-story facility July 1 off Interstate 85 Exit 5, about 35 miles west of Charlotte. The casino has about 260 employees, a spokesman said.

In December, Two Kings doubled its gambling machines with 500 new electronic table games, including blackjack, roulette, craps and baccarat. The 24/7 facility is the first phase of the planned $273 million Two Kings Casino Resort.

The Catawba havent announced a timetable for the project, which the tribe expects will create about 2,600 permanent jobs and thousands of construction jobs.

In a statement Wednesday, Catawba Two Kings Casino officials said the casino was fortunate to have a strong response at its job fairs. The casino has maintained a full staff since then with limited turnover, according to the casino. We are proud to be providing good jobs in the Charlotte region, including to residents of Cleveland County and to Catawba citizens.

Cherokee expand NC casino

In October, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians opened a $330 million expansion of the tribes Harrahs Cherokee Casino Resort. The expansion included a 19-story, 725-room hotel tower and a convention center.

The new hotel tower, called the Cherokee, was the tribes fourth.

Guy Fieris Cherokee Kitchen + Bar opened in the tower, which also features a two-story, open-air lobby, a 30-foot registration desk and a second-floor terrace pool with views of the Great Smoky Mountains.

The new, three-level, 83,000-square-foot convention center includes a 32,000 square-foot ballroom and a 33,000-square-foot exhibition hall.

Harrahs Cherokee Casino Resort was the first casino in North Carolina when it opened in 1997, about 165 miles west of Charlotte, a three-hour drive away.

Harrahs Cherokee Valley River Casino  a four-hour drive from Charlotte  was the states second casino when it opened in 2015 near Georgia and Tennessee.

Two Kings is the states third casino.

Worker supply exhausted

Owle said the Cherokee casinos have exhausted the supply of available local workers.

The tribe has little choice but to consider foreign workers through the U.S. governments H-2B temporary non-agricultural workers visa program, he and other tribal leaders said.

Weve got to do something, Owle said. Thats the cash cow up there, he added, referring to Harrahs Cherokee Casino Resort.

The casino pays for everything we do as a tribe, Sneed told the council March 3.

Boosting casino pay

In May 2021, Harrahs Cherokee Casinos increased the starting pay rate of all positions that do not earn tips to $15 an hour, according to an announcement by the tribe at the time. Many employees who also earn tips also saw their starting rates climb, by varying amounts depending on the job.

Harrahs Cherokee remains competitive with wages in Western North Carolina, according to Breanna Sneed, spokeswoman for the office of Principal Chief Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

We also raised salaried positions at the same time to keep our compensation model equitable at all levels in the organization, she told the Observer in an email. We offer a generous benefits package, which includes paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance for all full time positions, a 5% 401K match, an onsite medical clinic and tuition reimbursement.

The casino has vacancies for all front-of-house, guest-contact positions and offers hiring bonuses up to $3,000, Breanna Sneed said.

We are currently focusing on staffing for our new Gordon Ramsay Food Market and are hiring cooks, stewards, cashiers, dining attendants, hosts and bartenders, to name a few, she said.

The casino always needs friendly faces to assist guests as security officers, cocktail servers, table games dealers, cleaning specialists and front desk agents, she added.

Harrahs Cherokee offers flexible scheduling for both full- and part-time positions, Breanna Sneed said.

Causes of casinos labor shortage

Cherokee casinos have traditionally added staff entering the busy summer season, according to Breanna Sneed.

And new amenities this year require even more workers, she said, including the new hotel tower, added convention space, the opening of Guy Fieris Cherokee Kitchen + Bar and the upcoming opening of Gordon Ramsays Food Market.

That being said, we did have many employees who chose not to return to work with the onset of the pandemic for a variety of reasons, Breanna Sneed said.

With the growth of our property, extraordinary business demand from our guests and vacancies created by the pandemic, we have seen the number of open positions rise over the past two years, she said.

The tribe is looking at various sources of labor, including using third-party providers, some of whom focus on foreign-labor and J-1 Visa programs, she said.

J-1 visas allow people from other countries to visit the U.S. to teach, study, conduct research, demonstrate special skills or receive on the job training for periods ranging from a few weeks to several years, according to the U.S. Department of State.

Catawba jobs advantage

Cherokee Principal Chief Richard Sneed said the Catawba tribe can draw from a much larger pool of potential workers in the more populous Charlotte region.

Several weeks before Two Kings opened, officials with Buffalo North, the consultant on the casino project, told the Observer that the 250 full-time workers who were needed for the facility had been hired, except for a few cocktail servers.

The employees included about 50 Catawbas, according to Delaware North.

For the Cherokee, hiring H-2B workers and buying property to build dormitory-style buildings to house them may be the only paths forward, Sneed said.

We have to do whats necessary to support the enterprise thats paying the bills for everything, he said at the March 3 meeting.

Land for worker dorms

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council is considering buying a 9.5-acre grassy parcel within its boundary lands for $2.5 million and building the dorms there. The council held off voting March 3 to see if a lower price can be had for the land.

At the meeting, tribal council member Teresa McCoy was irate that her council would buy land and build housing for foreign workers when, she said, weve got hundreds of families without housing.

Historically speaking, she said before getting up and leaving the meeting, we got moved out of here, and our land was taken from us. And now this chief comes in and wants to build housing for them?

Richard Sneed and other tribal leaders cited the hundreds of homes that were built in just the past year for tribal families, and hundreds more homes that are underway or planned.

Sneed said a tribal land acquisitions committee that he chairs is working to secure land for the dorms, not he alone.
During the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, I probably gave a hundred presentations to Navy and Marine Corps personnel where I said something like this:

There is such thing as a law of war, the United States military recognizes it, and, if you violate it, you could be court-martialed and end up in prison.

No matter where American combat troops are, there is a military lawyer who has said the same. The premise is that America acts in a morally justifiable manner, and if you deviate from that, you will be held accountable. In my more than 22 years as a Navy judge advocate, few things made me prouder than when I gave training on the Law of Armed Conflict.

We protect civilians, attack only military objectives and prevent unnecessary suffering. We do not harm unarmed people and non-combatants. We do not inflict destruction on or target civilian population centers if we can avoid it. We do not attack hospitals, first aid stations, refugee centers, churches, synagogues, mosques or cultural or historical sites. We do not inflict unnecessary suffering, even on our enemies. We do not use force to terrorize. We minimize the damage that comes from the use of force. And no, we are not going to use chemical weapons.

I gave this training to pilots, infantrymen, special operators, ship drivers and others headed into Afghanistan, Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Every American military unit receives this training.

The Law of Armed Conflict, or law of war, is a body of customs and treaties, developed over hundreds of years, that form a set of international norms for how warfare should be conducted. The horrors of World Wars I and II provided the impetus for much of the modern law of war, including the Geneva Conventions, which most countries, including the United States, have ratified and agreed to abide by.

Americans have made our share of mistakes and some have not always followed these principles, but those are the exceptions. Our military acts on the basis that there is a moral component to everything we do, and that we will hold ourselves accountable when we fall short. Courts-martial and other trials attest to this.

Which is why, in watching the wanton, senseless destruction that Russia has visited upon Ukraine, in a war that was utterly pointless to begin with, I cannot help but pray that there will be consequences for the evil and moral depravity that Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed. America should lead the way in ensuring this is so.

Russia and Putin must be held accountable for what they have done. The world did this after the Balkan Wars of the 1990s. The Allies did so at Nuremberg, Germany, and in Tokyo after World War II. This should be no different.

There was no reason for Russia to invade Ukraine in the first place, but there certainly is no reason for it to shell and bomb its cities and destroy churches, hospitals and ancient cultural and historical sites, or to terrorize and kill innocent civilians. Russia is destroying Ukraine block by block, but for what purpose? How many women and children, and elderly and infirmed and handicapped, will suffer for no reason? And God help us if Putin uses chemical weapons.

The Western world must investigate and prosecute what has occurred in Ukraine. Many American military officers and government officials have the expertise and experience to do so. We should summon them now and get our allies to do the same. If no one is held accountable, what good are we as Americans?

This is a defining moral moment, and a morally clarifying one.

There is also a lesson here for Americans. We sometimes seem bent on destroying ourselves with petty internal political squabbles while the evil and sociopathic of the world watch and take advantage. The invasion of Ukraine gives us the chance to see what really matters and shows us that, as Americans, we share some basic moral foundations.

Most of us  without anyone telling us what to think or feel  looked at this war and knew instinctively what was morally right and what was evil. We knew which side of the line we had to be on.

We must remember who is on the right side of that divide, and hold those on the other side accountable.

The Ukrainians have shown resilience, unity of purpose and dedication to a cause greater than oneself. But these are American values, too  qualities that saved the world from tyranny in World War II and made us a beacon of hope around the world.

If we are to answer the call of our times and carry out our heritage as Americans, we must remember this and act accordingly.
The idea of compulsory school attendance for children is not a new or radical one in modern society. The World Bank reports that, of the globes nearly 200 recognized nations, only a tiny handful fail to mandate school attendance.

At 12 years, the U.S. slightly exceeds the global average of 10 years required attendance, but there are several with even higher expectations. A number of Latin and Central American nations require anywhere from 13-15 years. In Germany and the Netherlands, its 13.

Of course, putting a school attendance requirement on the books and enforcing it are very different things. Children, with or without their parents blessing, have been dropping out of school early for centuries. And though those numbers have been on a downward trajectory in recent decades, millions of American children have gone this troubling route in recent years.

Still, for all of the challenges it presents, the benefits of mandatory school attendance  to children and overall societal well-being  are beyond question. Especially in a world in which misinformation runs rampant and the options for earning a living income through untrained labor continue to dwindle rapidly, our society does its children and their collective future a grave disservice by taking a laissez-faire approach to the subject.

All of which brings us to the discussion that took place at a recent meeting of the state legislatures Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on General Government. As NC Policy Watch journalist Clayton Henkel reported, the meeting featured, among other things, a deeply troubling progress report on the reporting system that the state employs for the tens of thousands of children whom we have reason to believe are receiving their state-mandated education in homeschools.

Consider the numbers revealed at the meeting.

Out of sight ... ?

According to Dr. Chena Flood, director of the states Division of Non-Public Education, her office has more that 112,000 homeschools on record with a total estimated enrollment of 179,990 children. Whats more, the numbers are growing rapidly. During the 2020-21 academic year, parents filed 19,454 notices of intent to open new home schools  a 105% increase over pre-pandemic filings. Another 12,314 notices were filed between July 2021 and January of this year.

And the total staff that Floods office employs to oversee these schools, which educate 10% or more of the states schoolchildren?

That number would be six.

No, thats not a misprint or a joke. To monitor a population of children that would fill Raleighs Carter-Finley Stadium more than three times over, our state employs a group of individuals too small to run even a single public school. And just to add to the absurdity of the situation, Floods staff isnt even a part of the Department of Public Instruction; its housed in a catchall agency known as the Department of Administration.

Of course, the practical and obvious reality revealed by such preposterous numbers is that our state provides zero meaningful homeschool oversight. And the offices plan to hire three temp workers to help clean up the homeschool database clearly isnt going to make a meaningful difference.

For instance, as Flood told the committee, state law technically requires a test be administered to homeschool students before they can graduate, but the students need not pass it.

The law only requires that they have a test administered. It does not have to link to their curriculum. You would think that is the case, but because they have free rein to decide their curriculum and to decide the test, we have no idea, she said.

And while for some children this is not a serious problem, for many others it obviously makes for an outrageous situation.

Little authority

Some students, for example, are undoubtedly receiving science instruction from demonstrably inaccurate curricula that wrongfully question the fact of evolution and intersperse statements of conservative Christian belief. Still others, worrisomely, arent receiving any meaningful instruction at all.

To make matters even more ridiculous, Floods tiny office lacks any authority to do anything about homeschools that fail their children  or even those that simply refuse to communicate or provide any access to school records.

The statute does not say that we can close them for not providing us with that information, Flood told the committee.

The situation is so patently dysfunctional that even one of the General Assemblys most conservative members, Sen. Bob Steinburg (R-Camden), expressed concern at the committee meeting and urged the state to amp up homeschool monitoring so that kids dont get lost.

The bottom line: America is a free country in which parents do and should have tremendous autonomy over how their children are raised. But its also true that such parental freedom comes with responsibility: to abide by basic societal norms and to prepare children for a life as citizens.

And unless North Carolina intends to abandon these basic premises of a democratic society in favor of an anarchic, every-person-for-themselves free-for-all, state leaders should take swift action  including a dramatic expansion of professional staff  to get a handle on the homeschool situation as quickly as possible.
According to SOHR this development comes amid the decline in aerial bombardments by Russia on the Syrian desert since Russia invade Ukraine compared to previous months.

Since early March, SOHR has documented the death of 24 Damascus soldiers and their proxies and injury of 29 others, in attacks carried out by ISIS mercenaries in the Syrian desert.

A.K

ANHA
Syrian Democratic Council issued a statement to the public opinion on the occasion of Newroz, saying:

"Most of the peoples of the region celebrate Newroz, which means the new day. Although the vision and conviction of each people differs from the other, whether in national, religious or related to nature, they unanimously agree that Newroz values mean advancement, freedom and rebirth, and as a whole emphasize the values of goodness and equality. The Kurds are at the forefront of these peoples who have been celebrating Newroz for more than three thousand years."

The statement continued, "We congratulate the Newroz holiday on all the Kurds in Syria, the region and the world, and we affirm that the Kurdish issue is a national issue that must be resolved in accordance with international covenants and charters within the country's unity and territorial integrity, and that one of the most important factors for stability in the region and resolving its crises, foremost of which is the Syrian crisis, which has entered its eleventh year, is finding a just solution to the Kurdish issue as it is an essential part of the Syrian democratic issue, and a decisive criterion for Syrian democratic transformation and change and a solution to its crisis, achieving democratic, non-sectarian rule for a decentralized, pluralistic state.

The statement added, "The repudiation of the solution to this issue is not that it does not serve any party only, but that it loses all the national and religious components of the people of Syria, and if the delegates forcibly deny the peoples of our region a hundred years ago, the rights of the Kurdish people and deny them their cause, their natural and interrelated rights and their issues. the other indigenous peoples in the Middle East; it is time for the Syrian national democratic forces to say their just word on this and other issues.

SDC also directs to all Syrians that Newroz Day be an official national holiday in Syria, and that Mother's Day be celebrated again as it was known to everyone on the 13th of May; After it was altered in violation and inserted under Decree 104 in 1988, hoping that the coming year of Newroz will be an end to the Syrian pain and the beginning of sustainable peace in Syria, the region and the world.

T/S

ANHA
Dr. Elizabeth A. Palmarozzi was appointed founding campus dean of the proposed Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine-Montana campus in Great Falls.

Palmarozzi served most recently as founding dean of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Auburn, Alabama, campus and clinical vice chair of the Department of Family Medicine at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

Palmarozzi will oversee all facets of the curriculum and campus of Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine-Montana as well as the hiring of faculty and staff, development of local partnerships, recruitment of physicians and students and research activity.

Dr. Palmarozzi brings an impressive, three-decades long record of academic leadership as well as real world experience in the field of osteopathic medicine. She has a track record of success in establishing new programs, developing strategic partnerships and motivating students," said Dr. Alan Kadish, President of Touro University.

Palmarozzi said she was honored to serve as founding dean. She said Montana is facing a health care crisis, with 93% of its counties experiencing a shortage of medical providers.

Bringing a new medical school to Central Montana will address the physician shortage and increase access to health care for the states large underserved populations. Currently, 60% of Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine graduates enter the field of primary care and continuing this trend in Montana will truly make a difference in the lives of so many. Im excited to be part of a pioneering effort to improve healthcare and access to higher education.

According to Palmarozzi, the medical school is scheduled to open with 125 students in the fall of 2023, and has already secured clinical rotation sites in Great Falls through its local hospital partner, Benefis Health, and through other collaborations across Montana.

Palmarozzi earned her doctor of Osteopathic Medical Degree from Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. Fort Worth, Texas (University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, TCOM).

For more information on Touro University visit www.touro.edu

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Theres no way around it: Travel has a big environmental impact. If commercial aviation were its own country, it would rank sixth in terms of total carbon dioxide emissions (between Japan and Germany), according to a 2019 fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

Whoa.

The onus of reducing the carbon impact of travel rests on many shoulders, from corporations to countries. But the fact remains that the decisions of individual travelers matter as well. So what can environmentally conscious travelers do to reduce their impact?

Flying less frequently or less far is one option, but not an attractive or feasible one for many travelers. And buying carbon offsets or other price-intensive measures can help (in theory), but not everyone can afford them.

Thankfully there are many low-cost or free ways to reduce the environmental impact of travel. In fact, some of them can even save you money.

1. Skip premium cabins

Yes, flying at the front of the plane is the dream. And using points and miles makes this dream a possibility for many. But its expensive  both in terms of cost and carbon impact.

An analysis by the World Bank's Environment and Energy Team, Development Research Group estimates that first-class fares can cause up to nine times more emissions than economy fares because of the space they require on aircraft.

So, taking a single flight in first class could be the equivalent of nine flights of the same distance in economy.

This ones a win-win for budget- and eco-conscious travelers. Avoiding the markup on premium seats can reduce both the cost and carbon impact of air travel. Your knees might not thank you for cramming into an economy seat, but the climate might.

2. Use Google Flights' new carbon feature

Googles flight search tool is an excellent choice for travel experts and newbies alike. And it has recently added a carbon emissions feature that makes it invaluable for environmentally minded travelers.

The best part of this feature is that you dont have to do anything to use it: Its baked into the flight search results automatically. Google shows the estimated carbon dioxide emissions for each flight and highlights the option with the lowest emissions.

This acts as a behavioral nudge that lets you choose the most environmentally conscious option with all other variables being the same. In the example pictured, the Qatar Airways flight costs a bit more and has slightly lower emissions than the Singapore Airlines flight.

However, in many cases, the lowest-cost flight is also the least carbon intensive. This makes it easy to make a small difference on the impact of your flight without spending much (or any) more.

3. Dont accept a rental car upgrade

Have you ever booked the cheapest (and smallest) rental car available, only to receive a much bigger vehicle at the counter? This can feel like a small victory  akin to being upgraded on a flight  but it comes with a carbon cost. In addition to being cheaper, economy cars are also generally more fuel efficient. So getting upgraded to a sport utility vehicle isnt always a good thing.

Just ask the rental car agent if any smaller cars are available. You might get some arched eyebrows in response, but theres no issue with taking the downgrade. Sometimes there are no small cars available, which is the reason for the upgrade, but its worth asking.

This carbon-conscious trick is not only free  it can save you gas money.

4. Turn down the hotel AC and heat when you leave

All in all, hotel rooms are pretty efficient. Theyre much smaller and easier to heat, cool and light than a typical home. And theyre generally built with energy conservation in mind (since hotel companies foot the bill).

Yet, for the most part, hotel rooms are under constant climate control, even when unoccupied. This means youre always stepping into a perfectly room-temperature environment when returning, but its also a waste of energy.

This ones easy: Simply turn down your heat or air conditioning when leaving the hotel room for the day. The minor inconvenience of a chilly or warm room is easily offset by the energy savings.

You might even take your eco-consciousness a step further and consider booking hotels that are committed to protecting the environment.

The bottom line

Being an environmentally responsible traveler is not a zero-sum game. You dont have to travel less, or buy a bunch of carbon offsets, in order to make a difference. Small behavioral nudges such as turning down the AC or rental car upgrade can make a meaningful difference.

In fact, you can have it both ways  saving money and reducing your carbon footprint at the same time.

Sam Kemmis writes for NerdWallet. Email: skemmis@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @samsambutdif.

The article 4 Cheap Ways to Be an Eco-Conscious Traveler originally appeared on NerdWallet.

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CHICAGO - Students, parents and members of the Homewood-Flossmoor High School community are coming together to organize a second walkout after a few hundred students walked out of the high school Wednesday morning to speak out against alleged sexual assault and harassment between students.

At about 9 a.m. Wednesday, students at Homewood-Flossmoor left the school building and walked around the schools campus chanting until about 3 p.m.

LaShawn Littrice, who has a doctorate in community psychology and is the parent of a sophomore, said she is helping students organize a walkout on Thursday, the last day before the schools spring break. She said shed like for there to be a proper platform for the students to speak from and for the walkout to be streamlined.

She said the reason the walkout happened now, according to a student who she spoke to, was because they are fed up with how the school is handling allegations of sexual assault and harassment, and students wanted to take matters into their own hands.

The school has to be a little more accountable, Littrice said. They can still remain confidential, but they have to take into consideration that people have been affected by this. There have to be some measures put in place for when voices need to be heard in schools.

James Mitchem Jr., interim principal at the high school, said in a statement administration and student support staff were present outside the school during Wednesdays walkout to ensure everyones safety.

The schools administrative team has been made aware of the allegations behind the walkout and is investigating and will be taking all steps necessary to ensure student safety and accountability, the statement said. These are some of the most difficult situations to process at a school and due to privacy laws and legal restrictions, we are limited in what we can share with students, families and the community.

Mitchem said while the walkout provided a vehicle for students to share general concerns, the school is asking students who have been directly affected by sexual assault or harassment to report incidents to a trusted adult, parent, staff member or law enforcement officer.

Aja Moore, a resident of Homewood and parent of triplets who are juniors at the high school, said one of the three participated in the walkout.

Moore said her understanding, based on conversations with her children and other parents, is a student had an issue keeping his hands to himself. Moore said as far as she knows, the allegations are all from before the students start at the high school.

From what my kids know, there have not been any new allegations while he was a student at HF, Moore said.

She said she felt the schools hands are tied because the allegations are from before the student was enrolled in the high school, but said the walkout was what the kids needed in order for them to feel heard.

She said several staff members supported the students during the walkout and have listened to their concerns.

I think that made my kids feel a little bit better knowing that they were listening and their voices are being heard, Moore said.

Moores son who participated in the walkout, Kameron Moore, said he didnt know much about what was going on until two days before the walkout when he heard about the allegations and decided to support his peers who were going to protest.

I dont know who it was or if the allegations are actually true, but I just thought that if it was true, I should be out there, Kameron Moore said.

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Editors' note: Injustice Watch and Chicago Tribune teamed up to report on the challenges facing Illinois' aging undocumented population in a series of stories focused on access to health care and housing. This is the first story in the series.

CHICAGO  In a cold basement apartment on the Southwest Side, Gregorio Pillado and Martina Alonso count pennies and pray for relief.

Pillado, 79, has been working at a nearby meatpacking plant for 20 years, lifting thousands of pounds of frozen meats into large vats, eight hours a day, five days a week. His $16 an hour pretax is the married couple's only source of income. With it, they manage to pay for their groceries, medicines, utilities and their $800 monthly rent  but not much else.

Alonso, 69, used to bring in money by catering small parties and selling bags of chopped-up nopales (prickly pear), but she had to stop after she fell and injured her wrist months ago.

Pillado's health has declined dramatically over the last few years. First he had to get a pacemaker implanted. Then he had surgery to remove a hernia. Now he has another hernia, but he doesn't know whether he'll be able to get it removed. His health problems make him incapable of handling his old workloads, and he worries about if  or when  he'll get fired.

"Ya no tengo la misma fuerza y energia que antes." I don't have the same strength or energy as I once did, Pillado said.

"Se me quita el sueno cuando me pongo a pensar en que pasaria si Gregorio perdiera su trabajo." Alonso said she loses sleep ruminating over what would happen if her husband of 50 years lost his job.

Pillado and Alonso have no savings, no retirement plan and no authorization to live in the U.S.

They're far from alone. There are at least 3,900 undocumented immigrants age 65 and older living in Illinois. But by 2030, the number of undocumented seniors in the state will top 55,000  a 1,300% increase in just a decade, according to a report published by Rush University Medical Center last year.

Most undocumented immigrants arrived in the country decades ago and have lived here without a viable pathway to citizenship. Mexican immigrants will make up two-thirds of the undocumented older adult populations in Illinois, followed by immigrants from Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeastern Asia, and Central America.

Now, this generation of immigrants faces the prospect of having lived and died in the shadows. Undocumented immigrants are blocked from accessing social programs that many seniors rely on, such as food stamps, public housing, Medicare and Social Security Insurance  programs that they pay billions of dollars into every year. Their families and communities weave a patchwork of formal and informal resources to make up the difference.

"The social cost for families of these older adults not having access to services that they desperately need is huge," said Padraic Stanley, a program coordinator and social worker at Rush and one of the report's lead authors.

Without a social safety net, many undocumented seniors are forced to work until they drop, said Adela Carlin, a public aid lawyer who's helped dozens of immigrants in the Chicago area access charity funds. "When you're undocumented, there's no such thing as a retirement age," she said. "You work until you can't anymore."

'There was no future there for us'

Pillado and Alonso's story mirrors that of many other undocumented seniors in Illinois. The couple immigrated to Chicago with their younger daughter, Rocio Pillado, then a teenager, in 2000. They came to Illinois at the tail end of a three-decades-long massive Mexican migration wave that's been in sharp decline since 2008. The couple's elder daughter had already come to Chicago a few years prior, and their only son stayed in Mexico to raise his own family.

Immigrating from Mexico to the U.S. without breaking the law was impossible for the family. Without a family member who's a citizen, an employer to sponsor their green card applications, or a credible fear of persecution in Mexico that would qualify them for asylum, there was no legal pathway for Pillado, Alonso and Rocio to move to the U.S. The same goes for migrants without a sponsor or asylum case from China, Pakistan, Nigeria or any other country that has had 50,000 or more residents immigrate to the U.S. in the past five years.

"Queriamos una casa bien bonita," said Alonso. They wanted to build a small house in their hometown, a dim prospect if they had stayed in Mexico.

Before they immigrated, Pillado, who never received a formal education, sold churros on the street while Alonso worked on and off at warehouses and factories. "There was no future there for us," Alonso said.

The family hired coyotes to help them cross the border illegally. Pillado came first, hoping to secure a job, but he was quickly apprehended and detained by immigration officers. When they hadn't heard from Pillado for months, Alonso and Rocio made their way to the border, hoping to reconnect with him on the other side. But immigration officials had deported Pillado back to Mexico. When he found out his family had left for the U.S., he crossed the border again as quickly as he could. He wasn't caught the second time. "I came back for my family," he said.

Under current immigration law it's nearly impossible for the family to legalize its status  especially for Pillado, whose prior deportation puts him on the fast-track for immediate removal from the country if immigration officials apprehend him. And even if Alonso and Rocio managed to get a green card sponsor, they would have to leave the U.S. for at least three years, and up to 10, before being allowed to come back legally  assuming the application even goes through, which in itself takes years to process and often ends up costing thousands of dollars in application fees and lawyers fees.

These roadblocks are rooted in a 1996 law signed by then-President Bill Clinton. In essence, the law  known as the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act  made it harder for people to legally immigrate to the U.S. and made it easier for the federal government to deport them. Many immigration scholars agree that these restrictions incentivized undocumented immigrants to hunker down in the U.S., freezing them in place at the risk of being banished from the country.

So, in Chicago, that's what Pillado, Alonso and Rocio did.

Back up plan? 'Sell nopales'

It didn't take Pillado long to secure a job at the meatpacking plant; and Alonso and Rocio found work through temp agencies. They kept expenses low by living together in a small apartment in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. The two-unit building they lived in was owned by a distant family member who lived upstairs. The idea was to pay off the mortgage together and get some equity out of it, so they could return to Mexico to retire.

The three of them lived in the apartment for about seven years, but the house went belly-up during the Great Recession, forcing the family to spend much of its savings on moving and finding a new place to live. Then in 2016, an even greater tragedy hit the family: The couple's son in Mexico unexpectedly died at age 35, leaving his wife and three children behind.

"Nunca lo volvi a ver, es el dolor mas grande que tengo," I never saw him again. It's the deepest pain I carry, Alonso said. The couple now sends money to their grandchildren in Mexico every time they can  another reason why they keep working into their old age. "Para la escuela o lo que necesiten," for school or whatever they need, she said.

In the five years since their son's death, Pillado and Alonso's dream of returning to their homeland has faded. Without their son to take care of them in Mexico, the couple now depend exclusively on their daughters in their twilight years. Their elder daughter now has two children of her own, meaning that most of the caretaking duties fall on Rocio, 36, who's also undocumented.

With many social services cut off to undocumented seniors, family members and community organizations are forced to fill in the gaps left by the state. That compounds the historic income and health inequities between undocumented immigrants and citizens, Carlin said. "There's always been a generational and a racial wealth gap, and so these workers started behind everybody else," she said. "And they're not able to catch up by age 65 or 70."

And research shows that as undocumented immigrants get older, they begin to rely more heavily on their children for basic needs like food and housing, which puts a burden on the next generation. Rob Paral, a Chicago demographer and expert on the state's immigrant population trends whose research was used in the Rush report, estimates that 70% of undocumented immigrants age 55 and older in Illinois live in multigenerational households, compared with 28% of native-born older adults.

Rocio lived with her parents well into her 30s, moving with them from the two-flat in Back of the Yards to their cramped basement apartment in West Lawn. She put off her own dreams of buying a house to continue to care for them.

When she finally moved into her own apartment with her longtime partner in November, they rented a place a short drive away from her parents' basement unit. "I felt like I needed to start building my own life. I know that they need me, but I also needed to start doing things on my own," she said.

But Rocio remains her parents' primary caretaker. She brings them groceries, helps pay their bills, and takes days off work to take them to their doctor's appointments. Those trips, which became more frequent over the last few years, eventually cost her a job at a warehouse.

It didn't take long for Rocio to find a new job. But it quickly dawned on her that at some point soon, her parents won't be able to work anymore  and that she's their only lifeline.

Like her parents, Rocio dreams of owning a house, one big enough to fit her and her parents. But she's unsure how long it'll take her dream to materialize; she makes less than $20 an hour and is unable to save much at the end of the month. Rocio hopes that Congress provides her and her parents with a viable path to citizenship. But even then, she puts her parents ahead of herself. "Si a mi me pusieran a escoger entre ellos y yo," If I had to choose between giving citizenship to my parents or me, she said, "yo diria ellos." I would say to them.

For now, the family's plan is for Pillado to keep working and for Alonso to start cooking again  if she recovers. And if Pillado loses his job, "pues a hacer lucha con los nopales," Alonso said with a half smile. Sell nopales, I guess, she said.

The nonprofit news outlet Injustice Watch provided this article to The Associated Press through a collaboration with Institute for Nonprofit News.

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SPRINGFIELD  Seven teams of Republicans and one team of Democrats have lined up to challenge Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton in the 2022 elections.

Monday was the deadline for candidates to turn in their nominating petitions to the Illinois State Board of Elections to get their names on the June 28 primary ballot.

Candidates who were in line at 8 a.m. on the first day of filing, March 7, will enter a lottery for a chance to have their names listed first on the ballot. But those who filed in the final hour before 5 p.m. Monday, March 14, have a chance to be listed last on the ballot.

The State Board of Elections has until Monday, March 21, to certify the petitions. In the meantime, candidates and party officials may try to challenge other candidates petition signatures.

Among the last to file in the governors race were Republicans Jesse Sullivan, of Petersburg, a political newcomer and owner of the venture capital firm Alter Global LLC, and his running mate Kathleen Murphy, of Warrenville. Murphy is a former spokeswoman for former state Rep. and 2018 GOP gubernatorial hopeful Jeanne Ives.

Their opposition includes Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and his running mate, state Rep. Avery Bourne, of Morrisonville. They join other teams of candidates who filed earlier: state Sen. Darren Bailey, of Xenia, and his running mate Stephanie Trussel of Lisle; Bull Valley businessman Gary Rabine and his running mate Aaron Del Mar of Palatine; former state Sen. Paul Schimpf, of Waterloo, and his running mate Carolyn Schofield of Crystal Lake; and the team of Emily Johnson, of Wheaton, and Bret Mahlen, of Orland Park, members of the group We Are the People Illinois, which has called for investigations into unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2020 elections. The website for the group identifies it as consisting of over 200 people.

Another late filer Monday was GOP gubernatorial candidate Max Solomon, of Hazel Crest, and his running mate, Latasha Fields, of Chicago. According to his website, Solomon is a native of Nigeria who now practices law in the Chicago area, while Fields is the founder of Christian Home Educators Support System.

One other GOP candidate, Keisha Smith, of Country Club Hills, filed for governor without a running mate, something that a State Board of Elections spokesman said could be grounds for objection and disqualification because state law requires candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to run as a team.

Pritzker and Stratton also face one challenge from within their own party, Beverly Miles, a nurse and U.S. Army veteran from Chicago, and her running mate Karla Shaw.

* * *

CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS: Illinois voters this year will also choose candidates for other constitutional offices. The most contentious of those will likely be for the office of secretary of state, where incumbent Jesse White is stepping down after six terms in office.

On the Democratic side, former state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia appear to be the leading candidates, while Chicago Alderman David Moore and charity director Sidney Moore, of Homewood, are also in the race.

On the Republican side, former U.S. Attorney John Milhiser, of Springfield, and state Rep. Dan Brady, of Bloomington, are competing for the nomination. Also in the race is former Chicago police officer Michelle Turney, who also affiliates with the group We Are The People Illinois.

In the race for attorney general, three Republicans have lined up to challenge incumbent Democrat Kwame Raoul. They include Thomas DeVore, the southern Illinois lawyer best known for his lawsuits challenging Pritzkers COVID-19 mitigations; Deerfield attorney Steve Kim; and David Shestokas, a former assistant states attorney for Cook County who is a hearing officer for the Chicago Board of Elections.

In the race for state treasurer, Republican state Rep. Tom Demmer, of Dixon, and Lake Bluff resident Patrice McDermand, also of We Are The People Illinois, will vie to challenge incumbent Democrat Michael Frerichs.

And in the race for Illinois comptroller, Republicans Shannon Teresi, a certified public accountant from Crystal Lake, and Michael Kinney, of Carol Stream, will compete for the nomination to challenge incumbent Democrat Susana Mendoza.

* * *

FOID CHALLENGE: The Illinois Supreme Court is being asked for a second time to decide whether a state law requiring gun owners to have a firearm permit is unconstitutional  a question the court previously declined to answer.

The case involves a White County resident, Vivian Claudine Brown, who was charged in March 2017 with possession of a firearm without a Firearm Owners Identification, or FOID card.

A circuit judge in White County threw out the charge, saying the Illinois law requiring potential gun owners to fill out a form, provide a picture ID, undergo a background check and pay a $10 fee to obtain a FOID card was unconstitutional, at least as it applied to Brown. The judge said it imposed a burden on Browns Second Amendment right to keep a firearm in her own home for self-defense.

The circuit court went on to say, even though Browns attorneys never raised the issue, that it is impossible to comply with the act in ones own home. Thats because it would mean anybody who had knowledge of a firearm in the home and exclusive control over the area where it was kept could be construed as possessing the gun and therefore would have to have their FOID card on their person 24 hours a day.

The state appealed that decision directly to the state Supreme Court, but in April 2020, the high court declined to answer the question of the laws constitutionality. Instead, it said the White County court had rushed to rule on the laws constitutionality when it could have decided the case on other grounds, namely that the General Assembly never intended the FOID Card Act to apply in the home.

The Supreme Court then sent the case back to White County with instructions to enter a modified order that did not touch on the constitutionality question.

The White County court did that, but then in an unusual move, Browns attorneys asked the court to reconsider, arguing that the modified order forced Brown to take a position she didnt want to take and one that would ultimately be overturned on appeal, thus delaying any final resolution of the case, possibly for years.

The circuit court agreed and reinstated the charges against her. Browns attorneys then filed a new motion to dismiss on constitutional grounds. The judge then upheld that motion, finding that any fee associated with exercising the core fundamental Constitutional right of armed self-defense within the confines of ones home violates the Second Amendment.

The state then appealed that decision back to the Illinois Supreme Court. The court took the case under advisement and hosted oral arguments this week but did not indicate how long it might take to issue a decision.

* * *

STATE EMPLOYEE CHARGED: A state employee charged last month with molesting a child now faces a charge of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a patient at the state-run Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna.

Union County States Attorney Tyler Tripp charged former Choate mental health technician Charles W. Mills, 58, of Jonesboro on Thursday. Mills is accused of sexual assault that occurred on March 19, 2020, against a person, identified in the charges as E.K., who has a severe or profound intellectual disability and was unable to give knowing consent.

Mills tendered his resignation but it does not go into effect until March 15, Department of Human Services spokeswoman Marisa Kollias said last week.

According to the Illinois comptrollers state employee pay database, he received a paycheck as recently as Monday and was paid $41,000 in annual salary in 2021 despite spending the entire year on administrative leave while under investigation.

Mills continued to be paid despite those allegations, submitting his resignation in February only after he was arrested on the unrelated child molestation charges. In that case, he faces four felonies for molesting a child younger than 13 years old.

The child molestation allegations date back to 2020 and were investigated by the Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation. The actions were not related to his state employment.

The allegations against Mills for his assault of a patient at Choate were investigated by Illinois State Police Division of Internal Investigation.

In an unrelated case, two top administrators at Choate face criminal charges for obstructing an Illinois State Police investigation into abuse allegations at the facility.

Center director Bryant Davis and administrator Gary Goins were indicted in June 2021 on official misconduct charges. Court documents filed in Goins case on Monday stated that Goins, then the quality assurance manager at Choate, accessed confidential investigative files and directed staff to speak to the victim before police did.

Both administrators remain on the DHS payroll.

* * *

PRISONER REVIEW BOARD: On Monday, March 14, Gov. Pritzker pulled the appointment of Max Cerda to the Prisoner Review Board as it appeared not to have enough Senate support.

Cerda was convicted of a double murder when he was 16 years old, paroled in 1998 and began working with ex-offenders in Chicago to help them transition to life outside of prison. Pritzker appointed him to the PRB in 2021.

The governor also sent a letter Monday to the state senators in charge of the appointment process urging action on his outstanding appointments.

The PRB appointment process has come under scrutiny by Republican members of the Senate in the past year as several PRB members are serving without Senate confirmation.

It is critical to both public safety and justice that the Senate Executive Appointments Committee act on this so that this board can fully function, Pritzker said in a letter dated March 15.

A copy of the letter addressed to Sen. Laura Murphy, D-Des Plaines, and Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, was obtained by Capitol News Illinois. The letter urged the Executive Appointments Committee, which Murphy chairs, to act on the appointments.

Without the adequate number of members, one of the key PRB functions that will be jeopardized is the responsibility for conducting final revocation hearings. This function is not often reported on, but it is essential for public safety, Pritzker wrote.

Pritzker was referring to the revocation hearings for offenders who have re-entered the Illinois Department of Corrections because they have violated the conditions of their parole. Final revocation hearings must occur within 90 days of the date the offender returns to IDOC custody. If the hearing is not held in time, the offender will be released and deemed not to be in violation of their parole.

There were 4,595 revocation hearings last year, according to the letter, and hearings across the state are held 15 to 20 times per month. Three board members must be present at each hearing, according to state law, and as many as three such hearings are scheduled in different parts of the state on the same day.

Thus, Pritzker said in the letter, approval of his appointees is needed to ensure all meetings have the minimum number of members.

The governors office said any questions about timing of appointees should be directed to the Senate.

* * *

WAGE SUBSIDIES: Members of the Workers Center for Racial Justice held a rally in front of the Capitol Wednesday morning, demanding the Illinois General Assembly pass House Bill 3215, dubbed the Safer Communities Act.

The measure offers job providers wage subsidies for hiring formerly incarcerated individuals at a living wage over a five-year period.

Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, said that when people come home after being institutionalized, their second sentence begins due to lack of opportunities and programs in place to help them integrate back into the community.

The bills current status as of Thursday was re-referred to Rules Committee, a legislative designation that generally means such a measure is unlikely to move, at least in the current General Assembly. But the advocates urged that the program be included in the final budget package.

The bill would provide a living wage job creation program for up to 20,000 formerly incarcerated workers for the duration a five-year pilot incentive period, which would begin on March 1, 2023, and end on Feb. 28, 2028. It would allow businesses that hire formerly incarcerated individuals on a union contract or at a wage of $20 hourly plus benefits to receive wage subsidies for those employees.

A maximum of 10,000 participants would consist of individuals released from prison on or after Jan. 1, 2022. The other 10,000 participants would consist of individuals released from prison between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2021.

The businesses would receive a $1,250 monthly wage subsidy for an employee hired in a disproportionately impacted area, meaning a census tract with high rates of arrest, conviction and incarceration among residents, and $850 monthly in other areas.

The bill caps the expenditures during the five-year incentive period at $1.5 billion. If requests exceed that amount, subsidies would be given on a first-come-first-served basis.

Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, said investing back in Black and brown communities and building the local economy through the living wage job creation program could help end mass incarceration.

According to the data from the Illinois Department of Corrections, as of Dec. 31, 2021, there were 27,970 people in prison. More than half, 15,204 or 54.4% of those individuals, were Black, according to the data.

* * *

WAGE THEFT BILL: A union-backed bill putting primary contractors on the hook for wage theft committed by their subcontractors is facing opposition in the General Assembly from minority contractor trade groups.

The measure, House Bill 5412, makes primary contractors  those who contract directly with the customer  liable for wages, fringe benefits and attorneys fees if the subcontractors they hire fail to pay their employees.

It would not require, but would likely lead to, primary contractors purchasing more performance and bid bonds or requiring subcontractors to purchase bonds showing that they have the funding to pay workers and complete the job adequately.

Despite backing from a powerful carpenters union, the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, the bill specifically exempts union projects, homes built on private property, and projects funded by state, local and federal governments. House Sponsor Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, said thats because unions already have a method of recourse for wage theft through their union representation.

Minority contractor trade groups oppose the bill, citing concerns that it would drive up costs for small subcontractors and non-union shops.

By adding to the risk a primary contractor takes in hiring a subcontractor, blanket liability incentivizes the primary contractor to use in-house labor and avoid hiring outside help, the advocacy groups argued. Added bonding would also have a disproportionate impact on a sector of the construction industry that includes more minority- and women-owned contractors, they said.

In short, they argued, the bill raises the cost of non-union labor.

Terrance McGann, a lawyer for the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, said the strength of the bill is that it creates accountability for primary contractors who previously walked away with impunity in wage theft disputes.

Whether it's in an organized market or an unorganized market, the pattern that we have seen is that in many of these even mid- to large-sized construction projects, the lowest bidder generally gets the bid, he said. And there's no responsibility on behalf of the general contractor to ensure the success of those subcontractors.

In current law, workers who are stiffed by a subcontractor can sue the subcontractor or file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor, but thats often a long process. McGann said the bill addresses the case where a subcontractor performs a job then files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent without paying workers.

It passed the House in two tries on March 3, receiving 62 votes  two more than the constitutional majority needed to pass.

In the Senate, the measure will be sponsored by Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, after paperwork is filed to shift sponsorship from Senate President Don Harmon, according to staff. Castro said in an email statement that discussions are ongoing.

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By Trend





Turkey considers it its main task to organize a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, Turkey's Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said in an interview with Al Jazeera, Trend reports.

"We keep our channels of communication open with both parties. This is very important, our efforts are aimed at organizing a direct meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavushoglu recently visited Moscow, held talks," he said.

According to him, Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan has twice contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He added that Turkey is using all channels to quickly achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine.

"The parties meet at the technical level in Belarus. The first ministerial meeting took place during the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya. Today the main task is to organize a summit meeting," he added.
BARRINGTON - Two Barrington High School students who are members of the LGBTQ+ community were allegedly targeted in a pellet gun shooting on campus this week in an incident officials say is likely related to the latest TikTok challenge breaking out across the U.S.

Barrington resident Kristin Stedman said Friday that her son, Matt Petersen, and his boyfriend were walking to school on Wednesday morning when a student pointed a toy rifle out the window of a car, spraying the two teens with pellets in a parking lot adjacent to the high schools entrance.

They were walking toward the building and they heard a loud sound, were hit by these bullets, and started running, Stedman said.

After entering the school building and heading to the cafeteria, the teens were allegedly followed by the perpetrators, who trailed them making animal sounds, including barking, Stedman said.

What kind of families raise kids who like to pick on people? Stedman said.

In a Thursday letter to parents, Barrington Principal Steve McWilliams said the incident involved some students on campus participating in what is being referred to as the Orbeez TikTok Challenge. This is where teens shoot gel beads at each other with toy guns.

During our investigation, we have learned that some of the students who were the victims of this incident are members of our LGBTQ+ community. We have spoken to all parties involved and have referred this incident to the Barrington Police Department for further processing, McWilliams said.

Barrington police Chief David Dorn said the incident is under investigation.

But McWilliams said disciplinary consequences will be in place for the students involved, adding officials at the high school have been meeting and supporting the impacted students.

We have also reached out to members of our GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) to ensure that they feel safe and are supported as the impact of this incident spreads through the school community, McWilliams said.

Let us be clear: Hate has no place in Barrington 220. As a school community, we stand for respect and inclusion, said McWilliams, adding that a school board policy titled Harassment of Students Prohibited states that harassment, bullying, or intimidation of any kind will not be tolerated.

While Stedman said she understands why officials at the high school are keeping the identities of the perpetrators confidential, she is concerned the students who targeted her son and his boyfriend will not face any serious consequences.

They are calling it a TikTok challenge, but it is more like a hate crime, said Stedman, who said her son has been a victim of relentless bullying since he was in fourth grade.

Stedman said her son, who is involved in the high schools theater department and the Gay Straight Alliance, stayed home from school Thursday out of concerns for his safety.

When I became a mom, I wanted to raise my kids in Barrington, because it always felt safe and comfortable when I was growing up here, said Stedman, who graduated from the high school in 2000. I fear for his life now, Stedman said.

In a Friday parent letter, Barrington 220 School District Superintendent Robert Hunt said the incident involved a TikTok challenge that is gaining popularity nationwide.

Please know the district took immediate action to investigate and issue appropriate consequences for those who participated in the challenge, he said.

Open and honest dialogue with our children is critically important and this incident provides an opportunity to discuss implications of social media and social responsibility, Hunt said. Hate has no place in Barrington 220 and any incident of bullying or harassment will not be tolerated.

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For all of the havoc COVID-19 wreaked during its first swing through this region, the pandemics second year brought a stunning 100% increase in new infections, 24% more deaths and record hospitalizations  despite the widespread availability of vaccines.

The first local case of COVID-19 was diagnosed March 10, 2020, in Sullivan County, and, over the year that followed, more than 87,000 residents of 10 Northeast Tennessee counties and 10 counties and two cities of Southwest Virginia caught the virus, while more than 1,900 lost their lives.

In its second year, from March 12, 2021, through March 12, 2022, the region diagnosed more than 176,000 additional cases, thousands were hospitalized and over 2,300 more people died  all in a region of less than 1 million residents.

Populous Sullivan and Washington counties in Tennessee were again hardest hit, with more than 56,000 combined cases of the novel coronavirus and more than 650 combined deaths from the disease, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

Overall, Northeast Tennessee reported more than 119,000 cases during the past year, an 88.5% increase compared to 63,000 during the pandemics first year. There were 1,635 COVID deaths across Northeast Tennessee during the past 12 months, compared to 1,275 in 2020-21, a 28% increase.

Sullivan and Hawkins counties each saw 109% increases in case levels while cases in Washington County Tennessee rose 96%. Only Johnson and Hamblen counties reported case increases of less than 50% each, according to TDH.

Hawkins County saw the highest rate of death increase  a 99% increase  from 100 in 2020-21 to 199 in 2021-22. Carter, Hamblen, Hancock, Unicoi and Washington counties in Tennessee saw no or single digit increases in the numbers of deaths.

Northeast Tennessee experienced a 72% increase in hospitalizations, with more than 3,500 spending time in the hospital due to COVID during the past year, compared to 2,032 in 2020-21.

Southwest Virginia cities and counties reported more than 1,500 hospitalizations in 2020-21. The Virginia Department of Health no longer provides hospitalizations by locality, but the three health districts serving far Southwest Virginia did report nearly 2,500 hospitalizations during the period from March 2021 to March 2022.

Southwest Virginia was especially hard-hit by the delta and later omicron variants, piling up more than 57,500 cases during the past year, a 130% increase compared to less than 25,000 in the first year of the pandemic, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

Seven Southwest Virginia localities saw increases greater than the regional average  ranging from a 141% increase in Smyth County to a 176% rise in Dickenson County to the city of Norton, which saw cases rise 336%, from 242 in 2020-21 to 1,055 this past 12 months.

Cases in the city of Bristol increased 153.6% last year, compared to the prior year, from 1,235 to 3,133, VDH figures show.

Deaths in Southwest Virginia increased 21.4%, from 631 to 766. For the second straight year, Washington County was the only Southwest Virginia locality topping 100 COVID deaths, registering 106. Tazewell County had 97  a 56% jump  and Wise County had 95, a 2% increase.

Norton was again atop the statistical list with a 168% rise  from six deaths the prior year to 16 in 2021-22. Dickenson and Russell counties also marked significant increases, of 113% and 94%, respectively, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

There were 45 deaths in the city of Bristol in 2021-22, a 55% increase over the 29 reported the prior year.

A year of surges

The past year was one of COVID surges. On the heels of a deadly winter surge that extended from Thanksgiving 2020 throughout January 2021, the UK variant B.1.1.7., reached the region in March and April. Cases and hospitalizations rose quickly but declined sharply. Case counts diminished during the summer and schools prepared to operate with some normalcy.

However, the highly contagious delta variant first appeared in this region in July and by August was raging.

Last August, with inpatient levels approaching a record 400, the health system issued crisis staffing plans which would employ triage teams to assess the flood of patients coming to the hospitals and allocating available resources  fearing the system might run out of beds capacity, ventilators or medications with which to treat them.

Inpatient levels failed to reach the projected 500 to 600 and those emergency plans were never enacted.

As case and hospitalization rates soared, some schools closed temporarily or imposed mask and other mitigation requirements. Delta, rather than subsiding, continued infecting the region throughout the fall and surged again during the holidays.

The arrival of the highly transmissible omicron variant around Christmas sparked record numbers of new cases, another new hospitalization record and all-time record positivity rates. While new case rates continued subsiding over the past month, omicron remains in the region, weeks after the surge ended. This past week Ballad Health was still treating more than 120 inpatients plus another 40 at home despite four successive weeks of sharp declines in new cases.

Eric Deaton, Ballad Health Systems chief operating officer and the leader of its corporate emergency operations center, overseeing its response to the coronavirus, reflected on the past year.

I think the first year of this was about learning. This past year was challenging, but we also learned an awful lot during the previous year so we were able to manage things better than in the year before, Deaton said, adding there was one major surprise.

We were anticipating seeing a real drop in cases because the vaccine had just come out. We were expecting people to take the vaccine, and a lot of people were taking vaccine then it got in the middle of the political arena, unfortunately, he said.

The reality is half of this regions residents remain unvaccinated, two years into the pandemic  a fact that is clearly responsible for the large numbers of hospitalized people. Since last July, Ballad tracked inpatient vaccination status and consistently at least 80% of all inpatients and 90% or more of the most serious of all hospitalized cases were unvaccinated.

Im really proud of the strength our team members had through this fall and winter. They were very stressed  especially our frontline team members  but the resiliency and the strength that they showed is just remarkable, Deaton said.

Ballad has also dealt with a nursing shortage, compounded by sometimes hundreds of employees missing work because they were infected with the virus, regardless of vaccination status.

There was an overlap between the delta and omicron variants where a lot of our team members got infected with COVID, and we had fewer mitigation strategies in the community so there was a widespread number of cases, Deaton said. We (the region) got up to 15,000 or more cases in one week. When you have that many cases and youre a health care employee, youre right in the middle of it and more susceptible to contracting COVID. It was a hard hit for us, but their resiliency and strength through that was pretty amazing.

Safe at Home

An invention in the second year was a program called Safe at Home that Ballad credits with preserving valuable hospital capacity when it appeared its facilities might become overrun.

Patients who were positive for COVID-19 but were in otherwise good health and displayed less severe symptoms were sent home with an oxygen monitor and other technology, remaining in regular communication with health care providers.

To date, Ballad has treated more than 6,000 patients through Safe at Home, including more than 40 this past week. Under the program, a nurse speaks with each patient at least once per day to check on their symptoms and status, Deaton said.

One nurse could work with about 30 patients, so about eight nurses could manage some of the largest days of the program  which would have required substantially more resources had all or most of those patients been hospitalized.

I think our Safe at Home program that we implemented in the second year really protected and created a lot of capacity in the hospital. Innovation comes from these types of things, Deaton said. At one time we had over 250 people being cared for through Safe at Home. That was a great opportunity for us to care for people. That was incredibly important.

It didnt generate much in the way of revenue.

One thing people dont know about that program, we were not reimbursed by Medicare or any insurance company for any of that. Its not something we could bill for because it was done telephonically. We would reach patients and talk to them on a daily basis. You have to have a physician directly involved for it to be billable. We had physicians overseeing that program, but nurses did the calling, Deaton said. Some of those phone calls were as much a comfort as anything. Sometimes patients just wanted someone to talk to and tell them things were going to be OK.

Deaton said it was an invaluable part of the systems strategy and especially important when inpatient census reached record levels.

It created capacity in our hospitals, lessened some of the pressure that was going on with our patients in the ER and patients in the hospital. It would have overwhelmed the system if we had not had that in place.

Monoclonal antibodies

Another program that Ballad and many patients took advantage of was the use of monoclonal antibodies  an intravenous outpatient medical treatment which proved highly effective in treating some forms of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, especially the delta variant.

Deaton said the antibody treatment was very, very effective for patients and was administered outside the hospital setting, which also greatly aided in preserving hospital capacity for the sickest patients.

Ballad and other area providers administered thousands of doses of the antibodies  particularly during the second half of 2021. Demand often outpaced supply and the CDC later withdrew some antibody treatments, saying they had proven ineffective against the omicron variant.

Looking forward

More than two years since the pandemics first case was registered locally, the region continues to deal with hundreds of new cases each week, Ballad was treating more than 100 patients in its hospitals last week and testing positivity rates remain higher locally than state and national averages.

I think well always maintain some number of patients. I dont know what that number is, Deaton said. Were all surprised how long this has lasted, but it does look like now it is tailing off. We had 135 inpatients (March 15) which is drastically lower than just 45 days ago.

Ballad reported 119 inpatients on Thursday, with 22 of 24 ICU patients on ventilators.

You look at the projections, and they continue to drop over the coming weeks and could get down below 100 inpatients by early April. But we still have some disease in the area, and well continue to see that for awhile, Deaton said.

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Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced students from private and public schools and colleges across the United States to take classes online, educators in the Tri-Cities region believe online learning is here to stay far beyond the pandemic.

Colleges and schools have, over the course of the pandemic, gone through multiple phases, from shifting all their classes online to dealing with Zoom fatigue to gradually easing students back into classrooms. But faculty from various colleges and schools in the Tri-Cities agree online learning will now become a permanent part of the educational repertoire.

Keith Perrigan, the Bristol, Virginia public schools superintendent, explained that due to concerns about the safety and health of their kids Bristol, Virginia was one of the first school divisions in Southwest Virginia that, after finishing the 2020 school year with online learning, opened for in-person attendance in August of 2021.

The only time that we shut down and went completely virtual was in March of 2020 when the governor made us. As soon as we had the opportunity, we fought that whole summer to get Richmond to allow us to come in person, Perrigan said. We knew that we were having more kids who were being abused at home. We knew we were having kids that were missing meals. We knew the kids were missing the behavior and mental health services that we provide in our schools.

Perrigan recalled how once the first summer of the pandemic passed, and students in his division were allowed back into their classrooms in August of 2020, teachers found it difficult to teach both the students in their classrooms and the students who continued to learn online.

Our teachers in year one of the pandemic, they might have 17 kids in person and three other kids online, and so they were teaching both worlds. Im telling you it about killed our staff. I mean, trying to do both was almost impossible, Perrigan said.

In an effort to relieve some of the stress placed on their teachers and staff, Perrigan and his fellow superintendents from the other divisions across Southwest Virginia came together and decided to create the Region Seven Virtual Academy, where students who chose to continue taking classes online could continue their education.

Weve also some students who had chosen to be homeschooled before who came back to public schools because they can choose this virtual environment. So even though the pandemic has really put us through a wrench in a lot of things that we do, its really opened up a lot of other opportunities.

In the second year of the pandemic, once online learning became optional, only 5% of Bristol, Virginia parents opted to keep their students online.

Perrigan considers online learning not ideal for most K-12 students. However, he believes that the Region Seven Virtual Academy has been worth it because it has allowed the students who have struggled in an in-person environment in the past, to thrive.

We believe that the very best education a kid can get is in an in-person environment, where teachers can build relationships with students, and they can pick up on those clues as to whether a student is getting it or whether a student is stuck. However, weve had some students that have truly thrived (online). Weve had students who have done so well in an online environment that theyve gotten ahead of where they should have been and actually are ready to graduate early, Perrigan said.

Online learning during the COVID pandemic has played out differently at the university level in the region, where a lot of the institutions of higher learning, such as Virginia Highlands Community College, King University and UVa-Wise, already offered its students, to varying degrees, the option of online learning.

Ken Fairbanks, director of the Virginia Highlands Community College (VHCC) Learning Resources Center, believes community colleges across the nation, but particularly in Virginia, were better prepared to meet the COVID pandemic shift because of their relationship with online learning, which goes as far back as the 1990s.

The good news for us as community colleges is that we had a group of faculty, especially our full time and some of our part-time faculty, who had years of experience of teaching online and so that made that transition easier for us, than it probably was for our K-12 partners, or even for our four-year partners, Fairbanks said.

During the early days of the pandemic, in anticipation of the growing needs of its community, VHCC equipped all of its classrooms with cameras and microphones. That made it possible for professors to teach classes via videoconferencing to remote students, as well as in-person students.

If a student in the middle of the semester had a brother, a sister, a mom, a dad, get COVID, instead of having to drop out of school, having to just throw in the towel and call it quits  all they had to do is notify their instructor. Their instructor could turn on the camera and the microphone, and they would continue to do their lectures, Fairbanks said.

In the case of King University, Matt Roberts, the provost and director of academic affairs, highlighted that King has for the past 10 years offered online degree programs and that similar to the case of VHCC, a significant amount of Kings faculty already had an understanding of online teaching.

We have full online programs, not just a smattering of courses, but whole programs that you can (take), and in our full-time faculty, many of them have come to experience teaching, at least in some aspect, some online programming, so we werent starting from scratch, Roberts said.

King University came up with its own version of flex tech rooms, relying on Owl cameras that rotate 360 degrees and allow for professors to give their classes to both in-person students and remote students. Roberts believes that there has been a permanent shift in the perception of online learning and highlighted that King is now in the process of testing a hybrid online graduate program structure.

The high flex model that were embracing gives students three options, Roberts said while explaining students could go to class in person, watch the class remotely online as it happens or watch a recording of the lecture at a later time.

In the case of UVa-Wise, Alex Reynolds, the director of instructional technology, spoke about how since the return of students to campus, the focus of faculty has been on meeting the needs of their diverse student body, which have only grown over the course of the pandemic.

We have a lot of different kinds of students. We have a lot of first-generation students. We have a lot of nontraditional students. They might be older, have a family, have a full-time job, Reynolds said. We definitely were very sensitive to the fact that some students just werent going to be able to manage online learning with their current technology. And so, were very quick to go in and say, Hey, what do you need? How can we get it, and then how can we get it to you? And so we have several students who were able to stay enrolled and keep taking their classes.

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HICKORY  Jennifer Shoaf has been announced as the new executive administrative assistant to the Hickory Public Schools superintendent and clerk to the board of education.

Most recently, Shoaf served as the secretary/treasurer for Hickory Career and Arts Magnet High School (HCAM). She brings several years of experience in supporting office needs for public schools.

Previously, Shoaf served as senior administrative support for the Early College High School in Charleston, South Carolina; and in North Carolina she served as a high school PowerSchool data manager in Cabarrus County Schools where she also worked as a high school testing coordinator, establishing and maintaining all student testing data and records.

While working with elementary schools in Rowan Salisbury Schools and Kannapolis City Schools, Shoaf served as the PowerSchool data manager and she led the administrative support including bookkeeping and serving as the NCWISE data manager.

In addition to serving public schools in both South Carolina and North Carolina, Shoaf provided administrative services for Atlantic Respiratory in Charleston, and both Medical Modalities and Gemma Power Systems in North Carolina, as well as other private businesses.

In her new role with Hickory Public Schools, Shoaf will assist HPS Superintendent Bryan Taylor and members of the HPS Board of Education, as she provides daily support for internal and community needs.

She has been married to Matthew Shoaf for 25 years and they are the parents of three adult children as well as grandparents to five children.

Shoaf enjoys cooking and spending time with her family and friends.

I am so excited to have this wonderful opportunity to be here at Hickory Public Schools and serve the needs of the superintendent, the board, the administrative team, and the community, she said.

We are delighted that Mrs. Shoaf has accepted this role with our administrative team. With her extensive experience in administrative services for both public schools and private businesses, she brings valued knowledge and capability to the position. We welcome Mrs. Shoaf to the HPS admin team," Taylor said.
HICKORY  Twenty-two high school students enrolled with Hickory Career and Arts Magnet High were recently inducted into the 2021-2022 National Technical Honor Society (NTHS).

In the history of the school, which was established during the fall semester of 2010, this is the largest group of students to earn the induction honor, said HCAM Principal, Eric Puryear, who hosted the ceremony.

With several families in attendance, the ceremony began with the Pledge of Allegiance, led by HCAMs Career Development Coordinator, Natasha Stiles.

HCAMs instructor for the Computer Programming Academy, Mary Lee Tosky, continued to lead the ceremonial program as she shared the NTHS goals and the official slogan: Excellence in Americas Workforce Begins with Excellence in Workforce Education.

Eight candles were presented on the stage with one candle representing the light of knowledge and the other candles representing membership attributes: skill, honesty, service, responsibility, scholarship, citizenship, and leadership.

Good leaders are not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader, said Tosky. Good leaders develop through a never-ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience.

HCAM students honored for their outstanding success and achievement in Career and Technical Education include: Ester Alpizar-Ortega, Raquel Alpizar-Ortega, Derek Bermonty, Chantali Bonilla, Briseyda Chavez-Catalan, Kendal Eckard, Damon Ennis, Jonellis Heredia, Eden Johns, Maximilian Kaya, Carlee Logan, Dejaha Millsaps, Vernecia Monroe, Markus Moore, Shawn Murdock, Kaylei Perdew, Nolan Ray, Carissa Schenck, Allison Skinnell, Simeon Thorne, Trinity White, and Kylie Xiong.

Hickory Career & Arts Magnet High School offers students hands-on learning opportunities designed to focus on career interests.

Students at HCAM may choose from eight career academies through which they will initiate career knowledge and skills development while completing high school requirements. By the end of the four years at HCAM, students can earn a high school diploma with four to five college credits, and in many cases, a certificate in a chosen career.

During the first two years at HCAM, students will explore their selected career area while taking core high school classes. During their junior and senior years, students will spend half of each school day in college courses within the selected career academy.

The enrollment at HCAM represents students from across Catawba County and beyond. To apply for admission to HCAM, call 828-322-2855 or visit HCAMs website: hickorycam.hickoryschools.net (scroll down menu to enrollment). Applications for the upcoming school year (2022-2023) are currently being accepted for rising ninth- through 11th-grade students.
Russia is facing the most far-reaching sanctions in history as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. Large Russian banks have been shut out of SWIFT. Assets have been frozen. Export controls have limited the availability of goods. Major multinational corporations have shut down their Russian operations. The sanctions are none like the world has ever seen, as The Economist has put it. The sanctions are undoubtedly unprecedented in their scope and magnitude. Will they be effective?

Whether sanctions are considered to be effective depends in part on how the purpose of sanctions is viewed. Sanctions, one might assume, are implemented with the intent of changing a target states behavior. If sanctions bring about the desired change, they have been effective. If they do not, they have failed.

Judged by such criteria, sanctions against Russia prior to the invasion and the threat of more stringent sanctions if escalation continued failed. Despite taking action and threatening further action, Russia still invaded Ukraine.

Ratcheting up sanctions still further is unlikely to compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to reverse course at this point. He will stay committed to the operation in Ukraine as long as he is able to until his goals are met. Sanctions have not altered, and are unlikely in the near future to alter, Russias course of action.

If the purpose of the sanctions is bringing about regime change, the sanctions are similarly unlikely to be viewed as being effective. Long-standing U.S. sanctions against Cuba have failed to achieve such an aim, as have more recent sanctions against Venezuela. The Trump administrations maximum pressure campaign against Iran backfired, contributing to hardliner Ebrahim Raisis rise to power in 2021. Sanctions eventually contributed to change in South Africa. But they were in place for years. And domestic level factors were more important than international sanctions in bringing about the end of apartheid.

Still, the sanctions levied on Russia may serve a purpose.

Even if they fail to affect significant change, sanctions may be used as a form of punishment. Though sanctions may not alter Putins behavior, they can create consequences for the flagrant violation of international norms. Smart sanctions have been levied against Putin and his cronies. They will feel some of the suffering that they have wrought.

Including punishment as a goal of sanctions complicates answering the question of whether sanctions are effective. Sanctions, seemingly by definition, cause harm to the target. If judged by whether or not they cause any discomfort, every sanction that has ever been implemented could be considered to have been effective to some extent.

On the other hand, perhaps it is only if sanctions really bite, that is cause significant or considerable discomfort, that they should be considered to have been effective. Though judging whether sanctions cross a threshold of minor discomfort to significant pain can be subjective, given their depth and scope, it is reasonable to assume that the sanctions against Russia have and will continue to serve as a form of punishment.

Still, if viewed comparatively, the pain caused by the sanctions pales in relation to that felt by ordinary Ukrainians as a result of the invasion. Many have had their homes damaged or destroyed, thousands have died, and millions have now fled. Sanctions against Russia will fail to match the losses that the Ukrainian people have had and will continue to endure.

Along with tangible effects, sanctions may have intangible or symbolic effects. States may at times implement sanctions to show disapproval of another states policy (or policies). Sanctions against South Africa were partly to delegitimize the apartheid regime. Even if regime change had not occurred, the sanctions served the purpose of demonstrating widespread opposition to the governments racist practices.

The symbolic effects of sanctions can facilitate the development and institutionalization of international norms. Through the boycott of apartheid South Africa, states affirmed the general principle that it is wrong to discriminate on the basis of race (along with showing that transgressors of the norm would be punished). Enforcing norms is important to preventing norm deterioration.

Sanctions against Russia have the symbolic value of upholding and enforcing the territorial integrity norm. Without such a norm, powerful states would feel less constrained, leaving other states vulnerable. International politics would return to the dog-eat-dog days of the pre-United Nations world.

Whether sanctions are effective is perhaps too broad of a question. More specifically, sanctions can be assessed to determine if they will meet certain objectives.

The sanctions on Russia have not yet, and are seemingly unlikely in the near future, to significantly alter Putins behavior or bring about regime change. But the sanctions serve as a form of punishment, symbolically demonstrate opposition to Putins actions, and contribute to the upholding of important international norms.

Sanctions are perhaps best assessed in relation to their utility in relation to other strategies rather than by their effectiveness. Sanctions are a relatively low cost way of potentially achieving foreign policy goals. Using military force can be much more effective than implementing sanctions when seeking to compel change. But it is also typically much more costly.

There is still room to ratchet up sanctions further. Europe, for example, which relies much more heavily on Russia for its energy needs than the United States, could boycott Russian oil. Levying sanctions may not ultimately change the course of history for Ukraine. But they may at least help let the Ukrainian people know that the world is on their side and they should not give up the fight.

David R. Dreyer is a political science professor at Lenoir-Rhyne University. Email him at David.Dreyer@lr.edu .
Columbus, Ohio-

Taylor Christopulos earned the vault title with a score of 14.50, and senior Charlie Giles claimed the pommel horse title with a career-high 14.90. The Huskers tallied a total of 4 season-highs and 3 career-highs at the Big Ten matchup against the Buckeyes. Sophomoreearned the vault title with a score of 14.50, and seniorclaimed the pommel horse title with a career-high 14.90. The Huskers tallied a total of 4 season-highs and 3 career-highs at the Big Ten matchup against the Buckeyes.

Rotation One

Dylan LeClair acted as lead-off for the squad, notching a 13.05. Chris Hiser scored a 12.85 and Taylor Christopulos notched a 13.25. Charlie Giles finished fifth overall with a 13.70, and Sam Phillips rounded out the rotation with a 13.95, finishing in second. The Huskers kicked off the meet on floor exercise where they collected a 66.800 overall.acted as lead-off for the squad, notching a 13.05.scored a 12.85 andnotched a 13.25.finished fifth overall with a 13.70, androunded out the rotation with a 13.95, finishing in second.

The Huskers move into the second rotation behind the Buckeyes, 66.800-67.750.

Rotation Two

Charlie Giles led the squad with a career-high 14.90, winning the event title. Donte McKinney earned a 13.20, a season-high, and Travis Wong earned a 13.45. Khalil Jackson scored a 11.65 and Taylor Christopulos collected a 13.15 on the event. NU took on pommel horse for the second rotation, where they registered a running score of 133.150.led the squad with a career-high 14.90, winning the event title.earned a 13.20, a season-high, andearned a 13.45.scored a 11.65 andcollected a 13.15 on the event.

Trailing behind Ohio State with a 136.050, Nebraska scored a 133.150 transitioning to the third rotation.

Rotation Three

Dylan LeClair who put up 13.70, finishing in third place. Moritz Mueller recorded a 12.85, while Sam Phillips earned a 13.65, a career-high for the junior. Liam Doherty-Herwitz followed with a 13.30. Dylan Young rounded out the Husker's lineup with a 13.25. Nebraska moved to still rings for the third rotation against Ohio State. The team tallied a running score of 199.900, led bywho put up 13.70, finishing in third place.recorded a 12.85, whileearned a 13.65, a career-high for the junior.followed with a 13.30.rounded out the Husker's lineup with a 13.25.

Nebraska moved into the fourth rotation following close behind Ohio State, 199.900-204.500.

Rotation Four

Taylor Christopulos registered a 14.50, snagging the event title for Nebraska. Not far behind, Sam Phillips showed strength earning a 14.40 and Charlie Giles put up a 14.35. Liam Doherty-Herwitz scored a 14.30. Donte McKinney posted a 13.45 for the squad. Big Red showed vault for the fourth rotation where sophomoreregistered a 14.50, snagging the event title for Nebraska. Not far behind,showed strength earning a 14.40 andput up a 14.35.scored a 14.30.posted a 13.45 for the squad.

Moving into rotation five, Nebraska tallied a 270.900, trailing behind Ohio State with a score of 275.650.

Rotation Five

Sam Phillips registered a career-high score of 14.00, landing in second place overall. Dylan LeClair put up a 13.90 and Liam Doherty-Herwitz scored a 13.30. Dylan Young notched a season-best 13.30. Dillan King finished the rotation with a season-high 13.90 for the Huskers. The Huskers transitioned into parallel bars for rotation five, where the squad earned a season-high team score of 68.400 on the event. Juniorregistered a career-high score of 14.00, landing in second place overall.put up a 13.90 andscored a 13.30.notched a season-best 13.30.finished the rotation with a season-high 13.90 for the Huskers.

Moving into the final rotation of the afternoon, Nebraska stayed close behind Ohio State in a tight battle for the win, 339.300-340.200.

Rotation Six

Dillan King who registered a season-best 13.75. Dylan LeClair scored a 13.10, while Taylor Christopulos notched a 13.60. Donte McKinney put up a 13.60 and Sam Phillips rounded off the high bar rotation with a score of 13.30. NU put up a team score of 67.350, tied with their season-best on the event. In the final rotation, the Huskers rallied on high bar, led bywho registered a season-best 13.75.scored a 13.10, whilenotched a 13.60.put up a 13.60 androunded off the high bar rotation with a score of 13.30. NU put up a team score of 67.350, tied with their season-best on the event.

The Huskers finished only seven-tenths of a point behind the Buckeyes, falling short of victory in a tight loss with a final score of 406.650-407.350.

Up Next

Next up in the schedule for the Nebraska Cornhuskers is the Big Ten Championships. The two-day competition will take place at Penn State in College Park, Penn. on Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2. The meet will begin at 6:00 p.m. CT on Friday.

The No. 3 ranked Huskers battled neck-in-neck on Sunday for their final regular-season meet in Columbus, Ohio where they fell against No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes who claimed a share of the regular-season title.
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

The Azerbaijani Embassy in France has celebrated Novruz holiday with spectacular event.

Members of the Azerbaijani community living in France, as well as the local community took part in the festivity.

Speaking about our traditions in connection with the Novruz holiday, the guests emphasized that the holiday unites all Azerbaijanis, regardless of their age.

Diplomat of the Azerbaijani Embassy in France Gunel Zulfugarov congratulated compatriots and invited them to the Novruz table.

Participants of the event were treated to the traditional Novruz pastries and sweets.

On March 20-21, Azerbaijan celebrates Novruz, known as one of the most ancient and beloved spring festivals.

Before the holiday, people mark four pre-holiday Tuesdays, each of which is dedicated to the awakening of one of the natural elements called Su Charshanbesi (Water Tuesday), Od Charshanbasi (Fire Tuesday) Hava Charshanbasi (Wind Tuesday) and Torpaq Charshanbasi (Earth or Last Tuesday).

People do house cleaning, plant trees, paint eggs, make national pastries such as shekerbura, pakhlava, shorgoghal and a great variety of national cuisine. Children jump over bonfires and run through the streets and knock on doors to ask for treats.

The holiday was given the status of an official holiday in Azerbaijan by a presidential decree dated March 13, 1990.

In 2009, Novruz was included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and since then, March 21 was declared the International Day of Novruz.
A California startup is joining much bigger players in the drive to explore settlement on the moon, as plans by NASA to send astronauts back there heats up the commercial lunar market.

Aerospace firm Venturi Astrolab Inc., better known as Astrolab, based in Hawthorn, California, is building an all-purpose truck that is intended to construct lunar infrastructure and also ferry astronauts around, enabling work that would make long-term settlement on the moon possible.

Companies are betting that NASAs drive to return to the moon in several years, along with technological and business advancements that have lowered launch costs, could be lucrative for businesses that get in there early and succeed.

We are transitioning now from just the earliest phase of exploration to the early stage of settlement, said Chris Hadfield, a retired Canadian astronaut and advisory board member for Astrolab.

This is going to become part of human commerce and human geography, he said of early moon settlement.

NASA is aiming to launch astronauts to the moon no earlier than 2025 as part of its Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon.

The goal is to develop a sustained lunar presence, which would serve as a stepping stone of sorts to future missions to Mars, from a place relatively close to home where astronauts could further explore the moon and train on how to live and work in space.

How a sustained lunar presence could work

The moon is about 238,000 miles from Earth, while Mars is about 140 million miles away.

First, this would require a base for operations on the moon. Already, SpaceX won a contract to develop a lunar lander that would deliver astronauts to the lunar surface. Last year, aerospace giants Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin each said they were working on lunar terrain vehicles for astronaut transport that could compete for a future NASA contract.

Founded in 2019 by former employees of NASA, NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory and SpaceX, Astrolab is building a rover capable of completing tasks such as construction, transporting supplies to build a lunar base, science and exploration, as well as ferrying astronauts around the moons surface. The 15-person company is currently testing a prototype vehicle.

Unlike other rovers, which are often designed around a specific purpose, Astrolabs Flexible Logistics and Exploration rover is intended to be more versatile, said Jaret Matthews, company founder and chief executive.

We want to be the UPS or FedEx of the moon, Matthews said.

On a recent afternoon in Hawthorne, Matthews demonstrated how the rover is able to roll over rocks, maneuver sideways, spin around and pick up and carry loads. He said the rover can carry twice the capacity of a Ford F-150 truck bed. The company eventually wants to build a fleet of rovers.

Matthews spent 10 years at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory working on Mars rovers before moving to SpaceX and developing the system that allows the Crew Dragon astronaut-carrying capsule to dock with the International Space Station.

What I love about rovers is theyre an extension of humanity  our ambassadors in the solar system, he said.

Matthews said Astrolabs rover is different from other rovers in development because astronaut transportation is only one part of its job. The company is aiming to get a rover onto the moon before astronauts even arrive so it could set up ahead of time.

Astronaut time is the most precious time in the world, he said. The more we can do robotically  the better.

At least at first, the lunar market will be limited to government contracts, said Laura Forczyk, owner of space consulting firm Astralytical. But if technology matures, and the market proves itself, it could expand beyond government exploration to construction, mining of resources, lunar infrastructure or even tourism.

What the future may hold

In the future, as we start to get more comfortable with lunar exploration, it could really open up, Forczyk said. But its so early in the process that we dont know which direction is going to be most realistic.

Astrolab is not betting solely on government contracts for its business case. Matthews would not discuss the companys investors or finances, citing Astrolabs status as a privately held firm, but said he thinks the rover will be competitive for a number of commercial and civil opportunities.

The companys moonshot has taken the pilot rover from its base in Hawthorne to Californias Death Valley, where Hadfield, the Canadian astronaut, tested whether it could be operated successfully in a rugged landscape.

Clad in a bulky spacesuit mock-up, he and a partner stood on a platform at the controls on the back of the rover, as if they were ready to operate a much bulkier, four-wheeled Segway. They began driving the prototype away. As they drove, the team chasing them faded away, and the test suddenly became very realistic.

There was nothing in our field of view that was human, Hadfield said. There were no tracks, no buildings. It wasnt perfect, but it was quite evocative of what its going to feel like, and obviously what it felt like for the 12 guys that walked on the moon.
As warmer weather approaches  and vaccination rates rise while COVID-19 numbers decline  it had seemed, up to this point, as though Americans would be turning out in droves during the spring and summer seasons to take their long-awaited postpandemic vacations.

But now, given Russias ongoing attack on Ukraine, traveler sentiment in the U.S., as well as actual travel logistics, has seemingly been impacted by a conflict thats broken out on the opposite side of the globe.

Given the interconnectedness of todays world, such an assault on foreign soil can feel strangely close to home. And, if nothing else, it can certainly make people reconsider their plans to visit any place that could potentially be drawn into the violence.

Much of Europe has been ramping up for a much-anticipated (and sorely needed) tourism recovery of near-normal levels in 2022; however, with all-out war being waged in its backyard, that prospect has been thrown into doubt.

Travel site The Vacationer just released the results of its "Russia-Ukraine Conflict Travel Survey," which was conducted on March 1 among a representative group of American adults to determine how the Russian invasion of Ukraine is affecting Americans' 2022 travel plans.

The Vacationers key findings include:

Almost 40% of American adults said that Russias war on Ukraine has led them to reconsider their 2022 travel plans. Some 14% said theyre rethinking plans to travel both domestically and internationally, while 25% said it would only affect their international travel plans. Sixty percent of respondents said the conflict would not make them reconsider their plans.

 Nearly 65% of survey participants said they would endure at least one major inconvenience if it meant they could reach their travel destinations this year. Twenty-six percent said they would be willing to pay more money; 26% said theyd withstand lengthier travel periods; 15% would put up with more flight layovers prompted by airspace issues, and 15% said they would fly to a different city and drive to their destination.

 Remembering the 2014 shoot-down of passenger flight MH17 over Ukrainian airspace, 36% said they feel less safe traveling now they did prior to Russia invading Ukraine. Close to 62% said they feel about the same about traveling now as they did before.

MMGY Travel Intelligence conducted its own study on how the war now being fought in Eastern Europe is impacting U.S. traveler sentiment and behavior, surveying hundreds who had planned to visit the continent. It found that Americans are now twice as likely to alter their vacation plans to Europe because of the Ukrainian conflict than due to COVID-19.

MMGYs key findings include:

 Some 62% of U.S. travelers expressed fears about the war in Ukraine spreading to nearby nations as the primary factor impacting their European travel plans. Thats twice the number (31%) who said COVID-19 health and safety concerns were a key consideration.

 Of those taking the survey, 47% said theyre going to wait and see how the Ukrainian situation plays out before they make plans to travel to Europe this year. Twenty percent said the conflict wouldnt affect their decision to go to Europe this year, while 33% said that it would either likely or definitely cause them to cancel or reschedule their European trips planned for 2022.

 Fifty percent of survey participants expressed concerns about their flights, trains or cruises getting canceled or delayed, as well as possible border closures.

 The most sought-after European destinations among the U.S. travelers surveyed were Italy, followed by France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
oligarchi russi fuga dubai

Le sanzioni economiche imposte dallEuropa e le parole intimidatorie di Putin hanno spinto alla fuga molti oligarchi russi che ora verbbero trovato rifugio a Dubai.

Ucraina, la fuga a Dubai degli oligarchi russi

Le pesante sanzioni economiche inflitte alla Russia stanno colpendo i piu alti locati russi, e ora pare che molti oligarchi russi stiano progettando una fuga strategica a Dubai.

Secondo quanto riporta Business Insider, lo scorso giovedi 17 marzo almeno 4 jet avrebbero lasciato Mosca proprio in direzione degli Emirati Arabi, e vista la celere organizzazione, non ci sono dubbi che si tratti proprio di magnati russi.

La rabbia di Putin

Non solo le sanzioni. Questa fuga sarebbe stata causata soprattutto dalle dure parole espresse dal presidente Putin durante il suo discorso alla nazione lo scorso venerdi, dirette proprio a quella categoria di magnati che gli avrebbero voltato le spalle in un momento cosi complicato:

Qualsiasi popolo e in grado di distinguere i veri patrioti dai bastardi e dai traditori e il popolo russo li sputera fuori. Sono certo che questa necessaria e naturale autopulizia della societa non fara che rafforzare il nostro Paese, la nostra solidarieta, unione e la nostra disponibilita a rispondere a qualsiasi chiamata allazione.

La paura e la grande fuga

Non sono solo i ricchi a scappare: dallinizio del conflitto in Ucraina, molti cittadini hanno tentato di lasciare il Paese per paura di essere arrestati e soprattutto per timore che le sanzioni economiche potessero incidere sulla qualita della cita nel breve periodo, portando a un default senza precedenti.

Tornando agli oligarchi russi, sempre seondo Business Insider, la scelta di Dubai come rifugio temporaneo non e causale.

Al contrario di quanto si possa pensare, il mondo arabo non ostracizzerebbe quello russofono, e quindi anche negli Emirati Arabi un supericco troverebbe sempre tutti i confort possibili, a partire da quel paradiso fiscale che in Europa ormai in futuro sara pura utopia.
Cowger  65th

MATTOON  Mr. and Mrs. John and Mary Cowger will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary on Thursday, March 24.

A family gathering will be held for them Friday, March 25, at The Firefly Grill in Effingham. A trip to a still undetermined destination is planned for the summer.

Cowger and Mary Alice Daily were married March 24, 1957, in Corinth, Mississippi.

They are the parents of John Wm. Cowger II; and Sherri Lynn Rawlings. They also have six grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren.

Cards may be sent to them at Park Plaza Condo, 511 Broadway Ave., 304, Mattoon, IL 61938.

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A Wells Fargo & Co. branch in Albemarle is the latest in North Carolina to be placed on the closing list by the bank.

The Albemarle branch at 811 N.C 24/27 Bypass East is one of 10 identified by the bank in its latest closing update to its federal regulator, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

There have been at least 42 branch closings in North Carolina.

Wells Fargo disclosed March 11 plans to close its 100 N. Main St. branch in downtown Winston-Salem office by June 1. It already has closed its branch at 720 Coliseum Drive branch in Winston-Salem, as well as two locations in Greensboro and one each in Blowing Rock and Dobson.

The latest round of branch closings raises the total to at least 836 nationwide since the initiative began in earnest on July 21, 2020.

Overall, Wells Fargo has dropped from about 6,600 branches in 2009, when it acquired a collapsing Wachovia Corp. and gained an East Coast presence. As of Dec. 31, it was at 4,777 branches.

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The caller, a man with a clipped accent originating from somewhere in the former British Empire, sounded alarmed but not overly so. Curious or perhaps concerned are better descriptions.

Haze and an acrid odor pulled him outdoors, an unusual occurrence on a cool, dark Sunday evening in early winter.

Im on Harmon Ave. off Polo Road near Wake Forest University  theres an unbelievably strong chemical, plastic burning smell in the air outside, the man said Dec. 26. Have you had any reports of it?

The 911 operator  polite, professional and calm  asked the caller if he would repeat the location.

The man did as requested, then went one further.

Im outside and the stench of chemical, plastic burning is just so strong, the caller said.

Though he had no idea at the time, the man wasnt just alerting authorities about a possible fire.

Rather, he was acting a sort of canary-in-a-coal-mine, forewarning the city about a long-fused time bomb nestled in its midst.

Unbelievably strong smell

As were all too aware now, a little more than a month later that bomb  more than 600 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a fertilizer plant governed by outdated building codes nearly a century old  threatened to pulverize a neighborhood.

It didnt but a fire that started Jan. 31 in the Winston Weaver plant and burned and smoldered for nearly a week forced officials to seal off a 1-mile worst-case perimeter and order a voluntary evacuation of more than 6,000 residents that lasted for three days.

A crisis was averted whether by divine intervention, luck, wise decision-making by firefighters knowledgeable about explosive chemical reactions or some combination therein.

Whatever the case, as were beginning to learn, applicable laws, public-safety requirements and antiquated building codes  some adhered to, some ignored and others having been paid lip service  require serious re-examination and overhauling.

And as recordings of a pair of 911 calls made the day after Christmas underscore, warning lights (and sirens) have been ringing for some time now.

A second 911 call Dec. 26 placed 10 minutes later carried a greater sense of urgency.

Ive got a bunch of concerned neighbors outside, the same caller said. Theres an unbelievably strong smell of chemical burning, plastic burning.

Has there been a report? Whats going on?

As it turns out, there were local and state reports that noted electrical problems, previous fires and, in 2020, Weaver officials neglected to file a chemical inventory or an emergency response plan with the N.C. Department of Public Safety.

(The Winston-Salem Fire Department, however, had its own response plan  a prudent move considering the dangers.)

Ammonium nitrate, a common ingredient in fertilizers, is a key component in some explosives used in mining. Blasts are created by mixing it with fuel oil and detonated by a charge.

The worst-case scenario happened in 2013 in West, Texas, when an explosion involving ammonium nitrate killed 12 and leveled more than 200 buildings.

There is no doubt that firefighters from the chief down to the newest rookie assigned to any station near Weaver Fertilizer were well warned.

And surely the crews who responded to the 911 calls on Dec. 26 had that in mind as they rolled to the 4400 block of North Cherry Street.

According to a Winston-Salem Fire Department incident report, that fire was caused by an electrical failure which caused machinery to stop operating properly. The pile of material was smoldering due to equipment used in the manufacturing process dropping hot materials into the pile.

An inspection five days prior turned up an electrical problem that Chief Trey Mayo said was resolved immediately.

Electrical problem can describe a lot of things, from a wire hanging down or a missing socket faceplate, Mayo said early in February. Its not always something eye-popping that a regular person would notice.

Still, a plant with wooden buildings dating to 1939 didnt have an alarm or sprinkler system  because it wasnt required to as Weaver had been grandfathered in under state building codes put in place in 1936  17 years before sprinkler systems were commonplace.

The cost of adding such safety measures would be prohibitive and might easily run into seven figures.

Theres a gulf between bare minimum and as safe as possible in the eyes of state law and legislators who make it. And dollars, the hit on the bottom line, are an outsized factor where the line is drawn.

Lawsuits and claims

An investigation into the Jan. 31 fire spelling out a definitive cause and potential remedies for avoiding any future calamities has not been completed.

Local and state investigators have a lot to go through and sort out. The immediate danger has long since passed, and officials have the luxury of time.

Class-action lawsuits were filed within days after the fire was extinguished as lawyers hustled to locate victims and potential clients who will pay with a percentage of any settlements or jury awarded damages. But those will take months, if not years, to finish.

And given the scale of the danger from the fire and any to-be-determined (and litigated) harmful effects from exposure to plumes of smoke that hung over the area, the potential paydays could be lucrative.

The city itself may have a claim, too, for reimbursement of up to $1 million in relief money approved by the City Council to compensate residents forced to evacuate.

Beyond individual claims and class-action suits, the state through legislators would be negligent if it fails to overhaul building codes and safety requirements for handling hazardous and explosive material.

The city resident who called 911 the day after Christmas sounded an alarm about an immediate danger.

Theres the smell of plastic and chemical burning, the caller said. Its so strong. Its almost sickening.

That larger fire five weeks later in that very same plant should serve as a warning to us all.

Storing more than 600 tons of ammonium nitrate in a factory with a documented history of electrical issues that lacked alarms and sprinklers should be unacceptable.

And allowing building codes approved in the 1930s to govern such facilities is sickening as well.

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By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

The Heydar Aliyev Foundation has donated books to a number of children homes, boarding schools and social service establishments for children in need of special care.

The action has been held in the framework of the project "Yukselish (Rise) being implemented with the support of the Baku Book Centre and bp Azerbaijan.

Volunteers of the Regional Development Public Association have visited children homes, boarding schools and social service establishments for children in need of special care.

They distributed more than 2,000 books with poems, stories, riddles, encyclopaedia and other themes, meant for children, in Azerbaijani, Turkish, Russian and Azerbaijani languages.

A Novruz festivity was also organized at the Khazar Youth Home for children and juveniles. Numerous publications were donated to the library of the Youth Home.

Head of department at the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, MP Soltan Mammadov,Vice-President of bp-Azerbaijan Bakhtiyar Aslanbeyli stressed the importance of the project in terms of individual advancement of the young generation and formation of their view of the world.
Former N.C. Sen. Linda Garrou, who served seven terms and rose to become one of the states most influential Democratic leaders, died Saturday at the age of 79.

Garrou was elected to the state Senate in 1998 after trying in 1996 and falling short. In her first term as a lawmaker she made headlines for sponsoring winning legislation to protect R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., to make teacher-student sex a felony and to make it a felony to bring a gun to a school or school-sponsored event.

Ranked 35th in effectiveness among the 50 state senators in 2000, she moved to 25th place in 2002, and in 2003 was named co-chairwoman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. Her effectiveness ranking had risen to fifth place by 2008.

When Republicans took control of both houses of the General Assembly in 2010, Garrou was mentioned for minority leader, but another Democrat ultimately got the job.

Garrou considered herself an advocate for education, calling for higher teacher salaries and other measures to improve the states standing in education.

Before election to the state Senate, Garrou had served as an assistant administrator for the Forsyth Juvenile Justice Council and the regional administrator of Guardian ad Litem Services. Garrou had also been the founding chairwoman of the N.C. Advocacy Council for Children and a former member of the Governors Advocacy Council for Children and Youth.

Redistricting plans approved in 2011 put Garrou into a heavily-Republican district held by former Sen. Pete Brunstetter. In 2012, Garrou announced she would not run.

A memorial service for Garrou will be held on Thursday at Highland Presbyterian Church.

Local Democrats and Republicans both had words of praise for Garrou on learning of her death.

N.C. State Treasurer Dale Fowell, whose time in the N.C.. House overlapped with Garrous in the state Senate, called Garrou a strong advocate for the invisible and many business and educational organizations in Forsyth County.

In the eight years we served together from different parties and chambers of the legislature, she was instrumental in helping me author and pass nearly 21 pieces of legislation that saved many lives, minds and dollars for the citizens of Forsyth County and North Carolina, Folwell said. Before writing any of them, I would meet with the minority leader, then Sen. Garrou and the governor in that order.

Folwell was an advocate of legislation that Garrou introduced in 2001 to force rental-car companies to tell customers about state law on passing school buses. Folwells son Dalton had died when he was struck by a car that passed a school bus, and whose driver, a foreign national, had said she did not know the passing was illegal.

Gayle Anderson, the former leader of the chamber of commerce here, and active in Democratic Party circles, said Garrou spoke up for the youth, children and education.

She was a leader in securing funding for the UNC School of the Arts and for the Innovation Quarter in its more initial stages, Anderson said. I would say that she was a quiet but very persuasive and effective leader. She truly cared about the state of children in this county and worked extremely hard to make sure children were protected.

Susan Campbell, who was county Democratic chairwoman while Garrou was in the Senate, said she respected her so much.

Certainly as a party we were proud of the work that she did in the legislature, Campbell said. She was a leader. Im a little stunned and very sad.

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A U.S. Appeals Court ordered Friday that a lower court reconsider its decision to seal court documents related to the seizure of U.S. Sen. Richard Burrs cellphone by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In May, federal judge Beryl Howell denied two requests by Los Angeles Times Communications LLC to unseal court records connected to a search warrant.

The United States is listed as the appellee for its role in opposing the motion to unseal.

The Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation on March 25, 2020, to determine whether Burr violated insider trading laws with stock trades, particularly those made along with his wife, Brooke, on Feb. 13, 2020.

A three-judge panel of the D.C. appellate court posted a nine-page order in which it said the court remands the case to the district court to reconsider its common law analysis in light of new disclosures from a related investigation by the SEC and Senator Burrs public acknowledgment of the (U.S.) Justice Departments investigation.

On Jan. 19, 2021, Burr announced that the federal law-enforcement investigation into the stock sales has been completed without any insider-trading charges filed.

Burrs office could not be reached for comment on the panels rulings.

U.S. Senate financial-disclosure documents showed Burr, a Republican from Winston-Salem, and his wife, Brooke, sold between $628,000 and $1.72 million of their stock holdings in 33 separate transactions on Feb. 13, 2020. The publication Roll Call listed his net worth at $1.7 million as of 2018.

The stock sales were made a week before the stock market began its sharp coronavirus-related decline on Feb. 20, 2020.

According to SEC filings, on Feb. 13, 2020, Burr possessed material nonpublic information concerning COVID-19 and its potential impact on the U.S. and global economies.

L.A. Times reporting

The L.A. Times was the first to report  on May 13, 2020  that FBI agents went to Burrs home in the Washington area with a search warrant for the cellphone. The newspaper cited an anonymous law-enforcement source.

The search warrant contains information into allegations of potential wrongdoing on the part of a sitting U.S. senator  a matter of the utmost seriousness and highest public concern that then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr signed off on it, the newspaper said.

In its complaint, the newspaper claimed rights of access to these materials pursuant to the common law and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

It maintains that sealing the governments opposition memorandum violates its rights under the Due Process clause of the constitution.

Howell noted in her ruling in May that the Justice Department has never acknowledged the existence of an investigation into Senator Burr.

Howell also determined that no disclosure of search warrant materials would be appropriate in a closed, non-public investigation that has not resulted in criminal charges, and where individual privacy and governmental interests may be implicated.

Katie Townsend, an attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press who filed the unsealing petition, told Politico in November that in a situation like this one, where it has been publicly reported that a search warrant has been executed in connection with a criminal investigation into stock trades made by a sitting U.S. senator, the public interest in access to the search warrant materials could not be higher.

That is true whether or not the investigation ended with no charges being brought.

Brother-in-law element

The appellate panel cited as a factor in its decision an investigative subpoena from the SEC to Burrs brother-in-law Gerald Fauth.

Fauth testified before the SEC on Nov. 30. The SEC has said Fauths testimony is critical to its investigation.

There has yet to be a public disclosure of Fauths testimony.

The SECs investigation into Burrs pre-pandemic stock trading has a sharp focus on Burrs conversations with Fauth on Feb. 13, 2020.

Shortly after a 50-second phone conversation between Burr and Fauth ended on Feb. 13, 2020, the SEC said Fauth called his stockbroker and sold between $97,000 and $280,000 worth of shares in six companies. That amount is according to a federal Public Financial Disclosure Act filing made by Fauth.

ProPublica and other media sources have reported Fauth sold major stock holdings on the same day as Burr.

But it was previously unknown that Burr and Fauth spoke that day, and that their contact came just before Fauth began the process of dumping stock himself, ProPublica reported Oct. 28.

According to SEC filings, on Feb. 13, 2020, Burr possessed material nonpublic information concerning COVID-19 and its potential impact on the U.S. and global economies.

Burrs office has not commented publicly on the SEC filings that were submitted beginning Oct. 22 in the federal Southern District of New York, nor on subsequent media reports about the investigation.

There was no overlap of the stocks sold Feb. 13 by the Burrs and Fauth.

In May 2020, attorney Alice Fisher of the Washington law firm Latham & Watkins LLP said in a statement that Senator Burr participated in the stock market based on public information and he did not coordinate his decision to trade on Feb. 13 with Mr. Fauth.

ProPublica said Fisher did not respond when asked whether Burr discussed anything he learned as a senator with Fauth or other relatives.

STOCK Act

U.S. senators are required to submit periodic financial disclosures.

A central question of the SEC investigation into Burr is whether he violated the STOCK Act.

The STOCK Act, passed by Congress in 2012, prohibits federal lawmakers from using nonpublic information derived from their positions for their personal benefit.

The stock sales included shares of three corporations in the hotel and hospitality industry which was hammered economically during the early months of the pandemic.

The SEC said Burrs information was obtained from his leadership roles on Senate committees and from certain former staffers that were then directing key aspects of the U.S. Governments preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Burr has said he will not seek a fourth Senate term and will retire in January 2025.

Burr and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., drew the most scrutiny of several senators for their stock transactions, in part because on Jan. 24, 2020, they attended the Senate Health and Foreign Relations Committees closed-door briefing on the novel coronavirus.

The meeting occurred shortly before the general public  and Wall Street  became aware of the seriousness of COVID-19 and before the stock market plunge in March.

The stock-trading controversy surfaced on March 19, 2020, after National Public Radio reported on Burrs Feb. 27, 2020, comments to the Tar Heel Circle. Burr gave a stark warning about COVID-19 that he had not repeated publicly at that time.

Burr initially responded to the NPR report with an eight-part Twitter response to denounce it as a tabloid-style hit piece.

However, by March 20, 2020, Burr requested the U.S. Senate Ethics committee investigate the stock transactions.

Burr released a statement at that time saying I relied solely on public news reports to guide my decision regarding the sale of stocks on Feb. 13. Specifically, I closely followed CNBCs daily health and science reporting out of its Asia bureaus at the time.

The controversy surrounding Burr intensified on May 14, 2020, when he resigned as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, a day after FBI agents seized his cellphone from his home.

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The state of the union is strong because you, the American people, are strong.

 President Joe Biden, March 2022 State of the Union address

President Biden might offer similar sentiments to the Western alliance in its opposition to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The legacy of Americas previous presidential administration made the collective strength of Western allies an unknown variable. It clearly emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putins aggressive action.

Since taking office in 2021, President Biden has reestablished those relationships. In the early stages of the Russian/Ukrainian conflict, the presidents four decades of foreign policy experience as a senator and vice president has helped to rebuild Americas standing with NATO, forging, at least early on, the Wests cohesive opposition to Putins invasion.

The outcome of the Russian invasion may come down to Putins willingness to endure economic hardship as a result of the pernicious sanctions and the Wests disposition to withstand economic discomfort also resulting from those sanctions. Whichever side crosses the threshold first, the opposition will be victorious.

In this game of global chicken, it would seem the rules provided the authoritarian regime with an advantage. There is no burden on Putin to concern himself with the economic privation of the Russian people. The prerequisite for authoritarian longevity is the implementation of coup proofing.

According to the RAND Corp., coup proofing is when authoritarian regimes, like Russia, create structures that minimize the possibility that internal opposition can seize power. The tactics include, but are not limited to, exploiting family, ethnic, and religious loyalties; creation of an armed force parallel to the regular military; development of multiple internal security agencies with overlapping jurisdiction that constantly monitor one another; fostering of expertness in the regular military; and adequately financing such measures.

On the other side of the ledger, the price of gasoline merely needs to reach a price, especially domestically, during the summer traveling season that makes U.S. economic sacrifice for a people in a distant land not worth the short-term inconvenience.

Moreover, democratic nations, obligated to an independence of thought, may find it more challenging to maintain uniformity as they attempt to thwart Russian aggression.

Support for higher gas prices under the circumstances is the laudable position, but to oppose that position does not inherently render one unpatriotic.

There are a number of professions that have legitimate reasons to be opposed to the rise in gas prices. Suppose one is an Uber driver or a Door Dasher, or some other independent contractor who depends on ones vehicle for their livelihood. Their break-even point just went up exponentially.

Are they unpatriotic if, because of rising fuel prices, it becomes even more difficult to make ends meet?

Though the tangible rules of this race appear to favor Putin, the intangibles favor Western allies.

According to Stanford University political scientist Francis Fukuyama, Russia is heading for an outright defeat in Ukraine. Russian planning was incompetent, based on a flawed assumption that Ukrainians were favorable to Russia and that their military would collapse immediately following an invasion.

Fukuyama adds, Putin at this point has committed the bulk of his entire military to this operation  there are no vast reserves of forces he can call up to add to the battle. Russian troops are stuck outside various Ukrainian cities where they face huge supply problems and constant Ukrainian attacks.

Whether Fukuyamas predictions come to fruition rests in the hands of time. But underneath Fukuyamas prognostications is the greatest adversary for the demise of powers  hubris and overextension. Though Russia is no longer the Soviet Union, it is nevertheless a nuclear power.

The legacies of great powers rarely end with the defeat of superior forces, but rather their internal insularity. The West must stand on the sidelines, armed with pernicious economic sanctions and Ukrainian resolve, to find out if Putins arrogance will unveil, in 2022, what the Soviet Union was forced to acknowledge in 1989, that it was a declining state with no second act. Is the image of Putin as a reckless strongman built on a foundation of sand?

So much depends on which side will be victorious in the new race, one where the victor comes in second. In this Cold War redux, East and West are engaged in a different race  a race of intolerance. Which side will be the first to find its conditions intolerable?

The Rev. Byron Williams (byron@publicmorality.org), a writer and the host of The Public Morality on WSNC 90.5, lives in Winston-Salem.
More than nine in 10 physicians (93%) reported care delays while waiting for health insurers to authorize necessary care and more than four in five physicians (82%) said patients abandon treatment due to authorization struggles with health insurers. Exhausted by the fight, they simply give up. Thats according to a new survey conducted by the American Medical Association.

Those are just statistics. Heres what they mean for real people here in North Carolina.

A Winston-Salem woman was recently diagnosed with a cataract. Cataracts are a common condition. They cause vision to blur and the only treatment is surgery. After scheduling her surgery, the patient took time off work and arranged for transportation and support at home when she returned. When the day arrived, as she waited to be prepped for surgery, she learned that all the effort was wasted. Her insurer, Aetna, had denied coverage.

This isnt an isolated case. This is happening to an increasing number of people, from Asheville to Zebulon, and across the country, because insurance companies are abusing a practice called prior authorization. Prior authorization is the process that requires physicians to get advance approval from health plans before they will agree to cover a medical service or a medication. Originally intended as a cost-containment measure for expensive new drugs and tests, its now used to delay and deny common drugs and procedures prescribed by physicians.

Aetna  the nations third-largest insurer  recently started an especially abusive application of prior authorization. It now requires preapproval for all cataract surgeries, from children to adults, regardless of the patients health status.

Since it went into effect last summer, Aetna has needlessly delayed thousands of vision-saving surgeries. This is extremely concerning because cataracts increase the risk of an individual falling, getting into a motor vehicle accident and developing dementia and Alzheimers disease. With Aetna joining the North Carolina marketplace for the first time in 2022, and with Medicare Advantage enrollment growing throughout the country, this abuse must be confronted now.

The situation is more dire than just care delays. That survey from the American Medical Association also found that one-in-three doctors (34%) report that prior authorization has led to a serious adverse reaction to a patient in their care, while a shocking 8% said it caused a patient to suffer a permanent disability, permanent bodily damage, birth defect or death.

Our lawmakers in Congress have an opportunity to protect North Carolinians from this dangerous trend by passing legislation that would create needed guardrails around prior authorization. The Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act (H.R.3173/S.3018) is bipartisan legislation introduced last year that would require Medicare Advantage plans to streamline prior authorization so that care is not needlessly disrupted. It would also create much-needed protections and hold plans accountable for abusing the prior authorization process. In a sign of how popular the bill is on both sides of the aisle, more than 250 representatives in the U.S. House  including nine from North Carolina  have co-sponsored the bill. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has also co-sponsored the legislation in the Senate.

Were grateful for these powerful champions for patient access to health care. With more patients at risk of being caught up by insurance companies prior authorization overreach, we urge all our members of Congress to support the bill and quickly pass it into law.

Dr. Bob Park is president of the North Carolina Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Susan Burden, a Winston-Salem resident, has been teaching and performing eye surgery for 16 years. She is president of an international advocacy group, Women In Ophthalmology.
Its called a zombie lie.

Thats the pop-culture term for a false claim that just wont die no matter how often its refuted by facts.

Prominent among them right now is the notion that the president of the United States, no matter who he or she is, is responsible for the price of gasoline at the pump, no matter what that price is.

Its target at the moment is, of course, Joe Biden.

The claim has been rebutted by a number of prominent, highly-regarded fact-checkers who remind us of past fluctuations  and the all-surpassing influence of those Econ 101 staples: supply and demand.

Right now, as COVID precautions loosen and we travel more freely, theres more demand than supply, so the price goes up. Its part of living in a free-market economy.

This zombie lie is fed by another: that Bidens cancelation of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline has somehow influenced gas prices. Just consider: The lack of a pipeline didnt inflate the price of gas when Bidens predecessor was in office  why would it now?

We dont want to diminish the pain Americans are feeling at the pump, especially lower-income workers whose jobs require them to drive. Not everyone has a fuel-efficient vehicle or an EV (electric vehicle). Until we make a dramatic shift away from our oil addiction, well be at the mercy of unpredictable market forces, no matter where the rigs are drilling.

Not that the people profiting from this situation are especially sympathetic. Why would they be?

The oil conglomerates that operate in the U.S.  ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Shell  all reported record-breaking profits before Russia invaded Ukraine  some $205 billion in 2021 alone, according to a recent report from Accountable.US.

On top of that, these companies have a real sweetheart deal, the envy of any business operation: They each receive massive, multi-million-dollar subsidies from the federal government.

That means that, despite their eye-popping profits, to which each of us contributes every time we fill up, theyre receiving taxpayer money, too.

Talk about freeloaders.

On Monday morning, any oil corporate head could decree that the price of their product will immediately be reduced by a dollar a gallon. It would be a patriotic display of concern for the American people in a time of hardship. They would still make obscene profits.

But thats not very likely.

Knowing this, some, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, are advocating for a windfall profits tax on these companies. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says hes going to haul oil executives in to testify before Congress.

Oh, no, not a good talking-to.

But there is something that Congress could do. It could halt the subsidies. Even temporarily, just until we get through this crisis. This is American taxpayer money going to wealthy corporations so they can charge us higher prices for their goods. Cut them off.

On Monday morning, any senator or representative could file a bill calling for the halt of oil company subsidies until this crisis has passed  or until oil companies lower the price of their product.

Thats not very likely to happen either, of course; legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, have become very cozy with oil companies thanks to generous political donations. Thats a supply theyd hesitate to put at risk.

This will be the situation as long as the United States remains addicted to oil.

As for the economy as a whole, its not where wed like it to be. But its better than it was.

A record 6.4 million jobs were added to the U.S. economy in 2021, rebounding strongly from the previous years unprecedented losses, Bloomberg reported in January. Furthermore, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in December, according to Labor Department data. It continues to drop by hundreds of thousands of workers every week.

And we can buy toilet paper now.

Republicans arent likely to acknowledge the progress. They can hardly criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin without mentioning their dissatisfaction with Biden at the same time. It seems almost ... coordinated.

There are legitimate reasons to criticize Biden and his administration. But its hard to consider them through the fog of bad-faith complaints over everything Biden does  even when he does what they want, like cutting off Russian oil, after which they blamed him for the resulting higher prices.

Credible legislators owe it to their constituents to put politics aside from time to time and work with the other side. That should include when were trying to avoid engaging in World War III with a geopolitical adversary.

Solutions to high gas prices exist. As in so many matters today, the political will doesnt. Nevertheless, the next time you fill up the tank, dont bother saying, Thanks, Joe. Instead, say, Here you go, oil exec  my contribution to your new yacht.
A hotel is back in the plans for the Gold's Building.

Mike Works, who bought the building at 11th and O streets for $5 million last fall, said hes planning a limited-service hotel with first-floor restaurant and retail opportunities.

The hotel will have approximately 100 rooms and will take up the six-story north part of the building.

Works, who has experience developing other hotels in Lincoln, including the Holiday Inn Express at Ninth and O streets that opened last year, declined to provide any other details about the hotel planned for the Gold's Building.

A redevelopment plan announced for the building in 2019 had originally included a hotel, but that plan fell through because of the coronavirus pandemic. A subsequent plan to turn the building into apartments also fell apart when developers failed to get approval to use historic tax credits to help pay to add windows on the south side.

The previous owner, Gerard Keating, had said he might demolish the whole building after the redevelopment plans fell through.

Works plan would save the northern half of the building, but he does plan to demolish the southern half.

Representatives of Works who spoke to the citys Historic Preservation Commission on Thursday said the south part, which had housed a number of state government offices, now is completely vacant and needs too much work to make a redevelopment feasible.

Demolishing the building will provide space for some hotel parking, but Works said he does plan to eventually redevelop the site with a mixed-use building that would include apartments.

Works indicated that a formal redevelopment plan will likely be coming forward in the next few weeks that will focus on the hotel plan, which if all goes as planned could open sometime in late 2023.

A potential sticking point is the StarTran bus transfer station on the 11th Street side of the building.

The representatives who spoke to the Historic Preservation Commission, attorney Andrew Willis and Justin Hernandez of NGC Construction, said the hotel plan might not happen if the bus station can't be moved.

Urban Development Director Dan Marvin said the bus transfer station has been part of the city's discussions with Works, just as it has with previous developers, but he declined to offer any specifics.

The city wants to move the station to the former police station building at 233 S. 10th St. and authorized $500,000 in tax-increment financing as part of a previous Gold's redevelopment to pay for demolition.

The plan for a new transfer station is dependent on getting a federal grant, something the city so far has not had any success with.

Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.

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Dear Doctors: My husband's office went remote during the pandemic. He used to ride his bike to work and walk at lunch. Now, he's at his desk from when he gets up until bedtime. I read that working long work hours can give you high blood pressure. If that's true, maybe he'll slow down.

Dear Reader: Making the switch from the structured rhythm of an office environment to working from home can be a challenge. Employees often feel pressure to prove their productivity, so they wind up putting in extra hours. The pandemic is also causing staff numbers to shrink, so many workers are seeing their workloads expand. Unfortunately, these changes can take a toll on employees' health. Research has shown that people who put in long work hours can be at higher risk of developing high blood pressure than those who work shorter hours.

In a study published three years ago in Hypertension, the journal of the American Heart Association, researchers looked at blood pressure in 3,500 office workers from three insurance companies in Canada. They collected data during three different periods over the course of five years. Each person's resting blood pressure was measured in the morning in a clinical setting that was designed to resemble a doctor's office. The employees were then outfitted with portable blood pressure monitors that they wore throughout their workdays. The devices checked their blood pressure every 15 minutes, and gave a minimum of 20 readings each day.

The study's authors set readings at or above 135/85 as the benchmark for high blood pressure. At the end of the five-year study, the data showed that when someone worked 49 or more hours per week, their risk of developing sustained hypertension increased by 66%. Employees who worked 41 to 48 hours per week were 33% more likely to have sustained high blood pressure than were their colleagues who worked fewer hours. This proved to be true for both the male and the female employees.

The researchers were also interested in something known as "masked hypertension." This is a phenomenon where someone's blood pressure reading is within the normal range when it is being checked at the doctor's office but is otherwise high. The AHA study found that extended work hours increased the employees' risk of developing masked hypertension by 70%. Even after accounting for additional risk factors such as weight, body mass index, smoking, age, gender, activity levels and stress, long work hours proved a significant factor in developing hypertension.

Although the study wasn't designed to explain why this would be the case, the researchers have some ideas. One is that when you're working long hours, you're not getting enough sleep, which itself has been shown to increase cardiovascular risk. Extended sitting has also been linked to high blood pressure. The flip side of that is when you spend so much time sitting each day, you're not getting enough -- or sometimes any -- exercise. Encourage your husband to balance his long hours with daily exercise, hourly breaks and better sleep hygiene.

Send questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla.edu.

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ACLU of Nebraska named a new interim executive director Friday.

Maria Funk, who was previously deputy director, has worked for ACLU of Nebraska since 2014. In that time, Funk led the organization's financial and human resources operations, expanding the team from four staffers to eight full-time employees with two attorneys.

Funk will fill the role of Danielle Conrad, whose resignation was announced March 1.

The organization's board of directors will continue to search for a permanent replacement for Conrad.

ACLU of Nebraska Board President Ashlei Spivey said she was confident in the board's decision to appoint Funk.

"(Funk) has earned the respect and trust of the staff and board time and again," Spivey said. "Her deliberative, consensus-building leadership style will continue to be an asset to all of us as she takes on these new responsibilities."

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A new report from Nebraska's Inspector General of Corrections details "rampant substance abuse," overcrowding and a lack of meaningful mental health care available at the state's community corrections facilities in Lincoln and Omaha.

The 34-page report, published in late February, was the result of a monthslong investigation conducted by Inspector General Doug Koebernick and his office after eight inmates walked away from the facilities in April 2021 alone.

In the first 11 months of 2021, 36 community corrections inmates  all but one of whom were less than a year from being eligible for parole  escaped the low-level custody facilities that are meant to help incarcerated men and women transition into life after custody by allowing inmates to maintain off-site jobs.

After his office investigated trends in walkaway incidents  interviewing staff members and escapees  Koebernick highlighted the lack of mental health care, "significant shortcomings" in the use of electronic-monitoring systems to track inmates and disparities in the punishment of men and women found guilty of escape as contributing factors in walkaways.

But above all, Koebernick and assistant inspector general Zach Pluhacek wrote in the report, inmates and staff pointed to stress as the root of problems among the incarcerated population at Community Corrections Center-Lincoln, the larger of the state's two community custody facilities and the focus of the report.

"When people go to community corrections centers, you would think that they wouldn't have a lot of stress because they're so much closer to leaving prison," Koebernick told the Journal Star.

"But, in reality, a lot of people  all of these new things are going on in their lives where they're reconnecting with the family, or they're trying to find a job or they're thinking about where to live. And so all these things actually add a lot more stress onto them."

Staff and inmates told the inspector general's office that the inherent pressures of transitioning out of custody are exacerbated by overcrowding and substance abuse  separate issues that are magnified by understaffing, according to the report.

Designed to house just more than 300 men and 82 women, the Lincoln facility houses nearly 600 inmates, with eight men often sharing rooms designed for four.

Even after a 2016 staffing analysis conducted by the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services recommended each case manager at the facility have their case load limited to 40 inmates, that ratio sits at approximately 100-to-1 in the Lincoln facility's four main housing units.

Staff members told the inspectors that the overcrowding makes it difficult for employees to police behavior, track inmates' whereabouts and identify who is responsible for contraband, all while assisting with reentry.

The report notes that "virtually everyone" who spoke to the office acknowledged that drug use  namely methamphetamine and K2, or synthetic marijuana  is widespread.

I have no control in this facility, one staff member told the office. They know there is no retribution for going off the rails.

James Jansen, warden of Community Corrections Center-Lincoln, told the inspector general's office that administrators take a hard line against those suspected of trafficking contraband into the facility while also weighing their pending reentry into society.

Those suspected of dealing drugs within the facility  and drug users who repeatedly relapse as they transition back into the community  are routinely sent to state prisons, Jansen told Koebernick's office.

But the unbridled access to substances in the facility persists, according to the report.

The inspector general's foremost recommendation to Scott Frakes, the Department of Correctional Services' director, was to "right-size" the population at the Lincoln facility while seeking work release opportunities outside of Lincoln and Omaha.

Frakes, though, rejected the recommendation in his response to the report, noting the cost of operating smaller facilities elsewhere or contracting with county jails to house work release inmates, as the report had suggested.

The head of Nebraska's prison system since 2015, Frakes noted the state has invested $22 million into the Lincoln facility in "creating a healthy environment for the people who live and work there."

Among the five specific recommendations Koebernick's office made, Frakes didn't outright accept any of them, rejecting two and requesting modifications to three.

And in his responses, the director wrote that he doesn't agree that escapes are tied to the size, location or quality of mental health care offered at either community corrections facility.

"I'm very surprised by what he had to say," Koebernick said, referring to Frakes' response. "Because the facts just don't back it up."

In a written statement to the Journal Star, Frakes said the department has found the most prevalent reason inmates walk away from the facilities has to do with the state of a personal relationship  a reason Koebernick also said came up frequently in his office's review.

"Poor impulse control, substance use, self-sabotage ... and other issues can also result in the decision to leave," Frakes said. "Sometimes, it is a combination of reasons."

Frakes also rejected the notion that the Lincoln facility is overcrowded. Asked if the department has plans to reduce the population there, Frakes said the facility has a "statutory operational capacity of 575 people."

"The current count is 588 people," Frakes said, "with a total of 660 beds."

The increase in population at the Lincoln facility in the past six years  two additional housing units have opened there since 2016  has come as access to mental health care at the facility has decreased.

Substance-use counselors are the only designated mental health professionals on staff at the Lincoln facility, and two of four such positions were vacant when the inspector general's office completed its report. Additional mental health care services are provided by staff from other facilities.

But staff and inmates who spoke with Koebernick's office described "waiting days or weeks for responses to their requests for help from mental health staff, if they are seen at all," according to the report. Services are targeted to individuals with specific levels of care defined by the Department of Correctional Services.

Nebraska previously allowed people incarcerated at the state's community corrections centers to pay for mental health services from area providers, but that option has been revoked, according to the report, even though state statute allows it.

Koebernick's office asked Corrections Department administrators about the policy change, "but received no specific response to the questions asked," according to the report.

In his response to the office's recommendation that the department should provide all community corrections inmates with appropriate mental health treatment, Frakes wrote that all inmates do have access to treatment "consistent with the community standard of care" but agreed that a review of treatment provided is warranted.

In his statement to the Journal Star, Frakes said the internal review is ongoing and being led by the department's medical director. He said the review will help determine best approaches to ensure that all mental health needs at the facility are met.

Frakes also committed to a review of community corrections staff policy and the use of electronic monitoring systems to track inmates based on recommendations by Koebernick's office.

The report found that staff haven't used the tracking devices to their full potential, noting a lack of random checks allows technical issues and off-course inmate behavior to go unnoticed for "lengthy periods of time."

In one instance, staff found that an inmate at the Lincoln facility had been making unauthorized stops outside the facility every day for six months, including one afternoon where he stopped at the playground of an elementary school for 20 minutes near dismissal time.

"This inmate is serving a 30- to 35-year sentence for first-degree sexual assault of a minor," Koebernick's office wrote in the report.

Frakes declined to share details on the department's review of the monitoring devices, citing security concerns.

The inspector general's investigation also uncovered disparities in punishments for men and women found guilty of escape after walking away from the corrections facilities.

Of the 36 walkaways Koebernick's office reviewed, 24 inmates were found guilty of escape, including 18 men and six women.

All 18 men lost "good time," a form of sentence reduction that inmates earn by maintaining good behavior. Most of the men lost six months' worth of good time, the maximum punishment for escape.

Only one woman  who forfeited 30 days of good time  lost any, according to the report.

But Frakes rejected the inspector general's recommendation to review disciplinary records and address issues of equity in administrative sanctions. In his response, Frakes said the process allows for discretion in determining appropriate punishment while ensuring inmates their due process rights.

The inspector general of the prisons system was created by the Legislature in 2015 to "provide for increased accountability and oversight" of the state's corrections division.

Koebernick told the Journal Star that he hoped the report wasn't taken as an indictment of staff at the two community corrections facilities, who he said are doing their best despite being "dealt a really difficult hand."

"They care a lot about those people out there," he said.

And Koebernick said he knows his office's reports aren't always well-received by Frakes and his department. But he's confident in the report, he said.

In his response to Frakes, Koebernick wrote that he is hopeful the department won't minimize the issues the report uncovered. The inspector general declined to modify his recommendations, as the director had requested.

"I disagree with him," Koebernick said.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com. On Twitter @andrewwegley

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Whats John Baylors No. 1 piece of advice for students studying for the ACT? Its plastered on the royal-blue T-shirts he gives to his students.

Hammer the grammar.

This time of year, Baylor  well known as the radio voice of Husker volleyball  has students hanging on his every word in classes that promise to boost exam scores. All high school juniors in Nebraska are gearing up to take the test that could help them earn thousands of dollars in scholarships.

Baylors company OnToCollege promises pupils a typical jump of 3-5 points, with one of his student's most successful improvement being 11 points.

Those types of score improvements are possible for anyone, Baylor said. ACT scores are only partly based on natural gifts. The test-taking skills, grammar rules and practice questions he reviews in his class can impact students' scores greatly.

Theres a very strong correlation between outcomes and effort," he said. "Usually, disappointing scores are the result of a pretty casual approach to school and a casual approach to test-taking.

Deb Selby of OnToCollege said inspiring students to put in the leg work isnt hard for Baylor.

His teaching is very motivating and very energetic, and thats his personality, she said. Hes quirky, but they (students) like that. Its different. Its not somebody whos stiff out of the box.

Not surprisingly, Baylor is no stranger to being in front of people. Before his career as a test prep instructor, he went to Los Angeles in 1991 to become an actor.

The highlight of his acting career was appearing in the background of a Spanish champagne commercial with actress Sharon Stone.

Eventually, the glitz and glamour of the Southern California lifestyle wore off, and after 2 1/2 years, Baylor moved back to Nebraska. He followed his other passion  sportscasting  to KLIN radio.

He's been the voice of Husker volleyball on the radio for 28 years.

However, it wasnt until 1994 that Baylor introduced a hesitant Lincoln community to the service he began in LA.

They had never heard of ACT preparation, he said. I had to explain it to a fair number of high schools. It started very small.

Now Baylor serves dozens of schools, not only in Lincoln and Omaha, but all over Nebraska and the U.S. His company provides online curriculum and lectures for any school or individual to purchase.

For nearby schools, Baylor provides in-person lectures, but plenty of instruction is also done by the other tutors on his team. Selby said the company employs 34 people, including marketing employees, IT specialists, tutors and more.

Nebraska law requires all juniors at public high schools to take the ACT, and there's certainly an incentive to do well.

The best-paying job a student can have is jumping their score, Baylor said.

Taking the test can open the door for numerous scholarship possibilities, he said. Selby agrees, as she has seen lives change from a boosted ACT score.

Some students who never wouldve set foot in a college or university classroom have had the opportunity because of OnToColleges assistance.

My favorite part of the job are the success stories, Selby said. When they suddenly realize theres something else out there for them, its magical.

A people-centered focus is what drove Baylor to create OnToCollege. He loves his students, and he loves having fun with them. The combination of humor, hard work and connection make OnToCollege different than other programs, he said.

I just love when I hear from kids, Taking that class, interacting with you, changed some of my thoughts about what I would then do, Baylor said. Thats what gets me really excited.

Reach the writer at jthompson@journalstar.com

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BLOCKED FROM POSTING LINKS TO THIS VERY NEWS SITE ON FACEBOOK (its executives involved in case since 1996/1997 - far before one even existed...
Sharjah has announced the launch of Phase One of the Al Hosn Heritage Neighborhood project in Kalba region of the northern emirate amid the ongoing revival and restoration work at the development.

It was inaugurated by HH Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, who later toured the corridors of the neighborhood to see the work progress of the restoration work in Kalba which has a historical and archaeological legacy.

He was later briefed on the remaining process of the restoration and revival of the area, which is being developed as an important tourist landmark for visitors from different regions, as well as the most prominent archaeological evidence discovered during the restoration operations, reported Wam.

The neighbourhood includes the hospital, whose doors have been redesigned like its main shape in the past, in addition to displaying the collectibles of the therapist at the time in its private display rooms.

The scope of work includes reconstruction of 15 old houses as well as a heritage market, which is being reconstructed in a larger size than its original size to include 16 shops for young Emirati entrepreneurs, stated the report.

As part of the work an old heritage mosque was renovated, maintained, and expanded, as it had been subjected to many demolitions and construction in the past. The drawings and inscriptions previously found on the pulpit and the mihrab were taken into consideration, it stated.

Dr. Sheikh Sultan also inaugurated the Clock Tower Square located at the intersection of Al Wahda Street and Corniche Street in Kalba.

The tower includes two balconies for sightseeing. The first is located on the fifth floor at a height of 33 m and contains a restaurant for visitors, while the second is 46 m above sea level and provides a wonderful view of the city and its surrounding places such as Kalba Lake, University of Sharjah, Kalba Commercial Centre, Qurum Reserve and the surrounding mountains, reported Wam.

The clock tower stands tall at 60 m, with a total area of 668 sq m and an area of 2,532 sq m for the corridors leading to the tower. The tower consists of 7 floors, topped by a huge clock with a diameter of 5 m that can be seen from all over the city.

The tower design was inspired by the modern Islamic decorations that cover all its sides, with a spacious dome covered with gilded mosaic, in addition to the various Islamic decorations on the four facades of the building.

The Sharjah ruler was briefed on the vicinity of the Clock Tower Square, which includes green areas with a total area of 2,100 sq m in addition to 940 parking spaces, along the Corniche Street to serve the tower's visitors.
Tornado season could start earlier than normal in the U.S. this year, according to a severe weather outlook from AccuWeather.

The weather forecasting company predicts there could be anywhere from 120-170 tornadoes in March and 200-275 in April. Those are well above the long-term averages of 80 and 155.

Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather senior meteorologist, said tornado activity in recent years has been pushing farther east from the traditional "Tornado Alley," which encompasses a swath of the southern Plains to the northern Plains that includes central Texas, much of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, and small parts of Colorado, New Mexico and Iowa, and he expects that trend to continue.

AccuWeather predicts the highest risk of severe weather from March to May will stretch from eastern parts of South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma all the way into the northeast. Omaha is on the western end of the area with the highest risk, while Lincoln is just outside of it, in an area of more moderate risk.

There was already a tornado outbreak in Iowa the first weekend of March that destroyed dozens of homes and left seven people dead.

Pastelok said at this point it appears unlikely the Lincoln area will see significant severe weather in March.

"March right now is not likely very active for Lincoln," he said.

But Pastelok said he thinks there's going to be "a lot more activity" in April.

That would be a big change from last year, when there were no tornadoes in the entire state in April, after only one in March.

While Pastelok predicts fewer tornadoes in May compared with the average, he said those storms may be more concentrated in the Midwest.

Over the past 30 years, Nebraska has seen the bulk of its tornadoes in May and June, averaging about 30 total in those two months, more than in the other 10 months combined.

One thing that could work to hinder severe weather is the drought that's gripping much of the western half of the U.S., including Nebraska, because dry conditions tend to hinder the development of storms.

Al Dutcher, Nebraskas associate state climatologist, said he thinks odds favor a stormy spring across the region, something that has been lacking the past two years.

He said he'll be watching the next month and a half to see if stormy weather continues in the southern U.S. If it does, he believes Nebraska will have a better shot at a wetter spring.

The drought itself is a severe weather condition that bears watching this spring. As of Thursday, nearly all of Nebraska was in drought conditions, with nearly half the state, including southern Lancaster County, in severe drought or worse.

Though the rain and snow that fell Thursday night into Friday brought needed moisture, including 0.68 inches officially in Lincoln, much more is needed to improve the dry conditions.

That's not looking likely, however. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in its spring forecast released Thursday, predicts drought conditions will stay the same or worsen across the western half of the U.S., including in virtually all of Nebraska.

The drought conditions and warmer-than-normal conditions will increase the risk of wildfires across much of the West and the Central Plains, including Nebraska.

"This year, in addition to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, we need to prepare for hazards that could occur because of drought conditions affecting the state," said Erv Portis, assistant director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency.

Portis called the threat of wildfires a "top concern" this spring.

The Omaha World-Herald contributed to this report. Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.

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In the 1870s, three men who arrived in Plattsmouth over a period of several years met while forming various individual businesses.

Within a few months, all three had moved to Lincoln and created a three-way partnership. As their new mutual business prospered, one man overshadowed his partners, becoming a railroad contractor, property developer, banker and even established a town that grew phenomenally while he was know as Lincolns first millionaire.

Then, with the depression of the 1890s, their mutual business closed and even the briefly prosperous village almost disappeared.

Back in 1856, Thomas K. Hanna and Thomas E. Tootle established a grain business in Plattsmouth, followed by their U.S. Express Company in 1857, a Missouri River ferry in 1860 and Plattsmouths first bank, the seventh in Nebraska, in 1859.

Hanna was elected Plattsmouth mayor in 1862. When John Clark joined the bank in 1866, it became known as Tootle, Hanna & Clark, but after a run nearly closed it, they merged in 1872 with John Fitzgeralds new First National Bank. Clark moved to Lincoln two years later, becoming president of Lincolns First National Bank in 1889.

Eli Plummer, who was born in Clermont County, Ohio, in 1835, moved first to Des Moines, Iowa, in 1852, then arrived in Plattsmouth in March of 1863, where he went to work for Tootle & Hanna.

In 1867, the year Nebraska became a state, Plummer bought out Tootle & Hanna. Plummers front-page, full-column ad in the Plattsmouth newspaper announced that his new dry goods, carpet and grocery store also sold nails! Cheaper than ever; another car load just received  salt by the car load or pound. Plummer then visited Lincoln in the late 1870s, perhaps to determine if there was any potential for another store there.

In February of 1861, John Fitzgerald built Plattsmouths Brooks House Hotel, then erected the Fitzgerald Block, later known as the Ruse Building, with the top floor becoming a meeting hall.

Roscoe A. Perry arrived in Plattsmouth in 1879 from Chicago, where he'd been in the grocery business since 1864. It's almost certain that Plummer, Perry and Fitzgerald became acquainted at that time.

In 1878, Fitzgerald moved to Lincoln, where he built his mansion, Mount Emerald, near the center of its 14-acre grounds roughly bounded by A, D and 19th streets and Fitzgerald Avenue (todays 20th Street).

Fitzgerald was followed to Lincoln by Perry, who boarded at the Commercial Hotel on the southwest corner of 11th and P streets, and Plummer, who had sold his Plattsmouth business and set up housekeeping on the north side of Q Street, the first house east of 12th Street.

On their arrival, the three established the wholesale grocery business of Plummer, Perry & Co. on two floors of the 120-foot-by-52-foot Fitzgerald Block located on the west side of Government Square, at 109-113 N. Ninth St. The new firm announced it had done about $250,000 of business in its first year, when the only other wholesale grocer in Lincoln was Raymond Brothers Co., then at the southeast corner of 11th and P streets.

In 1882, Plummer, Perry & Co. announced it was covering Nebraska south of the Platte River, Kansas and Colorado and doing more than $600,000 of business annually. A book on Lincolns history, published in 1885, said the firm was the most liberal and enterprising in Lincoln (while) Mr. Plummer (was) a leading member of the Board of Trade.

In about 1887, Plummer moved from his then home at 1529 M St. to his new house at 2504 O St. and became a partner in Union Savings Bank at 111 S. 10th Street. That year also saw Fitzgerald retire from his many business interests, as he began suffering from brain trouble.

With the construction of the new Lincoln Hotel on the southwest corner of Ninth and P, Plummer, Perry & Co. Grocers & Importers moved from the Fitzgerald Building on Ninth Street to 701-705 P St.

As the nationwide depression of the 1890s played out, long-suffering John Fitzgerald died at Mount Emerald on Dec. 30, 1894, leaving his widow to begin liquidating their diverse holdings in Nebraska to settle outstanding debts. The village of West Lincoln, virtually created entirely by Fitzgerald, and his various businesses declined rapidly, partially because of a lack of clean, non-salty water, exacerbated by the depression.

Eli Plummer retired in 1905 to begin looking after personal interests, while the wholesale grocery business and Roscoe Perry simply disappeared from city directories. The Mount Emerald mansion burned in 1907, with the grounds sold off as residential lots.

Plummer died Jan. 27, 1920, at 84, and was buried in Wyuka Cemetery. The house on the northeast corner of 25th and O survived as a residence, but by 1975 the site had become a used car lot and in 1988 became the home of a Burger King.

Historian Jim McKee, who still writes with a fountain pen, invites comments or questions. Write to him in care of the Journal Star or at jim@leebooksellers.com.

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One always wonders just how much we should depend on what we know of a poet outside of a given poem, to engage and appreciate that poem. And yet, it must mean something that this tender lyric ode to motherhood comes from an adoptee reflecting on how her life as a writer was shaped by the diligence and prescience of her mother. Tiana Nobiles poem, Mother of Letters, is an elegant thank-you note to her mother, and by extension, to the art of mothering.
CALEDONIA  The distribution center for Badger Liquor, the self-described largest alcoholic beverage sales company in Wisconsin, is progressing as planned, village officials say.

While the project initially faced a delay due to an issue between the tenant and landlord, the project has been smooth sailing since, according to Caledonia Building Inspector Scott Seymour.

There have been no issues and its progressing as planned, Seymour said.

Once the plan was unanimously approved by the Caledonia Village Board in August, the building permit, Seymour said, was issued Sept. 30. The groundbreaking came shortly after.

While the business parks plans were initiated and implemented before her time on the board, Village Board Trustee Holly McManus said it has been a great addition to the village and she is excited for the distribution center to set up there.{/span}

I think the promotion of any business is beneficial for the residents and village itself, McManus said. The more business that come into DeBack Farms, the more it encourages other businesses to come our way. Thats why we built it; we built it for jobs and we built it for businesses.

The property is 4.92 acres, with plans for a site disturbance of 4.45 acres, according to village plans. Located in the DeBack Farms Business Park, once complete, the facility will take up roughly 22,500-square-feet on its formerly vacant parcel of property at the corner of DeBack Lane and East Frontage Road.

There will be three exterior loading docks, 17 interior loading docks for the companys operations and 25 parking stalls. At the northwest corner of the facility, there will be an administrative office.

Badger Liquor is a family-owned business in operation since 1935.

According to its website: Above all, we are a service organization. We want to be the one-stop shop for a grocery store, a corner bar, for a restaurant, to make their business better.

Badger Liquor has operations in Fond du Lac, Milwaukee and Eau Claire.

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RACINE  An established developer wanted to invest millions in new construction in the City of Racine, creating countless jobs in the process. The city said no, with executive staff indicating theyre waiting for something better.

The developer, Terrence Wall of Madison, said he was baffled by never having been able to meet with Mayor Cory Mason or other city executive staff.

No response. No calls. Nothing, he said in a phone interview last month.

In his more than three decades as a developer, including several multimillion-dollar successes, Wall said thats never happened before, where the municipal leader didnt immediately start working with a developer on a significant proposal.

Wall was looking to put housing and retail in two prime but dilapidated locations:

The former Walker Manufacturing plant

at the mouth of the Root River along Lake Michigan, just north of Pugh Marina.

Along Water Street near Downtown, where the

project failed.

Unlike Racines last mayor before Mason, John Dickert  who had a tendency to announce big projects without developers lined up, as in Machinery Row and the Downtown arena that never came to fruition  Mason has kept things closer to the vest. If theres something planned or being negotiated behind the scenes, it hasnt become public knowledge nor gotten a hearing until the city has all the ducks in a row. And even then theres no guarantee a development will go forward.

Even after a project is announced, said Shannon Powell, city communications manager and Masons chief of staff, under the current administration this is really the halfway point, since it isnt until after developers get city approval that they can go about looking to secure financing.

Banks and other lenders have been less willing to give loans for new projects since the pandemic started, although that reticence is finally easing.

At the former Walker site, the $50 million @North Beach project to include more than 200 new apartments was announced in 2018. Mason called it the biggest redevelopment project we have seen in this city in probably a generation.

That project is now somewhere between stalled and dead.

The city still owns the land at the former Walker site and at Machinery Row.

We dont want to take the first offer

City officials declined to speak directly to Walls proposals and why they were rejected.

We dont negotiate development in the press, Mason said Tuesday in a Zoom interview attended by him, a reporter and several other city staffers.

City Administrator Paul Vornholt said that city government leaders, both appointed and elected, are seeking highest and best-use proposals for former industrial sites. When it comes to valuable developable land, Vornholt said, we dont want to take the first offer.

City development staff made clear that there are negotiations and discussions regarding potential projects outside of the public eye.

Weve had a number of proposals around the sites youve mentioned (Walker site, Machinery Row) and others, Mason said.

Theres more in the pipeline, added Kathleen Fischer, the citys finance director.

Developments are difficult  they are all harder than I would like them to be, Mason said. We are deeply committed to getting as many viable projects as possible  sometimes they make sense, sometimes they dont.

Wall had been feeling good

Wall said he felt strung along. He said his firm spent thousands of dollars on renderings, studies and other work in preparing proposals for the Walker site and Machinery Row over the course of two years.

When the development staff requested edits, they were made.

Wall said he was feeling good after his final meeting with Bill Bowers, the now-retired city development director. Bowers had told Wall that the city development department liked the plan, but it needed to be approved by executive staff.

It ended up being rejected.

Cold call Developer Terrence Walls interest in Racine sparked in a unique way. He was initially invited here by Racine-native Alfonso Gardner, a community activist. Gardner, who is now semi-retired, said he has made a habit of cold calling developers in the hopes of injecting some economic life into the city he grew up in. Ive been fighting to get jobs in Racine all my life. Ive been calling developers to come here to do development, Gardner said in an interview. Wall and Gardner drove around the city a bit two years ago, with Wall noticing the potential of Machinery Row and the former Walker Manufacturing site. As soon as he saw the land, Wall said, Oh I want to develop here, according to Gardner. Official proposals and discussions came next before petering out, upsetting Wall.

City changing in steps

Mason has by no means positioned himself as being opposed to change or development. There have been significant successes since he became mayor in November 2017.

Theres the progression of the $100M revitalization of the former Horlick Malted Milk Co. plant, transforming it into new housing.

Construction is ongoing on the Hotel Verdant to replace the former Zahns building, vacant since 1981, on Monument Square.

The $18 million, 77-unit Gold Medal Lofts opened in Uptown in summer 2020; they sit not far from the Ajax Apartments, which also opened in the past two years, at the intersection of 16th and Clark streets.

Other ambitious projects have been given green lights: a $50 million hotel/convention center connected to Festival Hall; and the construction of 141 apartments with retail spaces at the former Porters site to replace a vast empty space Downtown. Both of those are developments that city administration is confident will happen even if there are not shovels in the ground yet.

People are seeing things happening here in a way we havent seen development in a long time, Mason said.

That doesnt alleviate Walls confusion.

In early January, Wall received an email from city development staff that stated the city is seeking more rapid development on these sites. In a scathing response, Wall wrote, with heavy sarcasm: Do you mean more rapid that the two years the city just wasted deliberately dragging its feet with us? Stalling us so we are not even allowed to get in front of the council for a discussion?

Walls plans did not include low-income housing, a focus of Masons, but neither do the plans at the former Porters site that Mason has supported.

In Walls letter, he wrote: The demand in the marketplace cannot be sped up by the city; it is what it is. If you force more units to be built at once, youll flood the market, driving down rents (and thus) leading to discounting  If the city forces more units than can be absorb (sic), rents will drop and values will plummet. Weve scene (sic) this before.

Local activist Alfonso Gardner said he wants to see more diversity in the developers allowed to build in Racine. Of the five completed or ongoing projects mentioned above  Gold Medal, Horlick, Zahns/Hotel Verdant, Ajax and Porters  there are three developers involved: J. Jeffers & Co., Dominion Properties of Milwaukee and Cardinal Capital Management of West Allis.

Allegations of politics

Wall alleged in his letter that politics may have something to do with the rejection, but didnt provide evidence to back that up. He wrote: Clearly someone doesnt want us developing in the city and I have heard that its the mayor  for the sole reason that we are not registered Democrats.

In the phone interview, Wall backtracked a bit. He said he didnt want to make this about politics and didnt believe that to be any primary reason for the proposals failing. But Wall still made it clear he was confused as to why his proposals seemed to have gone nowhere. Should the city change its mind, Wall said, he would consider resuming his effort toward development in Racine.

Wall is a Republican who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010; he dropped out before Ron Johnson won the GOP primary on his way to the first of his two terms to date in Washington. Mason is a Democrat and former member of the Wisconsin Assembly. Before coming to Racine, Vornholt was chief of staff to then-Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, also a Democrat.

According to political donation tracking from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, J. Jeffers founder Joshua Jeffers has made six campaign donations since 2019, totaling less than $10,000, to both Republicans and Democrats. The president of Cardinal Capital, Erich Schwenker, likewise has consistently donated to members of both major parties. In 2018, Schwenker donated $11,000 to Democrat Tony Evers gubernatorial campaign and $5,000 to Republican Scott Walker. From 2010-2017, Schwenker donated a cumulative total more than $17,000 cumulatively to Walker.

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March 14-18

This list is not comprehensive. Municipalities are listed as they appear on the criminal complaint. Suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. To see mugshots of the accused, visit journaltimes.com/gallery. Additional information about the complaints can be found at: journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts.

Anthony C. Baron, 6300 block of Durand Avenue, Mount Pleasant, disorderly conduct (use of a dangerous weapon).

Juwon D. Bell, 2200 block of Sheridan Road, Kenosha, possession with intent to deliver cocaine (between 5-15 grams), possession with intent to deliver narcotics, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstructing an officer, resisting an officer.

Louise A. Blanton, 2525 Taylor Avenue, Racine, felony bail jumping.

David H. Bonnes, 8800 block of Durand Avenue, Sturtevant, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct.

Juan I. Deluna Jr., 1600 block of Thurston Avenue, Racine, burglary of a building or dwelling, felony criminal damage to property.

Adam J. Demeyers, Franklin, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of THC.

Joe Dorsey Jr., Milwaukee, drive or operate a vehicle without owners consent, receiving stolen property (less than $2,500).

Eric D. Fowler, 700 block of Meadow Lane, Burlington, physical abuse of child (intentionally cause bodily harm).

Akina D. Franklin, Milwaukee, carrying a concealed weapon, misdemeanor bail jumping.

Trevor M. Frischmuth, 2600 block of Delaware Avenue, Racine, possession of THC, felony bail jumping, possession of drug paraphernalia.

Miles J. Fuerstenau, 4600 block of Taylor Avenue, Racine, possession of narcotic drugs, possession of THC.

David Christopher Garratt, 1000 block of South Pine Street, Burlington, disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments), resisting an officer.

Samuel J. Gauger, 2700 block of Crossway Road, Burlington, misdemeanor bail jumping, intentionally abuse a hazardous substance.

Seth A. Geyer, 300 block of South Stuart Road, Mount Pleasant, possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, possession with intent to deliver psilocin or psilocybin (less than or equal to 100 grams), possession of THC, maintaining a drug trafficking place, possession of drug paraphernalia, felony bail jumping, misdemeanor bail jumping.

Patrick Hernandez, 1900 block of Arthur Avenue, Racine, misdemeanor battery (use of a dangerous weapon), negligent handling of a weapon, disorderly conduct (use of a dangerous weapon).

David A. Horst, South Milwaukee, deliver designer drugs (between 10-50 grams), maintaining a drug trafficking place, deliver designer drugs (more than 50 grams), possession with intent to deliver other schedule I controlled substance (between 10-50 grams), possession with intent to deliver narcotics.

Benjamin J. Levenhagen, West Allis, misdemeanor battery (domestic abuse assessments), disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments).

Calvin L. Lockett, 900 block of Superior Street, Racine, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct.

Lisa M. Maldonado, 1500 block of Augusta Street, Racine, possession with intent to deliver narcotics, possession with intent to manufacture/distribute/deliver methamphetamine, possession with intent to deliver cocaine (between 1-5 grams), maintaining a drug trafficking place, possession of a controlled substance, possess/illegally obtained prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanor bail jumping.

Lavell L. Payne, Milwaukee, possess illegal article by inmate.

Corey (aka Willie Holland) C. Porter, 1300 block of Jones Avenue, Racine, misdemeanor retail theft (intentionally take less than or equal to $500), misdemeanor bail jumping.

Veronica D. Reed, Zion, Illinois, resisting an officer.

Anthony F. Rios, 2900 block of Fleetwood Drive, Racine, substantial battery.

Kendrick D. Smith, 2200 block of Center Street, Racine, possession of a firearm by a felon (firearm mandatory minimum enhancer), second degree recklessly endangering safety, attempting to flee or elude an officer, possession of narcotic drugs, possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver/distribute/manufacture THC (less than or equal to 200 grams), sell/possess/use/transport machine gun (firearm mandatory minimum enhancer).

Mydrell M. Smith, 2200 block of Howe Street, Racine, possession of a firearm by a felon (firearm mandatory minimum enhancer), possession of THC.

Matthan H. Stephens, 1700 block of Milldrum Street, Union Grove, felony intimidation of a victim (domestic abuse assessments), misdemeanor battery (domestic abuse assessments), criminal damage to property (domestic abuse assessments), disorderly conduct (domestic abuse assessments).

Michelle M. Tabbert, Milwaukee, disorderly conduct.

Christopher T. Taylor, 1000 block of Sheridan Road, Kenosha, possession of a firearm by a felon, concealing stolen property (less than $2,500), obstructing an officer, resisting an officer, felony bail jumping.

Xavier Desun Taylor, 1600 block of Kentucky Street, Racine, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence (5th or 6th offense, general alcohol concentration enhancer), battery to a law enforcement officer, throw or discharge bodily fluids at public safety worker, misdemeanor battery, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct, felony bail jumping.

Antonio I. Tellez, Sheboygan Falls, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence (3rd offense, general alcohol concentration enhancer), obstructing an officer, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct, failure to install ignition interlock device, operate motor vehicle while revoked, misdemeanor bail jumping.

Cyrus J. Wegner, Franklin, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of THC.

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RACINE  In these times, when gas prices are near record highs and the price of just about everything else is rising fast, it may be difficult to know what to do to help those most in need.

For one program whose volunteers deliver food, the solution was to expand the response.

The volunteer-based Journey Disaster Response Team (DRT) has for some time collaborated with the Mount Pleasant Police Department Community Oriented Policing (COP) program to deliver food on the fourth Tuesday of every month.

Journey DRT has now been able to expand the response through a collaboration with the Racine Police Departments COP House on Anthony Lane, which hosted a drive-up food giveaway on Thursday.

The food giveaway is scheduled to continue on the third Thursday of every month.

Food

Director Jeff Berard said Journey DRT planned to serve 120 families on Thursday.

Each person received a family food box that contained 35 pounds of staple items: canned vegetables, canned meat, rice, pasta with sauce, etc.

There was also frozen meat, eggs, cheese curds and, if it was needed, pet food and treats.

The goal is that people should be able to make up a meal right away.

Officer Travis Brady, the RPD officer stationed at the Anthony Lane COP House, said they went through 80% of their food in the first 45 minutes.

Need

One of the missions of the community oriented policing program is assess the needs of the neighborhood and come up with solutions to problems, where possible.

The Anthony Lane COP House is just blocks away from The Maples apartment building that was recently destroyed by fire, displacing more than 30 people.

RPDs COP program has been working closely with the victims of that fire, most of whom didnt have renters insurance, to help get them back on their feet.

In working with the community to respond to the tragedy, Brady said, they began to see just how widespread the need was in the area, even for those who did not suffer an emergency event.

Teaming up with Journey DRT was an opportunity for the COP to meet and help those in the community who are struggling.

Volunteers

To prepare for the food distribution, one road was closed next to the COP house in order to make a drive-thru lane. When people drive up, a volunteer took some biographical information, which is used to better understand the needs of the family.

At the next stop, the volunteers load the trunk.

Journey DRT primarily receives the food from Feeding America. Berard explained the food is delivered to their warehouse in Bristol, where volunteers box it up and prepare it to be delivered. To learn more about Journey DRT or get involved, visit journeydrt.com.

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Theres a phenomenon in academia known as pass-the-harasser, where someone commits sexual misconduct, quietly resigns and lands a job at a different institution.

The University of Wisconsin System portrays itself as a leader in tackling the problem with a policy passed in the wake of the #MeToo movement that has received national attention.

Campuses must ask final job candidates if they have ever been found to have engaged in sexual harassment or violence, left a job amid a sexual misconduct investigation or are currently under investigation. Schools are also required to document sexual harassment allegations and investigations in personnel files, and share the information if an employee moves to another UW campus or Wisconsin state agency.

However, the Systems 2019 policy doesnt include other types of misconduct, such as academic bullying.

The Wisconsin State Journal identified two cases where UW-Madison professors investigated for hostile and intimidating behavior resigned amid the investigative process and now work for different institutions.

Existing UW policies allow campuses to generally disclose other disciplinary action if asked by a prospective employer. But theres no requirement on UWs end to ask that of job candidates.

Were looking at whether, at least at UW-Madison, we ought to expand that question to also include other forms of discipline that someone might be guilty of, Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in an interview. I know when I interview people, I always ask the question far more broadly than just about sexual assault, but whether we should make that a standard policy across campus is a question were currently engaging with.

While there have been no formal discussions about expanding the Systems policy to include hostile and intimidating behavior, System spokesperson Mark Pitsch said officials are reviewing the feasibility for including this type of conduct.

Emotional scars

In one case, UW-Madison received allegations in 2011 that plant pathology professor Paul Esker engaged in abusive and threatening behavior toward those working in his lab. He threatened to cut graduate students funding if they didnt perform to his expectations, bragged about writing bad reference letters and cultivated a toxic atmosphere filled with intimidation and belittlement, according to a university report. All lab members said their experiences will leave deep emotional scars.

In a written response to UW-Madison, Eskers attorney denied Esker abused or threatened students and questioned the motives of complainants who waited until after they left the program to come forward. The students said they feared reprisal.

Esker told the UW-Madison investigator that he was under a lot of stress, but vowed to improve his communication with others and pay more attention to how he hires individuals, a comment that worried the investigator writing the report.

It implies that he believes the members of his lab group were at fault, the report said. He does not take responsibility.

UW-Madison was prepared to take disciplinary action against Esker, records show. But because he offered his resignation in 2012, the provost at the time determined that proceeding with formal discipline/dismissal process is no longer necessary.

Esker, who did not respond to a request for comment, worked for a few years at the University of Costa Rica and started at Pennsylvania State University in 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Penn State followed its procedures at the time of Eskers hire and he is a faculty member in good standing, spokesperson Lisa Powers said. The universitys current policy does not specify any mandatory questions to be asked about behavior misconduct.

Threats, retaliation

More recently, former engineering professor Jing Li left UW-Madison at the end of 2019 and now works at the University of Pennsylvania.

The College of Engineering investigated Li that fall for bullying behavior after receiving student complaints about verbal abuse, high turnover, threats to eliminate funding and slow progress toward their degrees, according to the report. Most students indicated they worked eight to 10 hours in the lab each day for six to seven days per week, with a couple of them saying they were contacted at home to come back into the lab to work late at night and on the weekends.

Of the nine students interviewed, more than half had transferred to a different lab. When students left, Li appeared to retaliate, the report said. She changed two students grades to unsatisfactory, ended their appointments abruptly and called references to share how they had failed to meet her expectations.

College of Engineering Dean Ian Robertson and department chair Susan Hagness met with Li on Dec. 13, 2019, to share the investigations findings and offer her the chance to respond, UW-Madison spokesperson Meredith McGlone said. Robertson told Li during the meeting that he was considering whether to refer the investigation to the Provosts Office, a serious step that could prompt a much more extensive investigation and potentially lead to Lis dismissal.

Records in Lis personnel file indicate she was also informed around that time that she would not be considered for tenure and her contract would end in early 2021.

Resignation

Madison attorney Lester Pines, who represents Li, said the professor wasnt afforded a chance to respond to what he characterized as anonymous concerns nor was she provided a copy of the universitys report until the State Journal requested it. She was surprised that such a document existed and denies the allegations.

She wants to make clear that she has always treated her students fairly, with sensitivity and compassion, and strived to provide them with the best possible educational experience, Pines said.

Pines also said there was no informal or formal disciplinary process related to the investigation  a claim UW-Madison records appear to contradict because officials had already recommended additional training and lab monitoring, among other actions. He declined to clarify or respond to the State Journals follow-up questions.

Li resigned just a few weeks after the Dec. 13 meeting and began working for the University of Pennsylvania in 2020. Neither Robertson nor Hagness knew Li was being recruited nor were they contacted for a reference check, McGlone said.

In a Dec. 31 resignation letter, Li wrote that she was deprived of procedural due process and faced multiple false accusations that she believes were at least in part because she is a woman. She threatened to sue UW-Madison for gender discrimination but agreed to drop the potential claim if the university agreed to remove all investigatory or disciplinary documents from her personnel file, provide a neutral reference to prospective employers and sign a non-disparagement agreement.

UW-Madison declined all three requests, McGlone said. Disciplinary investigations at both the college and campus level are typically included in personnel files and subject to disclosure upon request. The university provides as much relevant information as laws and policies allow in response to the specific request that is made.

Proactively offering disciplinary information is a very difficult legal issue that would open UW-Madison to litigation, Blank said. Its on the employer to request it.

University of Pennsylvania officials did not return two calls and three emails seeking comment on their hiring process.

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RACINE  Vicki Hipke thought she would have to wait for years before she could open a store to sell her stylish housewares and artistic creations.

Then she learned about Midwest Market @ 2210 in Racine.

The low-cost business incubator for retail entrepreneurs has created an opportunity not only for Hipke, but also for her teenage son to open his own storefront for a burgeoning T-shirt business.

Hipke said she jumped at the chance to rent space for her Whirlwinds business, which currently exists mostly on the internet and in consignment stores.

Her sons T-shirt shop, too, is getting ready to open inside the Midwest Market, not far away from her.

Its a huge accomplishment, she said. Im proud, Im happy, Im excited.

When the Midwest Market celebrates its grand opening April 2 and 3 at 2210 Rapids Drive, the indoor community of mini-storefronts will showcase more than 30 new businesses, all under one roof.

Organizers expect it will not take much longer to reach their capacity of 100 tenants. The 70,000-square-foot former grocery store has been carved up to provide individual, customized spaces for entrepreneurs of all ages to experience having their own place of business.

Dewey Johnson and his business partner, Charlie Johnson, have been selling woodworking art for years at farmers markets, craft fairs and other temporary sites throughout Wisconsin.

At the Midwest Market, the two artisans, both in their 70s, will stop their traveling show and hang a shingle for the first time. Their new business will be called Creative Carvings.

As the partners worked to finish their leased space, they voiced excitement about setting up their own shop.

I like this space, Dewey Johnson said. I think its going to be nice.

The onetime Pick n Save food store on Rapids Drive  across the street from Horlick High School  closed its doors as a grocery destination in 2015. It is part of the Rapids Plaza shopping center, which opened in 1963 but has struggled to attract tenants in recent years.

Businessman Bob Gleason bought Rapids Plaza in 2020 and converted the old Pick n Save into an indoor farmers market. The weekend farmers market did pretty well, but Gleason decided to try something different.

Starting last fall, he advertised permanent retail store space available inside the former grocery store for just $1 per square foot per month. Offering mini-storefronts as little as 200 square feet in size, Gleason wanted to create an indoor village of entrepreneurs who typically could not afford storefronts in pricey locations like downtown Racine.

Gleason would erect the walls for each store and provide maintenance and other overhead. Each store owner would finish out their space in their own image, adding personal touches to create the small business that they had always dreamed about.

I came up with a concept that I thought would work, Gleason said. Theres nothing like it anywhere.

The indoor shopping village, which is open to the public, has attracted merchants who sell everything from toys and flowers to furniture and perfume.

About 50 spaces have been claimed, with walls erected for more than 30 of them. Some even have opened to the public already while construction work continues on the rest of the village.

Donna Lodor, owner of Bubbles Bath Shop, has leased 800 square feet for a bath soap and accessories business that she had been operating out of her basement. Half of her new store is display space, and the other half is a workshop where she makes bath bombs, shower fizzies and other concoctions.

Lodor was not really looking for a permanent shop. But when she heard about the Midwest Market concept, she moved everything out of her basement and headed for Rapids Drive.

Its awesome. I love it, she said. It feels rewarding, that my hard work has now come to my own storefront.

The markets grand opening is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 2 and 3. After that, the market will be open 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Shoppers will find a few surprises inside, including a full bar mixing cocktails for sale.

Gleason and his management team have found tenants coming from as far away as Lake Geneva and Waukegan, Illinois, for the chance to join Racines new shopping village. A few prospects have been turned away, either because they duplicated existing tenants or because they wanted to sell inappropriate adult products.

Market manager Gail Deno oversaw the farmers market for Gleason, and she is staying on with the new operation.

Deno said the market will be a family-friendly attraction, and she hopes shoppers will keep coming back to check out the new stores popping up, new products being introduced and other occasional specials.

Most of the tenants, Deno said, would be unable to open their own stores without the opportunity to join Midwest Market. As a result, all of them are taking ownership in the concept.

And they have built a sense of teamwork, in keeping with the village theme.

You can just feel the excitement, Deno said. You can hear it in their voices.

Merchant Aimee Mickelson said her store, Nourished By Nature, will be a partnership of 11 people who sell Zilis-brand health products. The partners previously have been meeting in a restaurant, and selling their products wherever they can.

The 300-square-foot store for $300 a month is affordable, Mickelson said. It also gives her group a chance to be surrounded by other merchants, all trying to accomplish the same thing  success.

She called the indoor market concept so amazing.

The energy level is great. Positivity is all around us, she said. Its almost like we were looking for it, but we didnt know we were looking for it.

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1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

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Bahrain-based Northstar Group has joined forces with ETHDC Technologies to expand the DC Netra digital campus in the kingdom. Engineered for the future, Digital Campus has been serving the kingdoms schools for more than 15 years, benefiting over 40,000 students.

ETHDC had developed the Digital Campus by working with the grass roots of education and alongside some of the leading CBSE schools, ICSE, IGCSE, educators specialising in both the American and British curriculums.

The campus, after 20 years in the market, has established a reputation for delivering the most comprehensive ERP system for schools.

Digital Campus has gained the trust of over 450 schools teaching across 6 countries for 4million learners, said the statement from Northstar Group.

"Digital Campus is not new to Bahrain. It has been serving the kingdoms schools for more than 15 years, benefiting over 40,000 students in Bahrain," remarked Jubran Abdulrahman, the Executive Director of Northstar Group.

He was speaking at a special event held in Crowne Plaza to announce the collaboration of Northstar Group with ETHDC, the developer of Digital Campus, in Bahrain. It was attended by an audience of 100 people representing Bahrains private schools and the Ministry of Education.

During the event, Northstar Group enhanced the education technology credibility with the showcase of education specific products of their other technology partners including Huaweis Edu Board and Lenovo Chromebooks designed with easy access to Google classroom and G suite for Education.

"DC Netra, the Digital Campus, has been engineered for the future but is available today in Bahrain," remarked Shashank Hiwarkar CEO and Founder of ETHDC Technologies while addressing the gathering at the event.

"DC Netra (DCN) school management system seamlessly connects all the stakeholders in education. This ensures that the parents, teachers, students, departments and principals are connected on a common school management software platform," he explained.

Hiwarkar pointed out that by minimising the administrative burden, DCN allows schools to focus on core teaching, thus ensuring that students get more attention to their learning goals.

According to him, the enhanced user experience and greater depth of functionality for the next generation of DCN will expand the campus.

"We expect to reach 100,000 students in Bahrain in the coming years," stated Hiwarkar.

"While your business is a complex mashup of interrelated processes, our purpose is to add value while connecting these processes through the Digital Campus," he noted.

"We are driven by the innovative use of tools, techniques, technologies and services which are allied with our experiences, commitment and the passion to excel for all of the stakeholders in our product," said Hiwarkar to the audience of educationalists.

Abdulrahman said digital transformation was part of Northstar groups overall mission to encourage agility allied with disruption.

"Digital Transformation can be a long and arduous journey. Schools should partner with the best school management system to make this journey easier," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 78F. SSW winds shifting to WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 61F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
KEARNEY  Shannon Vesely, daughter of the late Kearney poet Don Welch, has two reasons to bring poets together on March 25.

The first reason deals with the Don Welch Teachers Conference held two years ago at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where Welch taught for decades.

Unfortunately, because of COVID complications weve had to postpone it two times, Vesely said in an interview from her home in Iowa. This year, rather than just do nothing, we decided we would hold a poetry reading, kind of to honor my dad and his works, as well as for the stakeholders to meet and talk about when we might reschedule the conference. Were hoping for a time in the fall.

Vesely hopes to reach out to Nebraska K-12 teachers regarding the use of poetry in the classroom  and to share, in a meaningful way  the poetry of her father.

The second reason for the reading is to celebrate the legacy of Don Welch through the spoken word.

The poetry reading were holding his year is in lieu of the conference, Vesely said. Were hoping to keep that conference idea alive, and to do something to honor my dad before the conference in the fall.

Vesely invites the public to attend the reading at 7:30 p.m. March 25 at Upper Room Brewery at 1540 W. 56th St. in Kearney. Admission to the event is free.

Readers include Jason Miller, Professor of English at North Carolina State University; UNK professors Dave Rozema, Gene Fendt and Jeff Lacy; and Vesely.

I think most readers will read a couple of my dads poems and then a couple of their own that have been inspired by my dads work, Vesely said.

Vesely grew up in Kearney, surrounded by poetry and people who cared about words.

Poetry was such an integral part of my life, she said. Even though I grew up with a dad who was a poet, I didnt take it for granted. For me, poetry is being able to use words  the sounds they make, they rhythms they make in certain combinations  to create a kind of music that isnt strictly music, but as close to it on a page as you can get.

She also understands the imagery that comes from poetry, the imagery that allows a reader to experience the same emotions of the writer.

Its not that good prose cant do that, but I think for me theres something incredibly special about the craft of poetry, she said. Growing up with it, I was very fortunate to be with a dad who brought that kind of language to the dinner table almost every night.

Vesely, along with Miller, plan plan to develop a website devoted to Welchs poetry.

Born in Hastings, Welch graduated from Kearney High School and studied at Kearney State College, the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Nebraska  Lincoln. He taught at UNK from 1959 to 1997. The university honored Welch with a bronze sculpture of him that can be found near the Calvin T. Ryan Library on campus.

The website will have all of my dads works archived along with photographs, letters and a variety of information, Vesely said. Hopefully we will be able to launch that website at the next teachers conference in the fall.

When it comes to poetry, Vesely likes to think of it as distilled language.

There are different styles of poetry, she said. Some of it, for me, is more distilled than others. I probably prefer the craft of the more distilled poetry. I remember asking my dad one time how many times he revises a poem. He said, Oh, I dont know. Maybe 30 times. I looked at him like, what?! But now I understand because once you distill it down to its finest form, thats when you get the best stuff. I understand the power of that.
Vivi Marx decides to cut her cord with the internet and take her life offline for a year after suffering abuse from cyberbullies in the new novel, Private Way, by author Ladette Randolph, a former Nebraska resident.

The year is 2015. Vivi flees from southern California to the one place she felt safe as a child  with her grandmother in Lincoln.

Never mind that her grandmother is long dead and Vivi doesnt know anyone else in the state of Nebraska.

Even before she meets her new neighbors on Fieldcrest Drive, Vivi knows shes made a terrible mistake, but every plan she makes to leave is foiled. Despite her efforts to outrun it, trouble follows her to Nebraska, just not in the ways shed feared. With the help of her neighbors, Willa Cathers novels, and her own imagination, Vivi finds something she hadnt known she was searching for.

Published this month by the University of Nebraska Press as part of its Flyover Fiction Series, Private Way has received praise from a variety of sources.

Author Margot Livesey, author of The Boy in the Field, said of Randolphs novel, In richly evocative prose Ladette Randolph describes the triumphs and failures of Vivis new life off the grid. With its complicated characters and lovely evocations of Nebraska, Private Way is a surprising and utterly absorbing novel.

Another author, Gretchen E. Henderson, wrote, Ladette Randolph carefully attends to quiet revelations. As with her previous evocative work, the seeming periphery of Nebraska centers the story as the state continues to transform, in unexpected places, for those who take the time to look.

Randolph is the author of the novels Havens Wake and A Sandhills Ballad, a collection of short stories collection, This is Not the Tropics, a memoir, Leaving the Pink House and her latest, Private Way. She currently lives in Boston with her husband Noel where she is editor-in-chief of the literary journal Ploughshares at Emerson College and co-owner of the manuscript consulting firm Randolph Lundine.
The UAE is in the process of developing the regions first Stem Cells Bank that will see the country become a stem cells tourism hub, officials have announced.

The announcement came at the first Mena Stem Cells Forum from March 18 to 19, which focused on a $467 billion global industry, and brought all stakeholders to push for increased funding and research that could bring significant changes in peoples life in the Middle East and North Africa.

Dr Rehab Al Blooshi, Acting Medical Director of Dubai Cord Blood and Research Centre, part of the Dubai Health Authority, said: We already have a Stem Cells Bank within Dubai Cord Blood and Research Centre and we are discussing with other health authorities to develop a nation-wide Stem Cells Bank to strengthen this new scientific and medical innovation sector. It is in the process.

Dubai Cord Blood and Research Centre offers collection and preservation of umbilical cord from new-born babies and preserve them for 30 years with a fee of around AED9,000 ($2,450). This represents the first Stem Cells Bank in the UAE.

Officials also called for strong regulatory guidelines to regulate stem cells research, therapy and practice as it sometimes falls into the grey area of nature, ethics, culture and religion.

Dr Shahrukh Hashmi, Chairman, Seha Oncology Council; Chairman, Department Oncology/ Hematology, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, UAE, said: The stem cells industry needs strong regulation globally. We need strict guidelines for the industry to evolve ethically.

Dr Al Blooshi said a set of regulatory guidelines for the stem cells sector has been issued in the UAE a year ago to regulate the sector which is evolving through clinical trials.

It is important to have a national registry of stem cells so that we could offer better research and treatment, as the industry evolves. The UAE is well ahead of others when it comes to regulation and ethical practice as we have seen the first regulatory guideline for stem cell research and therapy being issues in the UAE last year.

We now need a regulatory regime for the entire Middle East and North Africa that will help develop a coordinated approach to the stem cell research and therapy.

Dr Asawari Bapat, Mena Stem Cells Forum Conference Chairman and International Ambassador of AABB, Consultant to Info Health FZE, Dubai, said: The UAE is going to be the centre for future stem cell research and therapy as well as stem cells tourism, the way the country is developing its stem cell research capability.

Dr Timothy Schroeder, Chairman, CEO, and Founder of CTI Clinical Trial & Consulting Services, said: We have to tell the rest of the world why stem cells researchers should come to UAE and treat patients, rather than sending the patients to the Western countries for treatment.

We are now seeing the development of human organs in the US  that technology and innovation could be brought to the UAE. The UAE is going to be the centre of future stem cells research and this is how the UAE could also become a centre for stem cells tourism industry.

Countries from Middle East and North Africa region are going to strengthen stem cells research in the coming years in order to reinforce research and benefit from stem cells therapies, experts said at the first two-day Mena Stem Cells Forum that kicked off at the Movenpick Grand, Al Bustan Hotel Dubai.

Organised by Great Minds Events Management (GM Events), the two-day conference and exhibition is participated by more than 250 delegates from more than 15 countries where more than 30 officials and experts gathered to discuss the latest scientific developments and innovations in the stem cell therapy and associated areas. The exhibition features more than 25 participants.

The global stem cells market is expected to grow at an incredible compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.5% from 2018 to $467 billion by 2024, according to a research by Market Watch.

This significant event takes place at a time when the world struggled to fight the different variants of Covid-19 viruses that disrupted global growth. Many experts look at stem cells research as a possible solution to tackle such pandemics in future.

The stem cells therapy market includes large number of players that are involved in development of stem cell therapies of the treatment of various diseases, Market Watch said in its report.

The growth of the market is attributed to the rising number of clinical trials and the growing adoption of stem cells therapies globally. In the context of Covid-19, government organisations in various countries, research institutes, and many biotech and pharmaceutical firms are focusing on effective and rapid technologies for the fast diagnosis of Covid-19.

According to a 2020 research article published in the scientific journal Aging and Disease (2020), mesenchymal stem cells are a safe and effective approach to the treatment of Covid-19. At least 10 projects have been registered in the official international registry for clinical trials, implicating the use of mesenchymal stem cells to patients with coronavirus pneumonia. However, it is still at an initial stage of study in relation to the market studied.

Mena Stem Cells Forum is supported by Dubai Health Authority, Zewail City, American Board of Regenerative Medicine, American Academy of Regenerative Medicine and Association for the advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB). The event has attracted more than 10 specialised media partners.

Dr Hatim Al Abbas  Acting Director, Dubai Cord Blood and Research Centre, UAE, said: Working in the field of stem cells therapy makes you see the light shine again in those innocent eyes that have been exhausted by disease and then you realise that stem cells are like a miracle. Our meeting here on the land of Dubai, the land of achieving miracles, makes us work to make stem cell therapy of all kinds available to everyone.

The Mena Stem Cells Forum is the first event of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) to focus on this sector. This exclusive meeting will discuss key trends and topics, such as stem cell banking, scientific research, applications, public awareness, and regulations.

The event is the regions biggest platform where local, regional, and international experts, key opinion leaders, researchers, physicians and other experts from academia and industry share their experiences and knowledge on the latest advancements, crucial topics and the challenges in the stem cells research and therapy.

Leila Masinaei, Managing Partner, Great Mind Events Management, said: Stem cells research is an important development that has gained greater significance in recent times, and especially after the Covid-19 pandemic which many experts feel could be tackled through stem cell research and innovation.

We have decided to launch the Mena Stem Cells Forum to bring all the stakeholders to focus on this important scientific development that can play a crucial role in better health and longevity. Greater research in bio-technology and stem cells could produce much better results and enhance average life expectancy worldwide.

We are pleased to see the initial response from the health and scientific community who have gathered at the Mena Stem Cells Forum. This will go a long way in stem cells research in the Gulf and the Middle East.

Stem cell therapy has become a significant and innovative scientific development giving hope to both health professionals and patients worldwide. The development of treatment methods has achieved great results globally especially in the Middle East and North Africa, where stem cell therapy and regenerative medicine are fast-moving and expansive, and if progress continues at its current pace, the region could become one of the worlds centers for biomedical research. In fact, the size of the Middle East and Africa stem cells market is estimated to reach $2.85 billion by the end of 2026, according to Market Data Forecast.

Mena Stem Cells Forum addresses all the advances and the pressing challenges in the stem cells market through opening speeches, scientific presentations, panel discussions and more. -- TradeArabia News Service
KEARNEY  With just 21 cases of COVID-19 recorded in the seven counties of the Two Rivers Public Health Department between March 9-16, the Two Rivers weekly risk dial has dropped to the middle of the second-lowest moderate range.

Thats the lowest the dial has been since last Aug. 4.

The 21 cases are just half as many as the new cases reported in each of the last two weeks, and 95% fewer than the number confirmed when cases peaked here in late January.

But its not time to relax quite yet, Susan Puckett, community health nurse at Two Rivers, said during Fridays weekly community conference call.

A new omicron variant is sweeping through Europe and is responsible for 20% of new cases nationwide in the U.S. The U.S. often follows COVID-19 trends in Europe by a few weeks.

That 20% is an estimate, since not every positive at-home COVID test is sent on to a lab for variant testing now, but this variant is as contagious and transmissible as the first omicron variant, she said. Thats the variant that sent new cases soaring in January.

Puckett said Nebraska now is averaging just 21.7 cases per day per 100,000 people, but Jeremy Eschliman, health director for Two Rivers, said more people are testing themselves at home and not all are reporting the results, so figures for positive tests may not be entirely accurate.

Since the pandemic began on March 20, 2020, the state has had 477,187 cases of COVID-19 and 4,044 deaths. Were in good shape, Puckett said, especially compared to surrounding states, where cases and deaths are much higher, especially in heavily populated urban areas like St. Louis, Kansas City and Des Moines.

Two Rivers, which includes Buffalo, Dawson, Franklin, Gosper, Harlan, Kearney and Phelps counties, has had 200 people die of COVID as of Feb. 17, 2022.

Puckett urged people who are traveling to take a rapid antigen test before leaving home. Some people with COVID have mild symptoms, or none at all, especially those who become ill despite being vaccinated.

Many people have COVID symptoms that are milder than a common cold these days, and this time of year, some people think they have spring allergies when its actually COVID, she added.

Likewise, people with minor cold sniffles should test themselves, too. Have a sniffle? Stick a swab up your nose and find out if you have COVID, she said.

Vaccinations remain stalled here. As of Wednesday, just 52% of the total Two Rivers population of 97,132 has received two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or one J&J inoculation. Not quite half of the regions population has received a booster shot.

She said people who test positive, and have high-risk conditions, should also talk to a health care provider about whether they would be a candidate for anti-viral medications that are prescribed for COVID-19 patients. Puckett said that starting anti-virals within five days of the first symptoms is advantageous.

And its still a good idea to wear a mask for greater protection and avoid non-essential indoor activities, she said.

Puckett also urges people to Google Test to Treat Initiative, a new federal program unveiled this week that is aimed at increasing access to treatments, including anti-viral pills, for people who test positive for COVID.

In other news, Puckett said flu and flu hospitalizations are rising. Flu vaccinations are recommended for small children, pregnant women, adults over age 65, residents of nursing homes and long-term face facilities, and people with chronic health conditions, such as heart disease and lung disease.

Two Rivers also has supplied free in-home COVID test kits to libraries in Franklin, Gibbon, Minden and Lexington. Up to 7,500 tests also are available at the Two Rivers office at 516 W. 11th St.
KEARNEY  The Nonprofit Association of the Midlands will hold its fifth annual Central Nebraska Nonprofit Conference next week at the Younes Conference Center at 416 W. Talmadge Road.

The in-person event will be Thursday. A pre-conference session will be Wednesday.

The conference will offer seminar and networking sessions to energize nonprofit executives, employees, board members and volunteers.

It will cover a broad range of topics pertaining to organizational culture, strategy building and financial knowledge. It will explore trends, best practices, and key issues. Sessions will be interactive, inspiring, informative and memorable.

The event is hosted in partnership with the Hamilton Community Foundation, Greater Grand Island Community Foundation, Kearney Area Community Foundation, Peter Kiewit Foundation and DA Davidson.

The NAM aims to strengthen the collective voice, leadership and capacity of more than 650 nonprofits to enrich the quality of community life throughout Nebraska and western Iowa.
KEARNEY  Following a national search, the University of Nebraska at Kearney has selected three finalists for the position of senior vice chancellor for academic affairs.

The finalists are: Laurie Couch, associate provost for undergraduate education and student success at Morehead State University; Rai Kathuria, assistant vice president for university academic affairs at Indiana University; and Kristen Majocha, dean of the College of Social Sciences and Human Services and College of Education and Liberal Arts at California University of Pennsylvania.

Reporting to the chancellor, the senior vice chancellor for academic affairs serves as the chief academic officer of the university, providing administrative leadership, direction and evaluation for all academic activities and faculty affairs of UNK.

Charlie Bicak has held the position since March 2009. He plans to retire this spring.

A series of forums are scheduled to allow members of the campus and Kearney communities to meet the finalists and provide feedback.

Laurie Couch

Monday, March 28

Location  Copeland Hall 142

2:30 to 3 p.m.  Student Forum

3:15 to 4:45 p.m.  Faculty/Staff/Community Forum

As associate provost for undergraduate education and student success, a position shes held since 2016, Couch is responsible for faculty development, curriculum and program review, instructional technology, academic policy, strategic planning and budgeting and student success initiatives at Morehead State University.

She has worked closely with faculty through shared governance to develop numerous new academic programs and revise the general education and first-year seminar course. Through her leadership, student retention and graduation rates increased significantly, completion rates in gateway courses dramatically improved and equity gaps for at-risk students decreased.

Couch established the Center for Career Development and Experiential Education, which supports career preparation and student engagement through undergraduate research, education abroad, service learning and internships, and she co-directs MSUs Quality Enhancement Plan to connect these high-impact practices to students career competencies. She also served as a member of MSUs SACSCOC Compliance Team for the institutions 2021 accreditation site visit, and she is MSUs liaison to the Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education, where she is a member of the Council of Chief Academic Officers and serves on several statewide higher education policy committees.

Couch earned a bachelors degree in psychology from Mississippi State University and a masters degree and doctorate in experimental psychology from the University of Tennessee.

Kristen Majocha

Thursday, March 31

Location  Copeland Hall 142

3 to 3:30 p.m.  Student Forum

3:45 to 5 p.m.  Faculty/Staff/Community Forum

A U.S. Navy veteran and first-generation college graduate, Majocha has served as a dean at California University of Pennsylvania since 2018. She oversees three campus locations and more than 250 faculty and staff members.

Her focus on student success led to improved rates of retention and persistence by 7%, graduation by 4% and retention of international students by 50%. She actively works with faculty and government officials to create pathways that ensure student support and develop responsive academic programming.

Majocha is a champion of the teacher-scholar model, where faculty research informs the classroom, students participate in research opportunities with their teachers, and the results inform best practices in the job market. Her leadership style is steeped in the servant-leader model, and she completed the Penn State Academic Leadership Academy and Jenny Blooms Appreciative Administration program.

Majocha played a key role in developing Pennsylvania Western University, and she previously served as assistant vice president of academic affairs and director of international program support and services at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

She earned a bachelors degree in communication from Slippery Rock University and a masters degree in communication and doctorate in rhetoric from Duquesne University.

Rai Kathuria

Monday, April 4

Location  Copeland Hall 142

3 to 3:30 p.m.  Student Forum

3:45 to 5 p.m.  Faculty/Staff/Community Forum

Kathuria has served as assistant vice president for university academic affairs at Indiana University and director of the Office of Collaborative Academic Programs for IU Online since 2017. Hes also an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Indiana University East, one of seven IU campuses that collectively enroll more than 91,000 students.

In his role as an assistant vice president and director, Kathuria oversees 56 collaborative degrees across all IU campuses. Enrollment in these degree programs increased 17% from fall 2020 to fall 2021. IU Online offers more than 200 online programs, with 8,224 students enrolled in fall 2021  a 10.5% increase from the prior year.

Kathuria created a scalable and sustainable annual course assessment and five-year comprehensive external program review processes used by all seven campuses, and he serves as a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission and master reviewer for Quality Matters.

He received the Distinguished Faculty Service Award for his exemplary contributions to the campus and community and the Indiana University Bicentennial Medal for his service in support of the mission of Indiana University.

Kathuria earned a bachelors degree in biochemistry from the University of Delhi, a masters degree in biochemistry from Jamia Hamdard University and a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Delhi. He also completed Harvard Universitys Management Development Program.
Bertha Birdie Bowman was so captivated by her Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration teachers as a child in Canton, Mississippi, she decided she wanted to become part of the order. She professed her FSPA vows in 1963, becoming the first Black member of the FSPA community.

She was given the FSPA name of Mary Thea, but everybody called her Sister Thea. She graduated from Viterbo in 1965 and went on to become one of Viterbos most notable graduates as an educator, evangelist for the Catholic faith, nationally known speaker advocating for social justice, and candidate for sainthood.

Since her untimely death on March 30, 1990, at age 52, at least 16 institutions have taken the name of Sister Thea, from schools and academies to spirituality centers. This spring, Viterbo University will be added to the list of institutions honoring her with the creation of the Sister Thea Bowman Center and the renaming of the campus ministry building in her honor. The week of March 27 to April 1 will be dedicated to activities celebrating her memory and legacy.

At the core of the Sister Thea Bowman Center is a commitment to carrying on Sister Theas mission of promoting equity and social justice, as well as honoring her memory and ensuring that the campus and wider community knows who she was and how she came to be considered a candidate for sainthood.

The Sister Thea Bowman Centers emphasis on social justice is just the kind of example of putting faith into action that inspired Sister Thea to start on her path, said Sister Laura Nettles, FSPA, Viterbos executive director for mission and social justice and an assistant professor of religious studies.

The way we honor her is not just by show and tell of her life but by engaging in social justice work, Nettles said. Its vital that we are engaged in the social justice work she was engaged in.

After earning masters and doctoral degrees from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., Sister Thea returned to Viterbo as an instructor from 1972 to 1978, creating lasting memories for her students. Sister Thea always managed to incorporate musical elements into the English classes she taught, and she made every effort to enlighten her students on the racism that persisted even after the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Sister Thea came to such national prominence in the 1980s that she merited a segment on 60 Minutes, during which she coaxed interviewer Mike Wallace to say Black is beautiful. In the last year of her life, she was a big hit at a national conference of U.S. Catholic bishops, convincing those in attendance to link arms and sing We Shall Overcome with her.

In 2018, the Catholic Church designated her as Servant of God, the first of four steps toward sainthood, in recognition of her social justice advocacy and ministry, which she carried on even as the cancer that killed her sapped her strength.

Sister Thea was a unique woman who didnt fit the mold. You rise to sainthood because youre not in the norm, said Nettles, whose first published work in grad school addressed the question of whether Sister Thea was worthy of canonization. She has had a positive, enduring influence on our society. Im fully supportive of her sainthood. Shes clearly a role model.

Viterbo President Rick Trietley said he sees great promises for the new Sister Thea Bowman Center as an agent of change.

The establishment of the Sister Thea Bowman Center not only recognizes the amazing life and accomplishments of one of our most famous Viterbo graduates, but also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion, Trietley said. The Sister Thea Bowman Center will provide educational opportunities and programming to future generations of Viterbo students and La Crosse community students. We are extremely grateful to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and the numerous donors who helped make the center a reality.

The activities honoring Sister Thea will kick off Sunday, March 27, with a Celebration Mass in San Damiano Chapel and a concert.

The main event on March 30, the anniversary of Sister Theas death, includes a building dedication and a celebration event in the Fine Arts Center with music and keynote speaker Nola Jo Starling Ratliff, a 1974 Viterbo graduate who grew up in the same town as Sister Thea.

Other activities during the week will include panel discussions of Sister Theas life, legacy and artistry, a day of education about social justice and equity issues, a lecture on racial justice and the environment, and a Holocaust survivor sharing how Catholics helped him survive.

More details on the weeks activities can be found at www.viterbo.edu/thea.

Going forward, Sister Thea will be celebrated in some way every year on March 30, and additional campus events throughout the academic year will focus on Sister Theas life and legacy.

I have long dreamed of having a social justice center at Viterbo, so this is really exciting, Nettles said. This is our time to stand up and do something.

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I had been bringing Holocaust survivors to La Crescent High School, and 18 years ago, after retiring from La Crescent High School, I went to Dr. Rick Kyte, chairman of Ethics and Leadership at Viterbo University, where I was teaching History of the Holocaust, and proposed to him that we bring a series of Holocaust speakers to the area.

Rick agreed, and for the past 17 years we have been working together to make this dream a reality. Since 2007, 21 Holocaust survivors have stood on the Viterbo stage and told their horrendous stories of inspiration. Like WWII veterans, Holocaust survivors are dying at an alarming rate. Soon the world will be left to rely on memoirs and videos to learn the lessons of the Holocaust.

My husband and I have been blessed to spend time with all the survivors we have helped bring to our area, and their response is always the same. They cannot get over how honored they feel and how positive their welcome is. Their stories are not tales of doom and gloom but rather of love and hope. Instead of coming away depressed, audiences come away grateful for what they have. I realize that we take our area hospitality for granted, but the survivors do not. I want to let you know just how grateful Holocaust survivors are for your appreciation.

To all of you who have come to hear our survivors, thank you for your graciousness to them and for recognizing how important it is to share their stories. The interest you have shown by attending their events and by the respectful questions generated following their presentations, show them how much you care about their messages. Our community has embraced our guests. The hospitality you have shown, and the interest in their stories and lives has not gone unnoticed. Thank you for accepting the gifts Holocaust survivors have given you.

On Thursday, March 31, at 7 p.m., we will bring Holocaust survivor Peter Feigl to the Viterbo Fine Arts Center to speak to our community free-of-charge. Ninety-three-year-old Peter, who graced our stage in 2012, will return in conjunction with the 15th annual Holocaust Educators Workshop at Viterbo for Holocaust educators March 31-April 1. Peter was born in 1929 in Berlin, Germany, the only child of secular Austrian parents. Upon returning to Austria in 1937, Peters parents had him baptized as a Catholic to protect him from Nazi persecution of Jews, but he was still identified as a Jew by the Nazis. The Feigls fled several countries to escape continued discrimination and oppression, but Peters parents were arrested and murdered at Auschwitz in 1942.

Helped by Quakers and others, Peter was hidden in various places including the French village of Le Chambon which helped save 3,500 Jews, mainly children. Peter wrote two diaries from August 1942 through May 1944. Defying all odds, both diaries were recovered after the war and have been cited in several documentaries, exhibits and books. Eventually in May 1944, provided with false identity papers, Peter was helped across the border into neutral Switzerland with the help of the Jewish underground and emigrated to the U.S. in July 1946.

He served three years in the U.S. Air Force. For 35 years, Peter pursued a career in international sales of aircraft and related services in the public sector and spent over five years as a Senior Negotiator in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He and his wife raised two daughters and have two grandsons, both Penn State graduates. Since retiring, he has traveled the world speaking about his experiences during the Holocaust. Peter is the only living diarist of the 14 featured in the book Salvaged Pages: Young Writers Diaries of the Holocaust, edited by Alexandra Zapruder. Before Peter speaks, Alexandra will discuss the creation of her book. Peter will sign books which will be on sale that evening.

To meet Holocaust survivors in person is to touch history. No two stories are exactly alike, but the sense of the story  the impact of terror, deprivation and personal loss  touches the listener. It is difficult to describe the feeling of awe a person experiences when hearing history from one who lived it. Please do not miss this opportunity.

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While former La Crosse priest Father James Altmans future with the Diocese of La Crosse is still under review, his position as a prominent figure for the right has not budged.

About eight months after he was removed as pastor of St. James the Less church in La Crosse for political rhetoric and misinformation, Altman has continued to dig in to his messages and be a voice for conservatives.

Altman appeared on a March 16 episode of the Catholic podcast U.S. Grace Force, which is often a hotbed for misinformation and co-hosted by similarly embattled Wisconsin priest, Father Richard Heilman.

During the episode, which is titled Are We Past the Point of No Return? Altman suggested that an update on his canonical review could be near.

In talking about his parents, who live with Altman, he said he hopes God calls them up before it all hits the fan  which is coming soon.

Altman stated previously he intended to hire a canon lawyer to lead his defense against the diocese. In an audio message on a crowdfunding site, Altman said he was told by the lawyer that the entire process could take about a year.

Altman said in the message that he was also considering civil action, though its not clear he has taken that step.

The Diocese did not respond to the Tribunes request for comment asking for an update on Altmans review as of Friday.

In a Sept. 23 statement, just two months after the announcement of his removal from the church, Bishop William Patrick Callahan clarified that Altman remains a priest with the Diocese and continues to be paid, although his suspension was still in place.

He has not been fired, laicized or defrocked, Callahan said. On the contrary, I still consider Fr. Altman to have the qualities of a good priest.

The statement said Altman continues to be appropriately compensated according to diocese policy as the review process continues.

Regardless of when or what the results of his review will be, Altman has not backed down from some of the views that led to his removal and frequently appears on conservative and Christian shows and at events.

During the U.S. Grace Force podcast, Altman talked abortion, compared the obedience in the church to Nazi Germany, and newly spoke about the war in Ukraine.

Altman, who said he has visited Ukraine before, downplayed the war and suggested that the media was inflating the events.

This is absolutely knowing and intentional manipulation from propaganda, Altman said. There was this, allegedly, this attack on a hospital, but turns out it was like, if I understand correctly, a closed hospital, there were no patients in there. But the media, left-wing propagandists, said, See, oh no, look ... now theyre attacking this hospital and hurting people there. When in fact it pretty much was empty and abandoned.

Its filthy, these people are filthy liars. And you better understand that. When you turn that channel on, say to yourself, Theyre filthy liars. Because they are, he said.

As of March 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) has verified at least 43 attacks on health care in Ukraine, including 24 incidents where health care facilities have been damaged or destroyed  including a maternity and childrens hospital  resulting in at least 12 deaths and 34 injuries. Other attacks have been on ambulances, health-care workers and other patients.

Altman argued that while the war is important to Ukrainians, it was not worth the global response it has received. He said that there should be more coverage about Americas southern border and China.

On Friday, the U.N. reported that at least 816 civilians have been killed since Russia first invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, though its believed to be considerably higher. U.S. officials estimate that more than 7,000 Russian troops have been killed, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that about 1,300 Ukrainian troops have been killed.

The death toll also includes several journalists, including two Fox News journalists who were killed when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire.

Since his removal, Altmans supporters have not wavered either.

Heilman, who said hes been asked by the Madison Diocese to steer clear of politics, told Altman during the March 16 podcast episode that they were battle buddies.

Im your battle buddy Father, and I got your six, Heilman said, who has long called Altman a friend. Ill take a bullet for you.

Altman has most recently been backed by the Flossmoor, Illinois-backed group Coalition for Cancelled Priests, or CFCP.

The group has taken to support Altman and a number of other priests that have been removed from their posts or reprimanded in some way, and has placed several billboards throughout La Crosse in recent months.

In its mission statement, the group  which has received an endorsement from actor, Catholic and conservative Mel Gibson  says it is dedicated to spiritually and materially supporting faithful priests who seek to return to active ministry after being unjustly canceled by their bishops.

On its website is an application for priests to apply for different types of support, including prayers, housing or rental assistance, legal help and more.

On July 26, 2021, Altman donated $100,000 to CFCP, matching a fundraiser it was hosting at the time.

Because theyre going to help other priests that have been cancelled as well, Altman said in a press release video, saying he had personally received more than enough in donations from supporters. Altman said in an audio message previously that his defense was estimated to cost at least $60,000.

Altman is set to speak at the one-year anniversary event for CFCP this summer in Beloit, where tickets range in price from $75 to $190 each.

Online fundraisers on Christian crowdfunding sites that were set up last year for Altman have garnered more than $776,800, with one still receiving donations as of five days ago.

As for St. James the Less, according to church bulletins Father Woodrow, or Woody, Pace is serving in a temporary role as parochial administrator of the church until a new pastor can be found.

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All 30 seats on the La Crosse County Board are up for reelection on Tuesday, April 5. The Tribune asked candidates a series of questions about their platforms.

The Q&As will be published daily in order of responses, not in numerical order of districts.

Responses for candidates running for District 15 are below.

Monica Kruse (i)

Age: 71

Education: BA/MA German Linguistics/Literature, SpanishUniversity of Colorado-Boulder; MS Special EducationUniversity of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Occupation: Teacher, University Supervisor

Political experience: Legislative liaisonWisconsin Education Association/Coulee Region United Educators; County Board Supervisor since 2009, County Board Chair since April 2020

Why do you want to serve on the La Crosse County Board and what is something youd want to accomplish if elected?

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to serve the citizens of this county and want to ensure that the good work our County Board is doing continues. I want our county to remain the vibrant, beautiful place that it is by investing in legacy-building projects that will enhance our safety and create sustainable prosperity for all. Thanks to smart financial planning and responsible stewardship, La Crosse County is currently in the best fiscal shape its been in several decades. We have the 5th lowest tax rate of all 72 WI counties. Our debt load is among the lowest in the state. All that, while were aggressively investing in upgrading our highways, bridges and other infrastructure and embarking on a complete restructuring of our Hillview facility. I want to maintain that trajectory into the future. The County Board last year passed a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis and subsequently created a committee to address inequalities in our community. I am excited to see that effort through and make ours an equitable county where all citizens are valued, nurtured and encouraged to reach their full potential. I firmly believe this is a prerequisite for all the other good things we want to accomplish.

La Crosse County has received nearly $22 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The current board has already divided the funds into categories, but what do you think is the most important project this unprecedented funding should be spent on?

The purpose of the ARPA funding is to help Americas counties, cities, municipalities and other public entities address the economic devastation of the pandemic and emerge not battered and diminished, but empowered to revitalize our local economies and continue stronger and healthier than before. La Crosse County has endeavored to be smart and systematic in the process weve used to determine priorities, leverage other funding, collaborate with our neighbors where advantageous, and create transformational projects that will position us for growth and prosperity far into the future. Emphasis has been placed on creating affordable housing for all to eliminate homelessness and blighted neighborhoods, workforce development in the form of affordable childcare options and skilled trades training to make it possible and profitable for all who are able to join the workforce; investments in sustainable stormwater infrastructure to prepare for extreme weather events and county solar installations to help reach our goal of becoming carbon-free by 2050. All are interrelated and equally important in our quest to become the best county in Wisconsin!

What ideas do you have on improving the collaboration and regionalization between the county and municipalities?

One of my top goals as your County Board Chair has been to create greater collaboration with our neighbors both urban and rural. To that end, there have been regular meetings to discuss common goals and priorities with the mayors and village president of La Crosse, Onalaska and Holmen. Its been my pleasure to regularly attend the Towns Association meetings to make connections with the chairs of the towns in the county and find opportunities for collaboration and cooperation. Ive made it a priority to appoint representatives from the towns to the Comprehensive Plan Committee, the Redistricting Committee and other groups that chart the countys direction for years to come. We have worked closely with the mayor of La Crosse to address the problems of homelessness, substance abuse and mental illness. We have collaborated with representatives from all our healthcare facilities throughout the pandemic to share expertise, coordinate services and create economies of scale that avoid duplication and waste. There is strength in numbers and nobility in reaching out  both with a helping hand and to ask for help.

Heidi Worminghaus

Age: 51

Education: Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology, Environmental Biology Minor from Ripon College, UW-Oshkosh Graduate school for Special Education

Occupation: My experiences include environmental education and special education. I worked for the Oneida Nation as a Native American Student Advocate. Currently I am a Homeschool Educator.

Political experience: I would be a new voice and bring new perspectives. I like to network and bring people together for the betterment of our community and for the future generations.

Why do you want to serve on the La Crosse County Board and what is something youd want to accomplish if elected?

I want to serve because I believe our county has several issues that need to be addressed. Our debt, cost of living, and drinking water issues all need immediate attention. We also need to take action on fixing our roads. As Supervisor I would communicate with constituents by listening and responding to any questions, concerns, and comments regarding county board actions, discussion, and financial decisions.

La Crosse County has received nearly $22 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The current board has already divided the funds into categories, but what do you think is the most important project this unprecedented funding should be spent on?

My research showed that ARPA money could be used on investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure. I would have voted to allocate this money go towards those in the county with contaminated well water because of the PFAS situation. However we end up spending this money, if we think of it as spending our childrens money, we will use it wisely, sustainably, and with accountability.

What ideas do you have on improving the collaboration and regionalization between the county and municipalities?

In order to improve collaboration with municipalities I think the Executive Committee should have a more diverse cross section of supervisors from both urban and rural districts. Diversity of this committee will provide better solutions overall on budget spending, policy making, etc. Diversity is a strength when we work together for a common goal.

I would do my part by keeping open communication with elected officials in the City of Onalaska and attending meetings when possible. I want to see all municipalities in our county thriving. La Crosse County has so much to offer and really is a special place to live.

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A UW-Madison professor accused twice in the past decade of bullying behavior continues to lead a lab and hold significant sway over students. The universitys most recent investigation found students felt trapped in a situation filled with fear and threats, leading officials to recommend safeguards such as ongoing monitoring of the lab.

Engineering professor Chin Wus current students said he is supportive and nothing like what is described in the universitys reports. Wu expressed remorse about his past behavior and said he has changed.

Four students who were in the lab immediately following the 2016 investigation said Wus behavior slightly improved at best. A more recent former student who was unaware of the investigations until contacted by the Wisconsin State Journal described Wus lab as a verbally abusive environment.

In the middle of these conflicting accounts is UW-Madison, which committed to watch over Wu and ensure his behavior improved. The chair of the civil and environmental engineering department has monitored and continues to monitor the labs climate by periodically talking with students, officials said  a claim one student backed up. Another recalled receiving an email about the lab climate.

But seven others who have worked in the lab since the 2016 investigation either said no monitoring took place or couldnt recall anything of that sort. An eighth said the department rarely spoke with him. Their accounts call into question the level of oversight UW-Madison applies after identifying bullying behavior from a professor allowed to continue supervising students.

Nothing to lose

Michael Busch hadnt reached rock bottom, but he was getting perilously close.

It was late 2015, he was several semesters into a masters engineering program and he said Wu kept screaming at him, swearing and calling him stupid. He was having dark thoughts and began seeing a campus counselor, something he said he shared with Wu in the hope that it might de-escalate the situation. Instead, he said Wu brought it up with others despite Busch asking him to keep it confidential.

Busch dreaded his weekly one-on-one meetings with Wu where he said the professor behind closed doors repeatedly called him an idiot, an animal and the worst graduate student. One time, he missed their weekly meeting and said Wu forced him to write an apology letter for his record. If the letter lacked sincerity, he said Wu threatened to kick him out of the program.

The constant beratement and yelling  I just kind of shut down and felt worthless, he said. The main effect on me was I really, really hated myself.

Records show Busch wasnt the only one with a problem.

One of Wus previous students brought bullying concerns to UW-Madisons attention in a 2012 email. The student said he and others experienced verbal abuse and on several occasions he saw his preliminary exams delayed, a crucial step in the Ph.D. process. The only allegation supported by interviews, according to the investigative report, was Wus tendency to verbally abuse graduate students. Officials recommended he discuss his language with a human resources employee.

Four years later, Busch filed a complaint against Wu.

It seemed like I had nothing to lose  I was about to drop out, Busch said.

Just one of nine students interviewed as a part of the 2016 investigation described Wus lab as a positive atmosphere. Several said they received threats related to funding and graduation, according to the report. One student said Wu told them that between 50-70% of his students sought counseling to handle the stresses of the lab.

Former student Nick Jordan called himself one of the lucky ones who didnt experience Wus wrath as often as others did. He remembers the constant churn, with three of four other students who worked on a long-term project with him changing advisers.

Madeline Magee worked in Wus lab from 2010 through December 2016. She didnt plan to stay so long, intending to earn a masters and move on, but the company where she had applied for a job offered her a low salary.

So she continued in the lab. Wu kept putting off scheduling an exam for Magee that was key to progressing toward her degree so she sought two other professors help. For several weeks afterward, she said Wu refused to talk to her or respond to her emails. Then he told her she no longer had funding, according to her account.

It seemed very vindictive, she said.

Magee later asked the company why it had lowballed her on salary and said she learned Wu had given her a bad reference.

Improvement cited

Wu said in a phone interview that he is not a perfect person and his heart is broken for those who had a bad experience at UW-Madison. He made a mistake, improved immediately and said he has not received a similar report since the 2016 investigation.

But Wu also chalked up the investigations to a few unhappy students who turned to the complaint process, which he said he respected was their right to do. He said the reports included a lot of things that were untrue and denied disclosing information about students mental health or forcing anyone to write a letter.

Wu admitted to shouting at students but said he no longer does so. He blamed cultural differences and a totally different American definition as to why he called students stupid, noting that he called himself stupid, too. He also asked how so many of his students  roughly 65 over a 20-year career  could finish their degrees if he threatened to withhold funding or prevent them from graduating.

UW-Madison helped him become a better mentor, be more flexible and exercise more patience, Wu said. He encouraged the State Journal to speak with his current students to see how much he has changed.

Wus current students in interviews and emails said Wu has never screamed at them, threatened them nor called them stupid. They described him as a supportive professor concerned for their well-being. Some said Wus language barrier or cultural differences may have led previous students to interpret things differently than they do.

To have anyone, especially a professor, believe in and invest in you like Chin has done for me is incredibly special, said Miles Tryon-Petith, who joined the lab as a Ph.D. student in 2020.

In letters, students characterized the State Journals reporting as an unwelcome development thats harmed Wus mental health and caused them to worry about their own graduation timelines.

Nine others who have worked with Wu signed a letter sent to College of Engineering leaders this month that said Wu did not abuse them nor intentionally delay their degrees and described the lab environment as positive.

The State Journal independently verified the identities of eight of the signers. One came from a student who said Wu was his secondary adviser in the early 2000s and two were from visiting students who did not earn UW-Madison degrees.

Josh Anderson, a former student who is now an employee in Wus lab and organized the sending of the letter, said he saw nothing since he joined the lab in 2007 that rose to the level of filing a complaint. He said Wu sometimes had to be hard on underperforming students but the professor has since softened his advising approach.

Another former student who signed the letter, John Reimer, who was a part-time graduate student under Wu from 2007 until he graduated with his Ph.D. in 2020, said Wu opened up a lot of doors professionally. What others interpreted as yelling, he viewed as Wu raising his voice.

Hes scared of his students now for what they may falsely claim against him, Reimer said.

Intent is clear

Five former students paint a different picture of Wus behavior after the 2016 investigation, one of superficial changes at best.

It didnt limit him too much other than pulling back some ill-advised things he said, said Jordan, who was in the lab for more than a year after the investigation. He still made sure his intent was there.

Magee offered a similar account.

He did swear and scream less, but there was almost like a sarcastic undertone to it, she said. Like, Oh, we must have this door open because of this ridiculous investigation they did. There was a lot of tone in the way he said stuff that made it seem he wasnt taking it seriously. But I also wasnt going to bring it up to anyone because I wanted to get past it and be done dealing with him.

The positive comments from current students dont surprise Magee. She said Wu strongly encouraged his students to answer questions from investigators in certain ways, which Wu denied doing.

Morteza Mahmoudi, an expert on academic bullying, said former students accounts are often more valuable and robust than current students whose livelihoods depend on their professor.

A former student, who declined to be named because they still work in the same field as Wu and fear retaliation, said within a few months of the 2016 investigation ending, the professor reverted back to his old ways. The student said Wu threatened to delay graduation after informing him about finding a job. The student also said they became a sounding board for labmates, several of whom cried in meetings and one of whom shared that she was having suicidal thoughts.

Busch, who spent more than a year in the lab after filing his complaint and doesnt recall being asked if his situation improved in the aftermath of the investigation he initiated, said there were still manipulative moments but Wu largely ignored him. He suspects thats because Wu told him he knew Busch prompted the investigation based on specific instances referenced in his complaint. Busch said he passed this comment along to the department chair and didnt bother sharing any more concerns after that.

I didnt think it would do much, he said. But I also never got the sense that (UW) cared.

A former student who more recently worked in Wus lab and was not put in touch with the State Journal through other students said they never would have joined the lab if they had known about the previous two investigations. The newspaper agreed not to identify the student because they are still in academia and fear retaliation from Wu for speaking out.

It was degrading and verbally abusive, the student said of their time in the lab. Usually when someones crying in front of you, you dont keep yelling.

The student said they brought their concerns to the department chair but little came of the conversations. Shortly after depression set in, the student decided to leave the lab.

The College of Engineering has addressed individual concerns about Wu that were shared informally, Dean Ian Robertson said. Information is typically reviewed by more than one person to decide whether to forward the information to the Provosts Office for additional investigation. To date, officials said the college has not received information indicating a policy violation by Wu.

Whos watching?

For cases that dont appear egregious enough to justify discipline or dismissal, UW-Madison typically handles the matter through progressive discipline, an approach university officials said is a widely used best practice in human resources.

In most cases you want to try to work with someone, Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in an interview. So they understand the consequences, their actions, and are able to modify their actions and become effective teachers and mentors. And I think thats worked in some cases, but that does require mentoring of the individual and education of the individual and their willingness to engage in behavioral change.

In Wus case, he received a letter outlining behavior expectations that has no end date, putting the university in a strong position to take action if misconduct occurs. UW-Madison officials also maintain the department has monitored his lab.

One former student recalled receiving an email asking about the labs climate and a current student said he has talked with the department chair about once a semester since 2020.

Seven others could not recall meetings that they would consider monitoring, though some remembered receiving generic, collegewide emails about bullying or mental health. A few current students said administrators reached out to them shortly after the State Journal informed UW-Madison about this story in late January.

UW-Madison officials offered no evidence that monitoring occurred beyond a statement from Robertson who said the chair met with students, both as a group and with many of them individually. Most of them indicated a single one-on-one meeting was sufficient, he said, but some students requested conversations continue for a longer period. The chair also talked with faculty who share the same lab space as Wu to get their assessment of the groups climate.

David Noyce, the chair at the time of the 2016 investigation and for more than three years afterward, deferred questions to Robertson.

Looking back

Busch graduated with his masters degree in 2017 and now lives out of state. Hes in a much better place. Happy. Fulfilled by his work. And far removed from the years at UW-Madison, where he said he felt worthless.

During the pandemic, a student from Buschs days as a teaching assistant reached out to him. The student said they were now in graduate school, working for Wu and disappointed with academic life.

It sounded like how Busch felt throughout his time in Wus lab. But maybe the professor had changed his ways. He also figured such feelings could have been tied to any number of things  family, friends, finances or the general grind of grad school. Still, he worried about the student potentially being in a situation similar to his own.

But Busch believed he had done everything he could. The rest, he reasoned, was in UW-Madisons hands.

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LVIV, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainian authorities said Sunday that Russia's military bombed an art school sheltering some 400 people in the port city of Mariupol, where heavy street fighting was underway weeks into a devastating Russian siege.

The fall of Mariupol would allow Russian forces in southern and eastern Ukraine to link up. But Western military analysts say that even if the surrounded city is taken, the troops battling for control there a block at a time may be too depleted to help secure Russian breakthroughs on other fronts.

Three weeks into the invasion, Western governments and analysts see the conflict shifting to a war of attrition, with bogged down Russian forces launching long-range missiles at cities and military bases as Ukrainian forces carry out hit-and-run attacks and seek to sever their supply lines.

Ukrainians have not greeted Russian soldiers with a bunch of flowers, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNN, but with weapons in their hand.

Moscow cannot hope to rule the country, he added, given Ukrainians' enmity toward the Russian forces.

Click here to read more:

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When I left my parents farm in Elroy to attend UW-Madison, we were so poor that I carried my belongings in a paper bag instead of a suitcase. I went on to earn a law degree, serve in the legislature, get elected to four terms as governor, lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as its Secretary, and become president of the University of Wisconsin System.

Its been an honor to serve as UW System president these past 20 months, and in my final weeks in office, Ive been visiting our 13 universities, meeting with community and business leaders, faculty and staff, and students. I wanted to thank our employees and students for their resilience during the pandemic, point out our accomplishments, and share a few final thoughts about higher education in our state.

First, its time we stop apologizing for the UW and start bragging about it. The UW System is Wisconsins greatest asset other than its people. We need to let everybody know what a great value for students we have here, perhaps with a robust marketing campaign, because the returns to our state when our UW succeeds are tremendous.

I want our states young people and their parents to hear how vitally important a university education is to their individual growth, to our Wisconsin communities, and to our states economic health. To become the engineers, doctors, teachers, writers, data scientists, and conservationists of tomorrow, you need a university degree. And our universities are the key to providing critical thinking skills that help develop citizens in an information-rich society. A college degree is more important than ever.

While the UW System remains critical, we are facing challenges. So here are a few things I want everyone to think about:

A Blue Ribbon Commission should be established to study the future of public higher education in our state. The Wisconsin Technical College System has been a great partner, but demographic, financial, and other challenges compel us to seek ways to collaborate and innovate.

We must also avoid regionalizing our universities, which would have the effect of reducing enrollment and access for students, but we should continue to build on operational efficiencies here at UW System.

Being on a UW campus and taking classes in person is a quintessential part of the higher education experience. We must continue to support the residential university because that is the kind of education our students deserve and parents expect. But we must also find ways to better offer education credits onlineincluding to the estimated 815,000 Wisconsinites who have some college credit but no degree. We have proven that we offer a quality education online, but we need to do more or else we will fall further behind.

We need to highlight the unique qualities that make our universities special. That doesnt mean we eliminate dozens of majors. But it might mean identifying a few fantastic programs and departments at each campus and building them up by adding professors and resources and recruiting more students. More targeted specialization will enhance our universities and make them more attractive.

The past 20 months has been a whirlwind of activity and challenges, yet I have now seen first-hand the extraordinary opportunity that our 13 universities offer students and families throughout Wisconsin. Lets keep it that way and make it even better.

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SSI Schaefer, a global provider of modular warehousing and logistics solutions and Nahdi Medical Company, Saudi Arabias largest pharmaceutical retail chain, on Wednesday (March 16) announced the launch of the Middle East's first automated pharmaceutical distribution center facility in the kingdom.

Located in the heart of Jeddah's industrial zone, the new facility significantly increases the Kingdoms logistics capacity and preparedness for safe and reliable pharmaceutical distribution, SSI Schaefer said in a statement.

Nahdi Distribution Center in Jeddah (Imdad) is the Kingdom's first-ever automated pharmaceutical facility and falls in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to turn the Kingdom into a global logistics hub and create a long-term investment environment in the industrial and logistics sector, the statement added.

Covering an area of 250,000 sq m, the facility features temperature-controlled logistics, flexible distribution center and automated order fulfillment using cutting-edge technology and systems to support Nahdi to guarantee medical security in accordance with the latest international standards and SFDA best practice regulations.

Powered by SSI Schaefer technology, the facility was developed in cooperation with the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones "Modon" as the first smart distribution centre in the retail sector for Middle East and North Africa (Mena), the company said.

Imdad is designed to handle an annual 200 million units of medical products alone. This is an unprecedented feat and is made possible by SSI Schaefer's state-of-the-art SSI Cuby shuttle technology in combination with conventional Pick-by-Light picking consolidated by an intelligent system infrastructure.

"In a climate which has a lot of uncertainty, modern automated material handling solutions are becoming the trend and way to move forward for many businesses. In the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, we see the benefits being amplified throughout the supply chain. Through the understanding of operations and processes, complete data, performance analysis and design consultancy, the technology and innovation provided by SSI Schaefer allows Nahdi to assure higher efficiency standards, accurate reporting, and quality customer service," said Ayman ALA'mar, GM at SSI Schaefer Saudi Arabia.

Apart from the hardware, the SSI Schaefer supplied Wamas Warehouse Management System provides real-time tracking of the goods. Aside from fulfilling Nahdi's vision to provide world-class services, it moreover allows them to efficiently track, trace and move their goods batch controlled and FEFO (First Expiry, First Out), to assure integrity, productivity, and performance effectiveness and to have accurate records that ensure all goods are accounted for and deter pilferage.

Nahdi Medical Company CEO Eng. Yasser Joharji sums up the successful cooperation: "The vision of Imdad stems from Nahdi's unyielding commitment towards achieving Vision 2030 and the National Industrial Development Program's targets of creating and improving the performance of logistics hubs across the Kingdom. SSI Schaefer has played an integral role in bringing this vision to life through equipping Imdad with the latest technologies that would not only support us in providing world-class services but would also assure higher efficiency standards, accurate reporting, and quality customer service. We convey our heartfelt gratitude to the SSI Schafer team, who have tirelessly supported us throughout all phases of this project. The launch of Imdad will mark a significant milestone in our journey towards becoming the most loved and trusted partner to our guests - a milestone reaffirming our commitment towards serving millions of guests across the Kingdom in the most efficient way possible."

Nahdi Medical Company CSCO Eng. Raed Monagel also added: "Imdad will be the largest logistics Distribution Center in the Middle East in the pharmaceutical industry designed to guarantee medical security in accordance with the latest international systems and to reflect Nahdi's role as an effective partner in supporting Vision 2030. With SSI Schaefer's vast experience in the region, on-the-ground engineering and after sales capabilities to provide complete solutions, adding value to its customer's specific needs and benefits, Nahdi Medical Company can make this grand vision a reality."--TradeArabia News Service
As warmer weather approaches  and vaccination rates rise while COVID-19 numbers decline  it had seemed, up to this point, as though Americans would be turning out in droves during the spring and summer seasons to take their long-awaited postpandemic vacations.

But now, given Russias ongoing attack on Ukraine, traveler sentiment in the U.S., as well as actual travel logistics, has seemingly been impacted by a conflict thats broken out on the opposite side of the globe.

Given the interconnectedness of todays world, such an assault on foreign soil can feel strangely close to home. And, if nothing else, it can certainly make people reconsider their plans to visit any place that could potentially be drawn into the violence.

Much of Europe has been ramping up for a much-anticipated (and sorely needed) tourism recovery of near-normal levels in 2022; however, with all-out war being waged in its backyard, that prospect has been thrown into doubt.

Travel site The Vacationer just released the results of its "Russia-Ukraine Conflict Travel Survey," which was conducted on March 1 among a representative group of American adults to determine how the Russian invasion of Ukraine is affecting Americans' 2022 travel plans.

The Vacationers key findings include:

Almost 40% of American adults said that Russias war on Ukraine has led them to reconsider their 2022 travel plans. Some 14% said theyre rethinking plans to travel both domestically and internationally, while 25% said it would only affect their international travel plans. Sixty percent of respondents said the conflict would not make them reconsider their plans.

 Nearly 65% of survey participants said they would endure at least one major inconvenience if it meant they could reach their travel destinations this year. Twenty-six percent said they would be willing to pay more money; 26% said theyd withstand lengthier travel periods; 15% would put up with more flight layovers prompted by airspace issues, and 15% said they would fly to a different city and drive to their destination.

 Remembering the 2014 shoot-down of passenger flight MH17 over Ukrainian airspace, 36% said they feel less safe traveling now they did prior to Russia invading Ukraine. Close to 62% said they feel about the same about traveling now as they did before.

MMGY Travel Intelligence conducted its own study on how the war now being fought in Eastern Europe is impacting U.S. traveler sentiment and behavior, surveying hundreds who had planned to visit the continent. It found that Americans are now twice as likely to alter their vacation plans to Europe because of the Ukrainian conflict than due to COVID-19.

MMGYs key findings include:

 Some 62% of U.S. travelers expressed fears about the war in Ukraine spreading to nearby nations as the primary factor impacting their European travel plans. Thats twice the number (31%) who said COVID-19 health and safety concerns were a key consideration.

 Of those taking the survey, 47% said theyre going to wait and see how the Ukrainian situation plays out before they make plans to travel to Europe this year. Twenty percent said the conflict wouldnt affect their decision to go to Europe this year, while 33% said that it would either likely or definitely cause them to cancel or reschedule their European trips planned for 2022.

 Fifty percent of survey participants expressed concerns about their flights, trains or cruises getting canceled or delayed, as well as possible border closures.

 The most sought-after European destinations among the U.S. travelers surveyed were Italy, followed by France, the United Kingdom and Germany.

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The Lancaster County Workforce Development Board is trying to return a $189,413 grant to buy a mobile van that would provide internet and computer access, allowing users to build an online resume and apply for job openings in the states database, as well as access other resources.

Its not clear who made the decision to decline the money but Valerie Hatfield, the boards director of compliance and business engagement, is the person who first notified the state in an email.

State officials said returning a workforce grant is rare. At least one official expressed dismay at the prospect of canceling the project, according to documents obtained by LNP | LancasterOnline.

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry spokesperson Alex Peterson said a form submitted by the board notifying the state it was not accepting the grant included an unauthorized signature and, therefore, the board still has access to the money.

G. David Sload, chairman of the Lancaster workforce board, said the board has resubmitted the request to cancel the project with appropriate signatures.

The workforce board applied to the state for the grant in October. The funds, which come from the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, were allocated to the county board in December, according to documents obtained by LNP | LancasterOnline.

If the board chooses to keep the grant, it has until June 30 to use it or it will be returned to the state and ultimately to the federal government.

The mobile van would provide internet access, training, workshops and other resources to disengaged and disconnected individuals in Lancaster County, according to the grant application.

One of our primary strategies places an emphasis on meeting individuals where they are, the application said. This mobile van will be one of the most significant tools we will have to deliver results on our commitment to this strategy.

Hatfield sought to cancel the funds in an email to the state Department of Labor & Industry on Jan. 25, hours after former board executive director Cathy Rychalsky resigned in an email to several Lancaster County officials and LNP | LancasterOnline. Rychalskys resignation was denied and the board fired her a week later. The boards executive committee did not give a reason for terminating Rychalsky.

Valerie, this is so heartbreaking to hear that you had to withdraw the mobile van, Debra Walkowiak, a state fiscal specialist, replied to Hatfields message. When you first told me about it, I thought it was such a great idea with a mobile shower and a cleaning unit for the homeless in the County. So sorry  Hopefully later down the road, Lancaster will be able to go full force with this project again!

Hatfield declined to discuss the grant or emails. She referred comment to interim director John Moser, who referred comment to board chairman G. David Sload.

Sload said the mobile van project was Rychalskys idea and was tabled because staff did not know enough about it. He said it could be reconsidered, maybe as part of a new three-year strategic plan.

We did not know enough so we basically put it aside, Sload said.

Sload said generally the boards staff have authority to seek grants that fit into its strategic plan without prior approval. The project was under the direction of Rychalsky but was not specifically mentioned in the strategic plan. Rychalsky said the concept fit with the boards intention of meeting people where they are at.

Sload said typically staff would have presented information for a vote when it needed to approve the purchase of the van. He said it was not a good time for the project given unresolved questions such as insurance and the turmoil of the organization following the firing of its executive director.

The mobile van project was briefly discussed at the Feb. 1 executive committee meeting. Sload said it could be taken up at a future meeting.

Returning workforce grants does not happen very often, according to Peterson. The process of turning back the money is called deobligation.

Occasionally, voluntary deobligation requests do occur, for a variety of reasons, but are not very common, said Peterson.

Lancaster Link

Dubbed Lancaster Link, the boards application said the vehicle would be similar to one used by the Central Pennsylvania Workforce Board called The Link, a 5-year-old mobile career center equipped with computers, internet and staffed to help businesses find workers and help job seekers find opportunities.

Transportation both to access services and get to work, has been an issue Lancaster leaders have been trying to tackle for years, and the pandemic has only magnified how transportation is a barrier for the hardest to reach, most in-need residents, Lancasters application said. Lancaster County, PA is 984 square miles, and a commute from southern Peach Bottom, PA to northern Denver, PA is an estimated 1 hour, 6 min drive, and is not accessible by any public transportation routes. In fact, our public transportation system leaves out access to the entire county border, and only provides central route changes in Lancaster City. 

The application says lack of transportation plays a part in the labor shortage. It provided a map of Red Rose Transit Authority routes in the county.

The van would partner with local libraries, employers and community events to bring PA CareerLink directly to the jobseeker, with on-the spot career guidance, assistance with creating a PA CareerLink registration, applying for jobs, and more.

The grant was for the first phase of a two-part project. The total cost of the project was not included. The first phase was the purchase of the van and approved wrap of the PA CareerLink logo.

The van will take 10-12 months to manufacture, so we would like to get this process started immediately, Hatfield wrote in the October application.

Phase 2 would include purchase of computer equipment, maintenance and inspection of the vehicle. It was to be financed through partner contributions, employer sponsorship, federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funds, and private resources. The second phase also would include an outreach plan. Local policies and procedures would be developed to ensure compliance with the operation of the mobile van, the application said.

Workforce boards are regional entities created to implement the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Lancaster Countys workforce board is organized as a nonprofit and, by federal law, it must conduct its business publicly. Its purpose is to create and implement local workforce strategies in accordance with state and federal rules. There are 22 boards in Pennsylvania.

Lancasters workforce board has a budget of about $6 million and its 25 board members are appointed by the county commissioners. The federal and state-funded workforce boards oversee training programs and CareerLink centers,a publicly funded one-stop service center for people seeking jobs. Prior to the pandemic, more than 35,000 job-seeking visitors a year came to CareerLink. More than 700 businesses use its services annually.

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Email the Lancaster Watchdog at watchdog@lnpnews.com, or go to LancasterOnline.com/watchdog and tell us about it.
Manheim Townships board of commissioners will discuss in a special meeting Monday night what to do next with a zoning request for the $120-million Oregon Village development.

The township must revisit the process because appeals court judges ruled in December that the board failed to properly interpret the townships land-use rules when the project was approved three years ago.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the Manheim Township Public Library, 595 Granite Run Drive.

Residents will be able to make comments at the meeting, but only on the matter at hand, according to township officials: how the commissioners should proceed in handling the request after the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court remanded the matter back to them.

This meeting has nothing to do with the approval of the project, just the remand from the (Commonwealth) Court, said Manheim Township Manager Rick Kane in an email.

The board of commissioners must decide mainly on two issues: whether they will reopen the case to new testimony and whether any commissioners will recuse - or remove themselves from participating  in the proceedings, according to Kane.

The case is over Oregon Villages conditional use application  a measure that allows certain uses on a given piece of land, if the developer can first prove they are meeting certain conditions. One of those conditions for the Oregon Village site is that the developer has to show the project wont negatively affect any nearby historic properties.

The developer group has been led by the current owners of the Oregon Dairy site: brothers Victor, Rich, George, Willie and Curvin Hurst.

Mary Bolinger appealed the boards decision in 2019, arguing developers didnt deem her property, a nearby bed-and-breakfast, a historic site in their application.

The development plan would replace the Oregon Dairy supermarket and restaurant with larger facilities, develop homes and redevelop the idle Shawnee Resort site diagonal from the dairy into a 120-room hotel and more housing. In total, 554 housing units would be built.

Three years after the original decision granting the mixed-use Oregon Development conditional zoning approval, the $120-million project has loomed large.

It became a political issue in recent local elections. In 2019, Democrats won a majority on the board of commissioners for the first time in decades, in part based on their criticisms of the Oregon Village development and fears from voters that the township was losing farmland and growing too fast.

Last year, Republicans won back the board majority, successfully beating back attempts by Democrats to tie them to the 2019 Oregon Village vote.

If residents do come to weigh in on what to do with the court remand, they wont be alone.

Push on for new testimony

Both parties in the zoning case have submitted to the township position papers arguing how they think the board should handle the remanded case, according to William Cluck, Bolingers attorney.

Cluck includes several arguments on behalf of Bolinger to convince the commissioners to reopen the case.

Among them, Cluck told LNP | LancasterOnline that a traffic count in the case record was conducted in 2014, and is likely no longer accurate. Cluck also said the developers claims in the 2019 case that Oregon Village wont need any additional public infrastructure in its water and sewer plans didnt reflect letters they cited from the utilities.

Bolingers side will also contend that two township commissioners may have a conflict of interest regarding the case. Republican Commissioner Stacey Morgan Brubaker was previously involved with Oregon Villages conditional approval request as the township solicitor.

We believe that as a result of the reversal of her decision, that she in essence has prejudged the application and she should recuse herself from acting on this remand, Cluck said. Solicitors give legal advice to elected officials, but dont vote on zoning matters.

Another Republican commissioner elected in 2021 to join the board this year, John Bear, is a board member of the Pennsylvania Builders Association, Cluck said. Bears role at the trade group for the construction industry would conflict with his ability to neutrally vote on Oregon Village, Bolingers attorney said.

The associations website lists Bear as one of its regional officers.

Bear and Morgan Brubaker could not be immediately reached Friday.

Vic Hurst is one of the five brothers of the Hurst family that has overseen the Oregon Village proposal. Hurst did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.

In February, Hurst told LNP | LancasterOnline, the family would stick with their proposal they first brought to the township in 2016.

At this point, theres no attempt to change it, Vic Hurst said last month. So, we're sticking with the conditional use plan as was approved in 2019.
Jack Brubakers seventh book Sons of East Tennessee: Civil War Veterans Divided and Reconciled began with an endnote.

Brubaker has written LNP | LancasterOnlines historical column The Scribbler for more than four decades. His interest was especially piqued by a detail in Caroline Janneys Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation.

Janney wrote about two fathers and veterans from the Civil War  Gen. Reuben Frank Bernard, who fought for the Union, and Dr. William McCorkle, a major and surgeon for the Confederate army  meeting over the graves of their respective sons, John Bernard and Henry McCorkle, who died on the same day at the Battle of El Caney during the Spanish American War.

Brubaker consulted Janneys endnotes  additional information at the end of a historical book, or research paper  for any little bit of information about the men, and he was off. He knew he had a story to dig into.

The trail led Brubaker to travel the eastern part of Tennessee to a small hamlet in the center of New York state to connect with descendants of the Bernard and the McCorkle families and do research. He reached out to other descendants online. He doggedly combed military, university and church archives and digitized newspaper articles  all in the pursuit of creating fuller portraits of his subjects and their story.

Brubakers work culminated in the publication of Sons of East Tennessee, by McFarland & Company earlier this year.

As a newspaper guy, Brubaker says hes reaching out to papers in Tennessee to help promote the book and will visit the volunteer state for some in-person appearances in early May. He hopes to schedule some local appearances later this year. Here, Brubaker shares more about his latest book.

Have you heard back from any readers yet?

The feedback Ive gotten from the first readers, who are not historians is theyre saying we werent taught all that in school. The book helps explain to a certain extent why we still have racial animosity in this county, and why theres still a pretty strong divide between north and south. This book is more than just a discussion of two families in the 19th century  especially the epilogue, which brings it up to the current day.

Can you talk about the research you did to be able to write this story?

I was reading Caroline Janneys great book Remembering the Civil War and she mentioned these two fathers meeting at the graves of their sons who had died in the Spanish American War. I looked at her endnote and she had found that story in a Century Magazine article from 1899. It took me a while to track down who these people were because they werent named in either Janneys book or in the Century Magazine piece.

The Century Magazine piece did say that they were both graduates of the University of Tennessee, so that narrowed it down to a few dozens. I found the only two who died, died within minutes of each other in Cuba. Then I found out they were buried later in Knoxville National Cemetery. I started calling all their descendants and started putting together everything.

The main source wound up being newspapers. Thanks to the digitization of newspapers, I was able to plug in their names and any newspaper that was digitized I could find something that was written about them. I was also able to follow certain threads. Like what was said on Memorial Day at Knoxville National Cemetery from the Civil War right on through the time when these two young Lieutenants were buried in 1899. Every year, I could look and (the newspapers) often carried the whole speech. The Confederate memorials were often different from the Union memorials from the way they approached the Civil War and you could see them drawing closer and closer as the 19th century progressed.

The two Lieutenants were at the University of Tennessee and there were other little tidbits that appeared in the yearbook. And then I looked at diaries. Letters. There were a fair number of letters from Lieutenant Henry McCorkle  the Confederate fathers son. He wrote to his wife every day from before he landed in Cuba until the day before he was killed. You can follow him all the way across Cuba to his death.

When I found that a McCorkle in New York had (the letters), I drove up there and looked at those letters. It was raining a lot, as it would, in the summer in Cuba and in one letter he was writing he said it was raining as he was writing and that particular piece of paper you can see has indications of the raindrops. That I thought was really neat.

You always bring a human element to history in your Scribbler columns, and youve done that here, too.

I was looking for a specific representation of reconciliation that I could use to illustrate a book about reconciliation. As far as I know, basing a book on the reconciliation of two veterans is unique. I was almost 100% focused on learning more about the Bernards and the McCorkles  the two families. Thats what I wanted to do, and thats what I was able to achieve with the help of the descendants that helped me fill out the lives of these people.

Can you talk about the reconciliation that happened between veterans?

Soldiers that fought against each other were the most willing to reconcile with each other afterwards because they had all been through a common experience. And this was expressed by various people, whether they fought for the North or the South. Everybody came through those four years feeling that they had been through four years of hell, and that was a unifying experience. Many of the veterans did reconcile. You couldnt do business with each other and live in the new country without reuniting and reconciling. The problem was it began to break down. People who had not fought against each other, didnt have the same understanding of what that was all about.

How does this story relate to whats happening in the country today?

Sectional differences began to emerge in the 20th century. Some had existed before and some were new. Many of them were related to the race problem. And the race problem in this country still exists. And as far as how the country is divided right now its been mostly a lot of hot air  except for the attack on the Capitol  and I hope it stays there.

In my Scribbler column, I try to have some sort of connection, as often as I can, so that people can understand that its not just old dead history and it doesnt matter. It affects things today, too. I wrote this book with that in mind. And the people that have read it, have read between the lines  and occasionally its not just between the lines but in the lines  that there are lessons from the divisiveness and reconciliation from that war. There are lessons for today. Its the old line: History isnt dead, were still living in it.
Queen Victoria hated babies, despite producing a large family.

She let herself be controlled by strong men. She could be unforgiving, and even a little nasty.

And, above all, she was absolutely besotted with her husband, Prince Albert.

These are a few of the themes from the life of one of Britains longest-reigning monarchs that local actor and writer Candace ODonnell will mine for poignant and funny moments in her play Victorias Secrets: He was My All in All.

Two performances of the show, an extended monologue by ODonnell as Victoria  informed by the queens own journals  are set for next weekend at the Ware Center in Lancaster.

I have always been fascinated by Queen Victoria, says ODonnell, who is retired from teaching English at Elizabethtown College and has performed for decades in plays and musicals on a wide variety of Lancaster County stages.

Way back when I was getting my masters in English at Millersville ... as part of the addendum to my thesis, I did a little section on Victorian mores, ODonnell says during an interview at her home in Willow Valley Communities. And so, that caused me to investigate Queen Victoria.

ODonnell recalls being gobsmacked by some of the queenly quotes she read.

Queen Victoria hated babies, hated childbirth. And she had nine children, ODonnell says.

Queen Victoria hated having government ministers watch her give birth, according to royal protocol, and the postpartum depression she suffered afterward, ODonnell says.

She thought (childbirth) was ridiculous, ODonnell says. It always stuck in my mind that she hated children but she had nine of them. Now, it didnt take too much imagination to figure out how that happened.

Its one of the through-lines of my show, she says, employing a British accent to quote from her script as Victoria commenting on how she came to have such a prodigious brood: The answer is as plain as the nose on your face. I simply cannot resist my Albert, who even in his pudgy, balding middle age is still in my eyes the muscular Adonis of his youth.

Upon meeting Albert for the first time, ODonnell notes, Victoria wrote in her journal, I first behold Albert in his tight, white riding breeches with muscles bulging, and nothing on underneath.

When told she shouldnt have any more children after the ninth, she says, Victoria remarked, Am I to have no more fun in bed?

For a monarch who gave a name to an era some consider synonymous with straight-laced propriety, Victoria did not exemplify that in her personal life.

Its, to me, hilarious. Its very human, ODonnell says, this contrast between the prudishness and the lasciviousness. ... You think of this proper, proper woman who is also sexually obsessed with her husband.

Years of research

ODonnell says she did about two years worth of research, from 2018 until 2020, when the show was originally to have been performed only to be postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

She learned Victoria, whose father died when she was an infant, had a terrible, isolated childhood and couldnt forgive her mother for it.

She learned Victoria let Albert take over many of her royal duties behind the scenes.

He completely dominated her, ODonnell says. He really was in charge, and it completely changed the course of British history.

Albert was a skillful consort who had a sincere social conscience, ODonnell says. It was very lucky for her, for him, for the British nation and for history because, as it turns out, he was much smarter and better educated than she was. ... There were a lot of social advances in that period because of Albert.

Victoria could also be hard on her children, particularly her oldest son, Bertie, who succeeded his mother as King Edward VII and who may have had a learning disability, she says.

ODonnells play is informed by Queen Victorias journals that she kept throughout her life, from childhood to the end of her 63-year reign.

ODonnell notes her granddaughter, Keeghan McLane  who minors in theater at Temple University  will join her on stage at the beginning and end of the show.

McLane portrays Victorias youngest daughter, Beatrice, who explains to the audience that she and Bertie had expurgated Victorias journals after her death  excising events that could be viewed a threat to her royal legacy.

The journals were also the fuel for journalist Julia Bairds 2016 book, Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire. ODonnell used it as a major source.

Its a well-thumbed tome on my part, she says.

ODonnell has previously aimed her research skills at other famous 19th-century women for her one-woman plays performed at the Ware Center  including first lady Mary Todd Lincoln and French actress Sarah Bernhardt.

I love writing, and Im fascinated by the process, ODonnell says. I look for the crazy, the unexpected, the aspect of this persons personality that will turn the stereotype on its head.

The subtitle of ODonnells play about the monarch, in fact, comes from a condolence letter Victoria wrote to a newly widowed Mrs. Lincoln, she says. Victoria talks of how she felt she couldnt go on after the death of her beloved Albert. He was my all in all, she wrote.

Victoria lived and reigned for 40 more years after Alberts passing.

Victoria as monarch

Having studied Victoria for four years now, what is ODonnells assessment of her capability as queen?

I think she was a skillful monarch, ODonnell says. It was a grueling job, especially for someone who was having baby after baby after baby. I was surprised that she did have a social conscience.

I find it fascinating, ODonnell says of her research into Victorias life. If I can make the audience one-tenth of 1% as fascinated by it as I am by it, well be fine.
This story contains links that will take you to our archives site on newspapers.com. This content is free for LancasterOnline subscribers who are logged in. Click here for more information about how to subscribe.

Excerpts and summaries of news stories from the former Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster New Era and Sunday News that focus on the events in the countys past that are noteworthy, newsworthy or just strange.

25 years ago

Eyes were on the skies in March 1997, as Comet Hale-Bopp made its approach to Earth - and was clearly visible from Lancaster County.

The comet would be closest to Earth on March 22, and the Intelligencer Journal's astronomy column of March 20 focused on the celestial event.

Assuming one could get away from the light pollution of Lancaster city and its suburbs, the comet was visible with the naked eye. The North Museums' John Elias said the astronomical show was well worth driving into the rural parts of the county.

Comet Hale-Bopp was discovered in 1995 and was visible to the naked eye for 18 months, longer than any other comet.

In the headlines:

3 arrested in killing of suspected witch

Russian pleads guilty to eating 3 friends

Yahoo !internet gurus endow Stanford chair

Check out the March 20, 1997, Intelligencer Journal here.

50 years ago

In 1972, a Denver man was preparing to pack up his life and move to ancient Greece - or at least as close as he could get.

J. Richard Steffy, 47, was an electrician by trade and a father of two sons. He also had a long-held passion for shipbuilding. From building model ships as a boy through a stint in the Navy, his hobby grew into something like a second job: His expertise often led him to be called in as a consultant at various spots along the Mid-Atlantic where historic ships were being reconstructed.

Steffy then began working with professors at the University of Pennsylvania and Oberlin College, studying more ancient ships - the vessels that sailed for ancient Greece and Byzantium.

Then, one such vessel - the Kyrenia - was pulled piece by piece from the Mediterranean Sea, and Steffy's new project was born. He began working with an international team of researchers dedicated to reconstructing the 2,400-year-old vessel.

But there was only so much work that could be done remotely - especially in the days before the internet. Thus, Steffy decided to step away from his job as an electrician, pack up his home and move with his family to Cyprus, where he expected to spend at least a year rebuilding the Kyrenia and restoring the ancient ship to its former glory.

His wife and sons, by the way, fully approved of the decision and were ready to move to the Mediterranean.

In the headlines:

Bomb blast in Belfast kills 6, wounds 146

Nixon urges drug traffic crackdown

Reds launch all-out attack on Laos base

Check out the March 20, 1972, Lancaster New Era here.

75 years ago

William H. Hager, 79, local businessman and civic leader, died on March 19, 1947, and his obituary appeared on the front page of the next morning's Intelligencer Journal.

Hager was the grandson of Christopher Hager, who founded the Hager department store, one of the icons of the downtown retail shopping scene. William Hager was still involved in the day-to-day running of the business until shortly before his death.

Hager began working at the family store as a clerk, working his way up through the ranks to president, a title which he took on in 1898.

The store was to be closed for two days to honor him.

In the headlines:

Floods trap 1,000 in British town

Hawaiian statehood OK'ed by House group

Paraguayan revolution hinders migration of Mennonite refugees

Check out the March 20, 1947, Intelligencer Journal here.

100 years ago

Would-be safecrackers targeted a Lancaster city church in March 1922, but got nothing for their efforts.

Emmanuel Lutheran Church, located at Walnut and Pine streets, was broken into in the early morning hours of March 20, and the church offices were ransacked. The intruders broke open locked drawers, and cracked the safe with brute force, using crowbars, chisels and sledgehammers.

However, pastor Rev. P. George Sieger said after the break-in, the church "never allow(ed) a cent to remain in the safe," using it only to store church documents.

Police were investigating the break-in and searching for the perpetrators.

In the headlines:

Coal miners called to meet to prepare for strike April 1

Denmark lockout leads to arrest of labor leader

Check out the March 20, 1922, Lancaster Intelligencer here.
In 2018, the Lancaster County Drug Task force was in a dire position.

At a budget hearing that fall, then-district attorney Craig Stedman warned that the task forces funding model, voluntary municipal contributions combined with proceeds from asset forfeitures, was not sustainable. John Burkhart, head of the unit at the time, backed him up.

Its very hard to run this unit not knowing what kind of cash flow youre going to have from year to year, Burkhart said. Sometimes we feel like were the asset seizure task force, because weve got to go out, weve gotta maintain ourselves through seizing assets.

Unknown at the time, prosecutors allege, Burkhart stole more than $33,000 of seized assets in that year alone, funds law enforcement officials desperately needed to fund ongoing operations.

For nearly two years, one of the biggest unanswered questions in Lancaster County was how did $150,000 in cash seized from drug dealers go missing.

Since the June 2020 announcement by District Attorney Heather Adams that thousands of dollars was missing from the drug task force safe in a likely internal theft, questions about the investigation were usually brushed off with a standard answer: Investigators from the state Attorney Generals office are looking into it; we have no update at this time.

Two years of speculation ended Tuesday with the release of a grand jury report that describes, in great detail, how the person charged with the thefts allegedly stole not $150,000, but at least $200,000 over a five-year period.

It was an inside job, after all, the report alleges, carried out not by a rank-and-file officer assigned to the task force but by the top official running it  Burkhart.

All of that money should have been destined for deposit so that it could have been used to help battle the drug epidemic, a grand jury presentment said. Instead, it went into John Burkhart's pocket.

But how exactly were the funds stolen? The grand jurys report provides a detailed look into how and why Burkhart allegedly stole thousands intended to fund the war on drugs.

Stolen envelopes

The Attorney Generals office, which ran the investigation to avoid a conflict inside the county prosecutors office, alleges that Burkhart took money from the drug task force in two ways: stealing envelopes of cash from the units safe, and skimming cash from deposits before they were handed off to the county treasurer.

When there is suspicion that cash or other valuables was obtained through the proceeds of a drug crime, Pennsylvania law allows those assets to be seized and put to use by law enforcement. The process is called civil forfeiture, and cash or other assets purchased with drug money, like cars or jewelry, can be taken.

A court must rule on whether the asset can be taken from its owner under the civil forfeiture law before law enforcement can use the assets.

The grand jury report revealed that pre-forfeiture cash was being kept in envelopes in a large safe in the drug task force office. The safe had no security cameras watching it, nor was a log kept of when and why it was being opened or by whom. And although another detective knew the safes combination, Burkhart was the only one regularly accessing it, the report said.

More than a month after Burkhart was fired for allegedly falsifying paperwork in a 2019 drug case, the units new lead detective discovered that three envelopes of cash seized from Jordan Morales were not in the safe; together, they were believed to contain about $28,000.

Task force members went on to discover that more envelopes containing cash were also missing, while some envelopes were found to contain less cash than initially reported. In total, an audit of the safe determined that $151,033.97 was missing from envelopes related to 13 cases.

When confronted about the missing Morales money, Burkhart initially told Detective Greg Macey that, to his knowledge, the envelopes were in the safe. But the next day Burkhart said some envelopes might be at the units evidence warehouse, the report said.

Three envelopes were later discovered at the warehouse, but members of the drug task force testified to the grand jury that it was not normal procedure for them to be kept there. While the report does not directly accuse Burkhart of placing the envelopes in the warehouse after the theft was discovered, it notes that the district attorneys office had neglected to ensure he turned over his key after he was fired and no security cameras were in position at the time to capture every person accessing the site.

The grand jury report alleges that Burkhart took advantage of the fact that only he and his deputy had access to the safe, and investigators learned that the deputy rarely opened it. That near-exclusive access allowed Burkhart to allegedly steal from evidence envelopes without much concern that other task force officers would detect the thefts, the report alleges.

Skimmed cash

The report also detailed how Burkhart allegedly stole cash when the task force seized funds held in bank accounts. Banks holding those funds would issue a check to the county, which in turn would write a new check for the same amount that Burkhart would convert to cash that would be held in the evidence safe.

Later, when convictions or agreements resulted in a final forfeiture order finalizing the seizure of the cash, Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Ondechek would ask Burkhart to pull the corresponding envelopes from the safe so the cash could be deposited in a county account.

Burkhart, Ondechek and another employee would count the cash and ready it for deposit. But once the count was finished, no one except Burkhart recorded the grand total, and Burkhart was solely in charge of making the deposit with the county treasurer, the report said.

According to the grand jury report, Burkhart did not tell the treasurers office what the grand total was either. Instead, he provided ballpark estimates of how much cash he would be bringing over.

Somewhere between the counting of the funds and Burkharts depositing with the treasurer's office, money went missing, the report says. In one instance, Burkhart told the treasurers office he would be bringing over roughly $250,000 dollars, but what he ended up turning over was $237,980.43. The grand jury later determined that the actual deposit should have been $268,093.63, suggesting $30,113.25 had gone missing.

Calculations or administrative errors cannot explain these deficiencies, the report said.

Multiple instances of deposits being short over the years were discovered, and the Attorney Generals office alleges that in total Burkhart skimmed more than $55,000 from the deposits.

'Obvious Motive'

Burkharts bank records also provided insight into the alleged theft.

According to the report, there were dozens of instances of cash deposits into his bank account during the time he was leading the drug task force. In total, between 2014 and 2021, Burkhart deposited $169,406 in cash, despite there being no indication he had any legitimate source of supplemental cash income.

The account also revealed a possible motive for the thefts. According to the Attorney General's office, Burkhart had been under financial stress since the time he joined the Drug Task Force in 2011. The 2011 divorce decree from his first marriage required him to give $650 from each paycheck to his ex-wife, which would leave him with about $700 per paycheck.

In 2013, Burkhart began receiving a monthly pension benefit of $3,379.67 from his time as a Lancaster City police officer, although $767.77 of that went to his ex-wife.

A review of his bank account found that he was "barely breaking even at the end of each month," and witnesses testified to the grand jury that "Burkhart often complained about being in debt and discussed the fact that he was financially strained."

"Thus, the grand jury's review of Burkhart's bank account provided obvious motive to corroborate the already abundant evidence of Burkhart's pattern of theft," a criminal complaint against Burkhart reads.

Burkhart remarried soon after his divorce, and the grand jury report notes that he and his new wife shared a bank account.

So far, Burkhart is the only person charged with the crime and prosecutors said they do not expect to charge anyone else. He turned himself in voluntarily on Tuesday and was released on unsecured $25,000 bail. His attorney is Hobie Crystle, a Lancaster trial lawyer who ran unsuccessfully for district attorney in 2019, losing to the current prosecutor, Heather Adams.

Adams and her office, which run the drug task force, are essentially witnesses in the case. The prosecution will be conducted by lawyers for the Attorney Generals office. Barring a plea agreement, Burkharts trial could be months away, even as long as a year.

Burkhart surrendered to authorities on Tuesday, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 12 before Magisterial District Judge Bruce Roth. He has not yet entered a plea but previously told LNP | LancasterOnline he did not take the money.
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If Pennsylvania House leaders had followed their Senate counterparts lead in posting all their expenses directly online starting last summer, taxpayers might have seen a few purchases that raised their eyebrows.

They might have seen, for instance, catered meals bought by legislative leaders that cost hundreds of dollars  or even smaller amounts for food like the $14.98 that House Republican Caucus Chairman George Dunbar spent on refreshments for a casino industry meeting in July.

They might have seen frequent technology upgrades  for several 65- to 85-inch Samsung 4K Smart LED televisions, or spending on photo and video equipment that included a $144 selfie ring light with tripod stand in August.

They might have seen payments for services like legal work, parking and document-copying that each total six figures every month.

But six months after the Pennsylvania Senate took its historic step toward expense transparency, the House is nowhere close to making the same move.

Taxpayers still must file Right to Know Law requests  as The Caucus did to find the aforementioned expenses  for most of the Houses financial information. That process can take more than a month and still might produce heavily redacted or incomplete records.

House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Peach Bottom, said in an interview that putting every representatives expenses online automatically would require a change in House rules, requiring a majority vote by members.

There is no proposed rules change currently pending. When the Senate started posting its members expenses, no such change to the chambers rules was required.

I know that remains part of discussions around potential rule changes, but its not part of anything we have formally introduced yet, said Mike Straub, Cutlers spokesperson.

Cutler said he personally believes posting expense records online is best practice and members can continue doing it individually. About 10% of the 203 House members do so now, and he said thats not a reason to avoid moving toward disclosure for the entire chamber.

Ive been doing it since my first term, said Cutler, who was one of the first to use the power of the internet to publish his expenses in 2007.

High off the hog

One former member said online disclosure of representatives expenses would be a potential deterrent for bad behavior.

The more lawmakers post online, the better, said former Rep. Dan Truitt, R-Chester County.

It discourages them from doing things against the taxpayers interests. They are less likely to live high off the hog if they know somebody is watching.

Truitt, who tried unsuccessfully to eliminate the per diems lawmakers can take, voluntarily posted his own travel and office expenses online while in office. He said he agreed with the Senates approach of having the expenses posted by the Senate chief clerks office, which administers senators reimbursements.

He said it makes sense for the House chief clerk to take the same steps for its members.

But theres little, if any political will to go ahead with it, some say.

Theres no critical mass to get it done, said Gene Stilp, a longtime reformer and legislative critic. Theres no real effort by junior members to make sure the leaders get it done. With todays technology its an easy thing to do.

Leaders dont know the definition of transparency, Stilp said. The people can see whats happening right now. Nothing is happening.

The Senate began posting its expenses in full each month last September, following a series of stories from The Caucus and Spotlight PA. Those stories revealed that lawmakers had spent $203 million, not including salaries and benefits, from 2017 through 2020.

The reporting found that lawmakers spent $37 million on district offices and $20 million to outside lawyers over those four years. About $20 million went directly into lawmakers pockets in the form of reimbursements for meals, mileage subsidies, per diems and other expenses.

The series also revealed how only 29 of the 253 members of the Legislature voluntarily posted their own expenses online  and almost all of them either under-reported their expenses or offered outdated or incomplete information.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre County, whose own expense transparency web page was outdated by six years, went on to update his website and spearhead the Senates full posting of expenses.

Countys House members in favor

Many House members have said they would support adopting the Senates approach.

Im transparent, said Rep. Mindy Fee, a Manheim Republican who also posts her expenses online. I have no problem with it.

Reminded its just a small portion of members who post their expenses, Fee said, Listen. Its the peoples money. They should see how it is being spent.

Rep. Mike Sturla, a Lancaster Democrat seeking his 17th term this year, said, I dont have any problem with that kind of stuff (House-wide disclosure online).

If someone is abusing it, the public ought to know it, Sturla said. If a member is concerned (with online posting), there might be a question whether the member is abusing it.

Rep. Dan Moul, an Adams County Republican, said he thinks some members would object, suggesting they might not want widespread attention on their expenses. Moul said hes frugal with expenses and has nothing to hide.

If they (leaders) came to me and said, Were going to put expenses online, you wont hear any problems with that from me, Moul said.

Rep. Keith Greiner, R-Upper Leacock Township, said probably the only way it happens is through leadership. I have no problem with that.

Greiner said there is a chance that the records could be misunderstood by the public if they show, as they do now, the date an expense was paid, not the date it was incurred. But thats his thinking as an accountant, he said, and it's not a reason to oppose online disclosure for the full House.

Rep. Mark Gillen, R-Robeson Township, whose Berks County district covers a portion of northern Lancaster County, said yes when asked if he supports posting the expenses of all 203 representatives.

Transparency is integral to what we do, Gillen said. It goes hand in hand with fidelity to taxpayers.

Digging deeper

The Senates online reports, found on the chambers Right to Know Law web page and updated monthly, now cover July 2021 through January 2022.

They list the expenses for every senator and all employees under the chief clerk, providing the amount, the payee, the date, the person who authorized the spending and a brief description of every payment.

The information includes district office leases, postage, mileage and meals incurred by every senator. It also includes spending on per diems, the flat-rate payments that lawmakers can request to cover food and lodging.

The historic step in transparency wasnt without its limitations, though. There is no easily searchable database allowing members of the public to easily look up total spending or spending by category  like the total amount a senator collected in per diems for the month.

Some spending details are also absent. For example, the reports list each time the Senate pays an outside law firm, often mentioning the date of the legal contract or engagement in the short description.

Still, the Senates regular monthly posts are far above anything the House has done.

When it became clear the House was not immediately taking the same transparency steps last fall, The Caucus requested expense reports detailing all of the chambers expenses to-date. That open records request produced 4,235 pages revealing tens of thousands of individual expenses from Jan. 1, 2021 through Oct. 31, 2021.

If those pages had been posted directly online, the public wouldve had a direct look into millions of dollars worth of taxpayer money the Legislature spent on itself.

Food, per diems, reimbursed travel, office leases, technology, office supplies, furniture and gifts fill the pages of the 2021 records.

Catered meals  like $1,335 at Chik-Fil-A under Speaker Cutlers account in September, or $303 at a Harrisburg-area Japanese restaurant under House Minority Leader Joanna McClintons account in May  are frequent.

Technology  from the TVs and selfie-stands to the bulk purchases of $2,699 Canon digital cameras and $358 green screens and photo-shoot backdrops  is pricey.

And the perks that lawmakers receive just for showing up to work  as The Caucus and Spotlight PA highlighted last year  can become like an extra salary for some.

For instance, The Caucus and Spotlight PA reported last spring that Rep. Chris Sainato, D-Lawrence County, collected about $59,000 annually in per diems and other reimbursements from 2017-20, putting him at the top of the list among all 253 legislators. Sainatos salary is $95,432.

Sainato, who prides himself on never missing a day of work, continued to show up and collect those payments in 2021, records show.

That included reimbursements in July for attending a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on blockchain and cryptocurrency in Harrisburg. Sainato showed up in person, collecting $293.44 for mileage and $198 for a non-session day per diem, while most members attended virtually, according to the spending records.

The recording of the aptly named Preparing Pennsylvania for a Digital Future hearing shows Sainato did not ask any questions or speak during the two-hour meeting.

A sampling of the Houses 2021 expenses that theyre not posting

The Caucus obtained 4,235 pages of House expense reports for Jan. 1, 2021 through Oct. 31, 2021. If the House had started putting their expense reports online last year like the Senate, heres what observers might have seen as they scrolled through the millions of dollars in taxpayer spending.

$29.64  A gift from Wine & Spirits in Elizabethtown on May 20, 2021 under Rep. Bryan Cutlers speaker account.

$1,334.54  A catering order from Chik Fil A on Sep. 8, 2021 under Rep. Bryan Cutlers speaker account.

$3,111.45  Twenty-four rooms at the Hampton Inn in Waynesburg, Greene County, in August, paid for with Rep. Ryan Bizarros House Democratic Policy Committee account ($264.18 was later refunded for unused rooms).

$928.07  Facebook Ads from July to October, paid for with the House Democrats special leadership account.

$4,993.06  Six photoshoot backdrops, including a green screen, along with backdrop rollers and shipping on May 10, 2021, paid for by the chief clerk.

$999  A diversity works game kit that is described online as a board game and hands-on workshop that brings awareness of diversity and inclusion concepts to your workplace, paid for by the chief clerk on May 12, 2021.

$865.41  Part of a teleprompter mirror on Aug. 13, 2021, paid for by the chief clerk.

$999  A Meeting Owl Pro, a 360-degree camera and microphone for partially virtual meetings on Jan. 20, 2021, paid for by the chief clerk.

$14,094  Six Canon digital cameras that typically cost $2,699 individually on Feb. 21, 2021, paid for by the chief clerk.

$71,961.17  Monthly rent for 323 parking spaces on South Street in Harrisburg, paid for by the chief clerk.

$31,440  Security consultant on March 31 and April 1, 2021, paid for by the chief clerk.

$87  A gavel on Feb. 22, 2021, under Rep. George Dunbars Republican Caucus Chairman account.

$2,002.75  Sixty-seven plaques, celebrating 10-year to 30-year anniversaries, plus tax, on June 24, 2021, under the House Democrats special leadership account.

$15,910.44  Seven 17.3-inch Dell Mobile Precision laptops on Jan. 30, 2021, paid for by the chief clerk.

The items above are mostly individual expenses listed in the reports. The House may have made the same expense multiple times or made similar expenses throughout the year. For example, the Feb. 21 purchase of cameras was one of several similar payments across House accounts, including other cameras and camera equipment.

Bumsted and Janesch are investigative reporters for The Caucus, LNP Media Groups Harrisburg-based publication covering Pennsylvanias government and politics.

Follow The Caucus on Twitter @CaucusPA, @BEBumsted and @SamJanesch.
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was shown around the high-tech facilities of SABIC, a diversified global chemicals company, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He visited the SABIC Plastics Application Development Center (SPADC) and also saw a CO2-capture model, innovations in transportation, healthcare, and building and construction, and a live 3D-printing demonstration.

SABICs state-of-the-art facilities demonstrate its global standing as an innovation-driven enterprise.

Johnsons visit was part of a broader official visit to the Kingdom. He was accompanied at SABIC by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister, Prince Khalid bin Bandar, Saudi Arabias Ambassador to the UK, Dr Musaed bin Muhammad Al-Aiban, Minister of State and Member of the Council of Ministers, and a number of dignitaries and officials.

Johnsons delegation included Lord Grimstone, UK Minister for Investment, and Neil Crompton, British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Commenting on the visit, Khalid Al-Dabbagh, SABIC Chairman, said: The Prime Ministers visit to one of our prime global innovation facilities is indeed a proud moment for us. Our relationship with the UKs business sector has been a long-standing experience, which is continuing to grow at every level.

SABIC has a strong presence in the UK, with the SABIC UK Petrochemicals headquarters at the Wilton Centre, Teesside. It has manufacturing and storage facilities located over three nearby sites, at Wilton International, Teesport and North Tees.

In addition, SABIC Thornaby is the only plant worldwide that produces the Verton long glass fibre compounded products.

This is known to be a unique technology with pultrusion mainly supporting automotive heavy truck industry, which aims to reach an exemplary level in technology utilisation; thus contributing to achieving the companys strategic vision. --Tradearabia News Service
When: Columbia school board meeting, March 17.

What happened: Superintendent Ashley Rizzo gave the board an update on the districts 2021 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests and Keystone exams results.

Background: The annual tests were canceled during the 2019-20 school year due to the pandemic. Columbia students took them for the 2020-21 school year about a month after returning from virtual and hybrid learning. The Pennsylvania Department of Education has announced that the results will not be used for state evaluations and discouraged the public from viewing them as a complete picture of student performance.

Elementary and middle school results: Park Elementary Schools highest scoring assessment was science, with 56.4% percent of students scoring in the proficient or advanced categories. Elementary students lowest scoring subject was math, with 16.8% of students scoring at or above proficiency. Middle school students scored the highest in English, with 31.8% scoring as proficient or advanced. Middle schoolers lowest scoring assessment was math, where 6.4% of students scored at or above proficiency.

High school results: Because the state calculates assessments for high school students differently, results for the 2020-21 school year included assessments taken in previous years. Additionally, a smaller group of students took the exams, further limiting the data. Results were only available for English and math assessments, with students scoring better in math.

Comments: Rizzo explained that across grade levels, between 10%-22% of parents opted out of having their children take the tests. She acknowledged that the results were not what the district would like to see, but added that the results should not be compared to scores from other years due to the circumstances surrounding the 2020-21 school year.

Quotable: The pandemic has just magnified some of our existing areas and opportunities for growth, Rizzo said of COVID-19s effect on learning.
When: Manheim Borough Council meeting, March 8.

What happened: Council agreed to send a proposal to Manheim Central School District that calls for the outsourcing of school crossing guards to All City Management Services, a private contractor that claims to be the nations largest.

Background: Currently, the cost for the 11 crossing guards is shared between the borough and the school district. Manheim Police Department handles hiring, training and administration of the guards. Mayor Scot Funk said Elizabethtown Borough outsourced its crossing guards at least five years ago. All City Management provides crossing guards to Manheim and Lancaster townships and School District of Lancaster. Manheim Borough Council approved outsourcing the program in June 2016 but reversed its decision a month later, citing rising costs.

Details of the proposal: Police Chief Joe Stauffer said the contractors proposal would maintain same cost-sharing arrangement, with the district paying for six crossing guards and the borough paying for five. Under a contract starting in the 2022-23 school year, the borough would pay $31,023 and the school district would pay $43,032. Stauffer said crossing guards would be offered employment with ACMS, and their pay would increase by $1 per hour to $16.25 per hour. ACMS says its program can share relief guards with other communities. Stauffer said the contractor would hire and train crossing guards as well as provide administrative services.

Quotable: We have a good group of guards right now; they give us as much of an advance notice as they can if they need to call off. But my worst nightmare is having a guard call off and not being able to place someone at a location due to lack of a substitute guard or having all our officers out on calls, Stauffer said.

Discussion: Resident Donna Hlavacek said shes concerned that outsourcing the crossing guard program would mean losing local control. She said the police department has control of the cost of the program She asked if All City could guarantee where crossing guards are deployed, even if one calls off. Council members asked Stauffer to obtain more information about staffing decisions and cost containment from the contractor.

Whats next: Borough Manager Jim Fisher said the crossing guard proposal is likely to come up again at the March 29 meeting. It will be held at 7 p.m. in council chambers, 15 E. High St.

Crosswalk: Council awarded contracts to install a crosswalk on North Main Street at Danner Alley. Jons Concrete Plus LLC received a $19,804 contract to install handicapped-accessible ramps on the sidewalk. Sexton Striping LLC was awarded the $1,875 contract for crosswalk striping.

Police purchases: Council approved several purchases for the police department including $35,000 for new booking software, $1,243 for a new desktop system and a $42,721 lease/purchase of a 2022 all-wheel drive vehicle with police interceptor package, including trade-in credit and all accessory costs.

Other business: Funk welcomed Pennsylvania State Fair Show Queen Anna Haldeman to the meeting. A Manheim Central High School senior, Haldeman is the first Manheim Farm Show Queen to be selected as State Fair Queen.
Womens History Month is a valuable reminder that sex, gender and sexuality are complex facets of identity; they are factors that have shaped history and continue to shape our experiences in the world, influencing everything from who we are and who we love to how we are treated at work, at home and in society.

At a time when the World Economic Forum reports that the COVID-19 pandemic has widened global gender gaps in economic participation, and a Human Rights Campaign Foundation analysis reveals that LGBTQ workers in the U.S. earn 90% for every dollar the typical worker earns, its crucial that we learn about the diverse experiences of women and sharpen our awareness of gender and cultural dynamics.

In the spirit of equity, inclusion and intersectionality, we collected book recommendations for Womens History Month from several Millersville University faculty members. These recommendations examine the intersections between gender and multiple categories of identity, such as disability, sexuality, race and ethnicity. As such, these book recommendations hold that asserting people of color and women as somehow separate categories misses the point, and that transgender women are women whose experiences are essential to understanding Womens History Month.

 Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner (2020); recommended by Emily Baldys, assistant professor in English and world languages, and acting coordinator for the womens and general studies minor at Millersville University.

Former adviser to the World Bank, Ford Foundation and U.S. State Department, activist Judy Heumann is a giant in the disability civil rights movement. This powerful memoir traces many of her personal and political triumphs in pursuit of equality, from the fight against a primary school that dubbed her wheelchair a fire hazard, to winning a lawsuit that enabled her to become the first wheelchair user to teach in New York City, to leading the longest sit-in at a federal building in U.S. history during the San Francisco 504 Sit-In, which sought implementation of the federal law that prohibits federally funded programs from discriminating against people with disabilities.

Judys efforts, many of which were featured in the recent Netflix documentaryCrip Camp, fed a national disability rights movement that led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In her memoir, she narrates these and other historic moments with wit and fire, offering insight into the clever and tenacious fight she has led for a more inclusive world.

 Last Night at the Telegraph Club, by Malinda Lo (2021); recommended by Lesley Colabucci, associate professor of early, middle and exceptional education.

Womens History Month is a great time to focus on untold or lesser known stories of women. How about a lesbian love story set in 1950s Chinatown in San Francisco?

This heart-wrenching but queer-positive story focuses on intersectionality as the main characters navigate coming out, homophobia, racism, sexism and family dynamics. The beauty of this book is that it takes on the power of historical forces such as the Lavender Scare (in which gay federal employees were ousted from their jobs) and McCarthyism while telling an authentic coming-of-age and first love story. Readers will be rooting for Lily and Kath and learning more about a time and place they may know little about. An authors note ensures the storys accuracy and further extends the books value as a Womens History Month read.

 Detransition, Baby, a novel by Torrey Peters (2021); recommended by Michele Santamaria, assistant professor and learning design librarian at Millersville Universitys McNairy Library.

In this novel, Amys detransition, or gender reversal/cessation from Amy to Ames, breaks apart the transgender women couple of Amy and Reese. This leaves both partners adrift, with Reese still wishing for a baby and Ames, formerly Amy, looking for a path back to Reese. When Ames gets his boss Katrina pregnant, the novel begins to explore whether the three characters can find their way toward a sense of family. In its unapologetic exploration of its characters flaws, Peters novel does not aim to present a homework assignment for those interested in learning more about ideal trans women characters. Instead, what readers will find is Peters attempt to render real people visible in all their messy complexity and humanity as they seek to make their way through life.

 Crying in H Mart, a memoir by Michelle Zauner (2021); recommended by Michele Santamaria.

A book not to be read on an empty stomach, musician Zauners memoir is equal parts meditation on her relationship to her Koreanness through food and a chronicle of her evolving relationship with her Korean mother. As a biracial American, Zauner struggled to find a place of belonging, and would find solace in summers spent in South Korea with her mother. While Zauners relationship with her mother grew stronger through their shared love of food, Zauners passion for music strained their relationship. They were brought closer together again by her mothers devastating cancer diagnosis. To read Zauners memoir is to join her in navigating culturally complex pathways of loss and joy.
Long before Congress designated March as Womens History Month in 1987, I was a young girl who imagined someday living a life exciting enough to write about. My favorite books featured curious girls who didnt abide by every rule.

Louise Fitzhughs 1964 novel Harriet the Spy was my favorite. Like Harriet, I kept a journal of commentary on my friends and family. Harriets attire of jeans, sneakers and sweatshirt was my regular couture; her aspiration to be a writer matched my own. Highlighting a brash and unconventional girl heroine, the novel excited not just me but also a Xenia, Ohio, school board, which narrowly voted to keep the book in libraries after it had been challenged as dangerous reading in 1983.

Now an English professor, I often remind myself and my students that it is only in the last 60 years or so that women like me have been teaching womens literature to young women at college. Until recently, only women who were wealthy and privileged were given any sort of education, and then it usually consisted of a smattering of reading, accompanied by embroidery, piano and French. Education for women, as for men through most of history, was the province of the upper classes and those associated with them.

Before the 20th century, womens lives were domestic, with the exception of working-class women who variously labored to put bread on the table. Most women had neither enough education nor leisure to write  and those who dared were told that such behavior was unwomanly.

Women writers during the medieval period were exceptional and almost always wrote in the context of religious vocations. While highly educated literary luminaries like Heloise wrote in Latin in the 12th century, less educated figures like the medieval English mystic Margery Kempe could not write. Determined to share the religious revelations that shook her life, Kempe sought out a male scribe (a priest) to take dictation for her. Kempe persisted in her unusual literary activity, just as she had insisted upon traveling alone to Palestine, boarding boats and donkeys in order to see Jesus birthplace. Kempes autobiography, The Book of Margery Kempe, is the first by a woman in English.

Another example of a woman who felt her story was too important to leave unrecorded was Mary Prince. A Black woman born into slavery in the West Indies in 1788, Prince narrated her story to an English woman, Susanna Strickland, who helped publish The History of Mary Prince for Londons Anti-Slavery Society in 1831. The earliest surviving slave narrative by a woman, Princes words attest to the terror and inhumanity of slavery: How can slaves be happy when they have the halter round their neck and the whip upon their back?

Rooms of their own

Some women took up the pen to decry the plight of women with literary ambitions.

Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (16611720), lamented in her poetry: Alas! a woman that attempts the pen/Such an intruder on the rights of men,/Such a presumptuous creature is esteemed,/The fault can by no virtue be redeemed.

Mary Wollstonecraft, in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), urged women to educate themselves to become rational and independent. Women werent naturally weak and dim-witted  as she admitted most women of her day were. Rather, women were condemned to ignorance by being denied education; men generally preferred them to be dutiful wives or playthings.

Charlotte Bronte echoed Wollstonecraft through the musings of her literary protagonist. In Jane Eyre (1847), Jane insists that women ... need exercise for their faculties and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do. (Its worth noting that Charlotte Bronte initially wrote under a male pseudonym, Currer Bell, in order to get published.)

Women writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries wanted more than a field for their efforts.

In A Room of Ones Own (1929), Virginia Woolf maintained that women require financial resources and a room of their own in order to write. She was thinking of Jane Austen (among others), who penned her novels while sitting in the family parlor. Austens nephew wrote that Austen had no separate study to repair to, and most of (her) work must have been done in the general sitting-room, subject to all kinds of casual interruptions. Men of property enjoyed quiet libraries for meditation and writing; women wrote in the living room, often disrupted by daily household matters (this might remind some of us of trying to work at home during a pandemic!).

Transcending boundaries

In the last hundred years, successive waves of feminist movements have helped to uncover and dismantle structural inequalities for women of color and lower socioeconomic classes. More women now have access to education and the professions than ever before. We are amid an explosion of writing by women of various races, classes, ethnicities and sexual identities. Moreover, contemporary womens writings consider subjects that our literary forebearers would have blushed at: womens bodies.

Poet Lucille Clifton (19362010) praises her hips in Homage to my Hips: these hips/are free hips./they dont like to be held back. Sandra Cisneros also lauds womens hips in her 1984 novel, The House on Mango Street. Poet Anne Sexton writes about her hysterectomy (In Celebration of My Uterus), while essayist Emilie Pine investigates menstruation, sex and menopause in her 2019 collection of essays, Notes to Self. Julie Otsukas 2011 novel The Buddha in the Attic enters the minds of immigrant Japanese picture brides on the night they lost their virginity. Alison Bechdels 2006 graphic memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic represents womens bodies in lesbian sex. In her 2018 book Im Afraid of Men, transgender woman writer Vivek Shraya questions gender boundaries altogether.

As I write these words, I am grateful for all the rooms of my own where I have written uninterruptedly, and for the classrooms filled with eager women writers who will soon change the world with their words  a world in which we will no longer need Womens History Month, because all 12 months will resound with womens voices and their truths.

Kabi Hartman is a senior teaching professor of English and director of the academic advising program at Franklin & Marshall College.
An American Jewish Committee survey published in October 2021 found that nearly 1 out of every 4 Jews in the United States said they had experienced antisemitism in the past year.

I personally have experienced antisemitism in my classes throughout the past few months. As we start to study World War II, naturally the topics of the Holocaust and Adolf Hitler come up. Without realizing that Im Jewish, some kids start making jokes.

Whether its some kids saying that they agree with antisemitism or that they want to be like that when they grow up upon seeing a swastika is on the board, its the little jokes that make a difference.

Ive been molded by the scenes I see around me to keep quiet, or else Ill be targeted and will come face to face with these jokes. These comments are antisemitic.

Ive also noticed that when anything closely related to the Jewish community is brought up, some people who do know that Im Jewish look at me and cause an unnecessary distraction.

Why cant I go a month without getting a stare because of my religion? I believe its because students arent taught about the Jewish religion in school and, when they are, its only centered around Hitler and the Holocaust.

Instead, teachers could talk about the fact that some Jewish people survived the Holocaust and discuss its aftermath. Discuss the Jews who were liberated, rebuilt their lives and are still around to teach kids today about what happened. Discuss how every few months an antisemitic act will come up, but as a community we come together to support one another.

Teachers could even go into lessons about the state of Israel and how it came into being. And I believe that these problems can be fixed, even if slightly, if teachers were to teach about the Jewish faith just a little more. Or, even if they do only teach the negatives, teachers could at least go a little deeper into the Holocaust and the true events that happened.

Perhaps it would stop some of the jokes if everyone knew what those of the Jewish faith have gone through to be the growing community we are now.

These antisemitic acts, while they might not affect many people, do have an impact on the Jewish students at Warwick High School and other high schools. If we could have the jokes stop, we could have a safe, inclusive environment for all students.

Dasia Meyer is in the ninth grade at Warwick High School.
Lancaster Countys southern end is home to farms (Amish and English, large and small), limited residential development, agricultural support and commercial businesses and limited industrial uses. It is also home to the boroughs of Christiana and Quarryville.

Our local residents know our home territory and our hopes for the future of our corner of the county better than any government agency. By and large, the residents of the southern end desire to retain its rural character and natural beauty. This will require proper planning.

Many people outside the southern end dont realize that you can live within its boundaries and access most daily needs. The boroughs anchor a host of convenient retail and service establishments. Our villages also provide services on a smaller scale due to a lack of infrastructure in the outlying areas of our region. Our fire companies are second to none. They serve across municipal boundary lines and are an important part of the social fabric of our community. Our municipalities work together.

In October 2018, the Lancaster County commissioners adopted a new countywide comprehensive plan known as Places 2040. This plan rightly asks us to think beyond boundaries. This isnt just Kumbaya togetherness  its a practical necessity. Think about school district boundaries versus municipal boundaries. Kids who live across the street from one another in the same township may go to different schools. Similarly, our road networks do not respect municipal boundaries. Sometimes a single parcel of land is located in more than one municipality. Municipal authorities sometimes include more than one municipality.

This working-across-borders idea is new for us, but it seems to be gaining traction. We have discovered that we agree on much. However, we do have challenges. For example, we are working together to think through how to retain our Amish farmers as they need to add nonagricultural businesses to their farm operations in order to remain financially viable. Currently, subtle details regarding uses and zoning ordinances vary from township to township. This makes for long and sometimes contentious public meetings. Cooperative, consistent and shared zoning regulations and uses would be a step forward. A highlight of a regional plan would include planning recommendations to help our agricultural industry flourish into the future.

Historically, the Lancaster County Planning Department had land planning jurisdiction over how land planning rules were written and administered at the municipal level. That has changed. The department has stepped up to facilitate discussions, offer recommendations and create draft documents to encourage the adoption of a regional comprehensive plan, instead of dictating from the top down how things ought to go.

The regional planning effort in the southern end has moved to actual in-person dialogue at meetings at which each municipality is invited to offer its thoughts and recommendations. These bimonthly meetings are organized by the county planning department and the newly created Southern Lancaster County Inter-Municipal Council. The meetings provide a platform for residents and borough leaders to interact about the future of our area.

Through these meetings weve learned that we are already on the same page about our core beliefs and vision for the future. We have the opportunity to grow that understanding, while respecting the differences of opinion that arise whenever you bring people together. Our hope is that all southern end stakeholders will participate. Both Christiana and Quarryville boroughs are participating and have scheduled public meetings to gather input from their residents.

Ultimately, this effort gives us the ability to tailor details of a regional comprehensive plan to document our collective vision of what the landscape of the southern end will look like in the future. For sure, growth will occur. We just do not want that growth to destroy the rural landscape and economic vitality we now enjoy. Our desire is to leave a positive legacy for future generations of families, farmers and business leaders who will call the southern end home.

Planning regionally simplifies the process, lessens review/approval time and reduces costs for individuals, farmers and businesses seeking approval for their projects. Cost savings are important to all of us.

It will take a group effort by those of us who live here to retain our rural communities and the economic integrity of our agricultural community in particular, while also retaining the natural landscape we all enjoy and love. For many years, municipalities have worked together to maintain our streets and roads. Why not on planning and zoning?

The southern end of Lancaster County is a beautiful place to live, farm, work, play and do business. Preserving the rural integrity of the southern end is high on the priority list now and will be well into the future.

Our attempts at working across borders have shown just how much our neighbors care about what our county could look like in 2040. It could look much as it exists today or it could look much worse. Going regional is a win-win for everybody.

Ray Marvin is chairman of the Bart Township Board of Supervisors and general manager of BBs Grocery Outlet. Scott Peiffer is the borough manager of Quarryville. They will speak at the Lancaster2040: Thinking Beyond Boundaries summit, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 31 at The Ware Center, 42 N. Prince St. in Lancaster. More information can be found at places2040summit.com.
THE ISSUE

Friday marked two years since the first two cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in Lancaster County and Pennsylvania saw its first death, LNP | LancasterOnlines Nicole C. Brambila and Enelly Betancourt reported in last Sundays edition. Anna S. Stauffer, a licensed practical nurse, was the first COVID-19 fatality in Lancaster County; she died at age 83 on March 26, 2020. The virus, Brambila and Betancourt noted, has claimed more than 1,600 county residents since.

In this unforeseen third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, were feeling hopeful, but also wary.

As LNP | LancasterOnlines Colin Evans reported in Wednesdays edition, The pace of decrease in COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases in Lancaster County continued to slow after weeks of steep declines following Januarys record-setting wave of infections, according to data from the state Department of Health. COVID-19 indicators in the county remain at levels similar to that of late July and early August 2021.

Early August, he noted, was when cases, hospitalizations and deaths had begun to climb after reaching their lowest levels of the pandemic in mid-July.

So, are we merely in a lull right now, before the highly transmissible omicron subvariant known as BA.2  or some other variant  brings another wave of infections crashing down on our heads? Or are we on the other side of the pandemic, at long last?

In a column published in last Sundays Perspective section, Dr. Leon Kraybill wrote hopefully of signals we may be returning to a life less controlled by infection concerns.

The Lancaster County geriatrician took a clear-eyed look at what worked to protect  and what undermined  public health in the past two years.

Denial of COVID-19s seriousness did not help us, he noted, and neither did the politicization of the virus, the vaccines and other mitigation measures.

Kraybill reminded us that while some preventive measures  such as the early lockdowns  came at a high personal and community cost of isolation, depression, disconnection, financial stress, business closures and education interruption ... we had no other good viable and ethical options two years ago.

COVID-19 has cost more than 970,000 American lives. If we had not responded with necessary interventions, it could have been 2 million or 10 million or 20 million deaths, and the weight of sorrow would have been that much greater, Kraybill wrote.

Thankfully, much more now is known about how to treat COVID-19 infection, and we have safe and effective vaccines that dramatically reduce the chances that vaccinated people will need to be hospitalized if infected.

Kraybill suggested  and we strongly concur  that we ought to prepare for future health crises by following this prescription: Set aside our polarizing opinions and focus on health and community well-being, he wrote. Make community decisions based on science and medical principles, and less on politics. Establish a county health department with medically trained staff to monitor and advise on the specific needs of Lancaster County. Choose your sources of truth very carefully  are they based on experience and training, and is your well-being their true motivation? And when we inevitably disagree, choose kindness, decency and openness.

The pandemics toll

Its painful to think about where we were two years ago, locked down, worried about what lay in store. Too many of us lost people we loved to the virus, changing our lives forever.

As Brambila and Betancourt wrote last Sunday, Lancaster County residents who have died of COVID-19 served presidents, attended Ivy League schools and fought in Vietnam. They were teachers, direct care workers and farmers.

They included soulmates and childhood sweethearts Joseph and Eleanor Piascinksi, of West Lampeter Township, who met in kindergarten, were married 61 years and died of COVID-19 five days apart in 2020, before Christmas.

Then there are those still suffering from symptoms of COVID-19  long COVID  months after infection.

They include Kyle Schlinkman, a licensed practical nurse in East Donegal Township, who still struggles to breathe, even with constant oxygen, and to keep food down, Brambila and Betancourt reported.

Weve been mindful of long COVID since we first learned of it. Its one reason we countered assertions that the coronavirus didnt pose a serious threat to children. It may have been a lesser threat, but even a mild case of COVID-19 can cause lingering symptoms  including neurological ones  that could derail a childs health, education and future.

Weve also been full-throated in our support of mitigation measures such as mask-wearing and vaccination because weve seen the toll  not just physical, but emotional and mental  that this pandemic has exacted on health care workers.

The health care workers

As Lancaster County intensive care unit nurse Nikkee Asashon wrote last Sunday for LNP | LancasterOnline, Those of us in health care caring for COVID-19 patients had to come to terms with seeing multiple people die each day, despite our best and most intense efforts to save them. We lived in fear each day we returned home from work, concerned that we might bring the virus home and infect our families. The daily feeling of loss, failure and exhaustion created a trauma so strong that many people chose to leave their jobs in health care to protect their own mental health.

Appallingly, the early and widespread praise for health care workers morphed into anger and resentment from those who didnt want to accept the seriousness of COVID-19. Public health officials also were targeted for abuse.

A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health identified 1,499 unique reports of harassment across local health departments in the United States during the pandemics first 11 months.

Health care workers, Asashon noted, were accused of fearmongering, of exaggerating the importance of social distancing, masking and COVID-19 vaccination. So, many of us grew silent, and just continued to do our jobs.

But, she continued, we felt it. We felt the betrayal on top of the pain and trauma we already were experiencing, because no amount of training or education can prepare you for working through a pandemic. No book or clinical experience can prepare you for witnessing that much death in such a short period of time.

The unfairness of this betrayal is immense. Where would we be without health care workers?

Asashon said she prays that people who have lost loved ones over the past two years have found peace, or are on their way to finding it. ... Most of all I hope that all those who have lost their lives to this virus did not do so in vain, and that we all realize we can, and we must, do better.

Like Kraybill, Asashon wished for unity in future health crises and for kindness.

We share those hopes, too.

Alionso Avril, a respiratory therapist and Pulmonary Services team leader at WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital, also wrote powerfully last Sunday of the past two years.

Respiratory therapists have been among the unsung heroes of this pandemic.

Because COVID-19 is a virus that causes severe inflammation of the lungs, respiratory therapists were on the front lines during the pandemic  there when a patient was put on a ventilator, there to encourage a patient during sometimes uncomfortable therapy that vibrates the patients lungs to loosen secretions, there to monitor and adjust treatments, Avril explained.

He wrote that the hard part for us respiratory therapists and everyone who cares for COVID-19 patients is that, though we do everything we can to save our patients, sometimes everything is not enough.

In the darkest days of the pandemic, he told his team members that we do the work of the Lord. This is what the good Lord would want us to do, to care for these patients and to do our best.

That is indeed what they were doing, and continue to do, and we are grateful for all the health care workers who put their lives on the line to save others.

Avril said the pandemic has led him to value life more. It made me appreciate everything I have: the love of my family, the love of what Im doing, and the fact that I can make a difference in someones life.

Theres a lesson there for all of us, if we choose to learn it.
In his op-ed that was published in the March 13 Perspective section (The American right seems to worship strongmen), The New York Times Paul Krugman noted that there are some Americans who have decided to embrace former President Donald Trumps praise of Vladimir Putin.

Through the echo chamber of Fox News and similar outlets, messages have been amplified in support of Putins worldwide disinformation campaign as he wages a brutal and unjustifiable war in Ukraine.

As a result of the media wars for ratings, Fox News Tucker Carlson, as well as others, represent fabrication as fact and lend credence on a nightly basis to statements made by conspiracists and anti-government and anti-democracy patriots.

It was Abraham Lincoln, running for the U.S. Senate in 1958, who said, A house divided against itself cannot stand. Our democracy is standing on one leg on a precipice. The remedies against such division are to reject extremism, to denounce disinformation and tribalism, and to carefully evaluate all who wish to represent us. We must elect only leaders, Republican or Democratic, who seek to form a more perfect union  not those who seek to dissolve it.

A little wishful thinking here, with apologies to poet Emma Lazarus and Lady Liberty:

Give me your Betrayers, your Purveyors of lies,

your wealthy Oligarchs yearning to breathe tax-free;

the Despots and the Demagogues of your soulless wars.

Send These in the name of Justice, I implore.

Against Them, I will lift my lamp to shine on Truth,

and I will lock the Golden Door.

Anne D. Miller

Manor Township
If your heart isnt broken while watching the Ukrainians resist the authoritarian evil of Vladimir Putins invasion there, you must not have a heart. Or, it could be that you believe the information available to Russian citizens over their state-controlled and tightly limited media and television stations. Or, you watch and believe Fox News. Or, you follow the social media accounts of some of the groups that raided the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The citizens of Ukraine are resisting the atrocities of Putin (who former President Donald Trump recently reminded us is a genius) not just for their own purposes. They are fighting for all of us who favor democracy and self-determination. They are showing that power isnt enough to change the goals and expectations of real people. We should be doing all that we safely can  as soon as possible  to support them in their efforts for all of us.

The economic sanctions being enacted are a great start. They strike Putin and his oligarchs head-on. The closing of American businesses and trade in Russia will send a clear message to previously uninformed Russians.

We need to make more military and humanitarian aid available to the Ukrainians so they can defend themselves, strike back at invading equipment and soldiers, and support each others needs for shelter, food, heat, electricity and basic life.

Just as importantly, we should let the far too many Republican U.S. House and U.S. Senate members who voted against aid to Ukraine know that there is a place for them  Russia.

Terry W. Blue

Manor Township
Geneva is set to host the 16th edition of Festichoc, the annual chocolate festival, welcoming 25 chocolate artisans coming from all around Switzerland to showcase their gourmand works of art on April 2 and 3.



Happening at the Espace Lachenal  Versoix on the north-west side of Lake Geneva, the event will offer different spaces for visitors to taste, explore and learn more about authentic chocolate making, all while having an enjoyable journey.



These activities include:



 The Artisans Fair, a 2,000-sq-m space for all things chocolate, from tastings, demonstrations and sales of chocolatey goodness.

 A sculpture contest and exhibition, where over 40 apprentice chocolatiers compete to create a masterpiece within a specific theme.

 Favarger scavenger hunt is an activity for children aged below 12, as they follow clues scattered around the fairs grounds for a chance to win amazing prizes.  TradeArabia News Service








Archaeologists have discovered an ancient coffin under the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The lead coffin, also known as a sarcophagus, was uncovered along with several ancient tombs.

Frances Culture Ministry said some lower levels of the excavation site are believed to date back to the 14th century. It said the unearthed burial sites represented remarkable scientific quality.

Among the discovered tombs was the completely preserved, human-shaped sarcophagus made of lead, the ministry added. Archaeologists said the coffin may have been created for a high-level official who had lived at the time.

The excavation work is happening as workers repair the historic religious center after a destructive fire in 2019. Because of the latest discoveries, officials decided to extend the excavation work until March 25.

Christophe Besnier is with France's National Archaeological Institute. He told Reuters his organization was able to send a camera down to where the work is being done. It captured materials including cloth, as well as remains of hair and plants.

"The fact that these plants are still there indicates that the contents have been very well preserved," he said.

In addition to the tombs, elements of painted sculptures were also found just beneath the current floor level of the cathedral.

Other ancient materials were unearthed during repairs carried out at Notre Dame in the mid-1800s. Many of those pieces are included in the collection of the Louvre museum in Paris.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

coffin  n. a box in which a dead body is buried

tomb  n. a place where a dead person is buried, usually marked by a structure

excavation  n. to dig in the ground in an effort to look for objects from the past

remarkable  adj. very unusual or noticeable in a favorable way

preserve  v. to keep something the same or prevent it from being damaged or destroyed

indicate  v. to show that something exists or is likely to be true

sculpture  n. a piece of art made from stone, wood, clay, etc.
The American space agency NASA has extended flight operations on Mars for its Ingenuity helicopter.

Ingenuity landed on Mars a little over a year ago along with NASAs Perseverance explorer, or rover.

At first, NASA officials described Ingenuity as a demonstration mission. It was designed to see whether the small aircraft could take off, fly a short distance, and then land on the Red Planet.

The helicopter quickly succeeded in those areas during a series of tests. NASA said the flights marked the first time any aircraft had performed a powered, controlled flight on another planet.

Last May, NASA announced it was expanding Ingenuitys experimental mission. Since then, Ingenuity has kept flying on Mars. So far, the helicopter has completed 21 flights. On March 15, the space agency announced it was extending Ingenuitys mission through September.

Thomas Zurbuchen is associate administrator of NASAs Science Mission Directorate. He praised Ingenuitys progress. Less than a year ago, we didnt even know if powered, controlled flight of an aircraft at Mars was possible, he said. Now, we are looking forward to Ingenuitys involvement in Perseverances second science campaign.

During that next science campaign, NASA says, Ingenuity will center on exploring an ancient river system on Mars Jezero Crater. Ingenuity has been working together with Perseverance in an area of Jezero known as Seitah.

NASA says the river system Ingenuity will help explore is very different from the areas it has been flying over since its first flight in April. The past flights have been carried out over mostly flat surfaces. The river system, called a delta, rises more than 40 meters above the crater floor. It contains sharp cliffs, large rocks and sand-filled areas.

Such areas could present transportation difficulties for the Perseverance rover. So, the helicopters main goal will be to help map a safe path for Perseverance to cross over into the delta, NASA said. In addition, data provided by the helicopter will help the Perseverance team assess possible science targets.

The river delta area is considered a good target for science experiments because it is believed to hold valuable geologic elements. NASA said the area may even contain the proof necessary to determine (whether) microscopic life once existed on Mars billions of years ago. Perseverance is on a mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars.

Teddy Tzanetos is the Ingenuity team lead at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. He said the Jezero river delta campaign will be the biggest challenge the Ingenuity team faces since the first flight at Mars. In preparation for the helicopters upcoming activities, Tzanetos said he had increased the size of the team and upgraded the aircrafts flight software.

The upgrades are designed to permit Ingenuity to fly higher, make longer trips and improve safety in more difficult conditions.

So far, Ingenuity has flown more than 38 minutes and traveled 4.6 kilometers. NASA says the helicopters 22nd flight is set to happen no earlier than March 19. It is expected to include a complex move requiring the aircraft to take a sharp turn to avoid a large hill in its path.

Ingenuitys chief pilot is Havard Grip. He noted that the continuing flights are quickly filling up a book he uses to record each trip. He said when the mission started, he thought he would be lucky to record five flights. Now, at the rate were going, Im going to need a second book, Grip said.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this report for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

Quiz - NASA Extends Ingenuity Helicopter Mission on Mars Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

mission  n. an important project or trip, especially involving space travel

crater  n. a big hole in the ground created by the force of an object

cliff  n. an area containing high, steep rocks

assess  v. make a judgement about the quality, size, value, etc. of something

determine  v. to officially decide something because of evidence or facts

challenge  n. a difficult task or problem; something that is hard to do

upgrade  v. to improve something by making it newer or better quality
The National Cherry Blossom Festival is celebrating its 110th anniversary. The popular event celebrating U.S.-Japanese ties, is once again being held in person. The most flowers are expected between March 22 and March 25.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is being held Washington, D.C. after two years of restrictions because of COVID-19.

"This year, more than ever, you really understand why the festival is so important," said Diana Mayhew. She is the president of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc., the non-profit group that helps organize the events. "We recognize that it's more than just a festival. It's about spring and renewal and a sense of new beginnings."

Weather changes and peak bloom

The National Park Service helps oversee the festival. The service estimates the cherry trees will have the most flowers, a time called peak bloom, between March 22 and 25. The special events start with the opening ceremony on March 20. They continue through April 17, with musical shows and other events like a parade on Saturday April 9.

Mike Litterst is a spokesman for the Park Service. He said although there was cold weather and snow recently it would not hurt the cherry blossoms. Temperatures below freezing can damage the blooms. In 2017 a late frost destroyed almost 50 percent of the flowers.

Trees in some areas of Washington have already started to blossom. However, the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin near the center of the city have not begun to flower. The area is a favorite place for tourist and photographers.

Litterst said the blossoms are still firmly inside of their buds. He said the buds act like an armor, giving the blossoms protection. If temperatures are lower next week, there might be some problems he said, adding, I think well be OK this time.

Combining festival activities

For the past two years, large gatherings and crowds have been restricted because of the COVID-19 health emergency. City officials closed streets and public transportation around the Tidal Basin to block people from observing the pink-colored blossoms. The festival organizers worked hard to create safe ways for people to enjoy the yearly celebration of spring, including live videos and internet presentations.

This year, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared, "We want D.C. to be the face of spring for the nation."

This year also marks the 110th anniversary of the gift of 3,000 Japanese cherry trees presented in 1912 by the mayor of Tokyo to the nations capital. Japan's government remains deeply involved in the festival and often exchanges about 90 old trees for new ones every year.

Ryo Kuroishi of the Japanese Embassy, joked at this years festival announcement that, "It feels a little strange to have all these people right in front of me instead of little Zoom squares."

Mayhew, the festivals president, said this year will include a joint event with usual and video experiences for those who are still not sure about attending public gatherings or traveling to the event.

Mayhew said, "We're spreading it out and being as cautious and as health conscious as possible. There's so many people who want to connect, even if they can't make it."

Popular activities will return this year. They include Bloom Cam, live video of the cherry blossoms. Petal Porches is an activity where people living in the city decorate the front of their homes with pictures and objects that look like cherry blossoms. The results are shown on the internet.

The popular March 26 kite flying festival will take place as it has in the past in the area surrounding the Washington Monument. But locals can hold their own kite flying events in areas where it is permitted.

Im Faith Pirlo

Ashraf Khalil reported this story for the Associated Press. Faith Pirlo adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

renewal  n. the state of being made new, fresh, or strong again; the condition of being renewed

peak bloom  n. a time when the U.S. National Park Service says that 70 percent of the cherry blossoms are in full bloom

frost  n. when freezing temperatures cause ice to form on the ground

tourist n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure

buds  n. a growth on the end of a tree or plant that turns into a flower or leaf

armor  n. a protective covering

conscious adj. knowing about or thinking about something

decorate  v. to make something nice-looking by adding things to it

porches  n. an area outside a building or home that has a covering over it

kite  n. an object that has a light frame and cloth that can be used for flying in the air with the wind

What do you think of this years cherry blossom events? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
United States astronaut Mark Vande Hei has made it through nearly a year in space. Now, he faces an unusual situation: At the end of the month, he is going to ride a Russian spacecraft back to Earth as tensions deepen between the countries.

Vande Hei  who recently broke the U.S. single spaceflight record of 340 days  is due to leave the International Space Station (ISS) with two Russians in a Soyuz capsule. They will land in Kazakhstan on March 30.

The astronaut will have spent 355 days in space by then, setting a new U.S. record. The world record of 438 continuous days in space belongs to Russia.

NASA insists Vande Heis return plans at the end of the month remain unchanged, even as Russias invasion of Ukraine has resulted in canceled launches, broken contracts and a war of words with the Russian Space Agencys leader, Dmitry Rogozin.

Retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly is among those arguing with Rogozin, a longtime ally of Vladimir Putin. Angered by what is going on in Ukraine, Kelly has returned his Russian medal for space exploration to the Russian Embassy in Washington.

Despite the conflict on Earth, Kelly believes the two sides can hold it together up in space.

He told the Associated Press, We need an example set that two countries that historically have not been on the most friendly of terms, can still work somewhere peacefully. And that somewhere is the International Space Station. Thats why we need to fight to keep it.

NASA wants to keep the space station running until 2030, as do the European, Japanese and Canadian space agencies, while the Russians have not committed beyond the original end date of 2024.

The U.S. and Russia are the main operators of the ISS, which has been permanently occupied for 21 years. Until SpaceX started launching astronauts in 2020, Americans regularly got rides on Russian Soyuz capsules for tens of millions of dollars per seat.

The U.S. and Russian space agencies are still working on a long-term plan in which a Russian would launch on a SpaceX capsule beginning this fall and an American would fly up on the Soyuz. That would permit a U.S. and Russian station presence at all times.

Vande Hei, 55, a retired Army colonel, moved into the space station last April, launching on a Soyuz from Kazakhstan with Pyotr Dubrov and another Russian. He and Dubrov stayed twice as long as usual to help with a Russian film crew that visited in October.

As the situation 420 kilometers below became worse last month, Vande Hei said he was avoiding discussions about Ukraine with Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov, their Russian commander. Three more Russians will launch from Kazakhstan on Friday to replace them.

We havent talked about that too much. Im not sure we really want to go there, Vande Hei told a TV reporter in mid-February.

Space station operations continue as always  in orbit and on Earth, according to NASA.

It would be a sad day for international operations if we cant continue to peacefully operate in space, said NASAs human spaceflight chief Kathy Lueders, who noted it would be very difficult to do space research alone.

Im John Russell.

__________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

commit  v. to say that (someone or something) will definitely do something : to make (someone or something) obligated to do something

original  adj. happening or existing first or at the beginning
Nations around the world have already established economic, cultural and travel restrictions on Russia. Now, colleges across the United States are facing pressure to put in place educational limits against the country.

The restrictions could affect the exchange of students between the two countries. And they could end research projects that receive money from universities in the U.S.

Educational, financial restrictions

For many American colleges, the first concern has been to bring American students studying in Russia or Ukraine home. About 1,400 Americans studied in those nations in 2018, but the numbers have dropped sharply during the pandemic.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, Middlebury College in Vermont suspended a study abroad program in Russia at the end of February. The school urged the 12 students to return home immediately for safety reasons.

Among them was Zavier Ridgley of Tulane University in New Orleans. Ridgley said he was sad to leave. He called the program in Moscow the opportunity of a lifetime.

Other schools, like Dartmouth College of New Hampshire, are canceling future study programs in Russia. And some are ending financial and educational ties in the country.

Soon after the invasion, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, said it was ending its partnership with a school in Moscow called Skoltech, an English-language technology university it helped start in 2011. MIT officials called it a rejection of the unacceptable military actions against Ukraine.

The University of Colorado said it was giving up all investments, including $3.5 million, in Russia. The move came after Colorado state leaders urged the school to cut ties.

In the state of Arizona, all public universities said they were ending ties with Russia. And Arizona State University said its business school will end connections with a training center in Moscow. State leaders in Ohio and Virginia have also asked their public universities to end investments in Russia.

Stanford University, however, is not ending its $1.6 million Russian contract for computer-based business courses. The university said it is in full compliance with the U.S. restrictions.

Russian students in the U.S.

The 2021 Open Doors Report said about 5,000 students from Russia studied in the U.S. last year. In addition, just under 2,000 Ukrainian students were in the U.S.

Following the invasion, a few American lawmakers pushed for visa restrictions against Russian students. One even called for sending Russian students home. Speaking to CNN last month, Representative Eric Swalwell said the U.S. should consider sending every Russian student out of the United States.

Supporters of international education say losing those students would end a chance for them to learn Western ideals. They say Russians who study in America are already more likely to want changes back home.

Jill Welch is a senior adviser for a group of university presidents called the Presidents Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. Leaders need to make a distinction between Putin and Russian people who want a better life, she said, mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sending anyone back wouldnt shorten the war by a day.

That is a concern for Liudmila Fedorova, a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Fedorova was born in Russia and studied in Moscow.

Its extremely important not to cut ties with Russia. Most of the students who do come to study English, they oppose the regime. And actually, especially now there will be many students from Russia applying for American programs.

Fedorova told VOA that she worries about the exchange of ideas between the U.S. and Russia if study programs are shut down.

I know that the most important thing now is the war in Ukraine, but I am also very much concerned about my friends in Russia who fight for peace, who find themselves in danger. And there is no escape for them.

Im Dan Friedell.

The Associated Press reported this story. Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English with additional reporting.

Do you think students will be able to come to the U.S. from Russia in the future? Do you think American students will go there? Let us know. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. Quiz - Will US Restrictions on Russia Hurt Academic Exchange? Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

Words in This Story

opportunity  n. a chance or time in which something can be done

financial adj. relating to money

partnership  n. a connection or relationship, two groups working together

compliance  n. the act of doing something that is required, following a rule

ideals  n. an idea or standard of perfection or excellence

distinction  n. the separation of people or things into different groups

regime  n. a form of government or management

apply  v. to ask formally for something such as a job or place at a school
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.
With a particular focus on the GCC region, Akhom Consulting will expand the brand presence of METT, a 5-star lifestyle collection of Hotels & Resorts, in the luxury hospitality market.

For this, Akhom Consulting and METT Hotels & Resorts have entered into a partnership starting from March 2022.

Akhom Consulting will lead the sales representation of METT Brand in the Middle East luxury hospitality market.

METT Hotels & Resorts is a luxury brand by Sunset Hospitality Group. METT lives up to its Bohemianchic, minimalist style in unique locations. The concept of METT Social Living takes its routes from the way people live in the Mediterranean, with a focus on driving incredible dining experiences. The brand offers an enriching escape to all guests looking for easy living in a mesmerising setting.

Since May 2021, METT Hotels & Resorts have welcomed guests in Bodrum, Turkey, by the turquoise Aegean Sea. With a strong pipeline including Dubai, Spain, Greece, and Italy, METT is getting ready to set the new hospitality norms for the elite travellers in multiple destinations.

The next resort opening is scheduled for summer 2022 in Marbella.

Mouhamed Abdulkhalek, Managing Director of Akhom Consulting said: We are delighted to partner with METT Hotels & Resorts and represent this top-notch luxury brand in the Middle East market. We believe that METT Hotels & Resorts will bring a different perspective in hospitality. METT's Bohemianchic Social Living concept will help the brand be the leading name this season. Our triumphant work will allow METT to access the Middle East market, one of the most efficient tourist-generating regions, and to ensure a strong market presence and the desired revenue for the brand.

-- TradeArabia News Service
Nothing like a brutal war in Ukraine to drive home the realities of the worlds dependence on oil. The devastation and suffering there has also pushed talk of nuclear power back to the forefront ... for reasons bad and good.

The bad is encapsulated in reports from Chernobyl, site of a derelict nuclear plant in northern Ukraine, where technicians are working around the clock at Russian gunpoint to prevent a repeat of the 1986 meltdown brought on by Soviet-era incompetence. It is further illustrated by Russian attacks this month on a working nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, where indiscriminate shelling nearly led to disaster.

On the plus side of the nuclear power debate, Wisconsin scientists and companies stand in a unique position to help provide solutions over time.

The nuclear plants in Ukraine are largely holdovers from obsolete technology. The future is focused on smaller, safer and reliable nuclear fission plants that are modular in design. Its an approach that received a warm reception during last falls global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, and has been gathering momentum since.

Nuclear energy produces no atmospheric emissions. Thats why next-generation nuclear plants are part of carbon-reduction plans released of late by the United States and other nations. During the fall climate change conference, for example, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm touted a partnership to install five next-generation, modular reactors in retired Romanian coal plants.

One leading U.S. nuclear research hub is located within the UW-Madison College of Engineering. It produces graduates who work in energy generation, but also in fields such as medicine, where radiation and radioisotopes are routinely used to diagnose and treat illness. Controlled radiation plays a role in sectors such as space exploration, food preservation, chemical production, and mechanical and structural safety checks.

Such nearby expertise may be a reason why Dairyland Power Cooperative in La Crosse, which ran the states first nuclear plant in Genoa, is pursuing a return to nuclear power. The utility is exploring technology developed by NuScale Power, a pioneer in the modular approach, to bring electricity to about 500,000 customers in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

Even if all goes well technically and financially, any Dairyland small nuclear reactor is years away. A project is at least feasible, however, because Wisconsin lifted its moratorium on building new plants in 2016.

Also getting renewed attention is nuclear fusion. Fission is all about splitting atoms to release energy. Fusion is the opposite.

Still years from being proven at a commercial scale, fusion combines atoms to create heavier ones while releasing energy. It has long been touted as safe, emissions-free and devoid of nuclear waste, one of the biggest complaints about fission. Fusion fuel sources are most often described as a combination of lithium and hydrogen.

Fusion was the topic of a March 17 White House summit during which two Wisconsin experts took part. Greg Piefer, founder and chief executive officer of SHINE Technologies in Janesville, and Stephanie Diem, a fusion expert on the UW-Madison faculty, were among two-dozen or so invited experts.

The Piefer-led team at SHINE held the world record for a while in 2019, sustaining a controlled fusion reaction that beat the previous mark by nearly 25%. The company ran a 132-hour test with more than 99% up time, yielding 46 trillion neutrons per second. It shows how researchers are inching closer to producing more energy than the fusion process consumes.

There is ample room for doubt, even as the White House convenes such experts. Nuclear fusion is one of those scientific Holy Grails that seems forever just out of reach, still viewed by some skeptics as the 21st century of alchemy.

Until now. Breakthroughs are taking place rapidly in federal laboratories, in Europe and in China. Theyre also occurring in private companies such as SHINE, which is building a medical isotope plant in Janesville and which also designs and manufactures neutron generators. Such generators can be used in the fusion process.

Nuclear fission has its critics. Nuclear fusion has its skeptics. And yet, there is little doubt that electricity demands will continue to grow, fossil fuel consumption will likely decline, and alternatives such as solar and wind have logical limits. Its no wonder that nuclear power, in all its forms, is getting a fresh look.

Tom Still is the president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. Email: tstill@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com.
All of Milwaukee novelist Erica Ruth Neubauers Jane Wunderly mysteries are set at real-life historical locations in the 1920s. First in Egypt, then England and most recently on an Atlantic Ocean-liner. So research is important.

While Danger on the Atlantic, Neubauers third book, is out later this month, she was ready to board a plane to Istanbul to research her fourth novel when we chatted last week. Shell be back in Wisconsin to discuss her latest book at an event at Mystery to Me later this month.

Q: Congrats on book three. How do you describe Danger on the Atlantic?

A: In this series, main character Jane Wunderly is an American widow of the Great War. In the first book she traveled to Egypt and gets embroiled in a murder mystery. In the second book shes at a manor house in England. In this one theyre on a trans-Atlantic cruise.

Q: How did the series come about?

A: When I started writing these books I recalled popular advice write what you want to read. What I really loved to read was historical mysteries with really strong female protagonists. Thats what I set out to create with Jane Wunderly. I love the witty banter.

Q: I read youve had several different careers before becoming a writer, including a stint as a police officer. Have they influenced your writing?

A: I taught high school English and I was in the military for 11 years. And actually, currently Im a licensed private investigator. I got my license during the pandemic, so I havent had a lot of work yet. I needed a job in addition to being a novelist. Given my military and police background this is something I could do. And its definitely fodder for future novels.

Q: All three of your books so far take place in the year 1926. Why pick that year?

A: When I sat down to write Murder at the Mena House I wanted to set it somewhere in Egypt. My dad raised me on old black-and-white movies, like Agatha Christie. Somewhere along the line I picked up really romantic ideas of the 1920s, especially Egypt. I imagined fancy houses with people sipping cocktails and a dead body in the corner. I knew I wanted Jane, the main character, in a different place for each book. The year 1926  its enough before the crash and enough after the war that I could do things with her character that I couldnt otherwise. I liked the 20s. It immediately brings to mind things so visually for a reader, like flappers. I think it was also an interesting time socially. Women were really starting to push against the Victorian ideas of what they were allowed to do. They wore short skirts to go dancing, and women were drinking and smoking.

Q: What type of research did you do for Danger on the Atlantic?

A: I set (the book) on a well-known ocean liner, the Olympic, which was the sister ship to the Titanic. I was able to find pictures and pretty detailed information about what it was like. Before I start writing a book I do a lot of reading about the setting. I found a bunch of books about the Olympic and that era of cruise ships in general. A book written by a former captain of an ocean liner  was very dry, but there was good information there about what it was like to be crew on those ships.

Q: What can you tell us about your next book?

A: Its called Intrigue in Istanbul. Im actually going to Istanbul today. This was very last minute, it is very exciting. Book characters Redvers and Jane are looking for her father and a mysterious artifact. Research for the book has been tougher than the rest. Its one of the reasons I have to go there and see these places if I can. I like to be able to bring in the history. Im kind of a history nerd.

Q: In mysteries like yours, readers often get attached to characters like Jane Wunderly. What do you think readers like most about her?

A: Shes smart, clever and also very human. Shes got a sassy mouth, its one of the things that I like in a protagonist.
One person was found dead after a house fire Saturday morning in Juneau County, the Sheriff's Office said.

The Union Center Fire Department responded to a report of a house fire in the village of Union Center shortly after 7:30 a.m., according to the Juneau County Sheriff's Office.

Emergency crews were notified that there were potentially two individuals inside the home as it burned, the Sheriff's Office said. One person was found to be safe in the city of Elroy, but firefighters found the body of the second person inside the house that caught fire.

The Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire.

The identity of the person who died has not been released. Authorities are still investigating the cause of death, the Sheriff's Office said.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigations is assisting the Juneau County Sheriff's Office in the investigation.

The Elroy, Hillsboro and Wonewoc fire departments, as well as the Wonewoc Area Ambulance also responded to the incident.

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Cambridge Second Assistant Fire Chief Randy North died while serving his community as a firefighter, the Fire Department said Saturday.

North died during active duty after a farm accident, the Cambridge Volunteer Fire Department said. The Fire Department did not provide further information about how and when North died.

Cambridge is about a half-hour east of Madison.

North joined the department in 1998, and was a leader in the department for many years, the Fire Department said.

He also worked for the Cambridge School District for many years, which the department said made him invaluable during incidents and trainings at local schools.

North was a former driver for the Cambridge Area Emergency Medical Service as well, and was involved with the Jefferson County Firefighters and Chiefs Association.

You will be missed tremendously, Randy, the department said. We will take it from here.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

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Heres how members of Wisconsins congressional delegation voted on major issues last week.

HOUSE

MODERNIZING ACCESS TO OUR PUBLIC LAND ACT: Voting 414 for and 9 against, the House on Tuesday required (H.R. 3113) the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to digitize and publish geographic information system mapping data on public access to federal land and water for recreation.

Voting Yes: Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, 1st District; Mark Pocan, D-Black Earth, 2nd District; Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, 3rd District; Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, 4th District; Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, 5th District; Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, 6th District; Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, 7th District; Mike Gallagher, R-Green Bay, 8th District

UPPER COLORADO AND SAN JUAN RIVER BASINS RECOVERY ACT: Voting 397 for and 27 against, the House on Tuesday authorized (H.R. 5001) the Secretary of the Interior to continue implementing endangered fish recovery programs for the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins.

Voting Yes: Steil; Pocan; Kind; Moore; Fitzgerald; Grothman; Tiffany; Gallagher

JAPANESE AMERICAN WORLD WAR II HISTORY NETWORK ACT: Voting 406 for and 16 against, the House on Wednesday directed (H.R. 6434) the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Japanese American World War II History Network within the National Park Service.

Voting Yes: Steil; Pocan; Kind; Moore; Fitzgerald; Grothman; Tiffany; Gallagher

SUSPENDING NORMAL TRADE RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA AND BELARUS ACT: Voting 424 for and 8 against, the House on Thursday suspended (H.R. 7108) normal trade relations with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

Voting Yes: Steil; Pocan; Kind; Moore; Fitzgerald; Tiffany; Gallagher

Voting No: Grothman

CROWN ACT OF 2021: Voting 235 for and 189 against, the House on Thursday prohibited (H.R. 2116) discrimination based on the texture or style of a persons hair.

Voting Yes: Pocan; Kind; Moore

Voting No: Steil; Grothman; Tiffany; Gallagher

No Vote: Fitzgerald

SENATE

SHALANDA YOUNG NOMINATION: Voting 61 for and 36 against, the Senate on Tuesday confirmed (PN1437) the nomination of Shalanda Young, of Louisiana, to work as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Shes the first Black woman to lead the White House budget office.

Voting Yes: Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison

Voting No: Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh

SUNSHINE PROTECTION ACT OF 2021: In a unanimous vote, the Senate on Tuesday passed (S.623) a bill to make daylight saving time permanent. The bill aims to eliminate the twice-yearly time change.

Voting Yes: Baldwin; Johnson

JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY NOMINATION: Voting 63 for and 36 against, the Senate on Thursday confirmed (PN1498) the nomination of Jacqueline Scott Corley, of California, to serve as United States District Judge for the Northern District of California. Previously, she was a federal magistrate judge for the Northern District of California.

Voting Yes: Baldwin

Voting No: Johnson
Saudi Arabia Pavilion, one of the most visited sites at Expo 2020 Dubai, has won a prestigious World Expo Award from US-based Exhibitor Magazine, adding a new trophy to its rich roster of international awards.



The Kingdoms massive pavilion, the second largest structure at Expo after the host nations, has won the award for Best XL Pavilion (more than 5,000 square meters), one of four Best Pavilion prizes awarded to Expo 2020 Dubai pavilions in four different categories. Exhibitor Magazine announced the winners in the competitions total of 14 categories during an ExhibitorInsight webinar on Wednesday March 16. The competition received entries from dozens of pavilions.



The Kingdoms 13,059-sq-m pavilion has also received an Honourable Mention in Best Exterior Design. Another Honourable Mention was received by the Saudi Arabia Pavilion (Audiovisual Kaleidoscope) for Best Exhibit/Display.



Hussain Hanbazazah, Commissioner General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Pavilion, said: We are proud that the Saudi Arabia Pavilion is among Exhibitor Magazines World Expo Award winners. This latest title is added to our Pavilions roster of wins and confirms its status as one of the most innovative sites at Expo 2020 Dubai.



The Saudi Pavilion is a unique architectural landmark, embodying a bold ambition to shape the world for the better. We dedicate this win to the visionary leadership and forward-looking people of Saudi Arabia, the two drivers behind our Pavilions success.



Large visitor numbers reflect an immense interest to get to know the real and authentic Saudi Arabia through the Pavilion journey. By March 10, the Saudi Pavilion has welcomed its 4 millionth visit since the opening of Expo 2020 Dubai in October 2021. The major milestone strengthened its position as one of Expos most popular experiences, drawing approximately a quarter of all Expo visits.  TradeArabia News Service
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Last week, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said that women on government assistant who weren't working should be staffing child care centers. The comment was another in a long line of insensitive remarks from a senator who spends more time pushing bogus conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 and the 2020 election than doing any actual work.
This State Journal editorial ran on March 20, 1872:

President Grant is becoming stronger with the people every day. They believe him honest.

That he makes mistakes is a matter of course. But he is ever ready to correct them, as they develop. His integrity is undoubted by all who know him.

The great results of his administration are excellent, and no malignity on the part of his accusers can affect him with the great masses of the people, who are the truest judges of real worth.

Grant has done too much for the country during the past 10 years to be cast overboard by the patriotic people of this nation.

Aspiring demagogues have shown supreme selfishness that overrides every feeling of gratitude for the noble services of others. Men of this class oppose Grant.

Grant can well afford to stand it. The American people are grateful to the man who did so much to save their nation in the time of its peril, as did General Grant, and they will stand by him.
Southwest Montanas Big Hole Valley is an intriguing piece of the grizzly bear puzzle.

Equidistant from the two largest populations of bears in the Lower 48 States, and surrounded by several potential mountain ranges that bears could travel through, the Big Hole Valley could be the place where grizzlies from populations in the Northern Continental Divide (NCDE) and Greater Yellowstone ecosystems (GYE) meet. Or it could be their next new home.

Whether a grizzly population is viable long-term depends on genetic diversity, experts say, and challenges to delisting have been successful in federal court in part because grizzlies from the populations have yet to connect or prove they can.

Thats why a hairball from a young male grizzly bear in the Big Hole Valley was sent to Canada to be analyzed last year. The question was: Where did the grizzly that left the hair come from?

The results came back this fall. The bear was from the NCDE.

There have been many Big Hole grizzly sightings in recent years, but only the one sample has been analyzed closely. There were five confirmed sightings in 2020, and this year was mostly quiet in the valley until two grizzlies were confirmed by a range rider in the Miner Lakes area near Jackson in August.

This summer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees grizzly recovery, wrapped up a pilot DNA study  setting up hair snares and cameras across remote sites in southwest Montana, including in the Big Hole. The goal was to see if grizzlies from the two recovery areas have started to mingle, thus strengthening that gene pool and their chance for long-term survival.

Preliminary camera results released in mid-October confirmed two grizzly bears are using the headwaters of the East Fork Bitterroot River, just northwest of the Big Hole. Those are the first documented bears to use that area in recent history.

The study found light-colored hair samples in the Big Hole Valley, but no grizzlies were captured on camera there, and the species of bears behind the hair remains unknown until DNA results come back.

Grizzlies are in the Big Hole, however, and Rory Trimbo, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks grizzly bear specialist out of Anaconda, and non-profit People and Carnivores field leader Kim Johnston are targeting the area for conflict prevention work.

Johnston plucked that first sample from a barbed wire fence near Wisdom in April 2020 herself. She also got the young male grizzly on camera.

The long road to connectThe fatal grizzly attack on camper Leah Davis Lokan in Ovando, 90 miles north of the Big Hole Valley, made national headlines.

The fatality also stirs echoes of the Night of the Grizzlies in 1967, when two grizzly bears killed two women in two separate Glacier National Park campgrounds on the same night. Then, as now, grizzly bears stood on the threshold of major change.

Fifty-four years ago, wildlife biologists and land managers dueled over the bears dependence on garbage-dump feeding in Glacier and Yellowstone national parks. The debate ended with the abrupt closure of the dumps, which led to hundreds of grizzlies getting killed in conflicts with tourists and others as they sought new sources of food. By 1975, there were so few grizzlies remaining in the Lower 48 states that they became the eighth animal given protection under the new Endangered Species Act of 1973.

A half-century later, the number of grizzlies in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington have grown four-fold. They have also roamed beyond the recovery areas developed in the 1990s. The six designated areas, or ecosystems, were created as part of the grizzly recovery plan. While those grizzlies are exploring and occasionally denning in habitat they dominated for a millennia, they also share those places with people who havent encountered an apex predator at their grandfathers fishing hole before.

The NCDE lies entirely within Montana, and has about 1,000 grizzlies between Glacier National Park and Missoula. The GYE has an estimated 1,000 grizzlies in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho surrounding Yellowstone National Park. The Cabinet-Yaak and Selkirk Ecosystems each have about 50 bears, while the Bitterroot and North Cascades have no confirmed resident bears.

Why some bears are moving out of their isolated mountains inspires both scientific and political debate. Are recovery areas such as the NCDE and and GYE too crowded or depleted, forcing bears to seek new territory? Or are the surrounding lands too attractive, drawing bears to literally greener pastures?

While wildlife managers concentrated their efforts to boost grizzly populations inside the recovery areas, that didnt mean the bears couldnt saunter outside the zones. And in fact, part of the criteria for getting grizzlies off Endangered Species Act protection is proof they can wander between those designated areas.

But although the two biggest populations lie a mere 70 miles apart, that gap contains a minefield of highways, towns, ranches, orchards, chicken coops, garbage dumps, boneyards, and other obstacles that are either dangerous or enticing to grizzlies.

The Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems are home to the vast majority of grizzlies south of Canada. Southwest Montana is the passage between them, and the Big Hole Valley is at the center of southwest Montana.

The area is also at the edge of the Bitterroot Ecosystem, a grizzly recovery area with no confirmed resident grizzlies thats getting increasing attention as bears from the other big populations explore new territory.

Bears attempting the passage face a serious barrier of Interstates 90 and 15. Younger males are often the first to venture into the unknown, and stand a higher chance of getting into conflicts as they seek new food sources on a landscape split 50-50 between public and private land.

More homes and people are arriving with the real estate boom, and even those who are well established may not have dealt with grizzlies in the past.

The Big Hole bears

Before results came back from the 2020 Big Hole hair sample, bear experts werent sure whether the bear came from the NCDE or GYE. Johnston leaned toward the NCDE.

NCDE bears have been trekking farther south. A young male grizzly Trimbo collared in fall 2020 is presumed to be an NCDE bear and made his way to within 25 miles of the Big Hole, after crossing I-90, no less, and was picked up on camera east of Sula during the FWS study this summer.

Grizzlies are also occasionally sighted just north of Butte in the Elk Park and Basin areas, also fairly close to the Big Hole, but on the opposite side of I-90.

On the other hand, a study conducted by FWP and the U.S. Geological Survey using 15 years of data from collared male bears from both the NCDE and GYE did find future travel direct from the GYE to the Big Hole probable.

Now the question is whether the other Big Hole bears are also from the NCDE.

The FWS led a major study with sites in the Big Hole and other reaches of southwest Montana between populations this summer to find out.

The big study

FWS grizzly bear biologist Jennifer Fortin-Noreus led the charge way back up Forest Service roads to find bear scat, huckleberries and rub trees in the Beaverhead, Pioneer, Anaconda-Pintler, Flint Creek, John Long, and Sapphire mountains, as well as to the lower Clark Fork and Ninemile Divide.

It has been fun to get to know these very rugged areas, Fortin-Noreus said.

Collaborating with the U.S. Forest Service, teams from the FWS and conservation group Defenders of Wildlife built barbed wire hair corrals with scent lures and set up cameras at that sites.

The lures were stinky, but didnt provide a food reward, and sites were chosen in part based on past verified or possible sightings and recommendations from area biologists.

From cameras, the scientists can determine whether grizzly bears were on site, and whether there were any sows and cubs. From the hair, the species, sex, actual individual bears, and the origin of population can be determined.

Fieldwork went from mid-May through the end of August, and Fortin-Noreus presented the preliminary results at the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committees Bitterroot Subcommittee meeting in late October.

A total of 140 barbed wire hair corrals with cameras were set up across the region for 3-4 weeks each, and 805 hair samples were collected.

However, only 181 hair samples were sent to the lab, because cameras verified that the other samples were from black bears. The study had camera problems at 52 sites, often from black bear cubs moving the cameras as they climbed trees. The grizzlies captured on camera east of Sula also tore down the camera eventually, Fortin-Noreus said.

The agencies working on the study ran into challenges in the Big Hole. Due to livestock grazing allotments on National Forest lands, the Big Hole sites were only set up a few weeks early in the study season before grazing would pose an issue.

Although the hair corrals would not hurt livestock, livestock tend to investigate our hair snare corrals, and oftentimes just trample them and destroy the barbed wire. So we try to avoid them, Fortin-Noreus explained.

She added that she would ideally like to maintain the Big Hole sites the entire season, and is working with Forest Service officials to plan around grazing practices in the future.

The Trail Creek Fire west of Wisdom also destroyed one of the sites too, along with its camera. Light-colored hair samples were taken at Big Hole sites however, so its possible the origins of more Big Hole grizzlies will be identified.

Fortin-Noreus is hoping the DNA results will be back in time for the spring meeting of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.

In-between lands

Fortin-Noreus said establishing where bears are, and which populations they belong to, helps predict connectivity corridors. Understanding these corridors is also important for bear management.

If youre looking at the landscape, you can see how much of that area they have to travel through is private versus federal lands. We do see as bears are expanding their range an increase in the number of conflicts on private lands. It also tells us, from a management standpoint, where to target information and outreach efforts to people that live and recreate in those areas  how to do it safely in expecting grizzly bears there, she said.

The targeted opportunistic study to establish bears origins was not a grid sample to determine everywhere bears are present in southwest Montana, however, so Fortin-Noreus said the public shouldnt assume a location is grizzly-free just because the study didnt find one there.

As Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials have said, residents should now expect grizzlies anywhere in the western half of the state.

Connectivity is a chief focus of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, the collaborative formed in 1983 to ensure the bears recovery.

Former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock formed the Grizzly Bear Conservation and Management Advisory Council in 2019, appointing 18 Montana citizens from various walks of life  ranchers, farmers, trail runners, hunters and conservationists, among others.

Cole Mannix, a member of the council and part of a 5-generation ranching family in western Montanas Blackfoot valley, told IGBC members at the winter 2020 meeting that establishing its vision statement was one of the most important things the council accomplished.

The statement depicts the challenge faced by people and bears across Montana. It reads:

We envision fully recovered grizzly bear populations in the four identified recovery areas in Montana and the landscapes in-between that accommodate grizzly bear presence and connectivity while maintaining the safety and quality of life of those that live, work and play in Montana.

Debate was fierce over the wording of that sentence during the meetings. While recovery ecosystems are largely uninhabited public lands, the places in between are packed with private ranches, homes, roads, railroads, farms and orchards.

The grizzlies moving through the areas dont change Endangered Species Act status when they step outside a recovery area, but they do become a novel and unpredictable threat to the people unaccustomed to their appearance.

Even as the experts wait for DNA results to illuminate where more Big Hole bears are coming from, they are preparing folks in the area for the next batch of new arrivals.

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The roomful of biologists had lots of funny ideas why Ethyl the grizzly bear logged 2,800 miles arcing from Coeur dAlene past Florence and Missoula and eventually up to Eureka by way of Glacier National Park.

Was she was looking for someone she couldnt find? Maybe she ate a bad chicken and took a long time to walk off the indigestion. She had Alzheimers and couldnt trace her way back to her home range northeast of Bigforkone place she noticeably skipped in her three-year ramble across Montana and Idaho.

The one thing we can say is this was not representative of normal bear movement, and certainly not female grizzly bear movement, said US Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator Chris Servheen in 2014. She had some really bizarre travels.

Heres one more thing we can say about Ethyl. The twenty-year-old sow demonstrated that grizzly bears can cross interstate highways, major city boundaries, municipal landfills, and residential backyards without getting in trouble with humans. She added hope that the big omnivores can coexist with people as their populations pooch out of their wilderness core habitat.

Ethyl spent most of her life around Montanas Lake Blaine, between the tourist town of Bigfork and the Swan Mountains. After game wardens captured her while raiding an apple orchard, she was relocated to the Wounded Buck Creek drainage along Hungry Horse Reservoir.

She returned with a two-year-old cub in tow and got busted again in the apples in 2012. This time, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks bear specialist Rick Mace gave her a satellite-linked radio collar before hauling her and her cub to the more remote Puzzle Creek drainage, hard against the Continental Divide south of Marias Pass.

And then Ethyl took off.

She prowled around the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex for a while, including a few peeks at the eastern Rocky Mountain Front between Lincoln and Augusta. Then she drifted down to the Mission Mountains and the Jocko Lakes area. Passing Arlee, she cleared Highway 93 and headed for the northern fringe of the Bitterroot Mountains.

That meant hopping the Interstate 90 corridor, the biggest single barrier to reunification of the two biggest grizzly ecosystems remaining in the Lower 48 states. Ethyl braved the four-lane freeway and headed west into Idaho.

She may have crossed I-90 several times as she explored the mountains around Kellogg and Wallace until she reached the city limits of Coeur dAlene. A December 15 Kellogg newspaper article printed an Ethyl sighting about ten miles from the high school. She made a den somewhere in the Idaho Panhandle and hibernated through the 201213 winter.

If the story ended here, Ethyl would still warrant a chapter to herself in the bear biology books. Grizzly home ranges average seventy square miles for females and from two hundred to four hundred miles for males. Sow grizzlies rarely travel more than eight and a half miles into new country each year. One of Ethyls fellow grizzly moms in the Mission Mountains alongside the Flathead Indian Reservation had a home range of three square miles, from mountainside den site down to a boggy basin where she foraged all summer.

Ethyls collar went dormant to conserve battery power on November 25, 2012. It revived the following March, showing her moving back east along Interstate 90. She cruised past Superior, Montana, then straight up and over several steep drainages between I-90 and US Highway 12. She reached the southern fringe of Missoula on May 13. In a short day, she zipped through the Blue Mountain Recreation Area and then south a dozen miles to Lolo. She probed the foothills of the Bitterroot Mountains as far south as Florence.

On May 20, she goes basically right through downtown Lolo and we didnt have any sightings, Servheen said. She was minding her own business, walking around trying to figure out where she is.

Ten days later, she shot back into Idaho as far as Coeur dAlene, as if she remembered shed left something back at the den. Then she turned around, and safely crossed Interstate 90 again to return to Missoula. She went right past the citys landfill but only sniffed the garbage. She cruised some apple orchards in the meadows east of Evaro Hill. That fall, elk hunters spotted her eating the gut piles they left behind. Each night that fall, shed pad four miles back to the Rattlesnake Wilderness north of Missoula to sleep.

Then she barged north up the Bob Marshall again, bypassing her Lake Blaine denning site, and headed for Glacier Park. After some time there, Ethyl moved west toward Eureka on the western edge of the NCDE. She lost her collar on October 17, 2014.

Thats a total distance of two thousand eight hundred miles, Servheen said. The only place she didnt go in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem was the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Ethyls ramble capsulizes the problem grizzlies present to those who want to recover them. They wontcantstay still.

Lets start with food. While technically carnivores, grizzly bears come as close to vegetarian as anything with fangs. In some places, grizzlies subsist on almost 90 percent plant matter, supplemented by bugs and the occasional carrion buffet. Those five-inch claws and shoulder humps of muscle get a lot more use digging up roots and ant hills than dismembering elk.

To meet that need, grizzlies have learned to follow a green wave of plant regeneration through the growing season. As soon as they arise from their dens, they look for two things: a shot of protein from some winterkilled fellow mammal and a meadow full of new clover. They often find both in the runout zones of avalanche chutes.

As spring days lengthen, the bears start digging up the carbohydrate-loaded bases of plants like biscuit root, yampa, glacier lily, and wild onion. This serves until the plants reach flowering stage, whereupon the nutritional value of the roots fades. Bears move up and down in altitude, following the retreat of winter snowpack and the aspects of changing sunshine to fresh growth.

When summer sets in, bears look for berries and other fruit. Where possible, they sniff out middens of whitebark pine seeds buried by industrious but forgetful squirrels. In some remarkable spots in the Mission Mountains and the Beartooth Plateau, they climb near the summits of ten-thousand-foot mountain peaks to find the breeding sites of army cutworm moths and ladybugs. They shred rotten logs to dig out ant colonies, and yes, they do raid beehives for honey.

The claws and teeth do get put to more presumptive uses. In May and June, Yellowstone bears zigzag through meadow edges hoping to scare up elk calves (which are born virtually scentless, so bears hunt for them by sight). A rare bear may hunt and kill a bison, elk, or deer. More often, that offensive weaponry goes to chasing off wolves that have already brought down a big meal with their more effective pack-hunting methods. The reintroduction of wolves in the mid-1990s had a marked benefit on bear populations in Yellowstone Park.

Nevertheless, theres no one-stop shopping. Whats the nutritional value of fighting for a berry patch before the berries have ripened? Male grizzlies in particular do not share, and will attack virtually anything that impinges on their meal of the moment. But theyre moving through that habitat like we cruise the farmers market, picking up fast-sprouting lettuce at one stall in April and ignoring another until the good tomatoes appear in August.

When she dropped her satellite-connected Argos collar in 2014, Ethyl disappeared from active research. However, the lopsided W she traced across the maps of Montana and Idaho continues to tantalize her human overseers.

If shed gone twenty miles farther west of Eureka, Ethyl would have tagged three recovery ecosystems. And if she settled in the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem, fireworks would have gone off in Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters.

Forty years previous, that office braced for more of an implosion. As Dick Knight, the original leader of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team put it, Every grizzly bear carries our society inside him like a bomb, a ticking bomb, already well advanced toward blowing him off the face of the earth, and continuing relentlessly to tick toward ignition unless we intervene to disarm it.

Before Knight took the job in 1973, perhaps six hundred grizzlies remained alive south of the Canadian border. The 1975 ESA designation listed all grizzlies in the Lower 48 statesa single population destined to subdivide into a legal quagmire.

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BOISE (AP)  An Idaho baby at the center of protests over removal from his parents because of health concerns has been returned home, police said Friday.

The Idaho Statesman reported the Meridian Police Department said Friday the 10-month-old was back with his parents.

The baby was removed March 11 after health authorities determined he was suffering from severe malnourishment and at risk of injury or death, police said. The family maintains the baby had not lost substantial weight and was well taken care of.

The family, far-right activist Ammon Bundy and others had mounted protests, one of which led to a temporary lockdown at a major Boise hospital.

A Friday blog post authored by the babys grandfather, Diego Rodriguez, said the boys parents agreed to a measure of state oversight in exchange for having their child returned to them.

Representatives from the states child welfare system will accompany the parents to future doctors appointments and will be granted access to visit the family unannounced, the post said.

In these situations, the goal is to reunite the child to its parents as soon as it is healthy enough to be returned, police said in a statement. There is no need to continue protesting or harassing our public health officials, police officers or anyone else involved, Meridian police said in the statement.

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BOISE  After news of a plan to take over the Democrat Party by members of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee was reported by the Coeur dAlene Press last week, the Idaho Democratic Party says recruiting efforts for precinct captains in northern Idaho and elsewhere throughout the state have increased.

Jared DeLoof, executive director of the Idaho Democratic Party, said organizers have been pushing for precinct captains for weeks, sending thousands of text messages trying to find volunteers. Since the story broke on March 10, DeLoof said many individuals  particularly in Kootenai County  have asked how they can get involved with the party.

At the beginning of the year, 10 counties across Idaho had no Democratic Party leadership or infrastructure, and as of Friday, that number had been cut down to five.

Its led to one of the biggest booms in organizing for the Democratic Party weve seen in a long time, DeLoof said. We appreciate the attention its drawn to the positions.

Former Kootenai County sheriff candidate John Grimm recorded a call between himself and Kootenai County Republican Central Committee Youth Chair Dan Bell last Tuesday and sent it to a reporter because he thought the group had gone too far.

In the call, a committee member described a plan to take control of the local Democratic Party by having their own candidates run for Democrat precinct captain positions, according to reporting from the Coeur dAlene Press.

Precinct captains are elected in the primary and become part of county and legislative district central committees. The captains become the voice of Democrats in that precinct and the voice of the local voters to the state and national wings of the party.

Its that most fundamental kind of position within the party, DeLoof said. You are kind of the organizer for your precinct to make sure that Democrats get out and vote for our candidates.

If individuals who are actually Republicans do end up elected as captains, DeLoof said there are provisions in the party bylaws that would allow the expulsion of a precinct captain.

The Democratic Party has already flagged one precinct captain applicant who is not a Democrat  Dave Reilly, a former radio host with a history of antisemitic statements and involvement with the America First Political Action Conference. Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, who is running for Idaho governor, recently spoke at the conference and received widespread criticism for it because it is hosted and attended by white nationalists who express antisemitic views and deny the Holocaust ever happened.

Avery Roberts, spokesperson for the Idaho Democratic Party, said they have identified 15 to 20 individuals who have declared their candidacy as Democratic precinct captains out of nearly 200 precincts across Idaho, but fewer than five are running unopposed. Roberts said there may be write-in campaigns in those precincts as well.

Democratic Party chair says primary election comparison is false equivalency

Tom Luna, chairman of the Idaho Republican Party, was unavailable for an interview on Friday but sent a statement to the Idaho Capital Sun saying primary nominees should be selected by voters affiliated with their respective parties.

The Idaho Republican Party joins the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee in condemning any disingenuous or illegitimate attempts of one party to influence the selection of another partys nominees, Luna wrote. In short, dont muck around in another partys primaries and elections.

Brent Regan, chairman of the Kootenai County committee and of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, wrote in a statement on Facebook the same day the story broke that political parties should be free to select their primary nominees without the interference of other political parties.

However, current and past notorious efforts of the Democrat Party have been to aggressively advocate for Democrats to temporarily affiliate with the republican party for the sole purpose of influencing the selection of the Republican nominee for the general election, Regan wrote. These ongoing efforts have apparently inspired the possibility of political retaliation directly against the leadership of the local Democrat central committee.

Luna and Regan have been outspoken about their opposition to Democrats changing their party affiliation to vote in the Republican primary, which is closed to anyone who isnt officially registered as Republican while the Democratic primary is open to all registered voters. DeLoof said the comparison is the definition of false equivalency.

The Republicans have chosen to close their primary, and voters should be free to participate in the election of their leaders as such, DeLoof said. What theyre doing here is purposely trying to infiltrate to destroy a party and possibly commit fraud, and those two things could not be further apart from each other.

The practice of changing affiliations recently reached the highest levels of Democratic candidates in Idaho, when Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad filed as a candidate for governor but was still a registered Republican voter from the 2020 primary election. Rognstad said he changed his affiliation back to Democrat for the general election, but the Idaho Secretary of State said there was no record of that change, making him ineligible for the Democratic primary as a candidate on the ballot. Rognstad may legally challenge that decision.

Local Republican commissioner says call wasnt a surprise

The news of the recorded call wasnt a surprise to those familiar with the Republican central committee, including Kootenai County Commissioner Chris Fillios, who is a Republican. Fillios said he did not receive the central committees endorsement when he was last elected, and he expects he wont receive it this time around either.

Fillios views the stated takeover plan as an attempt to monopolize a market that is already made up of 60% Republican voters.

What theyre trying to create is, sadly, a one-party system. So now theyre into autocracy, Fillios said. And why would they want to do that, whats the point?

He said he doesnt view Democrats voting in the Republican primary as the same problem because those voters are putting the party aside to vote for someone they believe in.

Thats quite different than trying to take over the party, he said.

The same types of problems exist in the Idaho Legislature right now, Fillios said, and cited House Bill 439, which would have changed the deadline for unaffiliated voters to affiliate with a party. That bill has passed the House of Representatives but has not received a hearing in the Senate.

If youve got a better message, then sell it. Stop trying to legislate people out of it, Fillios said. I think a healthy community and a healthy political environment is one where youve got balance and creating the opposing party as enemies doesnt make sense to me. Because how can you consider a range of ideas when youre going to be hostile to one another?

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BOISE  The Idaho House of Representatives passed a bill that makes systematic changes to the judicial appointment process on Friday, less than 48 hours after it was introduced and without input from the judiciary branch.

House Bill 782 passed on a 44-24 vote, with bipartisan opposition and support. It makes several changes to the Idaho Judicial Council, which handles complaints against judicial members and guides the selection process for appointments when there is a judicial vacancy. The council was established in 1967 in an effort to ensure a nonpartisan selection process.

The bill was introduced in the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday and voted out of committee with no recommendation on Thursday afternoon. The House suspended rules on a 50-16 vote to bring it from the second reading calendar to the floor for immediate consideration on Friday.

Rep. Greg Chaney, R-Caldwell, sponsored the bill with House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star. Chaney said the changes are necessary to bring a wider diversity of perspectives to the council and to bring more transparency to the process.

Under the legislation, the council would be expanded from seven to 11 members, including one district judge, one magistrate judge and four members of the Idaho State Bar. Instead of those members being appointed by the board of commissioners of the Idaho State Bar, the positions would be nominated by the Idaho Supreme Court and appointed by the governor with the consent of the Idaho Senate. The non-attorney members would also be chosen by the governor with the consent of the Senate, which requires a vote by the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee and then a majority vote in the full Senate.

Several legislators pointed to the rushed nature of the bill, asking why it needed to be passed so quickly this late in the session. Others during debate questioned the idea of placing much more power with the governors office over judicial appointments and asked why a process that had worked well for decades needed to be fixed.

Frankly, I was slow to engage with this legislation. I was slow to push on this legislation. But I see its need, Chaney said.

Debate mixed over problems House bill seeks to fix

Chaney said a previous version of the bill, House Bill 600, was introduced on Feb. 11 and presented to the chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court. According to Idaho Supreme Court spokesperson Nate Poppino, Supreme Court leadership weighed in on the previous version of the bill. However, House Bill 782 is a significantly different bill with more changes that were not presented to court officials before Wednesday afternoon.

According to an email, Supreme Court Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan reviewed House Bill 600 in February and suggested a blue ribbon committee be formed that would examine judicial retirement and the judicial council. The committee would be composed of 12 members, including judges, lawyers and members of the public and would meet in the interim after the legislative session.

They would not come out and engage, they would only offer to delay, Chaney said of the judiciary during debate.

One of the problems House Bill 782 would fix, Chaney said, is that some judges avoid elections by resigning or retiring before reaching the end of their term to create vacancies for the council to fill. That takes the power out of the hands of the voters, who would otherwise elect a new judge at the close of the retiring judges term, Chaney said.

This is about placing in front of the people the ultimate responsibility for holding these selections accountable, and thats the only purpose, Chaney said.

Rep. Linda Wright Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, said the idea of appointments to open seats wasnt all that different from the Idaho Legislature.

I look around, and how many of you were appointed to this position before you were elected? she said. Quite a few of you. I can look at several of you that were appointed, then you stand for election.  So when I hear (judges) dont stand for election, it kind of makes my blood boil.

Rep. Ryan Kerby, R-New Plymouth, was one of few to debate in favor of the bill, saying he appreciated the effort to make records surrounding the nomination public, unlike other representatives who felt that could have a chilling effect on honest feedback about a judges personality and temperament.

Right now, if you dont get nominated, you dont know what happened, Kerby said. You dont have good information on what you can work on.  I think thats a serious flaw with the present system.

Rep. Gary Marshall, R-Idaho Falls, said during debate he would vote against the bill because it did not fix the problems it claims to fix.

No one has ever shown to me that the judicial council, as it presently is constituted, has ever caused any problems, Marshall said. If theres any reason for this bill, it must be political. Someone fears that our judges are too liberal or something, but I dont know any Idaho judges that I would consider that way.

After about an hour of debate, Rep. Marc Gibbs, R-Grace, said he changed his mind on how he would vote during debate because he didnt like that the judicial salaries were tied into the same bill.

This has been one of the few debates in the 14 years Ive been here that I think may have actually had compelling interest, and that has probably changed my mind today, Gibbs said.

Moyle closed debate by saying part of the problem is that hardly anyone runs against incumbent judges, and the changes were meant to add more transparency and accountability to judges who are appointed.

The power of incumbency prevents people from wanting to step up, thats why some of you in this room dont even have primaries. It works, it has power and an effect, and thats why this bill addresses that and helps make it better, Moyle said.  This bill, in my opinion, doesnt go far enough. If we want to make the process better, if we want to have better judges, quit whining and vote for the bill.

The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it will likely be heard by the Judiciary and Rules Committee early next week. Legislative leadership has indicated a target of March 25 as the date to adjourn for the year.

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The federal rule that requires air travelers to wear face masks, which the Transportation Security Administration first imposed more than a year ago, was scheduled to expire this Friday. But the TSA extended the requirement for at least another month, for reasons that are even harder to understand than the original rationale for the mask mandate.

That is saying a lot because the scientific justification for the TSAs rule has always been weak, given that the conditions on airplanes are not conducive to COVID-19 transmission. The ventilation systems on commercial aircraft, which mix outdoor air with air recycled through HEPA filters and limit airflow between rows, help explain why there were few outbreaks associated with commercial flights even before vaccines were available.

The risk of contracting COVID-19 during air travel is low, an October 2020 article in The Journal of the American Medical Association noted. Despite substantial numbers of travelers, the number of suspected and confirmed cases of in-flight COVID-19 transmission between passengers around the world appears small.

Sebastian Hoehl, a researcher at the Institute for Medical Virology at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany, concurred in an interview with Scientific American the following month. An airplane cabin is probably one of the most secure conditions you can be in, he observed.

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly reiterated that point during a Senate hearing last December. I think the case is very strong that masks dont add much, if anything, in the air cabin environment, he said. It is very safe and very high quality compared to any other indoor setting.

American Airlines CEO Doug Parker agreed. An aircraft is the safest place you can be, he said. Its true of all of our aircraft; they all have the same HEPA filters and air flow.

On Feb. 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped recommending general indoor masking in parts of the country it rates as low or medium risk, which as of last week covered more than 98% of the U.S. population. According to the CDC, then, it is safe to dispense with masks in stores, churches, schools, bars and restaurants  environments where the risk of virus transmission is much higher than it is on airplanes.

Yet the TSA said it extended its mask rule at CDCs recommendation so the agency could develop a revised policy framework based on the latest science. Mask rules for transportation are complicated, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, because people are moving from one zone to another  an explanation that makes little sense when virtually the entire country is in the same zone as far as the CDCs mask advice goes.

The TSAs mask mandate has predictably led to much unpleasantness, driving a surge in disputes between travelers and flight attendants. For every obnoxious passenger who moons, berates or assaults the mandates enforcers, there are many others who quietly resent this thinly justified imposition, especially when it compels them to force masks on recalcitrant toddlers.

That expectation is especially difficult to justify since the risk to children from COVID-19 is infinitesimal even if they are not vaccinated  smaller than the risk of dying in a car crash if their parents decide to avoid mask hassles by driving instead of flying. Adult travelers, meanwhile, can protect themselves by getting vaccinated and, if they are especially cautious, by wearing high-quality, well-fitting masks, regardless of what everyone else is doing.

The Association of Flight Attendants nevertheless urged the TSA to retain the mask rule. The AFAs enthusiasm for hygiene theater is of a piece with its enthusiasm for security theater: Back in 2005, when the TSA began letting passengers carry small scissors and short screwdrivers, the union warned that the aisles will be running with blood.

In that case, calmer heads prevailed. But more than two decades after 9/11, U.S. travelers are still saddled with myriad nonsensical restrictions. The mask rule is just the latest example.

REPRINTED FROM CREATORS DAILY EDITORIALS BY JACOB SULLUM

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The Damac Group has announced the official launch of Paramount Hotel Midtown Set in the heart of Business Bay, Dubai following the success of Paramount Hotel Dubai.



Paramount Hotel Midtown, steeped in the rich 110-year history perfected by Paramount Pictures, held its soft opening in February offering timeless Hollywood elegance. It is located near Sheikh Zayed Road, the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and The Dubai Mall.



Jean Faivre, Senior Vice President Hospitality, Damac Hotels & Resorts, said: The Paramount proposition is special, with rich history to live up to. Weve been immensely successful with our first property and we are now looking forward to our second opening, which will without doubt be a unique addition to Dubais vibrant hospitality scene.



Paramount Hotel Midtown brings to life contemporary Californian magic with its Hollywood-chic styles and impressive views. Exuding grandeur, the hotels gold-dipped lobby is splashed with retro artwork, a perfect grand entrance in true Hollywood star style.



The hotel offers 281 elegantly decorated contemporary rooms and suites including Scene Rooms, A-List Suites and a Paramount Suite, decked out with balconies overlooking the Dubai coastline or Burj Khalifa.



The hotel offers unique gastronomic experiences at its restaurants designed to delight every palette, featuring Paparazzi Tuscan, CineScope and Melrose Bar & Lounge. Malibu Sky Lounge and Pool Bar offer panoramic skyline views.



The hotel features four Business Studios, ideal for corporate meetings, special events and banquets, decked out with the latest AV technology ensuring every event is a blockbuster.



The hotel is also home to the celeb-worthy PAUSE Spa, an exclusive collaboration with French brand Chateau Berger. Completing the circle of wellness, the PAUSE Fitness Centre offers a comprehensive range of state-of-the-art health and fitness equipment to delight the most ardent enthusiast. And not to forget the little ones - The Kids Studio Club will keep them entertained with a menu of cinematic experiences.



With feel-good vibes, mid-century styling, and awe-inspiring views, Paramount Hotel Midtown is gearing up to host the grand opening featuring top celebrities on March 16.  TradeArabia News Service
Colorado kids should be getting on their sneakers. Thanks to their state legislators, they will soon be able to play outside, stay home alone a bit, and enjoy some freedom without their parents worrying this could get them investigated for neglect.

On Tuesday, the Colorado Senate followed the lead of the House and passed the Reasonable Childhood Independence bill unanimously. Now it goes to Gov. Jared Polis, who is expected to sign it into law.

A front page Denver Gazette story by Hannah Metzger quoted one of the citizens who testified in favor of the bill: 12-year-old Brinley Sheffield.

When Brinley was 7, she first decided to take up running. Unfortunately, Day One of her new pursuit ended in terror when a car followed her the few blocks back to her home. Soon afterward, a policeman came knocking.

She thought he was coming to say hed caught a criminal. But no. He told Brinley and her mom that a citizen had spotted a child alone outside  and called the cops. While no charges were filed, Brinley told the legislators that after that, I didnt want to run around my block.

To prevent just such incidents, and to reassure parents they can give their kids some independence, and to stop the over-investigation of decent parents in poverty who literally cannot afford to helicopter their kids, the bill was introduced by two Democrats and two Republicans: Sen. Janet Buckner (D) and Rep. Mary Young (D), and Sen. Jim Smallwood (R), and Rep. Kim Ransom (R).

The Gazette quoted Young saying, When youth are given independence they grow, learn and thrive and were pleased to pass legislation that empowers their right to independence.

This bill had been introduced in 2020 and sailed through the Colorado House. It was expected to do the same in the Senate when COVID-19 closed the legislature. Back then, it had just two sponsors.

This year, in the House itself, 27 representatives asked to sign on as co-sponsors.

Yes, 27.

While similar bills passed in Utah, Texas and Oklahoma, Colorado is the first blue state to pass what was originally dubbed the Free-Range Parenting law. Let Grow, the nonprofit promoting childhood independence that I helm, has been building stakeholder coalitions and popular support for these measures for four years. Currently Illinois, Nebraska and South Carolina are considering such bills. (If youd like to get involved, please visit Let Grows website: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__letgrow.org&d=DwIDaQ&c=UCja3IwhyjPGYeHcG7oIbg&r=wAIbJ_EGuPax9PYUeDdgzQB8fht9BKDCRXBpelMKnRA&m=chO88Lqcga9FtLvk528nhXOZzW4pfFz5Bh5VFODffIxQf37-dM4IS4Y38dxt_-Ni&s=Jv9jEJ4ZpkhbDvzA8mmF2jXnRfDLcKuJn15Rd7Ahlp0&e= .)

As the sponsors of the 2020 bill, Buckner and Ransom, wrote in The Colorado Sun:

Parents know their children best and there are children 8, 9, 10 that are perfectly capable of walking to school by themselves. But the parents load them up and drive them because theyre afraid to be charged with neglect.

This defensive parenting hurts parents and stunts kids.

Sen. Buckner remembered how proud and grown up she felt when she ran her first errand  to get baking powder. But now, too many perfectly fine unsupervised kids are being reported to the authorities. About a third of all kids will be reported at some point in their childhoods, and that number soars to 53% for African American kids.

In Colorado, Rep. Young reported, 82% of parents reported to the child abuse hotline will have their cases unsubstantiated. Thats a lot of excess investigations  and trauma.

Thankfully, those days are becoming a thing of the past as parents demand the right to raise their kids with the independence they need to grow up confident, capable  and happy.

Lenore Skenazy is president of Let Grow, a contributing writer at Reason.com and author of Has the World Gone Skenazy?

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City Council will revisit the use of over $15 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds at its regular meeting on Tuesday with 20 minutes on the agenda allocated for a public input session related to matter.

At a regular meeting in February, City Manager Leon Towarnicki recommended to council members how the money should be spent.

The largest share, $4.5 million, was earmarked for the Martinsville Uptown Partnership, an organization committed to bringing residents and businesses to Uptown, using the nationally successful Main Street Approach, according to its website.

At a following city council meeting the group was slated to talk about their plans, and although they were there, no one spoke.

Uptown group, we need some additional information, said Mayor Kathy Lawson at that meeting on March 8. I ask that we have a defined difference of what is C-PEG and what is Uptown. There should be no gray area on who does what.

C-PEG is the Martinsville-Henry County Chambers Partnership for Economic Growth, an independent affiliate of the Chamber of Commerce, charged with funding and supporting the areas efforts to improve economic growth, according to the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce.

Council Member Tammy Pearson took issue with the recommendations made by Towarnicki at that meeting, citing a lack of involvement by other council members and the public in determining how the money should be spent.

On Monday, Pearson sent an email to all the members of city council, city manager, city attorney and copied the Martinsville Bulletin on her correspondence.

Pearson wrote that although she was a big advocate of uptown revitalization and the partnerships efforts, she did not think it was appropriate or fair to only permit one group to present at an open session how they might use the suggested $4.5 million in the list created by the city attorney and the city manager.

As I said before, they should not have been alerted to the possibility and it should not have been discussed with them before we had any public or, even council, input, wrote Pearson. Second, this list has not been vetted by the council members and we have not done our due diligence in gaining public, non-profit and business input into the projects they deem important.

Thus, why would we give only one group the opportunity to talk about how they would spend the money when there are many others who could also potentially receive funding?

Mayor Kathy Lawson told the Bulletin on Tuesday that it was her decision to pull the presentation by the Uptown Partnership from the last meeting.

I want details, wrote Lawson by email. I want a defining line between what C-PEG does versus Uptown. I want to make sure that the efforts of C-PEG are not being replicated or duplicated.

Ive had uptown business owners and operators express concern that they were not included or heard and I was also asked why should someone who doesnt maintain their property be rewarded with city money to do the items of maintaining the property that should be the owners responsibility.

Where is the reward for the business who does the right thing? What buildings are being considered to be purchased and then repurposed? Is there an inventory of uptown facilities with measurable comments? Theres just too many questions I have to even consider without more information.

Lawson said if the Uptown Partnership wanted to comment during the public input session on Tuesday, then they would be allowed to do so, but there is no agenda item for an Uptown presentation.

My comments when I announced it was being removed from the agenda was that at some time in the future we will hear from them, but we want more information, wrote Lawson. We know the Uptown group will be a vital part of the planning process and implementation moving forward.

Martinsville Uptown Executive Director Kathy Deacon responded to the Bulletins request for comment on Tuesday that her group was excited that the city was invested in focusing on the revitalization of the uptown business district and in using a portion of the ARPA funding for those efforts and she looked forward to helping to create some uptown revitalization magic in whatever way we can.

But later that same day she sent out a release admitting that her group could have done a better job of setting the context of the initial rollout to a handful of key stakeholders on March 4.

The Vision Plan that was rolled out were recommendations only, received from the consultant group that was hired to undertake the project, wrote Deacon. Any renderings were visionary in purpose and not recommendations for specific properties.

But Pearson said City Council was clearly showing favoritism to the Uptown Partnership.

To reiterate, this is completely unfair to any other groups and it shows total favoritism to one organization and one idea; it was clearly discussed and vetted with the Uptown Partnership without input from council, and again so much of this reeks of no transparency and behind closed door dealings.

Lawson said she did not intend to give a pot of money to any one group and after further discussion with Towarnicki, it is suggested instead that any entity could submit an application for funding for a specific project or operation that would be considered on a case by case basis.

We could establish a review committeecould be a council member or two, city staff, folks from the community, as the review committee with a recommendation then going to council for approval in whatever manner council chooses.

In her release, Deacon said the rollout that began in March 4 will be a months-long process and the full plan would be shared with the community-at-large over the next couple of weeks.

The dates and times for the public community listening sessions are being formulated and will be released early next week, wrote Deacon. We anticipate the first of the public community listening sessions will take place in early April.

Pearson pleaded with the other members on council to be more forthcoming with her and the public about the use of the ARPA funds.

I am disappointed because it is apparent many of these decisions are being made behind closed doors and by a few select individuals or groups, such as the Uptown Partnership who some of you have met with regarding the $4.5 million, wrote Pearson.

Lawson said veteran council members, unlike Pearson, had a better feel for what city residents and business owners want.

We have heard over the years many items over and over that we know are important, said Lawson. We have no plans, in my opinion, to give carte blanche to anyone.

Deacon apologized for anything her group may have done to dissuade anyone against their good intentions.

As human beings, we can all be a little messy at times and we apologize for any confusion that was created from this release without sufficient context, wrote Deacon. We ask for your grace and hope that this email will serve to clear up some of the misunderstandings and misperceptions.

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

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A red T-shirt with the acronym COVID-19 VA MRC across the back identified Kim Conrad as a volunteer when she walked into Kembel Tax Service in Salem.

She carried a stack of flyers and set them down on Priscilla Kembels desk.

We are with the health department, Conrad said. We were hoping to leave some information about the vaccine clinics.

Conrad is one of many in the region who volunteered to join the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps during the pandemic. Thousands of these volunteers vaccinated Virginians at local clinics, operated call centers and canvassed neighborhoods and businesses with flyers  like Conrad did earlier this month at the Ridgewood Farms shopping center.

I believe in it so much and I wish I would have done it sooner, Conrad said. Im very proud to help them get the word out about vaccines.

More than 17,000 people across the state volunteered as new corps members between January 2020 and November 2021, according to a proclamation from then-Gov. Ralph Northam. Volunteers served more than 673,000 hours, which equates to a monetary value of more than $20 million.

As the pandemic slows, the need for thousands of volunteers at vaccination clinics and call centers has waned. Now, the Virginia Department of Health is looking to find ways to keep medical reserve corps volunteers signed up and active so they can be deployed in the event of another coronavirus surge or another disaster.

Jennifer Freeland, assistant state MRC coordinator at the state health department, said the corps has been a workforce multiplier for local health departments.

A lot of good has come because of the pandemic, she said. We hope to be able to ride on that wave and really build a resilient community and one thats invested in public health and addresses what those unique needs are in their community.

The Virginia Medical Reserve Corps was created in 2002 in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Under then-President George W. Bush, the program was created so the country would have a dedicated list of medical personnel who could be deployed in the event of a natural disaster or a bioterrorism attack.

Corps units have practiced over the years with natural disaster relief efforts and administering flu vaccines. But the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a challenge.

It was kind of the coming of age of the MRC, Freeland said. You built this, you grew it and you didnt know if it was going to drive down the road or not. But its a Ferrari.

In the Near Southwest region of Virginia, the corps experienced a nearly 700% growth in volunteers. The regions unit covers the Roanoke and New River valleys and stretches north to Alleghany County, south to Pittsylvania County and east to Lynchburg. Geographically, it makes up about one-fifth of the state.

Just before the pandemic hit, the regions corps had 283 volunteers, but now boasts more than 2,500.

The willingness of the greater area in Near Southwest to step forward was one of the largest in the state, Freeland said. One of the really amazing things was the heart of the people in Southwest Virginia to step up and help.

Mary Lou Legg, the Near Southwest corps director, said she did little to no advertising. In the beginning of the pandemic, Northam repeatedly told citizens to sign up.

During one of Northams speeches, Legg watched her computer ding with each new application. In one day, she received 100 applications in less than 24 hours.

As she began sending out volunteer opportunities, the slots filled up in less than 60 seconds. Legg said she couldnt shut the system down fast enough and would have to call people and tell them they werent needed even though they had received a confirmation email.

Legg said she doesnt want to lose the momentum and enthusiasm these new volunteers have brought to the organization. With all of this help, she said communities might be able to do more public health outreach than was previously possible.

Legg said she plans to send a survey to her volunteers to ask them how they would like to continue volunteering. These activities could include leading health education classes, such as Narcan revive training for overdose victims, stop the bleed training or basic CPR. She said volunteers could also set up a program to help teenage mothers and educate them on neonatal care.

We dont really know the exact path going forward, Legg said. We want to keep all those volunteers engaged so that they can stay a part of our organization and we can be even more prepared for the next big thing that hits.

Gary and Marian Silverman, Blacksburg residents, have been members of the medical reserve corps for a number of years. Before moving to Virginia, they joined the corps in Ohio. And after retiring from their careers in Virginia, they were quick to sign up again.

The Silvermans completed about 500 hours each doing contact tracing calls for the New River and Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts. Gary Silverman said they chose to volunteer from home to protect their newborn grandchild and Marians 94-year-old mother from exposure.

They said the phone calls changed over time. At the beginning of the pandemic, people were scared to speak to someone from the health department. They were embarrassed that they had either been exposed or tested positive. Some were afraid to lose their jobs and others were already hospitalized by the time the Silvermans reached out.

Other people didnt want to share their contacts or were suspicious that a government agency was involved.

As time went on, people began to expect the calls and the interactions became more pleasant. Marian Silverman said she called college students at Virginia Tech and Radford University who were thankful for the call and that someone checked in on them.

I really appreciated being able to do it, Marian Silverman said. It gave us something to do, which we thought was extremely meaningful at a time when it all seemed kind of chaotic.

That same desire to help pulled Nina Templeton, also a Blacksburg resident, out of retirement. Templeton retired from her career as an anesthesiologist in January 2020. Years before, she had also retired from being a veterinarian, but kept her license active.

She and her golden retriever Lyle were walking in a park in Blacksburg when they came across New River Health District Director Noelle Bissell and her dogs. Templeton introduced herself and asked Bissell if the district needed vaccinators. The vaccines had yet to be rolled out, but Bissell said they would need the help as soon as they became available. She sent Templeton to Legg to sign up for the medical reserve corps.

Templeton spent 453 hours vaccinating, being an on-site medical director and a call center operator during the pandemic. She brought Lyle, who is also a trained therapy dog, along with her to each vaccination clinic as well.

He was unbelievable what he did for these people, she said. Word spread about him. People came specifically and told the people that were triaging that they wanted to go with the dog or asked if the dog was there that day.

At one clinic, Templeton said Lyle walked away from her and sat next to a woman who was receiving a vaccine. She later found out that the woman had lost her husband in a car wreck within a week of that clinic. Somehow, Lyle knew she needed help, Templeton said.

After the demand for vaccines waned and there were fewer medical reserve corps volunteers needed, Templeton still went so she could bring Lyle and offer him to kids and adults who needed him.

She said attending events to spread the word about vaccines and working the vaccination clinics was a highlight of her career. People were sometimes hesitant about the side effects and wondering whether they should sign up for a dose, and Templeton loved answering their questions.

Ive done a lot of good in my career, but in many ways, I feel as though this, working with the vaccine effort, was probably the pinnacle, the most important thing Ive ever done in my career, she said. I feel honored that people would trust me.

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Jimmy Hill was a school teacher from Idaho. His wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis about eight years ago and after two years of searching, he found a hospital in the city with a doctor that knew more about MS than the others before him.

So Jimmy moved to the city where his wife could receive the best treatment.

Every so often he had to return to his home in Idaho, near the Yellowstone National Park in order to satisfy visa requirements.

You see, Jimmy was a teacher in Ukraine and he had been in the country for 25 years.

The city with the hospital that treats his wife is Chernihiv, population 285,821 in northern Ukraine and steeped in history.

In the center of Chernihiv stands the 11th century Transfiguration Cathedral. The Cathedral of Boris and Gleb has silver Royal Doors and St. Catherines Church is topped with gold cupolas.

But there is a war in Ukraine and it has come to Chernihiv.

Jimmy wanted to leave, but his wife was in no condition to travel.

He described his circumstances as being trapped with bombings every night, food and gas shortages, a lack of running water and electricity outages.

In the building where he lived there was no more heat and food was becoming scarce.

On Tuesday, he sent word to his siblings in the U.S. that the bombing in Chernihiv had become intense and spies lurked through the city making it dangerous to even take a picture with a cellphone.

Two days passed with no word from Jimmy, and then the State Department called on Thursday and said that the school teacher from America was gunned down by Russian military snipers while he was standing in a bread line with several other people.

His body was found in the street by the local police.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv had confirmed earlier in the day that Russian forces fatally shot 10 people in the attack.

And so it becomes that Jimmy Hill, 67 years old, becomes the first American citizen killed in Ukraine since the war began last month.

This account of Jimmy Hills story appeared in Newsweek and the New York Post on Thursday and Ukrainian officials have told Reuters that the city remains under heavy fire from Russian forces that have invaded the northeastern side of the city while attempting to encircle Kyiv.

Airstrikes have been ongoing since Feb. 25 and have reduced parts of the city to rubble, Reuters reports, and Jimmy Hill is thought to be the 53rd civilian of Chernihiv to have been killed in one day. No one in the report offered a guess as to the total number of casualties.

I would imagine before Putin committed to the acts of war this most recent time in Ukraine, there was good reason for Jimmy to believe that he might not.

But once the trigger had been pulled and the war began, the month had hardly changed names before the situation for Jimmy became deadly.

We might consider that even as I write this column it was estimated by the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine that 30,000 Americans were in the country when the war began and an estimated 20,000 remain there now.

A very dear friend of mine will be leaving shortly for the Kingdom of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, in South Africa.

It is there he will be for the next three years as a POL/ECON officer for the U.S. State Department.

I had to look it up and the State Department says such a person is charged with influencing and implementing economic and trade policy as they help unravel the complexities of a global economy.

It is a small world we live in today, far smaller than it was not too many years ago.

Our economy is global and this Russian push in Ukraine has provided ample proof of that.

We should all be so blessed to live in peace where there is no war, or at least where safety can be assumed while standing in a bread line.

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

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A 4-year-old girl and her mother died in a mobile home fire in Rockingham County early Wednesday, family members confirmed.

Dawn Michelle Bottoms and her daughter, Serenity Faith Gibson, died in the fire that began about 7 a.m., according to the child's grandmother, Norma Jean Sizemore of Madison.

Sizemore was outside the home's remains Wednesday morning and consoling her son, Richard Gibson. She said he told her he was unable to save his family when flames quickly consumed the vinyl and metal structure.

Gibson and Bottoms, a stay-at-home mother and native of Surry County, celebrated their first wedding anniversary on Sunday, according to the couple's posts on Facebook.

Bottoms' sister, April Michelle White of Walnut Cove, was taken to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem for treatment of severe burns and was listed in critical condition early Wednesday, family members said. White, who works as a piercing artist, had spent the night in the mobile home, Sizemore said.

At least 15 fire engines from departments from across Rockingham and neighboring counties lined a quarter-mile-long span of the country road Wednesday morning as emergency crews worked.

Rockingham County Assistant Fire Marshal Jeremy Shelton said he would release an opinion about the cause of the fire after he and his investigative team scrutinized the scene.

Outside his former home Wednesday morning, Gibson sat crying and covered in soot inside his mother's sedan.

"I can't process it,'' Sizemore said. "He can't process it."

She said her son told her he was awakened by his sister-in-law and tried unsuccessfully to reach her.

Gibson's Facebook page and that of his late wife had a flurry of recent messages celebrating the newlyweds' anniversary and expressing love for Serenity and her older sister, Haley Leann East, 17.

"I love this so much! My three lovely ladies. My beautiful wife and daughters,'' Gibson recently wrote about a portrait of Bottoms and her daughters on social media.

Ann Fish contributed to this report. Contact Susie C. Spear at sspear@rockinghamnow.com, (336) 349-4331, ext. 6140 and follow @SpearSusie_RCN on Twitter.
The United States stressed on Friday that it shares Spains position on the Moroccan Sahara issue, and reiterated that the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco is serious, credible and realistic.

We continue to view Moroccos autonomy plan as serious, credible and realistic, as well as having clear potential to meet the aspirations of people in the region, said a spokesperson for the US State Department in a statement to the Spanish press agency Europa Press.

The spokesperson seized the opportunity to reaffirm Washingtons support for the UN special envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, and his efforts to promote a peaceful and prosperous future for the region.

The State Department spokesmans remarks to the Spanish news agency came after the President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchez, and the Spanish Government presidency stated in an unambiguous way that Spain supports Moroccos autonomy initiative as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for settling the Sahara issue and recognized the importance of the Sahara issue for Morocco.

Actually, Pedro Sanchez addressed on Friday a message to King Mohammed VI expressing Spains unequivocal position on the Sahara issue and on Moroccan-Spanish relations.

In his message to the Sovereign, Pedro Sanchez stated clearly that Spain supports Moroccos autonomy initiative as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for settling the Sahara issue.

Later Friday afternoon, the Spanish government presidency issued a statement saying that Spain is committed to respecting Moroccos sovereignty and territorial integrity, as part of a new era in bilateral ties.

We are ushering today a new era in our ties with Morocco, based on mutual respect, the implementation of agreements, refraining from unilateral actions, transparency and permanent communication, said the Spanish Presidency in the statement.

The Spanish government also announced the scheduling of a visit by Prime Minister Sanchez to Morocco in order to elaborate the roadmap for bilateral relations as well as the upcoming visit by Spanish foreign minister to Morocco by late March, before the month of Ramadan.

Moroccos foreign ministry welcomed Spains support for the autonomy initiative as constructive commitments on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara and as a clear and ambitious roadmap to improve and advance bilateral diplomatic ties between the two countries on the basis of transparency and mutual respect.

The new position expressed clearly by Madrid indicates a step forward by Spain to mend ties with Morocco after it has maintained connivance with Algeria and the Polisario.

Morocco and Spains relationship went through an unprecedented diplomatic crisis in 2021, after the European country decided to receive leader of the polisario separatist front in April that year for medical treatment under a false identity.

Spains actions greatly angered Rabat, which said that the move undermined Moroccos trust in its long-term strategic ally.

Rabat recalled its ambassador to Spain and asked Madrid to refrain from its double-face.

Since then, the Spanish government has made several attempts to restore normality and positive diplomatic ties between the two countries, but Morocco was firm in its stand, requesting a clear-cut stand on the Sahara issue.

Analysts described Spains announcement as historic and as a resounding victory for Morocco and as a setback for the polisario and its mentor, Algeria.
If you know someone who makes her own soap but doesnt bathe, you probably have a good handle on the people from Flatch.

Located somewhere in Ohio, its home to a collection of characters who definitely make their own fun.

Like Parks and Recreation, Welcome to Flatch celebrates the aspirational  the folks who believe theyre living somewhere more progressive than they really are.

The towns big Scarecrow Festival also tips a hat to Col. Robert Flatch, the founder whos memorialized by, well, an outdoor toilet.

Created by Paul Feig and Jenny Bicks, the Fox comedy embraces the mockumentary format, letting cousins Shrub (Sam Straley) and Kelly (Holmes) serve as tour guides through a place many have passed through but few have lit.

As eager as the two may be, theyre not as fascinating as some of the residents on the fringes. Father Joe (Seann William Scott), for example, has so many layers, itd be nice to peel a few before you realize he was in a relationship with journalist Cheryl Peterson (Aya Cash) that went south. Father Joe was also in a boy band, but that past doesnt get its full due, either. Thats largely because Shrub and Kelly are vying for the cameramans attention and, sometimes, dont deserve it.

Kelly can be more than a little overwhelming (even though Holmes nails the personality); Shrub doesnt reveal enough of his background to discover whats driving his life.

In the opener, both are hot to score at the Scarecrow Festival. She wants to win the skillet toss and make her dad proud; he wants to dominate the scarecrow contest. What emerges, of course, is their lack of self-worth. Dad largely ignores Kelly; Shrub just wants to win the heart of Beth, a girl with the personality of a diaper wipe.

There are ambitious twentysomethings in town as well. But Flatch needs a Leslie Knope type who could steer the conversation. The most likely choice is Peterson, who left the Star Tribune in Minneapolis to follow Father Joe. Shes now at the Flatch Patriot and, clearly, she doesnt know why. Letting her apply urban journalism techniques to community storytelling could have been a perfect way to pull everyone onto the same page. Often, Kelly and Shrub are sources just waiting to be mined.

As episodes unfold (and do stick with them  there are payoffs), we discover the Historical Society leader is connected to the guy who sells cars and just happens to have a past with the two cousins.

Reservation Dogs captures the beat of a small town more accurately (there are stores that pop up here that would never exist in a community of less than 2,000), but Flatch has its own charms. Boasting two restaurants (one with menus) and a gang of seventh-graders who help Kelly foster her influencer status, its just off the exit of greatness.

Stop in and youll see: Straley, Holmes and Scott bear watching. But Feig and Bicks might want to make some changes before rolling out the welcome mat. In Welcome to Flatch, its often difficult to focus.

Welcome to Flatch airs on Fox.

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For more than two years the groundwater around Worden and Ballantine in Eastern Montana was unsafe to drink after the water district there discovered nitrates in the water in alarmingly high levels in 2019  high enough to be mortally dangerous to infants.

It also left the Worden Ballantine Yellowstone County Water and Sewer District scrambling to find a new source of drinking water. Water treatment systems are expensive, complex and out of reach for many rural water districts.

For the Worden Ballantine water district, relief finally came last year in the form of $4.74 million in federal aid that it will use to essentially build a whole new water system. Investigators were never able to find the source of the nitrate contamination, so the water district dug four new wells from which it now draws its clean water.

For Richard Parks, a fly fishing guide based in Gardiner and a water quality advocate with the Northern Plains Resource Council, it illustrates the difficulty and expense wrapped up in water treatment.

He argues it's one of the big reasons municipalities in Montana are looking for ways to relax the state's water quality standards.

"While removing nutrients is doable, it costs money," he said.

The state, during the last legislative session, passed Senate Bill 358 in an attempt to create a more flexible solution to how the state monitors and responds to water quality. It replaces the state's old numeric system with a narrative system for quantifying the amounts of nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus, in the state's waterways.

Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are important fertilizers but too much in a stream or river can create dangerous algae blooms that choke the life out of a waterway.

Parks, whose livelihood depends on the health of the rivers in Paradise Valley, believes the state's implementation of a new monitoring system will damage the water quality in Montana.

"A completely misbegotten and abominable step to take," he said.

'Not going backwards'

Louis Engels, the water quality superintendent for the City of Billings, sees it from a different perspective. He looks at the city's new $75 million wastewater treatment plant, built in 2019, that's designed specifically to remove higher amounts of nitrogen and phosphates from wastewater, and sees a pretty good system.

He's convinced Billings and the other major municipalities in Montana are doing as much to keep the state's waterways clean as just about any other group. Overall, Montana's eight largest cities have collectively invested $260 million in treating wastewater to reach these specific levels.

"We're not going backwards," he said. "We've invested more in water quality than anyone in the region."

The law certainly doesn't roll back water standards," said Kelly Lynch, an attorney with the Montana League of Cities and Towns. Montana's constitution requires that the state "maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment...for present and future generations."

Lynch helped craft the legislation that became SB 358, which itself doesn't dictate water quality standards but instead creates a framework for them.

Stakeholders will spend the year evaluating the data that's been collected from waterways across the state for decades and create a system that can set specific standards for the various watersheds across the state.

Most importantly, the state-issued permits that dictate exactly the amounts of nutrients municipalities are allowed to release into their waterways remain in force and by law can't be rolled back, Lynch said.

Under those permit requirements, municipal wastewater treatment plants capture and remove roughly 90% of the nitrogen and phosphorus and other nutrient waste in the water they process.

Ryan Sudbury, deputy city attorney in Missoula who specializes in water quality issues, said his city has worked hard to be proactive and pragmatic in its approach to treating water.

"We just want to make sure the things we're doing make sense," he said.

Watershed specific

The state's new plan for monitoring water quality moves to what's known as an adaptive management plan, which allows regions within the state to create the standards that will address the specific type of pollution they see.

"A site-specific approach would better serve the stakeholders in that region," said Amanda McInnis, an area manager and wastewater specialist with HDR in Missoula.

The adaptive management plan, specific to each watershed, dictates what's required, she said.

"We've got to look at all of the watershed," she said.

Brian Heaston, senior water resource engineer for the City of Bozeman, is hopeful SB 358 will do what it's set out to do. A big part of that will be how it utilizes the science to dictate water quality, he said.

Rather than disregard the data that's been used to create state standards up until now, he sees the law requiring municipalities to rely on good, accurate contemporary data to make decisions on how they satisfy water quality standards going forward.

"It's utilizing site-specific data collected at a watershed site," he said. "We're building on the science."

Parks, the fly fishing guide in Gardiner, believes data is the key if the state is going to use the adaptive management plan system and he's not convinced the new law does enough to require the collection of good data moving forward.

"You've got to understand where you're trying to go," he said. "Without the standard you've got no objective."

Bozeman draws much of its drinking water from the East Gallatin River and the city has spent years and more than $250,000 studying the impact of nutrients on the nearly 30-mile stretch of the river before it meets up with the Gallatin.

Collecting the right data from the right places allows the regions where these watersheds exist to better understand the impact nutrients have on their waterways and how best to protect them, Heaston said.

And the best way to do it is by requiring those specific regions to figure it out. The state's too big to do it efficiently on a statewide level, he said.

"We believe we are a primary steward of the aquatic environment of the East Gallatin River," Heaston said. "We want to see it succeed."

Point-source blues

One of the tallest hurdles the state faces as it works to better regulate water quality is what's known as non-point source dischargers.

Cities and towns across the state are relatively easy for the state to manage. The majority of municipalities in Montana have some type of water treatment plant, which the state regulates as a point-source discharger of treated wastewater.

Point-source is the state's designation for any recognized source of discharged wastewater, which typically means a city pipe releasing water into the wild.

What's harder for the state to regulate are non-point sources, those entities outside of municipalities that still release polluted water into a waterway. These sources usually exist on county land and come from agricultural and septic sources.

And the state has no system in place to regulate them.

It's a concern for both municipal water managers and environmentalists. The state has seen record growth in the last two years and clean water advocates worry it will increasingly push development into more rural areas of the state.

And that push, they say, could lead to higher levels of nutrient pollution finding its way into rivers and streams with no way for the state to regulate it.

"The state is going to have to address that in some meaningful way," Heaston said.

Engels, the water quality superintendent for Billings, agreed. The majority of nitrogen and phosphorus found in state waterways comes from sources other than cities and towns. And so municipalities can't be the only ones responsible to keep the state's water clean, he said.

Cost of clean water

The original numeric standards for wastewater discharge put in place by the state were never implemented. A lawsuit filed by the Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, a water quality advocacy group based in Bozeman, put the requirements on hold until the courts figured out the best approach.

SB 358 was designed in part as a work around and Engels sees it as a better option anyway. The old numeric standard for water quality was never possible to reach, he said.

"The technology does not exist," he said.

To get close, city water treatment plants would have to install reverse osmosis filtration systems and there still would be nutrient levels it couldn't reach. And then there's the cost, Engel said.

It would cost Billings $30 million to install a reverse osmosis filtration system and there would be no guarantee it would remove nitrogen and phosphorus down to the numbers required under the old numeric system.

That's a cost Billings would end up passing onto ratepayers, which no one likes, Engels said. But it would be especially burdensome on smaller townships  many with aging water treatment plants  that simply don't have the resources or the population base to float the cost. For Engels it's about prioritizing limited resources.

Sudbury, with the Missoula city attorney's office, agreed.

"Even if we built it, it wouldn't result in measurable differences," he said. "We're not opposed to spending money to treat nutrients, we just think there's a better way to do it."

Municipal water treatment systems across the state remove 90% of the nitrogen and phosphorus and other nutrient waste from their wastewater. To get at the remaining 10% becomes a game of diminishing returns.

"It's incredibly expensive and incredibly energy intensive," Heaston said. "Is the benefit worth the cost?"

Parks acknowledged it's a complex problem with no easy answer. The problem, he said, is that the state's water quality hangs in the balance. If the state gets it wrong, rivers and streams end up damaged, which can impact everything from Montana's quality of life to its tourism industry.

"I don't think any of us pretend there's a simple solution to this," he said. "And that's my problem with SB 358. It goes for the simple solution."

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Shred It event

The Mooresville Police Department, 750 W. Iredell Ave., will be hosting a free Shred-it event April 2 from 9 a.m. to noon in the front parking lot, rain or shine. All are invited to bring items, which will be shredded on-site. Because of the number of those anticipated to participate, attendees are encouraged to bring no more than two bank size boxes of items.

Spaghetti supper

Mooresville AR Presbyterian Church, 659 Carpenter Ave., will have its spaghetti supper, which this month offers a return to inside dining as well as drive-thru, March 25 from 5-7:30 p.m. Cost is $8 per plate and will include a choice of different sauces of Alfredo, meat sauce or marinara, along with a salad bar, bread, dessert, tea, water and coffee.

Spring EggVenture

Mooresville Parks and Recreation will be offering its Spring EggVenture on April 9 from noon to 4 p.m. This family-friendly fun day will be at Mazeppa Park, 645 Mazeppa Road, and all are invited to come hunt for hidden eggs and enjoy other activities throughout the day, including axe throwing, Jackie Phelps and her animal friends, a spring craft and more.

St. Albans concert

Music at St. Albans will present a concert entitled La Favorite and performed by Ensemble Vermillian on March 27 at 3 p.m. at St. Albans Episcopal Church, 301 Caldwell Lane, Davidson. Performers are Frances Blaker, David Wilson, Barbara Krumdieck and Barbara Weiss.

The concert will be preceded by a youth recital at 2:20 p.m. and followed by a meet-the-artist reception. In addition to the live performance, the concert will also be available via livestreaming. For information about the streaming option and latest COVID protocols, visit www.musicatstalbansdavidson.org.

Senior Center classes

The chair strength and balance class has resumed at the South Iredell Senior Center, 202 N. Church St. This free, low intensity chair class meets on Mondays from 11-11:45 a.m. or noon to 12:45 p.m. and is designed to increase strength, flexibility and improve balance. Registration is not needed. Just come and have fun.

Friday Lenten meals

The Knights of Columbus local council traditionally holds Friday fish dinners during Lent to raise money for charities. COVID-19 restrictions prevent that this year.

Instead, the council has teamed up again with Showmars to support the LAMB (Least Among My Brethren) Foundation, which supports people with intellectual disabilities in North Carolina. For every person who mentions LAMB when buying lunch or dinner at the Mooresville Showmars on a Friday during Lent, the restaurant will donate a portion of the sale to this worthy cause. Help support LAMB and get your Friday meal (fish or not) at Showmars, 138 Williamson Road, Mooresville. Be sure to mention your purchase goes to support LAMB.

Details about LAMB, visit https://www.lambnc.org.
Lamar Smitherman, former publisher of The News Herald and The McDowell News, recently reflected on his career in the newspaper industry spanning more than 40 years.

He worked his way up from sales representative to publisher with a Multimedia paper in Prattville, Alabama, after graduating from college in 1972, according to a previous News Herald article. He then accepted a partnership in an independent paper in Mississippi.

He returned to Prattville in 1989 and opened The Autauga Times, which he later sold to Multimedia, and once again became publisher of The Prattville Progress, a subsidiary of the Montgomery Advertiser, his biography reads. While in that capacity, he also was responsible for producing The Redstone Rocket in Huntsville, Alabama, the Fort Benning Bayonet in Columbus, Georgia, and the Maxwell Gunter Dispatch in Montgomery, Alabama, for The Advertiser Company. When Gannett Corporation purchased Multimedia, Smitherman was named director of special products and acquisitions, which included producing three separate military publications for the Montgomery Advertiser and assuming responsibility for all commercial print operations, in addition to publishing three community newspapers.

Later, he took a job as a retail sales manager of the Opelika Auburn News for Media General before becoming publisher of The News Herald and The McDowell News in 2010.

The Morganton News Herald and The McDowell News were owned by the same newspaper group that I worked for in Auburn, Alabama, and both papers had excellent reputations, Smitherman said. Barbara and I love the area, and we thought it would be a great place to start a new adventure.

His main duty as publisher was to make sure the paper achieved a respectable profit.

This goal required hiring and maintaining a talented staff in each department, Smitherman said. I had a wonderful staff at both papers, and I think we all did our best to honor our commitment to both communities. I was very proud of all the employees under my watch.

He also appreciated the opportunity to get involved in the community, which he had a long history of doing throughout his career. A previous News Herald article notes that he served on the boards of several chambers of commerce, United Way agencies and other civic organizations.

He is a past president of the Alabama Press Association Journalism Foundation, and currently serves on the Blue Ridge HealthCare Foundation, Burke Development Inc. board and as a trustee for Western Piedmont Community College, the article reads. He is a past board member of Burke County United Way and the Burke County Chamber of Commerce.

He said being publisher of The News Herald and The McDowell News presented challenges as well.

The most challenging part of the paper was dealing with all the changes from the corporate offices, Smitherman said. Corporate had lots of experience in running large papers, but really did not understand the limitations, function and impact of a small town community newspaper. The biggest change was in less local control, consolidation of duties and the reduction of staff that was mandated at the corporate level.

He reflected on the lessons he learned from his work.

I think one of the most important lessons for any publisher is to listen to members of the community, try to hear both sides of any issues and provide fair and local content, Smitherman said.

He retired from The News Herald and The McDowell News in 2018, but soon became inspired to rejoin the workforce in a different capacity.

I enjoyed about four months of retirement before accepting a position with the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics as the outreach and industry relations associate, Smitherman said.

But the local newspapers and the people who help produce them will always have a special place in his heart.

I have so many great memories of my time at The News Herald and The McDowell News, Smitherman said.

Staff writer Tammie Gercken can be reached at tgercken@morganton.com.
Editors note: This is the third article in a series covering homelessness in Burke County. The fourth article also was published in Sundays print edition of The News Herald, and the fifth will be published in Wednesdays print edition.

A typical Morganton City Council meeting hears few public comments, and oftentimes none at all.

But the March 7 meeting saw 20 minutes worth of comments from attendees, and the mayor had to cut the comments short to move forward with the councils agenda for the night.

All the comments boiled down to one major topic: homelessness in Burke County. More than that, all but one of the comments were regarding a specific camp on Dogwood Drive where the homeowner invited a group of people experiencing homelessness to live after their Herron Street camp was abated by the city.

Joseph Bateman, the homeowner who invited the group to stay on his property, told the council he didnt think there was a homeless camp.

Im looking for that at the moment, but I do have some friends staying in my backyard, Bateman said. I think people have taken things the wrong way.

He said he didnt think neighbors should have any safety concerns, and said he wanted to help people going through hard times get back on their feet.

What were trying to do is remove some of the folks that are in the clutter of this  because somebody chooses to live in a tent, its immoral to say that they have to own a home, rent a home, what if they cant afford a home? Bateman said. Many of these people are born into poverty. They dont have the same opportunities that many of us have and we take for granted.

Two of the people staying in his backyard, Floyd Bethea and Jessica Beam, spoke at the meeting, asking the neighborhood to give them a chance.

Were not all bad people, Bethea said. We are willing to do anything to help all the neighbors in any type of form or fashion that we can do. We just want to be friendly. Were not too bad off, were just unfortunate.

Beam said shes been homeless for about 10 years, and said she wished there were more low-income housing options available in the city.

All Im saying is I want people to give us a chance, Beam said. I go out every day trying to find a job. People bought us bicycles. Thats all I can say. I just want somebody to give us a chance because were not bad people.

Neighbors who spoke at the meeting cited concerns of declining property values and security issues.

This has always been a quiet, peaceful neighborhood where neighbor helps neighbor, said John Shelor. At this time, all houses, sheds, cars are locked down solid. Were also keeping an eagle eye on our property for trespassing and so on. These are things that are taking us out of our norm.

Judith Ford, another resident on Dogwood Drive, said she has a degree in human services and thought the Batemans meant well trying to help the group, but they lack the resources needed to help at this scale.

First, in terms of knowledge and skills, Mr. Bateman has no training in this field, Ford said. Hes not a licensed social worker, he doesnt have counseling experience, hes never worked in addiction recovery or mental health care that we are aware of.

She said despite Batemans assertion that he wouldnt be allowing drugs in the camp, neighbors were concerned he couldnt effectively monitor the situation and people could go to surrounding properties to use drugs. She said theyre also concerned that the Batemans lack the facilities needed for the people staying on their property.

Without proper facilities, the Batemans cannot provide things such as running water, electricity and basic sanitary conditions such as proper disposal of all the sewage, Ford said.

She said another neighbor has reported hearing dog fights regularly, and has had to pick her dog up and carry it inside because a dog that belonged to a camper was acting aggressively on her property.

Ford said the situation might be different if the Batemans lived outside of city limits on a larger property, but the current property just doesnt meet the needs for a project this size.

It very much looks like the Batemans may have had sincere intentions, but they jumped into something without forethought, without preparation, without expertise and without consulting the city or the neighbors beforehand, Ford said. This is certainly the wrong location for this and it is too haphazard of a way to go about it.

Jeff Barrett, a Marine Corps veteran and local educator who lives on Vine Arden Road, said he showed a picture of the former camp on Herron Street to some of his kids.

Ive been to a lot of crappy places, I can tell you that, Barrett said. Bosnia, Iraq, and the other day, I took a picture out of The News Herald and put it up on a Powerpoint for my kids. I said, guys, what country do you think this is in? It was of the homeless camp on Herron Street. Kids were saying Ukraine, Bosnia, some other places. I said, thats Morganton, North Carolina.

He said he has newfound security and safety concerns because of the developments on Dogwood Drive.

In my 20 years of living on Vine Arden, Ive never had to lock my vehicles up until now, Barrett said. Ive never had to worry about my wife until now. Im not saying these folks are a threat.

He said he was all about giving people a second chance, but they needed to want to help themselves and it needed to happen through the proper channels.

Another of the speakers, Tim Norman, asked the city to enforce its code of ordinances, something the city started early last week when the Batemans receive a notice of violation in the mail.

Bateman told The News Herald on Tuesday that he didnt intend to get in compliance with the notice, and fired back with a letter asking the city to cease and desist what he described as harassment.

The city told The News Herald it was working on a response to that letter. The News Herald also learned that five people already have signed up to speak at the city councils April 4 meeting. That meeting will start with public comments at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Morganton City Hall.

Chrissy Murphy is a staff writer and can be reached at cmurphy@morganton.com or at 828-432-8941. Follow @cmurphyMNH on Twitter.

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There are many dogs and cats are available for adoption at Burke County Animal Services.

Trinity Johnson, shelter technician at animal services, wants all of the animals in the shelter to find a loving fur-ever home. These are the animals she chose to spotlight this week.

This weeks Dog of the Week is Atlas.

Atlas, a 2-year-old bloodhound male, is a very well-mannered boy who loves going on walks, hikes and smelling everything he can get his nose on, Johnson said. Atlas appears to be dog friendly and would benefit greatly from a fenced in yard or some land to run on. Atlas does great on a leash, loves treats and chewing on toys.

Something unique about Atlas, is that he is missing his toes on one of his back feet, hes the only lack-toes-intolerant dog in the shelter. Atlas makes up for his lack of toes with his giant heart though and is ready to share that with a family.

Atlas is up-to-date on vaccines, flea control, dewormer, and he also is neutered. His adoption fee is $125, and he would love to me his furever family today.

All animals brought to animal services come from different backgrounds and are in different physical condition. The agencys staff works to ensure all animals are taken care of while theyre in the shelter and in preparation to be adopted into their forever homes.

This weeks Cat of the Week is Miss Norris.

Miss Norris is an 8-month-old grey-and-white female cat, Johnson said. She is cat friendly, and she is a very sweet girl that loves to be picked up and cuddled with. Miss Norris is litter box trained, loves to play with toys, and meet new people. She is up-to-date on vaccines, flea-control, and deworming, as well as being spayed. Please come meet Miss Norris today!

In addition to this weeks pets of the week, there are many dogs and cats are available for adoption at animal services.

Animal services tries to take in as many animals as it can, and with the help of foster home volunteers it is able to care for more animals.

There are different fees for those interested in adopting a dog or a cat from animal services. The adoption fee for any adult dog or puppy is $125. The adoption fee for any adult cat or kitten is $90.

All animals come up-to-date on vaccines, flea control, and deworming, as well as being spayed and neutered.

The shelter also offers foster programs for members of the community to help the animals of the shelter without having to make a lifelong commitment. Fosters are only required to give a copy of a valid ID with address and phone number and to sign their foster agreement.

Fostering is free, and animal services provides all needed supplies, including litter boxes, litter and food and the same for dogs, the agencys policy says. Crates are provided, if available. Foster parents are just asked to transport the animal either to vet appointments or back to the shelter for updated vaccines and deworming.

For more information on Atlas, Miss Norris or any other adoption or foster-related questions, call animal services at 828-764-9588 or visit its website at burkenc.org/animalservices. Visit its Facebook page at Burke County Animal Services for information on adoptable animals or upcoming adoption events.
At the NACo Legislative Conference, this lost "little lamb" of a leader uttered a big bunch of foolish, and meandering words, some lies, some too stupid to be lies: Above. photo by Stan Deatherage

Should the precepts and political ideals of the "Green New Deal," and the 2 year Democratic Socialist politicization of Covid Response continue to take precedent over cogent economic foundational norms? Yes, we must save the planet, and we must take whatever measures necessary to control the populations of the World to do so. No, the People should continue to have the freedom to make the correct decisions, as afforded to US by God, guaranteed by the Constitution, and beyond all manner of Authoritarian control. I have no idea ... I don't read much of what is real. 244 total vote(s) What's your Opinion?



Being the executive leader of these United States of our big piece of America is NOT a task for a puppet president or an idiot, which in the case of Joe Biden , he is both. If our wiser voting citizens can readily see this unfunctional realty, the leaders of our foreign adversaries - the ones formerly granted inner governmental access, compliments of Biden patronage , by Hunter Biden and- can easily witness it as well.Also, remember the Russia Hoax perpetrated by the dishonest Democratic Socialist politicians, their corrupt bureaucrats in the FBI and the DOJ, their collusive and corrupt Corporate Media, with the propagandistic Big Tech Monopolies fulsomely aiding that effort to destroy President Donald Trump, his family, his associates and any other patriots that got in their corrupt way: Was that helpful in projecting National Strength, or issomething better to be cursed by the non patriotic Democratic Socialists, and their nasty spirited people of many associate pronouns, a product of the celebrated flamboyant and multipleof aDemocratic Socialist people? I have not forgotten them, these morbidly moronic beasts of an intolerable eveil, nor will I ever chance to allow this infamous, sorry time to slip from my consciousness. How about you ... should we make it to the other side of this nightmare of stupidity, will you remember these dangerous, despotic days?In the bright light of all that is honest and good, there was nothen in the Trump administration; there is, however, Russia all the time NOW; that Dictatorship's killing, maiming and threatening nuclear holocaust if not satisfied by its murderous misadventure in Ukraine. Where truth is paramount, it is incumbent for all Americans to know what has caused the maladies of this Democratic Socialist construct of all that is wrong, the heads of this hydra snake, and how it was wrought upon our good People, and that it may never happen again.What did happen, to bring the World to this obvious brink of calamity and holocaust, was this most dishonest elective process in modern American history is that the good People of this Democratic Republic did lose complete respect in that once venerated process; leaving one to ponder that if you have not also lost that inexhaustible faith it our flawed process ... well, there is an outstanding opportunity that you are not one of those aforementionedIf that be the case, one would assume you would be part of what Liberals like to contend as being on the... and that projected reminiscence of history right now is failing those of the Leftist persuasion that placed all their bets on: 1) Thehoax; 2) The dishonorable and utterly corrupt Corporate Media propagandists intentionally misleading the Public, in collusion of purpose to support a Democratic Socialist empire of falsehoods; 3) Big Tech Social Media acting as the surreptitious agents to insure the Democratic Socialists' corrupt ambitions of paramount evil intent; 4) To impose a coordinated distorted response to the Covidof a Democratic Socialist construct, well colluded with all aforementioned parties of interest, with the full intent to flood the electorate in the 2020 general election with tens of millions of unnecessaryto ultimately ballot harvest as was needed to create a desired electoral outcome.If we learned anything from this abomination of an election that was far more reminiscent of the former USSR than the USA, it was that once the democratic process is marginalized, and the First Amendment is sacrificed for the glory of Democratic Socialism, there was absolutely no remedy by the courts; it is just that our imperfect system of justice cannot, or will not function fast enough, fair enough, or prudent enough to be of any benefit to all parties, especially those patriots so forgotten. We saw that truth in the autumn of 2020, where our state and federal courts were useless at a time of democratically divergent purpose, where a great travesty was clearly afoot, its purpose is now revealed.has become the latest talking points of the Democratic Socialist fools, dithering ignorance that would never survive in any other society whereis an anathema to all manner of critical thought by deductive reasoning. In a Democratic Socialist world view construct, where that talking point of(listen to the Fool Biden garble those read words, and he will again) are thrown about willy-nilly like confetti of stupidity, we now face the threat of possible nuclear war on so many avoidable fronts because this Idiot President's projected weakness of purpose, made real by his ignorance of mind. Democratic Socialist Fools mouthing mindlessly the parroted phrasehas no meaning to the far wiser amongst us, who well understand the realis nuclear war, for that singular event would create the abject conditions for real, certain and immediateDo YOU get it yet?
I used to be an avid watcher of the Academy Awards, rooting for my favorites, and excited to see famous and glamorous movie stars attending the event. But over the years, the length of the mega production, pomp and circumstance, break for best movie song that will surely be forgotten the next day, and the competition of how high the slit or how low the neckline in the presenters gown only adds to the boredom.

The awards are on March 27, and the only movie nominated that Ive seen so far is The Lost Daughter, which was pretty good, but not a movie Id sit through twice. So, maybe its personal taste that changes for us seniors as we get older and have seen every story in every genre at least once and refuse to sit through even one more teens coming of age, the love that got away or more sex and gore than plot flick.

The Oscars just dont seem that exciting anymore, and one wonders if the winners will even show up. Marlon Brando did win in 1955 for his magnificent performance in On the Waterfront and did show up to accept it  gosh, that man was amazingly handsome  but the next time he won for The Godfather in 1973, he chose instead to make a political statement protesting Hollywoods treatment of First Americans by their inaccurate, derogatory and racist portrayals in movies. He was right in his assessment, but Hollywood didnt care for the criticism, and although he was nominated a couple more times, he lost out. I have a feeling he really didnt care.

After his initial win for Best Actor for playing iconic screen villain Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, Sir Anthony Hopkins wouldnt win another Academy Award for three decades (though hed be nominated plenty of times). When he won at the 2021 Academy Awards for The Father, he didnt participate in the live broadcast. Instead, he posted a video to Instagram while appearing at his fathers gravesite in Wales and actually paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who passed away and had also been nominated.

Known for playing such titanic public figures as Clarence Darrow, Scrooge and Gen. George Patton, it was for the performance in the latter role that George C. Scott won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Never one to mince words, upon knowledge that he might win, he politely told the Academy to lose his number because he viewed the Oscars as a two-hour meat parade.

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were nominated for Best Actress and Best Actor respectively for Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? but Burton managed to convince Taylor to not attend the 1966 Academy Awards because of his own insecurities. Burton had missed out on Oscar gold four times before and didnt want to suffer through a fifth loss in front of all his peers, so he whisked the pair off to Paris. He ended up not winning while Taylor did, but in solidarity, she chose to remain with him.

Between the years 1961 and 1982, Paul Newman received no less than six Academy Award nominations and attended every ceremony. In 1987, when he finally won for The Color of Money, the blue-eyed star was nowhere around. When he was tracked down by the Associated Press, the Cool Hand Luke star used a colorful analogy to explain his absence: Its like chasing a beautiful woman for 80 years. Finally, she relents, and you say, Im terribly sorry. Im tired.

Katharine Hepburn, star of classic movies like The Philadelphia Story and The African Queen, still has more Academy Awards to her name than any other actor (except she ties with Laurence Olivier, who also has four). But she had never attended the ceremonies, where she would be expected to accept her own awards. When she did finally attend the 1974 Academy Awards, it was to present the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, at which point she quipped, Im living proof that a person can wait 41 years to be unselfish.

Sir John Gielgud was a legend of the stage and screen for eight decades, and in that time, he won three Tonys, an Emmy, a Grammy, and two Oscars. In 1981, he was nominated for playing the butler Hobson opposite Dudley Moores Arthur, a part he had turned down twice. As it happened, he turned down attending the ceremony, too. He won the Best Supporting Actor award, but didnt want to be a part of the mutual congratulation baloney.

Writer, director and actor Woody Allen has been nominated for an Academy Award an impressive 24 times, winning the coveted Oscar four times. Three of the four were Best Original Screenplay awards, for Hannah and Her Sisters, Midnight in Paris, and Annie Hall. In 1974, even before receiving such acclaim for Annie Hall, Allen told ABC News that the whole concept of awards is silly. I cannot abide the judgment of other people because if you accept it when they say you deserve an award, then you have to accept it when they say you dont. Hes only attended one Academy Awards ceremony so far (2002) and has never accepted his Oscars live.

Even young winners choose not to be present. In 2002, Eminem surprised audiences by delivering a surprisingly strong performance in the semi-autobiographical movie 8 Mile, about an aspiring rapper trying to make a better life for himself and his family with a series of freestyle rap songs. Though he didnt win an Oscar for his acting abilities, he did win the Best Original Song award for Lose Yourself. While the song was a chart-topping success, Eminem never thought he would win, so didnt bother attending. According to Entertainment Weekly, he was at home, sleeping during the ceremony.

Peg DeMarco is a Morganton resident who writes a weekly features column for The News Herald. Email her at pegdemarco@earthlink.net .
Too little time with so much to see was the consensus from the four men and women of the Allihies Copper Mine Museum visiting Butte this week.

Many of Buttes Irish immigrants came from the village of Allihies in Irelands Beara Peninsula. Butte and Allihies share a rich history of copper mining. The Allihies area was once home to the mines known as Dooneen, Caminches, Coom, Kealogue and Mountain.

Tadhg OSullivan, Anne McNally, Niall OSullivan and Tara Hanley have been on a whirlwind Butte tour. They hit the ground running since arriving early Wednesday and now hate to see their visit come to an end.

The group representing the museum, which is housed in a one-time Methodist chapel built in 1845, was here to formalize a twin cities agreement between Butte and Allihies.

During their visit, both sides were presented with proclamations outlining the commitment between both parties to foster their relationship by educating school-age students on both sides of the Atlantic on the importance of their connection.

For Tadhg OSullivan, museum chairman, the visit to Butte exceeded all his expectations.

It was fantastic, he said.

Impressed with all he saw, Tadhg was particularly thrilled with the underground tour at the Orphan Girl Mine.

The tour gave us an idea of life underground, he said. Our tour guide Jim Keane was fantastic.

Anne McNally grew up hearing stories about the Beara to Butte connection and described this trip as poignant.

Butte was etched in our imaginations since we were children, she said.

The reality exceeded her dreams. McNally was blown away by the Butte welcome her group has received.

We need to go back home for a holiday, she said, with a laugh. It was all very emotional and lots of fun.

Like McNally, Niall OSullivan grew up hearing stories about Butte and he viewed his visit as a fulfillment of other peoples dreams  people, including his late father, who wanted to visit Butte but did not get the chance.

The first American place we heard of growing up was Butte, said Niall. This is a dream come true.

Niall, like his fellow travelers, has been amazed by Buttes hospitality.

The welcome we got  words cannot describe it, said Niall.

He was again taken aback when he witnessed, time and time again, the continued Irish pride felt by the descendants of Buttes early-day immigrants.

There is something really powerful about the Irish here, said Niall. The heritage is very much alive.

Tara Hanley was so very glad to have made the trip.

Everyone we met, from the airport on, has been amazing, she said. This has been such a fantastic connection.

Now that Butte and Allihies are officially intertwined, the group is certain that the initiative will bring the relationship to a whole different level and forge an even stronger connection.

The bond will just progress from here, said Tadhg.

Hanley is in total agreement.

The tie will grow and get stronger, she said.

For Niall, a primary school teacher, students from Beara and Butte will be linked through their prospective schools. In Beara, that teacher will be Padraig Bernie OSullivan  in Butte, Jim ONeill, a curriculum director for Butte School District No. 1 will oversee the education.

This is just the beginning, Niall said.

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Nobody got too out of hand during Buttes St. Patricks Day celebration.

Butte-Silver Bow County Sheriff Ed Lester said there were a few driving under the influence arrests, but otherwise, it was not too bad considering the somewhat warm weather conditions.

According to the sheriff, the crowd, for the most part, was well behaved.

We were due for a celebration and like always, Butte delivered, said Sheriff Lester. It was a fun day and its great to see people having a good time.

Several offenses

Just after 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Ashlynn Nicole Lewis, 23, of Butte was arrested at St. James Healthcare on a felony Butte Justice Court theft warrant and three misdemeanor Butte City Court criminal contempt warrants.

Alleged trespasser

Stephanie Dawn Withers, 46, of Butte, allegedly trespassed at a property in the 5900 block of Albany just after 11 p.m. Wednesday.

She was jailed for misdemeanor criminal trespass.

Windows broke

At about 9 p.m. Wednesday, Benjamin Curtis OConnor, 26, of Butte reportedly broke some windows in a camper parked in the 200 block of South Dakota Street.

He was jailed on two misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief.

Felony PFMA

Late Thursday night, Richard Mark Barry, 59, of Butte allegedly struck a woman in the face at a residence in the 2000 block of Hancock.

He was booked for felony partner or family member assault with minor injuries.

Simple assault

An Arizona man was behind bars late Thursday night after allegedly hitting another man, in front of police officers, at the intersection of Park and Main.

Benny Wayne Bevil, 27, of Tucson, Arizona, was jailed for the misdemeanor offense of simple assault.

MHP warrant

Officers were investigating another incident at about 3 p.m. Thursday on Holmes Avenue when they located Skyler James Reinke, 26, of Butte who was wanted on a Montana Highway Patrol warrant.

He was booked into the jail.

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Butte America Foundation officials have announced the parade winners of the 2022 St. Patrick's Day Parade. The float that epitomized the Best Spirit of St. Pats Day went to 729 Welding and Cavanaughs County Celtic and Butte Catholic Community North took home best float honors.

Other winners included Butte Highs band, named best marching band and best bagpipers were the Anaconda AOH Pipe & Drums. The Tiernan Irish Dancers were the best dance group and Macs OIrish McClafferty had the best antique vehicle.

Finally, the Whitefish Winter Carnival took home best out-of-town entry and the best equestrian entry went to Emerald Isle Equines.

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Senators from Maine and Montana want the Biden administration to clarify the impact of more people visiting the country's national parks.

Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine and Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana said last week they want to know the impact of increased attendance on the parks, visitors and surrounding communities. They've called on National Park Service Director Charles Sams for a congressional briefing about the subject.

The senators said there have been "historic numbers of National Park visitors," including at Yellowstone National Park and Acadia National Park. Yellowstone saw annual visits increase from about 3.6 million in 2010 to nearly 4.9 million last year, they said. The senators said Acadia's attendance grew from about 2.5 million to about 4.1 million in that time.

The senators wrote that the park system "is one of our nation's greatest treasures, and as such we must be vigilant in ensuring that they continue to be available for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of this and future generations."

The National Park Service administers more than 400 national parks across the country. It compiled a list of the most visited parks last year, with the Blue Ridge Parkway spanning the southern and central Appalachians topping the list with 15.9 million visitors. Yellowstone ranked 12th and Acadia was 16th.

Like Acadia, the Cape Cod National Seashore also had 4 million visitors, ranking 17th.

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ARCHIVED - Wintery weather continues across Spain: weather outlook March 7-11



An Atlantic front puts seven provinces in Spain on weather alert

March is bringing some relief to Spains drying reservoirs after an unseasonably parched January and February marked the driest season in 17 years. The weekend passed with heavy rainfall throughout much of the country , and the unsettled weather is set to continue this week, with several Atlantic fronts sweeping across Spain.

March 7 begins with cloudy skies and the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has put seven provinces on alert due to the plummeting temperatures and possibility of snow. Isolated storms are expected in parts of The week ofbegins with cloudy skies and the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has put seven provinces on alert due to the plummeting temperatures and possibility of snow. Isolated storms are expected in parts of the Valencian Community , where Alicante has been issued with a yellow warning, while rain is also forecast in Andalucia , the Balearic Islands, eastern Cantabria and Galicia as the day goes on.

On Tuesday March 8, widespread rain is predicted for much of the country, with abundant cloudiness and rainfall affecting the Atlantic and Cantabrian areas in particular. Daytime temperatures will increase slightly, mainly in the eastern part of the country, while night-time temperatures will also creep up in western and northern regions.

The mercury will continue to rise on Wednesday March 9, with the exception of the Mediterranean coast and the islands, although south and southeasterly winds will predominate in much of the country.

A welcome change is expected on Thursday March 10, when most of the rain will be confined to western Galicia, while the skies should remain relatively clear in most of Spain, with the exception of some scattered showers along the Mediterranean coast. The mercury will rise again as the Atlantic fronts pass, with the intense frosts confined to the Pyrenees and the mountainous north.

Looking ahead to Friday March 11, a new Atlantic front will enter the peninsular northwest, leaving cloudy or overcast skies throughout Spain. Night-time temperatures are set to rise but during the day, the mercury will drop in the western part of the country.

Images: Aemet
MUSCATINE  Emergency repairs to Hershey Avenue near the northbound ramp of Highway 61 begin on Monday.

The work is part of repairs that must be done before the 2022 Full Depth Patching project begins and the Park Avenue 4-to-3 Lane Conversion Project continues.

Heuer Construction, Inc. the company awarded the Full Depth Patching contract, is doing the work.

On Tuesday, Heuer will begin the final work on the Park Avenue Lane Conversion Project. One of Park Avenues outside lanes from Washington Street to Colorado Street will be closed while the work is done.

Heuer was awarded the $440,800 patching project Nov. 4, 2021. The scope of work includes parts of Cedar Street, Isett Avenue, Houser Street, Stewart Road, Robin Road, Frontage Road and Devitt Avenue.

As the patching begins, Musser Street will be closed from Wisconsin and Baker streets to Grandview to prepare the east side of the latter intersection for paving.

West 8th Street will be closed from Broadway to Lucas streets as work on the West Hill Sanitary & Sewer Separation Project continues, with crews working in the Lucas Street and West 8th Street intersection starting on Monday, March 28.

Projects may be delayed or extended because of weather.

The city asks motorists to seek alternative routes, or if that is not possible, to drive slowly and cautiously.

For more information, visit the city of Muscatine website and click on the Construction page.

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WAPELLO  A school resource officer will remain in the Wapello School District and a new SRO position will be established in the Louisa-Muscatine (L&M) School District under two 28E agreements approved Tuesday by the Louisa County Board of Supervisors during its regular weekly meeting.

Louisa County Chief Deputy Sheriff Brandon Marquardt met with the board and presented an amended agreement for the Wapello School District position, which had been established last year under the umbrella of the city of Wapello.

Wapello Police Officer Dakoda (Kody) Aplara was assigned to that position after the City Council and the Wapello School Board approved a 28E agreement between them.

The supervisors needed to approve the amended version after city and county officials completed a merger of the city police department into the Louisa County Sheriffs Office and the city officers became county deputies.

The effective date for the agreement, assuming it is approved by the City Council at its meeting on Thursday, is April 1.

In a related decision, the board also approved a three-year 28E agreement with L&M that will formalize an earlier discussion to establish a SRO position in that school.

Marquardt said he had estimated the cost of establishing the position at around $100,000, with 75% ($75,000) being covered by the school and 25% ($25,000) by the county.

The L&M School Board is expected to act on the agreement at its regular meeting on Wednesday.

Marquardt also presented a renovation request to the supervisors.

He told the board that with increased staff coming to the sheriffs office because of the merger and SRO agreements, additional office and other space was needed.

A shower room at the sheriffs office at the County Complex would provide the needed space, Marquardt said, and the county board agreed.

It accepted a $32,722 bid from Evolve Contractors, Morning Sun, for the work.

The board also:

 Received monthly department updates from Adam Caudle, veterans affairs; Bobbie Wulf, mental health and disabilities; Cyndi Mears, community services; and Katie Hammond, conservation.

 Approved a sick-leave gifting request, which will allow county employees to provide additional sick leave for conservation board office manager Dani Boysen, who has a child battling a medical condition.

 Agreed to sign a state historic preservation grant proposal for Fairview Church south of Wapello.

 Approved Fiscal Year 2023 contracts with the unions representing workers in the sheriffs office and the secondary roads department.

 Met with Louisa Development Group Executive Director Cole Smith, who presented an Iowa Economic Development Authority contract covering an expansion project at the Tyson Meats plant, which the board reviewed and agreed to sign.

 Signed a resolution and deed for the former Louisa County Public Health Service office building, which was sold to SJ Holdings, LLC earlier this year.

In final action, the board met with county engineer Adam Shutt to discuss the secondary roads departments five-year plan. The plan includes 23 projects spread out from Fiscal Years (FY) 2022 to 2027, with a total cost estimated at $9,985,000.

FY 2022 proposed projects include a 7.5-mile resurfacing project on County Highway 305 and County Road X17; right of way acquisition for the Grandview Bypass; base stabilization on four miles of 218th Street; deck overlays on the Oakland 131, Grandview 94 and Columbus City 70 bridges; and three deck designs.

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Andre Broekman, a Civil Engineering PhD candidate at the University of Pretoria, has developed touch-sensitive concrete  a technology that could transform home and business security in South Africa.

Broekman demonstrated the concept in his concrete macro keyboard prototype. The technology essentially uses a touch breakdown sensor to measure changes in the capacitance over a concrete medium.

The technology could be used in home and business security solutions, removing the need for equipment such as electric fencing and alarm systems.

Wynand Steyn, head of the Civil Engineering department at the University of Pretoria, told MyBroadband that it could be adapted to send an alert  to you or your security services  as soon as someone touches your boundary wall.

This could reduce the need for electric fencing, allowing South Africans to protect their properties and businesses with an invisible solution.

He explained that it could be further adapted by dividing the wall into sections, allowing users to pinpoint the location where a potential intruder makes contact.

The technology also has the potential to replace internal alarm systems by implementing it in the flooring of a building.

It could then send an alert when someone walks through different areas of the building.

Broekman explained that the technology could also be used to aid the visually impaired. His prototype keyboard has tactile concrete keys engraved with symbols.

The engraved symbols would give a visually impaired individual a better idea of what button they are pressing.

The concrete keyboard

Broekmans prototype is programmed to carry out specific macro commands within the Windows operating system.

Dubbed the Raakcrete, the keyboard macros include selecting, cutting, copying and pasting text, opening the task manager, and opening the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

It also has a button to switch between Linux and Windows modes. The keyboard indicates that it is in Linux mode when the RGB lighting goes green.

The lighting goes blue when the keyboard is in Windows mode.

Each concrete key features a symbol  that Broekman engraved using a computer numeric controlled laser  to indicate what it does.

The surface beneath the keys is a polycarbonate sheet, and Broekman built the other plastic elements using a 3D printer.

When it comes to hardware, the keys sense contact through a capacitive touch sensor that measures changes in capacitance across the concrete medium.

The sensor then relays the information to a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller chip programmed with the macro commands.

A small LCD is mounted on the front of the keyboard that displays uptime, which button is pressed, and how many buttons had been pressed during its uptime.

Broekman said he could potentially scale the keyboard down to a third of its current size and that he could improve his design by making the keys thinner.

If I could re-do it, I would make the buttons a bit thinner to increase the sensitivity, he said.

He also said that there was a slight input lag with the current version, and thinner keys could help to improve the responsiveness of each touch.

His inspiration for the prototype came to him while working on his PhD thesis when he thought of a solution to automate certain aspects of his work.

Broekman said that the keyboard components were all affordable, and in total, the build cost him R450-R500 and a lot of man-hours.

Images of the concrete keyboard are included below.
Credit bureau TransUnion could be slapped with a R10-million fine after it suffered a data breach that compromised the personal information of millions of South Africans, the Information Regulator of South Africa has said.

The company confirmed on Thursday that a criminal third party had gained access to one of its servers by using an authorised clients credentials.

We have received an extortion demand, and it will not be paid, TransUnion South Africa confirmed.

N4ugthysecTU, a group claiming to be based in Brazil, took responsibility for the attack and demanded $15-million (R223-million) in Bitcoin to prevent the data from being leaked online.

According to the attackers, they have obtained 4TB of data, including identity information of 54 million South Africans.

TransUnion initially informed customers that the affected data might include telephone numbers, email addresses, identity numbers, and physical addresses.

However, the attackers have demonstrated to MyBroadband that they also have bank account and vehicle ownership information.

They also demonstrated that they obtained a Department of Home Affairs file with 54,140,442 records containing names, ID numbers, and birth dates.

N4ugthysecTU also offered TransUnions business customers insurance to prevent their data from being exposed, given that the credit bureau has refused to pay.

The list of impacted companies for which the attackers claim to have data is extensive and includes banks such as Absa, FNB, and Standard Bank.

The Information Regulator of South Africa has told MyBroadband that TransUnion informed it of the incident. The regulator explained what the next steps would be.

The regulator will first have to engage TransUnion to ascertain the root cause of, and the extent of the security compromise as well as the impact thereof, the regulator said.

If the regulator decides to act, it will consider the appropriate approach, including a pre-investigation or an assessment based on Protection of Personal Information Act regulations.

Possible repercussions after all of the required processes and steps have been followed by the regulator, is a fine of up to R10 million or imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both a fine and such imprisonment, the regulator stated.

That would apply if the regulator discovered any illegality or lack of proper safeguards for protecting the information.

TransUnion plays down breach extent

TransUnion disputed N4ugthysecTUs claims about the extent of the breach in a statement over the weekend.

We believe that the 54 million records relate to a 2017 data incident unrelated to TransUnion, the company said.

It also denied that the incident was a ransomware attack.

While it had received an extortion demand, the attackers did not take down TransUnions systems.

Instead, the bureau said it had temporarily taken certain elements of its services offline as a precaution.

On Saturday, the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) said it was engaging with TransUnion to coordinate the banking industrys efforts to secure customers profiles against abuse.

South African banks take the security of their customer data very seriously and have put in place robust risk mitigation strategies to detect potential fraud on accounts and protect customers personal information, as the investigation unfolds, Sabric said.

Sabric CEO Nischal Mewalall pointed out that compromising personal information did not guarantee access to banking profiles. Still, criminals could use it to impersonate people or trick them into disclosing their confidential banking information.

Sabric urges bank customers and other consumers to follow sound identity management practices to mitigate the risk of identity theft and fraudulent applications, the centre advised.

MyBroadband contacted TransUnion for comment, but the credit rating agency did not respond by the time of publication.

Now read: Nespresso data leak in South Africa
Joe Tagliaboschis service to his hometown ended last year  only to begin again, and closer to his fellow residents than ever.

After seven years as the Yountville public works director, he retired in July 2021, seeing to family affairs and pondering how he might next serve the community he has called home for more than three decades. Early this year, however, his next step presented itself  in the same building he had just left behind.

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I never say never, but I didnt think it would happen this soon, the 62-year-old Tagliaboschi said of his appointment in February to the Yountville Town Council, just seven months after stepping down as head of the public works department.

Tagliaboschi won the approval of his former bosses to take over the council seat that opened when former Vice Mayor Kerri Dorman resigned Jan. 6, ahead of her move to Austin, Texas. He will serve the remainder of Dormans four-year term through the November election.

In a recent interview, Tagliaboschi recalled that while he was pondering ways to add value to an organization or the community after 18 years in city and county public works  including a term as the city of Napas street field supervisor from 2003 to 2007  he had no designs on the Yountville council until residents and friends urged him to pursue the job and draw on his experience in town government.

I think people thought, given the timing and what issues were before the council, I would be best placed, he said. Id have the shorter learning curve with my time in the community, over 30 years of living in Yountville, all those things that would help me look at the issues earlier. They thought I could be an asset immediately.  I talked with family and friends and decided it was something where I might be of some help. 

As a council member, Tagliaboschi plans to pay close attention to issues surrounding Yountvilles physical infrastructure  including a study of water and wastewater rates, the reuse of the defunct Yountville Elementary School site on Yount Street, and especially a new version of the towns state-required plan to accommodate more housing over the next eight years.

Those three issues alone are an awful lot, and were still recovering from the economic impact of COVID, he said of the work to come.

Tagliaboschi pointed to his experience helping to lead a smaller town of fewer than 3,000 residents  and the resulting close contact with staff, council members and fellow townsfolk  as a key to hitting the ground quickly as a decision-maker.

Yountville Vice Mayor Kerri Dorman to leave Town Council, move to Texas Yountville vice mayor and Councilmember Kerri Dorman will step down with nearly a year left on her term as she moves to Austin.

I dont know everything, but theres nothing I feel I have to cram for, he said  Its a small town; if youre walking around, wherever youre at, I think Im approachable and people recognize that. Im available 24-7 for the people who work and live and do business in this town."

Despite a looming election this fall, Tagliaboschi joined the Town Council unsure whether he would seek another four years on the job.

If I am able to help our community and add value and help find solutions to our issues, that would be a start in the right direction for me, he said. I want to help and if I cannot, or am not, then I should let someone else try.

Tagliaboschi is the first Yountville staff member to go on to the Town Council since 2005. Steve Rosa, a member of the public works department, was elected that May and served a single council term before stepping down in 2008 for family-related reasons.

You can reach Howard Yune at 530-763-2266 or hyune@napanews.com

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The Pakistan Navy showcases the Azmat-class FAC PNS Himmat at the occasion of DIMDEX 2022, being held in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on 2123 March 2022.

Azmat-class FAC PNS Himmat, Qatar (Picture source: Navy Recognition)

The Azmat-class fast attack craft (Azmat FAC(M)) is a class of missile-bearing fast attack craft, currently in service with the Pakistan Navy as of 2017. The Azmat class is based on the Chinese design, Houjian class, with slightly different modifications for the need of the Pakistani military.

The Azmat-class FAC is not equipped with a long-range radar for surface target detection, tracking and mid-course guidance but is armed with eight C-802A anti-ship cruise missiles, carried in two quadruple missile containers.

She has a crew of 12 to 14 sailors which is less than half that of similar FAC(M). Each FAC(M) will cost of around $50 million each.

The Type 037II missile boat (Houjian class) is a missile-equipped corvette built by Huangpu Shipyard of Guangzhou for the People's Liberation Army Navy.
Pikeville, KY (41501)

Today

Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High near 80F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early. Scattered thunderstorms developing later at night. Low 66F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Denmark, Finland support European Commission proposal on Russian oil sanctions

Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna

Dollar rises slightly after long decline, euro also goes up in Armenia

Civil disobedience actions in regions: Yerevan-Goris highway blocked

Azerbaijan settling occupied Armenian Hadrut, Shushi cities of Artsakh

New colors and new services: Team Telecom Armenia completes rebranding

Armenia legislature speaker receives France-Armenia Friendship Group delegation

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
The United States has informally discussed with Turkey the unlikely possibility of sending its Russian-made S-400 anti-missile systems to Ukraine to help it fight invading Russian forces, Reuters reported, citing its own sources.

U.S. officials have discussed the proposal with their Turkish counterparts over the past month, but no specific or formal requests have been made, the sources told Reuters. They said the issue was also discussed briefly during U.S. Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman's visit to Turkey in early March.

The Joe Biden administration is asking its allies that use Russian-made equipment and systems, including the S-300 and S-400, to consider transferring them to Ukraine.

The idea, which analysts say is certain to be rejected by Turkey, was part of a broader discussion between Sherman and Turkish officials about what more the U.S. and its allies could do to support Ukraine and how to improve bilateral ties.

Turkish authorities have not commented on any U.S. offer to transfer Ankara's S-400 systems to Ukraine, which have been a subject of long-standing disagreement between the two NATO allies.

Turkish sources and analysts have said that any such proposal would not satisfy Turkey, citing various technical difficulties associated with installing and operating the S-400s in Ukraine and political problems such as the blow Ankara would likely receive from Moscow.

U.S. officials are keen to seize this moment to draw Turkey back into Washington's orbit. Efforts to find "creative" ways to improve the strained relationship have accelerated in recent weeks, even though no specific proposal has so far gained traction, U.S. and Turkish sources have said.

"I think everyone knows that the S-400 has been a long standing issue and perhaps this is a moment when we can figure out a new way to solve this problem," Sherman told Turkish broadcaster Haberturk in an interview on March 5.

It was unclear exactly what she meant, and the State Department did not respond to questions about her comments.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the suggestion made during her visit to Turkey.

The effort is also part of a wider bid by the Biden administration to respond to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's plea to help protect Ukraine's skies. Russian or Soviet-made air defense systems such as S-300s that other NATO allies have and S-400s are sought after.

One source familiar with U.S. thinking said Washington's floating of the possibility came as a result of the renewed effort to improve ties at a time when Ankara has been spooked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Turkish President Erdogan had not received a specific heads up from Russian President Vladimir Putin on his plans of a full-scale attack on Ukraine, another source familiar with the discussions said.

Turkey shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. It has said the invasion is unacceptable and voiced support for Ukraine, but has also opposed sanctions on Moscow while offering to mediate.

Ankara has carefully formulated its rhetoric not to offend Moscow, analysts say, with which it has close energy, defence and tourism ties. But Ankara has also sold military drones to Kyiv and signed a deal to co-produce more, angering the Kremlin. Turkey also opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

"Turkey has managed to walk on the razor's edge and a transfer of a Russian S-400 would certainly lead to severe Russian ire," said Aaron Stein, director of research at the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute. "And for Erdogan, the S-400 has become a symbol of Turkish sovereignty, so trading it away wouldn't be all roses and flowers."
Prices for used cars in Japan have dropped rapidly amid the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions and a decline in exports to Russia, Kommersant reported.

According to experts, the drop in prices is due to the decline in demand for cars in Russia, which was the largest buyer of used cars from Japan.

According to the newspaper Nikkei, in the first two weeks of March the average price of a car in the Japanese secondary market was 785 thousand yen ($6.5 thousand), which is 5% less than at the end of February.

Earlier Japan announced sanctions against Russia because of the introduction of Russian troops in Ukraine on 24 February. The latest restrictions were imposed on 18 March. They affected 9 Russian companies and 15 Russians, including officials from the public sector. A total of 76 Russians and 12 Russian companies are already affected by Japan's sanctions.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent congratulatory messages to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi on the occasion of Nowruz, the press service of the Armenian PM informed.

I cordially congratulate you and the friendly people of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the occasion of Nowruz. I wish the coming year to be marked by exceptional fertility and peace for the people of friendly Iran.

We can happily state that the Armenian-Iranian relations, which have a history of thousands of years and are formed in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect, continue their normal course of steady development.

We attach great importance to the implementation of new programs with the Islamic Republic of Iran, the expansion of the multidimensional Armenian-Iranian agenda for the benefit of the development of bilateral relations and regional peace.

Taking the opportunity, I wish you good health and permanent well-being to the people of Iran.

Please accept, Your Majesty, the assurances of my highest consideration."

Prime Minister Pashinyan's message to the President of Iran reads as follows,

"I warmly congratulate you and the people of Iran on the occasion of the awakening of nature and flowering, Nowruz. I wish the new year to marked by unbreakable peace and new achievements for the neighboring and friendly Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Armenian-Iranian relations, which have centuries-old history, based on strong and mutual intercultural respect, continue their path of uninterrupted development.

I am confident that due to tireless joint efforts, a new quality will be given to the diverse agenda of the Armenian-Iranian relations, bringing to life new programs which are in the implementation stage, as well as new programs for the benefit of bilateral and regional cooperation.

Taking this opportunity, I wish you success, prosperity, prosperity and lasting peace to the friendly people of the Islamic Republic of Iran,

Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration."
The Russian Defense Ministry has reported a new use of hypersonic weapons - Kinzhal complexes, as well as Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black and Caspian seas for strikes against military facilities in Ukraine, Interfax-AVN reported.

"From the waters of the Caspian Sea, sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles, as well as from the airspace over the territory of Crimea, Kinzhal aircraft missile systems with hypersonic air ballistic missiles destroyed a large storage base of the Ukrainian armed forces near the settlement of Konstantinovka in the Nikolayev region," said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

"The main supplies of fuel for Ukrainian armored vehicles in the areas of combat operations in the south of Ukraine were carried out from this base," he said.

"From the waters of the Black Sea, sea-based Kalibr cruise missiles at the Nizhyn repair plant destroyed workshops for repairing Ukrainian armored vehicles damaged in combat operations," he said.

According to Russian officials, the Kinzhal can hit a target up to 2,000km (1,240 miles) away and can fly faster than 6,000 km/h.

It was reported that 10 MiG-31K Kinzhal are on experimental combat duty in the Southern Military District. They have been on duty over the Caspian Sea since April 2018. In addition, the military reported plans to equip an air regiment in the Krasnoyarsk Territory with these complexes by 2024. Valery Gerasimov, head of the Russian General Staff, said in December 2019 that Russia is expanding the geography of application of the Knzhal hypersonic aviation complex and has already tested it in the Arctic.

On 24 August, 2021, at the Army-2021 military-technical forum, the Russian Defense Ministry concluded new contracts worth 500 billion rubles for the supply of weapons and modernization of military equipment. In particular, under one of the contracts, the military is buying missiles for the hypersonic Kinzhal air complex.

"First of all, they are highly accurate, they hit the target at a long distance. Plus they have a very high speed, it is virtually impossible to intercept such a missile. So far there is no such resistance to our missiles," Sergey Chemezov, the head of the Rostec State Corporation, said.

On 20 March, the Russian Defense Ministry reported for the first time on the participation of ships of the Caspian Flotilla in Ukraine war. A number of ships of the flotilla are equipped with long-range cruise missiles Kalibr.

These missiles are equipped with modern Russian ships and submarines.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the Law providing combat immunity under martial law No. 2124-IX (reg. No. 745), Ukrinform reported, with reference to the press service of the Supreme Rada.

In particular, the law establishes the legal protection of military commanders, servicemen, volunteers of the territorial defense forces, law enforcement officers taking part in the defense of Ukraine, persons defined by the Law "On ensuring the participation of civilians in the defense of Ukraine", by enshrining the concept of "combat immunity" for fixing in the general part of the Criminal Code of the institution of exemption from criminal liability.

"In particular, we are talking about exemption from criminal liability for losses of personnel, military equipment or other military property, the consequences of the use of armed and other force during the repulsion of armed aggression against Ukraine or the elimination of armed conflict, as well as the performance of other tasks for the defense of Ukraine with the use of any type of weapons (weapons), the occurrence of which, could not be foreseen when planning and performing such actions (tasks) or which are covered by the optimum of the criminal law."

As Ukrinform reported, on 15 March, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and other laws of Ukraine regarding the definition of circumstances precluding criminal wrongfulness of an act and providing combat immunity during martial law". 344 MPs voted for this decision.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with CNN that he is "ready for negotiations" with Russian President Vladimir Putin, noting that if the negotiations fail, "it would mean World War III."

"I'm ready for negotiations with him. I think without negotiations we cannot end this war," the Ukrainian leader said.

"If there is just one percent chance for us to stop this war, I think that we need to take this chance... to have the possibility of negotiating, the possibility of talking to Putin," he said. "If these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third world war," he added.

Zelensky also noted that "if Ukraine were a member of NATO, the war would not have started."

"I'd like to receive security guarantees for my country, for my people. If NATO members are ready to see us in the alliance, then do it immediately. Because people are dying on a daily basis," he said, while also adding that he was grateful for the aid NATO has provided since the invasion began.
Saudi Aramco says profit more than doubled in 2021

Aramco floated 1.7 percent of its shares on the Saudi bourse in December 2019, generating US$29.4 billion in the world's biggest initial public offering. Photo: AFP

Energy giant Saudi Aramco said on Sunday its 2021 net profit soared by more than 120 percent, due to higher crude prices, as global economic growth recovered from a pandemic induced downturn.



The announcement came hours after Yemen's Houthi rebels  against whom Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition  targeted several locations, including Aramco facilities, in cross-border armed drone attacks.



Aramco, Saudi Arabia's cash cow, did not say if the attacks caused damage.



"Aramco's net income increased by 124 percent to US$110.0 billion in 2021, compared to US$49.0 billion in 2020," the company said in a statement.



Aramco achieved a net income of US$88.2 billion in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic hit global markets, resulting in huge losses for the oil and aviation sectors, among others.



A strong rebound last year saw oil prices recover from their 2020 lows, and they have soared to highs not seen since 2014 this year, amid global supply shortages and Russia's attack on Ukraine.



Aramco floated 1.7 percent of its shares on the Saudi bourse in December 2019, generating US$29.4 billion in the world's biggest initial public offering.



"Our strong results are a testament to our financial discipline, flexibility through evolving market conditions and steadfast focus on our long-term growth strategy," Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser said in a statement.



"Although economic conditions have improved considerably, the outlook remains uncertain due to various macroeconomic and geopolitical factors," he said.



"But our investment plan aims to tap into rising long-term demand for reliable, affordable and ever more secure and sustainable energy," he added.



"We recognise that energy security is paramount for billions of people around the world, which is why we continue to make progress on increasing our crude oil production capacity, executing our gas expansion programme and increasing our liquids to chemicals capacity."



Since Mohammed bin Salman's appointment as crown prince in 2017, Saudi Arabia has sought to diversify its oil-dominated economy.



In February, the kingdom  one of the world's top crude exporters  moved four percent of Aramco shares worth US$80 billion to the country's sovereign wealth fund.



The transfer was also as a sign that Saudi Arabia wants to further open up the oil giant and "crown jewel" of the Saudi economy, the Arab world's largest.



The crown prince said last year that Aramco was in talks to sell a one percent stake to a foreign energy giant.



Brent crude is currently selling at more than US$100 per barrel  in part due to Russia's operation in Ukraine.



Russia is the world's largest producer of gas and one of the biggest oil producers and is grappling with mounting Western sanctions.



Oil-rich Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, have so far resisted Western pressure to raise oil output to rein in prices, stressing their commitment to the OPEC+ alliance of oil producers, which Riyadh and Moscow lead. (AFP)
In a letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, American Cinema Editors condemned the Academy's decision to not present eight Oscar categories in the live broadcast of the 94th Academy Awards. The letter, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, condemned the Academy's controversial plan that was met with immediate backlash when it was announced on February 22. "Treating certain categories differently from others has struck a nerve within our community, with the overwhelming majority of our membership feeling unheard, disrespected and abandoned by the very same Academy which so many of us have supported for decades," read the message, signed by the ACE board of directors. The Academy currently plans to present the eight Oscars -- for film editing, documentary short, makeup/hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short and sound -- inside the Dolby Theatre an hour before the live telecast commences. They will be recorded and edited into the subsequent live broadcast, with the move following record-low ratings for ABC's 2021 Oscars telecast. ACE continued, "While editors can empathize with the need to balance honouring art with the popularity and viewership of the event, we must restate our belief that the decision to cull these categories in the manner described is not the solution to the dwindling ratings. There are other creative and entertaining ways to shorten a show -- we know, that's what we do! We believe that true fans of the Oscars don't want to see an evening celebrating the highest honour in our industry reduced to a buzzy variety spectacle." In recent weeks, film editors have been among those who have signed multiple petitions urging the Academy to reverse its approach to the broadcast. Apart from ACE, other such groups included Motion Picture Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700), International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600), Society of Composers and Lyricists, Cinema Audio Society and Motion Picture Sound Editors. (ANI)
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who last shot for 'Gulabo Sitabo' in Lucknow, has once again arrived in the city to begin shooting for his new project. On Saturday, Big B took to his blog and shared a few pictures from the flight. Alongside the images, he expressed his excitement about the commencement of the shoot. However, he did not disclose the name of the film and the shooting location. "... another day another travel another fresh project , straight from the Airport on set and now back .. an early call tomorrow .. an acclimatisation of the cast and crew .. of the story and the character and the make up and the work atmosphere .. all very very daunting .. but when did work ever not be so ..so to the work my friend AB, and be not afraid of circumstance and result .. give give give .. to all .. the gift of professionalism and be in gratitude that it came your way ..So .. up in the skies," he wrote. According to several reports, he is in Lucknow for the shoot of Shoojit Sircar's next, and he will in between, also be shooting for Sooraj Barjatya's Uunchai in the city. Big B also shared one of the images on Instagram and wrote, "Travelled and 'pinked' up .. a new day a new film a new learning .. each day." Reacting to the post, several fans chimed into the comment section to wish him luck for his new project. "All the best sir. Have a good time in Lucknow," a social media user commented. "Best wishes Amitji, you are the best God bless you, and pls do take very good care of yourself," another one wrote. Apart from Sooraj Barjatya's 'Uunchai' and the yet-to-be-revealed new film, Amitabh also has Vikas Bahl's 'Goodbye' in his kitty. (ANI)
Taking to social media, Shibani shared an adorable picture with her pet dog 'Tyson Akhtar'.

In the picture, she was seen lying on a bed cuddling with Tyson.

"Never known a love like this....Tyson Akhtar #dogmom," she captioned the post.

Shibani and Tyson's adorable moment has garnered several likes and comments from social media users.

"So cute," a netizen commented.

"Awwwwww....cutessssttt," another one wrote.

Shibani's husband and actor Farhan Akhtar welcomed Tyson in March 2020, and since then, Tyson has taken over the couple's Instagram profile, literally. (ANI)
"One CRPF jawan has received injuries in grenade attack. The injured has been identified as dog handler, Amit Kumar.

"Area has been cordoned off for searches," police said.

--IANS sq/pgh

( 67 Words)

2022-03-19-20:28:02 (IANS)
Noting that healing sometimes starts only when there's an acknowledgement of the bitter truth, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday referred to a video in which a Kashmiri Muslim youth is talking about the massacre of Kashmir Pandits in his area in 1997 and of the need to "collectively apologise" to the community. "Sometimes healing starts only when there's an acknowledgement of the bitter truth. With the open acknowledgement of genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s by this Kashmiri Muslim youth, I hope the process of reconciliation will start," Sarma said in a tweet. The BJP leader attached a video in his tweet in which the youth says that he was "eyewitness" to massacre Kashmiri Pandits. He asserts that Kashmiri Pandits are an integral part of Kashmiri society and slams those who targeted them. "An animal also does attack an animal of the same species. A lion does not attack a lion, a dog does not attack a dog," the youth says in an interview to a local cable news channel. The youth refers to the movie 'The Kashmir Files' released earlier this month and says that there is no need of the film to acknowledge the reality from the heart that atrocities were committed against Kashmiri Pandits. "Today's youth should acknowledge the mistakes made by the previous generation. We should seek forgiveness from Kashmiri Pandits for the wrongs committed against them. Anyone with a conscience will do so," he notes. The youth also refers to Islam and says it enjoins to take care of non-Muslim and his property if there is a war. The youth says he had witnessed the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits Beerwah village in 1997. "Those Kashmiri Pandits who were killed were neither stopping any movement nor torturing any Kashmiri Muslim of the area. A Kashmiri Pandit headmaster was killed and he was replaced by a non-qualified Muslim youth," he said. He says that the so-called armed resistance happens with those having guns and Kashmiri Pandits were unarmed. Himanta Biswa Sarma's tweet came in response to a tweet by actor Adil Hussain. Hussain also referred to the film "The Kashmir Files' and said, "Truth must be spoken! No doubt about it. But must be spoken Tenderly. Else purpose of speaking the truth loses its beauty. And the impact is reactive. Not responsive." "We, for sure, don't want to fuel a reactive society but nourish a responsible one. Art Should not be reactive," he added. The movie, which had released in theatres on March 11, stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumaar and others. It revolves around the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 and has been directed by Vivek Agnihotri, known for films like 'Tashkent Files', 'Hate Story' and 'Buddha in a Traffic Jam'. (ANI)
At least 15 people were killed while 10 injured in the unfortunate incident that took place on February 25.

Speaking to the media persons after distributing the solatium, Bommai said "it is sad that 15 poor people lost their lives when they were rejoicing at an auspicious programme".

The district administration and the legislators have provided necessary help for the families, Bommai said.

One of the injured who is in Solapur for treatment needs Rs 4 lakh for treatment and the cheque for the amount would be presented on his return to Bengaluru, Bommai said.

Responding to the demand for jobs for the family members of the deceased, Bommai said every effort would be made to provide them jobs according to their qualification.

The Chief Minister also wanted the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to help the victims on humanitarian grounds.

"I will take up the issue with senior officials of IOC to get a higher solatium," Bommai said.

Bommai further said, officials have been instructed to make arrangements for the treatment of the injured.

--IANS mka/pgh

( 221 Words)

2022-03-19-21:34:03 (IANS)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine war, and talked about peace in the Indo-Pacific region. Kishida in a statement said Modi discussed the situation in Ukraine. "Russia's attack on Ukraine is a serious issue which has shaken the international world order," Kishida said. However, Modi has not made any comment over the ongoing Russia and Ukraine war which has reached 24th day. The Japanese Prime Minister further stated that the world has been shaken today due to many disturbances, and it is very important for India and Japan to have a close partnership. "We expressed our views, talked about the serious invasion of Russia into Ukraine. We need a peaceful solution on the basis of international law," the Japanese PM said. He further stated that India and Japan should increase efforts for an open and free Indo-Pacific region. "Japan, along with India, will keep trying to end the war and keep providing support to Ukraine and its neighbouring countries," he said. Kishida arrived in Delhi on a two-day visit to take part in the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit on Saturday. A joint statement of both countries stated: "The Prime Ministers recognised that the Summit was taking place at a significant time as the two countries were celebrating the 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations and India was celebrating the 75th anniversary of its independence. They reviewed the developments since the last Annual Summit and discussed wide ranging areas of cooperation." Re-affirming the Special Strategic and Global Partnership between India and Japan, the Prime Ministers concurred that the shared values and principles enunciated in the India-Japan Vision Statement issued in 2018 are particularly relevant in the present context, where global cooperation is required more than ever to address challenges that have become more acute. They highlighted their commitment to working in tandem towards a peaceful, stable and prosperous world, based on a rules-based order that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, and emphasized the need for all countries to seek peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law without resorting to threat or use of force or any attempt to unilaterally change status quo. In this regard, they reaffirmed their common vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, free from coercion. They shared the view that the economies of both countries in such a world would be powered by robust bilateral investment and trade flows through diversified, resilient, transparent, open, secure and predictable global supply chains that provide for economic security and prosperity of their peoples. Reaffirming that the two countries would continue to work together to realise these shared objectives, they resolved to further advance the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. --IANS sk/pgh ( 475 Words) 2022-03-19-22:40:04 (IANS)
Kishida condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launches, saying that they are destabilising the region.

The Japanese PM is in New Delhi on a two-day visit to take part in the 14th India-Japan annual summit.

In a joint statement, both the countries reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearisation of North Korea, consistent with the relevant UNSC resolutions, and the importance of addressing the concerns related to North Korea's proliferation linkages.

They urged North Korea to fully comply with its international obligations under the relevant UNSC resolutions, and to immediately resolve the abduction issue.

The Prime Ministers also reaffirmed their intention to collaborate closely to realise peace and stability in Afghanistan, and stressed the importance of addressing all humanitarian crisis, promoting human rights and ensuring establishment of a truly representative and inclusive political system.

"They also reaffirmed the importance of UNSC resolution 2593 (2021) which unequivocally states that the Afghan territory should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing terrorist acts, and called for concerted action against all terrorist groups, including those sanctioned by the UNSC," the joint statement said.

--IANS sk/arm

( 232 Words)

2022-03-19-23:20:03 (IANS)
Amid threat in the Indo-Pacific region, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Saturday discussed the security challenges in the South China Sea. Kishida welcomed the Indo-Pacific Oceans' Initiative (IPOI) announced by Modi in 2019. The Japanese Prime Minister arrived here on a two-day visit to take part in the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit on Saturday. Both Prime Ministers acknowledged the growing space for cooperation between the IPOI and Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). India appreciated Japan's participation as a lead partner on the connectivity pillar of IPOI. They reiterated their strong support for ASEAN's unity and centrality and their full support for the "ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)" which upholds the principles such as the rule of law, openness, freedom, transparency and inclusiveness. The Prime Ministers emphasised that India and Japan, as two leading powers in the Indo-Pacific region, had a shared interest in the safety and security of the maritime domain, freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce and peaceful resolution of disputes with full respect for legal and diplomatic processes in accordance with international law. They reaffirmed their determination to continue prioritizing the role of international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and facilitate collaboration, including in maritime security, to meet challenges against the rules-based maritime order in the East and South China Seas. They emphasized the importance of non-militarisation and self-restraint. They further called for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and the early conclusion of a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, especially UNCLOS, without prejudice to the rights and interests of all nations including those not party to these negotiations. --IANS sk/pgh ( 317 Words) 2022-03-19-23:22:03 (IANS)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Saturday discussed about security and defence cooperation between both the countries and reaffirmed their desire to further deepen it. "They welcomed the holding of the first 2+2 meeting of their Foreign and Defence Ministers in November 2019 in New Delhi and instructed their Ministers to hold the second meeting at the earliest opportunity in Tokyo," said a joint statement. They also welcomed the operationalisation of the Agreement Concerning Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services between the Japan Self-Defence Forces and the Indian Armed Forces. They expressed their commitment to continuing bilateral and multilateral exercises including "Dharma Guardian" and "Malabar" respectively, while welcoming the participation of Japan for the first time in exercise MILAN, as well as making efforts to increase their complexity in the future. They reaffirmed the decision to proceed with coordination for the inaugural fighter exercise between the Japan Air Self-Defence Force and the Indian Air Force and welcomed the efforts to hold the exercise at the earliest. They acknowledged ongoing collaboration in the area of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) and Robotics and directed their Ministers to further identify concrete areas for future cooperation in the area of defence equipment and technology. With their commitment to promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, the Prime Ministers affirmed the importance of bilateral and plurilateral partnerships among like-minded countries of the region, including the quadrilateral cooperation among Australia, India, Japan, and the US (the Quad). They welcomed the Quad Leaders' Summits in March and September 2021 and renewed their commitment to delivering tangible outcomes on the Quad's positive and constructive agenda, especially on Covid vaccines, critical and emerging technologies, climate action, infrastructure coordination, cybersecurity, space and education. They looked forward to advancing Quad cooperation through the next Quad Leaders' Summit in Japan in the coming months. Kishida arrived in New Delhi on a two-day visit to take part in the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit on Saturday. --IANS sk/pgh ( 344 Words) 2022-03-19-23:28:02 (IANS)
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday suggested that every state government can think about implementing the Gujarat government's decision of introducing Bhagavad Gita in schools. Talking to ANI, Joshi said, "Bhagwad Gita teaches us morality and ethics. It shows us the responsibility towards well being of society. Many moral stories are there that can inspire our students. Every state government can think about that." Earlier on Thursday, Gujarat education minister Jitu Vaghani had said that Bhagavad Gita will be introduced as a part of the school syllabus for class 6 to class 12 students in Gujarat from the academic year 2022-23. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly during a discussion on budgetary allocation for the education department, Vaghani had said, "To include Indian culture and knowledge system in school education from the academic year 2022-23, In the first phase, values and principles contained in Bhagavad Gita are being introduced in schools from classes 6-12 as per understanding and interest of children." "Bhagavad Gita should be introduced in the form of story and recitation in the textbooks in class 6 to 8. In class 9 to 12, Bhagavad Gita should be introduced in the form of story and recitation in the first language textbook," the minister had said. He had said that the 700-verse long Hindu scripture should also be included in the prayer program. "Recitation of Bhagavad Gita should be included in the prayer program. Various competitions and creative activities like Shlokgan, Shlokpurti, Vaktrutva, Nibandh, Natya, Chitra, Quiz etc based on Bhagavad Gita should be organized in schools," he had said. (ANI)
"The eyewitness has confirmed that both the shooters had fired at Narendra Dabholkar and then fled from the spot," said Suryavanshi.

According to the witness, he was standing at the bridge while doing his work at the time of the murder. He works as a sweeper in the municipal corporation.

The cross-examination of eye witness to continue in the next hearing on March 23.

Founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), Dabholkar was shot dead by bike-borne assailants while returning home from a morning walk on August 20, 2013. (ANI)
The BJP legislature party meeting to decide the new chief minister of Uttarakhand is likely to be held on Sunday. The party's central observers for Uttarakhand Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi will also be present in the meeting. BJP President Madan Kaushik informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government in the state. Speaking to reporters briefly today, Kaushik confirmed the information and said that chief ministers of various states will also attend the induction. The political future of Pushkar Singh Dhami, the current caretaker Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, is likely to be decided at a crucial BJP legislature party meeting which is to be held on March 20, sources earlier said to ANI. Giving information to ANI on Wednesday, a senior state BJP leader on anonymity had said that there is a festival of Holi in the Kumaon division on March 19, due to which the meeting of the legislature party will be held on March 20. He told that in this meeting, apart from the party observer, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi, Union Minister Prahlad Joshi, who was the party's election in-charge, will also be present. According to the party's state president Madan Kaushik, all the party MLAs have been asked to reach Dehradun after Holi. Uttarakhand outgoing Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami resigned to pave way for the formation of the new government in the state after the conclusion of the Assembly elections. Following his resignation, around seven MLAs have met Dhami to offer to vacate their seats for him to contest for re-election in the event he's elected leader of the legislature party of the BJP in the state. In addition, Ganesh Joshi and Arvind Pandey, who were Dhami's Cabinet colleagues, also announced their support to him. Dhami was defeated by the Congress candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri by a margin of 6,579 votes. Dhami got a total of 41,598 votes with a vote share of 44.8 per cent as against Kapri who got 48,177 with a huge vote share of 51.89 per cent. The BJP won the popular mandate for the second consecutive term in Uttarakhand, bagging 47 seats in the 70-member Assembly. (ANI)
Terming it to be a matter of National Security, Amaranth said "Ex-CM Chandrababu Naidu used Pegasus spyware during his tenure (2014-19). Central government should probe it; he tampered with many calls and data of YSRCP during his tenure."

"Centre should not see it just as an issue of Andhra Pradesh because it is a matter of national security," he added.

Earlier on Thursday West, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the Chandrababu Naidu government purchased the Pegasus spyware.

"If Chandrababu Naidu purchased the spyware, the Central and State governments should investigate whether the software was bought for politicians or industrialists," the YSRCP leader said.

However, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary Nara Lokesh on Friday refuted the allegations that his party purchased Pegasus spyware while it was in power in Andhra Pradesh, but said the firm offered it to the state government.

Lokesh, who was the then Minister for Information Technology in his father's Cabinet, said that Chandrababu Naidu would never indulge in such illegal acts. "Yes, Pegasus offered to sell its spyware to the AP government as well but we rejected it," he asserted. (ANI)
New Delhi District Police rescued a kidnapped minor girl and arrested the accused before he could escape from the national capital along with the victim, said police on Saturday.

The police also said that the accused, Raghu Nath (72), a resident of Geeta Colony, molested the victim after she boarded his auto-rickshaw.

On March 17, the complainant informed police that his 11 years old daughter was missing from the Bengali market. "Due to the sensitivity of the case, the district police swung into action, and an FIR under section 363 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at the Barakhamba Road Police Station," the police said in a media statement.

The police team analyzed the CCTV footage at relevant locations and found that the victim had boarded an auto-rickshaw.

"The team of police led by Inspector Mausam Ghani and SI Umesh Yadav tracked down the accused near Pacific Mall in the East Delhi area. The accused was trying to escape with the victim to Haridwar in Uttarakhand," the police added.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that the victim had boarded his auto-rickshaw to see new places in the national capital, said the police, adding that the accused also allegedly molested the girl. The accused had planned to take the victim to Haridwar, said the police.

In another instance, a 15-year-old specially-abled girl was found by the New Delhi District police, and she was reunited with her family, the police added. (ANI)
The Andhra Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reiterated the demand for renaming the 'Jinnah Tower' in Guntur, arguing that the name of the founder of Pakistan should be removed as "he was responsible for killings of lakhs of Hindus during the partition of India". The Andhra Pradesh BJP co-in charge Sunil Deodhar on Saturday said that the 'Jinnah Tower' in Guntur should be renamed while stressing that the party isn't against Islam, but fundamentalism and appeasement politics. Speaking at Ranabheri in Kadapa, Deodhar said, "In Guntur, a tower is named after Jinnah. He was responsible for the killing of lakhs of Hindus during the partition of 'Akhanda Bharat (undivided India)', and the persecution of Hindus in Pakistan. The BJP demands that the name of Muhammad Ali Jinnah be removed from the tower in Guntur." The BJP leader alleged that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is not willing to rename the tower because he fears losing his vote bank. "The BJP won't tolerate this. The BJP is not against Muslims or Islam, but fundamentalism and appeasement politics. The tower can be renamed after (former President) APJ Abdul Kalam, but he (CM) won't do it, as he will not get votes," Deodhar said. Notably, the Andhra Pradesh unit of the BJP in December last year had submitted a memorandum to the Guntur Municipal Corporation Commissioner Challa Anuradha to press for the demand to rename 'Jinnah Tower' after the name of former President APJ Abdul Kalam. The Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) authorities have got the tower painted in tricolour. Further, Deodhar also asserted that the BJP will not allow the building of Tipu Sultan's statue at Kadapa. "The name of this district is Kadapa, which means 'Chaukhat (entrance to Venkateswara Swami)'. The BJP will not allow the building of the statue of Tipu Sultan at Kadapa. He was a barbaric ruler who killed and forcefully converted millions of Hindus to Islam, while his army raped lakhs of Hindu women." (ANI)
Several Indian students pursuing MBBS in Chinese universities staged a protest outside the Kerala secretariat on Saturday seeking recognition of their physical training in India. The protest was held under the banner of Foreign Medical Graduates Parents Association (FMGPA) - an association of parents of medical students in foreign countries. Forced to return to India after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the medical students have since been unable to return to their host country and continued their physical training at government and private hospitals in the state. Stuck in their home country due to the non-availability of visas from the Chinese authorities, the Indian students have resorted to completing their courses with the help of online classes. "We were forced to come back from China in January 2020. It's been two years since we have been attending online classes. We don't have any recognition of whether the Indian government will accept us with these online classes. Most of us are doing are practicals at various government and private hospitals in Kerala, but is not recognised," Murshid Aleen, a fourth-year medical student at Yangzhou University told ANI. Worried about repaying their loans and completing their education, the student said they have communicated about their problems to the Central government through an online portal - Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). "We are helpless right now. We need a certificate from the government that we are going to the hospitals for a certain period and we are getting the observation with certain department," Aleen said. He further highlighted that China is presently facing another wave of COVID-19 and said that the situation there is becoming "more critical." Vice president of FMGPA, Subair MC said that students want authorisation from the Kerala government and Indian government to get their certificates to deem their education as "valid." Anxious over uncertainty on their return, students at the protest held placards highlighting their plight. One of the placards drew a comparison of these medical students with those who returned from Ukraine, following Russian military operations, demanding urgent government intervention in their problems as well. "Students from China are facing the same difficulties as students from Ukraine. Please don't forget us," it read. Last month, the Delhi High Court issued notice to the Centre and National Medical Council (NMC) on a plea moved by students seeking directions to NMC to allow physical training in India of Indian students studying medicine in China, who are stuck in their home country India, due to COVID-19 pandemic. The Petitioners, 147 students of medicine in the Ningbo University (China) states that they returned to India in early 2020 (January to March) and thereafter, have been stuck in their home country India, ever since due to the non-availability of visas from the Chinese authorities. The Division Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh had sought response of Central Government through the Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and National Medical Council and listed the matter for March 21, 2022. (ANI)
"The 62-year-old doctor was taken into custody by the Chennai Adambakkam police after his neighbour accused him of harassment by urinating and throwing used surgical masks at her doorstep in 2020," Chennai Police said.

In that year, the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of Congress, had demanded the arrest of Dr Subbiah Shanmugam for allegedly harassing a woman in an apartment complex in Chennai.

Adambakkam police had lodged the complaint under Sections 271 (Disobedience to quarantine rule) and 427 (Mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Tamil Nadu prevention of women harassment act on the basis of the victim's complaint.

According to the complaint filed, Dr Shanmugam harassed a woman living in the same apartment over a parking dispute. The victim had also accused him of throwing garbage, urinating and masturbating at her doorstep, while the entire situation was recorded in the CCTV installed. (ANI)
Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatraya and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday inaugurated the 35th Surajkund International Crafts Mela. During the inauguration session, Dattatraya in his address pointed out the importance of art and crafts in the development of civilization and culture. He also praised the Ministries of Central Government and Haryana government for organising the Crafts Mela as this gives an opportunity to the artisan from India and as well as participating countries to present the rich legacy of arts and crafts of their respective countries, according to a release by the Ministry of Tourism. Khattar also hailed the Mela and stated that the Suraj Kund Crafts fair helps thousands of craftsperson from across India to showcase their arts and products to a wider audience, thus also helping in reviving the heritage crafts of India. "This years' Suraj Kund Crafts Mela is special as organized when we are celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The Mela was first organized in 1987 and this is the 35th Crafts Mela organized this year it is a stage not only for the artisans from Haryana but also from all over India giving an opportunity to showcase their talent and encourages to preserve our rich heritage and culture," he added. Secretary of Ministry of Tourism Arvind Singh was also present on the occasion. While addressing at the Surajkund Crafts Mela, Singh stated that the 35th Surajkund International Crafts Mela-2022 is being held after a long gap due to the COVID 19 pandemic. "However, this year the Surajkund Mela comes with a promise of a bigger event with renewed energy," he said while praising the efforts and hard work of the Haryana Government for organising and implementing the Crafts Mela this year. Jointly hosted by the Surajkund Mela Authority and Haryana Tourism in collaboration with the Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture, External Affairs and Government of Haryana, this festival has come to occupy a place of pride and prominence on the international tourism calendar for its display of crafts, culture and cuisine of India in aesthetically created ambience, the Ministry stated in a press release. Jammu and Kashmir is the 'Theme State' of the 35th Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2022, which is showcasing its unique culture and rich heritage through various art forms and handicrafts from the state. Artists from Jammu and Kashmir will be performing different folk arts and dances. "From traditional dances art forms to exquisite crafts, there is a bouquet of heritage and culture from Jammu and Kashmir to enthral the audience. Replicas of Vaishno Devi temple, Amarnath temple, Apna Ghar representing architecture from Kashmir, live demonstration of House Boat and commemorative gate 'Mubarak Mandi - Jammu' promises to be the main attractions of this year's Mela," the release said. As per the Ministry of Tourism, this year over 30 countries will be a part of the Mela, which includes the Partner Nation- Uzbekistan. "There will be enthusiastic participation from Latin American Countries, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Namibia, Sudan, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Angola, Ghana, Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Iran, Maldives and many more," they informed. To enliven the visitors' mood, scintillating performances will be presented by international folk artists from the participating foreign countries including artists from across the states of India. A variety of day performers will enthral the visitors like at the Bhangra from Punjab, Bihu from Assam, Barsana ki Holi, Lok Niritya From Haryana, Jamakda from Himachal Pradesh, Lavni from Maharashtra, Live Demonstration of Hath Ki Chakki and the ever famous Behrupiyas, who will keep the crowds entertained with their enchanting talent and showmanship within the Mela ground. The Ministry informed that a family from Haryana is going to live in specially-created 'Apna Ghar' to showcase the authentic lifestyle of the state. "Apna Ghar gives a chance to the visitors to experience the lifestyle of the people of the state and provides them with a chance to interact and learn about their culture. Apna Ghar will showcase traditional earthenware, utensils etc and craftsmen will give a live demonstration of these traditional crafts," it said. The Mela is open from March 19 to April 4, 2022, daily from 12.30 pm-9.30 pm. (ANI)
Mumbai's Crime Branch arrested a person from Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow for allegedly handling hawala money of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Saurabh Tripathi, an accused in the Angadia extortion case. The Crime Branch team reached Mumbai with the accused and will produce him before a court on Sunday. However, the police have not revealed the name of the arrested person. DCP Tripathi used to send money received from angadias (courier) extortion racket to Uttar Pradesh through the hawala channel, Mumbai Police said. Angadia extortion case pertains to a complaint made by the Angadia association in December last year to a senior Mumbai Police officer that Saurabh Tripathi is threatening angadia operators and its employees with an Income Tax raid and extorted Rs 15-18 lakh from them. Later, angadia operators approached Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale and filed a complaint. Following this, the commissioner ordered an inquiry into the case. In the extortion case, the Crime Branch has so far arrested a total of four accused, out of which three are police officers. Saurabh Tripathi, who is a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, is missing. A total of 5 teams have been constituted for the investigation. Tripathi filed an anticipatory bail plea in Sessions Court in connection with the angadia extortion case. The hearing on the plea is posted for March 23. In the last hearing in the magistrate's court on March 15, the Crime Branch had informed the court that DCP Saurabh Tripathi has been made an accused in the case based on the statements of the other accused. The Crime Branch team also told the court that Tripathi was not reporting for his duty and that is why they were looking for him as a wanted accused. The police had earlier suspended three officers for allegedly extorting Rs 15-18 lakh from an angadia operator. Later, the officers - Nitin Kadam (API), Samadaan Jamdade (Sub Inspector) and Om Vangate were arrested. (ANI)
Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday slammed the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government over the law and order situation in the state after the BJP MP from Ranaghat was allegedly attacked while returning after watching 'The Kashmir Files'. Adhikari said that the law and order in the state are non-existent and criminals are roaming free, carrying out unrestrained violence. "Jagannath Sarkar; BJP MP, was attacked near Simultala; under Haringhata PS, as bomb was hurled at his vehicle. He was returning home after watching 'The Kashmir Files'. Law and order is non-existent in West Bengal and criminals are roaming free carrying out unrestrained violence," the BJP leader said in a tweet. He further wondered how could the security of the general public be ensured when the state administration is not able to ensure the safety of councillors, MLAs and MPs. "The attack on the Haringhata MP is an addition to the latest trend of targeting the elected representatives in West Bengal. How would the general public rely on the state administration which can't even ensure the security of councillors, MLAs and MPs?" he added. Earlier on Saturday, the BJP MP from Ranaghat in West Bengal Jagannath Sarkar alleged that a bomb was hurled at his car when he was returning after watching the film 'The Kashmir Files' in Nadia district. "I was returning after watching 'The Kashmir Files'. A bomb was hurled at my car on my way back, we escaped it (bomb) narrowly," said Jagannath Sarkar. Sarkar claimed that he escaped the attack as the car was speeding and the bomb landed behind the vehicle. The BJP MP claimed that the law and order situation in the state has deteriorated and President Rule should be imposed in the state to save democracy. (ANI)
A 2-foot by 2-foot wooden box, about the size of a childs dollhouse, is the newest tool in the toolbox of Springboard Community Services in Westminster. The box is filled with a judges bench, a jury box and witness stand and all of the other furniture and accoutrements that make up a typical courtroom. A custom-built miniature replica of a courtroom at Carroll County Circuit Court, it has no roof, so users can easily see inside.

Staff at Springboard Community Services in Westminster worked to secure the courtroom replica in order to help children who have been victims of sexual or physical abuse feel more comfortable testifying about their abuser. It was created, free of charge, by Josef Soper, a craftsman and founder of Imagination Dollhouses for Children. (Springboard Community Services)

This is an amazing tool, said Nicole Jackman, Springboards director of client services in Carroll County. Often children who have been victimized have to enter a courtroom and playing with the model allows them to understand who is in the courtroom and where specific people, including themselves, will sit.

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Staff at Springboard Community Services worked to secure the courtroom replica in order to help children who have been victims of sexual or physical abuse feel more comfortable testifying about their abuser.

Play-scale brings a courtroom down to a childs size and makes it less threatening, said Alisa Donovan, Springboards victim advocate in the Carroll Countys Child Advocacy and Investigation Center (CCAIC).

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The miniature replica of the courtroom was created within three weeks by Josef Soper, a craftsman and founder of Imagination Dollhouses for Children, a nonprofit that builds play-scale replicas of courtrooms for use by child advocacy centers and nonprofits to prepare victims of abuse when testifying in court. Soper provides the miniature courtrooms free of charge.

His work was based on photos taken by Donovan of the Carroll County Circuit Courtroom. In late February 2022, the replica was delivered.

Donovan said the model strengthens a victim advocates ability to serve children and is a valuable resource for all Springboard counselors and advocates. While they have not yet used the model, staff plans to use it soon to demonstrate to a 10-year-old what occurred in the courtroom during a specific trial.

Its like an attorney telling a story but its more effective because it provides visual cues to help process situations, she said. When a child is victimized their ability to process words can change.

Victim advocates work to support victims and witnesses of crime as they process their experiences and return to normal life. Donovan is the only victim advocate in the Carroll County Advocacy and Investigation Center; however, there are other victim advocates in Carroll County at Springboards new family support center, at 7 Schoolhouse Ave., in Westminster.

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Donovan has a bachelors degree in human services from Mount Saint Marys University, in addition to training in early childhood education.

Springboard Community Services provides onsite mental health services at Child Advocacy Centers in Carroll, Harford and Howard counties and has a formal partnership with child advocacy centers in Baltimore County.

We do a lot of trauma work, said Chief Executive Officer F.T. Burden. Were constantly looking at ways to minimize the impact on the victim and move them to a place of stability as quickly as we can.

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He said Springboard is the primary provider of services for victims and survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence in Carroll County.

Its ingenious this doll-maker is using his skill set to create these tools, Burden said. They bring down tension and anxiety levels and give [children] some sense of what to expect  I think its really cool and Im glad the team was forward thinking in bringing this here.

Between January and February, 41 children have been served by the child advocacy center, a large number for the span of two months, Jackman said.

If we can provide one small piece of comfort through this dollhouse which represents childhood innocence  thats a win for us, she said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday evening met Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat at Madhav Dham, the provincial office of RSS, in Gorakhpur. Their meeting lasted for about 25 minutes. This meeting comes days ahead of Yogi Adityanath's oath-taking ceremony as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for a second consecutive term. According to sources, Yogi Adityanath, who led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a thumping victory in Uttar Pradesh, is likely to take oath as Chief Minister of the state for the second tenure on March 25. Meanwhile, the RSS chief will be in Gorakhpur on March 20, 21 and 22. The RSS chief will address the meeting of Gauraksha province and will also address the families of volunteers in 'family training' program. During his three-day visit to Gorakhpur, Bhagwat will review the work of the RSS workers. On March 20 and 21, the RSS chief will take a meeting of organization category and Jagran category in which the state executive will be involved. These meetings will be held at Madhav Bhavan. On the last day on March 22, in the evening, Guru Gambhirnath will address the program of family enlightenment along with the families of the workers of Sangh and Vichar Parivar. (ANI)
Dhami, the state unit BJP chief Madan Kaushik and former Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Sunday reached the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital to discuss government formation.

The BJP President JP Nadda and party leaders BL Santhosh and Uttarakhand minister Satpal Maharaj also arrived at the residence of Shah.

"The procedure for government formation is underway...the BJP central leadership will take a decision (on CM face)," said Dhami, at Uttarakhand Bhawan in Delhi.

Uttarakhand legislature party meeting is scheduled to be held later today.

Meanwhile, the BJP MLA and former minister Rekha Arya has supported Dhami as the next Chief Minister.

Several MLAs, including Ganesh Joshi and Arvind Pandey, have given their consent for the name of Dhami as the leader of the legislature party.

Till now six MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party have announced their willingness to vacate their Assembly seats to help Dhami get elected to the House.

Dhami had lost to Congress candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri by a margin of 6,579 votes. Dhami got a total of 41,598 votes with a vote share of 44.8 per cent as against Kapri who got 48,177 with a huge vote share of 51.89 per cent.

The BJP won the popular mandate for the second consecutive term in Uttarakhand, bagging 47 seats in the 70-member Assembly. (ANI)
Tourists have started rushing to hill stations like Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Narkanda, and other parts of Himachal Pradesh as the temperature began to rise in parts of the country. "It is very hot in Mumbai these days, so we decided to come to Shimla with family to explore the hills. We are enjoying ourselves and the weather conditions are pleasant. I am a nature lover and have decided to trek here. I would recommend everyone to come here," Suraj, a tourist from Mumbai told ANI. A tourist from Haryana said, "Due to work from home, we could neither meet nor go out. As we travelled from Kalka to Shimla in a toy train, we were refreshed. The weather here is really great. I am really happy to be here." India Meteorological Department (IMD) observed heat wave conditions in parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The recent influx of tourists comes as a ray of hope for the tourist agents in the area. Tara Singh, a local travel agent said "Due to COVID, the last two years were very difficult for our business. Now as the tourists have started coming again we hope for the best." Meanwhile, the weather forecasting agency predicted thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and hail at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh. (ANI)
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will set targets for each minister in his Cabinet, and the people can hold them accountable if they don't deliver on the tasks. Kejriwal said that the people can demand change of ministers if they don't fulfil the targets set by the Chief Minister. "Bhagwant Mann will give a target to each minister and they have to do the work within the fixed time limit. You have to work day and night. If your target is not fulfilled then the people can raise demand for change of the minister," said Kejriwal. Kejriwal said that Mann has done good work within three days of taking the oath of the office. "I'm very proud of Bhagwant Mann's work in just three days," he said. "The whole country is talking about Bhagwant Mann and his works. Compensation for crops damaged in October has been released and farmers will get cheques in the coming days," said AAP's national convenor. He further said that Mann has already "removed the security of old ministers to improve the law and order situation in the state". "He also announced anti-corruption action helpline and improvements have started on their own while 25,000 jobs were announced. People's expectation from us is now turning into confidence," Kejriwal added. He said that it has been over 70 years since Independence but till date Punjab has not progressed as it should have. "Therefore, you have a big responsibility to fulfil the ambitions of the people of the state. There is less time, so everyone will have to work day and night so that the promises made to the public can be fulfilled. Bhagwant Mann is your captain, a team leader," he added. The Delhi Chief Minister said that the party's mantra is that an MLA will be with the people, and go to villages. Kejriwal said that there are reports that some of the MLAs are upset for not being made a minister. "We have won 92 seats and only 17 can be made ministers. The people of Punjab have selected diamonds and we have to work as a team of 92 under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann. We have to do good work together so that every MLA should rule the hearts of the people," he added. He also asked the MLAs to work together under the leadership of Mann. "You all have to work together under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann. I am like your elder brother to give guidance," Kejriwal said. Arvind Kejriwal also said that instead of showing interest in things like ministers' posts and own benefits, all the 92 MLAs will have to focus on the work of the people. "No MLA or minister needs to boast that he was born to become an MLA or a minister. The people do not spare those who boast such arrogance. This time also the public removed the big leaders from the chair. You have to only focus on the work. Instead of sitting in Chandigarh, Chief Minister Mann will keep an eye on everything," he added. The AAP recorded a landslide victory in the recently concluded Punjab Assembly polls winning 92 seats in the 117-member House. The AAP leader and the party's face for recently held Punjab Assembly polls Bhagwant Mann took oath as the Chief Minister of the state on March 16. On March 17, Punjab's newly-elected MLAs, including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, took oath as members of the Legislative Assembly. Ten AAP MLAs, including a woman, were inducted in the Bhagwant Mann-led Cabinet in Punjab on Saturday. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 10 ministers at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh. (ANI)
After announcing the merger of the two parties, Sharad Yadav said that the move is the "first step towards (the formation of) a united Opposition".

"Merger of our party with the RJD is the first step towards forging the Opposition unity. It's imperative that the whole Opposition gets united across India to defeat the BJP. As of now, unification is our priority. It'll be only after that we would think about who will lead the united Opposition," he added.

Sharad Yadav had formed the LJD in 2018 after parting his ways from Janata Dal (United) over the party's alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The LJD never fought elections since its inception while its chief Sharad Yadav lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Madhepura on the RJD ticket.

Sharad Yadav was the Cabinet Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government at the Centre.

The two leaders, incidentally, have come together after a gap of 25 years. They had parted ways in 1997 when Lalu Prasad Yadav had founded the RJD and Sharad Yadav along with Nitish Kumar launched the JD(U).

Lalu Prasad Yadav was later convicted in the fodder scam.

He rode the "Mandal" politics bandwagon in the 1990s to dominate Bihar politics, besides playing a key role in national politics.

After the LJD-RJD merger, the RJD is likely to nominate Sharad Yadav to the Rajya Sabha during biennial polls for the Upper House slated for June. (ANI)
A meeting of the top BJP leadership was held here on Sunday at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official residence to discuss the government formation in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Goa. Sources said that the key agenda of the meeting was to discuss the names of the chief ministers as well as ministers in the three states. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda, Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, and party national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh were present in the meeting. In the results of the Assembly polls announced on March 10, the BJP emerged winner in four states -- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. On Sunday, the BJP announced the name of incumbent N. Biren Singh as the Chief Minister of Manipur. Also, Yogi Adityanath is likely to continue as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and he is expected to take charge on March 25, sources said, adding Pramod Sawant is also likely to be retained as the Chief Minister of Goa. "The key agenda of discussion is the chief minister of Uttarakhand where incumbent Pushkar Singh Dhami has lost the assembly polls despite the party winning two-third majority. Two rounds of meetings were held at Shah's residence on Saturday and Sunday with the Uttarakhand leaders and a meeting of the legislative party is likely to take place on Monday evening. In the meeting with Prime Minister Modi, a final decision is likely to be taken for the next chief minister of Uttarakhand," a party insider said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, a former BJP president, is the party's central observer for election of leader the of BJP legislative party in Uttarakhand. Earlier on Sunday, a meeting was held at Amit Shah's residence with Uttarakhand BJP leaders to discuss the new chief minister and government formation. The meeting lasted nearly an hour. Later, the leaders met at the residence of former Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal's residence for further discussion. --IANS ssb/pgh ( 339 Words) 2022-03-20-19:56:04 (IANS)
"They (BJP)call me an outsider. How can I be an outsider if Prime Minister Narendra Modi who comes from Gujarat contest from Kashi (Varanasi)," said Sinha after reaching Asansol to campaign for the bypolls.

Amid the chants of 'Khela Hobe' TMC workers welcomed former BJP MP and now TMC leader Sinha on reaching Asansol in West Bengal.

West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar earlier had said, "The TMC has made an outsider its candidate. But in last year's Assembly polls, the TMC campaigned against us by calling our leaders outsiders. This time, the party could not find a candidate from Asansol and opted for a candidate from Bihar."

Sinha informed to reporters that he will file his nomination on Monday.

Praising TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, Sinha said "West Bengal Chief Minister is a historic leader in true sense. She is a Tigress. I am here on her invitation. I have faith in the public of Asansol and West Bengal."

Meanwhile, BJP has fielded fashion designer-turned-politician Agnimitra Paul for the ensuing Lok Sabha bypolls.

The Asansol Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after Supriyo, a two-time BJP MP, quit the BJP in October last year and joined the TMC.

The voting will be held on April 12 while results will be declared on April 16. (ANI)
Vienna [Austria], March 20 (ANI/Sputnik): The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that, according to the Ukrainian regulator, some of the power lines linking the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) to the electricity grid have been repaired. "With the two off-site power lines that are currently available, including the one on standby, all safety systems at the NPP remain fully functional and there are no safety concerns, the [Ukrainian] regulator said. It was not known when the two other non-functioning lines could be reconnected," the IAEA said in a statement, updated on Saturday. According to the Ukrainian regulator, one of the remaining non-functioning power lines could be reconnected to the plant on March 22. On March 4, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Kyiv attempted a provocation at the Zaporizhzhya the night before and accused Moscow of creating a source of radioactive contamination at the plant. According to the ministry, a group of Russian soldiers were patrolling the area adjacent to the station when a Ukrainian sabotage unit opened fire on them from the windows of several floors of an educational and training complex located outside the NPP. It was suppressed by return fire. The sabotage group set the building ablaze when leaving it. The fire was later extinguished, with the radiation levels assessed as normal. In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) "appealed" for help in defending themselves against Kyiv forces. Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to "demilitarize" and "denazify" Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. (ANI/Sputnik)
Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Saturday warned China against changing international order by spreading authoritarianism. Wu said in an interview with Australia's Sky News that China "wants to change the international order" and spread its authoritarian system to Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific. He said that if Taiwan falls, the rest of the region will be impacted, reported Taiwan News. "Taiwan must stand very strong in resisting the expansion of authoritarianism and we will fight very hard to protect not only Taiwan's sovereignty but also Taiwan's democratic way of life," he said. Wu pointed out that in 2021 alone, China sent nearly 1,000 sorties into Taiwan's air defense identification zone. He added that China has strengthened its naval forces in recent years and has continuously pointed missiles at Taiwan, reported Taiwan News. The foreign minister said Taiwan has begun conversations with "like-minded countries" about the Chinese threat and what approach Taiwan should take to best defend itself. Wu said Taiwan is striving to increase its defense spending to protect its sovereignty, democracy, and territory, reported Taiwan News. "The way we try to do it is to make more investments in our own defense and defending Taiwan is not just Taiwan's responsibility," he said. Taiwan is responsible for protecting its own sovereignty, democracy and territory and it is determined to do so, Wu asserted. Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades. Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war. (ANI)
LVIV, Ukraine  The heat on the train was as thick as the anxiety. Ukrainian survivors of one of the most brutal sieges in modern history were in the final minutes of their ride to relative safety.

Some carried only what they had at hand when they seized the chance to escape the port of Mariupol amid relentless Russian bombardment. Some fled so quickly that relatives who were still in the starving, freezing Ukrainian city on the Sea of Azov arent aware that they have gone.

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There is no city anymore, Marina Galla said. She wept in the doorway of a crowded train compartment that was pulling into the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

A mother embraces her son who escaped the besieged city of Mariupol and arrived at the train station in Lviv, western Ukraine on Sunday, March 20, 2022. (Bernat Armangue/AP)

The relief of being free from weeks of threats and deprivation, of seeing bodies in the streets and drinking melted snow because there was no water, was crushed by sadness as she thought of family members left behind.

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I dont know anything about them, she said. My mother, grandmother, grandfather and father. They dont even know that we have left.

Seeing her tears, her 13-year-old son kissed her over and over, offering comfort.

Mariupol authorities say nearly 10% of the citys population of 430,000 have fled over the past week, risking their lives in convoys out.

For Galla, the memories are too fresh.

For three weeks, she and her son lived in the basement of Mariupols Palace of Culture to hide from the constant Russian shelling, moving underground after the horizon turned black with smoke.

We had no water, no light, no gas, absolutely no communications, she said. They cooked meals outside with wood in the yard, even while under fire.

Even as they finally fled Mariupol, aiming to reach trains heading west to safety, Russian soldiers at checkpoints made a chilling suggestion: It would be better to go to the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol or the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula instead.

Its a suggestion that residents found ludicrous after the Russians on Wednesday bombed a Mariupol theater where children and others were sheltering, and after authorities on Sunday said an art school holding hundreds of people in Mariupol had been bombed.

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For hours on Sundays train journey, survivors shared their experiences with fellow passengers. Even residents of other Ukrainian cities that have been battered or occupied by the Russians see Mariupol as a horror apart.

One resident of Melitopol, Yelena Sovchyuk, shared a train compartment with a Mariupol family. She bought them food, she said. They had nothing, only a small bag.

Everyone from there is in deep shock, Sovchyuk said.

She recalled seeing convoys from the besieged city on the road. Theres a way to tell a Mariupol car, she said. They have no glass in their windows.

With deep disdain, Sovchyuk said Russian soldiers amid such devastation were still encouraging Ukrainians to come to Russia, claiming it would be for their safety.

The Mariupol City Council has asserted that several thousand residents were taken into Russia against their will over the past week. On Sunday, the Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine said 2,973 people had been evacuated from Mariupol since March 5, including 541 over the last 24 hours.

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The train of survivors on Sunday afternoon approached the central station of Lviv, the city near Poland that has absorbed an estimated 200,000 people fleeing other areas of Ukraine. As they climbed off one by one into the arms of family and friends after weeks of fearing for their lives, some Mariupol survivors wept.

A mother embraced a red-faced, teary teenage boy at the foot of the steps. An elderly woman in a kerchief, helped off the train, walked away in silence. Another stood motionless among her bags, blinking behind thick glasses. Her neighbor, who fled with her, described cars in their convoy coming under fire.

Her hair askew, clutched by family, Olga Nikitina cried on the platform.

They began to destroy our city, completely, house after house, the young woman said. Battles took place over every street. Every house became a target.

Gunshots blew out the windows. When the temperatures in her apartment dropped below freezing. Nikitina moved in with her godmother, who has cancer and takes care of her elderly father. Ukrainian soldiers later came and warned them that their house would come under fire.

Either hide or move out, the soldiers said.

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Nikitina left. The others were too fragile to flee. Now, like so many Mariupol survivors who escaped, she doesnt know the fate of those left behind.
The Ministry of National Defense reported that a Shenyang J-11 and a Shenyang J-16 fighter jet as well as two Xi'an H-6 bombers had entered Taiwan's ADIZ, reported Taiwan News.

The almost daily intrusions have been described as part of a tactic to exhaust Taiwan's Air Force and air defense organization, and in some cases also to gain information about missile tests by Taiwan.

On Friday, China's Shandong aircraft carrier also sailed through the Taiwan Strait, though Beijing described the journey as a routine exercise.

Meanwhile, two Shenyang J-11 fighter jets and a Harbin Z-9 anti-submarine helicopter entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Friday.

The Ministry of National Defense informed that Taiwan's Air Force jets issued radio warnings telling the Chinese aircraft to turn back immediately reported Taiwan News.

The military also said it deployed air defense missile systems to monitor the activities of the People's Liberation Army Air Force jets and helicopters.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war. (ANI)
Presidential Spokesperson Xavier Chang said that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific are the common responsibilities of all regional nations, reported Taiwan News.

Earlier in a video call between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden, Biden reiterated his commitment to Taiwan and emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Chang said that regional peace and stability is the "common expectation" of the international community. Even China, as a member of the region, should also shoulder part of this responsibility, he said.

Chang also called on China to join the international community in putting an end to Russia's aggression towards Ukraine and make more efforts to help resolve disputes peacefully, reported Taiwan News.

The presidential spokesperson said that Taiwan will continue to work closely with like-minded countries, including the US, to jointly contribute to global and regional peace and stability and prosperity, including working with the international community to continue supporting Ukraine.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that "Taiwan's independence" means war. (ANI)
Canberra [Australia], March 20 (ANI/Sputnik): Australia is allocating an additional USD 15.5 million in military aid to Kyiv and will also provide Ukraine with USD 22 million in emergency humanitarian assistance, the Australian government said on Sunday. "Following discussions between the Prime Minister [Scott Morrison] and the Minister for Defence [Peter Dutton] and their Ukrainian counterparts, it is clear that Ukraine's need for military assistance remains urgent and ongoing. In response, Defence has developed an additional USD 21 million [about 15.5 USD] support package of defensive military assistance for Ukrainian Armed Forces, which will bring Australia's total military assistance so far to USD 91 million," the Australian government said in a statement, released by the country's foreign ministry. According to the release, the military aid will include "additional material from Australian Defence Force stocks." Australia is also providing Kyiv with additional humanitarian aid, the Australian government said. "Today, the Morrison Government commits to an additional AUD 30 million [22.2 USD] in emergency humanitarian assistance. This contribution will focus on protecting women, children, the elderly and the disabled, and takes the total we have so far committed to AUD 65 million," the government statement says. Australia is also allocating funds through non-government organisations under the Australian Humanitarian Partnership, as well as the United Nations Population Fund and the World Food Programme, to support civilians in Ukraine. In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against the Kyiv forces. Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted - the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. (ANI/Sputnik)
Geneva [Switzerland], March 20 (ANI/Sputnik): Switzerland is ready to become a mediator in resolving the Ukraine conflict and could organize talks between Kyiv and Moscow, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said. "Switzerland combines neutrality with a humanitarian tradition," Cassis said at a Saturday rally in Bern, as quoted by the Swiss RTS broadcaster. "It's a small country with a strong commitment to freedom. It is ready to play the role of a mediator behind the scenes or host negotiations," the Swiss president added. According to RTS, Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Bern crowd via video link from Kyiv and thanked Switzerland for its solidarity with Ukraine. However, Zelenskyy critiqued the fact that Swiss businesses, such as Nestle, continue to operate in Russia. In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against the Kyiv forces. Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted - the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow, which includes airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media, and financial institutions. (ANI/Sputnik)
Three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday wearing Yellow and blue outfits, giving rise to speculations that the troika was expressing their solidarity with Ukraine, CNN reported. The head of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, posted pictures of media coverage speculating the cosmonauts were supporting Ukraine, and said, "Here some bandit cowards and their Anglo-Saxon sponsors don't know what else to come up with in their information war against Russia." He added that the crew were not representing Ukraine but wearing colours from their alma mater: Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the report said. "Sometimes the colour yellow is just the colour yellow. The flight suits of the new crew were designed to match the colours of the emblem of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, from where all three cosmonauts graduated. The design of the uniforms was coordinated long before the current events. Seeing the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is just a clinic [in propaganda]," another Roscosmos official wrote in his Telegram channel 'Closed Space'. When the three cosmonauts arrived at the space station Friday, they spoke to callers on the phone, one of whom asked about the yellow colour, Commander Oleg Artemyev, responded jokingly, "We actually had a lot of yellow material, so we had to use it. So that's why we had to wear yellow." The three astronauts named, Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov will spend the next six-and-a-half months aboard the space station. Russia had started a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation was only targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and the civilian population was not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine and only seeks to "demilitarize" and "denazify" the country. Western nations have imposed severe sanctions on Russia following the invasion and have raised an outcry over Russian "war crimes" and the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. (ANI)
Accusing the United States of developing components of biological weapons in labs in Ukraine, Russia on Friday supported China's demand at the UNSC asking the Americans to disclose information about the activities of 360 labs in the world that are allegedly controlled by the country. "Over the past week, we have discovered new details indicating that components of biological weapons were being developed in Ukraine," said the Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Vassily Nebenzia, adding later that, "we fully support China's demand to the United States to disclose information about activities of 360 US-controlled labs in the world." The Russian representative gave details of financial aid channelled to select labs in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv and said that the Ukrainian authorities were in cahoots with the Americans to carry out dangerous biological experiments on Ukrainian territory. "Simply speaking, Ukrainian authorities gave Pentagon a carte blanche and let them carry out dangerous biological experiments on the territory of Ukraine," Permanent Representative Nebenzia said. "We would not be surprised should similar facts come to light regarding the activity of US-sponsored labs in other parts of the globe. We call on states who provide their areas to Pentagon for such experiments to read carefully contract documents regarding their cooperation with the United States in the biological area," Nebenzia further said. The Russian representative went on to allege that the US and Ukraine had violated the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), adding that, the implications of the dangerous biological research "could have 'spilled' beyond the borders of Ukraine and even the entire region at any point." Earlier, the Russian Embassy in the US had demanded that the United States must immediately disclose information about its military biological activities in Ukrainian laboratories. "We demand that the US Side disclose information about military biological activity in laboratories on the territory of Ukraine as soon as possible. What kind of peaceful research we are talking about if the Pentagon stands behind these projects," the embassy wrote on its Telegram channel. India had noted the remarks made by the UN Under-Secretary-General of Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu regarding biological activities relating to Ukraine and said that "India attaches high importance to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) as a key global and non-discriminatory disarmament Convention, prohibiting an entire category of weapons of mass destruction." R Ravindra, Deputy Permanent Representative at UNSC briefing said, "It is important to ensure full and effective implementation of the BTWC in letter and spirit. We also believe that any matter relating to obligations under the BTWC should be addressed as per the provisions of the Convention and through consultations and cooperation between the parties concerned." (ANI) Earlier in March, the Russian Defense Ministry unveiled new findings after analyzing documents obtained from experts from Ukrainian laboratories. Igor Kirillov, the chief of the Russian armed forces' radiation, chemical, and biological defence, said that Pentagon created a network of over 30 biological laboratories in Ukrainian territory. According to Kirillov, the United States removed all materials necessary for further research from Ukraine after the beginning of Russia's special military operation. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow may launch a consultation mechanism under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) to discuss Washington's non-compliance with the document. However, a US Defense Department official denied the accusations saying the United States is not assisting Ukraine with biological weapons in its war with Russia and there are no indications that biological weapons are being used by Ukraine. Russia had started a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the Ukrainian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation was only targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and the civilian population was not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine and only seeks to "demilitarize" and "denazify" the country. Western nations have imposed severe sanctions on Russia following the invasion and have raised an outcry over Russian "war crimes" and the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Meanwhile, at least 6,623 people have been evacuated via humanitarian corridors from besieged Ukrainian cities on Saturday, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior official in President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, CNN reported. Among the besieged cities, Mariupol is witnessing some of the most severe fighting with almost constant bombardment and increasing civilian casualties. A theatre sheltering civilians was bombed in Mariupol a few days ago which drew widespread condemnation. The bombing led to more than 1300 people getting trapped under debris, and one person receiving severe injuries. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Saturday (local time) that Russia continues to make "incremental gains" in Ukraine's south and has used "brutal, savage techniques'' in the way it has targeted civilians, CNN reported. (ANI)
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett expressed delight over his first scheduled official visit to India on April 2 this year at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, an Israeli government press release informed on Saturday. "I am delighted to pay my first official visit to India at the invitation of my friend, Prime Minister Modi, and together we will continue leading the way for our countries' relations," Prime Minister Bennett said. The purpose of the visit is to advance and strengthen the strategic alliance between the countries, and to expand bilateral ties. In addition, the leaders will discuss the strengthening of cooperation in a variety of areas, including innovation, economy, research and development, agriculture and more," the Press release by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of Israel informed. The Israeli PM will meet Prime Minister Modi and other senior government officials, as well as visit the Jewish community in the country. This visit will reaffirm the important connection between the countries and the leaders and will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Israel and India, the press release further said. The leaders first met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow last October, at which Prime Minister Modi invited Prime Minister Bennett to pay an official visit to the country. "The relations between our two unique cultures -- the Indian culture and the Jewish culture -- are deep, and they rely on deep appreciation and meaningful collaborations. There are many things we can learn from the Indians, and this is what we strive to do. Together we will expand our cooperation to other areas, from innovation and technology, security and cyber, to agriculture and climate change," Bennett said while crediting PM Modi with "restarting relations between India and Israel." (ANI)
With the COVID-19 cases rapidly rising, the Hong Kong administration is finding itself unable to manage the pandemic with some fearing the government's failure to get the virus under control has accelerated Beijing's creeping authority over the semi-autonomous territory, media reports said. On Saturday, Hong Kong registered 7,528 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 9,069 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, official data showed, as reported by Xinhua. This came after Hong Kong's COVID-19 case count surpassed 1 million on Friday, amid the fifth and the worst wave of the disease. The policy indecision from Hong Kong's Chief Executive Lam and other officials has appeared to be a reaction to mounting pressure from the mainland. When cases jumped in mid-February and overburdened hospitals began treating patients on gurneys on the sidewalk, Xi Jinping, China's top leader, warned Hong Kong officials to "make controlling the epidemic as soon as possible an overwhelming priority," said a think-tank, Policy Research Group (POREG) The whole approach of the government has seemed to be chaotic," said Lau Siu-kai, a Hong Kong scholar who advises Beijing. "You can see all the complaints around Hong Kong these days," he added. "It makes Beijing worried." Researchers estimate that half of the population in Hong Kong may have already been infected. Yet when Lam addressed the local press on Monday, she seemed no closer to providing clarity on the city's virus policies. Instead, she appeared to have a message for the Chinese officials who recently locked down millions of citizens in neighbouring Shenzhen after discovering hundreds of coronavirus cases there. "If you want us to follow what Shenzhen is doing," Lam said, "I'm afraid we are not up to it." On Thursday, Lam told the media that she would also review many of the city's tough social distancing rules. As she spoke, tall barriers were being erected at public beaches as part of measures she had promised to avoid just days earlier, the report said. The incompetence displayed by Lam has led to the Chinese mainland authorities extending their foothold in Hong Kong. China has flooded Hong Kong with what it sees as necessary reinforcements, including donations of traditional Chinese medicine and protective medical gear. Chinese epidemiologists were sent to advise health officials, and more than a thousand technicians and health care workers have been dispatched for testing and patient care. A temporary bridge has been erected to connect Hong Kong to the Chinese city of Shenzhen in order to move supplies and manpower more quickly. Dozens of construction workers have been sent in to build temporary government quarantine facilities and makeshift hospitals. "People like Carrie Lam and other Hong Kong officials are always anticipating Beijing's wishes," Willy Lam, an adjunct professor of politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong was quoted by POREG. "Beijing's imprimatur is now more important than local public opinion for many leading Hong Kong officials," he added. (ANI)
As Pakistan Prime Minister faces uncertainty ahead of the no-confidence vote this month, a Pakistan analyst has argued that Imran Khan is fighting what increasingly appears to be an "unwinnable war." Opposition political parties have sought a no-confidence motion in Parliament to remove Imran Khan. The ruling party has responded by threatening violence and briefly detaining two members of parliament (MPs). Pakistan'sopposition leaders have threatened to stage a "sit-in" in the lower house and disrupt the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit, if the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan is not presented in the national assembly on Monday, the deadline for tabling the resolution. In an editorial piece in the Dawn newspaper, Fahd Husain, said the pre-power days Imran Khan was riding high on a wave of popularity fuelled by factors that were partly organic, and partly not. The incumbents did not stand a chance. In the post-power days, he has been surfing on a wave of expectations fuelled by hope and ignited by the spark of state machinery, he said. The final outcome of what could be Khan's last stand is still 10 days away, as the date of the no-confidence motion against Khan inches closer. According to Husain, what is fairly clear to those not blinded by partisan rage is that the events we see around us today -- the vote of no-confidence, betrayal by own members and dithering of allies -- all these happenings did not break out like a cloudburst. The Opposition parties submitted the no-trust motion against Imran Khan in the National Assembly secretariat on March 8. While the ImranKhan government has exuded confidence to defeat the no-trust motion, the opposition is sure that they will oust Khan. Notably, the opposition parties have rejected the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government's offer for withdrawing the no-trust motion against Prime Minister and has made it clear that the resolution will only be withdrawn if the premier announces his resignation. If Imran Khan is voted out through the motion, it would create history as a vote of no-confidence has never been carried against the prime minister in Pakistan. (ANI)
As the spotlight continues to remain on the Russia-Ukraine war, roughly 13,000 newborns have died from malnutrition and hunger-related diseases in Afghanistan since January. As many as 95 per cent of the population does not have enough to eat, and 3.5 million children need nutritional support. The United Nations has called the situation "a food insecurity and malnutrition crisis of unparalleled proportions." "Since the beginning of the year, roughly 13,000 newborns have died from malnutrition & hunger-related diseases in Afghanistan. That is on average more than 170 babies every single day The country needs a functioning Central Bank. Aid is not enough," Birgit Schwarz, a senior official of Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a tweet. Aside from humanitarian aid, which many countries have sent, at this stage, Afghanistan also urgently needs a functioning banking system to address the crisis, as restrictions on Afghanistan's Central Bank are still making large transactions or withdrawals impossible. Without ensuring that funds are being used for legitimate humanitarian and commercial purposes, the HRW said it will be impossible to ease the crisis and help Afghanistan's most vulnerable children. UN Deputy Special Representative Ramiz Alakbarov, in a statement last week said acute hunger in the country rose from 14 million in July to 23 million in March, forcing households to resort to "desperate measures". "Unacceptable trade-offs have caused untold suffering, reduced the quality, quantity, and diversity of food available, led to high levels of wasting in children, and other harmful impacts on the physical and mental wellbeing of women, men, and children," he spelled out. A staggering 95 per cent of Afghans are not getting enough to eat, with that number rising to almost 100 per cent in female-headed households, according to the UN Resident Coordinator, who is also deputy head of the UN assistance mission, UNAMA. "It is a figure so high that it is almost inconceivable. Yet, devastatingly, it is the harsh reality," he said. Alakbarov painted a picture of hospital wards filled with malnourished children, many weighing at age one what an infant of six months would weigh in a developed country, with some "so weak they are unable to move". Acute malnutrition rates in 28 out of 34 provinces are high with more than 3.5 million children in need of nutrition treatment support, said Dr Alakbarov. He explained that since mid-August, over 2,500 nutrition treatment sites across all 34 provinces, both urban and rural, have been serving 800,000 acutely malnourished children, "and we plan to reach 3.2 million affected children this year". (ANI)
Baltimore States Attorney Marilyn Mosby addresses the media outside her office on a day after her indictment on federal perjury charges on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun) (Jerry Jackson/AP)

Character counts, especially in a citys chief prosecutor.

Nothing makes that clearer than the controversial decision by Baltimore City States Attorney Marilyn Mosby to try Keith Davis Jr. for the fifth time on the same charge of murdering a Pimlico security guard, despite two prior mistrials and two overturned convictions in the weak case against Mr. Davis. The recent attempt by her office to get the trial, scheduled for May, moved out of the city only adds to the questionable nature of her decision.

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All states allow defendants to seek venue changes, but not all of them allow prosecutors to seek venue changes to secure trials fairer to the state. Maryland does, but it is rarely used. By invoking the option, Ms. Mosby, in effect, is asking the court to send the case someplace where she will have a better chance of convicting Mr. Davis. Given the cases tortured history, it smacks of a desperate desire to win and suggests that Ms. Mosby is motivated by something other than the dispassionate pursuit of justice.

Ivan Bates, who is running to unseat Ms. Mosby, thinks the case should be dismissed as requested in a motion filed by Mr. Davis attorney claiming personal animus was behind Ms. Mosbys decision to retry the case. Mr. Bates said that the public must be confident that prosecutors do not use the criminal justice system as a weapon of vengeance.

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Mr. Bates is talking about character. A prosecutors moral values determine whether the prosecutor makes decisions based on the law and the facts, or on improper considerations, such as personal animus.

There also were concerns about her motivations in 2015 when, after a hasty and inadequate investigation, she announced criminal charges against six Baltimore police officers arising from the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. None were convicted.

The second-degree murder charge against Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. was particularly troubling. A city judge acquitted him of the charge, rebuking prosecutors for the absence of evidence supporting accusations that Officer Goodson gave Mr. Gray a rough ride. There was no evidence that he acted negligently, let alone with a depraved heart as alleged.

Ms. Mosby announced the charges against the officers to a cheering audience as she stood on the steps of the War Memorial Building with television cameras rolling. She built the drama with a lengthy speech culminating in a recital of the charges. Nothing grabs the attention of a crowd seeking justice quite like the word murder, and there were audible gasps when she said it.

Ms. Mosby was credited with defusing protests by bringing charges. She vaulted into the national spotlight as a progressive young prosecutor promising to free the innocent, reduce over-incarceration and hold bad cops accountable.

But the acclaim came at the price of an unjust murder charge that hung over the head of a 45-year-old police officer for more than a year. Officer Goodson was described as a non-confrontational officer, family man and friendly neighbor  hardly deserving of such treatment. Was the decision that subjected him to it based on the law and the facts or on improper considerations, such as personal ambition?

Ms. Mosby faces her own trial in May, charged with lying on a series of documents for the purpose of making an early withdrawal from her retirement account and borrowing money to purchase two investment properties in Florida. Ms. Mosby denies the charges. If true, however, they bear directly on her character.

Character cannot be compartmentalized, turned on and off as the situation requires. You either are a person of character, or you are not. Does anyone really believe that public officials who engage in a pattern of lying, cheating or stealing in their personal financial affairs can be trusted to act ethically when carrying out their official duties?

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I dont know if the decision by federal prosecutors to charge Ms. Mosby was influenced by the fact that she holds a powerful position and makes decisions that have extraordinarily profound impacts on peoples lives. If it was, good.

There may be jobs for which a persons character is not of the utmost importance. Being Baltimore City states attorney is not one of them. Ask Keith Davis or Caesar Goodson.

David Plymyer retired as Anne Arundel County Attorney in 2014. He also served as an Assistant States Attorney for five years. His email is dplymyer@comcast.net; Twitter: @dplymyer.
Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. is planning to invest around USD 1.26 billion in India to step up production of electric vehicles and build a new plant for car batteries, local media reported on Saturday. Suzuki, India's biggest carmaker, already has plants in states like Gujarat and Haryana. It accounts for around half of new vehicles sold in the country. This latest decision is in line with efforts by the Indian government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Kyodo News agency reported citing sources close to the matter. The production of EVs is scheduled to begin by 2025 at one of the company's existing plants. The Japanese agency said Suzuki is aiming to increase its competitiveness by strengthening EV production and expanding its product lineup in the local market. Moreover, the automaker also plans to allocate 1 trillion yen for research and development on hybrid vehicles and other forms of automotive electrification over five years from fiscal 2021. This report comes as India and Japan launched a 'Clean Energy Partnership (CEP)' for cooperation towards achieving sustainable economic growth during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to India. The initiative was launched on the occasion of the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit in New Delhi on Saturday. "The partnership will lead to clean growth by boosting job creation, innovation and investments. It will also demonstrate to the world that India and Japan are at the forefront in delivering on the ambitious climate and sustainable development goals," a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on the partnership said. "The cooperation under this partnership will build on the work already being covered by the two sides under the foundation of the 'India-Japan Energy Dialogue' established in 2007 and will substantially expand the areas of collaboration for mutual benefit," the statement further said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese PM welcomed the launch of the India-Japan 'Clean Energy Partnership (CEP)'. According to a joint press statement, the initiative was launched to achieve sustainable economic growth. This partnership will also look to address climate change and ensure energy security in areas such as electric vehicles (EV), storage systems including batteries, electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVCI), solar energy, clean including green hydrogen/ammonia, and wind energy. The implementation of the partnership will be undertaken under the existing 'India-Japan Energy Dialogue', among various stakeholders such as Ministries and organizations involved in this mechanism, the MEA statement said. Under the partnership, cooperation may also extend into the areas of waste management, clean steel, clean construction, sustainable urban development and water management, MEA added. (ANI)
As new COVID-19 cases continue to rebound in several countries, China is facing mounting pressure to guard against imported infections amid a recent surge in cases throughout the country. "On the whole, the local epidemic situation in China is still in the development stage, and many provinces and regions are fighting against the Omicron epidemic in multiple cities at the same time," a Chinese official was quoted as saying by state media outlet Global Times. The official added that China's epidemic prevention and control situation "remains grim and complex." "Epidemic prevention and control is a priority for the country," Mi Feng, a spokesperson from the National Health Commission (NHC), said. Further, Mi urged that the public and the relevant departments resist a "relax, rest, wait and see," attitude and not show fatigue in the face of the epidemic battle, no fluking, slacking, noting persistence is victory. Since the beginning of this year, the epidemic situation in China's neighbouring countries and regions has been increasingly volatile. Since March this year, the average number of daily imported cases in China has exceeded 200. Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that Beijing will stick to its "zero Covid-19" policy, days after National Health Commission (NHC) released new guidelines easing its control measures. During a meeting with top leaders last week, Xi said China should "continue to put people and life at the forefront, stick with scientific accuracy and dynamic-zero, and curb the spread of the epidemic as soon as possible", The Strait Times reported citing state broadcaster CCTV. On late Tuesday night, the NHC had uploaded a new document on its website. Titled the Novel Coronavirus Diagnosis And Treatment Plan, it was the ninth revision to a document setting out COVID-19 policy for the country of 1.4 billion. China's zero-COVID policy is pushing cash-strapped local governments to the brink amid rising health care costs and efforts to control debt. Analysts said that the local governments in China are facing a growing financial burden to meet Beijing's hardline zero-COVID strategy, according to a think tank, Policy Research Group (POREG). China is battling its biggest virus surge in two years and numerous cities have imposed travel bans and lockdowns, including tech hub Shenzhen, which have shaken economic stability and global supply chains. China has clung to a zero-tolerance approach to the virus that relies on stringent lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine in government facilities. (ANI)
Of the new local infections, 1,191 were reported in the province of Jilin, 158 in Fujian, 51 in Shandong, 51 in Guangdong, and 39 in Liaoning respectively, Xinhua reported.

The rest of the cases were reported in 15 other provincial-level regions, including Gansu and Tianjin, as per Xinhua.

A total of 81 imported COVID-19 cases were reported Saturday, said the commission's report.

Meanwhile, China's zero-COVID policy is pushing cash-strapped local governments to the brink amid rising health care costs and efforts to control debt.

Analysts said that the local governments in China are facing a growing financial burden to meet Beijing's hardline zero-COVID strategy, according to a think tank, Policy Research Group (POREG).

China is battling its biggest virus surge in two years and numerous cities have imposed travel bans and lockdowns, including tech hub Shenzhen, which have shaken economic stability and global supply chains.

"The current situation across the country is indeed severe, we can see the pressure on medical care and finances from the existing model. Globally, pandemic control policies are being adjusted, and the possibility of adjustment in China is also increasing," Tianfeng Securities, a China-based investment bank, said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Shanghai, China's international financial hub and logistics centre is fighting its worst COVID-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic, said POREG. (ANI)
London [UK], March 20 (ANI/Sputnik): UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he had offered Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his family refuge in the United Kingdom amid Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. Johnson told the Sunday Times that Zelenskyy has regular conversations with him and is an "absolutely charming guy but he's also proved to be an inspiration." According to the British prime minister, the possibility of Zelenskyy and his family getting refuge in the UK had been discussed, but "Volodymyr has always been clear, his duty is to the Ukrainian people; he's going to stay there, he's going to look after them . I have to say I admire him." In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against the Kyiv forces. Russia said that the aim of its special operation is to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine and that only military infrastructure is being targeted - the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the goal is to protect the people of Donbas, "who have been subjected to abuse, genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years." In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow, which includes airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media, and financial institutions. (ANI/Sputnik)
Amid the ongoing political unrest in the country, Pakistan will host a two-day meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad on March 22 and 23. The 48th summit of the OIC-CFM will be convened under the theme: "Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice, and Development," Geo News reported. Meanwhile, in a statement, OIC said the session will address many topics and the activities of the OIC General Secretariat on "implementing the resolutions adopted on various issues in the Islamic world, including the issue of Palestine and Al-Quds", the Pakistani newspaper reported. The statement said that the summit will also discuss developments in Afghanistan, Geo News reported. Moreover, Pakistan's opposition leaders have threatened to stage a "sit-in" in the lower house and disrupt the OIC summit, if the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan is not presented in the National Assembly on Monday, the deadline for tabling the resolution. If the opposition stages a sit-in then an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit that is scheduled to take place there on the same day will be hampered. According to the rules, the resolution, "shall not be voted upon before the expiry of three days, or later than seven days." Therefore, the speaker must call the lower house in session by March 22, while voting on the no-confidence motion must take place between three and seven days after the session is summoned. However, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Saturday that he had been receiving reports of the NA speaker intending to go against the Constitution, law and rules of the house regarding the no-trust move, reported Dawn newspaper. Pakistan is going through political turmoil ahead of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan after dozen of its party members parted ways with the ruling party. (ANI)
Pyongyang [North Korea], March 20 (ANI/Sputnik): North Korea has allegedly fired four shots from multiple rocket launch systems into the western waters of the Yellow Sea, the Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday, citing South Korean military officials. According to the news agency, four projectiles fell into the sea within the hour from 7:20 a.m. local time on Sunday (22:00 GMT on Saturday). The South Korean National Security Council reportedly convened an emergency meeting to discuss the incident. "There were shots believed to be that of North Korea's multiple rocket launchers this morning," an official in the South Korean armed forces said, as quoted by the news agency. In addition, the official reportedly stressed that Seoul was monitoring developments in the region and maintaining the country's defense preparedness. Since the end of 2017, Pyongyang had maintained a voluntary moratorium on nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) systems. However, in January, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un decided to consider the resumption of "all temporarily suspended activities" due to what he described as hostile policy on the part of the United States. A number of media and experts regarded this statement as Pyongyang's intention to stop complying with the moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests amid the stalled dialogue with Washington On February 27 and March 5, North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles as part of the reconnaissance satellite project. On Wednesday, media reported that Pyongyang had fired another alleged projectile, but the launch had ended in failure. Seoul and Washington accused Pyongyang of having tested the new Hwasong-17 ICBM under the pretext of developing satellite systems. The South Korean National Security Council regarded the launches as violation of UN Security Council resolutions and condemned Pyongyang for raising tensions in the region. (ANI/Sputnik)
The Pakistan Army's top brass, led by General Qamar Javed Bajwa, has reportedly asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign after the conference of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) scheduled for this month. Pakistan media reports stated that the decision to oust Imran Khan was taken by General Bajwa and three other senior Lt. Generals in a meeting which took place after Bajwa and the country's spymaster Lieutenant General Nadeem Anjum met Imran Khan. It was reported that all four military leaders decided not to give any escape route to Imran Khan. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), incidentally, is hoping that its trump card of former Army Chief Raheel Sharif's meeting Bajwa at the behest of Imran Khan will save the government. However, Raheel Sharif also failed in his mission, noted the local media in its reports. Amid the looming no-confidence motion against his government, Imran Khan met Army Chief Bajwa on Friday. The meeting is being speculated to have revolved around the recent political developments in the country, with the local media reporting that the agenda could have included the upcoming OIC summit in Pakistan, the ongoing unrest in Balochistan and the no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan government. The majority of PTI leaders are waiting for the outcome of this meeting amidst the fragile political situation in the country, Capital TV, a Pakistani media channel reported. The meeting is also being seen as an attempt by Imran Khan to get back in the good books of the Pakistani establishment, which is the Pakistani Army, to save his government. The fissures between Imran Khan and the Army establishment became visible when the former in his profanity-laced speech on March 11 had rebuffed Army Chief Bajwa's advice to not use derogatory remarks against Opposition leaders. "I was just talking to Gen Bajwa (Chief of Pakistani Army) and he told me not to refer to Fazl as 'diesel'. But I am not the one who is saying that. The people have named him diesel," Khan reportedly said referring toJUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman. (ANI)
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) on Saturday staged a protest against the workers of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government who attacked the Sindh House in Islamabad. The PPP leaders said the attack had been perpetrated to commit sheer violence and cause fatalities at the Sindh House as the Islamabad police acted merely as a silent spectator to the aggression while the Sindh police timely acted and saved the situation, The Express Tribune reported. Sindh Information and Labour Minister, Saeed Ghani, said that incumbent federal ministers had been openly giving threats and hatching conspiracies to cause bloodshed in the country after sensing that PTI's rule was fast coming to an end, the Pakistani newspaper reported. Ghani, who is also PPP Karachi President, recalled that recently the PPP under the leadership of the party's Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, had conducted a peaceful march from Karachi to Islamabad. He mentioned that the two lawmakers of PTI from Karachi had led some 30 to 40 supporters of the ruling party who had attacked the Sindh House. Ghani said the attack on Sindh House was a cowardly act meant to frighten the People's Party. He said that an aide to Imran Khan had gone to the police station in Islamabad and freed the attackers involved in the violent incident. He said that the names of Imran Khan and the interior minister should be included in the FIR to be lodged after the violent incident, The Express Tribune reported. PPP Sindh General-Secretary, Waqar Mehdi, said that a grave conspiracy had been hatched in Islamabad to commit aggression against Sindh House. He said that bloodshed could have occurred as a result of the attack, the Pakistani newspaper reported. The newspaper further reported that PPP Karachi General-Secretary Jawed Nagori said the PTI's regime had almost finished in the country after 24 of its lawmakers had become dissident. Pakistan is going through political turmoil ahead of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan after dozen of its party members parted ways with the ruling party. (ANI)
Proposing Constitutional reforms to limit the powers of his office, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said central Asian country needs to switch from "super presidential" rule to political modernization with a focus on the role of citizens in governing the state, including through electoral processes. Tokayev was elected in 2019 following the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who stepped down after running the mineral-rich nation for three decades. Nazarbayev this year gave up sweeping powers as the head of the security council and the leader of the ruling party during and after violent unrest in January. In a speech to the country's Parliament, Tokayev said at the initial stage of the country's development, "super presidential" style rule was justified. "But we are not standing still - society is changing, the country is changing. And our political system must constantly adapt to new realities." With an aim to create "New Kazakhstan", Tokayev presented a programme of comprehensive modernization based on what he described as long-standing public demand for radical changes. "Today, literally everything is focused on the President, and this is fundamentally wrong. We need to gradually move away from this practice," he said in an address titled "New Kazakhstan: The Path of Renewal and Modernisation." Emphasizing that long-term interests of the state are more important than additional levers of power, Nazarbayev had said at the January congress of the Amanat party that he will leave the post of chairman. Tokayev said his main priority as President "has always been" and "will be" the implementation of the reforms needed by the people. "I am absolutely confident that steady progress of the country and large-scale social and economic reforms are impossible without political modernisation. In two and a half years we have achieved substantial results in this direction," he said. Speaking about the January unrest, the Kazak President said that the events were the biggest test for the country's statehood. "We were standing on the edge of a precipice. With one wrong step, we could have lost our state," he said. "The investigation into the conspiracy by the security forces and their accomplices continues at an intense pace, and is classified," he added. The January unrest was a series of massive protests that began on 2 January after a sudden sharp increase in liquefied gas prices following the lifting of a government-enforced price cap on 1 January. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison will hold the second India-Australia Virtual Summit on Monday to lay the way forward on new initiatives and enhance cooperation in a diverse range of sectors between the two countries. The Summit follows the historic first Virtual Summit in June 2020 when the relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. During the upcoming virtual summit, the Leaders will take stock of progress made on various initiatives under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The Leaders are expected to commit to closer cooperation in trade, critical minerals, migration and mobility, and education, among others, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a press statement. According to the MEA release, views on regional and international issues of mutual interest will also be discussed by the Leaders. It also said the Summit highlights the importance attached by both countries to their bilateral relations as also their close cooperation on regional and global issues. The India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has maintained the momentum of an upward trajectory with both countries continuing to collaborate closely, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, in wide-ranging areas including science and technology, defence, cyber, critical and strategic materials, water resource management, as well as public administration and governance. PM Modi and Morrison met in Washington DC for the first in-person meeting after the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2021 on the margins of the Quad Leaders' Summit and jointly launched the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) in Glasgow on the margins of the COP26 in November 2021. On Friday, Morrison had underlined that the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries is based on a shared vision of an open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific. In an official statement, he said, "Australia and India's strong bilateral relationship is based on mutual understanding and trust, a commitment to democracy, and a shared vision of an open, inclusive, resilient and prosperous Indo-Pacific." "Prime Minister Modi and I will discuss deepening our trade and investment relationship and harnessing new economic opportunities to support our mutual economic recovery and growth. Central to these endeavours are strengthened cooperation in defence and security, science and technology, and critical minerals and clean energy," he added. Furthermore, the Australian PM said both sides will also discuss a range of regional and multilateral issues, including the situation in Ukraine and its implications for the Indo-Pacific, and Myanmar. (ANI)


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According to the spokesman, the Russian armed forces carried out strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities with long-range precision weapons in the evening of March 19 and in the morning of March 20.

"Workshops at the Nizhyn repair plant used for the repair of Ukrainian armored vehicles damaged in combat operations were destroyed with sea-based Kalibr cruise missiles launched from the waters of the Black Sea," Konashenkov said.

He added that Kalibr missiles launched from the Caspian Sea and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles launched from the airspace over Crimea had also destroyed a huge Ukrainian base for storing fuel and lubricants located near the settlement of Kostyantynivka in the Mykolaiv region.

Konashenkov noted that the base had been used for supplying fuel to Ukrainian armored vehicles in the combat areas in south of the country. (ANI/Sputnik)
China's position on the Ukraine issue is objective and fair, and time will prove that it is on the "right side of history", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday. Chinese Foreign Minister made the remarks during a briefing on the video call between the Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, on the Ukraine issue that took place on March 18. Wang noted that during the recent video call, China had proposed a Chinese solution to the Ukraine crisis, which mainly includes two aspects. The priority, he said, is that all sides must push for dialogue and negotiation between the immediate parties, cease hostilities as soon as possible, avoid civilian casualties, and prevent a humanitarian crisis. According to the minister, Xi stressed to Biden that it is necessary to give up the "cold-war mentality" to resolve the crisis and ensure stability on the European continent. Xi Jinping told Joe Biden that peace is the most important value of the global community, and no one is interested in conflicts. "Conflicts and confrontations are not in anyone's interests. Peace and security are the values that the international community should cherish most of all," Xi was quoted as saying by Chinese state media. Meanwhile, the United States has expressed concerns about China's possible military support to Russia. "We have that concern. The President (Biden) detailed what the implications and consequences would be if China provides material support to Russia," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said when asked whether the Biden administration is still concerned Beijing might help Russia. "That is something we will be watching and the world will be watching," Psaki said. On February 24, Russia began a military operation to "demilitarize and denazify Ukraine," and continues to state that the operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only. However, rejected the claims made by Moscow and imposed crippling sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. (ANI)
The incident took place in the village of Strepy-Bracquegnies in Hainaut province, Sputnik news agency reported citing local broadcaster.

The report added seven of the injured got serious wounds.

The driver of the car and other riders inside the vehicle have been detained. (ANI)
China's COVID-19 policy has severely affected Mongolia's economy as it is "disproportionally dependent on its biggest foreign trade partner Bejing", said a Canada-based think tank. As the world enters the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mongolia's economy has been improving since April last year as businesses have been re-opening, but China has kept its border sealed under its no-COVID policy, said Canada-based think tank, International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS). China has implemented a strict and extreme policy that includes strict lockdowns, mass testing and mandatory quarantine in state facilities. Mongolia is also suffering because of China's COVID policy. National Statistical Office division head, Tseveenjav Lkhanaa, sums up Mongolia's precarious economic situation as "disproportionally dependent on our biggest foreign trade partner, China," IFFRAS reported. China is also the biggest investor in Mongolia. Since Mongolia became part of BRI, investments by China has increased even more and China has also granted loans. Trade is one aspect of China and Mongolia's relationship. China is Mongolia's biggest importer of minerals. According to a Canada-based think tank, within China, ethnic Mongolians are facing a cultural crackdown. Schools in Inner Mongolia teach in Mongolian except the subjects of Mandarin and other foreign languages. China is deliberating on changing its education policy to three subjects namely history, morality and law and language and literature to be taught in Mandarin, the think tank added. Reports were met with widespread protests by students. Thousands of arrests were made and there were a few suicides as well. Ethnic Mongolians are not the only ones facing suppression of their culture, language and traditions; Tibetans and Uyghurs are facing the same, IFFAS reported. Earlier, Mongolia's relations with China received a blow when the Dalai Lama planned to visit Mongolia to attend a convention. China strongly opposed the visit and threatened Mongolia to cut-off access to its ports. Ultimately, the Mongolia government cancelled the visit, IFFRAS reported. (ANI)
President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Sunday appointed Sharma to the key post and he will take up his assignment soon.

The post in New Delhi was vacant after Sher Bahadur Deuba government recalled as many as 12 ambassadors including from India. Former minister Nilamber Acharya was the Ambassador until the time of recall.

Sharma brings extensive experience in government, international institutions, and economic research.

Before joining the National Planning Commission as a member in 1997, he worked as a Senior Economic Advisor, in the Ministry of Finance, as a Senior Economist in the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, and a Fellow in the East-West Center, Hawaii.

He also served as a Professor of Economics in the Centre for Economic Development and Administration, Tribhuvan University.

As a high level development planner in Nepal, Sharma provided leadership for national planning, policy guidance, program development and monitoring as Vice Chairman. He worked as policy advisor for many national and international organisations like the World Energy Council Committee, the Millenium Development Goal Assessment of the Asia Pacific Region, UNESCAP, Bangkok, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme.

--IANS giri/vd

( 226 Words)

2022-03-20-19:26:03 (IANS)
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan on Sunday issued a decree banning the official tricolour flag of the internationally-recognised Afghan government (black, red, green) and replaces it with the white coloured flag of the Islamic emirate. Under the decree, all government agencies in the country and abroad must now use the white-coloured Taliban flag with a black-ink Islamic scripture reading "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet," Sputnik News Agency reported. The decree prohibits the Taliban officials to appear in public with the tricolour Afghan flag. The development comes weeks after the Taliban ordered the residents of Khost province in Afghanistan to remove the Afghan national flag from the rooftops of their houses and their vehicles. The Afghan people had been requesting the Taliban not to change the flag as it belongs to no leader and faction, but to the nation, Khaama press had reported. Notably, the leaders of the Islamic Emirate has been making extensive attempts to achieve international recognition. Taliban's acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday said that the Islamic Emirate is inclusive and has fulfilled all the requirements and it should be recognized by the international community, reported Tolo News. Last year, in August, the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan and established an interim government led by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, who had served as the foreign minister during the first Taliban rule in the late 1990s. The new authorities have not yet been internationally recognized even though the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the country's name used by the Taliban) was declared restored in December. The coming of the Taliban to power has given rise to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, with UN agencies estimating that more than 50 per cent of the country's population is in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. (ANI)
Ahead of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meet in Pakistan, a high-level business delegation from the United Arab Emirates landed in Srinagar on Sunday evening to explore business opportunities. Pakistan is scheduled to host a two-day meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC in Islamabad on March 22 and 23. The OIC is a platform where Islamabad repeatedly tries to rake up the Kashmir issue. A 40-member strong delegation from the United Arab Emirates has reached the Valley for a three-day (March 20-23) visit, months after Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's Dubai visit. The Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is all set to host a delegation of 36 members from the Gulf countries at Srinagar to strengthen ties and look at the investment opportunities in the region. As part of the four-day programme, Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor of UT of J&K along with the Principal Secretary Industries and Commerce and other government officials will be showcasing investment opportunities with a focus on entrepreneurship, tourism and hospitality sector. The delegation will meet the Lieutenant Governor and top officials of the Jammu and Kashmir government. The visit signifies the successful socio-economic transformation of the Valley under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Emirati investors are keen to capitalise on the enormous investment potential of Jammu and Kashmir and the visit will further boost the confidence of the global investor community. In January, the Jammu and Kashmir government signed several important MoUs with UAE-based Al Maya Group, MATU Investments LLC, GL Employment Brokerage LLC and Noon, with the aim to boost investment in the union territory. Addressing the Investors Summit in Dubai, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha had highlighted the strong business scenario in Jammu and Kashmir. Big business groups from UAE have shown interest in investing in Jammu and Kashmir marking the beginning of a new and comprehensive partnership, the Lt Governor had said. The delegation includes -- Saleh Mohammad Ramadhan Alrafi from UAE, a businessman in the real estate and commercial trading business industry, Mohammad Ali Redha Alhasimi, MD of the Al Hashemi Group, Ahmad Mohd Ramadhan Alrafei, CEO, Roya International, Abdulla Omar Ahmad Ahmad Altayer, Executive Director of AlTayer Group, Salem Abdulaziz Mustafa Abdulla Almazrooqi, Representative of the Rulers Office in Abu Dhabi, Ramesh Kumar Sawarthia, Chairman of Sawarthia Group from Hong Kong and Ayman Abdulrahman S Alhilali, CEO of Alpha Sky from Saudi Arabia. The 36-member delegation also includes Indian businessmen based in UAE and also a representative of the Rulers Office in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, the India delegation includes --Kamal Puri, Chairman of Skyline International Group Limited, Manohar Mohanlal Lahori, chairman and CEO of Palmon Group. Tauseef Chaman, top real estate and property developers and contractors in UAE. (ANI)
Freezing the assets has stopped hundreds of projects across the country. The US has preserved billions of frozen assets for the victims of the 9/11 attacks, reported Khaama Press.

The activists in a press conference on Sunday said no Afghan was involved in 9/11 so they urged the international community especially the US to unfreeze the assets of the Afghan people.

They have also expressed concern about the private sector being in a dire economic situation as USD 2 billion in the total money frozen belongs to them, reported Khaama Press.

"Projects worth millions of dollars have been stopped. Afghans cannot even do business with the US and Asian countries. Our businessmen cannot buy things from other countries nor can they import," said a participant of the conference.

This is the latest reaction of the Afghan people over the frozen assets of Afghanistan. The US has lately announced that they will allocate USD 3.5 billion to the victims of 9/11. (ANI)
Vietnam, Malaysia FMs hold talks in Hanoi

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son received and held talks with his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah who is in Hanoi for a working visit on March 20-21.









Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah hold talks in Hanoi on March 19. (Photo: baoquocte.vn)





Both sides examined their preparations for the March 20-21 official visit to Vietnam by Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh..



They exchanged directions to further strengthen coordination between the two Foreign Ministries, as well as views on a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern.



The two Foreign Ministers underscored the significance of their first in-person meeting after months of combating the COVID-19 pandemic, and highly appreciated the two sides preparations for PM Sabri Yaakobs visit, contributing to further promoting the strategic partnership between the two countries.



They agreed to work closely and coordinate with relevant agencies of each country to continue effectively implementing the Minutes of the 6th meeting of the Joint Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the two countries held last November as well as the 2021-2025 Action Program to realize the Vietnam - Malaysia strategic partnership.



They also agreed on major orientations to well organize activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2023.



On regional and international issues of mutual concern, the two Ministers affirmed that they will continue to closely coordinate at regional and international forums such as the United Nations, APEC and ASEAN.



They also voiced their support for strengthening ASEANs solidarity and centrality in handling strategic issues in the region.
About 11 years ago, Randy Rowel Jr. was working at the Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County when a funding request he made was denied because his boss told him, We need to keep the lights on. Rowel suggested purchasing solar panels to help free up money in the budget. That recommendation was also ignored. So Rowel quit.

And that was the start of my environmental career, said Rowel, who went on to work in commercial solar sales before jumping feet-first into environmental education and advocacy. This month, more than a decade later, Rowel was named the chair of the Annapolis Environmental Commission, the first Black person to chair the board that advises the Annapolis City Council on environmental matters.

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In his new role, Rowel hopes to add racial and ethnic diversity to the environmental movement in the city by connecting young people in historically excluded communities to jobs in the environmental field. Rowel, whose brother William Rowel serves as an adviser to Mayor Gavin Buckley, was first appointed to the commission in 2019. He agreed to join the volunteer board, because I knew that raising awareness and advocacy is one thing, but its not enough.

I knew that in order to effect positive change in our community, it will take more of an executive or administrative approach, said Rowel, 41, who was born and raised in Annapolis. He now lives in Eastport with his two children, Kingston, 13, and Hillary, 10. I figured being on the commission would give me an opportunity to have a seat at the table and voice my concerns around issues that affect, us, our community, people of color.

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After he left the Boys and Girls Club, Rowel obtained a stormwater management certification from Anne Arundel Countys Master Watershed Stewards Academy and added a masters degree in natural resources from Virginia Tech in 2017. He is also the co-founder of RR & Associates, a grant-writing firm that focuses on acquiring funding for environmental initiatives in Annapolis.

Randy Rowell, Jr. talks with children in 2019 about the benefits of a new stream bed at the celebration of the completion of a stream and wetland restoration project at Asbury United Methodist Church. (Joshua McKerrow / Capital Gazette)

In 2019, Rowel aided in the completion of a stream restoration project at Asbury Broadneck United Methodist Church to help fix flooding in the cemetery at the historic African-American church, where several direct descendants of Harriet Tubman are buried. Rowel is the seventh great-grandson of the Rev. Samuel Green, a slave who later became a conductor on the Underground Railroad and was a first cousin of Tubman. The personal connection to the project made it all the more important to him, Rowel said.

Thats what is happening all over the country, in our communities, our institutions are being flooded and bulldozed down, he said.

Rowel has previously served as the diversity and inclusion coordinator at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and a science teacher with Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

Over the last two-plus years, he started a diversity, equity and inclusion subcommittee on the commission, which examines ways to bring more equity in local environmental careers. He has also sought to show that public safety is an environmental concern. If children feel safer outside, they will be more eager to engage with the environment and eventually work in the field.

How can we encourage our children and youth to go outside and experience the outdoors if they dont feel safe? he asked.

The lack of diversity in the environmental field has been a problem for years, and Rowels appointment is one step toward addressing that, said Alderman Rob Savidge, a Ward 7 Democrat and the chair of the Environmental Matters Committee.

Savidge said he has begun discussing environmental initiatives with Rowel, including implementing a legislative review process that examines proposed bills through an environmental lens, an idea taken from a similar process in Montgomery County.

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Ive always maintained that we really cant have environmental sustainability without environmental justice, Savidge said. And Randy brings a huge amount of expertise in that. I mean, hes studied that, hes worked on that and hes lived that.

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In 2021, Rowel became the director of the Chesapeake Student Recruitment, Early Advisement, and Mentoring program, a part of the Chesapeake Research Consortium. The program recruits and mentors college students who are typically underrepresented in the environmental field and in environmental research and management professions. The work he does with the consortium directly impacts his commission chairmanship because it allows him to share resources with other members, such as internship and career opportunities and upcoming conferences and professional development training, he said.

Randy Rowel, new chair of the Environmental Commission, with his canine companion Gunner in Annapolis. (Brian Krista/Capital Gazette)

During Buckleys four-plus years in office, the city has reexamined its environmental goals and prioritized resilience projects in neighborhoods that have historically been overlooked. It has also ensured that newer capital projects, like Hillman Garage and City Dock redevelopment, are more equitable, said Jackie Guild, deputy city manager for resilience and sustainability.

For instance, there are neighborhoods across the city, like Nautilus Point, and Eastport Terrace and Harbour House public housing communities, that were built before the city implemented strict stormwater controls and now need to be revitalized. Rowel can be an asset in reaching out to residents in those areas, Guild said.

He can help the city with its new focus on equity in the way that we are building resilience and environmental protections throughout the city, she said. He has relationships with lower-income and African American communities and can act as a liaison to understand their needs.

The Buckley administration has made economic resilience a priority as well, Guild said, by sourcing building contracts through local and minority-owned businesses.

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Rowel gave testimony last week at an Environmental Matters Committee meeting, requesting the city put even more emphasis on soliciting those businesses for projects like an electric ferry between City Dock and Eastport.

I think that will attract a different audience, he said. It would show that the city is really dedicated to equity and inclusion when it comes to how funds are allocated.
Now that the West has imposed crippling economic sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, America needs to answer four questions to determine our strategy moving forward.

First, what is our end game? Ukraine wants to remain an independent nation with its territorial integrity intact. Russia wants, at best, Ukraine as a vassal state that does Moscows will. At a minimum, Russia wants a neutral Ukraine that will recognize the independent ethnic Russian states of Donetsk and Luhansk and Russias annexation of Crimea.

The U.S. end game is less clear. We want a negotiated settlement but are hazy on what that entails. Since Russia has a stronger military and we are only sending defensive weapons to Ukraine, Ukraine cannot militarily defeat Russia. At best, Ukraine can prolong the conflict to make the costs of the invasion unbearable. Even then, Ukraine will be devastated requiring a recovery that will last decades. Moreover, will Russia withdraw from all of Ukraine or remain in parts of East Ukraine? If they do not fully withdraw, would we continue to sanction Russia? Finally, are we willing to pressure President Zelensky to accept neutrality or a deal short of territorial integrity to end the war?

Second, what are our red lines on Russian behavior that demands a military response? We want to avoid direct U.S. or NATO attacks on Russian military forces to prevent escalation that leads to a nuclear war. Obviously, Russia invading any NATO country would trigger a military response under NATOs collective defense provision.

But what would the U.S. do if Russia uses biological or chemical weapons against Ukraine, tries to raze Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, or launches a cyberattack on the West? Russia has a history of all three actions, and all three actions would lead the public to demand a response. However, there are few additional economic sanctions to impose. Would we provide Ukraine with offensive weapons, launch a cyberattack on Russia, impose a no-fly zone, or bomb Russian chemical weapon storage facilities? How can we respond without escalating to nuclear war when Russian military doctrine favors a strategy that uses or threatens to use unconventional weapons to force concessions from their opponents?

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Third, how do we discourage third-party support of Russia? The effectiveness of the sanctions depends on other nations not helping Russia evade sanctions. Since China wants a strong Russia to change the liberal world order and India wants a strong Russia to counter China, both have incentives to help Russia skirt economic sanctions. However, aiding Russia may harm their world reputation and reduce their international influence. Moreover, assisting Russia may result in sanctions against companies in their country. Yet, we also need China and India to advance our economic, environmental, and security interests in Asia. The Administration may have to decide whether to overlook sanction violations or weaken the sanction regime to advance other interests in relation to our interests in Ukraine.

Fourth, how will China and other dictators view our response? The West needs to send a clear message that certain actions will cause tremendous damage to a nations economy and world position to deter the unacceptable actions.

To govern is to choose and those choices are sometimes difficult. Whether we want to prepare for a new cold war or a new world order, we need to answer these questions in the hope of creating a more just and lasting peace.

Sean Evans is the chair of the political science department at Union University. Reach him at 731-661-5237 or at sevafns@uu.edu.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: 4 questions about our Ukraine strategy | Opinion
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty

They do love The Godfather, all those menand its almost universally menwho quote the films well-worn lines, as if Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzos masterpiece of movie making, is also a darkly comic guide to creating and wielding power in America.

I once interviewed a former mobsterif such a person existswho described seeing The Godfather with a group of fellow criminals who were so pleased and excited afterward that they felt compelled to go out and hijack a truck to celebrate. Well, of course they loved The Godfather: It reinforces every sentimental cliche held dear by the members of a cult devoted to criminal enterprises performed by sociopaths who destroy lives and spread corruption you know, fun stuff.

Martin Scorsese Picks His Favorite Gangster Movies

As the torrents of reverential prose praising the film upon its fiftieth anniversary flood newspapers across America, its instructive to look at the individuals who inspired the film, their self-serving myth-making, and the ways The Godfather perpetuates those myths.

In his preface to the 1996 re-issue of his novel, Puzo wrote, Whenever the Godfather opened his mouth, in my own mind I heard the voice of my mother. I heard her wisdom, her ruthlessness, and her unconquerable love for her family and for life itself.

That explains a lot. And you have to give it to Puzo. He cunningly used this memory to reimagine a monstrous exploiter of weaker men as a benevolent father.

Its widely thought that Don Corleone is a composite of the heads of several mob families. Theres Frank Costello, who was known as the Prime Minister of the Underworld, owing to his political connections, professed abhorrence of violence, and his very public denial of involvement in the narcotics trade. Like Don Corleone, Costello had a quiet, raspy voicethe result of a botched childhood throat operation, though Costellos accent was far more resonant of the streets of New York than Brandos idiosyncratic creation.

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Don Corleone is said to have all the judges and politicians in his pocket, and that was certainly true of Costello who was the de facto boss of New Yorks Tammany Hall in the middle of the twentieth century.

Another model for the Don is Joseph Profaciknown as the Olive Oil Kingwho was head of one of the original five New York Mafia families. Like the Brando character, Profaci used an olive oil importing company as a cover for his less wholesome pursuits. Today, the Profaci family is still in the olive oil business. Unlike Al Pacinos Michael Corleone, the Profacis have succeeded in going legit. Its not exactly the Senator Corleone or Governor Corleone that Don Corleone wishes for his son, though one could argue that these days making good olive oil is a worthier calling than serving in the U.S. Senate.

But looming above these influences is the pretentious voice of another pioneering mob boss, Joseph Bonanno. His bestselling 1983 memoir, A Man of Honor, is based on the notion that old-school Mafia guys adhere to a lofty Sicilian tradition and moral code that was tossed aside by subsequent generations.

In Bonannos self-justifying autobiography, he refers to the heads of mob families as Fathers who uphold the tenets of their honorable society. Bonanno also displays a rare gift for self-praise, as in this inadvertently comic passage:

It is difficult to talk of oneself without prejudice. In general, people considered me an attractive man. They generally praised my charm and intelligence. I liked to dress well, but I preferred to evince an air of subdued good taste rather than gaudiness. My one touch of flamboyance was my pinky rings. I had rings displaying ruby, sapphire, jade, and onyx.

Now that is funny. But what is less amusing is the way that this man of honor denies any involvement in narcotics trafficking, a claim that is convincingly debunked by mob historian C. Alexander Hortis in his deeply researched book The Mob and the City.

In his memoir, Bonanno tells us, My tradition outlaws narcotics. It has always been that men of honor dont deal in narcotics. Alas, it aint so, according to Hortis, who writes, Mafiosi were involved in illegal narcotics almost from the beginning. Nor was the trafficking confined to younger, low-level underlings.

So, given the sordid history of the men who served as models for The Godfather, its appropriate to ask: Whatand whodo we love when we love The Godfather?

Of course, the film is easy to love with its haunting musical theme, one of the greatest ensemble casts in movie history, and its splendidly seductive laconic pace.

Take the masterfully directed opening scene in which Don Corleone bestows favors on the day of his daughters wedding as if the mob were the Italian version of Hadassah. Here we have the Mafia as a powerful family that protects its members and faithful friends from a hostile world as it dispenses its own form of justice.

This is certainly an alluring fantasy familiar to anyone who was bullied in childhood: The Mob vows to take down that thick-necked creep who stole your lunch money. No wonder so many grown-up men who were once frightened little boys love this movie and laugh with admiring glee when Brando promises to make the famous offer that cant be refused. Yeah, thats strangely funny, but not comfortably so, at least not to me.

Elsewhere The Godfather depicts mob life as consisting largely of the Corleone family playing a lethal game of tag with their rival mobsters.

The bad mobsters who want to sell narcotics try to kill the good mob boss (Brando). Then his son (Pacino) kills a bad mobster and a bad cop. Pacinos Michael Corleone is now it, so he must hide for a while in Sicily.

As this back-and-forth plays out, those who are shot or beaten by the Corleone family and their loyalists always deserve what they get. James Caans Sonny Corleone viciously batters his wife-beating brother-in-law with a garbage can; Richard Castellanos Clemenza famously leaves behind the gun and takes the cannoli as he oversees the murder of a disloyal security guard; and Abe Vagodas Tessio acquiesces to his own murder with professional decorum because he knows hes betrayed the family and its only right that he dies. The message is that good mobsters only kill for good reasons.

The problem with this vision of good and bad mobsters, of course, is that all the real mobsters were very bad.

And playing tag with other gangsters is not how old-school mobsters spent their abundant free time. Instead, they killed innocent people like union organizer Peter Panto, who stood up to the mobs control of the Brooklyn docks. Panto disappeared in 1938, and his body was found 18 months later buried in lime near Lyndhurst, New Jersey. But The Godfather doesnt tell that kind of story.

Finally, whats most galling about the film is that it never addresses the question: Where does all the money come from?

Brandos Don Corleone admits that he traffics in gambling and other activities which his politician friends consider to be harmless vices. Not mentioned is the fact that all mob businesses were made possible by the threat of violence or actual violence. Besides, no real mob family limited themselves to harmless vices. Their money came from loansharking, racketeering, prostitution, hijacking, and the like, pursuits that are not depicted in the film. So we never see, for example, members of the loving and loyal Corleone family threatening the owner of a small business or breaking the legs of a degenerate gambler whos behind on paying the vig.

None of which is to say that The Godfather isnt a masterpiece or that Coppola isnt a genius director. And yes, I know its just a movie, an entertaining fantasy about what some believe to be a quintessential American family. And yes, Coppola wasnt making a documentary, nor did he claim verisimilitude.

But the film is often called a work of art. So ifas I believethe best art emerges from a desire to tell the truth, its fair to ask why The Godfather fails to tell the whole truth about the world it inevitably celebrates, and why viewersmyself includedare seduced by the fantasy that masks the reality.

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MADRID (AP)  Morocco on Sunday reinstated its ambassador to Spain, effectively ending a 10-month row between the two key Mediterranean neighbors after Madrid shifted its long-standing position on Western Sahara, its former colony in North Africa.

But the move opened a new diplomatic front for Spain with Algeria  its other North Africa neighbor, a crucial natural gas supplier and Morocco's regional foe  which recalled its own ambassador to Madrid in protest for Spains U-turn.

Western Sahara, a vast territory largely barren but rich in phosphates and facing fertile fishing grounds in the Atlantic Ocean, is disputed between Morocco, which annexed it in 1976, and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front independence movement.

Karima Benyaich, the Moroccan envoy to Spain, on Sunday told Spanish state news agency EFE that she had returned to Madrid the day before, shortly after the Spanish government backed Rabat's plan to give more autonomy to Western Sahara as long as the territory remains under its grip.

In a letter to Moroccan King Mohammed VI, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called Rabat's proposal "the most serious, realistic and credible initiative for resolving the decades-long dispute.

The Polisario, however, has criticized Spain's shifting stance. The independence-seeking Sahrawis say the decision is a grave error that yields to Morocco's leverage over the control of migrants crossing into Europe.

They also accuse Madrid of taking sides in a dispute that for decades the Spanish government said could only be settled in a referendum to be held under the United Nations.

It's a pleasure to return to work in Madrid and strengthen the relations between Spain and Morocco in the way that our respective countries have determined, Benyaich was quoted by EFE.

Algeria, which has thrown its weight behind the Polisario, recalled its ambassador to Spain on Saturday, condemning Madrid's abrupt U-turn" in a statement.

A Spanish Foreign Ministry official said that Madrid had previously informed the Algerian government about its position regarding Sahara.

For Spain, Algeria is a strategic, priority and reliable partner with whom we intend to maintain a privileged relationship, the official, who was not authorized to be named in media reports, said.
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 17:33 Ukrainian defenders continue to destroy units of the Russian occupiers and their equipment with great professionalism. Source: the press centre of the DShV command [Command of the Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine] and the press service of the National Guard Details: The assault troops showed a video with the aftermath of the Russian armoured vehicles, together with their crews, destroyed by the artillery of one of the units of the D
Anti-abortion activists are expected to converge on the Capitol in Hartford on Wednesday, part of the movements state-by-state battle plan to limit abortion access if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

If God willing, Roe v. Wade is overturned this year, the battle will continue on the state level, and places like Connecticut will become the new front line, said Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut.

Traditionally, the March for Life is held in Washington, D.C., to mark the Jan. 23 anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in the U.S. nearly 50 years ago.

But in recent years, the National March for Life has begun organizing gatherings in state capitals around the country. One was scheduled in Hartford in April of 2020, but it was canceled due to the pandemic.

Its not necessarily a shift in strategy to the states, said Jeanne Mancini, president of the National March for Life Defense and Education Fund. But the energy [at the state level] has increased, and the enthusiasm is more fervent.

Activists on both sides of the abortion divide are awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court decision on abortion access in the U.S. The court is expected to rule this summer on a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks, a case that could weaken or overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that has guaranteed legal abortion since 1973.

Meanwhile, abortion-rights supporters are working to strengthen abortion access in blue states, including Connecticut. They are backing a proposal in the legislature to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution as well as a bill that would allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to perform the procedure.

Connecticut has historically been a leader on abortion access, said Liz Gustafson, state director of Pro-Choice Connecticut. The state codified the provisions of Roe v. Wade into state law in 1990, so even if the court repeals the landmark ruling, abortion will remain legal in Connecticut.

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As we look forward to a decision from the Supreme Court, our role wont be going backward but moving forward, Gustafson said. The anti-abortion movement might be realizing that, and thats why theyre coming here.

Christopher C. Healy, executive director of the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, the churchs lobbying arm, said the march will show the strength of the anti-abortion movement in the state.

Its going to be a historic event for the pro-life movement he said. The Catholic Conference is helping to organize the Hartford march.

Wolfgang predicted the march will be the biggest pro-life event in Connecticut in decades.

He said abortion critics are fired up about a new law, passed by the General Assembly last year and signed by Gov. Ned Lamont, that empowers the state attorney general to seek a court order to stop deceptive practices at crisis pregnancy centers, which counsel women against abortions.

Two dynamics are driving a new energy on the grassroots level, Wolfgang said. First is the excitement over the possible repeal of Roe v. Wade. The other is the new aggression on the pro-abortion side, attacking crisis pregnancy centers and allowing non-doctors to perform abortions.

The Connecticut March for Life will begin with a rally Wednesday at noon on the north side of the Capitol. In addition to Wolfgang, speakers will include Hartford Roman Catholic Archbishop Leonard Blair and Archbishop Leroy Bailey of First Cathedral in Bloomfield. After the rally, the group will march to Bushnell Park.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)  A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday reversed a decision that rejected a land swap aimed at allowing a road be built through an Alaska national wildlife refuge that is an internationally recognized habitat for migrating waterfowl.

A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the decision back to U.S. District Judge John Sedwick in Alaska for further consideration. Nine environmental groups had sued to stop the swap on the Alaska Peninsula.

Sedwick blocked an agreement that would have allowed the Interior secretary and King Cove Corp., an Alaska Native village corporation, to exchange land in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in the Aleutians East Borough to build a long-sought gravel road that would allow King Cove residents access to an all-weather airport in nearby Cold Bay for medical transports.

David Bernhardt, who was an Interior secretary under then-President Donald Trump, agreed to the land swap and environmental groups sued. The Biden administration joined King Cove Corp., the Agdaagux Tribe of King Cove, the Native Village of Belkofski and the state of Alaska in seeking the reversal of the district courts ruling.

Were very happy about the decision, King Cove Corp. spokesperson and Agdaagux Tribal member Della Trumble said in a statement. We will continue to work diligently to execute that decision.

Congress created the 486-square-mile (1,258-sq. kilometer) refuge in 1980. Izembek Lagoon holds one of the worlds largest beds of eelgrass, a rich food source for Pacific brant geese, endangered Stellers eider sea ducks and other migratory birds.

King Cove and Cold Bay are about 18 miles (29 kilometers) apart. With no road, the only access is by either boat or airplane.

The King Cove airport experiences frequent bad weather, making travel difficult. Residents for decades have sought a safer road to reach the airport in Cold Bay for medical evacuations.

Bernhardt noted in his 2019 decision that there had been over 70 medevacs from King Cove to Cold Bay, Anchorage or Seattle in the previous six years and that the U.S. Coast Guard handled about 20 medevacs at a cost of about $50,000 per rescue mission.

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The appeals court ruling means so much to the community of King Cove, said its mayor, Warren Wilson.

Environmental groups that were part of the lawsuit decried the decision.

The failure of Ninth Circuit to uphold the district courts decision to halt the proposed desecration of the Izembek refuge wilderness and wildlife that rely on it allows Interior to give away public lands to serve special interests at the expense of the American people, David C. Raskin, president of Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, said in a statement.

He added: We will use every means at our disposal to continue the fight to save the Izembek Refuge.

Dan Ritzman, director of the Sierra Clubs Lands Water Wildlife Campaign said the wilderness of the Izembek refuge is irreplaceable and globally significant for the wildlife that call it home. Pushing a road through the Refuge puts these valuable resources at immediate risk and goes against the will of the American public.

Even though the U.S. Department of Justice argued for the reversal, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has not decided whether she would support a road through the refuge.

She had planned to visit King Cove before making a decision but those plans were postponed and the trip has not been rescheduled.

Melissa Schwartz, an Interior Department spokeswoman, said in an email that officials are reviewing the appeals court decision and that she had no update on whether Haaland will still visit King Cove.

The appeals court panel split 2-1 in its decision. It found that Congress under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act gives the Interior secretary discretion to strike a balance between economic and social needs and environmental interests, and that Bernhardt did that when he said without a road, the residents needs wouldnt be adequately met.

The panel also found that Bernhardt didnt violate the Administrative Procedure Act by changing the position of former Interior Secretary Sally Jewel without adequate explanation, and that a special provision he had invoked for the land exchange provision was not subject to special procedures required under the conservation act.
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Unidentified armed attackers killed at least 11 Burkinabe soldiers and wounded eight more in Burkina Faso's Est region on Sunday, four sources in the state military told Reuters.

The region is among those hit by rising insecurity as jihadist groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State seek to gain control over once peaceful territories in West Africa's Central Sahel region.

The sources did not share further details on the latest attack and there was no immediate comment from the government.

The ruling military junta seized power in a January coup against President Roch Kabore, blaming him for failing to contain surging violence by Islamist militants that has killed thousands of people and forced more than 2 million to flee their homes in the Sahel.

(Reporting by Thiam Ndiaga; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
STORY: Australian coal producers have been bombarded with calls for supply over the past few weeks from Ukraine and other countries like Poland that have been reliant on Russian supplies.

An additional $AUD 21 million military assistance  including items such as ammunition and body armour  and $AUD 30 million humanitarian aid will be directed to Ukraine. This comes on top of the $AUD 105 million already pledged.

Morrison also said there would be an immediate ban on exports of alumina and aluminium ores, including bauxite, to Russia. He said the move will limit their capacity to produce aluminium, which is a critical export for Russia.
A body was found in a vacant home in Baltimores Upton neighborhood, police say. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

A body was found in a vacant home in Baltimores Upton neighborhood, police say.

Baltimore Police spokeswoman Chakia Fennoy said officers were called to the 2000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue on Friday for a report of human remains inside a home.

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The remains were taken to the Medical Examiners office, Fennoy said. No identity or cause of death was available.

Baltimore officials announced just more than a week ago it would send about $100 million from its pot of federal American Rescue Plan money on rehabilitation of vacant properties and other housing programs. The city has about 15,000 vacant homes.

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Earlier this year, three Baltimore firefighters were killed when a burning vacant home partially collapsed. A fourth firefighter was seriously injured.

That prompted Mayor Brandon Scott to order a 30-day review of vacant property work done by city agencies  which led to 50 recommendations, including review of the citys permitting process and additional assistance for homeowners.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) arrives for the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.





Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on Sunday called for President Biden to travel to NATO's most eastern front and to make further commitments to the military alliance when he travels to Europe later this week.

Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Barrasso said there were three things Biden must do if he wishes to "lead from the front, rather than leading from behind."

"Number one is he needs to tell NATO that we collectively are going to supply the people of Ukraine things that they know how to use, whether it's drones, planes, missile systems," Barrasso said. "Number two, he has to say that he is going to go from Brussels to the eastern front of NATO to show the resolve of NATO and the United States commitment as well."

The final action that Barrasso said Biden must do while visiting NATO this week is to tell European allies that the U.S. will increase its liquefied natural gas exports to make up for the Russian energy that they rely on.

While the U.S. has sanctioned Russian energy, Europe has so far held off on issuing a similar action due to its strong reliance on Moscow's exports.

"The president needs to lead by saying we're going to increase production of oil and natural gas in the United States. We're going to send it to you and we - that's what leadership is all about. I have legislation in a bipartisan way to make that possible," Barrasso added.
BRIDGEWATER  Civil rights activists held a press conference outside the Bridgewater Police Department on Saturday to call for action after two officers response last week to a fight at Bridgewater Commons is being questioned as racially motivated.

Z'Kye Husain, a Black eighth grade student from Somerville, is shown in a now viral video being forcefully detained by Bridgewater police following a fight with another teen at the mall.

"Last Saturday (Husain) stood up to a bully, defending someone smaller and younger than him, and he was met with not one, but two knees in his back," said Enrie Simms, Husain's aunt.

"How many more people need to die for change?" Simms asked. "I'm not going to wait for my nephew to die to stand up for him. I stand for Kye, and I am Kye.

The video shows Husain and Umar Joseph Franco, a sophomore at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, arguing and pointing fingers at each other. That leads to pushing and shoving, and the Black teen, Husain, is thrown to the floor and handcuffed while Franco is placed on a nearby couch.

"I'm very upset at what's happened because I have three sons, said North Plainfield resident Joy Anderson-Manning. I'm shocked, but not surprised that this is still going on. (This) is everyday life in Black America."

"The police took it to a different level, she added. This was very racist, and the two officers need to be fired.

READ: Here's how Bridgewater was trying to improve police-community relations before mall fight

The event, which drew more than 100 people, was organized by Lawrence Hamm, chairman of the People's Organization of Progress.

"It was outrageous what happened to (Husain)," Hamm said. "We want police brutality to stop here in Bridgewater."

According to event organizers, the demands of the activists include the two officers shown in the video be fired, the mayor and Township Council issue an apology to the Husains family, and there must be a thorough investigation into the Bridgewater Police Department.

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Ben Crump, a nationally recognized civil rights attorney who has represented the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Trayvon Martin, has been retained to represent the Husain family.

The video prompted the NAACP to call for the officers to be removed from the Bridgewater Police Department pending an investigation by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.

"The time for the governor and attorney general to put a stop to this type of behavior by the police is now," Richard T. Smith, president of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference, said earlier in the week.

The "racially disparate treatment is deeply, deeply disturbing," Murphy said Wednesday.

The Bridgewater Police Department previously said in a statement they "recognize that this video has made members of our community upset and are calling for an internal affairs investigation. The officers were able to respond quickly to this incident and stop it from escalating because of a tip we received from the community."

Bridgewater announced Friday that its regularly scheduled Township Council meeting this coming Thursday has been canceled.

Email: alewis@njpressmedia.com

Alexander Lewis is an award-winning reporter and photojournalist whose work spans many topics. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bridgewater NJ mall fight: Civil rights leaders demand action
Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street February 09, 2022 in London, England. Leon Neal/Getty Images

Boris Johnson said it's the instinct of both Ukraine and the UK to "choose freedom every time."

He cited Brexit as a "famous recent example," sparking outrage over the comparison.

Comparing the referendum to the war is an "insult to every Ukrainian," Liberal Democrat Ed Davey said.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson sparked anger on Saturday for drawing a comparison between Ukraine fighting off a Russian invasion and the British voting in favor of leaving the European Union.

"I know that it's the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom every time," Johnson said during a speech at the Conservative Party's Spring Conference in Blackpool, adding that he had a "couple of famous recent examples."

"When the British people voted for Brexit in such large, large numbers, I don't believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners. It's because they wanted to be free, to do things differently, and for this country to be able to run itself," Johnson said.

Johnson was talking about the contentious 2016 vote in which a slim majority voted in favor the UK leaving the EU, with 52% voting to leave and 48% voting to remain. He also said another example was when the British people chose to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

His Brexit comments sparked swift criticism from other UK and European political figures.

Guy Verhofstadt, the former prime minister of Belgium, called the comparison "insane." Donald Tusk, the president of the European People's Party, said Johnson's remarks "offend Ukrainians, the British, and common sense."

Ed Davey, leader of the UK's Liberal Democrats, said in a tweet that Johnson was a "national embarrassment."

"To compare a referendum to women and children fleeing Putin's bombs is an insult to every Ukrainian," he said.

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Gavin Barwell, a Conservative and former member of UK Parliament, said in a tweet: "Apart from the bit where voting in a free and fair referendum isn't in any way comparable with risking your life to defend your country against invasion + the awkward fact the Ukrainians are fighting for the freedom to join the EU, this comparison is bang on."

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month after the invasion began that he had officially applied to make Ukraine a member of the EU.

Downing Street did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) speaks with reporters outside the Capitol





Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Sunday said that the use of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine should be considered a "red line" by the U.S. and NATO.

Cheney, during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," told host Chuck Todd that "we, in the West, United States and NATO, need to stop telling the Russians what we won't do."

"We need to be very clear that we are considering all options and use of chemical weapons is certainly something that would alter our calculation," she said.

She added Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions so far have demonstrated that the Russian military is nowhere near as capable as the world perhaps thought it was and "probably not as capable as Putin thought it was."

"And they need to understand that if the brutality here increases, the United States will contemplate and consider every possible range of actions along with our NATO allies," she added.

The Wyoming Republican added that it's important that Russia knows that "we will contemplate changing the calculation in terms of humanitarian challenges and the humanitarian devastation the Ukrainian people are facing."

Cheney's statements come as the U.S. has grown increasing more concerned that Russia may use chemical weapons in Ukraine. Russia accused the U.S. of housing biological weapons in Ukrainian territory earlier this month - a statement the White House has rejected.

The U.S. has warned that Russia may be making such claims to lay false pretexts for a potential attack by Moscow.
China's ambassador to the US, Qin Gang, on "Face the Nation" on Sunday. CBS News

China's ambassador to the US said condemning Russia for its invasion "doesn't solve the problem."

Qin Gang said on CBS News that China was sending food and other aid while seeking deescalation.

President Joe Biden has warned China against providing support to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

China's ambassador to the US on Sunday scoffed at a question about condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ambassador Qin Gang told CBS News' Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation" that China wanted "friendly, good neighborly relations with Russia." Brennan pushed back on the topic, asking, "Why can't you condemn this as an invasion?"

"Don't be naive," Qin said. "It doesn't solve the problem. I would be surprised if Russia will back down by condemnation."

Qin said China had called for peace talks and a cease-fire, touting what he called the country's "unique position" with Russia given their shared borders and interests.

"China's trusted relations with Russia, it's not a liability  actually it's an asset in the international efforts to solve the crisis in a peaceful way," Qin said. "China is part of the solution. It's not part of the problem."

While China's leader, Xi Jinping, has called for "restraint" from Russia during its invasion, those in the country have also parroted Russian propaganda about the war, Insider's Linette Lopez reported.

"We have already made it very clear that, you know, national sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, should be respected and protected," Qin said. "But as I said, condemnation only cannot work. What we need is good diplomacy based on vision, wisdom, and courage."

President Joe Biden has warned Xi against providing support to Russia to aid its war effort. On CBS, Brennan asked Qin whether China would send money and weapons to Moscow.

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"There's disinformation about China providing military assistance to Russia. We reject that," Qin responded. "What China is doing is send foods, medicine, sleeping bags, and baby formula  not weapons and ammunition to any party, and we are against a war, as I said, you know, we will do everything to dis-escalate the crisis."

Top US officials have said Russia asked China for military and economic assistance for the invasion of Ukraine, though officials did not say what types of weapons Russia asked for.

"China has normal trade, economic, financial, energy cooperation with Russia," Qin said Sunday. "These are the normal, normal business between two sovereign countries."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Christie Brinkley is jumping for joy ... right into the ocean.

The supermodel, 68, shared a joyful video from her tropical vacation in the Turks and Caicos on Saturday that showed the stunner jumping into the water while wearing a strapless navy swimsuit.

Set to the soundtrack of Dean Martin singing "Volare," Brinkley can be seen jumping off a dock into the crystal blue water with a pair of flippers in her hand.

"My happy heart is singing!" Brinkley captioned the post, quoting the famous song. "Grazie mille amici miei!" she wrote, which translates to "thank you, my friends."

Later on Saturday, Brinkley shared another shot from the water as she went boating with friends. Wearing a pair of black sunglasses and toting a straw hat, Brinkley smiled brightly for the camera in a paisley blue dress, as she propped her long legs up. "A day on the water floats my boat!" she captioned the photo.

Earlier this week, Brinkley shared a bit of her wellness regimen from her time on the island.

"Morning swim on a deserted beach is my favorite way to start a day," Brinkley shared. "Whenever I am in a natural setting I prefer to exercise outside. ... Here I love to ride my bike on the trails and at low tide on the beaches. I always try to get my exercise in fun ways, because if its not fun you probably wont stick with it."

Brinkley continued, sharing that she "really loves to swim along the shoreline with fins and goggles, and then work a different set of muscles by swimming without the fins."

"I feel that the more chaotic the world becomes the more important it is to find ways to relax your mind and your body," she shared, before asking her 773,000 followers how they like to unwind.

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Brinkley has been having the time of her life on vacation. Last week, she soaked up the sun at the COMO Parrot Cay resort, where she has a private estate. Photographed strolling through the surf in a pale blue swimsuit, Brinkley stared up at the clouds with a beach hat around her neck and a pair of black sunglasses on her face.

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Marc Guehi celebrates the opener for Crystal Palace against Everton (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)

Crystal Palace put Everton to the sword with a 4-0 thrashing in the FA Cup quarter-finals to book their spot at Wembley and help Marc Guehi end the perfect week on another high note.

The centre-back shut out Premier League leaders Manchester City on Monday, earned a maiden England call-up three days later and broke the deadlock in the 25th-minute with a deft header to set Patrick Vieiras side on course for a convincing victory.

Jean-Philippe Mateta doubled the Eagles lead before half-time and the hosts never looked back with Wilfried Zaha and Will Hughes able to wrap up the result with further late efforts.

It continues the momentum built in Vieiras debut season in the Palace dugout, with the former Arsenal midfielder unbeaten in his last 19 FA Cup ties and set to lead the south London club out at Wembley for the semi-final next month.

Defeat piled more misery on opposite number Frank Lampard, who turns his attention back to the Toffees relegation plight following another day to forget for the Merseyside outfit.

A wave of noise greeted Everton onto the Selhurst Park pitch but they made stronger start out of the two bottom-half teams.

The absence of several players saw Andros Townsend get the nod against his old club and his early free kick created a half-chance for Michael Keane that was scuffed wide.

Richarlison had two penalty appeals waved away soon after before he blazed over and headed another effort off target during a frantic opening 10 minutes where the hosts young team looked nervous.

Evertons momentum was halted in the 12th minute when Townsend suffered what appeared to be a serious injury to his left knee, which saw the ex-Palace winger hobble off to applause from both sets of supporters.

The break in play helped Vieiras men settle down and they started to get into their stride with Michael Olises corner almost catching out Jordan Pickford, who punched the inswinger over for a second consecutive set-piece.

Another superb delivery was produced by Olise and this time the ball did end up in the net with Guehi able to glance a header into the bottom corner after 25 minutes.

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Palaces stand-in captain had endured a shaky start but marked Thursdays maiden England call-up with the all-important opener in south London.

It could have been 2-0 eight minutes later when Mateta found Zaha but the Ivory Coast international rifled into the side-netting under pressure from Ben Godfrey.

Everton remained a threat on the counter-attack and Richarlisons tame volley straight at Jack Butland in the 40th minute further highlighted this, but the Eagles extended their advantage 60 seconds later.

Ebere Eze  making only his fourth start of the campaign  combined with Zaha down the left before the latter cut back for Mateta, who drilled home and celebrated with his trademark kick of the corner flag.

Mateta might have doubled his tally before half-time but a stunning last-ditch tackle by visiting captain Seamus Coleman kept the deficit at two.

Lampard had seen enough and introduced Dominic Calvert-Lewin for Jonjoe Kenny, who was replaced in the left wing-back role by midfielder Anthony Gordon.

Gordon had to defend against Olise now and he was booked soon into his thankless task. A caution that would have ruled him out of a possible semi-final at Wembley.

Time was running out for the Toffees and substitute Demarai Gray could only hit a snapshot wide on the turn in the 66th minute.

Another weak Richarlison header was easy for Butland minutes later before the hosts finished with a flourish.

The third arrived 11 minutes from time when Zaha set up Olise and although his shot hit the post, Zaha, the Eagles top goalscorer was on hand to tap home from close-range and spark jubilant scenes at Selhurst Park.

Substitute Hughes added further gloss with a tap-in three minutes from time to spark que, sera, sera chants and send Palace back to Wembley for a fourth time during the last decade.
Private investigators hired by retired Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz say the Hall of Famer was targeted by a drug kingpin when he was shot in the Dominican Republic in 2019, a news report said Saturday.

Former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis and ex-CIA official Ric Prado said Cesar The Abuser Peralta put a price on Ortizs head because he was jealous of the baseball superstars fame on the island, The Boston Globe reported.

The findings by Davis and Prado contradict the official investigation by Dominican authorities, who said the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.

I accept what Ed and Ric are telling me, but how come no one in the Dominican justice system has told me this is how it went down? Ortiz told the Globe.

Peralta was operating freely in the Dominican Republic when Ortiz was shot at a bar in Santo Domingo on June 9, 2019. He was arrested in Cartagena, Colombia in December 2019, and is now in a federal prison in Puerto Rico awaiting trial on charges of conspiring to import drugs.

Peraltas lawyer told the Globe his client had nothing to do with the shooting, claiming: As bad as Cesar Peralta is, its not even close to being in the ballpark to say he had something to do with this.

Authorities allege Peralta ran a cocaine and heroin smuggling ring through the Dominican Republic to the U.S. and other nations. Two months after the Ortiz shooting, several of his associates, including two ex-MLB players, were arrested in the island nation.

Peralta claimed that he and Ortiz were close friends, the Globe reported. Ortiz said they only had a casual relationship.

Ortiz was shot in the back at point blank range.

Authorities in the Dominican Republic have said the gunman, 25-year-old Rolfi Ferreira-Cruz, thought Ortiz was a different man, Sixto David Fernandez.

But Ortiz and Fernandez do not look alike. Davis and Prados private investigation found that Peralta wanted both Ortiz and Fernandez dead and put out the hit on both of them, the Globe says.

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The investigators said video showed the shooter pointing his gun at Fernandez after pumping the shot into Ortiz, but the gun jammed.

The private investigators said Dominican authorities didnt want to implicate Peralta because he had ties to government officials, who wouldve been exposed as corrupt if Peralta started talking to police.

According to Dominican authorities, the shooting was masterminded by Luis Alfredo Rivas-Clase. He was shot dead in September 2021 while on the run. Several other men connected to the shooting are awaiting trial. Peralta is not among them.

Davis and Prado said Dominican investigators did not cooperate with their probe.

To be honest, when you live in a country where justice is corrupted, you want to believe (what the government alleges) but you also will disagree, and that was what was going on at the time, Ortiz told the Globe.
Two people were shot late Saturday night at Whiskey River on Ingersoll Avenue, Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said.

At 11:37 p.m. Saturday officers responded to the bar at 2301 Ingersoll Ave., Parizek said. One man was found there with a gunshot wound and taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. He is expected to survive, Parizek said.

Later, a second man walked into a West Des Moines hospital with a minor gunshot wound, Parizek said. Police determined the shooting was also from the Whiskey River incident, Parizek said.

The shooting stemmed from a dispute at the bar, Parizek said. No arrests had been made by Sunday morning, but police were investigating.

Philip Joens covers breaking news for The Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-443-3347 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 2 people injured in a Des Moines shooting at Whiskey River, police say
The Mount Airy Police Department will soon equip its officers with body cameras, after receiving state funding to purchase the equipment, Chief Douglas Reitz said.

A $42,098 grant from the Maryland Governors Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services has been released by the Mount Airy Town Council to the vendor WatchGuard to purchase the 16 cameras, including equipment, software and a three-year warranty, Reitz said.

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Reitz said the body cameras will help improve police transparency and public trust during police-resident interactions. Body cameras were initially proposed as a police accountability tool after the police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2013, and Eric Garner in New York City in 2014. In 2015, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland conducted a study that found that the rate at which Black Americans die in such encounters is five times the rate for whites, or that more than 40% of those who died were unarmed.

Its all about accountability  and the professionalism of the police officers. You get to see [situations] firsthand on video as opposed to just trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, Reitz said.

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The Mount Airy Police Department is staffed with nine sworn officers. The departments body camera program was established to comply with regulations in the Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021  a law requiring all county-level law enforcement agencies in the state to adopt body cameras by July 2025. The Hampstead Police Department has used WatchGuard body cameras since June 2020 and other regional departments are working to implement programs.

Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. >

Reitz said the Mount Airy Police Department wanted to be proactive and implement the body cameras before the deadline.

Weve kind of seen this coming down the road, Reitz said. Were currently in the process of training [officers] and getting everything set up, issuing the cameras out, and getting the system up and running.

In 2020 and 2021, Mount Airy officers were part of a pilot program in Carroll County to test body cameras.

We tested [WatchGuard] and thats the cameras we elected to go to as far as the hardware and programming, Reitz said.

Mount Airy police already use a WatchGuard in-car camera system that will connect with the new bodycameras, Reitz added.

[They] can be linked together  so it was a just logical step for us to take to get that equipment for that purpose, Reitz said. Theres a lot of different cameras and systems out there that you can purchase ... but this is the one that seemed to work best for us.

The goal is to have Mount Airy officers wearing the cameras by early summer, Reitz said.
Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast

Even if youre not a Christian you probably know about baptism. Baptism, for every denomination, is the entrance point into Christianity. As Pope Francis said last September, the day of our baptism is the day on which we were saved, it is the day on which we became children of God. Without it, Dante and many modern evangelicals say, you cant gain access to heaven, which means that you go to that other place. But maybe theres a loophole.

Tucked away in one of the Bibles most well-worn passages is a reference to Baptism for the Dead. In a passage about resurrection in 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul argues that of course people must have a bodily afterlife because if they dont get resurrected why do people perform baptism for the dead? (1 Cor 15:29). Paul isnt necessarily endorsing the position but his reference to the practice suggests that something curious was going on. Today regular baptism involves not just immersion in water or the trickling water on the forehead, but also some kind of assent or confession of belief. That assent is provided either by the person themselves or, if they are too young, by a childs parents or godparents.

In the early church baptism was more exclusive. Admission into full participation in the Christian community entailed meeting some high standards and completing an initiation program known today as catechism. In the early church, the period of preparation was lengthy and required the modification of ones lifestyle. Ideally a person would be admitted into full membership in the church after three years of preparation, an exorcism, and an all-night vigil. How does a dead person do any of this? Is it some kind of funerary ritual? An errant scene from Weekend at Bernies that ended up on the cutting room floor? Its confusing.

Dave Lincicum, a professor at the University of Notre Dame told me, that 1 Corinthians 15 is the lone sighting of postmortem baptism in the New Testament. It has interpreters scratching their heads. The most likely option, said Lincicum, is that the passage refers to the vicarious baptism of a live Christian on behalf of those who had died. The reason it was performed, said Lincicum, is a desire to help loved ones: Recent gentile converts taken with the early Jesus movement and its salvific benefits wanted to extend those perceived benefits to their dead family and friends and found a way to do that in being baptized on behalf of them.

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In a fascinating article on the subject published in Apocrypha, Lincicum argues that the second century text the Acts of Paul and Thecla contains an example of vicarious baptism. According to the story, Thecla, a respectably engaged aristocrat, falls for the mental charms and ascetic message of the comparably blue-collar Apostle Paul. In the story Thecla puts off her baptism until the last possible moment. She is sent to the arena at Antioch to die at the paws of wild beasts but baptizes herself in the name of Jesus Christ by diving into a pool of ravenous man-eating seals (why, yes, you did read that correctly and, yes, swimming with seals sounds like something VIPs do at SeaWorld. But I digress).

Its clearly a scene of self-baptism, which ruffles the feathers of later generations of male commentators, but it may also be something else. Lincicum notes that the story is intermingled with that of a wealthy but righteous woman named Tryphaena, whose daughter Falconilla had died some time before. He told me that earlier in the story Falconilla appeared to her mother in a dream and named Thecla as a substitute (in my place). The point was that Thecla would pray for Falconilla and Falconilla would hopefully be translated into the place of the righteous. Tryphaena consented and confirmed that Thecla would be this substitute by calling her my second child. Crucially though, we only learn that the prayer works after Theclas auto-baptism. Its then that Tryphaena proclaims that her child lives. Of course, she does mean Thecla who miraculously exits the arena alive, but the story also suggests that the baptism works for Falconilla. You might call it a two-fer.

That someone would write this kind of story isnt just a sign that people practiced baptism for the dead it also shows how beguiling the reference in 1 Corinthians was to even ancient readers. The throwaway line about a 'baptism for the dead', said Lincicum, is begging for an apocryphal interpretation, and I think [the] author [of the Acts of Paul and Thecla] has given it just that - in a sense also taming it, by portraying it as an exceptional practice connected to the arena and martyrdom.

Other than these somewhat exceptional examples we know a bit more about post-mortem baptism from the heresiologists who condemn it. Relatively quickly, baptism for the dead becomes stigmatized by the groups that become orthodox. They associate baptism with schismatic or heretical groups like the followers Montanus (a charismatic who practiced dream incubation and allowed women prophets), Marcion (a Roman teacher who did not use the Hebrew Bible), and Cerinthus (who believed that the resurrection would be a gastronomic and sexual orgy).

We dont actually know if these groups did practice vicarious baptism for the dead, but the descriptions are eye-opening. John Chrysostom the Bishop of Antioch claims that when a catechumen died before receiving baptism the Marcionites would have a living person hide under the body and answer baptismal questions for the dead. They would subsequently be baptized on their behalf. This makes sense: if hiding under a dead body playing ventriloquist doesnt make you want to take a bath, what will? His rough contemporary Filaster, Bishop of Brescia in Northern Italy, says that the Montanists didnt practice vicarious baptism but instead baptized the dead directly. This sounds like a modified funeral ritual.

Taking an entirely different approach, Valentinian Gnostics apparently read 1 Cor. 15:29 as a reference to angels being baptized vicariously on our behalf so that we could become like angels through our own baptism. Most ancient interpreters, however, took the more mundane view that Baptism of the Dead is a reference to our own living-and-breathing but spiritually dead bodies, which become alive through baptism.

The only Christ-believing group to interpret 1 Corinthians 15 as a license to practice proxy baptism today is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism). In Mormon theology this baptism of the dead is understood as an act of love for deceased family members, but it does not necessarily confer salvation on the deceased. The dead person residing in spirit prison must consent to their baptism for it to be efficacious. The practice has not been without controversy as posthumous baptism is not limited to immediate family members. The practice of baptizing Holocaust victims drew wide ranging criticism in the 1990s and in 2012 the Church had to apologize when it was revealed that it had baptized Anne Frank.

Safeguards to prevent the posthumous baptism of Holocaust victims have been put in place, but its clear that young members of the Church in particular enjoy being baptized on behalf of historys celebrities and celebrity adjacent. Marilyn Monroe, Carrie Fisher, the grandparents of Donald Trump and Steven Spielberg, and the mother of Queen Elizabeth II (and, presumably, now also Prince Philip) have all been baptized by proxy. Church authorities blocked attempts to baptize mass murderers Charles Manson and Stephen Paddock.

In mainstream Christianity, people usually only choose to skirt the rules about post-mortem baptism in the most heart-wrenching of circumstances. Stories about this often relate to the deaths of infants. A study of medieval miracle stories to do with pregnancy and childbirth described by medievalist Barbara Newman found that most prayers for stillborn children were for a baptismal reprieve rather than revivification. These miracles usually play by the book: The infant briefly opens its eyes, some water is splashed, a quick prayer delivered, and the child dies. Parents can take comfort in the knowledge that at least their child can go to heaven.

The tragic circumstances in which people perform baptism for the dead reveals its relatable central core: Its about metabolizing grief. It not only reassures people that their deceased loved ones are spiritually safe it also helps assuage the helplessness of loss. After the death of a loved one, when all the funeral arrangements and rituals are complete, possession are packed away, and nothing but memories remain, there is nothing left to do. Baptizing loved ones provides a positive (if arguably heretical) outlet for those feelings of helplessness. Its an active form of prayer that is psychically valuable for the living, if not the dead.

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Gov. Ron DeSantis' Press Secretary Christina Pushaw looks at her phone as DeSantis speaks during the 77th session of Florida American Legion Boys State at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center Tuesday, June 22, 2021.

The Florida GOP's Parental Rights in Education bill, more aptly criticized nationwide as the Don't Say Gay bill, would set back human understanding in the state by decades and harm those it pretends to protect.

In yet another Legislative intrusion into public education, HB 1557 would ban classroom discussion about sexual orientation in grades K-3. The prohibition represents a retreat from social enlightenment while promoting homophobia and stirring the anxieties and depression that gender intolerance causes.

The bill has passed the Republican-controlled Legislature and awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature. While the governor has not said whether he will sign it, comments by his Press Secretary Christina Pushaw left little doubt. She likened opponents of the bill to pedophiles. If youre against the Anti-Grooming bill, you are probably a groomer or at least you dont denounce the grooming of 4-8-year-old children. she said.

Rachel Needle, a licensed clinical psychologist and certified sex therapist in West Palm Beach, this week correctly called out that remark as "... just an awful, incorrect assumption and misunderstanding of anything related to sexual orientation."

Rachel Needle (Contributed)

Needle noted she'd given credit to the governor's wife, Casey DeSantis, for efforts to bolster mental health treatment in the state. "This is the exact opposite," the psychologist told The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board. "This could damage children and their mental health."

The American Psychological Association has also condemned the bill, as has the U.S. Surgeon General and the White House.

"Prohibiting classroom discussion on these topics sends the message that identifying as LGBTQ is inherently wrong, stigmatizing and marginalizing children who may realize their difference at a young age," the APA said in a recent statement. "Psychological research has shown that increased social isolation and stigma can lead to depression, anxiety, self-harm and even suicide."

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Supporters of the bill argue that no 4-8-year-old needs to know about sexual orientation or gender identity. However, research shows gender awareness often begins early, around the age when schoolyard bullying does. That presents an appropriate moment, when it arises, for countering intolerance with education, even if that means countering some parents' reluctance to broach the topic.

This bill is consistent with so much that has come out ot Tallahassee this year, driving culture wars through the schoolhouse gates by banning books, banning discomfiting unpleasantries from curricula and demonizing science-supported anti-COVID policies. (Don't wear a mask, boys and girls or the governor will snap at you.)

It's all just base politics, right? But it's not. It's hurtful, dehumanizing and a grooming of bigotry. Demonizing mere discussion of gender identity sends a message that anyone who doesn't identify as heterosexual should be viewed as "other," that anyone who celebrates or even tolerates diversity is suspect.

As U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in opposing the bill: Learning that people are different and that not all families look the same  these are important lessons that start early in life, including in school. They help create a society based on understanding and respect. They help children know they belong even if they are different.

As reported in FloridaPolitics.com, Murthy, a product of Florida public schools, added that, "as a kid who often felt I didnt belong, it helped tremendously when teachers openly discussed our different backgrounds. This built understanding and reduced shame."

By contrast, the Florida bill would prevent or criminalize efforts to foster understanding and would hurt children and families, he added. "It shuts down dialogue instead of nurturing healthy conversation."

It sends a powerful and harmful message to today's LGBTQ+ youth that they are not accepted, puts them in harm's way and un-teaches lessons our society should have learned long ago.

Florida must embrace its diversity as a strength, not shun it. The governor must put politics aside, stand up for humanity and veto this bill.

 Palm Beach Post Editorial Board

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Editorial: 'Don't Say Gay' bill sends harmful message to kids, adults
DELRAY BEACH  Dozens of supporters of Ukraine, including Ukrainian-Americans, gathered in Old School Square on Saturday afternoon to call on U.S. government officials to do more to help the besieged country fend off the Russian army.

Many of the speakers called on the federal government to send more weapons and aid to the country.

This week, as Russian forces continued their assault on Ukraine, President Joe Biden warned Chinese President Xi Jinping not to help Russia.

Days before, fighting for his countrys survival, Ukraines leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, made a desperate plea Saturday to American lawmakers for the United States to help get more warplanes to his military and cut off Russian oil imports.

Supporters of Ukraine rally at Old School Square in Delray Beach Saturday, March 19, 2022.

'They destroyed everything that was important to our hearts': Ukrainian-born chef cooks comfort dishes to support war-torn homeland

Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues: Russia uses first hypersonic missile in Ukraine; UN civilian-casualty estimate rises

Earlier: Biden warns Xi of supporting Russia as US-China relations face 'crossroads' over Ukraine invasion

As rally attendees told their stories to the crowd, some in Ukrainian, others waved flags and signed petitions to be sent to government officials.

Delray Beach City Commissioner Juli Casale said that the federal government should be doing more, like closing the airspace over Ukraine.

"This is not a party problem; it's a people problem," she told the crowd.

Mariya Marych, her daughter Mila Cherntskyy, and husband Anton Cherntskyy rally with supporters of Ukraine rally at Old School Square in Delray Beach Saturday, March 19, 2022. "It's beyond despicable.. only god can help us," said Marych, of Parkland. "All of them are relatives. I don't sleep at night; my mind can never be the same."

A handful of people told stories of their families still living in Ukraine, most of them in bomb shelters with limited food and water.

Anton Grytsenko is one of those with family hiding from the bombs. He was one of the rally organizers.

"They are all hiding in shelters, that is why this is so important to me," he said.

galbert@pbpost.com

@Gerard_Albert3

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Delray rally for Ukraine calls for federal action to fend off Russia
A driver who fatally struck a man crossing the street in Aurora also died when he stopped to try to help the pedestrian, Colorado police said.

A second vehicle hit the driver, killing him, at 7:50 p.m. Friday, March 18, near the intersection of East Colfax Avenue and North Uvalda Street, Aurora police said in a news release.

A Mitsubishi sedan hit a man crossing the street outside a crosswalk, killing him, police said. The driver pulled over and got out to try to help the pedestrian.

A passing Mercury Mountaineer hit the driver, who later died at a hospital, police said. The second driver also pulled over and cooperated with police.

Investigators do not believe drugs or alcohol are involved in either accident, police said.

They ask that anyone with information or dash cam video call police at 630-256-5330.

Skier swept away by avalanche dies after being hurled into tree, Colorado officials say

People never stop. Woman, child die in school crosswalk crash, California cops say

Mattress flies off truck and causes crash that kills 20-year-old, Washington cops say
The endangered snail kite is making a comeback, thanks to a partnership between University of Florida researchers, state/federal wildlife and water management officials.

We know whether the Everglade snail kite becomes more or less endangered every few hours. At least we do at Lake Tohopekaliga (Lake Toho, for short) an 18,810-acre lake located southeast of Kissimmee.

A University of Florida research team is always counting. They use GPS trackers, nest cameras and airboats, not to mention old-fashioned binoculars, to verify the data that comes in through the gadgetry.

The constant updates inform decisions on whether to let water in or out of the lake. It also guides decisions to restrict access around nests or rip out weeds to make way for bass and tour boats without starving the bird.

Even if you dont care about birds, this work might protect something you do care about  bass, if youre a fishing enthusiast; ducks, if youre a hunter; airboat tours, if youre a visitor, business owner or employee; and tax dollars, if youre a Floridian who benefits from the economic activity a healthy home for the snail kite generates.

UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences ecologist Rob Fletcher leads the statewide snail kite monitoring program. Fletcher is largely responsible for providing scientific information to answer questions of when to turn the lakes plumbing on and off and other human controls on a wild space surrounded by busy boulevards, condos and commerce.

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the South Florida Water Management District depend on the data in deciding what to do at the lake and elsewhere throughout the kites range.

That range includes Everglades National Park, Lake Okeechobee, Lake Kissimmee and Lake Istokpoga in Highlands County. Its even been spotted on Paynes Prairie outside Gainesville and in the Panhandle.

The kite takes its name from where it was first spotted more than a century ago.

Fletcher just wants what the agency officials want  the data and insights they need to make the best possible decisions. They all want you  and your grandchildren  to have the chance to see such a rare bird.

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If you do see it, you can help Fletcher and his team by recording your sighting at eBird, where you can see where others have spotted it.

Angle

Fletcher wanted me to see it too, so he and the FWCs snail kite expert Tyler Beck took me out on Lake Toho. And they brought along their colleague Vicki Garcia of USFWS, which enforces the Endangered Species Act.

That it only took about 15 minutes from the moment I stepped out of my car until I had a kite in my sights testified to how well theyre doing their job.

The snail kite is one of conservations success stories. Though it remains on the federal endangered species list, management efforts like that of the government-university team has helped the bird come back from the brink of extinction. In 2008 the population was down to about 750. Its nearly triple that today.

Thats why we need public support for environmental science. That can come in the form of funding, public participation in public policy forums, or citizen science initiatives like eBird.

New questions arise as conditions change. For example, when an invasive snail populated Lake Toho, officials needed to decide whether to better control the weeds upon which those snails feed. Was it a case of invasive species vs. endangered species? Fletcher, Beck and others discovered that the snail kite actually did just fine feeding on the exotic snail, and lake managers have adjusted their weed control strategy accordingly.

Beck and other agency officials make Fletchers work relevant. What they are doing is making it possible for us to live right up to the edge of where a bird struggles against extinction.

One of the strengths of a great public research university is the way it combines teaching with research. Graduate students in Fletchers lab count birds, document nest locations and track movement.

The field experience, education and collaboration with government agency professionals are preparing them to become the next generation of another small and select species  the wildlife scientist.

J. Scott Angle is the University of Floridas senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, as well as a leader of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). He can be reached ai jangle@ufl.edu or on Twitter @IFAS_VP

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Guest column: Signs of hope for endangered Everglades snail kite
LANCASTER  The second year of the coronavirus pandemic was a major concern for the Fairfield Department of Health, but Health Commissioner Joe Ebel said his staff did well.

The department's 2021 annual report highlighted health statistics from across the county, including vitality rates; COVID-19 cases, deaths and vaccinations; and other communicable diseases.

Between 2020 and 2021, there was a slight increase of pregnancies whose mothers were under 18 years old, and more births in general. There were also more deaths by COVID-19, and by suicide.

Ebel said the second year of the pandemic ran slightly smoother than the first, because the department already had one year of experience dealing with it under their belt, so changes were slightly easier to adapt to.

"Our standards had to change throughout the year, following (Centers for Disease Prevention and Control) guidelines. Also, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout started last year. We had the larger clinics for them, but as it became available, more pharmacies offered them, which reduced our need to administer them," Ebel said.

He added fighting disinformation surrounding vaccines proved difficult. A little more than half the county's population has received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine by the time of the report, and Ebel said it has been concerning.

"During the last pandemic with the H1N1 virus we saw a largely positive response to the vaccine once it was available. This time around, we saw a lot more reluctance from folks," he said. "However, we just have to keep an eye on trends and make sure people are aware of best practices and safety guidelines."

"Many of the deaths we saw in December 2021 and January this year were well into the Omicron variant wave."

Ebel added that the routine vaccination clinics, which offer the vaccines schools require for children, reopened last year after having to be shut down due to COVID-19. His concern, he said, is that some children may not be fully vaccinated, which could lead to possible outbreaks or illnesses. The clinics are being offered again, with appointments available and ready to be scheduled.

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Ebel explained the county's vitality stats can determine what his department focuses on throughout the year. Birth rates, especially the ages of the mothers, are one example of what programming could be pushed.

"Between 2020 and 2021, we had a slight increase of teen mothers under 18. We pay attention to that because of risk factors involved, like the risk they won't finish high school and other challenges the future may hold. We also need to be aware in case there's more education needed to help prevent or prepare people for teen pregnancy," he said. "Keeping track of those statistics also tells us what kind of support families may need in the future. Luckily, there has been an overall downward trend of teen pregnancies nationwide for the last 20 years."

Causes of death are another aspect of the vitality statistics the health department tracks. 2021 saw slightly more deaths than 2020, with categories like deaths by suicide and homicide seeing an increase.

"When it comes to causes of death, those can direct us to provide certain resources. Like with deaths by suicide, whether we need more intervention programming or assisting people with improving mental health," Ebel said. "Homicides were unusually high last year, but that's been trending up nationwide, especially in bigger cities."

The health department also pays attention to communicable diseases, even during a pandemic. Ebel said the trends tracked by health officials, reported daily and monthly, can point to potential outbreaks and help direct searches to find the cause.

"For instance, if there are areas of the county reporting higher-than-normal cases of a communicable disease, then we can look to find the root. It could be food-borne, or blood-borne. From there, we have to look at the area and try to find the source," Ebel said.

In 2020, there were 61 reported hospitalizations because of the flu; 2021 saw eight. There were more than double the cases of lyme disease, up from 15 in 2020 to 36 in 2021.

Ebel said the focus for 2022 will be to look at preventative care, rather than reactive.

"We'd like to get Fairfield County residents educated so we can work to stop disease outbreaks before they start. We're utilizing state and federal grant money to build these programs, and really working to emphasize stopping illnesses before they get out of hand, instead of having to work to react to them so much," he said.

Barrett Lawlis is a reporter with the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, part of the USA Today Network. You can share story ideas or comments with him at 740-681-4342 or send an e-mail to blawlis@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BarrettLawlis

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Fairfield Department of Health's 2nd year with pandemic easier
Thanks to the fatal hesitation of Western leaders, we are being forced to watch a crime, as Vladimir Putin  psychopath  assaults a peaceful nation whose leader kept pleading for NATO membership and was left in the lurch.

The spectacle is sickening.

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Putins mental degeneration has made him like Hitler, a mass-murderer who may now be addicted to killing. His career as a serial killer  which began with the poisoning of his critics  has reached the scale of war crimes, as anyone can see. He is slaughtering innocent men, women, and children, destroying their homes, attacking hospitals, conducting a scorched-earth campaign to reduce a neighbor nation to ruins.

And this madman still isnt happy: According to a number of well-informed accounts, he is frustrated.

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Why? Because the poor man feels insecure, and he just cant get over the collapse of the Soviet Union. This excuse for his atrocities is not only contemptible, it is a patent rationalization for an underlying insanity. Putins need for more power with which he can terrify, threaten, control, and  ultimately  kill is insatiable.

As if the challenge of building a vibrant, prosperous, free, and creative Russia were not glorious enough to exalt the spirit of any sane human being. And plenty of Russians would love to be part of that endeavor.

Putin locks them up.

We are helping the Ukrainians fight back, but we are not doing nearly enough. Putin makes it clear that he will keep up the slaughter for as long as his diseased ego prompts him to do it. And we cannot go to war with him because he has nuclear weapons.

So we are forced to just look on in despair  right?

Maybe not.

Back in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan dedicated himself to eradicating the Soviet system. With help from Mikhail Gorbachev, a gifted Russian reformer and one of the truly great men of the twentieth century, the Soviet system collapsed. Reagan and Gorbachev developed a synergistic partnership.

Reagan started the process by reportedly initiating secret directives  most of which are no doubt still classified  to undermine communism in the Soviet Union and destabilize the Soviet economy.

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But Reagan had the luxury of dealing with a Soviet gerontocracy  a collective leadership cadre that crumbled when the economic pressure got serious enough, and this gave Gorbachev his chance. The spending war that Reagan created with his Star Wars proposal caused the economic crisis that led to perestroika and glasnost.

The tragedy was that America and its allies failed to follow up as they should have. And we are still paying the price.

George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton never came up with the equivalent of a Marshall Plan to help Gorbachev transform Russia into a nation with which we could work in partnership. Clinton was too busy balancing the budget.

That was stupid.

So the window of opportunity closed, and then chaos ensued as the incompetent demagogue Boris Yeltsin shoved Gorbachev aside. After Yeltsins all-thumbs attempt to run the country failed, he turned things over to Putin.

Which put us where we are today.

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Unlike Reagan, who was dealing with a gerontocracy, Biden is dealing with a lone madman  an autocrat who may, for all we know, keep his oligarchic supporters (his kleptocracy, as people have called it) as terrified as everyone else. Anyone who challenges Vladimir Putin winds up poisoned. The oligarchs surely know this.

But perhaps we can increase the deadly fear of him among his sycophants  increase it to the point that, with some covert help from ourselves, they will launch a coup to protect themselves and the world from Putins madness. How much will their wealth be worth to them if Putin starts a nuclear war and kills ... everyone?

Perhaps we can even put a bounty on his head  offer cash rewards to anyone daring enough to apprehend him and bring him to justice before an international tribunal. Perhaps some Russian military men would start to talk it over carefully.

After all, they dont want to die any more than the rest of us do.

When Lindsay Graham wondered whether there might be a Brutus in Russia, he was on the right track.

And then we could do for post-Putin Russia what we should have done 30 years ago for Gorbachevs Russia: provide the kind of economic assistance that would make Russia a partner and bring it fully into the community of nations.

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Members of the general public like ourselves are not privy to classified deliberations and we have no idea how far the CIAs capabilities for covert operations may extend. But Biden and the members of the National Security Council should be exploring these possibilities vigorously.

The existing anti-Russian sanctions are designed to put so much pressure on Russia that something cracks. Lets go further and incentivize the Russians who command a bit of firepower to do the right thing, arrest the madman, and start to build a new and better Russia with our help.

Richard Striner is the author of Summoned to Glory: The Audacious Life of Abraham Lincoln.
Pam Taylor

By the time this appears in print, two things are sure  Kyiv, Ukraine, one of Europes oldest cities, will be changed forever, and the lives of all of us will be touched in some way.

Ukraine, the breadbasket of Europe, is rich in the natural resources coveted by others  oil, gas, minerals, abundant arable land, clean water and a warm-water port on the Black Sea. Its history is marred by war and suffering. Yet its strong, resilient people and its cultural traditions survive.

The invasion by the fascist autocrat Vladimir Putin is no surprise. Hes always been transparent about his goals  break up NATO and the European Union, weaken the U.S. and rebuild the old Soviet Union. By adopting the anti-gay rhetoric of extremist Russian Orthodox clergy, he retains control through the same kind of unholy alliance between religious leaders and rulers that exists in places like Iran and Saudi Arabia and goes back through the Crusades and the pharaohs of Egypt to the beginning of human history.

Religion provides the fervor (maybe the promise of 72 virgins, eternal glory for hastening the biblical End Times, or some other cosmic reward) and bodies for tyrants to use to gain wealth and power. Fortunately, our Constitutions First Amendment says, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.

To achieve these goals, Putin smashed cities in Chechnya and Syria and attacked Georgia. Before Donald Trump invited him to become campaign manager in 2016, Paul Manafort spent a decade as consultant for Ukraines oligarch-backed, anti-NATO Party of Regions and its former Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych. In 2014, Ukrainians tired of Yanukovychs corruption and his turn away from western democracy. They overthrew the Russian puppet government, and Yanukovych fled to Russia. Shortly afterward, Putin annexed Crimea.

Manafort succeeded in removing U.S. support for supplying weapons to Ukraine from the 2016 Republican Party platform. In 2018, Russian operative Marina Butina pleaded guilty to conspiring to infiltrate Republican-affiliated groups and events, including the National Rifle Association and the National Prayer Breakfast, to push Putin's agenda. The NRA allegedly illegally funneled Russian money to Mr. Trumps 2016 election campaign and paid for Republican legislators trips to Russia.

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Trump was impeached after he tried to extort Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by asking him to find dirt on political opponent Joe Biden in return for Trumps release of Congress-approved weapons. Putins supporters here in the U.S. continue to advocate for his version of fascist pseudo-Christian nationalism.

Besides direct military action, the threat of mutually assured destruction, and cyberwarfare, the Russian use of social media to undermine America has been very effective.

Tracked Russian trolls and bots are burrowed in on platforms everywhere, spreading nonsense like this: Mainstream media is fake news; Democrats are leftist murderers and pedophiles who support child trafficking; Hunter Biden something-laptop-Ukraine or China; George Soros (code word for Jews) is behind a New World Order plot to dominate the globe; crisis actors, woke people, elites, public schools and universities, Black Lives Matter, Antifa and the Deep State are in on the plot; lies and quackery about the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and especially about Dr. Anthony Fauci; and the biggest lie of all, that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was somehow stolen. The latest is that there are secret U.S. bioweapons labs in Ukraine, which are used for nefarious purposes.

A shocked talk show host commenting on Ukrainian refugees exclaimed, They look just like me! (Shes white.) Confirmed reports coming out of Ukraine are horrifying. I thought about refugees from wars in the Middle East and Africa, Myanmar, the Uyghurs in China, those fleeing gang wars in Haiti, Central and South America. As many as 68 million, by some estimates.

When it ends, when this madman is finished and theres no food, no water, no clothing, no shelter, no place to lay ones head, I wonder about the survivors. What will become of them?

Pam Taylor is a retired Lenawee County teacher and an environmental activist. She can be reached at ptaylor001@msn.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Pam Taylor: When the invasion is over, what happens to the survivors?
LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy chided Israel in an address to its parliament on Sunday, asking why it was not providing missile defences to his country or sanctioning Russia over its invasion.

Replying to Zelenskiy, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid was non-committal, saying in a statement that Israel, which has sent a field hospital and other humanitarian aid to Ukraine, would continue to assist its people "as much as we can".

A mediator in the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Israel has condemned the Russian invasion. But it has been wary of straining relations with Moscow, a powerbroker in neighbouring Syria where Israeli forces frequently attack pro-Iranian militia.

"Everybody knows that your missile defence systems are the best  and that you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians, of Ukrainian Jews," Zelenskiy, who is Jewish himself, told the Knesset in a video call.

"We can ask why we cant receive weapons from you, why Israel has not imposed powerful sanctions on Russia or is not putting pressure on Russian business," he said in the address, one of several he has made to foreign legislatures.

He mentioned Israel's Iron Dome system, often used to intercept rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

"Either way, the choice is yours to make, brothers and sisters, and you must then live with your answer, the people of Israel," Zelenskiy said.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin two weeks ago in Moscow and has spoken frequently with him and Zelenskiy, since then, was among the more than 100 of the parliament's 120 members who took part in the video call.

He made no immediate comment after the Ukrainian leader spoke.

In his address, Zelenskiy drew a comparison between the Russian offensive and Nazi Germany's plan to exterminate European Jewry during World War Two.

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"Listen to what is being said now in Moscow, listen to how they are saying those words again: the final solution. But this time in relation to us, to the Ukrainian question," he said.

Zelenskiy cited no evidence in making that allegation or identify who might have used the term. Putin has used an expression which means "final decision/final resolution" once in the past 30 days, according to Reuters monitoring of his remarks, but not in a context that carried the same resonance or meaning as the Nazi terminology.

Zelenskiy's reference drew condemnation from Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial in Jerusalem to the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany in World War Two. It said such "irresponsible statements" trivialised the historical facts of the Holocaust.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Max Hunder; Writing by Matthias Williams and Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Alexander Smith, Jeffrey Heller and Frances Kerry)
Mar. 20WILKES-BARRE  Dr. Jim Peipon this week said he feels blessed to be living at a time when he can help the people of Ukraine during their time of war with Russia.

Peipon, 70, is a native of Kingston, graduating from Wyoming Valley West High School in 1969. "Dr. Jim," as he affectionately is known, and his wife Marianna, now life in Cincinnati. He is a pediatrician having practiced in Salisbury, Md., before moving to Ukraine in 2001, where he lived until 2018.

A graduate of Franklin & Marshall College and Temple University Medical School, Peipon trained at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

"It really is mind-boggling that this guy from Kingston was placed in this time to help the people of Ukraine," Peipon said.

Peipon is president of Ukraine Medical Outreach, Inc. (UMO), an organization he said "ministers to the unreached and under-served in Ukraine by equipping Christians and Christian medical professionals to proclaim and demonstrate the love of God to their colleagues and patients."

UMO's mission is to "minister to sick children and their families and equip health care professionals and students to provide Christlike care."

Peipon said UMO works with the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine. UMO conducts webinars for medical professionals to train them for their work in the war-torn country. Prior to the war, UMO offered training to the health care professionals to better prepare them for their medical careers.

Peipon said he and his wife and family moved to Ukraine to serve as medical missionaries, practicing medicine from a Christian perspective.

"We had two goals," Peipon said, "to raise up the next generation of health care professionals and to teach how to practice compassionate medicine."

Peipon and UMO stayed in Ukraine through two revolutions, but after the second, they decided to return to their home base in the U.S. And when the COVID-19 pandemic grounded everybody, UMO began conducting the webinars via Zoom calls.

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"We would set up monthly webinars to teach the students medical procedures and we would also have large conferences of 500-plus participants," Peipon said. "We continue to have relationships in Europe and Ukraine and we have been helping to send needed supplies to Ukraine during the current crisis."

Peipon said UMO has been to and is helping all the cities viewers in the U.S. see on TV.

"We have relationships in all of those cities," he said. "And our network outside of Ukraine is helping to send supplies to Ukraine."

Peipon said there are many organizations performing similar work and he is quick to note that any effort, big or small, is critical.

Peipon said he received a call from a woman in Kyiv who told him of 4,000-plus people living underground in a subway station and medical supplies were needed. He said the demand for the supplies has increased dramatically with the ongoing war.

"We are helping to supply those clinics inside those places that have been bombed," Peipon said. "We are constantly seeking to connect with countries that border Ukraine to get the supplies through to where they are needed," he said.

Bonded with Ukrainians

Peipon said he and his wife and family have bonded with the people of Ukraine  two of his children are married to Ukrainians and now live in the U.S. They moved back to the U.S. in 2018 and returned five to seven times per year until the war began. Their last trip to Ukraine was in September of 2021.

"The community there has always been very supportive of UMO," Peipon said. "My daughter-in-law still has many connection in Ukraine, including her 91-year-old grandmother who said 'I have a phone, WiFi  all I need is an automatic rifle."

Peipon and his family work around the clock to friends in Ukraine and to send as many supplies as possible.

"Everybody has a story," he said. "We are helping by wiring money and trying to get people out of the country. "The Ukrainian people are not asking anyone to defend then  just to provide aid to allow them to defend themselves."

Peipon said support has come from all over the world to help refugees, government officials and more.

"There are so many Ukrainian-Americans who have just left everything to go to Ukraine to defend their country," he said.

Peipon said Ukraine is a beautiful country that is now being bombed, resulting in the loss of lives and architecture that is hundreds of years old.

"It's as if somebody bombed Wilkes-Barre  think how devastating that would be," Peipon said. "It will take years to rebuild these cities that have literally been leveled and, sadly, more will be lost in the coming days."

'Can't do everything'

Peipon said he realizes UMO can't do everything, but they will do all they can.

"We don't want to step on anybody's toes," he said. "We want to help and do our part."

Peipon said UMO has no administrative fees  everything raised goes directly to Ukraine.

The people of Ukraine are very peaceloving and very humble. He said they never thought anything like this would happen.

"To some extent, we are all one people from the same root, Biblically speaking," Peipon said. "So why do we have fights and wars? It's bitter jealously and selfish ambition."

Peipon said the Ukrainian people just want to live in their country at peace.

"Nobody is talking defeat in Ukraine  the people will fight to the end," Peipon said. "They will never give up and they will come back. It's very inspirational to watch."

How to help:

People can connect with Peipon by e-mail  jim@ukrainemedicaloutreach.org  or via the website  www.ukrainemedicaloutreach.org.

100% of donations, no administration fees, will be used for medical supplies within Ukraine or Ukrainian refugees. Donations can be made through www.ukrainemedicaloutreach.org.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
Mar. 20Nearly a month after Aaron Harford and his family left their home in Kyiv, Ukraine, they're still holed up in a cottage west of the capital  safe for now but rattled by air raid sirens sounding in the distance.

Harford, 45, is finding relief from the chaos in his online math homework. He's a couple of months from earning an associate's degree from Las Vegas, N.M.-based Luna Community College.

Harford's mother has lived in Las Vegas for roughly two decades. Harford, who previously worked as a counselor at a small university in Arkansas, came to live with her in 2016 and wound up taking classes at Luna.

The tie to New Mexico remained even as Harford  whose family is Ukrainian  left for the country a year and a half later. He's now looking to apply to an electronics engineering program at Eastern New Mexico University with a goal of eventually pursuing aerospace engineering.

He's also teaching English online to engineering students all over the world.

"I do all my work remotely, and I have for a couple years now," he said in a recent video interview conducted via WhatsApp. "I never thought it would be such a good thing. It's like insurance, if you have internet."

In many ways, Harford said, life is continuing as normal. In the town where his family is staying, which Harford declined to specify for safety reasons, the cafes and gyms are open. He and his wife are still taking their dogs for walks around the neighborhood. Hot tea and Wi-Fi are available.

But in other ways, it's not: Harford, who moved to Ukraine on a 90-day visa and soon after served six months as a paramedic with the Third Medical Battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps, brought his armor and military ID along when his family abandoned their flat in Kyiv.

"Because if something happens, it's better to have it than not," he said.

The Ukrainian Volunteer Corps is the military branch of Right Sector, which the BBC described in 2014 as an "ultra-nationalist" organization formed during the Euromaidan protests that began in late 2013, after then-President Viktor Yanukovych bailed on a potential European Union trade agreement due to pressure from Russia.

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Its former leader Dmytro Yarosh is a self-described follower of Ukrainian political figure Stepan Bandera, whose group of nationalists attempted to ally with Nazi Germany during World War II to secure sovereignty and massacred Jewish and Polish people, according to NPR. Ukraine was then part of the Soviet Union.

It's one of several fringe groups with far-right associations in the country, including the Azov Battalion, which Qatar-based news network Al-Jazeera has described as a "neo-Nazi" infantry that folded into Ukraine's national guard in 2014.

Harford, who is of Ukrainian Jewish descent, said he felt divorced from any greater politics of the medical battalion when he participated in the group, which he joined in 2018.

"The politically correct public sitting comfortable in their homes cannot fathom what is going on here," he said. "And whatever political leanings people might or might not have is immaterial."

Harford said accusations against the volunteer corps were "propaganda" and that the group has shown "unseen patriotism" as Ukraine fights to maintain its territory. He said he saw the battalion he participated in as a group that has filled gaps where government resources and nonprofit aid have fallen short.

It was a plus, he said, that he and others were welcome to leave at any time due to their volunteer status.

Between the onset of Maidan and 2021, thousands of foreigners have participated in various conflicts in Ukraine, according to Al-Jazeera.

Some, like Harford, have joined outsider volunteer battalions like Right Sector that don't necessarily hold the same requirements, such as background checks, that the government's army does.

To Harford, the "existential" conflict in Ukraine calls for all hands on deck.

Harford is not preparing to rejoin the medical battalion at this point, he said in a recent interview. Right now, he said, he's focused on finishing up his degree and keeping his family far from shelling in other parts of the country.

"It's been a very long month," Harford said.
A Columbia man armed with a wooden stake was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer after he ignored multiple commands and charged at the deputy, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Sunday.

Irvin D. Moorer-Charley, 34, was killed Saturday night, according to Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford.

At about 6 p.m. Saturday, deputies responded to Heyward Brockington Road to a report of domestic violence involving a weapon, according to the sheriffs department. Thats in Columbia, in the area between Monticello and Fairfield roads.

When the first deputy arrived on the scene, he was met outside the home by Moorer-Charleys mother and some other family members who said they had been attacked and Moorer-Charley was still in the house, Lott said at a news conference.

Irvin Moorer-Charley, 34, was shot and killed by Richland County deputies while he had a stick in his hand and in a mental crisis, a Black community group said.

Almost immediately after that, Moorer-Charley came out, armed with a wooden stake, Lott said. The deputy, and another who soon arrived, believed the weapon was a knife, according to Lott.

Some people called it a stick, its not a stick, it didnt come from a tree, Lott said. Its like an arm of a chair maybe, where it has a handle and goes down to a sharp point. He had that in his hand.

What body-cam video shows

A brief clip from the deputys body camera, which the sheriff showed at the news conference, showed him repeatedly telling Moorer-Charley to drop the weapon. But Moorer-Charley kept approaching the deputy, who had a weapon drawn, even as the deputy was backing up and a woman walked toward Moorer-Charley in what appeared to be an effort to get him to stop, the video shows.

Lott said the second deputy pulled his Taser and attempted to use it to subdue the man. But that did not work because the Taser failed to pierce Moorer-Charleys skin, Rutherford said at the news conference.

Almost immediately after he deployed his Taser thats when Mr. Charley ran at the deputy with the wooden stake in his hands. And the deputy fired, Lott said.

Four shots were fired, hitting Moorer-Charley in the heart and liver, according to Rutherford.

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It was a very close encounter, the last shot was probably less than 3 feet away, Lott said. This whole incident happened within a minute and 47 seconds. It was very quickly.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, seen in this file photo, holds a press conference.

Activists dispute account

The South Carolina Black Activist Coalition said it demands accountability after Moorer-Charleys death, and it disputed several facts about the shooting presented by Lott and Rutherford. The coalition also held a news conference Sunday involving members of the group and the family of Moorer-Charley.

Both Lott and Rutherford used their own news conference to counter those claims as well as rumors circulating about the shooting. Lott said, and Rutherford confirmed, that Moorer-Charley was not shot 10 times, he was not shot in the back, and he was not wearing handcuffs when he was shot.

There were bullets removed from Moorer-Charleys back, but they entered his body from the front, according to Rutherford.

Lott also said that Moorer-Charley was not tased multiple times before the shooting.

The sheriff said that the entire incident was captured on body-cam, but other than the brief clip, he has no plans to share that video with the public.

I think it would be disrespectful to the community and also to Mr. Charleys family to show this publicly at this point, Lott said. The coroner has looked at it, the solicitor is going to see it later today. Various organizations in our community have seen it.

Tomorrow if the family is willing or wants to, then well show it to the family. Its a very graphic video, its just not something everybody needs to see. I think the people that need to see it is going to see it.

Shooting investigation

Lott said the 5th Circuit Solicitors Office will decide if the deputys actions were justifiable.

The sheriffs department conducted an investigation on its own. It did not ask the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to take charge, as is common for many other law enforcement agencies in South Carolina when an officer is involved in a shooting.

Just one deputy fired his gun, according to Lott. Deputy Zachary Hentz feared for his life when Moorer-Charley charged him and opened fire, the sheriffs department said.

It was the first time a Richland County deputy shot and killed somebody in the line of duty since 2013, the sheriff said.

Thats a long time. I hope theres many more years before we have to do it again, Lott said. This is a sad situation for everybody involved.

While Lott said it appears that Moorer-Charley was having a mental health crisis, that was not the situation his deputies were responding to.

This was not put out to us as a mental health call. We received a 911 call for a domestic situation involving someone with a knife, with a weapon, Lott said. We all need to do a better job addressing mental health. But also we need to protect our community and protect our deputies. We put our deputies in a very bad situation when they have to respond to incidents like this. They cant lose their life.

We cant expect these deputies to go out here and be killed, they have to protect (themselves). Thats what that deputy did yesterday. He protected (himself). He went home to his family last night. Unfortunately Mr. Charley didnt. ... We feel for the family. This was not something we created.
Just weeks ago, on the eve of Beijings Winter Olympics, the worlds two most powerful autocrats, Russias Vladimir Putin and Chinas Xi Jinping, beamed as they announced a new long-term agreement. In their joint communique they promised that Friendship between the two states has no limits and There are no forbidden areas of cooperation. Foreign policy analysts asked: is this pact a mere moment in time when these two leaders interests intersect, or is it based on a joining of Russian and Chinese fundamental long-term objectives?

Nagy

For a parallel, consider the pre-World War I period when in 1873 Germanys gifted foreign minister Bismarck persuaded his Kaiser to join with the rulers of Russia and Austria-Hungary in the League of Three Emperors. Bismarck believed that the three rulers shared autocracy was enough to overcome sharply divergent geostrategic goals. He was wrong, and the alliance fractured in 1880.

Similarly, Russia and China today share a major commonality: they are both ruled by autocrats seeking ever greater dictatorial powers and global influence while chafing under the US led, rules-based international system. And their economic interests intersect  up to a point  with Russia providing some of the natural resources and agricultural commodities needed by Chinas industries and consumers, Russia receiving finished Chinese goods. But the two countries differences are far more significant.

It is a fundamental truth that China is rising, while Russia is fading fast. China sees itself eventually replacing the US as the worlds pre-eminent power and restructuring the entire international system around a China-centric model. This means that China very much needs a stable world order in which it can expand its economic, military, cultural, and diplomatic prowess and gradually shift countries from a Western to a Chinese orientation. In this process, it pursues activities which weaken Western alliances, influence, and prestige  but within international norms. Russia, on the other hand is a global spoiler  the neighbor who lost his job and throws the furniture against the wall every night in a drunken rage. It doesnt seek to rise back up  because it cant  it just wants to tear the US and our allies down. The only Russians meant to rise are Putin and his cronies: through kleptocracy, hiring mercenaries to African regimes to fight their wars in return for mineral riches, weapons merchants, oil magnates and the like.

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Putins current Ukrainian aggression is a prime example of flaws in a Russia/China alliance. The last thing President Xi needs now is to have his global reputation suffer by being seen as supporting Putins barbarism. He has carefully maneuvered to win an unprecedented third term at this years party congress, and he cant risk any derailments. This is one reason why China abstained instead of supporting Russia at the UN over Ukraine and is trying to appear neutral. Whichever way Putins war goes, the Western alliance has been strengthened as has international revulsion at big powers adjusting borders through force. Not a good precedent for China vis-s-vis Taiwan.

More long-term, there will be serious problems along Chinas 2,600-mile border with Russia. While all is calm now, there will be friction between the two powers over Mongolia and the former Soviet Republics  now independent states  which straddle the frontier. Those countries have been within Russias sphere of influence since Czarist times and Putin very much holds to that belief. Recently, when there was political violence in Kazakhstan, Putin sent Russian security forces within in days to restore calm. But here also Russian influence is waning as Chinas economic might is displacing Russias. Just as Russia and Austria-Hungary came to war in the early 20th century over which power holds primacy over the Balkans, China and Russia will face-off at some point in coming years.

So, just as the friendship pledged by the three emperors was crushed by geopolitical realities, I believe the Putin-Xi pact will run into the same wall. Russias imperial two-headed eagle, with one facing Europe and one Asia, symbolizes the internal forces which have pulled Russia in different directions throughout its history. It has looked at times in one or the other direction, sometimes both ways  but it only felt safe within the Russian core if it was ever pushing its borders and influence outward. That era is over. Hopefully, Putins successors will recognize that Russias long-term interests lie in a closer alignment with Europe, through a more open democratic and economic system, than with an autocratic China, which shows no signs of changing for the foreseeable future.

Ambassador Tibor Nagy was most recently Assistant Secretary of State for Africa after serving as Texas Techs Vice Provost for International Affairs and a 30-year career as a US Diplomat.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Tibor Nagy Russia's czar and China's emperor: bromance or frenemies?
(Photo: Illustration: Damon Dahlen/HuffPost; Photos: Getty)

During his recent State of the Union address, President Joe Biden made clear where he comes down on the defund the police debate that has roiled Democratic politics since George Floyd was murdered in the summer of 2020.

The answer is not to defund the police. It is to fund the police. Fund them. Fund Them, Biden said. Fund them with resources and training. Resources and training they need to protect their communities.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stood and clapped in support. The rest of the room followed.

Biden never supported defunding the police, nor did the vast majority of Democrats in Congress, despite activists demands. But Biden did pledge a wide range of policing reforms when he was running for president in 2020, particularly after Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis.

Many of those reforms were packaged into the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, but that died an ignominious death in the Senate last year. In the face of strong Republican opposition, it couldnt attract enough support to clear the 60-vote filibuster.

Nevertheless, Biden could take a suite of actions through executive orders  he could ban no-knock warrants, qualified immunity, officers shooting into moving vehicles, and chokeholds. It is also unclear how the reforms will differ from the Department of Justice imposing restrictions on chokeholds and no-knock warrants last year. Many people hoped Biden would have announced those actions already: CNBC reported in mid-January that he was planning to sign some executive orders on policing in the run-up to his State of the Union Address on March 1.

That didnt happen. And a White House official told HuffPost there is no timeline for any further reform. The official added that the administration believes addressing crime directly creates the political space to bring about police reform and prevents any demagoguing by Republicans who oppose any police reform efforts.

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While Washington has largely moved on, the families of people who died because of police violence have been left to carry the burden. Over the past few months, HuffPost spoke with three of them about their loss, and what it was like to see last years hope produce no tangible national-level reforms.

Justice Delayed

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed the House of Representatives on March 3 last year, not long after the new Congress was sworn in. But after long negotiations, Democrats and Republicans could not come to an agreement. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) described it as a squandered opportunity. Biden blamed the bills collapse on Republicans, who he said couldnt even agree to modest policing reform.

It still stings Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), who led negotiations on the bill. What I would say is, one, that I am deeply sorry that we did not succeed, and two, that we will continue trying until we do succeed, Bass told HuffPost in October.

Bass and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) say there may be other avenues for federal-level reform through what Bass described as a two-prong strategy that would require the White House to use the maximum power it has.

But in February, Booker told HuffPost he was unsure when the White House might act.

Not yet; we saw the documents, but that was very early in the process, and I think it is something they are still working on, Booker said.

When asked how soon any action was coming, he replied, I cant speak for them.

Anthony Scott, Walter Scott's brother, speaks during a press conference in front of the Charleston County Courthouse after a mistrial was declared in the trial of former patrolman Michael Slager, who was charged with murder. (Photo: AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Anthony Scott has to live with his brothers killing for the rest of his life.

Walter Scott, a Black man in South Carolina, was fatally shot by police officer Michael Slager, who pulled Scott over in April 2015 because of a broken tail light. Slager claimed that Scott had rushed him after stealing his Taser, but an autopsy revealed that Scott had been shot in the back five times. Infamous cell phone video captured the confrontation.

Slager went on trial in state court, but a hung jury produced a mistrial. He later pleaded guilty to federal charges that he violated Scotts civil rights and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

I still have trauma and I still have PTSD from the case, Anthony Scott told HuffPost. It is like the fact that it never goes away. And even though you get that form of justice in the federal part, there was never anything solved on the state side.

Beyond the pursuit of justice for Slager, Scott sees problems with the larger struggle against police violence.

He watched anxiously last year after the George Floyd Act died in Congress.

It is something our senator should have continued to push and made it happen. It should have been made into law, he said. But when we stop protesting, stop doing things that we do to show them that we are upset, they think we will be OK and they go away again until the next killing happens.

Scott was reminded of how Black men are policed in his state in April 2021 after Jamal Sutherland died while being arrested on a misdemeanor charge. Jail deputies in Charleston, South Carolina, had pepper-sprayed and repeatedly struck him with a stun gun while they attempted to handcuff him.

Sutherland died in January 2021, but nothing surfaced about the incident until months later. And while a prosecutor said grave mistakes were made, none of the officers involved were charged.

The agony has not stopped for Scott since his brothers death.

We still have people in the city of Charleston that are still dying. We still have people across the nation that are still dying. There is still a problem, he said. The system is broken. Until then, there will be another George Floyd, there will be another Walter Scott.

Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, addresses the media in Louisville, Kentucky, on Aug. 13, 2020. Louisville agreed to pay Palmer several million dollars and institute police reforms as part of a settlement with Taylors family. (Photo: AP Photo/Dylan Lovan, File)

Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, knows what its like to be failed by her government.

Taylor was killed when three white Louisville police officers forced themselves into her apartment while executing a warrant. She and her boyfriend were awakened and her boyfriend fired a warning shot, unaware who was entering their home until police rammed their way inside. One shot hit an officer, Jonathan Mattingly, who survived.

Officers immediately returned 32 shots. Six hit Taylor, killing her.

Police never searched the home. Taylors boyfriend was charged with assault and attempted murder of an officer, but the charges were later dismissed on prejudice. Brett Hankinson, one of the officers involved, was fired for shooting through a window and patio door of Taylors apartment.

Hankinson was indicted by a grand jury on three counts of wanton endangerment and acquitted last week. No officer was charged in Taylors killing.

After her daughters death, Palmer was still on the activist scene, supporting other families whose loved ones were killed by police. She watched the death of legislative reform in Washington with dismay.

The lack of passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is but another example of the false promises made by politicians saying what they need to get elected, Palmer told HuffPost in a statement.

She added, though, that she plans to stay engaged in the battle for reform. We have to ensure that we are voting for people who are willing to pass meaningful legislation. This means we have to ask tough questions of candidates and vote like our lives depend on them  because they do, she said.

A Moderate Step

Protesters took over the streets of the country last year in the name of Black Lives Matter. The George Floyd bills that marked a legislative response to those cries against injustice were, if anything, inadequate  but still too radical for Congress.

It was a very moderate step, and the fact that even the act could not get Republican support, I think it speaks volumes for how unlikely it is that at the federal level, we will get any sort of reform or transformation that will actually save peoples lives, Tahir Duckett, a civil rights attorney and executive director of the Center for Innovations in Community Safety at Georgetown University, told HuffPost.

I think Congress has failed these Black families, starting decades ago by treating every one of our social ills as something that should be policed or a social ill that we should incarcerate our way out. That is where Congress has failed these families.

Anytime there is a bill that would benefit the Black community, there is always a pause. There is always a halt.Latoya Holley, sister of Anton Black

Latoya Holley, whose brother died at the hands of police in Maryland in 2018, agreed. She told HuffPost, I think [Congress] decisions are based on public opinion. Anytime there is a bill that would benefit the Black community, there is always a pause. There is always a halt.

Her brother Anton Black was 19 when a group of police officers pinned him down, which led to his death. He was unarmed when he was killed.

A medical examiner in Maryland ruled that Black had experienced sudden cardiac death as three officers wrestled him to the ground in Greensboro, Maryland. Body camera footage from one of the officers showed that police had held Black down for more than five minutes and handcuffed him.

Blacks mother, who was nearby, was calling her sons name.

The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in December 2019 alleging that police had used excessive force, and Marylands former medical examiner, David Fowler, attempted to cover up the cops responsibility for Blacks death.

With the George Floyd legislations failure, Holley doubts America can escape its long-documented past, but she wants people to keep trying.

I think there is a long history here in America that they dont want to let go and they dont want change. And hopefully, the people that do will be louder than the ones that dont, she said.

Anton Black's sister, father and mother speak during a press conference on Sept. 30, 2021, in Baltimore. Black, 19, died in 2018 during a struggle with officers who handcuffed him and shackled his legs. (Photo: AP Photo/Gail Burton, File)

Bidens approach to crime and policing is not new. He sponsored the 1994 crime bill and has long-held views on how he thinks communities should be made safe in America. His administration never planned to defund police officers.

Biden will not shy away from expressing disagreement with Republican or Democratic proposals, officials said.

The President, along with the overwhelming majority of Americans, knows that we can and must have a criminal justice system that both protects public safety and upholds our founding ideals of equal treatment under the law. In fact, those two goals go hand-in-hand, Michael Gwin, a Biden spokesperson, told HuffPost.

Thats why the President has implemented a comprehensive plan to combat crime by getting guns off the streets and investing in community-oriented policing and proven community anti-violence programs. And thats why the President continues to advocate for reforms for our policing system after the failure of bipartisan negotiations in Congress.

The administration has had extensive consultations with civil rights groups like the NAACP, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Action Network and many others, including families of unlawful police violence, officials said.

Still, nothing tangible has surfaced since mass demonstrations dominated Americas major cities two years ago. And policing experts are skeptical of how the administration will address crime and policing.

Alec Karakatsanis, founder and executive director of the Civil Rights Corps, says the administration has been talking about things that have no chance of changing the way police operate in America. The push for more technology and increased funding to police departments will not address the demands of activists or families of police violence victims. It will just allow the same issues to continue.

Karakatsanis described the policing reforms being discussed in Washington as minuscule and said there is little to no evidence that adding more police has reduced crime.

The whole discussion of police reform is just missing the point, Karakatsanis said.

So the right does not want to consider any of the reforms, but the reforms themselves are not designed to change anything significant about policing as a tool for oppressing the poor and Black and brown communities.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
PARIS (Reuters) - A Paris taxi driver whose Tesla Model 3 crashed in December, killing one person, has filed a legal complaint against the U.S. carmaker, his lawyer said on Sunday.

The French government said in the days after the accident that Tesla had told it that there was no immediate indication of a technical fault.

Sarah Saldmann said her client had on Friday filed a criminal complaint with public prosecutors in Versailles alleging that Tesla had "put the lives of others in danger".

Tesla did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

The off-duty taxi driver's Tesla ploughed through metal posts, a row of pay-to-ride bicycles and a recycling bin full of glass, hitting pedestrians and a van before finally coming to a halt, witnesses said of the accident.

The taxi driver, who has not been named, told police after the accident that the car had accelerated on its own and that he was unable to activate the brakes.

Saldmann declined to comment when asked if the complaint had been made on the basis of the still-unpublished initial conclusions from investigators.

In addition to the fatality, three people were seriously hurt and another 17 injured in the accident in the 13th arrondissement of the French capital on a street lined with bars, restaurants and shops.

The taxi driver is under formal investigation for manslaughter but has not been charged. He tested negative in an alcohol test after the accident.

The public prosecutor's office in Versailles will now decide whether Tesla has a case to answer.

Tesla collects detailed data from the sensors and cameras on its vehicles and has used such data in the past to challenge claims that accidents were caused by malfunctioning technology.

(Reporting by Richard Lough; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Theyre not getting any royal treatment.

Prince William and Kate Middleton canceled a trip to a farm in Belize because local villagers staged a protest against them.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were supposed to visit Akteil Ha cacao farm in Indian Creek on Sunday but called it off Friday, the Guardian reported.

Indian Creek residents said they werent consulted about the trip. They also have a land dispute with an international conservation charity that William supports.

It looks like the man will just come, and he will just push himself in our land in our village without knowing nothing, protester Paula Chac told Belize news outlet Channel 7. Our land is for us and we need land for our children.

The conservation group, Flora and Fauna International, purchased land near the village in December 2021. Residents say the group then claimed public village land as its own. Flora and Fauna International said it purchased the land from a private owner, according to the Guardian.

The villagers were also upset that William and Kate were going to land their helicopter on the local soccer field.

The royals pivoted to a different venue that will showcase Maya family entrepreneurship in the cacao industry, Belizes government told the Guardian. William and Kate will visit Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas in their first-ever trip to the Caribbean.
Russia has been accused of bombing an art school providing shelter to hundreds of civilians in the besieged city of Mariupol and of deporting thousands of residents to an unknown fate inside Russian territory as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warns of a third world war if talks with Vladimir Putin fail.

The southeastern port city has suffered the most brutal siege of Russias invasion, and many of its 400,000 residents have been trapped for more than two weeks with scant food, water and power as Mr Putin seeks to establish a land corridor to the Crimea peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Local officials said several thousand residents have been taken to Russia in the past week.

The apparent attack on the art school  where some 400 people were thought to be sheltering  came just days after Ukrainian officials reported a strike on a theatre in Mariupol, and more than 1,000 people were said to still be trapped in a bomb shelter under the building as of Friday.

In this satellite photo, buildings burn after Russian strikes on a district of Mariupol (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

At least 2,300 people have died in Mariupol, some of whom had to be buried in mass graves, according to local officials, while Mr Zelensky called the bombardment of the city a war crime.

"To do this to a peaceful city ... is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come," the Ukrainian leader said in his nightly address to the nation on Saturday. "The more Russia uses terror against Ukraine, the worse the consequences for it."

Nevertheless, he said peace talks with Moscow were necessary, and warned that there would be severe consequences if they failed.

I think that we have to use any format, any chance in order to have the possibility of negotiating, the possibility of talking to Putin, Mr Zelensky told CNN on Sunday. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third world war.

This map shows the extent of Russias invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Images)

Turkey, which is attempting to mediate a ceasefire, said Russia and Ukraine were getting closer to agreement on "critical" issues.

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Kyiv is willing to drop its bid to join Nato but wants certain security guarantees from Russia. Moscow is pressing for Ukraines complete demilitarisation.

Later on Sunday, Mr Zelensky addressed Israels parliament by video link and questioned its reluctance to sell missile defences to his country or sanction Russia for the invasion. In the speech, he likened the final solution that Nazi Germany sought to impose on the Jews to Moscows ambitions for Ukraine.

Demonstrators gather in Tel Aviv for a televised video address by Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky (AFP)

More than weeks into the invasion, the Russian advance on Ukraine's major cities appears to have stalled. The Kremlins forces are instead concentrating efforts on artillery and missiles strikes, with analysts and western intelligence saying that Mr Putin has turned to a war of attrition that could result in many more civilian casualties.

The front lines between Ukrainian and Russian forces are "practically frozen" as Russia does not have enough combat strength to advance further, Mr Zelenskys adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Sunday.

"[Over the past day] there were practically no rocket strikes on [Ukrainian] cities," he said.

However, Mr Arestovych conceded that there is currently no military solution to Mariupol where fighting continued on Sunday.

The Russian governor of Sevastopol, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, said that Post Captain Andrei Paliy, deputy commander of Russias Black Sea Fleet, had been killed in battle in Mariupol.

A block of destroyed flats in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol (Reuters)

Mariupols city council issued a statement late on Saturday claiming that thousands of its residents had been deported to Russia in the last week. The US envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, called the reports "disturbing" and "unconscionable" if true. Russian news agencies said buses had carried hundreds of people Moscow calls refugees from Mariupol to Russia in recent days.

Nearly 40,000 people have left the city  of their own will  in recent days despite the bombardment, according to local authorities. That amounts to nearly a tenth of the citys pre-war population of 430,000.

There is no city anymore, Marina Galla told the Associated Press after escaping Mariupol, weeping in the doorway of a crowded train compartment that was pulling into the western city of Lviv near the Polish border.

Ukrainians in Lviv take part in action in support of the residents and defenders of Mariupol (Getty Images)

Elsewhere in Ukraine, authorities in Kharkiv said five people, including a nine-year-old boy, were killed in overnight shelling, while the countrys human rights ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova claimed that more than 50 elderly people were killed in Luhansk region after a Russian tank fired at a care home.

Russias defence ministry said cruise missiles were launched from ships in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, as well as hypersonic missiles from Crimean airspace.

The Kremlin said the nuclear capable Kinzhal missile hit a Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka, a city near Mykolaiv, on Sunday, a day after it reported using the weapon for the first time to destroy an ammunition depot in Ivano-Frankivsk, western Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the UN has confirmed at least 902 civilian deaths in the war, and said that more than 10 million people had now been displaced across Ukraine, including some 3.4 million who have fled to neighbouring countries such as Poland.

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page
Dr. Sandra McGowan-Watts helps get her daughter, Justise Watts, ready for school at their home in Matteson on March 16, 2022. McGowan-Watts lost her mother-in-law, Lois Meeks, and husband, CTA driver Steven Watts, to COVID in May 2020. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

It was the early weeks of the pandemic. A mystery illness was spreading across the Chicago area. And Dr. Sandra McGowan-Watts felt powerless.

She was a family doctor but could do little as her husband and mother-in-law fell ill. Her mother-in-law soon died. Her husband clung to life for a week longer before the virus claimed him too, at age 51.

Im a doctor, she said last week, the pain fresh in her voice. Im supposed to be able to fix people and change things, and I cant even help the person I love the most.

McGowan-Watts husband and mother-in-law joined an early trickle of deaths that soon morphed into massive waves, claiming, collectively, at least 33,000 Illinois lives since the first death was announced two years ago, this week.

Even amid shutdowns desperately imposed to limit the infections spread, COVID-19 killed at a rate far higher than not just the flu and pneumonia, but surged at times to kill more Illinoisans than cancer or heart disease.

Justise Watts heads out of her home with her mother, Dr. Sandra McGowan-Watts, in Matteson on March 16, 2022. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

It struck Chicagos majority-Black and Latino neighborhoods hardest at first before the pandemic saw the first of several shifts  ultimately killing more residents proportionally in Illinois southern tip than Chicago.

More contagious variants swept across the state, battling with newly developed vaccines that blunted how much damage each version of the virus could do, at least for those who took the shots. For those who didnt, the odds of death got far worse at times  creating what public health officials called a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

With each new variant and scientific breakthrough, risk calculations have changed. Now, for the younger and boosted, risks of dying from COVID-19 may be less than the risk of dying in a traffic crash, while for those older and unvaccinated, the risks may be exponentially higher.

Into the ever-changing risk calculations are layers of different experiences, as mask mandates are lifted and workers are increasingly asked to return to the office. For some, COVID-19 has been mostly an inconvenience, upending lives but not killing loved ones. For others, the losses include family, friends or neighbors, and shape perceptions of how best to act.

These experiences are influencing quite significantly the readiness to move on from the pandemic, said Mercedes Carnethon, vice chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine.

The losses can be traced to late-winter days two years ago, when a new threat forced daily news conferences from top government leaders, including one that Gov. J.B. Pritzker opened with news he said he dreaded.

No flu

In that packed news conference, on March 17, 2020, Pritzker announced the first-known death in Illinois from COVID-19: a retired Chicago nurse.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces the first death in Illinois resulting from COVID-19 at the Thompson Center on March 17, 2020. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Shed died the night before, at a time, researchers now say, when testing was scarce and many other early COVID-19 deaths may have been misclassified as other causes, such as flu or pneumonia. (In one case, the Cook County medical examiners office last year reclassified the cause of the March 10, 2020, death of an untested Chicago woman, 64, to probable COVID-19, after her family said shed been complaining of a bad flu for weeks, records show.)

Once doctors were able to test those who died of suspicious symptoms, the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths climbed far beyond typical numbers for flu or pneumonia.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention combine flu and pneumonia cases into one category because of similarities. And in the decade before the pandemic, the flu or pneumonia was a main or contributing factor in roughly 2,600 Illinois deaths a year, on average. COVID-19 killed eight times that many in the first year of the pandemic, and nearly five times as many in its second year.

COVID-19s death tally, during the pandemics worst weeks, overtook the biggest causes of death for Illinoisans. By May 2020, more Illinoisans were dying of COVID-19 than either cancer or heart disease, which typically are the leading causes of death.

Among those deaths were McGowan-Watts husband and mother-in-law.

`In case I dont make it

McGowan-Watts mother-in-law lived in an Austin bungalow and rarely went out. Her son, McGowan-Watts husband Steven Watts, a CTA bus driver, visited his mother regularly  and got sick a day after he brought her to the hospital.

Watts mother had asthma and chronic heart disease, and when she started wheezing and having difficulty breathing, she was hospitalized, then intubated. She gave her children her bank passwords, saying, In case I dont make it.

By then, deaths were becoming more widespread in Europe. Watts and his wife watched on television from their Matteson home and worried that they were exposed, but couldnt get tested immediately.

One day, Watts was strong enough to lift his riding lawn mower to fix it. The next day, he felt pain in his legs, then began suffering from diarrhea, and a fever that wouldnt break.

Although he had been a relatively healthy 51-year-old, over the next week, he grew gradually weaker, until he was so drained that his wife had to bathe and dress him like a baby.

A wedding photograph of Dr. Sandra McGowan-Watts and her husband Steven Watts at their home in Matteson. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

She brought him to the emergency room at South Suburban Hospital, where X-rays showed he had pneumonia in both lungs, and they quickly put him oxygen. She had never before seen a man with tears in his eyes from struggling to breathe.

He was admitted, and the couple had to say their goodbyes. I love you, Watts told her.

For more advanced care, Watts was transferred to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The next week was a roller coaster, with her husband fading one day, rallying the next. His wife could visit him online, but not in person.

She begged to see him, but was told it was too dangerous, and they didnt have enough protective clothing to give visitors. And would her husband want her taking that chance, because if she fell ill, who would take care of their 11-year-old daughter, Justise.

McGowan-Watts did get sick with chills, but only mildly, and quickly recovered. She worked with sick patients in private practice and doing rounds in nursing homes, and worried that she might have been an asymptomatic carrier.

Eventually, her husband suffered kidney failure, then a stroke, and died a week after his mother. One of the nurses taking care of him cried, telling his wife, This wasnt supposed to happen. He was going to be our miracle case, because he kept fighting.

Different surges, different risks

In the first surge of the pandemic, Illinois deaths were concentrated in Chicago, and particularly in Black and Latino neighborhoods, such as Austin.

Researchers blamed a host of factors: long-standing health inequities, a higher rate of essential jobs that made it harder to isolate, and more intergenerational homes that helped the virus spread. And once it took hold in a community, it could spread quickly.

Three months into the pandemic, Latino Chicagoans had died at twice the rate of white Chicagoans. For Black Chicagoans, the death rate was approaching triple the rate of white Chicagoans.

Carnethon, the Northwestern professor, said the deaths compounded greater economic and educational losses in harder-hit areas, making the pandemic a very different experience across our communities.

Beyond that, as nursing homes become inundated, the state found the virus more easily killed in overcrowded facilities that packed three, four or more residents per room  facilities that disproportionately had more Black and Latino residents.

As the first year wore on, researchers and public health officials increasingly warned of deaths that could be sparked from people ignoring health directives, as some people began to take off their masks and mingle indoors, in an atmosphere where enforcement of health rules was spotty, at best. Even before there could be a divide on vaccination, surveys showed a divide in mask-wearing through the pandemics first year, with rural residents less likely to mask up.

By March 2021, of the states 11 health regions, the highest COVID-19 death rate, adjusting for population differences, was in the 20-county region of Illinois spread from roughly Mount Vernon to Illinois southern tip and east to the Indiana line.

That region, by then, saw more than 200 deaths, per 100,000 residents  or nearly double the safest region at the time: one covering Lake and McHenry counties.

To put that in perspective, the Lake-McHenry region, to this day, continues to have a lower overall COVID-19 death rate than the south region had a year ago.

Ultimately, the southern region would tally nearly 1,600 deaths over two years  nearly 1 in every 250 residents, based on 2020 census data  becoming an example of how risks evolved in the pandemics second year more to those who didnt get vaccinated.

Even now  roughly 11 months into mass vaccination  less than half of that regions residents are considered fully vaccinated (defined as one shot of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or two shots of Pfizer or Moderna).

Compare that to the most vaccinated region, covering DuPage and Kane counties, where nearly three-fourths of residents are vaccinated. Since mid-April 2021, when mass vaccination took hold, residents in the south region have been three times as likely to die of COVID-19 as residents in the DuPage-Kane region.

Another way to look at it: If every other region in Illinois had experienced the same rate of death as the south region, nearly 17,000 more Illinoisans would have died by now.

Vaccinations likely helped Illinois fare better in the second year of the pandemic, compared to its five neighboring states, which all have lower vaccination rates.

Before mass vaccination, Illinois had the second-highest death rate from COVID-19. Only Indianas was worst.

But in the period after mass vaccination began, Illinois death rate has been the lowest of any of its neighbors.

Adjusting to a new normal

As vaccinations took hold and lessened death tallies, survivors have been left to try to mourn in their own way.

For McGowan-Watts and her family, they couldnt have a funeral for Watts or his mother  nor visits or even hugs. A joint memorial was later held at the Oak Park Conservatory, but attendance was limited to 50 people, as mandated at the time.

Along the way friends and family showed support by bringing food, or helping to clear snow or, later, cut grass for McGowan-Watts and her daughter.

Dr. Sandra McGowan-Watts and her daughter, Justise Watts, outside their home. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

They both went to counseling. Justise also went to a grief camp in Michigan that summer, where she was able to talk about her feelings with other kids who had lost family members.

At home, she stepped up to make dinners and help with other home duties. Cooking became a form of therapy for the teen. She found some of her fathers and grandmothers recipes, and gives cooking demonstrations on Facebook.

Her mother struggled with her own issues. After such a traumatic experience, McGowan-Watts lost 20 to 30 pounds, unable to sleep or eat. Slowly she regained her footing, and by now, she said, she is able to talk about her experience in order to help others.

Its been hard for everybody, McGowan-Watts said. But we have gotten closer as a family.

As families have mourned and tried to move on, the pandemic has evolved. After a particularly deadly omicron wave, deaths and hospitalizations have plunged. New treatments are making it easier for those seriously ill to survive. Masks are largely coming off.

For those vaccinated, particularly boosted and younger, the latest calculated odds of dying from COVID-19 were, as of late December, as low or lower than from dying in a traffic crash. But for those older and unvaccinated, even before the peak of omicron, the odds of a COVID-19 death were far worse.

Researchers expect a resurgence at some point, although its hard to predict when and how bad. And deaths arent the only cause for concern. Hospitals can still become clogged with coronavirus patients, threatening the quality of treatment not just for them, but for anyone else needing critical care.

From her family practice office in Flossmoor, McGowan-Watts has tried to do her part to save lives.

Shes convinced many reluctant patients to get the shots. Some got sick anyway over the winter, but had mild cases, while some of those who didnt get the shot were hospitalized, or worse.

She shares her familys story  one of tens of thousands across Illinois  and tells them, from personal experience: This is no joke.

jmahr@chicagotribune.com

rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The Shanghai Disney Resort said on Sunday it will temporarily close until further notice from Monday, citing the coronavirus pandemic in China.

"Due to the current pandemic situation, Shanghai Disney Resort, including Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown and Wishing Star Park will be temporarily closed from Monday, March 21, 2022," it said in a statement.

"We will continue to monitor the pandemic situation and consult local authorities, and will notify guests as soon as we have a confirmed date to resume operations," it added.

China is fighting its biggest wave of locally transmitted COVID cases since it contained the initial outbreak centred on Wuhan in 2020. Shanghai has shut schools and launched a city-wide testing programme that has seen dozens of residential compounds sealed off for at least 48 hours.

On Sunday, mainland China reported 1,656 new locally transmitted cases for March 19.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Alexander Smith and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - A South African court has halted construction of Amazon's new Africa headquarters after some descendants of the country's earliest inhabitants said the land it would be built on was sacred.

The Western Cape division of the High Court interdicted the project developer from continuing with works at the Cape Town site until there had been meaningful engagement and consultation with affected indigenous peoples.

"This matter ultimately concerns the rights of indigenous peoples .... The fundamental right to culture and heritage of indigenous groups, more particularly the Khoi and San First Nations Peoples, are under threat in the absence of proper consultation," Judge Patricia Goliath said in her ruling.

The Khoi and the San were the earliest inhabitants of South Africa, the latter roaming as hunter gatherers for tens of thousands of years, and the former joining them as pastoralists more than 2,000 years ago.

Some of their descendants had objected to the River Club development, where Amazon would be the "anchor tenant" but which also includes plans for a hotel, retail offices and homes, as it lies at the confluence of two rivers considered sacred, the Black and Liesbeek Rivers.

Not everyone identifying with the Khoi and San was against the project. An association of Khoi and San who supported it was among the respondents in the case.

Amazon was not named as a respondent, and the company did not respond to an emailed request for comment sent outside office hours. When the court case was launched early this year a spokesperson declined comment.

Goliath said her ruling should not be construed as a criticism of the development but that the core issue was that there needed to be proper consultation before it could go ahead.

Amazon already employs thousands of people in data hubs in Cape Town, and with over a third of South Africans unemployed authorities are keen to encourage foreign investment.

Construction of the River Club development had continued despite the case being before the court.

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf and Alexander Winning; Editing by Mark Potter)
Newly released surveillance footage of a middle school lunch-hour fight shows an off-duty police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, placing his knee on a 12-year-old girl's neck to subdue her earlier this month.

Jerrel Perez, the girl's father, has been calling on the Kenosha Unified School District to release the footage. Perez argues the district attorney should bring charges against Kenosha officer Shawn Guetschow for placing his knee on Perez's daughter's neck to restrain her  a move that was banned for Wisconsin law enforcement officers last year.

Surveillance footage from the March 4 incident appears to show another student approach Perezs daughter, before Perezs daughter pushes the other student and a fight ensues.

Almost immediately Guetschow, 37, intervenes in the fight by pulling the other student off Perezs daughter. Guetschow then scuffles with Perezs daughter, before falling to the ground and striking his head on a cafeteria table.

Guetschow then restrains Perezs daughter by pushing her head into the ground and placing her in a chokehold restraint for roughly 25 seconds, using his knee on the girls neck. The officer then handcuffs the girl and walks her out of the cafeteria.

Perez's attorney, Drew Devinney, said Guetschow was acting in an on-duty capacity once he placed Perez's daughter in a chokehold. He and his client are calling for criminal charges for the officer. The Kenosha district attorney hasn't announced charges for any of the parties involved.

Devinney said they plan to file a lawsuit against the officer, school district and police department.

The school district initially placed Guetschow on paid leave. He resigned from his part-time security job with the school Tuesday, according to Tanya Ruder, KUSD's chief communications officer.

"As it appears that this incident may lead to litigation, the district will provide no further details at this time," Ruder said.

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In his resignation letter, Guetschow called out the school district for lack of support and said the incident has placed a heavy burden on his family.

The Kenosha Police Department did not respond to questions about the incident or Guetschow.

Devinney said Wednesday that his client was the subject of bullying and was defending herself. He said "at no point did Jerrel's daughter push or strike at this officer." He also said Perez's daughter yelled out she couldn't breathe while the officer had his knee on her neck.

Perez said his daughter is in therapy and seeing a neurologist for her injuries and has been medically excused from school for two weeks.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Surveillance footage shows Kenosha cop kneeling on girl's neck
Rekha Iyer, of Natya Dance Theatre, and Rio Wahyudi, of Nan Jombang, perform in "The Incomplete Gesture" at the North Shore Center for Performing Arts in Skokie. (Sibut Kutty photo)

Chances are, when you picture two cultures coming together, nothing good springs to mind. Maybe Trump supporters and protesters at the same rally. Maybe Packers and Bears fans at the same game.

But two cultures met, with thrilling results, in "The Incomplete Gesture," Natya Dance Theatre's new collaboration with Indonesia's Nan Jombang Dance. Presented Saturday night only at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie as part of the Eye on India festival, this spare, 70-minute performance acknowledged difference even as it achieved an astonishing sense of sympathy and accord. Kudos to Natya's founder-choreographer, Hema Rajagopalan, and Nan Jombang's, Eri Mefri.

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Though Chicago-based Natya has long sought to bring Indian and U.S. cultures closer, usually in updated treatments of Hindu mythology, this show reconciled two Asian cultures in a scaled-back production featuring five Natya dancers and four Nan Jombang performers, who at times played drums. Doug Lofstrom's recorded music  just one tabla, sarod and vocalist  also provided accompaniment; Julie Ballard's expressive, subtle lighting created the minimal environments; and Sandhya Raman's costumes suggested the continuity of these cultures without ever allowing them to merge.

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Not that they would, at least not easily: The two styles of movement are wildly different, both beautiful, both beautifully done here.

Nan Jombang updates the martial art of the Minangkabau indigenous ethnic group, a rare matrilineal society that also happens to be Islamic. Aggressive, raw, the movement is abandoned and fierce; power is expressed and achieved through long-held, low lunges and whipping limbs. Noisemaking abounds: clapping, slapping the body, yipping and yelling, and thunderclap striking of the performers' long skirts, stretched taut as drumheads. Yet it's never chaotic. Meanwhile Natya's chosen form, bharatanatyam, is much more composed, clipped, defined, often done in unison, the body upright and poised.

The traditional Hindu stories that Natya generally uses were limited to two brief anecdotes here, both illustrating miscommunication, one humorous, the other tragic. Bharatanatyam's art of facial and gestural expression, abhinaya, dominated the first, which rued the fact that everyone wants someone they can't have. Asha Rowland was especially amusing in her disdain for that foolishness before succumbing to it herself.

In the second, a case of mistaken identity, a celestial being disguises himself as the husband of the beautiful but neglected Ahalya and seduces her. Natya cleverly communicated this tale despite having no male performers. But it only came alive when Nan Jombang's Indra Rahmi entered slowly, singing a wordless, broken lament that expressed all the anguish of believing oneself loved, than seeing the dream dissipate. Her physical abandon contrasted sharply with the calm, hypnotic walk of the Natya dancers, extending a straight leg, flexing the foot, lowering it, over and over; like a flock of birds seen in slow motion, they were a chorus circling, witnessing.

The angry husband interrupts, facing off with his wife. But then, with all nine performers assembled onstage, the mood shifted swiftly, through unison movement, into something sympathetic, even sacred, ceremonial, as everyone knelt in an inward-facing circle and repeatedly ran a palm, hovering just above the body, up the heart space and face, over the head, and back, as if wiping the mind clear.

This story, though long, was so profound in its emotion that what came after felt unnecessary  even counterproductive, as the two companies reiterated their differences, well-established in the work's beginning. The cute group pose that actually ended "The Incomplete Gesture" seemed incomplete indeed.

Laura Molzahn is a freelance critic.

ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
RIYADH (Reuters) - United Nations special envoy Hans Grundberg is discussing a possible truce for Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is battling the Houthi movement, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which starts in April, his office said on Sunday.

It said Grundberg met on Saturday with the Houthi's chief negotiator and Omani officials in Muscat to discuss U.N. consultations and efforts to address the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen, "including a possible truce" during Ramadan.

The seven-year war in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of famine.

(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by David Clarke)
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy urged calm on Sunday as a Covid-19 wave fueled at least partially by a new sub variant of the virus spread across Europe, adding that the pandemic should not define our lives.

During an appearance on Fox News Sunday with Trace Gallagher, Murthy said the country needs to exercise caution with the new spike in Europe but shouldnt live in fear because of all of the tools at our disposal to combat the disease.

We should be prepared that Covid hasnt gone away. There may be rises and falls in the months ahead, but heres the key: Our goal is to keep people out of the hospital, its to save their lives. We have more tools to do that than ever before, he said. If we get people these tools  vaccines, boosters, treatments  then we can actually get through waves that may come and go.

Britain, Germany, Finland, Switzerland and other European nations have experienced case upticks in recent weeks attributed to the new sub variant. Cases in the U.S. have been steadily declining as Omicron wanes, although the sub variant is expected to spread to our shores and across the country as international travel resumes.

I dont think we can afford to move on, Murthy said, but I do think that we can move forward with more confidence, that we can live our lives and not let Covid define our lives, because we do have in fact better tools that have proven to save our lives and keep us out of the hospital and thats really the goal.

Most states and cities, regardless of political makeup, have dropped the bulk of their Covid-19 restrictions, including mask and vaccine mandates for indoor recreational activities and workplaces. One key exception is New York City, which has maintained its employer vaccine requirement and its mask rule for school children under five, the demographic statistically at very low risk of developing severe complications from Covid-19. Subvariant BA.2 is considered more transmissible than the original Omicron but still very mild. If it sweeps the nations, governments reimposing mitigation measures after two-years of societal upheaval is not likely to be without steep political costs.

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By Andrew Mills

DOHA (Reuters) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine has opened up diplomatic and commercial opportunities for gas exporter Qatar to expand energy sales to the West and bolster its alliance with Washington amid U.S. tensions with other Gulf Arab states.

Qatar has sought a largely neutral stance on the conflict, but while trying to avoid choosing sides, it has signalled through its response that it can offer significant political and economic assistance to Western partners.

With many European energy importers looking urgently for ways to ease their heavy dependence on Russia, Qatar has suggested it could direct more gas in future to Europe.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in contrast have resisted Western calls for a rapid rise in oil output to contain a jump in crude prices caused by the conflict in Ukraine.

Those two leading Gulf Arab powers, which sought for years to isolate Qatar, have seen their own relations with Washington strained in recent years, partly over concerns about U.S. security commitments to its Gulf Arab partners.

Meanwhile Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East, was designated a major non-NATO ally of the United States last month - a status neither the UAE nor Saudi Arabia have been awarded.

It has sought to play a role throughout the Iran nuclear talks and has carried messages between Tehran and Washington.

On Monday Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. Talks focused on lifting barriers to completing the Iran nuclear deal, a source with knowledge of the Iran talks told Reuters.

"There was coordination with Washington prior to the Qatari foreign minister's visit to Moscow, especially with regards to the JCPOA discussion," the source said, using the acronym for the formal name of the nuclear accord.

A day before his Moscow trip, Sheikh Mohammed spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He also met counterparts in Germany and France, which are parties to the Iran talks along with the United States, Britain, China and Russia.

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After the meeting Lavrov stepped back from earlier demands that had stalled negotiations to revive the Iran nuclear deal.

"It does appear that Qatar has played a role in discussions on the edges of the Iran talks. How direct and how consequential that role is open to question," said Mehran Kamrava, a professor at Georgetown University in Qatar.

"NOT TRYING TO HEDGE"

Although Doha has in recent years, like Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, strengthened its diplomatic and economic ties with Moscow, it has maintained a strong partnership with Washington.

While the UAE abstained from a U.S.-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution last month, and U.S. President Joe Biden has yet to speak directly to Saudi Arabia's de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he met Qatar's Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at the White House in January.

"Qatar is not trying to hedge like Saudi Arabia and the UAE...The bottom line is this little country that's sitting on this huge gas field which is going to generate massive amounts of money believes it has only one ultimate source of protection. And that's the United States," said Martin Indyk, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former U.S. Middle East peace envoy.

Among the world's largest producers of liquified natural gas (LNG), Qatar is one of the wealthiest nations per capita and is home to barely three million people, 85% of them foreign workers.

On the international stage, Qatar's central role has been to host Afghan peace talks that led to the 2020 agreement for the U.S. withdrawal.

It remains an essential link between Western nations and the Taliban-led government, hosting the West's Afghan diplomatic missions and even flying officials into Kabul, whose airport Qatar helps manage and control.

"Now, whenever there is an opportunity, (Qatar) just goes for it. They're marketing themselves as an extension of U.S. foreign and security policy in a way that no other Gulf country is doing," said Andreas Krieg a professor at King's College in London.

'AN ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY'

When Qatar decided to hike LNG production by 2027, some questioned how Qatar would find customers. But now, amid strong demand and high prices, Western leaders are urging Qatar to boost supplies to Europe amid concerns about Russia, which currently supplies some 30-40% of the continent's gas needs.

"The renewed interest in diversifying European gas supplies presents an enormous opportunity for Qatar to sell the vast new supplies coming onstream," said Justin Alexander, director of Khalij Economics, a Gulf-focused consultancy.

Qatar's energy minister Saad Al-Kaabi recently stressed new LNG volumes are meant for customers in Asia and Europe, pivoting from earlier messaging that the extra gas was largely for Asia.

However Qatar has not yet announced new long term European contracts, which Alexander says will take time to negotiate and require new infrastructure to receive Qatars LNG tankers.

(Reporting and writing by Andrew Mills; editing by Dominic Evans, William Maclean)
In an address to his nation delivered Sunday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky announced an order combining all national TV channels, the program content of which consists mainly of information and/or information-analytical programs, [into] a single information platform of strategic communication to be called United News.

The move means the end, at least temporarily, of privately owned Ukrainian media outlets in that country. Zelensky claimed the measure is needed to combat alleged Russian misinformation and tell the truth about the war.

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Along with the media consolidation, he banned any activity by 11 political parties.

The emergency actions were taken under rules for martial law. Zelensky claimed he was trying to institute a unified information policy.

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A Ukrainian historian wrote in an opinion piece in The New York Times on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin made two major miscalculations regarding the invasion of Ukraine.

"master tactician but inept strategist" and said he has made his most profound miscalculation by not anticipating a response from the West and Ukrainian resistance.

"First, he was hoping that, as had been the case with his war against Georgia, the West would tacitly swallow his aggression against Ukraine. A unified response from the West was not something he expected. Second, since in his mind Russians and Ukrainians were one nation, Mr. Putin believed Russian troops needed barely to enter Ukraine to be welcomed with flowers. This never materialized," he wrote.

Hrytsak wrote that despite Putin likely escalating the conflict further, "he is far from the military victory he sought."

He added that Putin believes "he is at war not with Ukraine but with the West in Ukrainian lands."

"It's essential to grasp this point. The only way to defeat him is to turn his belief - that Ukraine is fighting not alone but with the help of the West and as part of the West - into a waking nightmare," Hrytsak wrote.

The piece comes more than three weeks after Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine, where it has yet to capture the capital of Kyiv.

According to Hrytsak, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, which saw the annexation of Crimea along with the capture of parts of the Donbas region under Russian-backed separatists, confirmed that the distinction between Ukrainians and Russians "lies not in language, religion or culture - here they are relatively close - but in political traditions."

"Simply put, a victorious democratic revolution is almost impossible in Russia, whereas a viable authoritarian government is almost impossible in Ukraine," he wrote.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday he hasnt given up on the prospect of negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, even as Russian forces continue to pummel Ukraine.

Zelenskyy told CNN that he has been ready to speak with Putin the past two years and warned that if talks failed, that would bring on a world war.

If there is just 1% chance for us to stop this war, I think that we need to take this chance, we need to do that, Zelenskyy said.

Talks between Russians and Ukrainians in Belarus have failed to yield an end to the destruction.

As of Saturday, at least 902 civilians had been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the United Nations, which noted the actual death toll is likely much higher.

Ukrainian forces have surprised many observers for withstanding the Russian assault for weeks.

We are able to deal a powerful blow, we are able to strike back, Zelenskyy said. But unfortunately, our dignity is not going to preserve  lives.

We have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, a possibility of talking to Putin, he added. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third world war.
Online tour guide Olga Dudakova often hosts online tours around Kyiv. Olga Dudakova.

A Ukrainian tour guide said she filmed a livestream called "War in My Ukraine" when Russia invaded.

Olga Dudakova told Insider over 1,000 people tuned in live to watch her talk about the war.

People commented on her livestream, saying "calm her down, let her calm down," she said.

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Olga Dudakova, a tour guide, made a living showing off Kyiv's hidden gems through an online livestreaming website Heygo.

She liked to visit ancient churches and hike to get good views of the city.

She had an evening tour scheduled on February 24  the day that Russia began its attack on Ukraine  but quickly cancelled it after hearing the news, Dudakova told Insider in an interview.

Instead, Dudakova decided to film a different livestream called "War in My Ukraine." It provided a first-hand account of what was happening in Ukraine's capital on the evening of the invasion. More than 1,000 people tuned in, she told Insider.

"It was a decision I made in shock because I was shocked and terrified with what was happening around me," she said. The livestream lasted around an hour.

Russian fighters encircling Kyiv have largely stalled, but have still been attacking parts of the city, The Guardian reported. One citizen was killed after a missile attack on a residential building early Thursday morning, the outlet said.

Russia has already caused destruction in other parts of Ukraine, including bombing a theater in the besieged city of Mariupol where civilians were sheltering. Russia has so far denied the attack.

Dudakova is one of the thousands who have fled the country's capital. She left three days after the invasion.

Olga Dudakova said she made the decision to livestream in "shock." Olga Dudakova.

Dudakova said she did the livestream because she wanted to show her huge audience around the world what was happening.

"They just see the news, the statistics But what I wanted to tell the audience is that we are people, we are here in Ukraine, and this is the disaster which is happening," she said.

Story continues

When she was speaking, Dudakova said she was crying out of fear

People were commenting on her livestream, saying "calm her down, let her calm down," she said.

More than 1,000 people tuned in to watch Dudakova talk in real-time about what was happening in Ukraine. Some viewers were offering their homes for her and her family to stay at, she said.

Dudakova said she spent two nights in a bomb shelter with her three children before she left Kyiv

"We decided to leave because one building which is situated near my kids school was affected badly," Dudakova said.

The line of cars trying to get out of the city was up to five hours long, she said, adding that, with people carrying weapons and a military presence, the city felt like a war zone.

"I saw people pushing cars, just pushing with their own hands because they didn't have petrol," she said.

Dudakova stayed at her grandmother's house in western Ukraine  where she filmed a second hour-long livestream  for around five days, before fleeing the country. She said she spoke again to the people who had tuned in and gave them a tour of a mansion in the area.

Dudakova said that "food disappeared from the stores" while she was staying in western Ukraine.

Dudakova said that food started disappearing from the stores. Olda Dudakova.

Sometimes the internet connection in Kyiv dropped because of bombings, she said, making it hard for her to schedule the livestreams.

Dudakova also said that she normally schedules them seven to 10 days in advance, but since the invasion she schedules them only two to four hours beforehand because of connectivity issues.

She told Insider that she was still in touch with friends and relatives in Kyiv.

"I still have hopes that this will be over very soon and I will come back and I will continue doing my regular tours," she added.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Gary McWilliams and Erwin Seba

(Reuters) - Union workers were removed from a Chevron Corp oil refinery near San Francisco hours ahead of a deadline to begin the first labor strike at the gasoline producing plant in more than 40 years.

More than 500 United Steelworkers members were bussed out of the plant Sunday evening and replaced by non-union staff. No new contract talks are planned, said USW Local 5 First Vice President B.K. White in an interview.

The existing labor contract at the Richmond, California, refinery expired Feb. 1 and efforts since then failed to reach agreement. The union twice voted to reject the company's offers.

"The unions demands exceeded what the company believes to be reasonable and moved beyond what was agreed to as part of the national pattern bargaining agreement," Chevron spokesperson Tyler Kruzich said.

Chevron, he said, "is committed to continuing to negotiate toward an agreement" and has taken steps to continue normal operations at the facility.

The last strike at the 245,000 barrel-per-day plant, which produces gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel, took place in 1980 as part of a nation-wide walkout.

NEGOTIATIONS FAR APART

"We are far apart" in reaching an agreement, said the USW's White. "Its hard to negotiate when one side sees flesh and bone and other side sees the bottom line," he added.

The USW local has asked for a 5% pay increase above that agreed last month by its peers because of the higher cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area. It also wants the company to add staffing to reduce the 60-70 hours that union members must sometimes work, White said.

The USW and most U.S. refiners last month reached a national agreement that provides a 12% pay raise over four years to the union's about 30,000 members at U.S. oil and chemical companies.

Each local union separately negotiates a contract covering plant-specific issues, and Richmond workers have twice voted down Chevron proposals.

Story continues

Chevron non-union employees began taking control of refinery operations manned by union workers about 5 p.m. on Sunday, said White.

HIGH FUEL PRICES

California has some of the highest fuel prices in the nation with a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline on Sunday selling for $5.847 and a gallon of diesel for $6.258, according to motorist group AAA.

On Saturday, the union had advised machinists to go to the refinery and remove their personal tools before the contract extension expires.

Union members twice voted to reject Chevron proposals. The last vote, completed on Saturday, was overwhelmingly against what was called the company's last, best and final offer, according to messages posted on-line by USW Local 5.

(Reporting by Gary McWilliams, additional reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Diane Craft and Stephen Coates)
The Biden administration intends to declare that Myanmars years-long repression of the Rohingya Muslim population is a genocide, U.S. officials said Sunday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to make the long-anticipated designation on Monday at an event at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the move had not yet been publicly announced.

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The designation does not in and of itself portend drastic new measures against Myanmars military-led government, which has already been hit with multiple layers of U.S. sanctions since the campaign against the Rohingya ethnic minority began in the countrys western Rakhine state in 2017.

But it could lead to additional international pressure on the government, which is already facing accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Human rights groups and lawmakers have been pressing both the Trump and Biden administrations to make the designation.

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At least one member of Congress, Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, welcomed the anticipated step, as did Refugees International.

I applaud the Biden administration for finally recognizing the atrocities committed against the Rohingya as genocide, he said in a statement released immediately after the State Department announced that Blinken would deliver remarks on Myanmar at the Holocaust Museum on Monday and tour an exhibit entitled Burmas Path to Genocide. Myanmar is also known as Burma.

While this determination is long overdue, it is nevertheless a powerful and critically important step in holding this brutal regime to account, Merkley said. Such processes must always be carried out objectively, consistently, and in a way that transcends geopolitical considerations.

The humanitarian group Refugees International also praised the move. The U.S. genocide declaration is a welcome and profoundly meaningful step, the group said in a statement. It is also a solid sign of commitment to justice for all the people who continue to face abuses by the military junta to this very today.

Merkley called on the administration to continue the pressure campaign on Myanmar by imposing additional sanctions on the government to include its oil and gas sectors. America must lead the world to make it clear that atrocities like these will never be allowed to be buried unnoticed, no matter where they occur, he said.

More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar to refugee camps in Bangladesh since August 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a clearance operation in response to attacks by a rebel group. Myanmar security forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and the burning of thousands of homes.
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks during an emergency meeting of the General Assembly





The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on Sunday that she could not confirm a statement by the Mariupol City Council that indicated Ukrainian citizens were being deported to Russia from Mariupol.

CNN "State of the Union" host Jake Tapper asked Linda Thomas-Greenfield if the U.S. was aware of the deportations, which the city council said involved a thousand people who were mostly women and children.

"Can you confirm? Does the U.S. know that that's happening? And if it is happening, how disturbing is that?" Tapper asked Thomas-Greenfield.

"I have only heard it," Thomas-Greenfield responded. "I can't confirm it."

"But I can say it is disturbing. It is unconscionable for Russia to force Ukrainian citizens into Russia and put them in what will basically be concentration and prisoner camps," Thomas-Greenfield added. "So this is something that we need to verify. Russia should not be moving Ukrainian citizens against their will into Russia."

On chemical weapons, Thomas-Greenfield said to Tapper that allied forces will "respond aggressively" if Russian forces use such weapons on Ukrainians, which the White House has warned could happen.

"They have used chemical weapons against their own people. And we are concerned that they may use chemical weapons in Ukraine." Thomas-Greenfield said.

"We have been clear. If they escalate to this level, we will respond aggressively to what they are doing. You have seen the consequences so far of our actions against Russia and against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. And they are feeling those consequences. And they will feel more if they take this unfortunate decision to use chemical weapons."
Aine Cain/Insider

Victoria's Secret is a global beauty and lingerie brand that operates around 1,400 stores globally.

The company has struggled to adapt to shifting beauty standards and changing consumer demands.

Insider visited two stores, one in the United Kingdom and the other in the United States.

Victoria's Secret is a global beauty and lingerie brand that's long been synonymous with its now defunct "Angels" and extravagant fashion shows.

The brand first came on the scene in 1977 and later became a staple in shopping malls. However in recent years, owing to internal struggles and changing beauty standards, the company has experienced a number of difficulties as its tried to shed its overtly sexy image.

In 2020, the company shuttered 250 stores in the United States and Canada. A year later, Victoria's Secret's former parent company L Brands spun off the retailer. The newly-independent company now says it operates around 1,400 locations worldwide.

Currently, the company is pushing to change its image to a more relaxed, accessible, and inclusive style. But not every location has made the shift yet.

Insider recently visited two Victoria's Secret stores to check-in on the transformation. We visited a shop in the United Kingdom and a location in the United States. Here's what we saw:

The Victoria's Secret in the UK that we visited was located in a city-center shopping mall in Leeds, northern England.

Trinity Leeds, a large shopping mall. Grace Dean/Insider

The Victoria's Secret store was easy to spot thanks to its signature bright pink exterior.

The exterior of a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

There were a couple of small displays showing some of its products, but most of the wall space was taken up by the pink wall, and the displays didn't seem as festive compared to the other stores in the mall.

A shopper walks past a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds. Grace Dean/Insider

The central display focused on what Victoria's Secret is most famous for  lingerie.

The entrance of a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds. Grace Dean/Insider

The interior was very dark, with a lot of black furniture and dim lights.

Displays in a Leeds Victoria's Secret store. Grace Dean/Insider

The inside of the store seemed very carefully curated, like these digital screens on either side of the entrance, with the company's perfumes displayed underneath.

Story continues

A photo display in a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

Sections of the store were dedicated to sleepwear ...

Clothing displayed on the wall in a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds. Grace Dean/Insider

... and perfume and beauty products ...

Products on a shelf in a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds. Grace Dean/Insider

... though it mainly showcased Victoria's Secret's lingerie.

The interior of a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

There was an area dedicated to Victoria's Secret's more sexy lingerie, too.

Mannequins display different lingerie options in a Victoria's Secret in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

Not all the items were so sexy, though.

White bras, shirts, and robes hang on the wall in a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

Under each display were rows of drawers ...

Tables containing rows of large drawers in a Leeds Victoria's Secret. Grace Dean/Insider

... which store products, sorted by size.

A drawer of underwear in a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

A lot of the drawers seemed mostly empty, though ...

Two bras sit in trays in a Leeds Victoria's Secret. Grace Dean/Insider

... like this paltry offering.

A single corset sits in a tray at a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

Most of the store looked tidy, and staff on the store floor kept neatening up the stock ...

Products from the "Dream Angels" collection hang on the wall of a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

... though a couple of the displays needed some work.

A bra hangs incorrectly on a mannequin in a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds. Grace Dean/Insider

One of the focal displays was dedicated to the brand's perfumes ...

Perfumes sit on a table at a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

... though other fragrance products were randomly dotted around the store, too.

A table containing fragrances, clothing, and purses at a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

A couple of areas at the back of the store deviated from its dark color scheme and were instead bright pink.

Mannequins display Victoria's Secret lingerie in a store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

There was a huge screen at the very far end of the store, too ...

A table containing Victoria's Secret merchandise in a store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

... that played videos showcasing the brand's products.

A large screen playing videos of models in a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

Signs dotted throughout the store advertised bra fittings.

Robes, pajamas, and bras hanging on the wall at a Leeds Victoria's Secret. Grace Dean/Insider

At one side of the store, next to a display of underwear ...

Lingerie displayed in a Victoria's Secret store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

... there was an opening into the Victoria's Secret Pink store next door.

The door connecting Victoria's Secret store with a Victoria's Secret Pink location in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

The Pink store had a separate external entrance, too.

The exterior of a Victoria's Secret Pink store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

The store was much more brightly lit, and its displays seemed tailored to younger shoppers. A lot of the customers appeared to be teens.

The entrance way of a Victoria's Secret Pink store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

The displays were incredibly neat and colorful ...

Inside a Leeds Victoria's Secret Pink store. Grace Dean/Insider

... and the drawers largely seemed much better stocked than in the Victoria's Secret next door.

A drawer of merchandise in a Victoria's Secret Pink store in Leeds. Grace Dean/Insider

Though most of the store contained clothes and gym gear.

Sports bras are displayed on the wall of a Victoria's Secret Pink store in Leeds, northern England. Grace Dean/Insider

There were QR codes you could scan to book a bra fitting ...

A sign displays a photo of a model and a QR code in a Leeds Victoria's Secret. Grace Dean/Insider

... as well as signs encouraging you to order online if you couldn't find what you wanted in store.

A sign displayed in a Leeds Victoria's Secret. Grace Dean/Insider

We also swung by a Victoria's Secret store located in a mall in Indianapolis, Indiana. Compared with the Leeds location, its entrance was a bit less flashy.

The exterior of a Victoria's Secret store situated in mall in Indianapolis, Indiana. Aine Cain/Insider

In the United States, Victoria's Secret is, of course, best known for its lingerie products.

Mannequins display different colored bras and panties in an Indianapolis Victoria's Secret. Aine Cain/Insider

The store seemed to be divided into several distinct sections, including basic, everyday underwear ...

Lingerie, panties, and bras hang on the wall in a Victoria's Secret store in Indianapolis. Aine Cain/Insider

... perfumes , makeup, and toiletries ...

A table of Victoria's Secret perfumes and other products in a store based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Aine Cain/Insider

... and, of course, lingerie for special occasions.

A grey piece of lingerie in a Victoria's Secret store in Indianapolis. Aine Cain/Insider

The store was well-lit with meticulously-organized displays and attended staff, on hand to answer questions and take bra measurements.

A section of non-lingerie Victoria's Secret products in a store in Indianapolis. Aine Cain/Insider

We were struck by all the various displays touting different perfumes and fragrant lotions.

A collection of "Velvet Petals" line products in a Victoria's Secret store in Indianapolis. Aine Cain/Insider

The air in the store was filled with sweet smells from those aromatic products, although we'll note that stores like this can be tricky for anyone susceptible to migraines.

A row of lotions and creams in a Victoria's Secret store in Indianapolis. Aine Cain/Insider

Most of those displays seemed to offer pretty pricey options, something you'd buy as a gift for a special occasion rather than an everyday purchase.

A collection of "Heavenly" line products in a Victoria's Secret store in Indianapolis. Aine Cain/Insider

In general, the store was laid out like a fancy, highly feminine destination. That could be viewed as aspirational by prospective customers.

A table of perfumes and lotions displayed in a Victoria's Secret store in Indianapolis. Aine Cain/Insider

But it could also be a little intimidating for anyone looking to buy a regular bra or extra underwear.

A row of Victoria's Secret bras displayed in a store in Indianapolis, Indiana. Aine Cain/Insider

Although the store did offer plenty of casual options ...

Wireless push-up bras in a Victoria's Secret in Indianapolis, Indiana. Aine Cain/Insider

... and even pajama products that trended more towards "cozy" than outright "sexy."

A table displaying flannel pajamas in a Victoria's Secret store in Indianapolis. Aine Cain/Insider

Like in the Leeds store, the shop was filled with drawers, each containing panties, bras, and other products sorted by size.

Tables with drawers containing Victoria's Secret products in Indianapolis, Indiana. Aine Cain/Insider

But special offerings or new, seasonal lines seemed to each receive their own display.

Bras and panties for the "Dream Angels" collection in Victoria's Secret in Indianapolis, Indiana. Aine Cain/Insider

Many of the items we looked at had prices up-front and clearly labeled, unlike the displays in the UK store.

"Demi" bras and panties hung up on the wall of a Victoria's Secret store based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Aine Cain/Insider

The Indianapolis shop was by and large a clean, well-organized store that lent itself to a positive shopping experience for the customer.

A table displaying products in a Victoria's Secret in Indianapolis. Aine Cain/Insider

All in all, it will be interesting to watch Victoria's Secret pivot its brand in the coming years, as the company attempts to bounce back by selling a more inclusive vision.

Bras and panties hung up on the wall of a Victoria's Secret in Indianapolis, Indiana. Aine Cain/Insider

Source: Insider

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Steve Barnes

March 11, 2020: In Washington, D.C., Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, officially an independent, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, unofficially a screwball, vowed to remain in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination even though former Vice President Joe Biden, officially a Democrat, had won four primaries the day before, effectively becoming his partys White House candidate. In New York City, a movie mogul named Harvey Weinstein was ordered to serve more than 20 years in prison for abusing women, most of them aspiring actresses. Nationwide, the price of regular unleaded gas was falling and would continue to fall until it bottomed at less than $2.00 per gallon, the cost of crude having been slashed by the Saudi petroleum sheiks in faraway Riyadh.

In Little Rock, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced that Arkansass first case of that frightful new virus called COVID-19 had been confirmed at Pine Bluff.

So, two years later, the somber anniversary duly noted across the state last Friday. Two seasons of influenza of a more conventional form, by the accounting of the specialists at the state Department of Health, could be expected to cause about 250 deaths in Arkansas. In its 24 months here COVID had claimed almost 11,000 Arkansans.

The first of them was a suburban Little Rock man, his 60th birthday denied him by COVID and by chronic conditions including diabetes and related coronary complications that made him an easy target for the virus, that allowed it to torture him for days. It is impossible to forget how his widow and a son spoke about the agony of his closing days, the gasping for oxygen in the final hours; and about their own pain, they as powerlessness as the doctors to reverse the spiral.

As Arkansas enters its third year of COVID, the daily case counts ebb and flow, still in the hundreds although the trend lines give the states clinical community reason for optimism, some basis for extending to the public their sense that the worst may, just may, be behind us. As often as not in recent days the number of Arkansans considered actively infected or exposed has declined, as has the number hospitalized, including those in intensive care and those requiring ventilation  mechanical assistance in breathing. And the morbidity index, the number and the percentage of COVID victims whom medical science cannot rescue  it, too, is softening. That first diagnosed case, at Pine Bluff  that Arkansas Patient No. 1 survived was something of a miracle. It took weeks of in-patient care and a team of physicians and technicians, drawing upon their training and skills in fighting an invisible foe no one in the world yet really understood.

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There was no vaccine then, would not be a vaccine for many months. But it came, faster than believed possible  at Warp Speed, in fact. And then a new struggle began, one that continues to this day: The campaign by clinicians to convince huge swaths of suspicious Americans (and their counterparts in Europe and Africa) that the vaccines not only were effective, but safe, and that the odds of a serious reaction were infinitesimally small. That they did not alter the patients DNA. That they did not cause impotence, sterility or miscarriages. Or hair loss. And that, no, they did not contain microscopic computer chips, the mischief of Bill Gates or George Soros or Michael Bloomberg, or Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. After all, the vaccine came from Donald Trumps administration, right? Right?

Along the way, even today, there were demands that cattle dewormer or other off-label pharmaceuticals be made more widely available to those for whom injecting bleach or ingesting ultraviolet electric bulbs are a cure too far. And the opposition to masking: Its critics have had, will continue to have, no difficulty in finding a physician here or there whose research proves that masks are worse than worthless  that they stunt the physical and emotional development of youngsters and drive their elders insane (true, in rather too many instances).

Pushed to the edge of the psychiatrists couch, or atop it, have been those in the mainstream healthcare professionals, and those political leaders who have urged their constituents to follow the very best science and not heed the gasbags of talk radio and the kooks of cable TV. With almost every public appeal they are at pains to note that the hospitalized and the deceased consist overwhelmingly of those who, for whatever reason, chose not to be immunized. Beyond maddening, says Dr. Shane Speights, dean of the school of osteopathic medicine at Arkansas State.

Only about 53% of eligible Arkansans have been fully vaccinated, a figure on par with much of the south but woefully behind the national average. We are tired of COVID, certainly. But as noted often and elsewhere, COVID is not tired of us.

Steve Barnes is the host of "Arkansas Week" on Arkansas PBS.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: We're all tired of COVID | Steve Barnes
The Daily Beast

InstagramThe man who allegedly rushed the stage and attacked comedian Dave Chappelle as he performed Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl is an aspiring rapper who recorded a song in 2020 titled Dave Chappell.Isaiah Arias Lee, who performs under the name NoName_Trapper, was arrested on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, according to booking records. Lee, 23, was carrying a replica gun with a knife hidden inside, police said. After Chappelles security team subdued Leewith the assistan
By Brendan O'Brien and Barbara Goldberg

(Reuters) - An off-duty police officer accused of placing his knee on the neck of a 12-year-old girl to restrain her after a school fight in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is under investigation and remains employed, the city's police department said in a statement.

The March 4 incident at Lincoln Middle School drew fresh public attention after the city's school district, which employed Shawn Guetschow as a part-time security guard when he was off duty from the city police force, publicly released video of it on Friday.

It comes the year after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who used a similar knee restraint on George Floyd as he cried "I can't breathe," was convicted of murder and sentenced to 22-1/2 years in prison.

Guetschow resigned from his security guard post for the Kenosha Unified School District, but remains employed by the city police force, Kenosha Police Department said on Twitter.

The district provided Reuters with surveillance video of the incident, showing two female students fighting in a lunch room before two adults intervened. One of the adults took one of the students to the ground, placing his knee on her neck while handcuffing her, the video showed.

An attorney for the girl said during a news conference last week that it "mirrored the same maneuver that Derek Chauvin used to murder George Floyd."

Guetschow "held her face against the floor, he positioned himself behind her, lifted his right leg, and pressed his knee down into the back of her neck," said Drew DeVinney, the attorney for the girl, who was identified only as "Jerrel Perez's daughter."

She "told him she couldn't breathe," DeVinney said, but "the officer continued to push his knee into Jerrel's daughter's neck," adding that Guetschow eventually handcuffed and arrested her.

According to U.S. media, Guetschow said he resigned from his role with the school system due to the "mental and emotional strain" the event has brought upon his family. Attempts to reach Guetschow for comment on Sunday were unsuccessful.

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Kenosha has a troubled past with police using force.

In August 2020, a white Kenosha police officer shot a Black man several times in the back in front of his young children. That man, Jacob Blake, was left paralyzed from the waist down.

The incident sparked days of deadly protests against police brutality and racism in his hometown and across the United States. The officer was not charged in the incident.

In June, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed into law a measure that bans police use of choke holds.

The school district, noting that DeVinney threatened legal action against the district, the officer and the police department, declined to comment on Sunday other than to say that Guetschow resigned from his school role on March 15.

Kenosha Police declined further comment on Sunday.

DeVinney did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot)
NEW HAVEN, Conn.  Entering Yale Universitys St. Thomas More Catholic chapel, Oksana Goroshchuk spotted sunflowers adorning a candlelit altar and thought of the fields full of her countrys national blossom near her grandmothers home in Ukraine.

A mezzo-soprano launched into a traditional folk tune that Goroshchuk used to sing growing up, and the postdoctoral medical researcher broke down in tears of grief  and gratitude for the university communitys solidarity with her homeland.

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Its people who support us and people who love us, said Goroshchuk, 32, who was born in Kyiv and whose parents recently escaped the war-torn country.

Across the United States, campus ministries of different denominations are working to bring comfort to college students who, after two years of pandemic disruption and isolation, have been plunged deeper into feelings of crisis and helplessness by the war in Ukraine.

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Students sit in the pews of St. Thomas More Catholic chapel during a benefit concert for Ukraine at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Campus ministries across the United States are working to offer comfort and community to students struggling with feelings of dismay and helplessness over the war in Ukraine. (Jessie Wardarski/AP)

From Ivy League schools to public institutions to Catholic universities, theyre holding prayer vigils, organizing medical supply drives and staging emotional performances of sacred music. Chaplains say religious and nonreligious students alike, especially those with loved ones in war zones, urgently need a sense of community to help them cope.

One of the best things we do in campus ministry is we foster community, said Lisa Reiter, director of campus ministry at Loyola University Chicago.

At the Wednesday night peace concert and benefit at Yale, dozens of attendees gazed quietly at an image of a crucified Jesus Christ holding a dove, backlit by the blue and yellow of Ukraines flag. Cello suites, organ pieces, classical violin and piano melodies and a Ukrainian Orthodox chant echoed through the chapel.

Theres this mass movement by Russia to take away lives of Ukrainians. But they cant take away the culture, and they cant take away the language or the song, said Sofiya Bidochko, a 19-year-old Yale student from Lviv, Ukraine. I feel the importance of preserving my Ukrainian-ness when I hear these songs.

To the north at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, the campus Hillel organization recently welcomed several Ukrainian students to a Shabbat dinner, where they supped on matzo ball soup and deli sandwiches. The Jewish groups members listened to their guests talk about their homes and families and promised to support them.

It was just nice to have this bit of community, said Yevheniia, a 20-year-old student who came to the dinner even though she was baptized Orthodox Christian and considers herself agnostic.

She asked that her last name be withheld to protect her parents  they live in an area in eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists and recently messaged her to say they were going to a bomb shelter.

Also this month, at the University of Rhode Island, an interfaith peace vigil drew people from Christian, Muslim, Jewish and other faiths together in prayer. A Buddhist chaplain struck a Tibetan singing bowl to mark a moment of silence for those suffering and killed in Ukraine.

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Organizers stressed the importance of not only making divine appeals but carrying out concrete, earthly action, and provided resources for students to do so.

Prayer alone is not enough, said Amy Olson, chair of the universitys Chaplains Association and executive director of its Hillel group. We really put an emphasis on ways that people could either make charitable donations or contribute funds to help the cause, how they could write to their politicians or offer support to the Ukrainian community locally.

A similar solidarity vigil was held at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. And at Loyola University Chicago, the campus ministry partnered with the newly re-created Ukrainian student club to stage a drive that collected 60 tons of medical supplies for war relief.

Campus ministers at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, have been collecting money for humanitarian aid at religious services and say some $700 was put in collection baskets at Ash Wednesday Masses alone. A kiosk has also been set up with a scannable QR code for online donations.

The school is home to many Somali American students who attended a recent prayer for peace. As the children of refugees or refugees themselves, they have seen firsthand the horrors of war and get shaken by seeing them repeated in Ukraine, Muslim chaplain Sadaf Shier said.

Many chaplains said that remote education and a lack of socializing and shared rituals during the pandemic have frayed the social fabric that would normally help assuage the struggles and anxiety of students, some of whom worry the hostilities in Ukraine could spill beyond borders and ignite a World War III.

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That means their mission has changed, becoming less focused on just worship and more on helping young adults re-engage with each other and the world. Often that entails channeling their concern into charitable action.

Students have been trying to figure out what to do, said Sister Jenn Schaaf, assistant Catholic chaplain at Yale.

The mezzo-soprano whose performance at Yale moved Goroshchuk to tears was Karolina Wojteczko, a native of Poland who recently graduated from the university and now serves as music director at St. Thomas More.

Wojteczko was inspired to organize the concert by the distress she has noticed among both Eastern European and American friends. That included Russians, who she said are being shunned from the communities right now. One student with family in both Ukraine and Russia confessed to feeling utterly lost.

The concert has helped people unite, cope and heal.

After COVID everyone has been so separated, Wojteczko said, and this is ... a way to just sit there and be, and participate, and feel that you are connected to people who need help in the world.
When Tarsha Joyner opened her bakery business in July 2012, it was just pretend.

Mrs. Joys Absolutely Fabulous Treats has now been in business for 10 years, has a bright yellow storefront at 1008 Commerce St. and Joyner has appeared on the Food Network channel multiple times.

But whats amazing is that year one was when I learned to bake, Joyner said. My kids will tell you I never baked birthday cakes for them. It was Sams Club all the way back in the day.

The bakery business was almost an accident. A fluke.

Ten years ago, Joyner was a student at University of Lynchburg working on her graphic design degree and was assigned to come up with a business for which she could design packaging and could brand the product, start to finish.

Wanting to create something family friendly, she created a fake bakery and learned from YouTube and Google how to bake treats to place in the packaging she had designed.

She got a gig at the Lynchburg Community Market selling some shortbread and other treats in the packaging.

In the beginning, it was just about making something to put in the packaging, she said. I was making shortbread and people loved it. And Im shocked because the shortbread I make now is nothing like that shortbread I used to make.

With that, Mrs. Joy was born, and she decided to make the bakery a reality.

Who knew that was going to turn into anything real? I just created this fake business and then learned how to bake, she said.

Joyner said shes been proud to represent Lynchburg over the years on the Food Network channel, but her first appearance was just the luck of the draw.

In 2015, she won the Food Network Christmas Cookie Challenge along with $10,000 to help establish her storefront, which she did the following year.

I had only decorated cookies probably maybe a handful of times when I went on the show, she said. I only had six recipes and I was like, God, if I need more than that, I dont know what Im going to do, because this is this all I got, and I used all six of them and won.

As the host introduced the contestants, Joyner said there were well-established bakers, an ex-NFL player and a Martha Stewart cookie decorator, and Joyner wondered why she was on the show at all.

Im a software support analyst that works at the market on Saturdays, she remembered thinking. I was terrified for about five seconds, and then I remembered I had prayed all the way up to that point that if it was meant for me to be here, then I would be. So I got over it real quick.

In 2017, she returned to battle bakers in the networks Dessert Games, and in 2019, Joyner competed in Food Networks Haunted Gingerbread Showdown.

In 2021, she was featured on Project Bakeover, where her store had a complete remodel.

Even with these accolades, Joyner doesnt see herself as successful  yet.

Its hard trying to find the ingredients, hard getting capital to pay for those things because prices have doubled since we started, she said. And now we have to pay more for minimum wage, and so everything is going up as a result.

Always on the hunt to reach new customers, Joyner created a video on the social-networking app TikTok last year where she posts baking tips and flops. But she never shares recipes.

I didnt want to do what everyone else was doing; I just do me. I dont do a lot of music in the videos. I dont do a lot of dancing because thats not my jam, and I dont share my recipes. I dont do that because Ive worked really hard for my recipes, she said. I dont feel like I should take a decade to come up with this stuff and then just give it away.

Last fall, she launched a new website that ships her baked goods all across the country, which has helped to bring in three to four times what she makes from walk-ins at the store.

You have to start getting outside of your comfort zone when things have been working this way all along and then theres this hiccup called the pandemic that made you think, OK, so now we have to do something different because the same old ways arent going to work anymore, she said.

Joyner is her own worst critic, she said.

I feel like if all my bills are paid and Im in no debt and I have a paycheck coming in on a regular basis, then Im a success, she said. I can see that happening by next year.

When reminded that Joyner had been in business for a decade, loyal customer and friend LoisAnn Pfister replied, Ive been eating her caramels for 10 years; dont remind me!

Pfister said her relationship with Joyner began when Joyner was set up at the market.

Im a sucker for anything caramel, so when I started buying those, I was sold for life, she said.

The business relationship soon turned into friendship, and Pfister helped Joyner with some consulting as she was opening her storefront in 2016.

Joyner also made all the cupcakes and the cake for Pfisters daughters wedding.

She does keep growing and she keeps exploring and seeing what else is out there and what else she can do to expand her product line, Pfister said. She is great at experimenting and trying new things and is such a talented artist. I feel like in some ways, she still has more untapped potential and how to utilize that into profitability. Shes just, shes really, really talented.

For too many years, Joyner said, she worked for people who treated her as though she was dispensable.

I know what that feels like and I know that when people come to work, I let them know how important they are, she said. And if it ever gets to the point where they dont like being here and its time for them to go, I dont hate their guts. This is not a landing pad; this is more like a springboard. Theyre supposed to learn how to be a good employee and go to another job that can pay for what they need to sustain their life.

When Kevona Covington, 19, started working at Mrs. Joys nearly two years ago, she knew nothing about baking but over time has learned and has found the job to be the best one shes ever had.

Covington, a first-generation college student attending Virginia Commonwealth University, said Joyner has been a big help with guiding her even outside of work.

Its been amazing, she said. [Joyner] is an amazing person. Shes like a second mom to me. Shes helped me with college applications and educating me on what to do while Im there.

When Covington comes to work, it doesnt feel like a job, she said.

It feels like Im just here with my family and I love the environment and I love that is Black-owned, she said. That kind of inspires me a little bit.

All of that is what makes Joyner feel like a success.

Its important for me to teach my employees good work ethic and when they leave and they let me know that it was the best job that theyve ever had and that they look forward to the future because they know what its like to have a good boss and to be a good employee, thats whats important to me, and if thats what has been accomplished, then thats what makes me feel like a success, she said.

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Back when I was in Catholic school, the Church published lists of forbidden books and films. Among most of the Catholic youngsters I knew, all the Church accomplished was to give those works the lure of forbidden fruit.

I remember one Catholic high-school double date in particular. The four of us were looking for a movie to see. The one that caught our eye was Lover Come Back (1961). One of the girls  more Catholic than the rest of us  balked at going because it was on the list of forbidden films. It starred Doris Day and Rock Hudson back when premarital sex could only be hinted at, so how licentious could it have been? I know I wanted to see it.

As reported last week, Bedford County Public Schools administrators are refusing to remove 11 books from their school libraries that a group calling themselves Moms for Liberty find objectionable (After review, 11 challenged books wont be removed, March 13). Two of the books in question are critically acclaimed  Toni Morrisons Beloved and Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner. The irony is that all these anxious moms have accomplished is to bring attention to the books they would ban and to make them especially appealing to curious young minds.

Certainly, parents have a right to try to control what their children read and see. But thats the key: their particular children, not anyone elses. Im sure the Moms for Liberty mean well, but their sensibility and their sense of what is age appropriate are not normative for all the other parents with children in the Bedford County Public Schools. I would ask these Moms two questions:

First, how can they claim to be for liberty when they would restrict the access of others to the books they object to?

Second, have they considered the kind of people theyre emulating and the history theyre reenacting? Book banning and censorship are ugly words in America  deservedly so.

Im sure the Moms for Liberty have been emboldened by Gov. Youngkins determination to give parents a say in their childrens education. But not all parents are created equal. Some are better educated and more open-minded than others. Some do not subscribe to all the Christian strictures prevalent in this community. Still others believe their children should not be sheltered from other lifestyles and experiences as well as lifes harsh realities. The overly protective moms in Bedford and elsewhere should perhaps take to heart something the English poet John Milton wrote: I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue ... that never sallies out and sees her adversary.

Yet another aspect to this controversy is near and dear to my heart. Too many young people today arrive at college unable to write well enough to succeed. As a former academic and a writer, I know the single best way to learn to write is to read. All the great writers we celebrate didnt attend a Great Writers School. What they have in common is that they were widely read. And the ability to read closely and to write critically is fundamental to academic and professional success. My advice to all parents is not to worry so much about what your children are reading. Worry that they may not be reading enough.

A former enlisted Marine and a Vietnam veteran, Palm retired from the Marine Corps as a major and went on to an academic career. He lives in Forest and can be contacted at majorpalm@gmail.com.
Japanese Wagyu Beef is quite different from other beef around the world and within Japan, there are so many regional brands.

It's hard to know what the difference is between Kobe Beef and say, Yonezawa Beef other than the branding, but there are factors that can change the taste like climate, elevation, feed, housing conditions, treatment of livestock, and water.

This time, we are in Yonezawa and the Okitama Region of Yamagata to learn how Wagyu beef is inspected, graded and ranked, cut and distributed. We'll also try some of the social dishes famous in Yonezawa like its Gyu Nabe -- also known as Sukiyaki.
Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday said his country will invest $42 billion in India over the next five years in a deal that is expected to boost bilateral trade.

Kishida met his counterpart, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi during his maiden visit to India since assuming office. The two leaders held talks ranging from economy to security cooperation.

In a televised press statement, Kishida said the investment plan will bring huge benefits for several industries, from the development of urban infrastructure to green energy.

Kishida also said the two sides reaffirmed Japan and Indias commitment to strengthen security ties across the Indo-Pacific region and held discussions over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

We discussed the situation in Ukraine. (The) Russian attack is a serious matter as it has shaken international norms, he said.

India says ties with Japan are key to stability in the region. The two nations, along with the United States and Australia, are members of the Indo-Pacific alliance known as the Quad that is countering Chinas rising influence in Asia. ...continue reading
The UH-1 Huey obtained for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Papillion, Nebraska was kept busy in the Vietnam War after being put into service in 1969.

The Helicopter, with tail No. 68-15532, joined the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division in Quan Loi, Vietnam, according to an account from the Nebraska Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation. While part of the 3rd Brigade, it flew 478 hours in support of operations from April to October 1969. It then joined the 229th Aviation Battalion (assault helicopters) in January 1970. Over the next 21 months, the chopper flew 2,262 hours, with two reported incidents with zero wounded.

It deployed for a short stint  only 73 hours  with the 244th Assault Helicopter Company in October 1971 and another 18 hours with the 114th Assault Helicopter Company before it landed with the 48th Assault Helicopter Company, the account from the foundation stated.

During its time with the 48th AHC, the bird flew 202 hours. The last flight for the chopper was in August 1972, when it was transferred to the 142nd Transportation Company. In the end, it flew a total of 3,180 hours in Vietnam and returned to Texas almost unscathed. The bullet holes it did sustain were patched by the military before it made its way into the hands of veterans groups in Vermont and Nebraska.

There is no record of the aircraft ever flying after serving four years in Vietnam, but it has spent a lot of time on highways across the United States.

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After 150 years, the city of Hepburn is no more.

During its meeting Dec. 7, 2021, the Hepburn City Council held its final official meeting after voting a month earlier to approve a resolution for the discontinuance of the city.

The historic implications of the decision were not lost on us. It was sad to realize the city was coming to an end, Hepburn City Clerk Connie Rogers said.

The former municipality of 26 people is about 73 miles southeast of Council Bluffs and 8 miles north of Clarinda.

Rogers said there had been informal discussions about the potential discontinuance of the city over the years. However, she said those discussions became more serious over the last four years, as the population of the city continued to decline and it was increasingly difficult to find people to serve as city officials.

The governmental leadership of Hepburn consisted of a mayor, five council members and the city clerk, who is appointed by the council. While Rogers served as city clerk, her husband, Brian, served as the final mayor of Hepburn.

A pivotal date in the decision to proceed with discontinuing the city was Sept. 16, 2021. This was the candidate filing deadline for the Nov. 2, 2021 city election. All six positions on the council were up for election.

We waited to be sure no one was going to run in the election, but no one came forward, Rogers said.

Therefore, Matt Rasmussen of the City Development Board in Des Moines guided Rogers and the council through the process for the discontinuance of the city. During its meeting Oct. 19, 2021, the City Council adopted a resolution of intent to discontinue the city and set a public hearing on the matter for Nov. 2, 2021.

If anyone objected or wanted to be heard, they had to notify the council by noon that day that they wished to speak. No one attended the public hearing to present written or oral objections to the idea. So, after the hearing, the council passed a resolution to discontinue the city, Rogers said.

Once that resolution was passed, Rogers said the public had 30 days to object to the decision and request a special election on the discontinuance of the city. During the meeting Dec. 7, 2021, Rogers reported no challenges had been received. This cleared the way for the city to proceed with the final steps in the discontinuance process.

One of those steps included Rogers appearing before the City Development Board on March 9. After reviewing the action taken by the council, the board approved the discontinuance of the city.

The city funds have been turned over to the City Development Board. The board will hold the funds for six months and pay any outstanding claims owed by the city before turning the balance of the funds over to Page County.

The two biggest changes for Hepburn, Rogers said, involve the future maintenance of the streets and the operation of the street lights in the community. Rogers said Page County would take over responsibility for the maintenance of the roads.

As for the street lights, during its meeting Dec. 7, 2021, Rogers said the council also approved making an advanced payment to MidAmerican Energy for the continued operation of the street lights for approximately six months. After that time, Rogers said local residents can keep the street lights functioning by adding the cost to their individual bills.

The city paid ahead on the bills so we would not have to rush into that. It will cost $6.26 per light per month and we have about a dozen street lights. Quite a few people have already said they want them, Rogers said. Beyond that, the city will become part of Valley Township and everything will basically go on the same except for us being an incorporated city.

Settlers in Valley Township of Page County established the city of Hepburn on Dec. 9, 1872, according to information from the Nodaway Valley Historical Museum. The city was named in honor of William P. Hepburn, who served as a colonel in the Civil War and later was a United States representative from the Eighth Congressional District of Iowa.

Situated on the railroad line between Clarinda and Villisca, as many as 10 trains a day passed through Hepburn at its height with regular stops in the morning, afternoon and evening, according to the museum.

With railroad transportation, local farmers could reach markets in other parts of the country and people could travel to and from Hepburn, according to the museum.

Along with farming, the economic vitality of Hepburn was further enhanced by the coal mining industry. With mines located on the west and south sides of the city, the population exceeded 100 and reached a high point of 140 people based on the 1930 census.

However, the population started to decline soon after and dropped to 81 people by the 1940 census.
Washington has stressed that it shares Spains position on the Sahara issue, and reiterated that the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco is serious, credible and realistic.

We continue to consider the autonomy plan presented by Morocco as serious, credible and realistic and which has a clear potential to meet the aspirations of the people of the region, a spokesman for the US State Department told the Spanish news agencies Europa Press and EFE.

The spokesman reaffirmed Washingtons support for the UN special envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, and his efforts to promote a peaceful and prosperous future for the region.

The spokesmans remarks to the Spanish news agencies come after the release of the message that the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchez addressed to King Mohammed VI and the statement of the Spanish Government made Friday on the Sahara issue and on Moroccan-Spanish relations.

In his message to the Sovereign, Pedro Sanchez stated clearly that Spain supports Moroccos autonomy initiative as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for settling the Sahara issue and pointed out that he recognizes the importance of the Sahara issue for Morocco.

Later Friday afternoon, the Spanish government presidency issued a statement saying that Spain is committed to respecting Moroccos sovereignty and territorial integrity, as part of a new era in bilateral ties.

We are ushering today a new era in our ties with Morocco, based on mutual respect, the implementation of agreements, refraining from unilateral actions, transparency and permanent communication, said the Spanish Presidency in the statement.

This new era will be elaboratedin a clear and ambitious roadmap in order to guarantee stability, sovereignty, the territorial integrity and prosperity for our two countries, the Spanish presidency said.

The Spanish government also reaffirmed determination to address together with Morocco all the common challenges notably in terms of cooperating to manage migration flows in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic, by acting in a spirit of full cooperation and to restore normalcy in the movement of people and goods benefiting the two peoples.

The Spanish government welcomed the scheduling of a visit by Prime Minister Sanchez to Morocco in order to elaborate the roadmap for bilateral relations as well as the upcoming visit by Spanish foreign minister to Morocco by late March.

Moroccos foreign ministry welcomed Spains support for the autonomy initiative as constructive commitments on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara and as a clear and ambitious roadmap to improve and advance bilateral diplomatic ties between the two countries on the basis of transparency and mutual respect.

The new position expressed clearly by Madrid indicates a step forward by Spain to mend ties with Morocco after it has maintained connivance with Algeria and the Polisario.

Morocco and Spains relationship fell into an unprecedented diplomatic crisis in 2021, after the European country decided to receive leader of the polisario separatist front in April 2021 for medical treatment under a false identity.

Spains actions greatly angered Rabat, which said that the move undermined Moroccos trust in its long-term strategic ally.

Rabat recalled its ambassador to Spain and asked Madrid to refrain from its double-face.

Since then, the Spanish government has made several attempts to restore normality and positive diplomatic ties between the two countries, but Morocco was firm in its stand, requesting a clear-cut stand on the Sahara issue.

Analysts described Spains announcement as historic and as a resounding victory for Morocco and as a setback for the polisario and its mentor, Algeria.

The analysts predictions proved true as Algeria hurried Saturday, March 19, to recall its ambassador to Spain for consultations, saying in a statement from the foreign ministry that Algeria has been very surprised with Spains shift in support of Moroccos autonomy proposal for the Sahara region.
As a group of people intervened in the alleged assault, the 22-year-old retreated to his residence and loaded a rifle, pointing it at at least six bystanders, according to police.
A judge granted a request by prosecutors Thursday to drop charges against two men in connection with a 1980 Hammond shooting death of an off-duty police officer.

James Hill, 63, was a teenager when he and Pierre L. Catlett, 67, were accused as part of a Nov. 14, 1980, robbery that left Patrolman Lawrence Pucalik dead during a side job working hotel security.

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Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Peter Villarreal wrote after a thorough and exhaustive review there was not enough evidence to prove the case, according to court filings.

Hill was sentenced in October 2018 to 47 years in prison. Last year, Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez vacated that conviction after a joint request from the Lake County Prosecutors office and Hills attorneys, Scott King and Russell Brown.

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Pucalik was working a security job at the Holiday Inn south of Interstate 80/94 and west of Cline Avenue in Hammond when two men with handguns came in and demanded money from the register.

Pucalik walked into the lobby and as he attempted to access his firearm, he was shot by one of the suspects, according to court records. Prosecutors said Hill was the getaway driver for the other two men who went inside, but Hill maintained his innocence.

Hill was first charged in the case in 2012, and he was joined by two co-defendants, Catlett and Larry Mayes. Then he was charged again in 2016.

Catlett was brought to Indiana in 2018 to face charges in Pucaliks death after serving a lengthy Illinois prison sentence.

Mayes was found incompetent to stand trial after he had a stroke, attorneys said.

Michelle L. Quinn contributed.
The Lincoln County commissioners on Monday will consider additional funding for the Midwest Nebraska Problem Solving Court  also known as drug court  for defense counsel.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Commissioners Room at the Lincoln County Courthouse.

The board also will consider appointing Bradley Nelson to the Veterans Service Committee to fill a vacancy until June.

Mick Margritz of Hershey will discuss drainage issue with the commissioners at 10 a.m.

The commissioners will consider authorizing the Chairman to sign the County Lottery License Renewal Application from 2022-2024.
Growing up on a farm near Maywood, Kim Hansens natural curiosity directed her eventually to find her calling as an assistant professor of practice in biological sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Her passion for learning often challenged the patience of her high school science teacher, Morris Johnson, but Hansen said, He was very patient.

This month Hansen is receiving two honors from the university.

Hansen received a Family and Friends Recognition Award March 4. The award honors faculty and staff members who have made a significant difference in students lives.

On Thursday she will receive UNLs Women of Courage, Character and Commitment Award. It recognizes women on campus and in the Lincoln community who have made positive impacts through professional, personal, mentoring or peer relationships. Hansen was one of six UNL faculty members among the 17 honorees.

I was obviously very happy and felt honored, Hansen said. I do feel that teaching is my calling, and its just very rewarding to get that validation that students can recognize its my passion. Im honored and humbled.

After graduating from Maywood High School in 1985, Hansen went on to graduate with a bachelors degree in business and marketing from UNL.

She lived in Minneapolis for three or four years, then moved to North Platte and did marketing for the North Platte Mall.

I just wasnt happy doing that, and I realized I had always wanted to be a veterinarian, Hansen said. I came back to UNL, and to get into vet school I had to get my science course prerequisites.

While she was taking those classes, one of her professors approached Hansen about pursuing a doctorate in physiology, which is the study of the normal functions of living organisms and their parts. The teacher was an animal science professor in the physiology program.

Before I decided to get a Ph.D. with her, I had actually applied for and gotten accepted into veterinarian school, Hansen said.

During her childhood living on a farm, Hansen said, wondering about animals deaths helped stir her interest in science.

I would always try to figure out why they died, Hansen said. I would like cut them open and figure it out.

Meanwhile, I had always wanted to teach, even when I was a kid, Hansen said. I thought I would like teaching.

Hansen said her primary job is teaching  80% teaching, 10% service and 10% research.

Im actually doing educational research, teaching and learning, Hansen said. The research Im doing is kind of focusing on how to help students learn, how to be a better teacher, different methods that help students succeed, which really fits right in with my passion.

Hansen has been teaching since 2005, first at Nebraska Methodist College for five years and then at Bryan College of Health Sciences for nine years. She started teaching at UNL in the fall of 2020.

She has extensive family in the Maywood-Curtis area and North Platte. Her husband, Rob Franzen, is from the Franzen Plumbing family  his mother is Marcene, well-known as a caterer. Her cousin has Hansen Plumbing and her sister-in-law is Danni Franzen, chief provider network officer at Great Plains Health.

The Hansens have two children: son Will, who is a high school senior, and daughter Harley, an eighth grader.

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High fuel prices across Nebraska and throughout the country have resulted in one switch for Savana Clausen and her family.

Its changed the vehicle we drive, the Norfolk resident said as she fueled up earlier this week at the Fat Dogs station off South Dewey Street. We are driving a smaller vehicle because of the gas prices. We have a Yukon XL (SUV) and that was a gas hog already.

A look on AAA.com showed the average gas price for Lincoln County on Friday was $3.914 per gallon, including all fuel grades. The state average was $3.872 per gallon, and a handful of area counties were below that: Dawson ($3.758), Logan ($3.679), Keith ($3.778), Perkins ($3.832) and Hayes ($3.839).

The average price was $3.887 per gallon for regular gas (87 octane) in North Platte, $3.925 for midgrade (89 octane) and $4.236 for premium (91 octane).

Just a week ago, those prices ranged from $3.902 to $4.303, but a month ago it was $3.393 to $3.543.

A year ago, prices were between $2.839 and $3.071 per gallon depending on grade.

On Friday, diesel fuel averaged $4.942 per gallon. It was $3.10 a year ago.

Its kind of hard right now, said Clausen, who was traveling home with her mother after attending a funeral in Colorado. Those unexpected costs that youre not planning on can get even more difficult right now. We just walk when we can and drive as little as possible right now.

Tammy James, manager of the Cenex station on South Jeffers, said the current fuel situation was giving her flashbacks to about five years ago, when prices climbed to more than $4 a gallon.

She said the station has updated prices more than once on the same day recently.

(Prices) went down and then back up one day, James said. Weve been fluctuating a lot lately, but (prices) have mostly been going up. Were not seeing anything go down really and I dont think we will (for now).

James said Cenex offers customers a discount of 10 cents a gallon if they pay with cash, an option that is becoming more popular at the pumps.

Absolutely, James said, if people have a chance to save some money.

There are other options to consider as well.

The Nebraska Ethanol Board is promoting a plan that shows that the conversion of a third of all E10 fuel across the country to E15 could displace the need for crude oil and petroleum products imported from Russia.

Most 87 octane fuel contains about 10% ethanol, and E15 is safe for vehicles that were produced from 2001 on. Even higher grades, like E85, are only safe for flex-fuel vehicles.

Nebraska is the second-largest ethanol-producing state with 25 facilities producing over 2.1 billion gallons per year.

Weve got a homegrown solution to slicing off those imports that could help with rising fuel costs as oil refineries search for another source for that or even bring their own oil up from the ground, said Reid Wagner, the administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board. Thats one benefit weve got with ethanol being right here today in our backyards, ready to help.

The customers James speaks to would obviously like to see the fuel prices drop soon. But she said those same people are not letting the situation affect their travel plans.

People are tired of staying at home, James said. I dont think (the cost of fuel) is going to stop them this year. I really dont think so. Its not going to stop me. I want a vacation this year.

(People are) not giving up on their cars. Im not seeing that.

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As war rages on the doorsteps of our NATO allies, the United States is weighing the best path forward to provide additional support to Ukraine and hold Vladimir Putin accountable. The destruction and bloodshed in Ukraine are tragic, and I was moved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys joint address to Congress earlier this week. I was pleased when the House took action on a bill for which Ive been advocating to revoke Russias trade privileges, a vote which President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress needlessly delayed. The world needs strong, decisive leadership from the United States, and Zelenskyy has made it clear time is of the essence.

With my support, Congress has answered Zelenskyys calls for additional humanitarian and security assistance by passing legislation to provide $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine. That same measure also provided additional resources to support our national security, increasing defense investments by roughly 6%.

While Europes most significant conflict in more than 75 years continues, security concerns around the globe remain as Americas adversaries in other parts of the world continue to look for vulnerabilities as well. As the free world rallies in support of Ukraine, other aggressors have taken the opportunity to escalate their postures.

In March, China announced a 7.1% increase in its military budget. This increase outpaces Chinas 2022 GDP growth rate target and continues Chinas aggressive trend of increased military investments, nearly tripling their military spending over the last decade. The Chinese Communist Partys denial of the independence of Taiwan is rightly another concern as China continues to seek any advantage it can toward reclaiming the island territory.

North Korea has fired or attempted to fire 14 missiles during 10 rounds of launch tests in 2022 alone. Despite the failure of the most recent launch, North Koreas ambition to develop missiles capable of reaching the U.S. is a serious threat and should be treated as such.

On March 13, an Iranian missile barrage hit near the U.S. consulate in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Thankfully, there were no American casualties, and the consulate itself was not struck, but the attack is clearly an attempt by Iran to test our country and our leaders.

The Iranian missile strike also raises more concerns about the trajectory of the Biden administrations ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran. Reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has been one of Bidens most misguided foreign policy priorities. Iran is negotiating while continuing its malign practices. Congress should rigorously utilize our oversight capabilities to ensure we are not further empowering our adversaries.

As the world grows more dangerous, we must provide our military and defense experts the resources they need to ensure America has a strong defense posture at home and abroad. The interests of freedom are being tested, and America must stand firm against those who challenge us and our allies.
Writer Beer & Society

There is nothing that cannot be discussed and worked out over a beer. Join me as I explore local beer, breweries and how they can civilize us.
Kyiv based organization that allows you to donate to directly support the Ukrainian soldiers with immediate necessities, food, suppliesIn agreement with Zene za Zene International, our affiliate in Bosnia & Herzegovina, we support their solidarity response for Ukraine. Our Director, Seida, who herself lived through the siege of Sarajevo and built up a highly effective program for survivors of war in Bosnia, is now leading our assessment of the needs of marginalized women in this conflict.for Ukraine https://razomforukraine.org/ The nonprofit is collecting donations for its emergency response project to provide medical supplies, humanitarian aid and support volunteers on the ground.This organization, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, provides medical care during humanitarian crises, and still has workers in Ukraine despite the ongoing conflict. Donations will fund these services as well as mass casualty kits, emergency medicine and preparedness training for local hospitals and more.Ukrainian Yuliia Sachuks organization, Fight for Right, promotes and protects the human rights of people living with disabilities in her community. In response to the crisis, Fight for Right is coordinating accessible shelter, evacuations, and emergency servicesensuring those living with disabilities arent left out of the humanitarian efforts.Andras Lederer and his team at the Hungarian Helsinki Committee have been helping provide free-of-charge legal assistance and representation to refugees in Hungary for decades. Right now, they are focused on helping asylum seekers from Ukraine find professional and free legal assistance.Following reports that a number of African and Indian students have faced discrimination and racism at the border of Poland while trying to escape to safety, Fundacja Ocalenie has stepped in to provide support.The Kyiv Independent, an English-language media outlet, was launched three months ago and was created on the principles of independent journalism and free-press. The goal of their Go Fund Me campaign is to keep the accurate news coming.This Polish organization is offering a free crisis hotline to assist people who are being affected by the Ukrainian crisis, including individuals who have fled the country, families worried about the well-being of their children, and those who have relatives in Ukraine and are feeling a sense of hopelessness.A Hungarian nonprofit that has experience helping severely traumatized asylum seekers, refugees, and their family members. They provide counseling and advanced psychiatric support.The Urgent Action Fund is helping support women, transgender, and nonbinary activists on the ground in and around Ukraine, by providing flexible funding, access to communication channels, and medical support.IOM is scaling up its humanitarian operations in Ukraine and neighboring countries, providing emergency services in health, shelter, winter supplies, and protection.This Polish NGO has been providing pro bono legal work for migrants and refugees since 2005. Due to the rapidly changing rules and individual cases of those fleeing Ukraine, the Association for Legal Intervention just launched a dedicated legal portal to provide prompt legal advice.supports people and animals https://greatergood.org/crisis-in-ukraine-send-aid-now Organization focuses on health services support, including primary and secondary healthcare, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, supplemental food for malnourished children, clean water and hygiene education, mental health and psychosocial care, women's and children's health (including assistance for survivors of gender-based violence), and emergency response and preparedness.Helps children affected by providing psychological and psychosocial support to children. It helps them overcome the consequences of armed conflict and develop.
who is CGM talking about?? how fucking gross.

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She's was 15 in 2012/13. If you then think of a 2013/14 release you're somewhere along the lines of Carrie, Movie 43, Kick Ass 2, maybe Laggies, If I Stay, or Clouds of Sils Maria but those may be pushing it.

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The rapist Ansel I fetishize ballerinas because of my mommy issues Elgort was her love interest in Carrie. Case closed.

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I'm guessing Jamie Blackley in If I Stay. She was 16, he was 22. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the sameish age too but he wasn't her love interest in Kick-Ass 2.

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I don't want to speculate or potentially hurt anyone, the guy, to my knowledge isn't even really acting anymore. Let's rest it. https://t.co/FQnyM1bUqT  Trevor Duke- Moretz (@TrevorDMoretz) August 8, 2017 Chloe's brother said the guy wasn't really acting anymore, so that rules out Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ansel Elgort.

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Is Chloe talking about Kick Ass 2?! She would've been about 15 when it filmed...

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Or maybe "If I stay," her costar (Jamie Blackley) was about 21-22 when they filmed, and she would have been 15-16, I think.

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Oooohh good guess, I don't remember that movie 

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No, that Aaron guy was married and not her love interest in Kick-Ass or Kick-Ass 2.

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a fucking nude line up!?

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right, plus she said it was early in her career so she could have been in her teens

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so weird. was it for xmen? i can't imagine what would have led to such a thing. nude scene body doubles? very confusing



(i know this isn't the point of the story. but it being so weird is also a testament to how coercive hollywood stuff can be)



Edited at 2022-03-21 12:44 am (UTC)

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So demeaning and disgusting. I'm upset people think we solved anything with just #MeToo and intimacy coordinators

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Im so glad more women are coming out with how toxic Hollywood is. I remember when women would tell these stories likeit was some lighthearted fun story. I remember an interview with Sarah Michelle Gellar, where she talked about how casting for Buffy she wore long skirts, but they wanted to see her legs, to make sure they werent bad. She told it in a fun light hearted way, and like it was just another funny story. Knowing what we know now, fuck Joss Whedon.

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Yeah, it's interesting and heartbreaking to hear these women re-contextualize these experiences. Sarah Polley recently did a podcast where she talked about how she had this funny party story she would tell about her worst date ever which was with Jian Ghomeshi when she was 16 that she would laugh at and looking back on, doesn't feel the need to frame it as a funny anymore.

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When stories like this are told in a fun way, it makes most people hearing them not realize how fucked up it is, and normalizes that culture so it can continue to exist.

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Man I miss Sarah Polley.

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this has prob been talked about a lot but it was always so painful to me to see how much weight SMG lost after the first/second season of Buffy, and even Alyson Hannigan too. They were both tiny to begin with but got so dramatically thin throughout the course of the show.

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"how on earth are we gonna make her attractive?" This was said of Kate Beckinsale. Like, there are many reasons that I don't find myself attractive and a comment like this is one of the reasons. She was gorgeous in Pearl Harbour.



"Emma Thompson said that she almost quit the 2008 movie Brideshead Revisited after her female costar was asked to lose weight." This was said of Hayley Atwell.



Which dick said that to Chloe? You're in your twenties, you shouldn't date her period!



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The Brideshead thing was especially ridiculous because it was partway through filming and theyd already cast her so what she was supposed to lose weight halfway through the shoot and ruin continuity?

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Obviously not saying that she shouldve been asked to lose weight beforehand either, just that it proves it has nothing to do with the look of the film and everything to do with wielding power.

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i think the michael bay experience permanently fucked with both kate beckinsale and megan fox's perception of themselves. i was young so i don't remember the exact timeline but there was a point where kate wouldn't step out the house until a glam squad had turned her into la barbie and megan started messing with her face pretty soon after transformers

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and michael bay looks like that...what a fuckng cretin

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Kate is still such a babe, I hope she's not always that dolled up b/c of the bad experiences she had. It does seem like she puts so much effort in her looks.

*edit: typo



Edited at 2022-03-21 12:36 pm (UTC)

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Not Kate Beckinsale what the fuck

Hayley is gorgeous too

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"how on earth are we gonna make her attractive?" This was said of Kate Beckinsale.



Whoever said that must of have been on crack.. she's one of the classically prettiest actresses to ever be on screen.

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Uh that nude lineup wearing tape is so fucked up, that kind of shit shouldn't be allowed

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I remember Romola Garai talked about Dirty Dancing 2 and how they made her weigh herself every day and had a 'dietitian' who made sure she didn't eat, and it fucked her up to the point she quit acting for a couple of years



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Harvey Weinstein was also a producer on that film and did his hotel room-bathrobe attempt on Romola when she was a teen. Think it's heavily implied he was the source of trying to control her through her diet/weight too.



Love Romola, so this always stuck with me. She never really pushed to do a Hollywood project after that and stayed in the UK.

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Hmm something about this being presented in a Buzzfeed listicle doesn't sit right with me. The format seems so frivolous and these are all traumatizing experiences for these women.

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This industry is so disgusting and it sucks because I love to act/sing. Im trying to brace myself for the shit I will eventually hear to my face. Most of these roles didnt even REQUIRE the actresses to be smaller! It adds nothing to the roles. Its so damn stupid. Its just people on a power trip.

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Please take care of yourself if you decide to go down that avenue. Remember you are beautiful and if anyone tries to tell you anything else, just consider the source.

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men in the industry (and out of it as well, fuck it, people in general) can be so fucking cruel when it comes to making a comment about someone's appearance in the guise of being advice or caring for you, to the point they get mad at you for being offended and being hurt.



the jlaw story is so gross in so many ways, especially knowing how young she was then.



Chloe Grace Moretz said she was body-shamed by a male costar when she was just 15 and he was mid-20s. "This guy that was my love interest was like, 'I'd never date you in real life,' and I was like, 'What?' And he was like, 'Yeah, you're too big for me,'"



uhmmmm maybe you shouldn't want to date her because SHE IS A FUCKING CHILD YOU GROWN ASS ADULT CREEP, WHY ARE YOU EVEN NOTICING HER BODY AND COMPARING TO PEOPLE YOU DATE?????





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Did not even see your comment when I posted mine. Agree 100%

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Also he must like actual twigs because she looked no bigger than a 6-8 in that movie.. what a fucking pedo tool.

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The Bynes and Messing ones

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A Buzzfeed list seems...creepy somehow. Like we're now collecting and listing misogyny stories like they're our favourite tv couples. They even put the stories in the same yellow font slapped over the women's photos.



I have really not been enjoying this time of winking at misogyny and "calling it out" but in ways that perpetuate the exact same system without changing anything.



"Pam Anderson was a victim of misogyny! Which is why we, in 2022, decided to have the camera linger over her ass and breasts on screen! To show you how exploitative it when when they did the same thing in the 90s!"

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the fuckable comment for jennifer made me think of brittany murphy and her doc how its basically code for frail and impossibly thin frames is so despicable like why does fuckability matter in a serious drama if it doesn't apply to men as well?

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These stories are all fucking gross and its messed up thats so normalized, primarily by men but by some women too. People who do these things are really fucking up a womans self esteem through emotional/mental/verbal abuse under the guise of being concerned about health.

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I remember meryl streep telling the story of how she was brought in to audition for king kong and dino de laurentiis (the producer) saying to his son in Italian 'why do you bring me this ugly thing?' not realizing that miss streep was fluent. and then she shot back in Italian something like im sorry to disappoint you."



jessica lange ended up getting the part

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She told it on the Graham Norton show!

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This is why, as much as I think I hate Giada, I really dont because she comes from SUCH a fucked up family. I think she knows shes fucked up and looks like she tries to not impart that family trauma on her daughter.

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You can't even imagine. There was an LA Times article about women surviving SA / CSA and people figured out one was Giada :(

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Giada seems like she's so protective of her daughter and I honestly don't blame her

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Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said that his country will actively work to free up extra crude supplies for the U.S. and Europe

Following the pandemic, interest and investment in tidal and wave energy projects went above and beyond pre-pandemic levels. With governments looking to diversify their renewable energy mix and transition away from fossil fuels, ocean energy projects offer a reliable alternative to traditional renewable energy developments.

According to studies by Ocean Energy Europe, 2.2 megawatts of tidal stream capacity was installed across Europe in 2021, an increase from 260 kilowatts the previous year. In addition, 681 kW of wave energy was installed, marking a threefold increase. Worldwide the figure totaled 3.12 mW of tidal stream capacity and 1.38 mW of wave energy, at an estimated cost of $76.8 million.

The European Commission has set a target for 100 mW of wave and tidal energy in the EU by 2025 and 1 gW by 2030. But this is far higher than the current capacity, meaning that countries and energy firms across Europe must act quickly to help achieve this goal.

Several companies are now beginning to invest heavily in ocean energy technologies. In 2021, Orbital Marine Power installed the worlds most powerful tidal turbine at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, an Archipelago north of Scotland. The 2 mW O2 turbine is connected to a subsea cable that links it with the local electricity grid. It is expected to be in operation for the next 15 years and provide power to 2,000 U.K. homes.

The U.K. also announced a $2.35 billion tidal lagoon project last year, which would use underwater turbines, floating solar power, and battery storage. The project, named Blue Eden, is set to be located on the coast in southeast Wales with funding coming from tech firm DST Innovation and other private partners. The development of the project will take place over 12 years, with the construction of a newly designed tidal lagoon with underwater turbines generating 320 megawatts of renewable energy.

For 2022 the outlook seems just as strong. This month, the U.K. announced the revitalization of a Severn estuary project as the government looks to enhance the countrys energy security through diversification. The project was previously scrapped over a decade ago in favor of nuclear energy projects. The decision came as many European powers continue to worry about the threat of energy shortages due to the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine. If sanctions are imposed on Russia, this could mean severe oil and gas shortages at the global level.

The estuary is ideal for this type of project as it has the second-largest tidal range in the world. The government has now established an independent commission on tidal energy for the Severn, which includes government and energy firm representatives as well as academics. The project is expected to cost nearly $33 billion and take around a decade to complete.

While some worry about the potential impact on the surrounding environment, Huw Thomas, the leader of Cardiff council explains The changing landscape of the climate emergency, energy insecurity, rising costs, and rapid technological improvements indicate that many of these policy, cost and environmental barriers may no longer be as significant.

Meanwhile in Scotland, Nova Innovation announced plans at the beginning of the year to develop a tidal energy project in Yell Sound in Shetland. The project will include the construction of several tidal turbines, both the existing 100 kW model and a new 200 kW version that gained European backing last year.

The renewable energy firm is also working on the Nova Tidal Array project in Nova Scotia, Canada. the 1.5 mW tidal energy development will consist of 15 turbines and expects to deliver power to Canadian utility, Nova Scotia Power this year. This is part of the companys plan to support net-zero goals across multiple countries by developing new, reliable renewable energy technologies.

In New York, tidal projects have been up and running for decades Verdant power launched their Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) Project in 2000. The company sees tidal energy as more reliable than solar or wind power as it is easier to predict the amount of power the turbine will produce over decades, without having to rely on the weather for its energy output.

The U.S. Department of Energys Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) believes tidal energy could power over 20 million American homes, and wave energy could power over 200 million. However, to date, global tidal and wave power is largely untapped.

So, could tidal and wave energy offer a more reliable form of renewable energy, compared to existing solar and wind power projects, allowing countries around the world to transition more quickly away from fossil fuels? As governments back new projects and energy firms offer greater levels of investment, ocean energy is likely to become a major contributor to the global energy mix over the next decades.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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Renewables arent the only energy source on the up in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as countries are now looking to fossil fuels that many previously turned their backs on following the pandemic. As governments around the world look to rapidly diversify their energy mix to enhance their energy security, many may come to rely on fossil fuels, such as coal, once again.

In recent weeks, coal prices have soared alongside oil and gas prices for fear of potential shortages. And the crisis in Ukraine could mean that coal prices remain high despite falling import levels in the first quarter of 2022. In Asia, sea imports of coal decreased from 61.92 million tonnes in January to 59.27 million last month. This marks the lowest level since January 2015. Currently, China is the biggest importer of coal, followed by India, Japan, and South Korea.

Coal prices rose from $186 per metric tonne on 23rd February to $462 on 10th March, based on the Rotterdam benchmark. While this would typically drive buyers away from coal or send the prices down, Asian governments are rapidly looking elsewhere to guarantee their supplies. However, Vice president for coal at Rystad Energy, Steve Hulton, explains There is simply an almost complete absence of surplus thermal coal available globally.

While coal use continues to be high across Asia, Europe has been largely moving away from the energy source - deemed the dirtiest fossil fuel. But with gas prices rising substantially over the last half a year, even Europe is turning back to coal. European countries have looked to South Africa, the U.S., Australia, and Indonesia to source their coal. While others are considering the feasibility of decommissioning coal projects at the previously targeted rate, in light of the new global situation.

China is expected to turn to Indonesia to fill the gap in its coal imports should Russian coal exports be further disrupted. Shares from coal mining companies have already begun to rise in Indonesia. Indonesia is currently the largest thermal coal exporter in the world. But miners worry about potential new government curbs on exports, imposed to ensure sufficient supply in local power plants. Around 20 plants worried they would have to shut down in January due to low coal stocks, leading the government to pause exports. This led to an increase in coal prices before exports were resumed in February.

The decision by many state powers to turn to coal is no surprise to some world leaders. In Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison continues to back coal, allowing power stations to run as long as they possibly can. Morrison supports this stance by saying it is necessary to maintain this energy source for when the wind doesnt blow and the sun doesnt shine.

Meanwhile, coal stocks that were previously dying out are now increasing. Coal India Ltd, for example, gained over 16 percent since the beginning of February. As state powers face the first major energy crisis of the clean-power era, according to Live Mint, will they ultimately turn back to fossil fuels to ensure their energy supply? The Russian invasion of Ukraine could show whether state powers are serious about sticking to their net-zero carbon emission plans or whether they will falter at the first hurdle.

During the COP26 climate summit last November, several countries pledged to turn their backs on coal as they welcomed the new era of the energy transition. These promises were made despite coal production levels reaching a record high in 2021, sending CO2 emissions soaring. The worlds largest coal producer mined 384.67 million tonnes in December, an increase from its previous record of 370.84 million tonnes in November.

Looking at other fossil fuels, governments and energy firms have already begun to discuss the potential of ramping up oil production in certain areas of the world, such as North America, to fill the gap in crude supply. Following a year of curbs on exploration and production activities by President Biden, many are now putting pressure on him to increase production in the U.S. A similar situation is being seen in Canada, which has the potential to increase its oil output substantially.

The recent geopolitical situation has encouraged many state powers to look to develop their renewable energy sectors more rapidly. Attention has been drawn to largely overlooked areas such as tidal power and geothermal energy, as well as to the expansion of solar and wind power projects. But it seems this is not enough, with many of these projects taking decades to develop, it appears likely that several governments may fall back on old, reliable fossil fuels as their source of energy security.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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Radio Talking Book Service Announces Bekah Jerde as Executive Director Radio Talking Book Service (RTBS), Nebraska's only radio reading service, is pleased to announce that Bekah Jerde has been named the new Executive Director of the organization as of January 2022. Bekah has been involved with RTBS since 2013, first as a volunteer then joining the team in 2015. Bekah serves as treasurer of the IAAIS, an international board that supports organizations like RTBS. She provides audio description for live theater and other events in the metro area. She supports the mission of the Women's Fund as a member of Circles, serving on their leadership team. Bekah is also an award-winning artist and photographer. Radio Talking Book Service is a nonprofit radio station that broadcasts print information across Nebraska and southwest Iowa via radio signal and the internet. Eligible listeners are provided radios at no cost to access our programming or can access RTBS on home computers, tablets, smartphones, or smart speakers. Over 70 RTBS volunteers read newspapers and magazines aloud and their diverse voices are broadcast to blind, low vision, or print impaired listeners. Learn more at rtbs.org.
China urges U.S. to face up to its own human rights violations

Xinhua) 09:07, March 20, 2022

"The truth will surely give the United States and its malicious and blind followers a resounding slap in the face," says Dai Bing, noting that the United States knows genocide the best.

UNITED NATIONS, March 19 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday refuted U.S. attacks on China's human rights record and urged it to face up to its own human rights violations.

Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, accused U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield of abusing a commemorative meeting of the General Assembly on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

As a gesture of respect for the host country, or the United States, its representative was invited to speak alongside representatives of regional groups in the meeting, Dai noted.

However, the United States, without regard for its own credibility, has gone so far as to use the meeting to launch political attacks, smearing China and many other countries with respect to their internal affairs, said Dai.

"Act like this makes a sad mockery of its status as the host country," he said.

The U.S. accusation of the so-called "ethnic genocide" and "human rights violations" in China's Xinjiang is an outright lie of the century and a vicious political scheme orchestrated and staged by none other than the United States, which China firmly opposes and sternly rejects, Dai said.

A woman holds a sign outside the Hennepin County Government Center reacting to the trial verdict that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 20, 2021. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter over the death of Black man George Floyd, the judge presiding over the high-profile trial announced Tuesday, reading the jury's verdict. (Photo by Ben Brewer/Xinhua)

"The truth will surely give the United States and its malicious and blind followers a resounding slap in the face," he said, adding that the United States knows genocide the best.

Since the founding of the United States, the U.S. government had developed policies to slaughter and plunder American Indians in an intentional and systematic way, decimating their population to 250,000 at the beginning of the 20th century from 5 million in 1492, Dai noted, adding this is an original sin that the United States cannot shake off.

According to a Lancet report published in October 2021, Dai noted, about 30,800 people in the United States died from police violence from 1980 to 2018, and non-Hispanic Black Americans were estimated to be 3.5 times more likely to die from such violence than non-Hispanic white Americans during that period.

Anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States, instigated by U.S. politicians, have been surging ever since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dai said, noting that such crimes in New York City rose 361 percent in 2021 compared to 2020.

"May I ask the U.S. representative: When will you give the American Indians an explanation? When will you be able to give the ethnic minorities a real sense of fairness and justice? When will you ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women? When will you offer genuine safety and protection to Asian women who are victims of hatred and violence?" Dai said.

He urged the United States to put away arrogance and prejudice, abandon double standards, and stop pointing an accusing finger at other countries as soon as possible.

"We all know very well what the human rights situation is like in the United States. I hope that the United States will come around to face up to its mistakes and correct them, rather than knowingly leaving them be," said Dai.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
Even at 14, Takaylah Tribitt already had a rough life, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Doug Shaw said.

At times, she was a runaway, he said, a fact that shouldnt matter. She was a survivor, until the Chicago teen met Deonlashawn Deon Simmons about a week before her death, he alleged.

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Would any of this make a difference if she was from a big, close-knit family, Shaw asked the jury. A life is a life. A kid is a kid. Murder is murder.

Simmons, now 36, of Chicago, was convicted Friday of murder after a jury deliberated for 25 minutes following a 5-day trial in Crown Point. He also faces firearms and habitual offender enhancements that would add more time to his sentence.

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He was charged in November 2020 with her Sept. 16, 2019, death. She was found dead in a dirty and trashed Gary alley not far from where his family lived, Shaw said.

Tribitt was a sweet little girl, her aunt, Monique Tribitt, said outside a courtroom Friday. She gravitated to people, bonding with them easily. She was smart and talkative, she said.

A Lake County forensic pathologist estimated the girl died a couple days before she was found shot once in the head, her hands bound under a jacket and face down, court records show. She had been sexually assaulted, he said. There were no signs of a struggle or strangulation, he concluded.

A single 9 mm bullet casing and a gold credit card that belonged to Simmons relative were found nearby. Her body was identified through DNA analysis in December 2019.

Prosecutors alleged several bits of evidence  cellphone location hits, social media data, his DNA on one of the cords, the bullet casing that could have been fired from a gun frame later found in a car Simmons used linked him, while defense lawyer Michael Campbell said the case was circumstantial at best and the evidence did not add up.

In a police interview, Simmons said he met the girl when she was being chased down the street by some guys trying to get her drunk, according to court documents.

In reality, prosecutors said Tribitt was at a birthday party on Sept. 8, 2019, in Chicago where a woman arranged for Simmons to take the girl home.

Campbell told jurors prosecutors had failed to prove their case. A 9 mm bullet could be fired from any number of guns, he said. A ballistics expert couldnt definitely say if it came from a gun later found in Simmons car.

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There also wasnt definite proof the girl was killed in Indiana, he said. Prosecutors countered the girls condition days later made it unlikely she was moved.

Police were called at 9:10 a.m. Sept. 16, 2019, to the alley near Pennsylvania Street and 20th Avenue in Gary after a NIPSCO worker found her body while tagging poles, charges state.

The girls hands were bound behind her back with another cord around her neck and a hair bonnet near her feet, court documents stated. DNA from one cord was also linked to Simmons, court records allege.

Tribitt was messaging with Deon Lashawn on Facebook a few days before her death, charges allege. A witness told investigators Tribitt was in contact with the older man on Sept. 12 before they last got a text from her at 9 a.m. the next day.

When interviewed by detectives, Simmons said he knew Tribitt and had a big brother relationship with her. He said he gave her rides, bought her pizza and McDonalds and paid for her hair and nails, charges allege.

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He denied he had a sexual relationship with her and said he didnt know how old she was, but knew she was young, court documents state.

Simmons told police they were together on Sept. 13, but got into an argument because he was too late to take her to a hair appointment and she left, documents state. He said he found out the same day on the news she had died.

Simmons said he couldnt explain how she was found near his relatives house in Gary. He said he hadnt been to Indiana since he had a falling out with his dad in December 2017.

Detectives countered that his phone was also near Cline Avenue and Interstate 80/94 on Sept. 14, about 2.5 miles from where the girl was found, according to court records. Later, he told investigators he had been in Fort Wayne, before saying he was in the area soliciting a sex worker at a Gary truck stop.

Prosecutors said the story was a lie.

In a taped police interview, Simmons declined a DNA swab, before detectives said they obtained a search warrant for it. He hoped the swab would clear him, he told police.

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If its not by her (genitals), I dont (care), he told investigators.

The swab that linked him to a cord found at the crime scene, charges allege.
A red flag warning for fire danger has been issued by the National Weather Service in Valley from noon until 9 p.m. Sunday for all of eastern Nebraska.

Winds of 15 to 25 mph, gusting to 30 mph, combined with low relative humidity make conditions ripe for grass fires, meteorologist Paul Fajman said. Any fires that ignite may spread rapidly and be very difficult to control.

The Douglas County fire chiefs have issued a countywide burn ban until further notice. The continuous dry conditions have created a high-fire danger for the entire area.

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The highly infectious bird flu circulating in the U.S. has been found in the Omaha metro area and northeast Nebraska, state officials announced Wednesday.

According to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, the virus was found in wild geese in Douglas and Cedar Counties.

The state also announced Wednesday that, for the first time, the virus has been found in a domestic flock in Nebraska. That discovery was in a mixed-species backyard flock in Merrick County, which is southwest of Columbus.

Earlier this month, the virus also was found in a wild goose in Lincoln and a domestic flock in Pottawattamie County. When the virus was found outside of Council Bluffs, the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha closed its aviary to the public and locked indoors any birds that could be secured inside.

This form of bird flu is highly contagious and deadly among domestic birds, including chickens and turkeys. It is not as deadly to wild birds.

Nebraska State Veterinarian Dr. Roger Dudley said the Merrick County farm where the virus was found has been quarantined. The birds will be euthanized and disposed of in an approved manner.

In accordance with USDA policy, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture will establish a 6.2-mile surveillance zone around the farm, which encourages poultry producers to be on heightened alert and practice good biosecurity measures.

Nearly 7 million chickens and turkeys in 13 states have been killed this year because of avian influenza.

Spread of the disease is largely blamed on the droppings of wild birds, such as ducks and geese, which often show no signs of illness. But studies suggest the virus can be tracked into secure chicken and turkey barns on equipment, workers, mice, small birds and even dust particles.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

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Before long, the last people with living memories of North Plattes World War II Canteen will be gone.

Were speaking mainly here of the last of those 55,000-some people without whom the Canteens North Platte founders couldnt have kept up their self-appointed mission of kindness for 51 months.

They came from 125 cities, villages and settlements. They represented 38 of Nebraskas 93 counties  from the South Dakota to Kansas lines, from Bushnell near the Wyoming line to David City near Lincoln  and two counties in northeast Colorado.

Theyve been honored in their time, not least by the thousands of grateful service members and their loved ones  from across the country, Canada and other Allied nations  who have thanked them for 80 years for their love and hospitality in letters and telegrams.

The U.S. War Department gave the Canteen a Meritorious Service Citation in December 1943. Congress passed a resolution of gratitude in 2004.

Two presidents recognized the Canteen through letters: Franklin D. Roosevelt (through a secretary) in 1943 and Ronald Reagan in 1986 (a year before he visited North Platte).

One possible collective national honor remains. The highest of all.

Thanks to U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine  whose mother herself was a Canteen volunteer  Congress has the chance to honor everyone who enabled our 1941-46 miracle.

The Congressional Gold Medal has been awarded from time to time, starting in our independence year of 1776, to people who have made invaluable contributions to our national life, prosperity and survival.

Though military people have received the Gold Medal, its the Medal of Honor that remains Congress highest award for members of our armed forces.

The Gold Medal mainly has been given to civilians. The Congressional Research Service says its awarded to express public gratitude for distinguished contributions, dramatize the virtues of patriotism and perpetuate the remembrance of great events.

There cannot be a better description of what happened here from Christmas Day 1941 to April 1, 1946.

North Platte people started the Canteen. They provided the key volunteer core. But if they could, Rae Wilson, Helen Christ, Jessie Hutchens, Rose Loncar, Edna Neid and their other departed friends would tell you they couldnt have kept it going alone.

Their neighbors in Stapleton and Logan County were first to pitch in. More and more towns joined them, right to the end.

They gathered cash, donated goods and drove or rode the rails here, up to and even beyond 200 miles one way, to help serve dozens of Union Pacific troop trains and thousands of service members every day.

They collectively make up the Canteen Honor Roll. And so they were called, even as the Canteen operated.

The Canteen was not merely North Plattes finest hour. It was this regions finest hour.

Its entirely fitting that Fischers bill (S. 3750) would collectively award the Congressional Gold Medal to the individuals and communities who volunteered or donated items to the North Platte Canteen.

We earnestly hope Congress will do so, as soon as practicable, for the sake of the fast-dwindling numbers of Canteen volunteers still in this life.

By Congress own rules, 67 of the 100 U.S. senators must co-sponsor Fischers bill. A companion bill in the 435-member House of Representatives needs to be introduced and would need 290 co-sponsors there.

Theres no question that the Canteens national and even international impact can be demonstrated. The Lincoln County Historical Museum, which would house the Gold Medal if awarded, has hundreds of surviving letters and the Canteens guest book to show where its service customers came from.

North Platte will do its part. What can our fellow Canteen Honor Roll towns do?

We suggest contacting Fischers office with their own Canteen stories. Their newspapers likely told them during the war. Their local historical societies may have preserved them. And their people may have family Canteen lore to share.

We know Congress has countless pressing modern-day issues before it. That said, our museums volunteers have had visitors who see their Canteen display and tell them that what happened here couldnt possibly have happened. Its too unbelievable.

Yes, it was. And yet it happened.

Might it not be a good time  again  to remind all Americans about this shining example of America at its best?

We think so. May this honor come to pass.
On March 19, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Zambian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Stanley Kasongo Kakubo in Tunxi, Anhui Province.



Wang Yi welcomed Kakubo, as the first foreign minister of a sub-Saharan African country to visit China since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wang Yi said, the traditional friendship between China and Zambia, forged and nurtured by the successive generations of leaders of both countries, is the most precious spiritual wealth of China and Zambia and provides an endless impetus for the amicable relations between the two countries, which should be all the more cherished, inherited and carried forward. China-Zambia relations have become a benchmark for China-Africa friendship and a model for South-South cooperation. China supports Zambia in independently choosing a development path suited to its national conditions, and stands ready to strengthen strategic communication between the two sides, deepen experience-sharing on state governance, enhance mutual trust, and expand and deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields.

Wang Yi said, since last year, bilateral trade between China and Zambia has bucked the overall downward trend and enjoyed positive growth, and key projects have been put into operation continuously. The two sides should make persistent efforts to strengthen cooperation in traditional fields such as mineral development, and expand cooperation in emerging fields such as modern agriculture, processing and manufacturing industries, and renewable energy. More Zambian high-quality goods are welcome to enter the Chinese market, and China supports more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Zambia, so as to help Zambia's independent economic development and industrialization process. China hopes that Zambia will create a sound business environment for Chinese enterprises. China will continue to support Zambia's economic and social development to the best of its capability, provide COVID-19 vaccines according to Zambia's needs, and strengthen cooperation in health care, people's wellbeing and other fields.

Kakubo congratulated China on successfully hosting the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, saying that Zambia is sincerely happy that China has fulfilled its first centenary goal as scheduled and is embarking on a new journey of development. This has also strengthened the determination and confidence of African countries to learn from China's experience and get rid of poverty. The friendship between Zambia and China boasts a long history, and the friendship forged by the successive generations of leaders of both countries is of benchmark significance. Zambia will always remember China's selfless help and the friendship of the Chinese people, and thanks China for its firm support to Zambia in fighting the pandemic. The vaccines provided by China have helped the vaccination rate in Zambia jump from less than 3 percent to over 22 percent. Zambia is ready to deepen the pragmatic cooperation between the two sides in various fields, implement key projects and advance follow-up projects. Zambia expects China to expand investment in and trade with Zambia, and will continue to provide a stable business environment and preferential tax policies for Chinese enterprises.

Kakubo spoke highly of China's long-term contribution to the development of the African continent, as well as China's efforts to uphold principles and champion justice in international affairs, and highly appreciated the new measures for cooperation with Africa announced by President Xi Jinping. Zambia is ready to work with China to firmly safeguard the internationally recognized principles such as respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and non-interference in internal affairs.

Wang Yi said, the Communist Party of China always bears in mind the interest of the world, and seeks happiness for the Chinese people and progress for human society. We always champion justice in the world, stand firmly with African brothers and sisters, and are the most reliable partners of African countries. China is ready to work with African countries including Zambia to continue to firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, and safeguard the common interests of the developing countries and international fairness and justice.

Both sides agreed that the Tanzania-Zambia Railway is a powerful example of China and Africa treating each other as friends with sincerity. Efforts should be made to ensure the joint management of this railway successfully, which is beneficial to the people, so that more younger people of China and Africa can have an in-depth understanding of the common course of mutual firm support, inherit the spirit of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway and endow it with new connotations of the times, and inject fresh vitality to the Tanzania-Zambia Railway.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine issue. Wang Yi expounded on China's principled position. Kakubo agreed that conflicts should be resolved through diplomatic negotiations, appreciated China's active efforts to promote peace talks and its long-term leading role in achieving peace, and expected China to continue to play a constructive role.
NORMAL  The Town of Normal is looking to buy a home.

The Normal Town Council on Monday will consider authorizing a purchase purchase agreement for a parcel of property at 316 N. Glenn Ave.

City Manager Pam Reece said the single-family home on this property was brought to the town staffs attention because it has been in deteriorating condition.

If the ordinance is approved, the town will use $12,500 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds to purchase the property, which sits close to Glenn Elementary.

Reece said the goal of the purchase would be to rehabilitate or demolish the house with the intent to redevelop it for the purpose of maintaining it as a residential property."

According to council documents, the property would ideally be donated to a local housing provider or developer for rehabilitation and resale to provide the opportunity to add a single-family housing unit to the available affordable housing stock. If it needs to be demolished, CDBG funds can also be used for that.

This recommendation from staff comes after conversations with the property owner and aligns with the 2021-22 Annual Action Plan that budgets CDBG funds for acquisition and clearance for housing, according to the documents.

Reece said this practice of buying a parcel with the intent to add housing units has been done by Normal before, but not regularly.

She added town staff is open to hearing recommendations for future purchases like this and having conversations with property owners.

On Monday, the Normal Liquor Commission will also meet for the annual renewal of liquor licenses.

In other business, the council will consider a resolution to conditionally approve the final plat at Heartland Community College, where the school will expand along West Raab Road adding an agricultural facility on the west side of the campus in north Normal.

Council will also vote on an annexation agreement regarding property at the southwest corner of West College Avenue and Interstate 55.

The approximately 10.27 acres would be rezoned from agriculture to general business so the property owner, Travis Yordy, can use the land for a mini-storage facility.

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Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.

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VIETNAM VETERANS RECOGNITION DAY EVENT

The Veterans Recognition of Central Illinois Organization provides support to returning service men and women with special campaigns including but not limited to Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day, Veterans Day events, school education events, etc. This years Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. March 26 at the Decatur Civic Center, 1 Gary Anderson Plaza in Decatur. There is no admission cost due to generous donations from sponsors. The event will feature music from the Vietnam era. Non-alcoholic beverages and food will be served. The keynote speaker at the event will be Shilo Harris, a Gulf War veteran who was injured when a roadside improvised explosive device was detonated. The driver was seriously injured and three of his fellow soldiers died. Harris was severely injured with burns over 35% of his body. He has experienced 70 surgeries. Harris is a real American icon, as he has risen from the terrible injuries to provide inspiration, pride and patriotism to all those who are fortunate enough to hear him speak. Come join other veterans at this great annual recognition event. Visit the "Vietnam Era Veterans Recognition Day" Facebook page for more details.

VA ANNOUNCES NEW IBD WEBSITE

VA has created a website that raises awareness of Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis. This website provides step-by-step instructions to access treatment and links to VA resources  connecting with online communities and peer-to-peer support to improve their quality of life. Recent studies have indicated that veterans' disability ratings of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder increased among veterans diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease. Studies have estimated that there are over 66,000 veterans living with IBD. The VA is acutely aware that veterans who are dealing with the frustration and feeling of hopelessness due to the pain of IBD and are also dealing with PTSD or anxiety disorder are a deadly combination for the veteran, their family and the VA to cope with. Visit hwww.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/veterans for more information.

COMMON FRAUD ATTEMPTS AGAINST VETERANS

Fraudsters will target individuals on the brink of losing their homes and offer relief (for a fee) that never comes. Sometimes the veteran will be asked to turn over the title to their home as a temporary measure to assist in fighting foreclosure. The title then allows the fraudster to sell the home. A few of the scams are: Work-at-home opportunities that charge a hefty initial fee and then do not deliver the promised support; odometer fraud when buying a used car; tech support scams concerning aggressive messages on home computers (and sometimes on business networks) that claim if you do not contact Microsoft or another company to get a virus taken care of, your computer will be ruined or your data will be lost. If you suspect fraud, contact the Consumer Protection Branch, U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division at 202-307-0066. Visit www.justice.gov/crt-military/file/797421/download for more information.

Jerry Vogler is superintendent of the McLean County Veterans Assistance Commission.

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ST. CHARLES - As Russian troops and bombs descended on Ukraine, the daughter frantically booked a flight from Chicago to Warsaw to help her parents fleeing their home in Kyiv.

Her 78-year-old mother and father earlier this month escaped the war-torn capital with the clothing on their backs and few other possessions.

Explosions rocked Kyiv overnight. A convoy of Russian military vehicles said to be 40 miles long was headed into the city. Security checkpoints dotted the route west, further slowing the traffic already congested with thousands of cars.

Brutal media images of Russian shelling and civilian casualties terrified their daughter, 47-year-old Yaroslava Dunn of west suburban St. Charles, as she headed to Poland.

It was a helpless feeling, Dunn said. What am I going to do? Who am I going to contact to get them out? It was a feeling of desperation.

But her parents safely reached the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on March 7, with the aid of a Christian volunteer group. About a week later, the couple crossed into Poland and reunited with Dunn, the parents and daughter gratefully hugging one another at the train station.

It broke my heart, made me sad to tears, to see their exhausted smile-less faces, Dunn recalled in a Facebook post that day. Elderly people in their late 70s, who had to leave everything, their entire life, behind.

The family was safe and out of harms way. But their bureaucratic nightmare had just begun: Dunn planned to bring her parents to the United States, to stay in her home until the war is over and they can return to Ukraine.

Yet shes tackling a complicated and often confusing process to get them travel visas. And shes doing so from a hotel in Warsaw, a city already overwhelmed with war refugees.

We are in limbo

After about two weeks of phone calls and filing paperwork with the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Poland, Dunn was still not sure both parents will be able to come with her to the United States.

We are in limbo, she said. Even in Warsaw, while in safety, we cannot exhale because we do not know what to do.

As the war continued into a fourth week, Dunn was among a growing number of individuals and organizations urging the United States to resettle more Ukrainian war refugees and asylum-seekers  as well as expedite the process, which can typically take years.

So far, more than 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the Feb. 24 full-scale Russian invasion, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Nearly 2 million have gone to Poland, while hundreds of thousands of others have traveled to Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia, respectively.

While the Biden administration has reportedly considered expediting the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees, the United States at this point has mainly offered humanitarian aid, giving nearly $300 million in funds to support Ukraines displaced population, both in Ukraine and the surrounding region.

But the White House faces mounting pressure from various groups and lawmakers, who in recent days have called on the U.S. to take in more refugees from Ukraine and quicken the process.

U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz of California traveled to the Poland-Ukraine border earlier this month, witnessing the calamity firsthand. In a March 11 letter to Biden, he implored the United States to raise the global refugee cap, as well as hasten the reunification of Ukrainians with family in the United States.

Russias unprovoked attack on Ukraine has created an escalating humanitarian crisis, Ruiz said in the letter. The United States must respond by opening its arms to those seeking safety and security.

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in a letter last week asked the Biden administration to expedite the admission of refugees from Ukraine.

Canadian officials on Thursday launched a new policy allowing Ukrainians fleeing the war and their immediate family members to stay in Canada for up to three years.

Dunn said she believes the U.S. government can do much more than it is doing now for those evacuating Ukraine.

Her familys situation, though scary and frustrating, is one of the better scenarios among those fleeing, she said.

Her parents are not in immediate danger. She and her sister are citizens of the United States, fluent in English and multiple other languages, with the resources to spend time in Poland and navigate complex and confounding government processes.

Her mother, Nataliia Sukhodulska, has a multiple-entry visa that permits her to travel to the United States temporarily, so she was able to fly to the U.S. on Friday with Dunns sister, who lives in Wisconsin.

But Dunn is remaining in Poland with her father, Iurii Siedov.

He had a single-entry visa to travel to the United States about two years ago but it expired and there had been no way to renew it. The government had suspended routine visa services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dunn said she hopes to stay in Warsaw with her dad until she can get him a temporary visitor visa. But even these are short-term solutions for her family.

She cant stay in Poland indefinitely. But she doesnt want to leave her father behind in a foreign country where he knows no one and doesnt speak Polish.

Dunn also worries about other Ukrainians who want to seek refuge in the United States but lack a clear path for doing so. She recently sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and more than a dozen lawmakers, chronicling the plight of her parents and others evacuating Ukraine.

I can only imagine what kind of unbearable burden it is to deal with all of this for an ordinary Ukrainian family with young kids, elderly parents, pets, etc.,  who have nothing, who do not speak English and who have no immediate emotional and financial support system from their relatives and friends, she said in the letter. My heart breaks for them.

Journey to Warsaw

The sisters had tried to convince their parents to evacuate Kyiv in the tumultuous days leading up to the Russian invasion.

Their mom and dad, a retired biologist and nuclear physicist, didnt want to leave.

They didnt believe that war would actually break out, said Dunn, who immigrated to the United States at 24 and became a naturalized citizen in 2005.

But in early March  as bombs rained down on Kyiv  the parents said they were ready to go.

At first, they tried to head west by train, but the stations were swarmed with other evacuees and they couldnt board.

At that point it was super scary because there was no way to get them out, Dunn said. We knew from the reports that the train stations were absolutely overwhelmed. People who didnt have tickets were rushing into the trains. They were standing room only.

On March 6, Dunn and her sister flew to Warsaw, the closest city to Kyiv they could buy a plane ticket to because Ukraine had closed its airspace to civilian flights.

The same day, her parents were able to get help from a Christian volunteer group and boarded a minibus with several others fleeing Kyiv, including a family friend, as well as their two pet dogs. They were instructed to wear warm clothing and pack very little, mainly phones, chargers, government documents, a few photographs, and no additional clothing or personal items.

The roughly 350-mile trip to Lviv was congested with thousands of cars fleeing the capital, but minibuses were given priority to pass, making the long journey a little quicker, Dunn said.

Once in Lviv, her mother realized shed made a critical error: In her haste to leave, she had grabbed expired passports.

I had a panic attack when I heard that, Dunn said. I didnt know what to think.

The couple contacted one of Dunns cousins who remained in Kyiv due to his age: Ukraine has barred men aged 18 to 60, who could be conscripted, from leaving the country. The cousin was able to retrieve the correct passports and courier them to Dunns parents several days later.

The sisters and parents finally reunited in Warsaw on Monday.

That was a big relief; it was a great feeling, she said. But they were very worn out. It was sad to see them like that.

They bought their mom and dad new clothing, because the parents had been wearing the same outfits they had put on when they fled their apartment more than a week before.

They were so stressed out, she said. They were crying. They didnt sleep the first night.

Volunteers did offer food and clothing, but Dunn wanted to reserve those donations for refugees who needed them more.

The family was stunned by the generosity of Poland, which recently approved legislation permitting Ukrainian refugees the right to stay legally for 18 months, with the option to extend up to three years. She described the people of Warsaw as extremely supportive, but added that the city is flooded with refugees.

They are absolutely overwhelmed, she said. My sister and I were amazed. There are more Russian and Ukrainian speaking people on the streets of Warsaw than Polish people.

But she doesnt have a permanent residence in Warsaw. Her parents dont speak the language. They dont have friends or family there.

I want them in safety and in the comfort of my own place, Dunn said. I want to provide for them as much as I can.

Return to Ukraine

The Biden administration has indicated its considering fast-tracked options to admit more Ukrainian evacuees, particularly those hoping to join family in the United States.

Were looking at things that we can do ourselves and do directly, Blinken said Thursday, according to CNN. For example, looking at steps we may be able to take on family reunification and other things that we can do to be supportive and to really take part of this effort.

In Illinois, there are roughly 200,000 residents of Ukrainian decent, according to estimates by Chicago Sister Cities International. The Chicago area has expressed an outpouring of support for Ukraine since the invasion, through fundraisers, protests and donations of supplies.

As for Dunn, she spends her days trying to file government documents online and calling the U.S. Embassy, attempting to get her father a visa.

At first, she wasnt able to get an appointment with the U.S. Embassy until May 17. She tried to explain over the phone how she couldnt stay in Warsaw for that long and she didnt want to leave her father alone in a foreign country.

A few days later, she was able to get an expedited interview date for March 25.

I pray to God that he will be granted a visa, she said. Thats the plan. Theres no guarantee right now, but I hope that this is winding down.

Dunn added that her parents long to eventually return to Kyiv.

They had opportunities to immigrate to the United States over the years, she recalled, but they love their country and the life they left back home.

When we win the war  and I know Ukrainians will win this war  and we rebuild their country, I can guarantee you they will go back, she said.

While shes concerned for her mother and father, Dunn said shes also advocating for other Ukrainians who fled the fighting.

I will navigate the system, she said. I will do everything to make it work. My case is the best-case scenario. And this best-case scenario is all this expense and work and frustration. I can only imagine for those who do not have all these resources.

She listed some of the numerous challenges faced by evacuees: Many lack relatives who speak English and can come to their aid. Others cant afford a long hotel stay. Some might not have internet access or be able to easily navigate government websites online.

There is not even a glimpse of hope for those people, she said.

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MATTESON  It was the early weeks of the pandemic. A mystery illness was spreading across the Chicago area. And Dr. Sandra McGowan-Watts felt powerless.

She was a family doctor but could do little as her husband and mother-in-law fell ill. Her mother-in-law soon died. Her husband clung to life for a week longer before the virus claimed him too, at age 51.

Im a doctor, she said last week, the pain fresh in her voice. Im supposed to be able to fix people and change things, and I cant even help the person I love the most.

McGowan-Watts husband and mother-in-law joined an early trickle of deaths that soon morphed into massive waves, claiming, collectively, at least 33,000 Illinois lives since the first death was announced two years ago, this week.

Even amid shutdowns desperately imposed to limit the infections spread, COVID-19 killed at a rate far higher than not just the flu and pneumonia, but surged at times to kill more Illinoisans than cancer or heart disease.

It struck Chicagos majority-Black and Latino neighborhoods hardest at first before the pandemic saw the first of several shifts  ultimately killing more residents proportionally in Illinois southern tip than Chicago.

More contagious variants swept across the state, battling with newly developed vaccines that blunted how much damage each version of the virus could do, at least for those who took the shots. For those who didnt, the odds of death got far worse at times  creating what public health officials called a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

With each new variant and scientific breakthrough, risk calculations have changed. Now, for the younger and boosted, risks of dying from COVID-19 may be less than the risk of dying in a traffic crash, while for those older and unvaccinated, the risks may be exponentially higher.

Into the ever-changing risk calculations are layers of different experiences, as mask mandates are lifted and workers are increasingly asked to return to the office. For some, COVID-19 has been mostly an inconvenience, upending lives but not killing loved ones. For others, the losses include family, friends or neighbors, and shape perceptions of how best to act.

These experiences are influencing quite significantly the readiness to move on from the pandemic, said Mercedes Carnethon, vice chair of preventive medicine at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine.

The losses can be traced to late-winter days two years ago, when a new threat forced daily news conferences from top government leaders, including one that Gov. J.B. Pritzker opened with news he said he dreaded.

No flu

In that packed news conference, on March 17, 2020, Pritzker announced the first-known death in Illinois from COVID-19: a retired Chicago nurse.

Shed died the night before, at a time, researchers now say, when testing was scarce and many other early COVID-19 deaths may have been misclassified as other causes, such as flu or pneumonia. (In one case, the Cook County medical examiners office last year reclassified the cause of the March 10, 2020, death of an untested Chicago woman, 64, to probable COVID-19, after her family said shed been complaining of a bad flu for weeks, records show.)

Once doctors were able to test those who died of suspicious symptoms, the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths climbed far beyond typical numbers for flu or pneumonia.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention combine flu and pneumonia cases into one category because of similarities. And in the decade before the pandemic, the flu or pneumonia was a main or contributing factor in roughly 2,600 Illinois deaths a year, on average. COVID-19 killed eight times that many in the first year of the pandemic, and nearly five times as many in its second year.

COVID-19s death tally, during the pandemics worst weeks, overtook the biggest causes of death for Illinoisans. By May 2020, more Illinoisans were dying of COVID-19 than either cancer or heart disease, which typically are the leading causes of death.

Among those deaths were McGowan-Watts husband and mother-in-law.

'In case I dont make it

McGowan-Watts mother-in-law lived in an Austin bungalow and rarely went out. Her son, McGowan-Watts husband Steven Watts, a CTA bus driver, visited his mother regularly  and got sick a day after he brought her to the hospital.

Watts mother had asthma and chronic heart disease, and when she started wheezing and having difficulty breathing, she was hospitalized, then intubated. She gave her children her bank passwords, saying, In case I dont make it.

By then, deaths were becoming more widespread in Europe. Watts and his wife watched on television from their Matteson home and worried that they were exposed, but couldnt get tested immediately.

One day, Watts was strong enough to lift his riding lawn mower to fix it. The next day, he felt pain in his legs, then began suffering from diarrhea, and a fever that wouldnt break.

Although he had been a relatively healthy 51-year-old, over the next week, he grew gradually weaker, until he was so drained that his wife had to bathe and dress him like a baby.

She brought him to the emergency room at South Suburban Hospital, where X-rays showed he had pneumonia in both lungs, and they quickly put him oxygen. She had never before seen a man with tears in his eyes from struggling to breathe.

He was admitted, and the couple had to say their goodbyes. I love you, Watts told her.

For more advanced care, Watts was transferred to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The next week was a roller coaster, with her husband fading one day, rallying the next. His wife could visit him online, but not in person.

She begged to see him, but was told it was too dangerous, and they didnt have enough protective clothing to give visitors. And would her husband want her taking that chance, because if she fell ill, who would take care of their 11-year-old daughter, Justise.

McGowan-Watts did get sick with chills, but only mildly, and quickly recovered. She worked with sick patients in private practice and doing rounds in nursing homes, and worried that she might have been an asymptomatic carrier.

Eventually, her husband suffered kidney failure, then a stroke, and died a week after his mother. One of the nurses taking care of him cried, telling his wife, This wasnt supposed to happen. He was going to be our miracle case, because he kept fighting.

Different surges, different risks

In the first surge of the pandemic, Illinois deaths were concentrated in Chicago, and particularly in Black and Latino neighborhoods, such as Austin.

Researchers blamed a host of factors: long-standing health inequities, a higher rate of essential jobs that made it harder to isolate, and more intergenerational homes that helped the virus spread. And once it took hold in a community, it could spread quickly.

Three months into the pandemic, Latino Chicagoans had died at twice the rate of white Chicagoans. For Black Chicagoans, the death rate was approaching triple the rate of white Chicagoans.

Carnethon, the Northwestern professor, said the deaths compounded greater economic and educational losses in harder-hit areas, making the pandemic a very different experience across our communities.

Beyond that, as nursing homes become inundated, the state found the virus more easily killed in overcrowded facilities that packed three, four or more residents per room  facilities that disproportionately had more Black and Latino residents.

As the first year wore on, researchers and public health officials increasingly warned of deaths that could be sparked from people ignoring health directives, as some people began to take off their masks and mingle indoors, in an atmosphere where enforcement of health rules was spotty, at best. Even before there could be a divide on vaccination, surveys showed a divide in mask-wearing through the pandemics first year, with rural residents less likely to mask up.

By March 2021, of the states 11 health regions, the highest COVID-19 death rate, adjusting for population differences, was in the 20-county region of Illinois spread from roughly Mount Vernon to Illinois southern tip and east to the Indiana line.

That region, by then, saw more than 200 deaths, per 100,000 residents  or nearly double the safest region at the time: one covering Lake and McHenry counties.

To put that in perspective, the Lake-McHenry region, to this day, continues to have a lower overall COVID-19 death rate than the south region had a year ago.

Ultimately, the southern region would tally nearly 1,600 deaths over two years  nearly 1 in every 250 residents, based on 2020 census data  becoming an example of how risks evolved in the pandemics second year more to those who didnt get vaccinated.

Even now  roughly 11 months into mass vaccination  less than half of that regions residents are considered fully vaccinated (defined as one shot of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or two shots of Pfizer or Moderna).

Compare that to the most vaccinated region, covering DuPage and Kane counties, where nearly three-fourths of residents are vaccinated. Since mid-April 2021, when mass vaccination took hold, residents in the south region have been three times as likely to die of COVID-19 as residents in the DuPage-Kane region.

Another way to look at it: If every other region in Illinois had experienced the same rate of death as the south region, nearly 17,000 more Illinoisans would have died by now.

Vaccinations likely helped Illinois fare better in the second year of the pandemic, compared to its five neighboring states, which all have lower vaccination rates.

Before mass vaccination, Illinois had the second-highest death rate from COVID-19. Only Indianas was worst.

But in the period after mass vaccination began, Illinois death rate has been the lowest of any of its neighbors.

Adjusting to a new normal

As vaccinations took hold and lessened death tallies, survivors have been left to try to mourn in their own way.

For McGowan-Watts and her family, they couldnt have a funeral for Watts or his mother  nor visits or even hugs. A joint memorial was later held at the Oak Park Conservatory, but attendance was limited to 50 people, as mandated at the time.

Along the way friends and family showed support by bringing food, or helping to clear snow or, later, cut grass for McGowan-Watts and her daughter.

They both went to counseling. Justise also went to a grief camp in Michigan that summer, where she was able to talk about her feelings with other kids who had lost family members.

At home, she stepped up to make dinners and help with other home duties. Cooking became a form of therapy for the teen. She found some of her fathers and grandmothers recipes, and gives cooking demonstrations on Facebook.

Her mother struggled with her own issues. After such a traumatic experience, McGowan-Watts lost 20 to 30 pounds, unable to sleep or eat. Slowly she regained her footing, and by now, she said, she is able to talk about her experience in order to help others.

Its been hard for everybody, McGowan-Watts said. But we have gotten closer as a family.

As families have mourned and tried to move on, the pandemic has evolved. After a particularly deadly omicron wave, deaths and hospitalizations have plunged. New treatments are making it easier for those seriously ill to survive. Masks are largely coming off.

For those vaccinated, particularly boosted and younger, the latest calculated odds of dying from COVID-19 were, as of late December, as low or lower than from dying in a traffic crash. But for those older and unvaccinated, even before the peak of omicron, the odds of a COVID-19 death were far worse.

Researchers expect a resurgence at some point, although its hard to predict when and how bad. And deaths arent the only cause for concern. Hospitals can still become clogged with coronavirus patients, threatening the quality of treatment not just for them, but for anyone else needing critical care.

From her family practice office in Flossmoor, McGowan-Watts has tried to do her part to save lives.

Shes convinced many reluctant patients to get the shots. Some got sick anyway over the winter, but had mild cases, while some of those who didnt get the shot were hospitalized, or worse.

She shares her familys story  one of tens of thousands across Illinois  and tells them, from personal experience: This is no joke.

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Residents of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital (APH) staff quarters have been asked to vacate the accommodation by June this year.



A letter to the staff, signed by the Director of the Hospital, Dr Pinaman Appau, said the decision was to pave way for the redevelopment of the Hospital under Agenda 111 project.



The letter, dated January 14, 2022, said: As discussed at the meeting with you on November 5, 2021, we wish to inform you that the planned reconstruction of the Hospital will take off in June 2022.



When the Ghana News Agency visited the Hospital Thursday morning, it observed that its Outpatient Department (OPD) was busy.



A staff, who spoke to the GNA on anonymity, alleged that the authorities had since last year asked them (staff) to seek transfer to other health facilities.



A transfer book has been opened and people are panicking, he said.



She told the GNA that more than half of the nurses at the Hospital had left for other health facilities.



There are media reports that the APH had been sold to a private developer but the Health Minister, Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, in a Facebook post dismissed the reports.



The APH is to be redeveloped into a 220-bed psychiatric hospital under an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EDC) contract as part of Agenda 111, he said.



The government under the Agenda 111 seeks to redevelop the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, construct, equip and commission two additional psychiatric hospitals, one in Kumasi and another at Tamale.



The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select committee on Health, Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie, after an interaction with the Management of the Hospital, told the media that the facility was not for sale, however, portions of the land would be commercialized under the Agenda 111 project.



He said the part of the land to be commercialized would be opened to Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in due time to minimize the financial burden on the Hospital.



The Accra Psychiatric Hospital, formally the Lunatic Asylum, was constructed in 1904 for the treatment, welfare, training, and rehabilitation of persons with mental illness.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has reiterated that the surest way to transform Ghanas economy and reduce unemployment is by paying critical regard to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).



Citing the success stories of countries like Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea with whom Ghana began its independence journey, he observed that Ghana could only attain a global giant status with deliberate and heavy investment in TVET, the area for the development of skills needed for a modern economy.



Consequently, he said government had adopted a strategy to expand technical and vocational opportunities at both secondary and tertiary levels to strengthen the linkages between education and industry and empower the youth to deploy their skills and employ themselves and others.



This is the reason why government has placed such importance on guaranteeing access to a minimum of Senior High School education for all Ghanaian children and is laying emphasis in particular on technical and vocational training as a major pillar for development, he added.



The President was speaking at the 92nd speech day durbar of the St Augustines College in Cape Coast on Saturday under the theme: Redefining Education Delivery in Technological Aid: The Role of St Augustines College.



The event was marked by the commissioning of the schools renovated and expanded computer laboratory by the President donated by alumni of the school.



He indicated that concrete efforts were underway to disabuse misconceptions that technical and vocational education was inferior and only patronized by financially or intellectually less endowed students.



Among other measures, President Akufo-Addo, averred that government had officially rolled out a Free TVET For All programme in addition to its Free Senior High School (SHS) policy which had catered for some 1.6 million students since inception.



He added that the Ministry of Education was currently undertaking cutting-edge policies to achieve it object of 60:40 Science-Humanities ratio enrolment in secondary schools for its transformation agenda.



The construction of eight model Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) high schools and 20 STEM Centres across the country are at various stages of completion together with the construction of Accra STEM Academy are some of the pragmatic steps the government is taking to promote the advancement of science and technology education in Ghana, he explained.



The President further announced that governments goal of furthering and facilitating the use of technology in the promotion of education in the country was on course.



While government does its utmost best to ensure that it provides the requisite tools and environment for learning especially of the model science, heads of schools must supervise teaching and learning, check absenteeism of the teachers and students, and develop any effective strategies to monitor the activities of the school, he charged.



He also admonished teachers to bear in mind that they were role models to the students and must therefore project excellence to the students.



Addressing the students, he urged them to learn hard, imbibe the values of honesty and integrity, and refrain from acts that could jeopardize their prospects of a bright future.



Parents and guardians too have the responsibility to advise their wards to exhibit good behaviour in school or wherever they may be. They are partners with the school in educating their children, he said.



Responding some requests earlier made by the school, the President pledged governments commitment to satisfy all reasonable requests including the demand for a new science equipment.



And to commemorate this occasion, I am taking as my personal responsibility, to provide a new 60-seater school bus for the school, he pledged.







Source: GNA









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Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Deputy Majority Leader of Parliament, has announced President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is ready to present the State of the Nation Address (SONA) to the House.



He said it was up to the Speaker and the Leadership of the House to work together in fixing a date for the President to come and deliver the SONA to the House



Mr Afenyo-Markin said this on the floor of Parliament in his response to a question by Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, the Member of Parliament for Ellembele, on when would the President deliver the SONA.



Mr Afenyo-Markin responded: "Our duty as a House is to programme Mr President to come. It is not Mr President who is refusing to come. He is ready.



Mr President is ready. It is for Leadership and Mr Speaker to programme Mr President. Mr Speaker is unavoidably absent. He is not in the jurisdiction. We are talking about the Speaker...



So, Mr Speaker, the Speaker and the Leadership will agree and programme Mr President to come and deliver a message of the State of the Nation. That will be done.



Mr Afenyo-Markin reiterated that it was not the President who had delayed in coming to the House to deliver the SONA.



It is the duty of the Speaker to invite him. So, dont say the President has delayed, the Deputy Leader said.



The State of the Nation is an annual address given to Parliament by the President in conformity with Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.



Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana imposes an obligation on MPs, the Speaker and the Judiciary to receive the Presidents message on the State of the Nation.

Source: GNA









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Former President John Mahama has described as "an inconvenience, a financial burden" the fact that Ghanaians who are fully vaccinated; "with some taking the boosters" still have "to pay as much as 90 to a foreign clinic for a PCR test before they are allowed to board flights" back home.



"I think it is time for Government to review the procedures and protocols," he said.



My journey to London



According to him, "I travelled last month to London on British Airways. I was pleasantly surprised when I was informed that I did not require a COVID-19 PCR test to board the flight. While I was still required to fill a locator form, no further tests were required of me for the 12 days I stayed in the UK.



Imagine my shock when British Airways informed me that I would be required to take a PCR test before I am allowed to board my return flight home. They explained that this is because of regulations in Ghana. It cost 90 to have the test done. I was also informed that I would not be checked in for the flight back unless I filled an online form and paid a fee of $50...It is an inconvenience, a financial burden and actually unfair to compel our citizens, who we encouraged to take COVID-19 vaccinations, with some taking the boosters, to pay as much as 90 to a foreign clinic for a PCR test before they are allowed to board flights coming back home".



The former President who was sharing his experience in a facebook post added: "And even more ridiculous, they must book another $50 PCR test to be conducted on arrival in Accra. The UK government considers the Ghanaian COVID-19 vaccination card internationally accepted and allows entry once you have the card without any testing.



It is a most unfortunate situation that Ghanaians who have valid vaccination certificates cannot board flights back home without a 90 PCR test, and an additional US$50 PCR test booking in Accra".



Stop the US$50 compulsory PCR test



He has therefore asked government to "stop the US$50 compulsory PCR test for travellers who have been vaccinated. And must also stop the demand for originating PCR tests before the same category of travellers are allowed to board flights to Ghana.



The reason for UK rolling back its COVID-19 restrictions is that deaths are down and severe cases requiring intensive care are down, and besides they believe it's time to learn to live with Covid. I think it is time for us in Ghana to do same".



Open Land borders now



Meanwhile, he has asked the ruling government to open the land borders; insisting it is long overdue.



"The long border closures have devastated the economy of our border communities. Government's announcement that it is deliberating at Cabinet about a possible opening of our land borders is long overdue. Let's open the land borders now!" he added.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Oksana Shvets, one of Ukraines most famous stage actresses has been killed in a Russian rocket attack while she slept in an apartment in southeast Kyiv.



Her death was confirmed by the Young Theatre, a Ukrainian theatre company she had previously been working with.



They posted a tribute to the 67-year-old actress alongside a picture of the theatre and film star.



In a statement, translated from Ukrainian, the theatre company wrote on social media: Bright memory to the talented actress! There is no forgiveness for the enemy that has come to our land!.



The Kyiv Post has also confirmed the actors passing, adding on social media that she had been murdered in Kyiv during the war.



According to the theatres website, Shvets had graduated from Ivan Franko theatre school in 1975 and had a career that spanned decades. She had also been the recipient of the Merited Artist of Ukraine award, one of Ukraines highest and most coveted honours.



Russian troops have continued to attack the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and launched a barrage of missiles against an aircraft repair installation at an airport on the outskirts of the western city of Lviv, close to the Polish border. One person was reported wounded.



Ukraine said it had shot down two of six missiles in the volley, which came from the Black Sea.



The early morning barrage of missiles on Lvivs edge was the closest strike yet to the centre of the city, which has become a crossroads for people fleeing from other parts of Ukraine and for others entering to deliver aid or fight.



In city after city around Ukraine, hospitals, schools, and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked. Rescue workers were still searching for survivors in the ruins of a theatre that served as a shelter when it was blasted by a Russian airstrike on Wednesday in the besieged southern city of Mariupol.



Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainain parliaments human rights commissioner, said on Friday that 130 people had survived the theatre bombing.



As of now, we know that 130 people have been evacuated, but according to our data, there are still more than 1,300 people in these basements, in this bomb shelter, Denisova told Ukrainian television. We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them.













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Reporters prepare to enter a recently discovered tomb near the famed Step Pyramid, in Saqqara, south of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Egypt on Saturday displayed a recently discovered, finely-decorated ancient tombs at an infamous Pharaonic necropolis just outside the capital of Cairo. The five tombs, unearthed earlier this month, date back to the Old Kingdom (1570 B.C. and 1069 B.C.) and the First Intermediate Period, an era spanned for around 125 years after the collapse of the old kingdom, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Credit: AP Photo/Sayed Hassan

Egypt on Saturday displayed recently discovered, well-decorated ancient tombs at a Pharaonic necropolis just outside the capital Cairo.

The five tombs were unearthed earlier this month and date back to the Old Kingdoma period spanning roughly from around 2700 BC to 2200 B.C., as well as to the First Intermediate Period, which lasted for over a century after the Old Kingdom collapsed, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said Egyptian archeologists started excavating the site in September. The tombs, he said, were for senior officials including regional rulers and palace supervisors in ancient Egypt.

"All of those five tombs are well-painted, well-decorated. Excavations did not stop. We are planning to continue our excavations. We believe that we can find more tombs in this area," he told reporters at the site.

The tombs were found near the Step Pyramid of Djoser, in the Saqqara Necropolis, 24 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of Cairo.

Footage shared on the ministry's social media pages showed burial shafts leading to the tombs. Walls were seen decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions and images of sacred animals and after-life items used by ancient Egyptians.

Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, views hieroglyphics inside a recently discovered tomb near the famed Step Pyramid, in Saqqara, south of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Egypt on Saturday displayed a recently discovered, finely-decorated ancient tombs at an infamous Pharaonic necropolis just outside the capital of Cairo. The five tombs, unearthed earlier this month, date back to the Old Kingdom (1570 B.C. and 1069 B.C.) and the First Intermediate Period, an era spanned for around 125 years after the collapse of the old kingdom, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Credit: AP Photo/Sayed Hassan

Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, displays a statue found in a recently discovered tomb near the famed Step Pyramid, in Saqqara, south of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Egypt on Saturday displayed recently discovered tombs at an infamous Pharaonic necropolis just outside the capital of Cairo. The five tombs, unearthed earlier this month, date back to the Old Kingdom (1570 B.C. and 1069 B.C.) and the First Intermediate Period, an era spanned for around 125 years after the collapse of the old kingdom, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Credit: AP Photo/Sayed Hassan

Walls decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions and images of sacred animals are seen at a recently discovered tomb near the famed Step Pyramid, in Saqqara, south of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Egypt on Saturday displayed one of five recently discovered, finely-decorated ancient tombs at an infamous Pharaonic necropolis just outside the capital of Cairo. The five tombs, unearthed earlier this month, date back to the Old Kingdom (1570 B.C. and 1069 B.C.) and the First Intermediate Period, an era spanned for around 125 years after the collapse of the old kingdom, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Credit: AP Photo/Sayed Hassan

Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, displays a small statue at a tomb decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions at a recently discovered tomb near the famed Step Pyramid, in Saqqara, south of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 19, 2022. Egypt on Saturday displayed recently discovered, finely-decorated ancient tombs at an infamous Pharaonic necropolis just outside the capital of Cairo. The five tombs, unearthed earlier this month, date back to the Old Kingdom (1570 B.C. and 1069 B.C.) and the First Intermediate Period, an era spanned for around 125 years after the collapse of the old kingdom, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Credit: AP Photo/Sayed Hassan

The Saqqara site is part of a a sprawling necropolis at Egypt's ancient capital of Memphis that includes the famed Giza Pyramids as well as smaller pyramids at Abu Sir, Dahshur and Abu Ruwaysh. The ruins of Memphis were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1970s.

In recent years, Egypt has heavily promoted new archaeological finds to international media and diplomats in the hope of attracting more tourists to the country.

The vital tourism sector, a major source of foreign currency for Egypt, suffered from years of political turmoil and violence that followed a 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The sector has recently started to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, but was hit again by the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Along with Russia, Ukraine is a major source of tourists visiting the Middle Eastern nation.

Explore further Archaeologists unearth 27 coffins at Egypt's Saqqara pyramid

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After a year-long absence of Hollywood superhero movies in the Chinese market, the 3-hour-long blockbuster "The Batman" finally landed on Friday. The film is a fresh approach to the beloved caped crusader franchise with its original, noir, and detective essence.



A few Batman movies were introduced to China before. The most outstanding ones were Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" in 2012, which grossed 338 million yuan back then, and the DC Cinematic Universe installment "Superman v. Batman" by Zack Snyder made 618 million yuan in 2016.



"The Batman" is directed by Matt Reeves and stars Robert Pattinson in the dual role of Gotham City's vigilante detective and his alter ego, reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne. The crime thriller is darker and more prolonged than its predecessors, including "The Dark Knight." However, instead of making it another flick where the superhero fights villains with high-tech equipment and excellent vehicles in action scenes full of visual effects, the new film focuses on the hero's struggles. As a result, it seems more like a Gothic noir film being entirely realistic, somber, and haunting.

Director Reeves told the packed theater at the Chinese premiere via video link on March 16 that what makes his film different is positioning Batman along an arc of becoming. It takes place just two years into Wayne becoming Batman, and he is still figuring out what it means to be Batman. He's vulnerable, still learning, making mistakes, enduring a lot, and acting in a mode of vengeance.

Pattinson agreed there are a lot of differences in his version of Batman. He added that the director made some radical departures from the old versions, making him more like a detective. "There's a sensitivity rather than just running straight into an action scene. Sometimes, he decides to take a different route. When I read the script, I just thought he seemed very unusual, he had a very unusual moral code, and didn't really see himself as a true clean hero. He didn't know exactly who he was yet."

In "The Batman," Bruce Wayne has only a few trusted allies  Alfred (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright)  amongst the city's corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures. So when The Riddler (Paul Dano) targets Gotham's elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the Batman on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz), Oz, a.k.a. the Penguin (Colin Farrell), and Carmine Falcone (John Turturro).



Paul Dano played the biggest foe of Batman in the film, the Riddler, a psychopathic villain. He said he defined his role in the movie with his first conversation with the director about heroes and villains and the two sides of trauma because Batman himself is born of trauma. "That was kind of the core emotional seed for the character from which everything else grew."

Having worked with Reeves for many years, Producer Dylan Clark was well aware of the emotional storytelling the director is capable of. "We haven't experienced Batman emotionally as Batman. We hadn't seen Batman, the detective, and now we're with Batman in every scene, putting the pieces together alongside him."

Reeves equates this type of point-of-view approach to films like "Chinatown," where the audience and protagonist perspectives fall very much in step. "The thing we tried to do as much as possible was to put you in the characters' shoes to experience this."



Pattinson trained for months for the fight choreography stunts and grew as much muscle as possible in a short time. He also had to wear the heavy bat suit on set, which was difficult due to the rain in the movie. Meanwhile, the Penguin, played by Colin Farrell, had 12 dedicated make-up artists who worked on his make-up for 6 hours every day during filming.

But what impressed Farrell most was the first time he saw Pattinson in the bat suit on a roof in London. "With the 2 a.m. night sky behind him, and his cloak blowing in the wind, he was the dark knight. It was a surreal but genuinely magical experience."
Axinella sponges (above), not their symbiotic bacteria, manufacture a family of potentially useful compounds. Credit: Kayla Wilson

Soft and immobile, sea sponges may appear inert, but these simple animals are rich with chemistry. From them, scientists have uncovered plenty of biologically active compounds, some of which have gone on to become medications. All of these small molecules, however, actually originate from bacteria living within these animals. Now, new research has uncovered an exception. Today, scientists report that sponges themselves, not their resident microbes, produce at least one promising group of compounds.

The researchers will present their results today at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

The molecules in question are a type of terpene, compounds common within the natural world that often have characteristic aromas. The discovery that sponges themselves make them represents a "fundamental shift" in the field, says Bradley Moore, Ph.D., principal investigator of the study.

"If this animal is making this funky little terpene, what else are animals making?" Moore says. "I think this opens the door to a new emphasis on animals as vessels for drug discovery."

The sponges for this project don't have to travel far. The Moore lab is located at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, in a building on the La Jolla waterfront. This proximity means fragile specimens spend less time in transit, and the researchers can house them in tanks filled with their native seawater.

Researchers have long sought out potentially valuable chemistry from natural sources, many of which have been further developed into medicines, including antibiotics, antivirals and cancer therapies. When scientists first began isolating potential drugs from sponges, they assumed that the animals themselves made these compounds. However, DNA sequencing technology eventually revealed that sponges, like humans, share their bodies with legions of microbes and that these single-celled creatures are the talented chemists. Bacteria have since become a major focus for scientists looking to discover potent natural compounds.

However, a genetic analysis conducted by Kayla Wilson, a Ph.D. student in Moore's lab, suggests that sponges, like their microbial residents, can make biologically active molecules that could be useful for humans, too.

The sponge-derived terpenes she studies are unique compared to those from other organisms because they contain nitrogen. They also appear promising from a drug-discovery perspective: Studies have since shown that some have modest malaria-fighting properties.

Although these compounds were already well known, no one had examined the genetic sequences responsible for making them, an undertaking that could pinpoint the organism responsible. To find these biological instructions and see which one they belonged to, Wilson collected the local terpene-making sponge Axinellaa dead ringer, she says, for the Chinese restaurant dish orange chicken.

From within the soup of microbial and sponge DNA pulled from the sponge, she looked for sequences encoding instructions for terpene synthase, an enzyme responsible for a crucial step in making terpenes. With help from another lab member who had studied the same enzyme in corals, she identified these genes. Once she had found them, it became clear which organism they belonged to. "When we looked at the surrounding DNA of this terpene synthase, we noticed that there were a lot of features that suggested these genes are from the sponge animal itself," she says.

Other work in the lab by postdoctoral fellow Vikram Shende, Ph.D., focuses on the discovery of brand-new compounds from within local San Diegan sponges.

He and two of the lab's undergraduate students, Vivian Lin and Samantha Hanauer, extracted compounds from 13 species of local sponges that they culture in aquariums. By testing the sponge extracts for biological activity, the team has identified bromine-containing peptides from Cliona sponges that, in experiments, inhibited the growth of bacteria. The researchers are currently working to determine the molecular structure of these peptides, as well as just how they inhibit the bacteriainformation that will help determine if the compounds have potential for use as antibiotics. It's not yet clear if these molecules are made by the sponges or their resident bacteria.

"This is the million-dollar question that we want to answer," says Shende, who will be presenting research from the lab at the meeting. "Determining the genetic origin of these molecules will hopefully give us a glimpse into what their purpose is in their native environment."

Explore further Sea sponge tool could be key to unlocking new cancer drugs

More information: Biosynthetic potential of local San Diego sponges, ACS Spring 2022. Biosynthetic potential of local San Diego sponges, ACS Spring 2022. acs.digitellinc.com/acs/live/22/page/677
A worm-on-a-chip device tracks nematodes' movements toward odor molecules produced by lung cancer cells. Credit: Nari Jang

Dogs can use their incredible sense of smell to sniff out various forms of cancer in human breath, blood and urine samples. Similarly, in the lab a much simpler organism, the roundworm C. elegans, wriggles its way toward cancer cells by following an odor trail. Today, scientists report a device that uses the tiny worms to detect lung cancer cells. This "worm-on-a-chip" could someday help doctors noninvasively diagnose cancer at an earlier stage.

The researchers will present their results today at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Early diagnosis of cancer is critical for effective treatment and survival, says Nari Jang, a graduate student who is presenting the work at the meeting. Therefore, cancer screening methods should be quick, easy, economical and noninvasive. Currently, doctors diagnose lung cancer by imaging tests or biopsies, but these methods often can't detect tumors at their earliest stages. Although dogs can be trained to sniff out human cancer, they aren't practical to keep in labs. So Jang and Shin Sik Choi, Ph.D., the project's principal investigator, decided to use worms called nematodes, which are tiny (~1 mm in length), easy to grow in the lab and have an extraordinary sense of smell, to develop a noninvasive cancer diagnostic test.

"Lung cancer cells produce a different set of odor molecules than normal cells," says Choi, who is at Myongji University in Korea. "It's well known that the soil-dwelling nematode, C. elegans, is attracted or repelled by certain odors, so we came up with an idea that the roundworm could be used to detect lung cancer." Other researchers have placed nematodes in petri dishes and added drops of human urine, observing that the worms preferentially crawled toward urine samples from cancer patients. Jang and Choi wanted to make an accurate, easy-to-measure form of the test.

So the team made a chip out of polydimethylsiloxane elastomer that had a well at each end connected by channels to a central chamber. The researchers placed the chip on an agar plate. At one end of the chip, they added a drop of culture media from lung cancer cells, and at the other end, they added media from normal lung fibroblasts. They placed worms in the central chamber, and after an hour, they observed that more worms had crawled toward the lung cancer media than the normal media. In contrast, worms that had a mutated odor receptor gene called odr-3 did not show this preferential behavior.

Based on these tests, the researchers estimated that the device was about 70% effective at detecting cancer cells in diluted cell culture media. They hope to increase both the accuracy and sensitivity of the method by using worms that were previously exposed to cancer cell media and therefore have a "memory" of cancer-specific odor molecules. Once the team has optimized the worm-on-a-chip for detecting cultured lung cancer cells, they plan to move on to testing urine, saliva or even exhaled breath from people. "We will collaborate with medical doctors to find out whether our methods can detect lung cancer in patients at an early stage," Choi says. They also plan to test the device on multiple forms of cancer.

In other studies using the worm-on-a-chip, the researchers identified the specific odor molecules that attract C. elegans to lung cancer cells, including a volatile organic compound called 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, which has a floral scent. "We don't know why C. elegans are attracted to lung cancer tissues or 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, but we guess that the odors are similar to the scents from their favorite foods," Jang says.

Explore further What a worm! Japan firm uses nematodes to sniff out cancer

More information: Non-invasive lung diagnosis system using odorant markers in Caenorhabditis elegans-on-a-chip, ACS Spring 2022. Non-invasive lung diagnosis system using odorant markers in Caenorhabditis elegans-on-a-chip, ACS Spring 2022. acs.digitellinc.com/acs/live/22/page/677
Republican leaders in the region are making a geographic case to vote the partys candidate in the 4th Judicial District state Supreme Court race in November, suggesting that Essex County is entitled to have judges chambers at its county courthouse in Elizabethtown.

Currently, Warren County has two resident Supreme Court judges and Schenectady County has four resident Supreme Court judges, each serving the 11-county judicial district.

Essex County does not have a Supreme Court judge based in the county.

Judges are assigned to cover cases in multiple counties, and travel to preside at cases outside their home counties.

Essex County had a resident judge for nearly a century until 2009, after the resident judge there was defeated for re-election the previous November.

It is time now to correct the imbalance of the number of judges that are seated in the southern part of the 4th Judicial District, said Shaun Gillihand, a Republican who is chairman of the Essex County Board of Supervisors, endorsing Republican and Conservative judicial candidate Allison McGahay, a lawyer from Lake Placid. Essex County is solely in the Adirondack Park and deserves a sitting Supreme Court justice.

Warren County Democratic Chairwoman Lynne Boecher said location of a judges chambers has little bearing, as judges travel to other counties where they hear cases.

Experience on the bench is a more relevant criteria, she said.

Two 14-year terms are on the ballot in the November election.

Candidates will run on an at-large basis, with the top two vote-getters being elected.

Republican candidates are McGahay, and Chris Obstarczyk, of Saratoga County.

McGahay, a lawyer from Lake Placid, is a former Essex County assistant district attorney and now is Essex County Republican elections commissioner.

In addition to Republican committees, the St. Lawrence County and Franklin County conservative committees have endorsed her candidacy.

Obstarczyk has been a partner in a Saratoga Springs law firm since 2007, and is the former Saratoga Springs Republican chairman. In addition to Republican committees, Saratoga County and Franklin County Conservative committees have endorsed his candidacy.

A Republican Party rule dating back to the 1950s obligates county GOP committees to back candidates in counties that previously had GOP judgeships, in this case Essex and Saratoga counties, said Warren County Republican Vice Chairman Jake Sabo.

Democratic candidates are Robert Muller of Warren County, who is running for re-election to a second term, and Vincent Versaci of Schenectady County, who is an acting Supreme Court justice.

Muller was elected in 2008.

He previously was an assistant district attorney.

Versaci has about 20 years of experience on the bench, as a surrogate court judge and a former Schenectady City Court judge.

Candidates will be formally nominated at party nominating conventions in August.

Party primaries are not held for state Supreme Court judge elections.

The 4th Judicial District includes the following counties: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schenectady, St. Lawrence, Warren and Washington.

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LAKE GEORGE  Mayor Bob Blais has requested more than 75 hotel rooms from local businesses to house J-1 students in the village this summer.

Just between Fort William Henry and the Lake George Steamboat Company, we already have a request for 70-75 for student workers this summer, Blais said.

The rooms often sleep more than one international student, usually accommodating two to four to a room depending on the size, Blais said.

In previous years, students were found without housing and sleeping in Shepard Park, according to a news release from the mayor. This year he has a request in with four local businesses to secure safe, clean rooms for the students to live in.

Blais, now in his 52nd year as mayor, started the Student Connection Committee six years ago to more adequately serve visiting students. The committee is comprised of a small group of volunteers and town representatives to provide assistance to the international students working in the village of Lake George as they acclimate to their temporary homes.

Since the Lake George Student Connection program began, funding has been provided by the towns of Lake George, Bolton and Queensbury, resulting in a $15,000 annual budget.

Traditionally, the program provided help with finding second jobs and housing, and provided a handbook containing emergency phone numbers and useful information. The program also organized trips to out-of-town attractions and landmarks for students.

Despite the effectiveness of the Student Connection, Blais said problems occurred over the years involving unsafe housing, labor law violations and public transportation issues. While many of these issues have been rectified, Blais said suitable housing remained a concern.

The Lake George area relies on 1,000 to 1,500 international students with four-month J-1 visas to staff the many seasonal businesses for the summer. These visas are not issued without a job and housing arrangements.

We must develop housing if we are to continue to be a first-class resort. We need the students to offer a level of services that encourages people to return to Lake George, Blais said, describing this as his last big project.

The news release explained that J-1 students arrive in May and stay through September or October, after most local students have returned to college in early August, and international students often apply for maintenance or entry-level jobs that local residents do not seek out.

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Third grade, all those many years ago in south Florida, was not my best year. For one thing, my teacher Mrs. Warren was unhinged. Toward the end of the year she was removed from the classroom never to return again.

On a daily basis she would yell and scream at her students, including me, chase children around, hit us with rulers, give instructions that contradicted those given in our workbooks or on our handouts, and send students to sit on the stool in the corner facing the wall while branding them dunces.

I would report these things to my parents, but in the early 60s parents just assumed their children exaggerated things or lied, and we were told to obey the teacher.

Well, I can tell you that whole year befuddled me. I was thrown into a crazy world that was housed in an old wooden portable building with an excellent knot in the floor under my desk. I could spend hours looking at the dirt below the floor. When I did look up, I could look at the flies buzzing around and chasing each other.

My father, who was a teacher at the high school, told me at the time our school district was ranked one of the poorest in the nation. That made sense to me, even though I knew I was a dunce.

Anyway, one day when I was supposed to color the cow purple and the horse blue and the duck red on my homework sheet, I asked my dad to read the tiny little teachers instructions on the bottom of the worksheet, because I was befuddled by my teachers instruction, just as I was every day in third grade.

When I brought in the worksheet on which I followed the tiny instructions, Mrs. Warren lit into me screaming and nearly foaming at the mouth that I had not followed her instructions. I kind of put the rest out of my mind.

At that point I decided I hated school and, since I had no idea what was going on anyway, I just paid attention to chorus and P.E., which included the long jump and square dancing, both of which I enjoyed.

After that I would give various reasons why I had not done my hand-out homework sheets, one being that the rabbit ate my homework. I was outside working on it while my mother was hanging the laundry and the rabbit, who was on a leash, came over to me and while I was helping my mother, it ate my whole worksheet.

I think that year I went into great detail about how the turtle ate my homework, how my homework was blown on to the turkey farm, how it was accidentally burned, blew out the window, fell into the washing machine and so on. My excuses could go into great detail.

This is when I started to befuddle Mrs. Warren, and she started leaving me be to look down my knot hole and teach myself about the intelligence of flies in congregation. I had developed quite a theory about how separate individuals of like insects, though useless by themselves, together constituted an intelligence.

All that being said, it was actually a shock to me, these many years later, when the baby goats I was bottle-feeding in the house because of a blizzard, actually ate some papers I had signed confirming I would be an election inspector for the upcoming school budget vote.

I had to call the school to admit, The goats ate my homework. I think, even Mrs. Warren would have been surprised by that one.

Forrest Hartley lives a quirky existence in Hadley, N.Y. Leave a message at new_americangothic@yahoo.com.

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NEW YORK  A second Amazon warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island will have a union election in April, the National Labor Relations Board said Friday.

In-person voting will be held at the facility known as LDJ5 every day from April 25-29, except for April 26, an NLRB spokesperson said. The count is expected to take place May 2.

The federal labor board had approved the second union vote on Staten Island earlier this month. Amazon is already facing another in-person union vote March 25-30 at JFK8, a separate warehouse neighboring LDJ5.

"We look forward to having our employees' voices heard in this election, and our focus remains on working directly with our team to continue making Amazon a great place to work," said Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson.

Amazon has long been criticized for poor working conditions. The organization effort at both warehouses is being led by the Amazon Labor Union, a group headed by a former Amazon employee who was fired after protesting working conditions at the company in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employees at another company warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, are now casting mail ballots for a union election, with a tally expected to begin on March 28. Last year, workers at the Alabama facility voted against unionizing. Federal labor officials scrapped the results and ordered a re-do in November, ruling the Seattle-based online retail giant had tainted the results.
A dizzying number of agencies is working on the issue of human trafficking in Atlantic City, including the FBI, the State Police and local officers. The Victim Witness Unit of the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office works with victims of human trafficking, and Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Flammer serves as Atlantic Countys state human trafficking liaison.

A recent statement from the Prosecutors Office warned that a victim of trafficking may seem like many people you see every day.

Mental, physical and emotional coercion are some of the core methods of control by the trafficker. It is important to recognize some of these signs which are often displayed by victims of trafficking  submissiveness, engaging in prostitution, physical abuse, living in a cramped space with multiple strangers  and notify law enforcement, Flammer said.

Flammer said it is also important to recognize that victims are often under the control of the trafficker or their network for many months or years. Once freed, these survivors need significant time, space and resources to heal, he said.

One of the resources available to victims of human trafficking in New Jersey is the recently passed Human Trafficking Prevention, Protection and Treatment Act, to assist in the expungement of criminal offenses of human trafficking victims.

As they move forward, having certain crimes expunged from their record pursuant to the Human Trafficking Prevention, Protection and Treatment Act is one way that we can further the healing process, Flammer said.

Atlantic City pilot program aims to address human trafficking In Atlantic City, a pilot effort by a nonprofit is working to help victims of human traffick

In March, the Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee of the state Assembly advanced a package of bills aimed at addressing human trafficking.

Human trafficking is one of the most heinous, reprehensible crimes currently threatening public safety. To rob someone of their free will and subject them to unknown horrors in the form of sex trafficking or forced labor is despicable and inhumane, said Shanique Speight, a Democratic lawmaker from Essex County who leads the committee. She cited information from the National Human Trafficking Hotline that indicates there were 1,648 cases of human trafficking reported in New Jersey between 2007 and 2020.

Local police say they are working with other agencies to approach the problem.

The Atlantic City Police Department has developed a multifaceted approach to combating human trafficking, including partnering with local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies as well as with various social service oriented groups, said Sgt. Paul Aristizabal, the public information officer for the department.

Detectives from the Special Investigations Section of the ACPD work with members of the FBI, Atlantic County Sheriffs Office, New Jersey State Human Services Police and Atlantic County Prosecutors Office to form the Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking task force, he said.

Additionally, ACPD detectives have joined Volunteers of America (VOA) to conduct educational sessions to inform the public about the warning signs of human trafficking. Detectives also partner with VOA to conduct outreach and offer services to those suspected of being victims of human trafficking, Aristizabal said.

Most recently, Atlantic City police have joined with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to train all of their officers as part of the organizations Missing Kids Readiness Program. This training is focused on responding to and investigating cases of missing and sexually exploited children.

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, call 911 for emergencies, the Prosecutors Office advises. For victim assistance, call Covenant House at 862-240-2453. Those who believe they have identified a trafficking victim can call the NJ Human Trafficking Hotline at 855-END-NJ-HT, or 855-363-6548.

Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill

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The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development is constantly recruiting for workers to help process unemployment claims, Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo told a Senate Labor Committee last week.

He said a labor shortage is responsible for keeping all the jobs from being filled.

But the department is not advertising the job of unemployment insurance clerk to the public. They are listed under promotional jobs only available to those already employed by the state.

Currently the department is advertising two full-time positions to the general public. One is for an auditor and one is for 26 employment services trainees to educate workers and employers about benefits.

The job description says the trainees will, Under the direction of a Principal Examiner in the Division of Employer Accounts, contact employers and/or their representative by correspondence and telephone to explain their rights and responsibilities under the provision of the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Law, and rules and regulations of the department.

There is one position advertised to help with claims, but it is a part-time position called an intermittent clerk.

Senate committee advances bill to lessen unemployment tax increase on employers TRENTON  The Senate Labor Committee voted 5-0 Monday to advance a bill to require the state

Labor Department spokesperson Angela Delli-Santi did not answer questions about why the specialist positions are limited to state workers.

We hire all experience levels. Currently, these support positions are posted, Delli-Santi said. We have posted for other unemployment-related positions previously and have those resumes on file. Unemployment claims specialist, as the name implies, is a specialized position requiring specialized experience and skills.

Unemployment insurance specialists are needed to deal with many of the problems that applicants run into, Asaro-Angelo said, comparing them to medical specialists.

Delli-Santi said those hired as employment services trainees can eventually be promoted to unemployment or temporary disability/family leave claims examiners.

They work within the division that administers unemployment and temporary disability/family leave benefits, Delli-Santi said.

Asaro-Angelos testimony was part of a contentious hearing where both Democratic and Republican senators took him to task for the large number of people still trying without luck to get benefits and calling legislative offices for help.

1st District legislators want unemployment workers face to face with claimants VINELAND  First District legislators are tired of having their staffs do the work of the De

There is a backlog of about 11,000 cases waiting for assistance, Asaro-Angelo acknowledged.

Senators from both sides of the aisle were critical of Asaro-Angelo and the departments handling of the unemployment crisis spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic, saying their own staffs have spent much of the past two years helping constituents with unemployment claims.

Chairman Sen. Fred H. Madden, D-Camden, Gloucester, said the department has reported to the federal government it is only getting payments to applicants within two weeks for about 50% of applicants, while the federal government says it wants states to do so for 87%.

He also said the department takes about 8,000 applications a week, and about 4,000 of those applicants make mistakes in filling out the application that delay their payment.

An unemployment specialist must speak to each applicant to fix the mistake, he said, under federal rules.

Sen. Mike Testa, R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, is on the Labor Committee and said after the hearing that Asaro-Angelo had no regard for the amount of staff time state senators and Assembly members have spent trying to help constituents get the benefits they have paid into and deserve.

Legislators demand Labor Department workers return to office VINELAND  First District elected officials plan to announce legislation that would require 

What really bothered me was how theyve discounted all of the involvement of our legislative offices, Testa said.  The senators and assemblymen and women have been answering calls (about unemployment problems) for two years. Its not our job to be unemployment clerks.

During the hearing, Testa asked Asaro-Angelo whether he thought it was fair that legislative offices were doing the job of the Labor Department, and Asaro-Angelo said it was not.

We are hiring every day; since day one of the pandemic we have had job listings on the website, Asaro-Angelo said. What our clients need and your constituents need is more people on the other side of the phone. We are still hiring.

REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post 609-841-2895 mpost@pressofac.com

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CHICAGO - In a display of solidarity with Ukraine, former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton earlier this week left bouquets of sunflowers, the war-torn nations national flower, at an iconic church in Chicagos Ukrainian Village during an unannounced visit.

Both former presidents, who have been outspoken in opposing Russias invasion of Ukraine, used social media late Friday to post videos of their joint visit to the golden-domed Sts. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church, 739 N. Oakley Blvd.

The men, both 75, wore yellow ribbons on their suit lapels as they approached the church, carrying the bouquets of yellow sunflowers tied in a blue ribbon. They left the flowers, which came from a local florist, at a stone cross outside the church.

America stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they fight for their freedom and their future, Bush, a former Republican president, said on Twitter through his presidential center in Dallas.

Clinton, a former Democratic president, posted the video to his Twitter page, writing, America stands united with the people of Ukraine in their fight for freedom and against oppression.

In the video, an unidentified church member explained that the flowers say in solidarity and Ukraine has become the citadel of fighting for freedom.

The video said Clinton and Bush worked to support Ukraines democratic institutions after the U.S. began diplomatic relations with the country in 1991 following the fall of the Soviet Union.

In a Facebook post, the church displayed the video and thanked the former presidents for their visit.

Two former presidents of the United States arrived to our Cathedral to express support for Ukraine. Thank you Mister President Bush and Mister President Clinton, the Facebook post said.

Both Bush and Clinton have criticized Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb. 24.

In a statement following Russias invasion, Bush called it unprovoked and unjustified and said it constitutes the gravest security crisis on the European continent since World War II.

Clinton also has called Putins actions unprovoked and unjustified and warned Putin that the world will hold Russia, and Russia alone, accountable, both economically and politically.

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A Bettendorf woman is facing a multitude of charges, including several felonies, in an overnight car chase with police in Illinois and Iowa.

Alkia Kiasha Ross, 33, is accused of eluding police in Illinois, crossing the Interstate 74 bridge into Iowa and intentionally ramming a Bettendorf squad car.

Shortly before 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Ross failed to stop for Illinois police vehicles with emergency lights and sirens activated, police said. She was driving a white 2010 Chevrolet Impala.

After crossing the bridge into Bettendorf, Ross continued to elude police, despite having a damaged tire, police reports state.

"Officers attempted to box the defendant's vehicle in, and she began trying to ram or intentionally strike police vehicles," according to a Bettendorf officer's criminal complaint. "The defendant tried to rear-end or ram this officer's vehicle on multiple occasions.

"(Ross) then intentionally struck a Bettendorf Police Department vehicle with it emergency equipment activated. The defendant was utilizing the vehicle as a dangerous weapon while knowingly interfering (with) multiple officers performing their duties."

She was "operating her vehicle in a reckless manner, disregarding multiple traffic laws with no regard for other vehicle traffic," the complaint states.

Ross remained in custody Sunday, charged with operating while intoxicated-third offense, eluding, driving while suspended, reckless driving, having open containers of alcohol, possession of marijuana, criminal mischief and other charges.

She was being held on a $10,000 cash-only bond.

Police said Ross's vehicle ultimately was stopped at Kimberly and Middle roads, and she refused a portable breath test and remained "non-compliant."

Her previous drunken-driving convictions were in 2012 and 2015 Scott County, police said.

Court records show Ross was charged in July of 2021 with going armed with intent, a felony, and possessing or carrying of dangerous weapons while under the influence. She is accused of threatening a woman, then firing a gun outside the woman's house.

"Officers were unable to find any proof that the vehicle is currently insured," according to the Bettendorf police report from Saturday's incident. "When the defendant intentionally struck the Bettendorf Police Department vehicle, she damaged the front left corner."

Damage to the vehicle is estimated at $2,000.

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China increased investment in road and waterway infrastructure in the first two months of the year, according to data from the Ministry of Transport.



Fixed-asset investment in road and waterway infrastructure jumped 14.8% year on year to 273.1 billion yuan (about US$43.1 billion) from January to February.

Southwest China's Guizhou Province reported the fastest growth in this regard, with investment more than doubling from a year ago to 20.67 billion yuan in the first two months.

North China's Tianjin Municipality saw the sharpest decline during the period, with the investment plunging 76.2% year on year, data showed.
"No service" appeared on my phone as I traveled scenic backroads of northern Illinois. Problems with my carriers signal not being strong in rural Illinois isnt uncommon, so at first the break in coverage didnt give me any pause. After traveling a bit further it had a never before seen notification banner stating, "Cell phone not activated. Contact your carrier." I knew immediately what must have happened. Due to a much too long saga involving the purchase of new cell phones, which would be delivered to my home while I was out of town, my current cell phone became deactivated.

In search of a pay phone, I stopped at a building that looked like a small town bank. Inside I found a variety of small businesses. The one that was still open for the day was a luxuriously smelling massage office whose sole occupant generously handed me her personal phone so I could try to find out what had happened to mine. I was unsuccessful. She graciously wished me safe travels.

As I turned the corner, I saw the familiar blue sign indicating a library was nearby. I stopped and used the computer to check a map since my GPS wasnt available. A helpful librarian quickly researched the locations of my providers stores and sent me on my way.

I arrived at the city where my carriers store was located. There were no other customers. The energetic young man who jumped up to serve me probably later wished he had been otherwise occupied when I entered. I explained what I thought had happened and he confirmed it. He proceeded to fix the snafu, but his efforts were unsuccessful. He persevered, consulted his computer, reached out to another staff member, and even "phoned a friend."

Everything he was trying appeared to be the correct fix, it just wasnt working. While he struggled with the reasons why, he talked with me about things I need to do to make sure that I fully protect and utilize my phone. I told him I was going to be so thrilled when he figured it out that the experience would be in my next column.

I was speaking to my son on the phone of the cellphone guy, to tell him where I was and what was happening. Cellphone guy had called customer service for me rather than sending me out to do it myself.

I told him I really needed my phone the next day to receive some important medical-related calls that I was expecting. It was now 45 minutes to closing time,and the customer service wait time was still 11 minutes. I was convinced I would have to leave without a working phone.

As I was relaying all of the information to my son, my voice wavered and I had to pause for a calming breath. He wisely said, "Mom, stay there until it is fixed. Let people be good humans." As he was saying that to me, the cellphone guy placed my phone in my hand and exclaimed, "Its working!"

Before handing my phone to me he had already phoned another employee to verify that the connection was fully operational and indeed that it was working. He said, "There have to be better ways to get column ideas!" I refrained from hugging him, but I cried with relief and gratitude that he had proven himself to be such a good human.

When encountering a problem it is easy to anticipate less than stellar assistance. Perhaps if we had more faith in their ability to help us, more people would show us that they are good humans. I encountered three during this adventure.

Anne VandeMoortel, a regular columnist, is a Moline school nurse, blogger, grandmother of five, Prader-Willi mother, serial hobbyist, and collector of people and their stories.

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You may have read in Mondays newspaper that WVIK is undergoing a sea change. Originally built to keep classical music in equal competition with other music formats, it is poised to become an all-news station. Classical music is to be removed from 90.3 FM in the proposed restructuring and relocated at 105.7 FM, a low-power frequency reaching most of the immediate Quad Cities.

It is a reversal of priorities. The station was established to give classical music a significant presence in eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois. To help boost its listenership, the station joined National Public Radio to have access to its peerless morning and evening news coverage. Adding a solid, local news staff made it a potent newcomer to Quad Cities radio.

Starting at the bottom, WVIK soon moved into the middle range of broadcast ratings; not bad for a college station that depended on contributions to keep going. Beginning with college financial support and enduring a lapse of funding effort 15 years ago, it now manages a small financial reserve. Altogether, a success.

So, why change something that works? Its complicated.

National Public Radio is not only the countrys best and most trusted source of news, it is also a successful corporation which succeeds by promoting and extending its services. For 35 years, it has been urging local public stations to save money by dropping music programming through the day and substituting their range of talk shows. Consulting services staffed by former NPR members recycle convincing evidence that it is the systems "best practice." Good business sense.

Across the country, one by one, local public stations have acquiesced as they worry about their financial future. It sounds reasonable. After all, its comparable to what commercial stations do: ride a satellite service with automated station breaks and ads. A major difference for most NPR stations is that many retain a local news staff. WVIK has the only one in Quad Cities radio.

But WVIK was built around classical music. Its mission was to "sell" listeners on this rich and powerful art. It developed an approach to lure news listeners to stay tuned to music. It has a huge library with thousands of CDs and LPs and a large body of loyal listeners.

Cognizant of that, the new plan envisions continuing the classics on the frequency it acquired a while back, perhaps even enlarging the music staff to provide better service. But the plan depends on a number of uncertainties.

Over the past 15 years, classical music programming on WVIK has been on automatic, with reduced staffing and no promotion.The only music program to receive promotion is a Saturday RME show of rhythm and blues, which is plugged daily.

If the low power signal is beefed up to cover the entire Quad City area and classical service brought back to its former stature, why not accept the inevitable and approve the split? Because separating news and music leaves no opportunity to attract one audience to the other; in particular, no means to "sell" news listeners on the classics.

Rather than argue the point, Id like go back to the question which was first asked  often, with some heat  why should Augustana invest in a radio station? Especially if it cost some $30,000 a year?  as it did at the time. (It is now self-supporting.) Years ago, I was given a chance to talk to the board about it at a dinner meeting and tried to answer the question.

I contended that it was a perfect means of extending the colleges mission into the community. Historically, the presence of a number of lively young people in the neighborhood was often a cause of friction: the old "town and gown" problem. Cardinal John Henry Newman once complained that a university could intellectualize its students, but not the community; but he didnt have a radio station.

WVIK would represent Augustanas best all across eastern Iowa and northwestern Illinois: its celebrated music program, its dedicated service to the life of the mind and spirit. Not only was this a generous gift of what is best in life, but also great public relations. I reminded the board that if you priced the continual credits Augustana received at our lowest rate, they were getting a quarter of a million dollars a year in public relations. (The station now promotes NPR rather than the college.)

I have always contended that the mixture of music and news was ideal, feeding the whole person, one format sustaining the other and holding together an audience that wanted more than wallpaper sound. Sustainability is crucial, but its important to ask what is being sustained? In these shifting times, there is no sure answer as to what has lasting value, or in what people and institutions will remain willing to invest.

The question no one can answer is how many people will cease to support 90.3 FM without music? The plan concedes that there will be a loss, but cannot say with certainty how much.

What concerns me is that no one will be at the table arguing for retaining the station as it is  along with restoring the centrality of music.

I realize that money isnt the only concern. I am aware of the profound changes accelerating through the world: fracturing societies; bitter, unreasonable political divisions; another Covid surge cresting in Europe; climate changes starting to speed up; a loss of faith in trustworthy institutions; and an often blind sense of self that makes it difficult to cede to others.

Yes, times are tough and we are all feeling the strain. It may well be that a strong, single source that serves listeners with objective information and soul-stirring music has value beyond price.

Don Wooten is a former Illinois state senator and a regular columnist. Email him at: donwooten4115@gmail.com.

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Iowas presidential caucuses wont take place for two years. But, as usual, critics of the caucuses in the Democratic Party are out to end their first-in-the-nation status.

You could see them out in force as the Democratic National Committee's rules and bylaws committee met recently. A leaked staff memo, reported in the Des Moines Register, envisioned a new process by which states would have to apply for early-state status based on criteria that pointedly gave little hope to Iowa.

When the meetings were done, no definitive action was taken. But we already know the main complaints about Iowa: The caucuses, because of how they operate, exclude too many people and relatively few attend; the state has little racial and ethnic diversity; the process is confusing; and, in 2020, the party messed up the vote counting so a winner wasnt declared until days later. (We should note this editorial mostly pertains to the Democrats, since it appears Republicans will put Iowa first in 2024).

It also doesnt help Iowa Democrats that the state hasnt been competitive in the general election for a while. Donald Trump won Iowa easily in both 2016 and 2020.

Were not sure what will happen. Iowa has had a knack for surviving these skirmishes over the presidential nominating order. But for a party that relies so much on a diverse voting base, it seems unlikely Iowa will go first again.

So, how should Iowa Democrats move forward?

First, well say that Iowans still have a contribution to make. We have seen the passion and the intelligence that Iowa caucus-goers have brought to the task  of not just assessing candidates, but preparing for and participating on caucus night. Besides, an analysis of the 2020 fiasco showed there was plenty of blame to go around. The national party shares the blame and should be accountable, too.

We also dont think the animus toward Iowa because of its privileged place in the calendar should determine the new rules. We know there are states and activists that just want to toss Iowa aside, but any rules drawn up to determine who goes first shouldnt be written with the express intent of excluding Iowans from consideration.

That said, we think Iowa Democrats need to make significant changes.

First, after the 2020 caucuses, the party needs to restore confidence that it can play a starring role again.

That means proving it can get the votes counted correctly and in a timely manner. The party could go a long way toward demonstrating that by doing away with the caucuses use of state delegate equivalents to determine a winner. Its outdated and violates the one-person-one-vote principle that is the bedrock of public expectations for fair elections. Thats not good for a party that is staking part of its future on the idea that it is defending democracy. Its also confusing, even for caucus veterans. At one time, the system may have seemed quirky; now, it just lends itself to too much confusion and suspicion. Its time to get rid of it.

Its time Iowa make its contest more primary-like. That means finding a way to ensure more people can participate, like an absentee system or a wider voting window. No longer should everybody be required to stuff themselves into an overcrowded room right at 7 p.m. on a cold Monday in order to be counted. If this makes Iowa look like a primary and offends New Hampshire or anybody else, so be it.

Iowans (and this and other media outlets in the state) have gained from decades of national exposure because of the presidential caucuses. Weve had a chance to meet candidates up close like hardly any other state in the nation. Mostly, thats been because of the hard work of Iowa activists, good fortune and the inability of other states to devise a better alternative.

It would be a loss to see first-in-the-nation status go away. But whatever happens, Iowas Democratic caucuses have to change. We believe this because it would benefit the Iowa electorate, but also because it would position the party for the future.

Nationally, we think the DNCs priority ought to be to devise a process that includes as many people as possible; that treats all states fairly; that provides all candidates (not just those with a lot of money) an even playing field; and that affirms confidence in the Democratic process. If that happens, Iowa cant lose, and neither would any other state.

The editorial represents the opinion of the Quad-City Times Editorial Board.

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From the food on our tables to the fuel in our cars, agriculture is an important part of our daily lives. In an ag state like Nebraska, agriculture is even more important to the people who live and work here in the good life. Every year National Ag Week gives us an opportunity to celebrate agriculture and thank the people behind the food, feed and fuel we depend on every day. This year, National Ag Week is March 20-26.

Nebraska's booming agricultural industry has resulted in a strong economy and big tax receipts. With one in every four jobs connected to agriculture, Nebraska's low unemployment rate means there has never been a better time to find a job in the state's ag industry. We have a lot to be grateful for and a lot to celebrate.

Nebraska's celebration of agriculture today is built on our past successes. Boosted by strong crop production and top rankings in beef production, Nebraska exported more than $7.1 billion in agricultural goods in 2020. More than $847 million higher than 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That alone is a remarkable achievement. But Nebraska farmers, ranchers, and all the others who make up the state's extensive ag industry didn't stop there. They continue to work hard and outperform in nearly every agricultural category.

Let me share some of Nebraska's other top rankings. Nebraska is:

- #1 in cash receipts from all farm commodities per capita; and

- #1 in commercial cattle slaughter (2021) at 7,091,600 head; and

- #2 in cattle on feed (Jan. 1, 2022), all cattle and calves (Jan. 1, 2022), beef exports (2021), and commercial red meat production (2021).

The top national rankings start with beef but go much further. Nebraska is:

- #1 in the nation for popcorn production (2017); and

- #1 for Great Northern bean production (2021).

Nebraska also has a reliable supply of corn and soybeans for livestock feed and renewable fuels:

- #2 in ethanol production (2021);

- #3 for corn production and exports (2021); and

- #4 in the nation for soybean production (2021).

While these rankings are national, agricultural products produced in Nebraska are known internationally for their high quality and competitive pricing. Ninety-five percent of the world's population lives beyond America's borders, so reaching those customers, promoting Nebraska's premium ag products and growing international trade continue to be priorities.

The international marketplace is vital for Nebraska farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses looking for ways to expand trade, and there are big opportunities for trade around the world. One way we are expanding markets for Nebraska's ag industry is with our Nebraska: Straight from the Good Life program.

The program is free to ag and food companies headquartered in Nebraska or with a significant presence in Nebraska, including companies providing grains, meat, consumer-oriented foods, agricultural equipment and agricultural services. Straight from the Good Life gives us more ways to effectively market and promote Nebraska agricultural and food companies to consumers worldwide.

Another way to grow Nebraska agriculture is to focus on adding value to the crops and livestock we raise. Value-added agriculture means taking the traditional crops and livestock we grow and transforming them into products with greater economic value.

By feeding Nebraska raised grains, ethanol distillers grains and forage, our beef, pork, dairy and poultry growers produce value-added products for domestic and international consumers.

Additional economic value is added by processing the meat products here. Nebraska is the nation's leading beef processor with facilities around the state exporting billions of dollars of beef products to other countries annually. Nebraska is well positioned to continue increasing our processing capacity through new facilities such as Sustainable Beef, expansion of existing commercial processors and growth in our custom exempt capacity.

We're also promoting biofuels to grow Nebraska through value-added agriculture. Ethanol saves drivers money at the pump, reduces toxic emissions, and creates opportunities for farm families right here in Nebraska. More than 31% of the corn grown in our state goes to our ethanol industry.

What happens in agriculture affects all of Nebraska and connects all of us, too. That's why it's important to share information about agriculture, like I'm doing here. Information helps people understand that agriculture is more than farming. It takes a whole industry of people to grow your food and get it to your table.

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A 30-year Rapid City resident has announced his intention to run for a Ward 5 seat on the City Council.

Patrick Roseland said he wants to focus on preserving the city's historic areas while balancing the need for growth and development throughout the city. He said he'd also like to see the city's cultural center grow.

"We've got to have a downtown prepared for those people to come down and enjoy the restaurants and establishments down here," he said.

Roseland said the city is going to grow over the next few years to what he compares to the housing boom following World War II. He said the city needs to focus on housing for all levels. Roseland said he supports law enforcement and Rapid Citys first responders.

He said he will be meeting with current City Council members and Mayor Steve Allender over the next couple weeks to listen to other concerns in the city and to better understand the behind-the-scenes work of the council.

"I kind of feel like this is a perfect time for me to be involved because I have a history here and I love Rapid City. I love everything about Rapid City, and I'd like to see Rapid City stay as it is but still be an area where we have growth coming in," Roseland said.

Roseland has served on several boards and committees including the West Boulevard Neighborhood Association, Rapid City Historic Preservation Commission, Minnilusa Historical Association and the Rapid City Arts Council. He was also a member of the Leadership Rapid City class of 2011.

In 2018, Roseland received the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce's Rushmore Honors Award "for his preeminent example of the vision, skills and talents fundamental to the arts and cultural life of Rapid City." In 2020 he received the 2020 Governors Award for History for his special love of Rapid City and for his support of the arts in Rapid City. He also co-authored the book Rapid City: Historic Downtown Architecture.

Roseland was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1973. He received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Mount Marty College, his diploma of Nurse Anesthesia at the Minneapolis School of Anesthesia, and a Master of Science Degree from St. Mary's College in Minnesota.

After moving to Rapid City in 1993, he worked as a Certified Registered Nurse of Anesthesia at Rapid City Regional Hospital until retiring in 2016 with a total of 30 years of providing anesthesia.

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A mill levy that would provide a fourth of the funding for the Bitterroot Valley Community College will go to voters this spring.

BVCC Trustee Chair Marcie Smith said the current Bitterroot College is a fading program of the University of Montana while BVCC could specifically meet the communitys needs with the passage of a levy.

In May of 2020, voters approved the creation of the "community college" district and BVCC trustees-elect worked to get it created. In March of 2021, the Montana Legislature, thanks to Sen. Jason Ellsworth and Rep. Dave Bedey, passed Senate Joint Resolution 15 creating the Bitterroot Valley Community College District.

BVCC is the first community college established in Montana in 53 years, joining Miles City, Dawson and Flathead community colleges. BVCC provides the prospect of creating more opportunities and more good-paying jobs in the Bitterroot, Smith said.

We will have the flexibility and autonomy to do what is best for the Bitterroot, she added. We are not going to be controlled by the University of Montana. We wanted a dental hygiene program and the university said no, we wanted welding certification and the university said no. We need local control, we need to do what is best for here.

UM takes 40-50% off of every grant and funding source funneled into BVCC, including student grants meant to further their education, Smith said.

Right now the UM is taking some of the money, but we will have those dollars strictly for the Bitterroot, Smith said. We need to be autonomous.

In the same 2020 vote that residents said they wanted an independent college, they turned down a mill levy that would have helped pay for it.

Smith said taxpayers would only pay for one-fourth of the cost of the BVCC. The state of Montana would pay half and students would pay the other fourth.

The tuition will be much less than the cost of going to UM  that is a big savings, Smith said. For me, being on the school board of Victor, a very impoverished town, I see the students want more but might be worried about making the financial commitment for a four-year college.

Having BVCC to get a welding certification or any building certification is important. We just did an environmental survey and the largest employer and largest needs are in the construction trades. Lets have our kids educated here instead of elsewhere in the state.

She said the plan for the mill levy is to expand educational opportunities in the Bitterroot through BVCC.

The Bitterroot Valley Community Colleges website, bvcommunitycollege.org, is full of information about the mill levy, including the vision, the board, how to register to vote, how to vote, what the impact of 9.75 mills will be on home owners (based on taxable assessed value) and the return on investment for the community.

Bitterroot College Director Victoria Clark said she's encouraging everyone she knows to vote.

The new college will not happen without this and the old college will limp along for a couple of years then fade away, she said.

Clark said the plan is not to keep every aspect, pencil or employee but rather the concept.

It is not in the details, she said. There is confusion. People think the Bitterroot College is the BVCC but it is not. This is not like a school levy where if it doesnt pass they can rob Peter to pay Paul. This is it. This is the 'Hail Mary' pass to Keep the College.

She said the stark message shows the urgency.

This is vote number three, Clark said. We voted in 2007, we voted in 2020 and now were voting again. After this, the path forward is questionable at best. There is no plan B.

Smith agreed but reminded her the Bitterroot Valley Community College District would remain regardless of the outcome of the levy.

And hypothetically you could get a whole group of other people who want to get exhausted and try to push a levy through again, she said. In reality, it could be tried again but I dont know that we would find the momentum or the people behind it again.

Clark said the current effort is exciting.

We have these great newer people and everyone is there pushing the rock over the line but it is going to be hard to get another group to push the rock, she said. The message is clear. The only thing Ill feel poorly about is if people didnt understand what they were voting on. If you want a college in this community, this is it.

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The results are in: A record 87 businesses in the Richmond region have been selected as having the best workplaces.

Those companies, government divisions or nonprofits are recognized as part of the ninth annual Top Workplaces program conducted by the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Energage, a Pennsylvania-based employee research firm.

Twenty-eight of the 87 businesses are newcomers to the list this year.

Nine of the companies have been on the list each year for all nine years.

Four employers have been on the list for eight years, two for seven years, five for six years, five for five years, eight for four years, 12 for three years and 14 for two years.

The list released now is alphabetized.

The lists showing the top-ranking businesses in each of four size categories wont be disclosed until the Top Workplaces awards program to be held later this spring. The event and a special section of The Times-Dispatch to be published at the same time will honor the 87 businesses, their rankings and highlight the top companies in each size category.

All of the companies are put in categories based on employment size:

Mega (900-plus employees);

Large (400-899);

Midsize (125 to 399); and

Small (124 or fewer)

Four companies are in the mega category, 10 businesses are in the large category, 21 companies are in the midsize category, and 52 businesses are in the small category.

Energage, which conducts workplace surveys for dozens of newspapers across the country, invited 1,141 companies in the Richmond region to participate in the program this year, and the firm surveyed 118 of those businesses or organizations. The surveyed companies employ more than 44,000 people in the Richmond area.

Surveys were sent to more than 31,300 employees in the region. The firm received more than 17,900 responses from employees on numerous topics affecting workplace life, from their views on leadership, managers, pay and benefits to training and work-life balance. It also looked at other factors including how employers encourage community involvement and how businesses promote diversity.

Employers who scored the highest locally  and exceeded national benchmarks  made the list.

The process was open to any employer  private, public, government and nonprofit  that had at least 35 employees in the region when the surveying was conducted from October to mid-February.
Richmond-area businesses are finding different ways to donate money and other resources to relief efforts for people affected by the war in Ukraine.

For instance, Hanover County-based Owens & Minor said it has given a resource the company knows best: medical supplies.

The company, a distributor of medical products, said it made a donation worth $500,000 of medical-grade personal protective equipment, or PPE, including exam gloves, masks and isolation gowns to support medical care in humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.

The company said the donation was made through collaboration with MedShare, a humanitarian aid organization that delivers available medical supplies and equipment to communities in need around the world.

Owens & Minor employees have shipped two truckloads of products from several of the companys distribution centers.

Common House, a co-working space and social club with locations in Richmond, Charlottesville and Chattanooga, Tenn., is donating 10% of the proceeds from two days of meal sales to World Central Kitchen, or WCK. The nonprofit responds to humanitarian crises around the world by providing meals to refugees and others. Donations will also go to the International Rescue Committee.

Part of what Common House focuses on is building community, and we want to be part of a global community as well, so it seemed logical to help out, said Bryan McClure, the chef de cuisine for Common House, which has about 1,500 members in the Richmond area.

For the rest of this month, Common House is also selling a cocktail called the Sunflower and sugar cookies. All of the proceeds from sales of those two products will go to the relief organizations.

Proceeds will also go to the relief groups from sales at Birdies, a restaurant that is open to non-members on the first floor of Common House at 305 W. Broad St.

Goochland County-based Performance Food Group, one of the countrys largest food service distributors, announced last week that it was making a $50,000 donation to World Central Kitchen.

Other businesses have been holding fundraisers. Buskey Cider, a craft cider maker in the Scotts Addition area of Richmond, held a Stand with Ukraine on Tuesday, donating proceeds from its sales that night to World Central Kitchen.

We chose to partner with WCK because as a food and beverage company, supporting Ukrainian refugees through providing meals was an obvious choice for us, said Elle Correll, marketing director for Buskey Cider.

Correll and her husband, Will Correll, the founder of Buskey Cider, partnered with their friend Daria Savchenko, a native of Ukraine, to hold the fundraiser.

About 200 people attended the event, and donations came out to a little more than $3,100.

Allianz Partners, the Henrico County-based travel insurance company, said its parent company, Germany-based Allianz SE, has donated more than $11 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross to assist refugees leaving Ukraine and has committed several million more to match employee donations to the ICRC.

As a global business, the company has employees in both Ukraine and Russia, a spokesman said.

We have assisted our employees in Ukraine by helping with their evacuation to Poland and provided transportation and housing as needed, spokesman Daniel Durazo said. Our associates who were evacuated to Poland are now working from there and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

A foundation managed by Henrico-based Genworth Financial Inc. has donated $10,000 to the d. A spokeswoman for the company said that money would go to repair vital infrastructure, support health facilities with medicine and equipment, and support families with food and hygiene items.

The Genworth Foundation also is offering 100% matching donations for employees who give to the American Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis fund and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Ukraine Emergency Response.

Henrico-based Altria Group Inc., the parent of tobacco company Philip Morris USA, said it is matching employee donations to designated humanitarian organizations, both those in Ukraine or those supporting and resettling refugees.
The assignment given to Dixeen Tolivers sixth-graders at Lucille Brown Middle School provided students with the option of creating a monument or some other memorial to one of the nations first five presidents.

Toliver didnt create this performance-based assessment. And Richmond Public Schools didnt fashion Virginias history and social science Standards of Learning, which the assessment was designed to replace. But she understood parent Evandra Catherines concerns: Four of the first five U.S. presidents were enslavers from Virginia.

Had Richmond removed monuments to enslavers from its streets only to have its students build new ones in the classroom?

Catherine, an assistant professor at Arizona State University whose specialties include early childhood education, began asking questions about what her son was being tasked to do. Her son had already figured out a work-around: Hed focus on the abolitionist president of the bunch, John Adams of Massachusetts. Still, she conveyed her concerns to Maasehyahu Isra-Ul, Richmond Public Schools K-12 instructional specialist for history and social science. In response, Catherine says, He told me that he had hired a team of teachers to look at the curriculum and modify it.

Indeed, Isra-Ul responded to her in an email last Tuesday.

I changed some wording and added resources for teacher support, he wrote. This assignment still meets the standards for the state rubric so it can be enjoyed by all students. I think the additions make the assessment more robust and remove the hagiographic approach that words like memorial or Founding Fathers implied.

In 2015, performance-based assessments replaced the history SOLs for Virginias third-, sixth- and seventh-graders.

A task to stimulate critical thinking and creativity strikes me as preferable to the rote memorization of a standardized test.

One such example of the performance-based approach was the creation of an album cover based on figures from the Harlem Renaissance, Isra-Ul said Wednesday. This being the 21st century, some students have little idea what albums are. So they learn history within history.

In America, history too often more closely resembles an exercise in adulation, fashioned largely out of myth and denial. The contented slaves from the textbooks of my generation have been replaced by the nonsense of inherently divisive concepts, an agenda to curtail classroom discussions of systemic racism. When it comes to our past, our students need more scrutiny and less idealizing.

Toliver has her own issues with Virginia Department of Education history standards. Unmentioned about James Monroe, the nations fifth president, is his enthusiastic support of the American Colonization Society effort to send free Black people to Africa, she said. Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, was named in his honor.

Isra-Ul said the original task in question was one of the older assessments from 2016 called The First Five Presidents, which suggested a memorial. As a result of RPS tweaks, students will create an exhibition, Challenges of a New Nation and the Early Presidency, as part of a hypothetical $20 million project by the National Park Service. Obvious among those challenges were the enslavement of Black people and the genocide and displacement of Indigenous people.

The objective of this assessment is not to make saintly men out of the presidents, but to acknowledge the accomplishments they made with the help of a host of others, framed within their proper context, Isra-Ul said.

He cited as an example the Louisiana Purchase during the administration of Thomas Jefferson  a transaction the desperate Napoleon Bonaparte felt compelled to make to finance his ultimately unsuccessful attempt to stave off a Haitian revolution led by Toussaint Louverture.

So students could actually do an exhibit showing the Haitians fighting for freedom, and you can talk about how Jeffersons accomplishment with the purchase was really because of the effort of Black people in Haiti to free themselves, he said.

Students should use primary and secondary sources and not just be fed a perspective by a teacher, he said. History is a search for truth which is powered by our desire to know about our past and what created our present.

Catherine is not entirely satisfied with this outcome, but says it may provide teachers with a workable solution. Ive gone as far as I can at the district level.

The next adjustments need to take place at the state level. Virginia failed history in the past century, as did much of the nation. This past is visiting our present in the form of a miseducated populace and an unstable democracy.

Our performance  as a state and as a cohesive, functioning nation  will only be as good as the history we teach.
Saturday would have been Sierra Jenkins turn to cover the breaking news shift for The Virginian-Pilot.

When an editor learned early Saturday that several people had been shot in downtown Norfolk, he called Jenkins repeatedly to ask her to cover it. But she couldnt be reached.

The 25-year-old reporter was one of two people killed when gunfire erupted outside a popular Granby Street nightspot.

Jenkins had been at Chichos Pizza Backstage with her best friend, according to her family. The restaurant and bar was closing when an argument started outside and Jenkins, who covered education for The Pilot and Daily Press, was caught in the line of fire as she left. She was later pronounced dead at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

Manager Rory Schindel said bartenders announced last call for drinks and turned up the lights about 1:30 a.m. Customers were starting to leave when he heard an argument outside and then gunfire.

A total of five people were shot. Portsmouth resident Devon M. Harris, also 25, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Three other men were wounded, including one who suffered life-threatening injuries.

Police have not announced any arrests in the shooting.

Jenkins father, Maurice Jenkins of Virginia Beach, described his daughter as a sweet, caring and hard-working young woman who loved being a journalist.

She just turned 25 on March 13 and was the oldest of three siblings.

Jenkins grew up in Norfolk and graduated from Granby High School. She earned a bachelors degree in journalism from Georgia State University in December 2019 and worked as an intern at Atlanta Magazine and CNN before joining The Pilot in December 2020.

After living with her family, she just got her first apartment in Virginia Beach about a month ago.

She wasnt much of a going-out kind of person at all, Maurice Jenkins said. But her best friend was in town and the two decided to go out together. They had been friends since middle school, and Jenkins was godmother to her friends daughter.

Everyone loved her, Maurice Jenkins said. She was such an energetic, caring and giving person. A real go-getter. Shed do anything for anyone.

Jenkins initially was hired by The Pilot and Daily Press to cover breaking news and later became an education reporter.

Sierra was a bright and talented woman with so much going for her. Her passion for journalism was undeniable and our community is better because of her reporting, said Kris Worrell, editor-in-chief of Virginia Media. Sierra was funny and energetic and full of enthusiasm. We are absolutely heartbroken.

On Saturday morning, drops of blood could be seen on the sidewalk outside Chichos, and a nearby security guard pointed out what appeared to be multiple bullet holes in a wall next to the businesss windows and front doors.

Schindel, the manager, recalled seeing Jenkins and her friends at the bar.

They were a nice group, he said. They took good care of our bartenders, and our bartenders took good care of them.

Chichos nighttime security requires all customers to be patted down before entering, Schindel said. Because of that policy, the manager doesnt believe the shooter brought the gun inside.

It was just a normal night, Schindel said of the moments before the shots were fired. There were a lot of people there, as usual, and there was a great atmosphere inside.

He estimated about 180 people were at the bar when last call was announced and people began to exit.
Positive progress has been made in the development of monovalent and multivalent vaccines against the Omicron variants, a senior Chinese health official told a press conference on Saturday.

Pre-clinical studies for some vaccines have been completed, with applications for clinical trials in progress, said Zheng Zhongwei, an official with the National Health Commission.

"Studies show that the Omicron variant has not completely escaped the existing vaccines," Zheng said, noting that complete vaccination is still effective in reducing the risk of hospitalization, severe illness and death caused by Omicron variants.

"Booster vaccination can also effectively reduce the risk of breakthrough infection caused by the Omicron variant," he said.

At present, China has 29 vaccines that have entered clinical trials, with 16 under phase-III clinical trials overseas, Zheng said. He added that seven vaccines have been approved for conditional marketing or emergency use, and two have been included in the World Health Organization emergency use list.
A red T-shirt with the acronym COVID-19 VA MRC across the back identified Kim Conrad as a volunteer when she walked into Kembel Tax Service in Salem.

She carried a stack of flyers and set them down on Priscilla Kembels desk.

We are with the health department, Conrad said. We were hoping to leave some information about the vaccine clinics.

Conrad is one of many in the region who volunteered to join the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps during the pandemic. Thousands of these volunteers vaccinated Virginians at local clinics, operated call centers and canvassed neighborhoods and businesses with flyers  like Conrad did earlier this month at the Ridgewood Farms shopping center.

I believe in it so much and I wish I would have done it sooner, Conrad said. Im very proud to help them get the word out about vaccines.

More than 17,000 people across the state volunteered as new corps members between January 2020 and November 2021, according to a proclamation from then-Gov. Ralph Northam. Volunteers served more than 673,000 hours, which equates to a monetary value of more than $20 million.

As the pandemic slows, the need for thousands of volunteers at vaccination clinics and call centers has waned. Now, the Virginia Department of Health is looking to find ways to keep medical reserve corps volunteers signed up and active so they can be deployed in the event of another coronavirus surge or another disaster.

Jennifer Freeland, assistant state MRC coordinator at the state health department, said the corps has been a workforce multiplier for local health departments.

A lot of good has come because of the pandemic, she said. We hope to be able to ride on that wave and really build a resilient community and one thats invested in public health and addresses what those unique needs are in their community.

The Virginia Medical Reserve Corps was created in 2002 in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Under then-President George W. Bush, the program was created so the country would have a dedicated list of medical personnel who could be deployed in the event of a natural disaster or a bioterrorism attack.

Corps units have practiced over the years with natural disaster relief efforts and administering flu vaccines. But the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a challenge.

It was kind of the coming of age of the MRC, Freeland said. You built this, you grew it and you didnt know if it was going to drive down the road or not. But its a Ferrari.

In the Near Southwest region of Virginia, the corps experienced a nearly 700% growth in volunteers. The regions unit covers the Roanoke and New River valleys and stretches north to Alleghany County, south to Pittsylvania County and east to Lynchburg. Geographically, it makes up about one-fifth of the state.

Just before the pandemic hit, the regions corps had 283 volunteers, but now boasts more than 2,500.

The willingness of the greater area in Near Southwest to step forward was one of the largest in the state, Freeland said. One of the really amazing things was the heart of the people in Southwest Virginia to step up and help.

Mary Lou Legg, the Near Southwest corps director, said she did little to no advertising. In the beginning of the pandemic, Northam repeatedly told citizens to sign up.

During one of Northams speeches, Legg watched her computer ding with each new application. In one day, she received 100 applications in less than 24 hours.

As she began sending out volunteer opportunities, the slots filled up in less than 60 seconds. Legg said she couldnt shut the system down fast enough and would have to call people and tell them they werent needed even though they had received a confirmation email.

Legg said she doesnt want to lose the momentum and enthusiasm these new volunteers have brought to the organization. With all of this help, she said communities might be able to do more public health outreach than was previously possible.

Legg said she plans to send a survey to her volunteers to ask them how they would like to continue volunteering. These activities could include leading health education classes, such as Narcan revive training for overdose victims, stop the bleed training or basic CPR. She said volunteers could also set up a program to help teenage mothers and educate them on neonatal care.

We dont really know the exact path going forward, Legg said. We want to keep all those volunteers engaged so that they can stay a part of our organization and we can be even more prepared for the next big thing that hits.

Gary and Marian Silverman, Blacksburg residents, have been members of the medical reserve corps for a number of years. Before moving to Virginia, they joined the corps in Ohio. And after retiring from their careers in Virginia, they were quick to sign up again.

The Silvermans completed about 500 hours each doing contact tracing calls for the New River and Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts. Gary Silverman said they chose to volunteer from home to protect their newborn grandchild and Marians 94-year-old mother from exposure.

They said the phone calls changed over time. At the beginning of the pandemic, people were scared to speak to someone from the health department. They were embarrassed that they had either been exposed or tested positive. Some were afraid to lose their jobs and others were already hospitalized by the time the Silvermans reached out.

Other people didnt want to share their contacts or were suspicious that a government agency was involved.

As time went on, people began to expect the calls and the interactions became more pleasant. Marian Silverman said she called college students at Virginia Tech and Radford University who were thankful for the call and that someone checked in on them.

I really appreciated being able to do it, Marian Silverman said. It gave us something to do, which we thought was extremely meaningful at a time when it all seemed kind of chaotic.

That same desire to help pulled Nina Templeton, also a Blacksburg resident, out of retirement. Templeton retired from her career as an anesthesiologist in January 2020. Years before, she had also retired from being a veterinarian, but kept her license active.

She and her golden retriever Lyle were walking in a park in Blacksburg when they came across New River Health District Director Noelle Bissell and her dogs. Templeton introduced herself and asked Bissell if the district needed vaccinators. The vaccines had yet to be rolled out, but Bissell said they would need the help as soon as they became available. She sent Templeton to Legg to sign up for the medical reserve corps.

Templeton spent 453 hours vaccinating, being an on-site medical director and a call center operator during the pandemic. She brought Lyle, who is also a trained therapy dog, along with her to each vaccination clinic as well.

He was unbelievable what he did for these people, she said. Word spread about him. People came specifically and told the people that were triaging that they wanted to go with the dog or asked if the dog was there that day.

At one clinic, Templeton said Lyle walked away from her and sat next to a woman who was receiving a vaccine. She later found out that the woman had lost her husband in a car wreck within a week of that clinic. Somehow, Lyle knew she needed help, Templeton said.

After the demand for vaccines waned and there were fewer medical reserve corps volunteers needed, Templeton still went so she could bring Lyle and offer him to kids and adults who needed him.

She said attending events to spread the word about vaccines and working the vaccination clinics was a highlight of her career. People were sometimes hesitant about the side effects and wondering whether they should sign up for a dose, and Templeton loved answering their questions.

Ive done a lot of good in my career, but in many ways, I feel as though this, working with the vaccine effort, was probably the pinnacle, the most important thing Ive ever done in my career, she said. I feel honored that people would trust me.

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In November, a team of Ukrainian journalists from Odessa Life  a newspaper in Ukraines third largest city  visited Roanoke and The Roanoke Times. They were here to learn about American newspapers, online news operations in particular.

It was a friendly affair with camaraderie, exchanges of information and many smiles. Kindly, the group left a box of Ukrainian chocolates in our newsroom. At the time, few Americans could imagine the conflagration that awaited their homeland.

By Thursday morning, when I connected with them over Zoom, the hellish reality was front and center.

The skies around Odessa, a southern Ukrainian city of 1 million that predates Christopher Columbus, have resounded with air-raid sirens since Russias unprovoked invasion Feb. 24.

Tatiana Siarova, 33, an editor of Odessa Life, lives in an apartment in the citys downtown area with her husband and his mom. Right now the city resembles a makeshift fortress, she said.

Defensive sandbags are piled high in many locations. Another common sight is metal anti-tank barriers known as hedgehogs, strategically placed to thwart Russian war machinery.

Ukrainian soldiers manning city-street checkpoints halt drivers and in some cases, pedestrians. Huge concrete blockades guard Odessas waterfront.

From the beginning, residents of Odessa have heard bombs falling on the outskirts of their city, because Russia shelled its airport early in the invasion, the journalists said. Ominously, on Thursday some 20 ships, presumably Russian Navy, were spotted near Odessas Black Sea coastline.

If that sounds bad, the situation is even worse in other parts of the nation of 44 million people, which has roughly the land area of Texas.

Russian artillery has pounded the city of Kharkiv  in northern Ukraine, near the Russian border  destroying or damaging 600 civilian-occupied buildings, they said.

In Mariupol, roughly 400 miles east of Odessa, the Russians have bombed a university, a childrens hospital and, on Wednesday, a large theater where more than a thousand people had taken shelter in its basement.

One rare bit of hopeful news Thursday morning was that survivors began crawling out of the shelter below the theaters rubble. But news reports Friday afternoon suggested most of 1,300 people whod been in it were still unaccounted for.

From the first day, we could hear the echoes of the war. Were not under direct shelling like other parts of Ukraine, but Odessa is by the sea, Siarova said. Everyone is aware of the rule of two walls, she added. Basically, that means you stay away from windows and always try to keep at least two walls between yourself and the outside.

On the invasions first day, Odessa Lifes owner and editor in chief, Gennadii Chabanov, called a meeting of his 40-some employees via Zoom. He told them the newspaper was shutting down.

One problem was their paper supply. His normal suppliers in Russia and Belarus are no longer viable. Another was his printing plant in Kyiv, rendered untenable with Russian forces gradually surrounding the capital.

The main concern, however, was his employees safety. Please take care of your security first, your life is of primary importance, Chabanov told them.

But the same day, some of them got back to me and said, You know, instead of sitting and doing nothing and being afraid, lets do something. Lets cover the events, lets go out on the streets and provide the coverage.

With its dwindling stock of paper, Odessa Life managed to publish two special editions after the invasion. Those were delivered to supermarkets and other population centers and distributed at no charge. One was a specialty publication for low-income seniors and contained survival tips under the quickly changing circumstances.

We compiled questions and answers for people who dont have internet, who dont know how to use the internet and cannot watch the information online, Chabanov said.

These special editions give answers about how to behave when you hear rockets flying or where you should go if you need help with a social issue, and advice for people during wartime.

(Because I dont speak Ukrainian, and only one of the journalists interviewed speaks English, much of the interview was facilitated and translated by other bilingual Ukrainian journalists.)

Chabanov, 54, paid his employees from reserve funds, but those were gone by the end of February. Since then, roughly 15 editors and reporters have been working as volunteers. And you could see the result on the newspapers website Friday afternoon.

I used Google Translate to check out a few of its headlines.

One informed Odessans of the latest recommended land-sea evacuation route to Romania. Another told readers where to find buckwheat, a grain staple, and how much to expect to pay. A third carried a government warning that war profiteers would be prosecuted.

In another, Ukrainian armed forces celebrated the shooting down of a Russian cruise missile over in the Odessa region. And a man near Odessa was arrested by Ukrianian authorities for passing information to the Russian occupiers.

There were also posts about healthy eating in wartime, and the condition of animals in Odessas zoo.

We continue to update online now, with the website and across all social media, Chabanov said. He was speaking from Lviv in western Ukraine, near the border with Poland. Hes trying to arrange alternative printing there. On Friday morning, the city was hit by Russian missiles.

Its hard to find people  official sources  for whats going on and were trying to be as active as possible, given the situation, he said.

Millions of Ukrainians have fled to other countries. But many more millions are left, and theyre giving the Russians a hell of a fight. Friday the Ukrainians mounted a successful counteroffensive near the capital, Kyiv.

The Russians have failed to get deeper into the country, Chabanov said. Their routes have been stopped in all directions where they were entering, from the north, south and east.

Besides self-survival and informing the public under the most difficult circumstances imaginable, the journalists of Odessa Life have other important considerations  such as their families.

Siarovas husband is from Donestk, one of the regions in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian separatist forces have been fighting since 2014. At that time, he fled to Odessa with his mother. The couple was trying to start a family, but have put those plans on indefinite hold.

Siarovas brother and his family have evacuated to neighboring Moldova.

Valentyna Chabanova-Babak, 31, the newspapers online products manager, moved herself and her son, Lev, 5, to Poland on Monday. Theyre staying with a friend of hers, a woman who has two children of her own. Shes trying to get Lev enrolled in a Warsaw kindergarten, but theres a lot of red tape, she said.

Her husband remains in Ukraine, where he works in IT. Thursday he was in Lviv (the western Ukraine city, near Polands border, struck by Russian missiles Friday) working and volunteering in the war effort, too.

Lev hasnt yet heard the distant rumble of exploding bombs like his parents did, because those came at night and he was asleep, she said.

But he knows that theres a war, and hes very upset because we needed to go to Poland, without my husband, without his father At that point her voice trailed off and she was overcome with emotion.

One of the interpreters on the call was Olena Vlasova, whos also presently in Poland, too. Shes with her 5-year-old daughter, Marta. Before the war, they lived in Kiev.

Of course, she wants to go back home, Vlasova said. Shes asking why the world is not helping us fight? Shes also asking, why is it only Ukraine, and everyone else is afraid of Russia?

Ukraine is on the border of other European countries  who will be next, Vlasova said.

Odessa Life has started a Patreon account for people who wish to contribute to their wartime publishing efforts. Heres that link: https://www.patreon.com/odessalife

Contact metro columnist Dan Casey at 981-3423 or dan.casey@roanoke.com. Follow him on Twitter:@dancaseysblog.

Contact metro columnist Dan Casey at 981-3423 or dan.casey@roanoke.com. Follow him on Twitter:@dancaseysblog.

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CHRISTIANSBURG  Montgomery County school officials are beginning to mull over ways to fund additional operational needs for the upcoming year.

One proposed measure: an average pay increase of 5% for employees. The division would need to at least provide a 2.5% raise for the upcoming school year to be eligible for state dollars that would go toward pay bumps in 2024, according to recent discussions.

Increasing staff pay has been a priority for MCPS over the past several years, a period during which the division gained significant ground in the region in terms of teacher salaries, according to school officials.

The district, however  as it usually does during the budgeting season  faces some hurdles with how it would meet some of its upcoming operational needs.

Montgomery County recently unveiled its recommended budget for the next fiscal year and the proposal includes an additional $2.1 million in operational funding for the schools, an amount that falls short of the $4.4 million in additional money requested by MCPS.

District officials and school board members discussed some of the funding challenges this past week and briefly went over an idea that some senior staff strongly recommended against.

Assistant Superintendent of Operations Tommy Kranz said one option that has been discussed is allocating a portion of the money the county earmarks for school capital projects to operations. He, however, discouraged the idea, which was a suggestion to take $1 million of that earmark and apply it to the pay raises.

Im against that from a pure financial standpoint, Kranz told the board. Youre taking dollars for capital [and] youre putting them in operations. And once in operations, it is extremely, extremely difficult to get it replaced.

Additionally, Kranz spoke about how the option would be unwise amid ever-increasing capital and maintenance needs across the district. He talked about the division being responsible for approximately 2.6 million square feet of space, but only has about $800,000 for the maintenance of it.

Thats it. Thats it, he said. It should be well above $15 million to $16 million a year.

Kranz told the board about a master facilities report that he said is honestly  going to scare you.

Our buildings are not where they need to be, he said.

As an example, Kranz talked about Kipps Elementary Schools mechanical system, which he said needs to be taken out of the building and has no value. He said the district has trouble finding parts for the system and that replacement work in the building needs to be done through a way that is five to six times more expensive.

Im not trying to give everybody gloom here, but I would highly recommend not taking capital dollars and using that for a raise, he said. I would say let us continue to work and try to find other areas of our budget that we can get to the 5% mark.

Kranz said staff is looking to be back at the next meeting, hopefully with some plan for funding the raise proposal.

The raises would cost about $5.5 million, according to the school districts requested budget. Of that amount, the governor is looking to provide $1.9 million while holding the district responsible for remaining $3.6 million, Kranz said.

Then for 2024, Kranz said, the governors proposed budget  which the MCPS official clarified could change  calls for a 5.25% pay raise for teachers.

Some school board members this past week lamented the level of state funding, which they have deemed insufficient.

If were not educating our students with the best we can possibly bring in to Montgomery County and retain, the future of the county is at stake. Thats the bottom line, said board member Penny Franklin. If we dont educate our children, imagine what happens here in about 50 years. We got people who may not understand how this works.

If you dont stand up for something, youll fall for anything. Well, were going to fall big time if we dont make sure public education is funded the way it should be.

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ROCKY MOUNT  Adding a splash of yellow to the drab winter landscape, dozens of excavators and bulldozers sit in rows on a gravel lot, idled by the latest stop in construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Developers had hoped the equipment would be in the field by now, finishing work on a natural gas pipeline that was supposed to be done four years ago.

But on a mild afternoon last week, crews loaded one of the excavators onto a tractor-trailer bound for a different construction job, one with more promise.

Mountain Valley  which lost two permits this year to a federal appeals court that has repeatedly struck down its government-issued approvals  is facing the greatest danger of collapse since the $6.2 billion infrastructure project was authorized in 2017.

While construction remains at a standstill, efforts to revive the pipeline continue on several fronts:

Attorneys for Mountain Valley have asked the full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider decisions by a three-judge panel, which in late January struck down a permit allowing the pipeline to pass through the Jefferson National Forest and the following week invalidated an opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that work would not jeopardize endangered species.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is calling for legislative or executive action to advance the project. The 303-mile pipeline will start in the Mountain State before passing through the Roanoke and New River valleys.

And with Russias invasion of Ukraine tightening the global energy market, supporters of Mountain Valley say its needed more than ever for a steady supply of natural gas.

Seeking legal relief

A federal appellate court based in Richmond  and in particular, three judges on the 15-member court  has been perhaps the sharpest thorn in the side of a joint venture of five energy companies that make up Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC.

Chief Judge Roger Gregory and judges Stephanie Thacker and James Wynn have presided over 12 cases in which environmental groups challenged permits issued to Mountain Valley and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a similar project that was canceled in 2020 as legal problems mounted.

That panels record speaks for itself, pipeline attorneys wrote in a recent court filing, stating that all but two of the 12 contested permits have been vacated or stayed over the past four years.

On March 11, a petition filed by Mountain Valley asked the full Fourth Circuit to consider the decisions of the three-judge panel in a rare proceeding known as an en banc hearing.

The consequences of the panels actions are grave, the petition states. Its errors have trapped Mountain Valley and the agencies in a perpetual loop, ordered to redo work that was neither arbitrary nor capricious, knowing that revised analysis will yet again be subject to inappropriately aggressive review.

A key argument is that the three-judge panel substituted its own judgment for that of the Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service. Mountain Valley says that violates a long-established precedent that deference should be given to agencies when they decide complex matters involving their own expertise.

The panel engaged in textbook fly-speckary, the petitions state, examining in minute detail the Fish and Wildlife Services opinion that construction would not jeopardize endangered species in the pipelines path, which include the Roanoke logperch and the candy darter fish.

Worse, the panels criticisms in key respects are just wrong, the filings contend.

In 2018, the Fourth Circuit remanded a Forest Service permit, which allowed the pipeline to pass through 3.5 miles of national forest in Giles and Montgomery counties. The agency spent nearly two years working on an environmental impact statement that addressed the courts concerns about erosion problems being overlooked, Mountain Valley contends.

The panel nonetheless vacated the agencys determination once again, based on modest disagreements over points of secondary significance, the companys filing said of the courts second rejection of the Forest Service permit earlier this year.

Hearings by full court are rare

Mountain Valley faces a steep uphill climb.

When a three-judge panels decision is unanimous, as it was in the two cases at issue, the Fourth Circuit is cautious about granting an en banc hearing, according to Carl Tobias, an expert on the court who teaches at the University of Richmonds law school.

Just four such requests were granted last year by the Fourth Circuit, Tobias said. The court hears appeals from federal administrative agencies and nine district courts in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Maryland.

The active judges may defer somewhat to a unanimous panel ruling, especially if the reasoning is persuasive, Tobias said.

An en banc hearing is generally not ordered unless it is necessary to secure uniformity in the courts decisions or the case involves a question of exceptional importance, according to the rules of the court.

The Sierra Club, one of about a dozen national, state and local environmental groups that have challenged Mountain Valleys permits, says there is no need for the full court to second-guess its three-judge panel.

This petition is just another example of MVP grasping for straws to complete their unnecessary project, Caroline Hansley, a senior campaign representative with the Sierra Club, said last week in a statement.

Pipeline opponents point to Mountain Valleys environmental track record, which in Virginia includes nearly 400 violations of erosion and sediment control regulations and fines of more than $2 million from state regulators.

This reckless project cannot be built in a safe manner that complies with standards designed to protect our lands, water and vulnerable species, Hansley said.

To date, neither the Forest Service nor the Fish and Wildlife Service have joined Mountain Valley, which is an intervenor in the cases, in asking the Fourth Circuit to grant a rehearing.

When asked if the Fish and Wildlife Service supports Mountain Valleys petition, a spokesman for the service said he could not comment on legal matters. The Forest Service had not provided an answer to the same question by late Friday.

Nathan Matthews, a senior attorney for the Sierra Club who was involved in the Forest Service case, questioned the assertion that the Fourth Circuit substituted its own judgment for that of the agency.

Rather, the Forest Service failed to form any judgments at all in some cases, Matthews said, citing as an example its failure to consider water quality data from government monitors installed a short distance from the Jefferson National Forest.

A legislative solution?

In recent weeks, Mountain Valley has gained an alley in West Virginia Democrat Manchin, who is often more conservative than his partys base.

Manchin is pushing for reinforcing domestic energy supplies in light of Russias invasion of Ukraine, which has tightened the global market for oil and natural gas.

I know some might bristle at investing in fossil fuel infrastructure as a long-term asset, the senator said in prepared remarks March 10 to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which he chairs.

But let me tell you  the Mountain Valley Pipeline could be completed in four months if it was finally given the green light. And Ive got legislation ready that would do just that.

Details of the bills, which have not yet been introduced, were not available. Manchins press office declined to comment.

Manchin has also called on President Joe Biden to employ the Domestic Production Act, directing private companies to step up efforts crucial to national defense interests, in an effort to jump-start Mountain Valley. In the past, the measure has been used for emergency matters such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

When asked earlier this month about the matter, White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggested that the administration was not inclined to pay oil companies for what they probably already have the capacity to do, according to reporting by The Hill, which covers politics and policy from Washington, D.C.

Manchins support for Mountain Valley has also been reflected in his questions to nominees for Department of Interior positions and to members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the lead agency responsible for approving natural gas pipelines and overseeing their construction.

Mountain Valley has run into court case after court case after court case, Manchin said in a recording posted to the committees website. This product needs to get to market.

Debate over need continues

Ever since 2014, when plans to bury a 42-inch pipe along the mountains of Southwest Virginia sparked an intense controversy that continues today, theres been debate over the need for the fuel it will carry.

Pipeline opponents say residential and commercial use of natural gas has remained stable over the past 20 years and is expected to remain so for just as long.

Transporting 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to markets in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the county will worsen a climate crisis that should be addressed with renewable energy, they say.

A small crowd of protesters gathered Wednesday outside Roanoke Gas Co., which plans to take natural gas from two taps of pipeline and distribute it to its 60,000-plus customers in the Roanoke and New River valleys.

Its a tragedy that MVPs partners havent been responsible to their shareholders by canceling this ever increasingly expensive boondoggle, said Freeda Cathcart of Roanoke, a frequent critic of Roanoke Gass involvement with the project.

A subsidiary of RGC Resources, the parent company of Roanoke Gas, is a 1% partner in building the pipeline.

Paul Nester, president and CEO of RGC, disputed the groups positions, which include arguments that there is sufficient capacity in the two other pipelines that currently supply Roanoke Gas.

Multiple federal and state regulatory bodies have confirmed the need for the energy this important infrastructure project can provide to not only this region, but the entire United States, Nester said.

When it approved the project in 2017, FERC found there was a public need for the gas  a decision it reaffirmed in 2020 when it gave Mountain Valley a two-year extension to complete the project. FERCs initial finding has been upheld by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Despite the recent setbacks, Mountain Valley says it still plans to complete the project. Details on when that may happen, and whether the $6.2 billion cost of construction will rise once again, have been sketchy.

At a trial last week in Roanokes federal court, held to determine how much property owners should be paid for land taken by eminent domain, a Mountain Valley official testified that the hope is to have the pipeline in operation by next summer.

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CLIFTON FORGE  Flags across Virginia waved at half-staff on Saturday, as hundreds of uniformed law enforcement officials from all corners of the commonwealth converged on Covington to pay final respects to an officer killed in the line of duty.

Covington police Officer Caleb Ogilvie, 35, died of gunshot wounds Monday, responding to a disturbance at the Farm & Fuel store that resulted in two other deaths, according to police.

State police said the other casualties included the initial shooter in the incident, Toney S. Poulston Jr., 42, of Covington, and an older relative who Poulston shot, Randall Lee Paxton, 64, also of Covington.

Skirling bagpipes accompanied a contingent of color guards as hundreds of law enforcement in brown and blue uniforms from as far as Washington, D.C., gathered at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College in Clifton Forge for a celebration of Ogilvies life.

Among the mourners was Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who spoke to a crowd that filled most of the court and bleachers in the schools gymnasium.

To Caleb and all the men and women like him, we owe him and you a debt of gratitude that we can never repay, Youngkin said. But one thing we can do is pause today and pay tribute to a very brave man who made a decision to serve, and his actions saved lives.

Law enforcement heroes stand between civil society and lawlessness every day, he said. In February, two other officers were killed at Bridgewater College in the Shenandoah Valley.

I hope and I pray that all people in Virginia today will reflect on the courage it takes to serve as a police officer, the sacrifice made by their families, Youngkin said. Its not just a dangerous job. Its the hardest job in our nation today.

Friends and family who knew Ogilvie testified to his giving nature and sense of humor, telling their stories of him as a husband, father, brother and coworker. Some of his fellow Marines shared tearful recollections of Ogilvie as a caring mentor who went out of his way to bring people together.

As we sit here today and wonder why, question how can this be, I dont have answers for you, Youngkin said. What I know is a very brave man made very important decisions, and he saved lives.

The fallen officers widow, Natasha Ogilvie, said the seven years she spent with him will never be enough.

He was an amazing father who could make an immaculate tea party spread, Natasha Ogilvie said. He didnt mind letting his little girls deck him out in makeup, and he would still see them off to school after working a 12-hour night shift.

Caleb Ogilvie was proud to serve his country and his community, she said. He joined the Covington police in January 2021, and before that volunteered from 2011 to 2016 with the former Masons Cove Volunteer Rescue Squad in Roanoke County, according to police.

I ask you guys to keep his memory alive, whether its sharing a memory, or one of his terrible dad jokes, and dont waste a single moment of life, Natasha Ogilvie said. Thank a serviceman or an officer, be kind to your neighbor and love one another, because we never know when our last impression is going to be made on the world.

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WILLIAMSBURG  As discussions regarding Confederate monuments continue across Virginia and the south, Williamsburgs historical Bruton Parish Episcopal Church is joining in.

A Confederate memorial plaque on the wall of the church sanctuary recognizes the Confederate soldiers who died in the Battle of Williamsburg. Following the Confederate retreat from Yorktown in May 1862, Union troops advanced on them just outside of Williamsburg. The battle ended with the Confederate troops retreating to Richmond, and resulted in 2,283 casualties.

The last line on the parishs memorial plaque reads, They died for us.

According to the parishs rector, the Rev. Chris Epperson, the parish no longer holds the same sentiments. As a result, the church is working to re-interpret the plaque.

Its continued to come up over time, time and time again, so the decision was made very recently, to address the plaque, Epperson said. We decided to do is to contextualize it with a plaque beside the confederate memorial and then to address directly the line, they died for us.

The church met with members of the community and held a series of discussions about the memorial. Ultimately, it decide it would not take the plaque down, but instead, use it as a tool.

According to the churchs Senior Warden of Vestry Melinda Morgan, the contextualization of the memorial is an ongoing process and this is only the early stages as the church learns more about its history and acknowledges its role in slavery.

There is a desire and an interest to do this and it will have a beginning and an end, Morgan said. I think a personal goal and quest is talking to a lot of people to contextualize it and get it up and then focus on how we move forward.

According to Epperson, conversations regarding its memorial have been ongoing since 2002 as parish members raised objections to the last line.

After numerous years of going back and forth on the memorial, it came to the forefront of discussion in 2017 during a forum held by the church and its members.

Bruton Parish is older than the country and this is an important piece of the history of the country, Epperson said. We wanted to keep the plaque as a memorial and also as a way to enable us to tell part of the story of the history it bears.

While it is unclear when the plaque was first placed in the church, Epperson said the wording suggests it was a part of the Lost Cause movement.

The Lost Cause movement was a pseudohistorical mythology perpetuated by the Daughters of the Confederacy in the 1890s that centered around a narrative that the Confederate states actions were heroism and not the continuation of slavery.

During this period, numerous confederate monuments, including those recently removed from Richmonds Monument Ave., were constructed 30 to 50 years after the Civil Wars end.

In terms of its own history, Epperson said the church benefitted from slavery as the church was built by numerous laborers including those that were enslaved.

Thats how weve approached the whole thing to continue to be able to tell the story and the complete story, Epperson said. We are really geared toward telling a more complete history of the parish, and recognizing the role of the enslaved.
Fifty years ago Tuesday, this nation set out on a path to add to our Constitution an explicit statement that women should have equal rights under the law.

Astute students of history might understandably raise a finger to pick a nit  the Equal Rights Amendment, after all, came into existence long before March 22, 1972.

Wind the clock back to 1920 and the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that enshrined womens right to vote. Victorious activists pondered which direction to move next. Alice Paul, the most prominent leader of the recently formed National Womans Party, spoke of carrying the partys banner to a new battlefront.

Paul chose to advocate for a new constitutional amendment that would guarantee equal protection under the law regardless of sex, a cause that proved controversial even among suffragists, especially labor rights advocates who thought the amendment could be weaponized against them.

Nonetheless, with help from a pair of Republican politicians, Sen. Charles Curtis and Rep. Daniel Anthony (nephew of Susan B. Anthony), the first version of the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to Congress in 1923. It went nowhere, and many further attempts to reintroduce the amendment met the same fate.

Fast forward to 1970, when Michigan Rep. Martha Griffiths, a Democrat, collected enough signatures from her colleagues in the House to spring the amendment from the legislative committee where a Democratic congressman with strong labor ties had kept it bottled up for two decades.

Freed from committee, the ERA passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Senate, too, passed the ERA with overwhelming bipartisan support, on the very anniversary date of which we speak. Given blessings by President Richard M. Nixon, the ERA was offered on that day for state legislatures to ratify.

The succinct text that Congress passed had not changed drastically from Pauls 1923 original:

1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

3: This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

Congress built in a seven-year deadline for ratification, and no doubt, given the across-the-aisle enthusiasm uniting the halls of federal government, that seemed like plenty of time. Griffiths herself said, It is perfectly proper to have the seven-year statute so that it should not be hanging over our heads forever, words she may well have regretted later.

During Jimmy Carters administration, the deadline was extended to 1982.

Fifty years later, though, the ERA still hasnt become part of the Constitution, and depending on which pundit you read or listen to, either there is a slim chance it might still, or that chance died long ago and anyone who thinks otherwise is denying reality.

Just as the dinosaurs could not have expected the comet that struck the Yucatan, the proponents of the ERA could not have anticipated Phyllis Schlafly.

A majority of the three-quarters of states needed to get the ERA over the final threshold ratified the amendment quickly, but there were enough holdouts among state legislatures that Schlafly  an attorney, author, and social conservative who championed traditional roles for women and ferociously opposed the feminist movement  could stage an intervention.

Warning of things like unisex bathrooms and mandatory military service for women, she organized conservative women to fight the ERA. The efforts of the national organization she founded, Stop ERA, were enough to stall ratification three states short of the needed 38 as the deadlines came and went.

Schlafly threw a party celebrating her victory on July 1, 1982, at which the band played Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead and President Ronald Reagan sent congratulations via telegram.

Fast forward again to 2017, when Democrats newly in control of the Nevada state legislature belatedly ratified the ERA. The next year the General Assembly of Illinois, the late Schlaflys home base, followed suit. If one believed the ERA still had an opportunity for revival, that left a single state to go.

In 2020, the Virginia General Assemblys newly elected Democratic majority seized the baton  led by gubernatorial hopefuls such as then-Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William, and Sen. Jennfier McClellan, D-Richmond  and became the 38th state to ratify.

Of course, by then the president was Donald Trump, whom Schlafly wrote a book-length endorsement for as literally one of her last acts on Earth. And Foy and McClellan would be bested in the Democratic primary by Terry McAuliffe, who would go on to lose the governors race to Republican Glenn Youngkin.

The Justice Department under Trump ruled that with the deadline long passed, the whole process needs to start over. Joe Bidens administration did not ride to the rescue, essentially declaring the matter the responsibility of Congress and the courts.

A number of curious issues linger, fodder of much discussion for legal wonks. The missed deadline would seem to settle the matter, except theres argument it can be reset or ignored. Moreover, the 27th Amendment, the most recent amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1992, was originally proposed in 1789 by James Madison! Only nine states had ratified it over two centuries when a college student launched a campaign in 1982 to complete the ratification process.

Theres also the inconvenient matter that, in no small part thanks to Schlaflys influence, five states revoked their ratification of the ERA before the deadline. However, theres nothing in the Constitution that addresses whether or not a ratification can be legally rescinded, and no court has ever ruled on this issue.

In 2020, the attorneys general of Illinois, Nevada and Virginia filed a long-shot lawsuit meant to challenge the Trump administrations ruling and require the National Archivist to certify and publish the 28th Amendment. A lower court dismissed the suit, and the states appealed. Whatever happens next, though, Virginia wont be part of it, as newly elected Attorney General Jason Miyares  who voted against ratification back when he was a state delegate  withdrew from the lawsuit.

Should the effort start over, its very difficult to imagine Congress mustering the broad bipartisan support the ERA enjoyed exactly 50 years ago. If one believes in ghosts, Phyllis Schlaflys must still be smiling.
Its just not worth it, and I have no energy!

Have you ever heard or felt these symptoms?

They may be signs of depression, a condition that plagues many Americans: Depression is an illness that may be hard to recognize, and is becoming more common, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Depression comes in many forms.

Symptoms include losing interest in things previously enjoyed, feeling guilty or worthless, being tired all the time, having trouble concentrating and thoughts of suicide. Appetite changes, weight loss or gain, disruption in sleep or sleeping too much and feeling slowed down or restless also are common. Having five or more symptoms for at least two weeks is considered clinical depression.

It is important to realize that depression isnt just all in your head. There are chemicals in our brains called neurotransmitters that can become unbalanced. When this happens, symptoms of depression can start.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, around 1 in 10 adults reported symptoms of depression or anxiety. The Centers for Disease Control reports over the past year that number has increased to 4 in 10 with increases in substance and alcohol abuse.

Why did this happen?

Job loss, low income and isolation are all factors associated with an increased risk of depression. These factors were magnified during the pandemic.

In addition, around 18% of people who are infected with COVID-19 are later diagnosed with a mental health disorder.

Young adults and the elderly are at particularly high risk for depression during the pandemic, with young adults more likely to report substance use or suicidal thoughts and the elderly more likely to suffer from isolation.

Communities of color have experienced a similar increase in depressive symptoms but are historically less likely to receive mental health care,

Depression is just like any other illness and the most important thing to do is to talk to your health care provider.

It is a treatable illness with a wide variety of medicines, therapies and community resources that can help lessen symptoms and impact.

Community Resources for DepressionFood Security and Homelessness:Harvest Hope: Contact 843-661-0826 or visit https://www.harvesthope.org/

House of Hope of the Pee Dee: 843-667-9000 or visit https://www.hofh.org.

Courtney McGinnis Graham Community Shelter: Contact 843-731-9315 or visit https://hofh.org/.

The Mens Shelter: Contact 843-667-9000 or visit https://hofh.org/.

Mental Health Resources:

Care South (counseling services for a sliding fee) Contact 843-857-0111 or visit https://www.caresouth-carolina.com/counseling.

Circle Park (behavioral health services and counseling related to alcohol, tobacco and drug use) Contact 843-665-9349.

The Counseling Center (individual and/or family) Contact 843-673-0054 or visit https://www.counselingcenterofflorence.com/about-us/

Genesis Health Care Genesis Health Care (services with a sliding fee) Contact 843-393-9421.

Hope Health (integrated services into primary care). Call 843-667-9414 or visit https://www.hope-health.org/services/behavioral-health-services/.

Life Care Psychology Group: Contact843-667-4949.

McLeod Behavioral Health (immediate stabilization with an acute inpatient stay) Contact 843-395-4200 or visit https://www.mcleodhealth.org/locations/mcleod-darlington/behavioral-health/.

Owls Nest Recovery Community: (substance abuse treatment center) Contact 843-669-6088 or visit https://owlsnestrecovery.com

Pee Dee Mental Health Center Florence: Resources include post-hospitalization support, housing, and employment placement services. Contact 843-317-4073 or visit https://www.peedeementalhealth.org/community-integration-services/.

Well Spring Psychology Group: Contact 843-536-1180 or visit https://www.wellspringflorence.com

Reproductive Behavioral Health at the Medical University of South Carolina: (perinatal mental health and substance use disorders) Contact 843-323-5274.

Support Groups and Services

Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.): Visit https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/find-aa-resources

GriefShare: Visit http://www.griefshare.org/about or local meetings: First Presbyterian Church, Contact 843-662-2583.

Narcotics Anonymous (N.A.): Visit: https://www.na.org

Telehealth and Telepsychiatry Services: Virtual, typically by mental health providers for the Pee Dee region.

For South Carolina State Employees: Log in to BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina: https://www.statesc.southcarolinablues.com/web/public/brands/statesc/.

For those with Lack of Insurance Coverage/Benefits: Open Path (for patients without insurance coverage). Visit: https://openpathcollective.org.

Medical University of South Carolina Health Center for Telehealth: Contact (843)792-4703 or email telehealthinfo@musc.edu.

Editors: Dr. Debbie Hopla, Francis Marion University; Cheryl Neuner, McLeod Health

This article and future articles have been written in collaboration with the Pee Dee Interprofessional Coalition, consisting of Francis Marion University, HopeHealth, Medical University of South Carolina, McLeod and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine to improve the health and education within our community. This collaboration is meant to inspire students and give them the necessary skills to give back to the communities they will serve in the future.
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms in the morning becoming more widespread in the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
The moment Russian military says it carried out a hypersonic missile strike on Ukrainian military facilities has been captured in new footage.

The Russian defence ministry claimed to have used high-precision missiles to hit a weapons depot belonging to the Ukrainian army in Deliatyn, a village in south-western Ukraine only 100km from the border with Romania.

Moscow said the strike on Saturday was Russias first use of the Kinzhal, or Dagger, ballistic missile in their war on Ukraine. The missile was likely launched from the air from an MiG-31 warplane.

On Sunday, Russian defence ministry spokesperson said that the military had carried out a number of further strikes on Ukrainian targets.

Major General Igor Konashenkov said that a Kinzhal hypersonic missile hit a Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka, near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv.

The strike would mark the second day in a row that Russia had used the weapon, which is capable of travelling at 10 times the speed of sound.

Major General Igor Konashenkov announced the use of further hypersonic missiles (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Konashenkov said that Kalibr cruise missiles had been launched by Russian warships stationed in the Caspain Sea on a fuel depot in Kostiantynivka. Further missiles were also launched from the Black Sea.

Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from the waters of the Black Sea against the Nizhyn plant that repairs Ukrainian armoured vehicles damaged in fighting, Mr Konashenkov said.

Ukrainian soldiers walk next to the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine. (AFP via Getty Images)

The Russian defence ministry also said that their military had launched hypersonic missiles from Crimean airspace.

The office of Ukrainian president Zelensky added on Sunday that there could be a risk of an attack on western Ukraine being launched from inside Belarus.

Officials said that the attack could be launched on Ukraines Volyn region, the countrys most northwestern province, but they did not clarify whether they thought it would be launched by Russian or Belarusian troops.

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
Meetings and events

Top O' Morning Toastmasters Club, Mondays, noon to 1 p.m. Contact LeAnn Blankenburg, 712-870-1120, for meeting information.

The Siouxland Ostomy Support Group, find us on Facebook. For more information and meeting times contact Dick Lindblom at 712-251-2453.

Southside "South Bottoms" former residents, 6 p.m. potluck, second Wednesday of the month at Goodwill Industries cafeteria, 3100 Fourth St. Gert, 258-2227.

Siouxland Metal Detecting and Archeology Club, 6:30 p.m., first Tuesday of the month in the Gleeson Room at 4510 Buckwalter Drive. Visitors welcome. Ray Turner, 712-899-2114.

American Legion Post 64, 7 p.m. last Thursday of the month at 4021 Floyd Blvd. 712-258-3986.

Marine Corps League, 6 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at Elks Club on TriView Ave. All marines welcome. For more information, call Cathy Moreno, 712-899-8441.

Sioux City Chapter of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 7 p.m. fourth Tuesday of the month at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1421 Geneva St. 712-203-2052.

Sioux City Duplicate Bridge Club, 12:30 p.m. Mondays (open); at the Senior Center. Mary 605-670-9613.

Siouxland Fly-Fishing Club, 10 a.m. last Saturday of the month at the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center on Hwy 12. All interested in fly fishing; beginners welcome. Monthly programs provided. For more information, call Bob Gillespie, 712-251-9463, or Diana, 402-987-3945.

Siouxland Coin Club, 7 p.m. first Tuesday of each month at First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 1915 Nebraska St. Bob, 255-4829.

The Siouxland Pride Alliance, peer support group, 5:30 p.m. Fridays; potluck, 5:30 p.m. second Sunday of the month; business meeting. First Unitarian Church, 2508 Jackson.

Siouxland Samplers Quilt Guild, 7 p.m. second Monday of the month at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St, door #2. Visitors and new members welcome.

Siouxland Sewing Guild, 6:30-8 p.m. first Thursday of the month at South Sioux Public Library, 2121 Dakota Ave., South Sioux City. For anyone interested in sewing. Denise, 402-922-1822.

Sooland RC Modelers, 7 p.m. second Thursday of the month at Morningside Lutheran Church. Non-profit club that flies remote control aircraft. Anyone interested in RC is welcome.

Retired Educators, 10:30 a.m. third Tuesday of the month, at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St., door #6.

Mid-Step Services for Handicapped, meal at 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month, at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St., door #6.

Confirmation Instruction and Midweek Lessons, 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St., door #6. Open to all kids 5 years old through 8th grade.

Primetime (Potluck), 12 p.m., second Thursday of each month, at Whitfield United Methodist Church, 1319 W 5th. For more information call 252-3261 Tuesday-Thursdays, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Abundant Life Fellowship, 809 S. Alice St., in Sioux City will distribute food boxes after their 11 a.m. Sunday services. For additional information contact Pastor Bob at 605-205-0718 or Donna at 605-205-0719.

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SIOUX CITY -- With an acute shortage of substitute teachers in the region, the Northwest AEA is making it easier for individuals in other career fields to become certified to temporarily lead classes.

The Northwest AEA has been offering virtual substitute authorization courses for at least eight years, but, now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those with paraeducator certificates can now take the substitute teacher course. Partially as a result, enrollment has increased, the AEA says.

Megan Swanberg, a teaching associate at Le Mars High School, has seen first-hand the impact of substitute shortages on teachers and staff.

In February she decided to take the Northwest AEA substitute authorization course to help alleviate the substitute teacher shortage. She sees being able to substitute as a way to work with kids and have an impact, without needing a teaching degree.

Prior to the pandemic, the AEA's substitute authorization course was limited to those 21 years old with a bachelor's degree, associate's degree or 60 college credit hours.

Sue Chartier and Carla Lee have been leading the courses in Sioux City. In a five-day course, the participants learn about ethics, diversity, learning strategies and behavior management.

"We want to make sure they get all of that," she said.

The last few months of courses have been at capacity with 32 each month and people ranging from 21 years old to 70 years old with a variety of different career backgrounds.

Chartier said area school districts have helped interested candidates sign up for the course, especially smaller districts with severe substitute shortages.

Even though everyone has been in a school before, people who take the course learn how substituting has changed, Chartier said.

"(People think) all the kids are just sitting in the desks really quiet and the sub just comes in and babysits, and that's not it at all," Chartier said. "Going through these four modules and really arming them with different strategies they can use ... they can keep learning going forward."

Lee said people cannot be experts in every education area so when they go into a class where they don't know what to do, the course provides strategies to keep the education moving forward. Chartier said kids cannot lose a day of learning anymore.

After five, three-hour courses - and some homework - the participants can move ahead with substituting process.

Sioux City School Board member Perla Alarcon-Flory took the course in January. She said it was an exciting and informative course. She added the homework was helpful and allowed self-reflection to determine it one is fit to be a substitute.

The course is eye-opening to the needs and diversity of the students, Alarcon-Flory said.

There was an aerospace engineer, nurses, a psychologist, students, educators and a retired attorney in her section of the course.

"The variety of life experiences were so priceless," she said. "The conversations were really enriching."

For students, Alarcon-Flory said all of these different people becoming substitutes offers unique opportunities for students to learn from a variety of professionals - for example, having a nurse teach a science class or an aerospace engineer talk about physics

Swanberg said the course was informative and not too difficult.

She said the course taught lessons on how to address behavioral issues, keep the class on task, read lesson plans and if necessary, create their own.

She plans on substituting all around the area at different districts.

Because the course is $125, Alarcon-Flory is offering to sponsor two people to take the course. One individual must be a teaching or future teaching student, a Sioux City schools alumni or a Sioux City schools employee, the other is for a person of color. Those interested can email alarcop@live.siouxcityschools.com.

The next course offered is April 3 through 11 through the Mississippi Bend AEA.

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SIOUX CITY -- The Sioux City school district and the unions representing various staff remain engaged in contract negotiations, with the opening proposals from each side showing large gaps between their positions.

Under state law, the opening proposal from employee unions and the response from the district are open to the public. Subsequent bargaining sessions are held behind closed doors.

In its initial proposal for the 2022-23 school year on Feb. 3, the Sioux City Education Association, which represents the district's teachers, proposed an 8.6 percent base salary increase and a $975 increase to longevity pay. The percentage increase would result in a $3,200 base pay increase, from $37,201 to $40,401.

In addition to salaries, the union also has requested increases in other areas of the contract.

Two of the newly proposed additions to the contract are the district contributing $1,200 to each employee's 403b retirement plan annually and each member of the union receiving one flexible workday between July and August for classroom preparation and planning.

The union also proposed increases to pay for extra responsibilities due to a shortage of substitute teachers.

Teachers who perform substitute teaching duties during their planning time or teach a combined class due to a vacancy currently receive $30 per class period. The union proposed it be increased to $50.

If a teacher substitutes for a half-day, they currently receive $75, but the union asks it be increased to $100.

If a teacher receives additional students due to lack of substitutes for a half-day, the union proposed they receive $100. If a nurse performs substitute nursing duties for a half-day, the union proposed they also receive $100.

The union also proposes meetings be added to paid out-of-contract events, and the hourly rate is increased from $30 to $50.

The association has various "steps" and "lanes" in their contract, in which salaries for teachers automatically increase based on years of service and attainment of additional educational levels. The increased cost for the automatic increases for the 2022-23 school year is estimated at $1.052 million.

In a counter-proposal on Feb. 17, district administrators said they will only negotiate the mandatory salary subject. They proposed a $400 increase in the base salary and a $400 longevity increase. The district also proposed a $10 increase for extra duties performed outside of the contract.

The district states if the parties do not reach an agreement without an arbitration proceeding, the steps will be eliminated from the salary schedule.

The SCEA represents roughly 1,000 teachers. The members decided on the proposal based on what the teachers feel they are worth, and what it will take to retain or recruit employees, said Brenda Zahner, director of the Siouxland UniServ group of the Iowa State Education Association.

Members who attended the opening meeting outlined why they felt these increases were necessary and spoke about their experiences teaching through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nancy Treft spoke about the impact the pandemic had on school nurses. The sicknesses, COVID-19 testing and answering parent questions doubled the amount of work the nurses were doing, she said.

Noah Townsend spoke about substituting for other teachers. He said he has substituted for teachers at least 75 days in around 120 days. He would also substitute for teachers in buildings other than his own.

Townsend said he feels undervalued and the union's proposal reflects what the teachers feel they are worth.

Lesa Banks, ISEA executive board representative, said teachers have taken on many different roles during the pandemic such as counselors, substitutes, janitors and caretakers, and they are exhausted.

Mary Olorundami, an elementary teacher, said the teachers made sacrifices during the pandemic and had to constantly adjust and change. She said this year is just as challenging, if not more challenging than the last two years.

District Human Resources Director Jen Gomez said the district appreciates the work of the teachers and staff, and how they have overcome and adapted to the constant changes.

This district believes that all of our staff  teachers and staff  should be compensated for their work, fairly compensated for their work, and we want to make salaries increases for all of our staff, keeping in mind we have to be cognizant of our budget as well, she said.

Unique to this year, the Sioux City Educational Support Personnel Association is not currently undergoing negotiations with the district due to an agreement earlier in the year.

In January, the district and union signed a memorandum of understanding to increase the hourly rates for support personnel.

To better recruit and retain employees, the district implemented a new set of pay schedules for para-educators, bus assistants, bookkeepers, and secretaries -- roughly 483 employees in the district

. The new wages are as follows:

- Employees with less than five years, $15.10/hour;

- Employees with less than 10 years, $15.60/hour;

- Employees with less than 15 years, $16.10/hour;

- Employees with less than 20 years, $16.60/hour and;

- Employees with more than 20 years, $17.10/hour.

Bilingual employees will also receive an additional 35 cents per hour on top of the hourly wages. The wage increases began on Feb. 1 and remain through June 30, 2023.

The bus drivers union and the operations and maintenance unions held opening proposals on March 9.

The drivers union has step hourly rates by year. For step one, the union proposed an increase from $20.53 to $24, for step two an increase from $21.14 to $25 and for step three an increase from $21.75 to $26. For dispatchers, the union proposed an increase from $23.11 to $29. The union also proposed a $1,000 retention payment for each member.

This board proposed a 50 cent increase for each step and dispatchers.

The operations and maintenance union proposed a 7.3 percent wage increase. The board proposed a 2.75 percent increase.

School board president Dan Greenwell said the district reached tentative agreements with the bus drivers and operations unions after two hours of discussion with each bargaining unit.

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DAKOTA CITY -- For more than five years, Tyson Sanchez's Daga's on Wheels food truck has earned a reputation for its made-to-order wet burritos, super nachos and authentic, south-of-the-border fare.

Now, he wants to turn his attention to a completely different type of cuisine.

During the summer of 2021, Sanchez officially opened Daga's on Broadway at 100 N. Main St., which was formerly home to Hungry's a popular steakhouse for more than two decades.

"People loved Hungry's because they loved its steak, chops and chicken," he explained. "I want Daga's on Broadway to bring back great American steakhouse favorites and give it a fresh new spin."

The first thing Sanchez did was to completely renovate the property.

Gone are Hungry's imposing dark wood paneling. They've been replaced with a sleek aesthetic and comfortable seating.

Wait, did we say that all of Hungry's dark wood gone? Actually, a portion of it has been preserved for a private V.I.P. table, honoring both the steakhouse's and Dakota City's colorful past.

In addition, Sanchez wanted to create an entirely new menu.

Daga's on Broadway offers sirloin, New York strip and ribeye steaks every day. All are hand-cut, charbroiled to perfection and topped with house-made butter.

On Friday, their prime rib is rubbed with a blend of herbs and spices before being slow-roasted to a medium rare.

But Daga's doesn't skimp on the sandwiches. They include a House Burger, which contained a half-pound steak patty on a toasted Brioche bun and served with pickles, lettuce, red onions and a house aioli.

Likewise, the New York Steak Sandwich is served with an open-faced New York strip steak that is seared, sliced and placed on sourdough with creamy Swiss cheese, tomatoes, onions and a horseradish sauce.

Over the past five years, Sanchez has seen the food truck scene explode as mobile dining became more commonplace.

"I think within a few short years, you'll see more taco trucks than stand-alone Mexican restaurant," he explained. "I started Daga's on Wheels at the right time. Now, Daga's on Broadway represents my Plan B."

Don't worry, Sanchez already has a Plan C and a Plan D in the works.

Right now, he wants to make sure Daga's on Broadway is a success.

"While Dakota City is close to Sioux City, it still requires a drive," Sanchez said. "I want Daga's on Broadway to be that destination steakhouse which will always be worth the drive."

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A California startup is joining much bigger players in the drive to explore settlement on the moon, as plans by NASA to send astronauts back there heats up the commercial lunar market.

Aerospace firm Venturi Astrolab Inc., better known as Astrolab, based in Hawthorn, California, is building an all-purpose truck that is intended to construct lunar infrastructure and also ferry astronauts around, enabling work that would make long-term settlement on the moon possible.

Companies are betting that NASAs drive to return to the moon in several years, along with technological and business advancements that have lowered launch costs, could be lucrative for businesses that get in there early and succeed.

We are transitioning now from just the earliest phase of exploration to the early stage of settlement, said Chris Hadfield, a retired Canadian astronaut and advisory board member for Astrolab.

This is going to become part of human commerce and human geography, he said of early moon settlement.

NASA is aiming to launch astronauts to the moon no earlier than 2025 as part of its Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon.

The goal is to develop a sustained lunar presence, which would serve as a stepping stone of sorts to future missions to Mars, from a place relatively close to home where astronauts could further explore the moon and train on how to live and work in space.

How a sustained lunar presence could work

The moon is about 238,000 miles from Earth, while Mars is about 140 million miles away.

First, this would require a base for operations on the moon. Already, SpaceX won a contract to develop a lunar lander that would deliver astronauts to the lunar surface. Last year, aerospace giants Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin each said they were working on lunar terrain vehicles for astronaut transport that could compete for a future NASA contract.

Founded in 2019 by former employees of NASA, NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory and SpaceX, Astrolab is building a rover capable of completing tasks such as construction, transporting supplies to build a lunar base, science and exploration, as well as ferrying astronauts around the moons surface. The 15-person company is currently testing a prototype vehicle.

Unlike other rovers, which are often designed around a specific purpose, Astrolabs Flexible Logistics and Exploration rover is intended to be more versatile, said Jaret Matthews, company founder and chief executive.

We want to be the UPS or FedEx of the moon, Matthews said.

On a recent afternoon in Hawthorne, Matthews demonstrated how the rover is able to roll over rocks, maneuver sideways, spin around and pick up and carry loads. He said the rover can carry twice the capacity of a Ford F-150 truck bed. The company eventually wants to build a fleet of rovers.

Matthews spent 10 years at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory working on Mars rovers before moving to SpaceX and developing the system that allows the Crew Dragon astronaut-carrying capsule to dock with the International Space Station.

What I love about rovers is theyre an extension of humanity  our ambassadors in the solar system, he said.

Matthews said Astrolabs rover is different from other rovers in development because astronaut transportation is only one part of its job. The company is aiming to get a rover onto the moon before astronauts even arrive so it could set up ahead of time.

Astronaut time is the most precious time in the world, he said. The more we can do robotically  the better.

At least at first, the lunar market will be limited to government contracts, said Laura Forczyk, owner of space consulting firm Astralytical. But if technology matures, and the market proves itself, it could expand beyond government exploration to construction, mining of resources, lunar infrastructure or even tourism.

What the future may hold

In the future, as we start to get more comfortable with lunar exploration, it could really open up, Forczyk said. But its so early in the process that we dont know which direction is going to be most realistic.

Astrolab is not betting solely on government contracts for its business case. Matthews would not discuss the companys investors or finances, citing Astrolabs status as a privately held firm, but said he thinks the rover will be competitive for a number of commercial and civil opportunities.

The companys moonshot has taken the pilot rover from its base in Hawthorne to Californias Death Valley, where Hadfield, the Canadian astronaut, tested whether it could be operated successfully in a rugged landscape.

Clad in a bulky spacesuit mock-up, he and a partner stood on a platform at the controls on the back of the rover, as if they were ready to operate a much bulkier, four-wheeled Segway. They began driving the prototype away. As they drove, the team chasing them faded away, and the test suddenly became very realistic.

There was nothing in our field of view that was human, Hadfield said. There were no tracks, no buildings. It wasnt perfect, but it was quite evocative of what its going to feel like, and obviously what it felt like for the 12 guys that walked on the moon.

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Sex Trafficking has been a problem for many years; it is not getting any better, it has gotten much worse. There is not a state in the country that does not have people being trafficked. A common misconception about human trafficking in America is that it does not happen where I live. All of us want to think and believe we live in a safe neighborhood within the borders of a nice town, therefore they should not worry.

Currently, between 100,000 to 150,000 victims in the United States are being used as commercial sex slaves, many have been exploited in Siouxland. In Iowa there were 263 cases in 2020, in 2019 there were 98. I am writing this article today to help you understand and be more aware of this horrible problem in our world, including Siouxland.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) 0f 2000, determined how to prosecute human traffickers, prevent them from abducting people and help the victims. Also, it is a federal crime and created the Office of Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The above information is from the August 31, 2021 Facts and Statistics

According to the same report, Nevada, Mississippi, and Florida are the three states where the most human trafficking are reported by state. Nevada has the highest with 7.50 per 100,000, Mississippi 4.99 per 100,000 and Florida 4.08 per 100,000. However California, Texas, and Florida, with the highest number of cases. California in 2019 has the most cases with 1,507, Texas next with 1080, and Florida 896.

In 2020, the state of Mississippi had as many as 5 victims per 100,000 residents. That is one 175 percent higher than the average across the nation. One reason there are so many that are trafficked in Mississippi is because it is the poorest state in the country. They pursue people that are struggling financially, the victims are desperate, they are trying to take care of their family and will do anything to help and provide for them. They are doing their best to make things better for their family as well as themselves.

Most generally, women are manipulated by the person or persons into believing they are their friend and will help them. After they earn their trust they begin working them in the sex trade business. Because child poverty is an issue, they drop out of school, leave home and find themselves in the sex or labor trade.

There is not a county in Florida that has not had sex trafficking recorded, they are the only state in the nation that has that dubious distinction. It is so bad for children in Florida, that one in five of the cases is a child. With that terrible fact in mind, Florida is teaching prevention of trafficking to their students. Honestly, I do not know why more states are not teaching prevention in the schools, it is one tool to help stop the problem.

Another tool is us as a community to get involved because it is happening in Siouxland as well, that is why Sister Shirley Fineran founded the Lila Maes House. It is a safe place for women that have been exploited by sex trafficking can go and begin their healing process. Some were manipulated as young as four years old, that child hardly knows how to read and let alone know right from wrong or defend themselves.

Please be aware of the following and ask yourself: Has a person begun to withdraw from normal activities such as family outings, sporting events, and church attendance? Has a child stopped attending school? Have you noticed a dramatic change in behavior? Does the person seem disoriented or confused, possibly due to drugs or intoxication? Do you notice visible bruises in various stages of healing? Does the person seem fearful or timid around you? Does the person suddenly appear malnourished or are they losing weight? Does it seem like the person is saying only what someone else wants them to say? Do they appear to be living in an unstable environment with inhumane boundaries? The above questions are from the article Top 3 States in America for Human Trafficking August 31, 2021

Interestingly the majority of trafficking happens in close proximity to where the victims currently live. For some reason foreign victims are usually more vulnerable in domestic cases.

Sadly human trafficking in the United States is actually worse than it is internationally, to me this is horrifying. More shocking to me is the unconscionable fact that every two and a half hours a child is taken by human traffickers. Furthermore children are used for sex more than five times per day.

Thank you Sister Shirley Fineran for founding The Lila Maes house, and for you and your staff for making a difference in Siouxland.

As a community we have lots of work to do in resolving this problem, by pulling together and supporting Sister Shirley and her team we can stop this heinous crime.

Charese Yanney of Sioux City is owner and managing partner of Guarantee Roofing, Siding and Insulation Co. She serves on the Siouxland Initiative Executive Committee, the Orpheum Theatre Preservation Board, the Orpheum Theatre Endowment Board and the Iowa Department of Transportation Commission.

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The war in Ukraine is one reason behind record high fuel prices in the U.S., but the fundamental problem is nothing new: dependence on foreign oil. Instability abroad causing oil price shocks has been relatively rare in recent memory. But those of us with a few gray hairs know this cycle too well. If we continue to accept oil as the status quo, it will keep happening.

Yes, we have made some progress in diversifying our energy supply, but weve only scratched the surface. Thats why I was pleased to march with my team recently at the state Capitol, at a rally in support of legislation now before the Iowa Senate. Already passed by the House, the bill is an incentive-based approach to increase consumer access at the pump to higher blends of biofuels like E15 and B20 (20% biodiesel).

This makes sense from an energy security standpoint, but also from an environmental one as other states and corporations clamor for low-carbon fuels. It also makes sense from an economic standpoint. A study by ABF Economics shows that in 2021, biodiesel contributed a staggering $1.2 billion of Iowa's GDP  much of it supporting Iowas soybean farmers. Think what more we could do by taking our money from foreign oil and putting it into Iowas economy.

Will Iowa join the shift in energy priorities in this nation, and reap the economic reward? I urge Iowa to take control of our energy future by passing this legislation now. -- Brad Wilson, Wall Lake, Iowa

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This summer, Haiti has witnessed one tragedy after another. First, in July, there was the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Then in mid-August, an earthquake struck in a rural zone southwest of the capital. A few days later came flooding due to a tropical storm. Jonathan M. Katz, an former Haiti correspondent who writes the newsletter The Long Version, says many of his old friends and colleagues in the Caribbean island have had enoughand that no one should perceive Haiti as being unlucky, but rather as being long exploited. What are the real origins of Haitis compounding disasters (spoiler alert: The U.S. has played a big role), and what would really get the country up on its feet? To dive more into Haitis disasters, the history that explains why Haiti lacks resources in the first place, and what Haitians actually need, I spoke with Katz on Wednesdays episode of What Next. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Mary Harris: If youre an American whos sitting here thinking, I guess should I give money to the Red Cross to help Haiti, should you do that?

"A vanishingly tiny fraction of all the money that was spent or talked about ended up in the hands of Haitians."  Jonathan M. Katz

Jonathan M. Katz: No, that I wouldnt do, because that doesnt really help anybody. The Red Cross doesnt address the root causes of the problems in Haiti, and in fact has a history of adding to the root causes. We, as Americans have played a major role in causing Haitis povertylike, a direct role in making Haiti as poor as it is today. I would say that if Americans want to get involved in fixing Haitian poverty, that is possible, but it means first and foremost addressing the inequities and the extraction and all of the roiling that we have done in the past. It really takes a lot of digging and self-awareness.

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Is it worth looking at the 2010 earthquake as an example of how the will to help is there, but the resources arent? And that, when the resources come in, they come in in the wrong way?

Oh, 100 percent. When people rememberif people even now rememberthe quake from 11 years ago, they often remember that there were these big, totemic money figures floated about. But where did the money go? If you actually look back at that, youll see that much more was pledged to Haiti than was ever delivered, and the vast majority of the money that was given never went to Haiti. It just went in circles from one hand to the next in the donor countries. One of the biggest figures was a half a billion dollars to the U.S. Department of Defense. The point of that money was to fund a military response, which did do some things, like help repair the port in Port-au-Prince. But the vast majority of that money, the vast majority of time and resources, was there to prevent social unrest, and to essentially keep people from leaving Haiti and coming to the United States. The risk of all of those things happening was extremely overblown. But, you know, the vast majority of U.S. soldiers dispatched to Haiti never left their ships. They never set foot on Haitian soil.

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And they were there to do a job they didnt really need to be doing.

Exactly. So, you mentioned the Red Cross

Which also had a half-billion dollars.

Exactly. It spent that money internally. Im not saying necessarily that it was pocketedthis is how an organization works. It has people whose salaries and travel have to be paid. And the Red Cross bought a bunch of hygiene kits and tarps, and distributed those. But, you know, a vanishingly tiny fraction of all the money that was spent or talked about ended up in the hands of Haitians. I mean, it was far less than 1 percent. And much of that went to the Haitian elite.

The vast majority of ordinary Haitians saw nothing: They got a tarp, they got a T-shirt from an NGO, maybe they got a bag of rice that lasts them a couple of weeks, and that was it. So they end up clearing the rubble themselves, repurposing it, and rebuilding their own homes. And the way they rebuild their homes is as fragile and unsafe as it was before the last disaster struck.

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Haitians are, by necessity, the most self-sufficient, creative people you will ever meet in your life. The problem isnt a lack of knowhow or a lack of desire or will. It is really a lack of material resources. But understanding why those resources are lacking in Haiti is necessary in order to figure out how to fix that problem.

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Part of what I really appreciate about your reporting is that you put disasters like this earthquake or the 2010 earthquake in a wider context of how Haiti has been exploitedEuropean countries coming in and draining it of resources in all kinds of ways and setting the country up for failure. I wonder if theres one example in particular that contextualizes the historical roots of whats happening now.

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Haitis real claim to fame in the world is that it is the only country ever born out of a successful revolution by enslaved people. It was a French colony called Saint-Domingue, and the enslaved people who were brought there from Africa rose up, overthrew slavery, defeated the most powerful army in the worldNapoleons armyand made themselves free in 1804. And for that they were rewarded with exclusion and exploitation by other countries, many of whom, especially the United States, were still practicing slavery and did not want this example of a self-freed people reaching their own enslaved population.

They feared it.

Yes. And that is a major theme of American history leading up all the way to our Civil War. Theres talk all throughout the 19th century about another Haiti happening.

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Werent Haitians also compelled to pay back the people who had enslaved them?

Exactly. Frances biggest response was in 1825. King Charles X sent over some gunboats and said: I got a great offer for you guys. Its an offer you cant refuse either. You pay us back for your freedom, for the land that you your fathers and mothers were enslaved on. If you do that, we will give you diplomatic recognition. And if you dont, were going to reinvade and bombard you. And Haiti agreed to the deal. Haitians paid back every cent of what ended up being 90 million gold francs, which is worth about U.S.$20 billion today. The principal was paid back by the 1880s and the last bit of interest was paid back in 1947.

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All of the resources, all of the customs revenues that could have been kept in Haiti and used to build the country, to build infrastructure, ended up going to French planters. But more than that, in order to fill the hole of the Haitian budgets, the government had to take out major loans. Some of those loans were taken out from U.S. banksthe most important one of those that was involved was the City Bank of New York, now just known as Citibank, under Citigroup. In 1914, in order to ensure that Wall Street banks got their debt payments paid, the U.S. Marines came ashore, went into the Haitian central bank, basically stole half of Haitis gold reserves, put them on a U.S. warship, took them to Wall Street, and put them in a vault there.

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That set Haitian politics into a complete tailspin. In the summer of 1915, the last Haitian president who was ever assassinateduntil Moise was assassinated just a couple of weeks agowas assassinated in that context, which then was the pretext for a U.S. invasion. And it led to an occupation that lasted until 1934, which was the longest time the United States has ever militarily occupied a foreign country until that record was broken by the U.S. in Afghanistan in the past year.

Youve drawn this parallel between how the United States has behaved in Haiti and more recently in Afghanistan, and Im wondering if we can draw that out a little bit more here. At the same time this summer that Haiti was suffering so many tragedies, the United States was pulling out of Afghanistan. How would you compare and contrast these relationships, between the United States and Haiti and the United States in Afghanistan?

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The United States involvement in both countries started with invasions to thwart what it considered to be hostile, militarized movements. In Afghanistan it was the Taliban. In Haiti it was basically guerrilla fighters known as Cacos, who operated especially in the mountains of northern Haiti. We set up puppet governments in Afghanistan with Hamid Karzai. In Haiti we set one up with Philippe Dartiguenave, who was just this milquetoast senator who had no real constituency. Dartiguenaves government had to depend on the Marines for protection, and the Marines came up with the idea of setting up a Haitian client military instead of just having Marines thereto set up basically a police force and fight the insurgents in our stead in Haiti, which was called the Gendarmerie dHaiti. The same thing has been tried in many other places that the United States has since invaded, occupied, etc. In Afghanistan, thats the Afghan National Security Forces.

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Do Afghanistan and Haiti also share this history where nongovernmental organizations come in and try to do some of the work that you would traditionally think a government would do?

Absolutely. Afghanistan is a great example of a country where the United States blows it up and then, in order to rebuild, it assigns itself and its defense contractors and humanitarian groups to rebuild what it just blew up. Haiti is a very similar case. The United States implemented an explicit policy of bypassing Haitian governments and standing up what are now known as NGOs in its place.

I think some people in the U.S. would say the whole reason we need to stand up these outside organizations in countries like Haiti and Afghanistan is because when the governments are not necessarily trustworthywhen theres corruption and graftif we are filtering our money through third parties instead of the governments, maybe more of it will get to the people who need it. What would you say to that?

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I would say that that is a sensible reaction in theory, but it doesnt really jibe with the evidence on the ground.

Why not?

If it were the case that there was this endemic corruption and the United States and foreign NGOs are just trying to work their way around it, then you would expect that at the very least, corruption would be reduced, right?

So youre saying the corruption came with U.S. involvement, was a byproduct of it.

Absolutely. Corruption is often talked about as the excuse for not giving money to Haitians. But then we then end up making Haiti a more corrupt place than it was before. The U.S.s power players in Haiti are this very tiny elite who have their hands in all kinds of violence and drug trafficking and really, really nasty stuff.

If the U.S. and other countries were helping Haiti the right way, what would that look like?

Honestly, the biggest thing is just to put money in Haitians hands. And I dont mean the elite. Put money in the peoples hands so they can rebuild their own lives in the best way they see fit. Haitians can do it. They just need the money and the resources and the time to do it.

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As far as Russia is concerned, the West is so obsessed with Ukraine that it is seeing signs where none exist. After feverish online speculation, Moscow has roundly dismissed suggestions that its cosmonauts wore yellow suits with blue accents as a low-key way of showing solidarity with Ukraine. The speculation began when three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station on Friday wearing flight suits that looked strikingly like the Ukrainian flag.

These colors are just not subtle. pic.twitter.com/CyA12JzTWB  Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) March 18, 2022

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Considering Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveyev, and Sergey Korsakov were the first new arrivals at the space station since Russias invasion of Ukraine, the colors immediately stood out. The cosmonauts certainly didnt help tamp down speculation right away when they were first asked about the suits. It became our turn to pick a color. But in fact, we had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it. So thats why we had to wear yellow, Artemyev, the mission commander, said during a live-streamed news conference from the International Space Station.

Great to see such a warm welcome of the new crew on the ISS! #SoyuzMS21 Love their suits! pic.twitter.com/BB9ss1Ittn  Katya Pavlushchenko (@katlinegrey) March 18, 2022

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Russia later completely dismissed all speculation and Artemyev clarified that the crew picked the colors about six months before the launch and they chose the colors of their alma matter, Bauman Moscow State Technical University. There is no need to look for any hidden signs or symbols in our uniform. A color is simply a color. It is not in any way connected to Ukraine, Artemyev said in a statement on the Telegram channel for Roscosmos, Russias space agency. These days, even though we are in space, we are together with our president and our people.

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The point was emphasized by Roscosmos press service: To see the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is crazy. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, also took to Twitter to post a photo of Bauman Moscow State Technical Universitys coat of arms to say thats where the color choice originated.

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Russias military bombed an art school that was sheltering 400 people in Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said. It marked the second time in less than a week that Russian forces have hit buildings in Mariupol that civilians were using for shelter after a bomb hit a theater on Wednesday in which more than 1,000 people were believed to be hiding. There was no immediate word on casualties in the strategic port city that has been absolutely devastated by Russian attacks as officials warn that food and water are running low and constant street battles have kept humanitarian convoys at bay. The city continues to be shelled both from the sky and the sea, Petro Andrushenko, an adviser to the citys mayor, wrote on Telegram. It seems the occupiers are so eager to wipe out Mariupol that they are ready to cover themselves with fire.

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There is increasingly nowhere for civilians in Mariupol to go as Russian forces are present in all of its neighborhoods. The battle for the city now involves house-to-house guerrilla warfare, reports the Washington Post. The city is also being targeted by Russian gunships. Civilians who are managing to escape are painting a picture of a city that has descended into horror. There is no city anymore, one person said as she arrived in Lviv. Officials estimate that some 10 percent of the citys population of 430,000 have risked their lives to escape over the past week while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russias siege of Mariupol was a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come.

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Amid the tales of the horrific situation in Mariupol, local officials say thousands of residents are being forcibly taken across the border into Russia. Over the past week, several thousand Mariupol residents were deported onto the Russian territory, Mariupols city council said. Local officials are comparing the actions of Russian troops to the Nazis. What the occupiers are doing today is familiar to the older generation, who saw the horrific events of World War II, when the Nazis forcibly captured people, Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said. The captured residents are being taken to filtration camps, and then sent to remote Russian cities, local officials said.

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Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, expressed horror at the reports even as she acknowledged they have not been independently verified. Ive only heard it. I cant confirm it, Thomas-Greenfield told CNN. But I can say it is disturbing. It is unconscionable for Russia to force Ukrainian citizens into Russia and put them in what will basically be concentration and prisoner camps.

As the fighting continues with Russian forces seemingly unable to take full control of major Ukrainian cities, analysts largely agree that the war is reaching a bloody stalemate. The initial plan to quickly take control of Kyiv and other major cities seems to have failed and now its likely that more attacks will target civilian positions. Britains defense intelligence agency warned it expects there will be more indiscriminate shelling of urban areas resulting in widespread destruction and large numbers of civilian casualties.
Subjects involved in the gas industry will now search for ways to support the further production of biomethane.

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Biomethane production has been launched in Slovakia.

It is secured by the PM company that plans to produce 80-85 MWh of biomethane near Jelsava (Banska Bystrica Region). According to the Slovak Gas and Oil Association, this step means the Slovak gas industry is getting greener.

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The basic material used to produce biogas is chicken manure and cow dung, and various biodegradable waste, said Martin Pribola, authorised representative of PM, as quoted by the SITA newswire, adding that this biogas is then turned into biomethane.

Conditions need to be adjusted

Biomethane has the same features as natural gas, which means it can be used in the gas pipeline system and delivered to end customers.

Biomethane is carbon neutral and no solid pollutants are generated during its combustion, which is why it can be used for the decarbonisation of transport in the form of bioCNG and bioLNG, said Richard Kvasnovsky, executive director of the Slovak Gas and Oil Association, as quoted by SITA.

Currently, about 100 biogas stations are in operation in Slovakia. Their administrators are thinking about the future because the current support mechanisms end in 2025.

Under the current criteria, about one third of them could focus on biomethane that could be pressed into the gas pipeline system.

The others could concentrate on the production of alternative fuels for transport, said Patricia Gasparcova, chair of the Slovak Biogas Association, as quoted by SITA, adding it is important to set support mechanisms for their transformation.

The Economy Ministry is currently working on subsidy schemes to build new capacities for the production of biogas and biomethane, and the modification of existing biogas stations so that they would be able to produce biomethane.

Potential replacement of gas supplies

An important role will also be setting up operational support for the consumers of biomethane, so that it is not sold abroad but used in Slovakia. One of the prerequisites for such a step is the creation of a register of the guarantees of origin for renewable gases, currently prepared by the SPP-Distribucia company.

Slovakia has enough oil and natural gas, for now Read more

The added value should be the creation of connection between all market subjects that can sell or buy biomethane through the guarantees of origin, said Jergus Vopalensky of SPP-Distribucia, as reported by SITA.

Slovakia has the potential to produce 400-500 million cubic metres of biomethane a year, which equals 10 percent of the current consumption of natural gas, according to Kvasnovsky.

If natural gas is replaced by biomethane, the energy security of Slovakia increases as we would not have to import such large amounts of natural gas, he said, as quoted by SITA. The diversification of supply sources and the greatest possible local production of renewable and low-carbon gases are tasks we have to fulfil in Europe.

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The biggest disinformation website had contacts with Russians and Kocner.

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Pro-Russian informer Bohus Garbar donated 10,000 to the extremist LSNS in 2016. Another man detained over his contacts with Russians, Jozef Mihalcin, worked as the assistant of MP Miroslav Suja, when Suja was an LSNS MP.

Several people detained by the police due to their collaboration with Russian secret services were close to the far right LSNS of Marian Kotleba. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kotleba's party continues to downplay the responsibility of Vladimir Putin's regime for the war in Ukraine. In the past, the police investigated suspicions that LSNS was taking money from the Russians.

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Garbar used to write for the disinformation website Hlavne Spravy, the onetime biggest one in the segment, recently suspended by the National Security Authority (NBU) due to its circulation of disinformation about the war in Ukraine.

LSNS used to have a privileged position on this website: it would publish its statements without context. Hlavne Spravy also continued to provide generous room to LSNS renegades in the new party, Republika.

Jakub Goda, an expert on countering disinformation and marketing specialist, "infiltrated" the website and wrote a dozen articles for them under a fake identity, which gave him insight into how the website operated. He now says that the link between Russian secret services, the disinformation websites, and extremist parties does not surprise him.

"The Russian Federation wants to weaken countries by eroding the citizens' trust in their own state," he said. "It is the political agenda of extremists and, at the same time, content for disinformation websites that spread various conspiracy theories."

Russians and extremists

Who was detained Bohus Garbar - Confessed to having acted as intelligence contact for agents of the Russian secret service GRU, which acted in Slovakia with the diplomatic cover provided by the Russian Embassy. He used to write for Hlavne Spravy. Pavel Bucka - Lieutenant, former deputy rector of the Armed Forces Academy in Liptovsky Mikulas. He started collaborating with GRU in 2013; he would provide GRU agents with sensitive documents. Jozef Mihalcin - former assistant of MP Miroslav Suja (then LSNS, now Republika), who tried to get hold of classified parts of the annual reports of the Slovak Information Service (SIS). Bohus M. - SIS staffer until the end of last year, he collaborated with Garbar, trying to procure sensitive information from SIS for him. The Russian spies are excluded from the Slovak jurisdiction, and are thus not investigated by the Slovak criminal prosecution bodies.

The Dennik N daily published a leaked video showing Sergey Solomasov, the former military attache at the Russian Embassy in Bratislava, as tasking Bohus Garbar of Hlavne Spravy how to gain contacts and information. It is one piece of evidence that the police investigators are using in the spy case.

According to Police Corps President Stefan Hamran, Garbar served as an intelligence asset for agents of the Russian military intelligence service GRU, which had worked in Slovakia under the diplomatic cover of the Russian Embassy, since April 2021.

"I need political information, communication among countries, from within NATO, within the EU, Bratislava and other countries," Solomasov tells Garbar on the leaked video.

Garbar would collect highly sensitive information in exchange for bribes from Moscow. He confessed to the crime.

LSNS spokesperson Martin Belusky reacted that they could not have known about Garbar's activities, because they had not been in contact with him for years. Russian agents recruited Garbar in April 2021.

Suja's onetime assistant Mihalcin was trying to gain information from classified parts of the Slovak Information Service (SIS) and Military Intelligence annual reports, according to the investigators' findings so far.

He has not been charged yet, and was released from detention.

LSNS faced suspicions before

Suja, now an member of the Republika party, refuted the cooperation with Russian secret services, and said he would give his former assistant a life sentence or even death sentence.

"If he is guilty, let him go to prison. If he betrayed Slovakia, let it be a life sentence. Let us pass a death sentence, I have no problem with it," Suja said.

At the time when Mihalcin worked for Suja and Garbar donated money to LSNS, the German public-service television ZDF got hold of thousands of leaked e-mails from pro-Kremlin Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeev. It followed from the e-mails that Malofeev indirectly financed anti-American and anti-NATO demonstrations in central Europe, and that he financially supported LSNS through Belarusian businessman Alexander Usovskij.

The suspicions have not been proved.

Both then and now, Kotleba denied the claims that his party would receive money from Russia.

"Our party serves only Slovakia and is financed only from Slovak sources, from state sources, from the sources of sympathisers and members and not Russia, not America," Kotleba said in parliament on March 15.

Goda noted that Russian oligarchs and people with ties to the Kremlin are cooperating with anti-system parties.

"The Russian government benefits from the polarisation of society in the countries that Kremlin now openly labels its enemies. This is achieved when a large part of the electorate leans to radical parties, loses the trust in the state and desires a radical change of the system," Goda says.

Garbar's Hlavne Spravy

For years, the modus operandi of the Hlavne Spravy website has been mixing Slovak newswire sources with their own articles, which often peddled various conspiracy theories and disinformation. The NBU recently temporarily banned the website in connection with the war in Ukraine.

When Goda contacted the website in the past by using a fake name, Hlavne Spravy published an article that he sent them, with a story that he entirely made up about a newly-elected Muslim mayor of a city in New Jersey who wanted to ban the word "Christmas". It took them half a day to withdraw the article, without an apology to the readers.

In the past, Hlavne Spravy became of interest to the convicted criminal, then businessman Marian Kocner, who is facing a re-trial in the murder case of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova. The prosecutor believes that he ordered the murder. In the aftermath, Kocner used Hlavne Spravy as a channel to downplay the importance of the protests that followed, and intended to use the website to promote a political party that he wanted to start. The messages leaked from Kocner's phone suggest that he supported the website financially.

"Thanks for the support that arrived to the account," website head Robert Sopko wrote to Kocner.

The website now distanced itself from Garbar's activities, saying that they did not know about his contacts with the Russian secret services, and that his contributions did not concern Russia.

Goda admits that it is possible they did not know that their contributor had been recruited by the Russian secret agents, but he believes that it is more probable that the website makes room for articles by Russian collaborators, being aware of their identity.

"My example also shows that the operation of Hlavne Spravy is amateurish, and that they do not check on their contributors and the nonsense they are spreading. But I presume that they knew about it. Since the annexation of Crimea, they have been automatically disseminating Russian narratives and their contacts with the Russian institutions are well known," Goda said.

Cooperation with the Russians

For instance, one author of the disinformation magazine Zem a Vek, Ratko Sudecky, slipped up on Facebook in 2018 and revealed that Yevgeni Paltsev wrote for Hlavne Spravy under the pseudonym of Eugen Rusnak, spreading Russian propaganda.

There were pictures on Facebook showing Paltsev in contact with people from the Russian media group Rossija Segodnya, financed from the Kremlin. He also had a meeting in the building of the Sputnik agency.

A few months ago, Sopko denied receiving any significant funds from the Russian Embassy. He said that in 2021, they published PR articles for the Russian Embassy for 625 and in 2020 for 833, while in that year, the revenues of the website reached about 274,000.

Goda sees the ties between Russian secret services, disinformation websites and anti-system parties as logical. Disinformation websites evoke the feeling in people that nobody and nothing can be trusted, thus building the electorate for anti-system parties.

Confused citizens and a strong anti-system in politics is beneficial for Russia.

"It's apparent from observation that people who claim that they no longer trust anything are typically willing to believe even in the wildest conspiracies, including the war in Ukraine," said Goda.

Sme
Australia Has Prepared Package of Additional Military Aid For Ukraine Worth $15.5 Mln - Statement

Following discussions between the Prime Minister [Scott Morrison] and the Minister for Defence [Peter Dutton] and their Ukrainian counterparts, it is clear that Ukraines need for military assistance remains urgent and ongoing. In response, Defence has developed an additional $21 million [about 15.5 million USD] support package of defensive military assistance for Ukrainian Armed Forces, which will bring Australias total military assistance so far to $91 million," the Australian government said in a statement, released by the countrys foreign ministry.

According to the release, the military aid will include "additional material from Australian Defence Force stocks."

Australia is also providing Kiev with additional humanitarian aid, the Australian government said.



"Today, the Morrison Government commits to an additional $30 million [22.2 million USD] in emergency humanitarian assistance. This contribution will focus on protecting women, children, the elderly and the disabled, and takes the total we have so far committed to $65 million," the government statement says.

The Australian government said it was going to continue to impose sanctions against Russia and is now targeting Russia's aluminum industry.

"The Government has overnight imposed an immediate ban on Australian exports of alumina and aluminium ores (including bauxite) to Russia, which will limit its capacity to produce aluminium  a critical export for Russia," the government statement says, adding that "Russia relies on Australia for nearly 20 per cent of its alumina needs."
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Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks on Saturday with Zambian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Stanley Kasongo Kakubo in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province.

Welcoming Kakubo as the first foreign minister of a sub-Saharan African country to visit China since the pandemic began, Wang said China supports Zambia's independent choice of a development path suited to its national conditions.

China is willing to work with Zambia to strengthen strategic communication, deepen exchanges of governance experience, enhance mutual trust and expand practical cooperation in various fields, Wang said.

Kakubo congratulated China on successfully hosting the Beijing Winter Olympic Games and spoke highly of China's long-term contribution to the development of the African continent and its adherence to principles and justice in international affairs.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine issue. Kakubo appreciated China's active role in promoting peace talks and its long-term leading role in realizing peace.




https://sputniknews.com/20220319/tucker-carlson-biden-admin-protects-another-countrys-border-but-not-our-own-1094019096.html

Tucker Carlson: Biden Admin. Protects Another Country's Border, But Not Our Own

Tucker Carlson: Biden Admin. Protects Another Country's Border, But Not Our Own

Fox News host Tucker Carlson has questioned why the Biden administration has opted to deploy additional troops to NATO members in Eastern Europe to bolster... 19.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-19T23:39+0000

2022-03-19T23:39+0000

2022-03-19T23:47+0000

us

tucker carlson

southern border

illegal immigrants

border crissings

ukrainian crisis

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Officials at the US Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and other agencies are bracing for another migrant influx in the upcoming months. Last years record-breaking immigration rates prompted an outcry from GOP officials and lawmakers, who blame the current administrations eased border policies for the spike in migration.Tucker Carlson pulled no punches over the Biden administration's southern border policy. He cited figures across the American southwest that show an increase in crime and instability.He blamed the current administration for the increased crime rate not only in Houston but in other cities in Texas and other states where millions of illegal aliens have flooded in during Joe Biden's presidency.Carlson also mentioned another issue that has become a source of constant criticism from Republicans  fentanyl overdoses, which, last year, surpassed heroin overdoses. Fentanyl, an easily produced synthetic opioid, has been one of the main drugs trafficked from Mexico into the United States and has accounted for over 100,000 deaths and 64% of all drug overdoses in the US.Carlson attacked Democrat lawmakers, who are calling for the abolition of Title 42, a Trump-era law that empowers the authorities to extradite illegal immigrants due to pandemic concerns. Earlier in the week, authorities were preparing to encounter 170,000 immigrants over the upcoming months if Biden decides to stop extraditions under Title 42, with DHS calling on its workers to volunteer at the southern border.Illegal immigration traditionally peaks seasonally in the spring and early summer. Historically, the month of May sees the most illegal border crossings. Meanwhile, US Border Patrol agents reported 164,973 encounters with migrants stopped from illegally crossing the southern border in February, which is a 63 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Nevertheless, it is less than the 20-year record of 212,000 encounters, reported by the DHS in June last year.Carlson claimed that the US military can be used to solve the problem of open borders and stop the invasion. He criticized the decision to send thousands of American troops and billions in American military hardware to Eastern Europe to help Ukrainians restore their borders, wondering why not here.Since the start of the Russian military operation on February 24, Washington has announced plans to deploy additional troops to Eastern European NATO members. The Pentagon has already sent approximately 7,500 soldiers along with military equipment to Poland, Romania, Germany, and the Baltic States to respond to the current security environment in light of Russia's renewed aggression against Ukraine and to bolster the alliances eastern frontiers.

https://sputniknews.com/20220312/us-opioid-addiction-fuels-mexican-narco-gang-war-with-border-seizures-up-1093808019.html

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https://sputniknews.com/20220320/bin-ladens-spin-doctor-was-questioned-for-one-hour-before-he-was-allowed-entry-to-uk---report-1094032146.html

Bin Laden's 'Spin Doctor' Was Questioned for One Hour Before He Was Allowed Entry to UK - Report

Bin Laden's 'Spin Doctor' Was Questioned for One Hour Before He Was Allowed Entry to UK - Report

Adel Abdel Bary was sentenced to 25 years behind bars in the United States for his participation in the 1998 terror attacks on the American Embassies in Kenya... 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-20T14:54+0000

2022-03-20T14:54+0000

2022-03-20T14:54+0000

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It only took the UK police an hour to question Osama bin Laden's so-called "spin doctor", Adel Abdel Bary, as he returned to the country after serving his US prison sentence for terrorist activities, the Daily Mail reported.Bary was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2015, but was released in 2020 on "compassionate" grounds, because it was deemed that his obesity and asthma increased his vulnerability to COVID-19.In 2021, Bary, an Egyptian national, returned to the United Kingdom to live in a $1 million mansion in London with his wife and children, paid for by the local council. And all it took for him to enter the country was an hour-long interrogation by UK police that included a video call with US officials.The Daily Mail reported, citing documents that emerged following a review, that it was deemed Bary's mindset and ideological beliefs remained "largely unknown and untested". It was said that Bary did not wish to re-offend and that he sought to return to the United Kingdom. He challenged his monitoring order imposed by Scotland Yard after his return, claiming that it violated his human rights and worsened the PTSD he developed during his time in an Egyptian prison.Bary was granted asylum in the UK in 1993 after he fled Egypt, where he claimed he was tortured as a suspected Islamist. London allowed him to remain in the UK indefinitely as a refugee in 1997, with his wife being granted British citizenship.Later, he became involved with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) - a terrorist cell that later merged with Al Qaeda*. In August 1998, Al Qaeda bombed the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, with the attack claiming the lives of 224 people and leaving 5,000 injured. The following year, Bary was arrested for his role in the bombings and extradited to the United States.*Al Qaeda is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries

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https://sputniknews.com/20220320/boris-johnson-hints-china-should-stop-sitting-on-the-fence-over-ukraine-crisis-1094022498.html

Boris Johnson Hints China Should Stop Sitting on the Fence Over Ukraine Crisis

Boris Johnson Hints China Should Stop Sitting on the Fence Over Ukraine Crisis

Earlier this week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterated that Beijing adheres to an independent position on the Ukrainian crisis. The statement came amid the... 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-20T05:54+0000

2022-03-20T05:54+0000

2022-03-20T05:54+0000

uk

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made it clear that China should get off the political fence and condemn Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine.According to Johnson, "there are considerable dilemmas now for people who thought they could sit this one out, who thought they could sit on the fence".Referring to the neutral stance adopted by China following the beginning of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, the PM said that he believes "in Beijing you are starting to see some second thoughts" on the matter.The remarks followed Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responding to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's warning that Beijing will face consequences for supporting the Russian operation in Ukraine.He added that some in the US continue to spread false information and slander, trying to pressure China, something that Zhao said is extremely irresponsible behaviour that does not help resolve the Ukraine crisis.This came after the Chinese diplomat emphasised earlier this week that Beijing will continue to pursue normal trade and economic cooperation with Moscow based on mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit. He also said that Beijing calls on Washington to avoid damaging China's interests when trying to settle its relations with Russia. Additionally, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed that "Beijing discourages the use of sanctions to settle problems and even more opposes unilateral sanctions that lack international legal grounds".The comments were preceded by US State Department spokesman Ned Price raising concerns over alleged attempts by China to use the Ukrainian crisis "to advance Beijing's long-term interest in its competition with the United States". He also warned Beijing that any support extended to Russia, including "helping to avert sanctions imposed by the US and its allies, would have implications not only for China's relations with the United States, but for its relationships around the world".Russia's Special Op in Ukraine The developments unfold against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian special operation in Ukraine announced by President Vladimir Putin on 24 February to demilitarise and de-Nazify the country. The operation was launched after the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) asked for assistance to defend themselves from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.Putin stressed that Russia is not seeking to occupy Ukraine, while the Russian Defence Ministry underscored that the goal of the operation is to neutralise Ukraine's military capacity with high-precision weapon strikes, which do not pose a threat to the civilian population.In response, the United States, Britain, and the European Union, as well as several other countries, introduced packages of sanctions targeting Russian entities and individuals. Moscow then retaliated with personal sanctions of its own, directed at top US government officials, including President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, as well as Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, who have been added to Russia's own "stop list".Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

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https://sputniknews.com/20220320/boris-johnson-under-fire-after-comparing-ukrainian-crisis-to-brexit-vote-1094028285.html

Boris Johnson Under Fire After Comparing Ukrainian Crisis to Brexit Vote

Boris Johnson Under Fire After Comparing Ukrainian Crisis to Brexit Vote

The United Kingdom is among those nations in the West actively sending military aid to Ukraine amid the country's ongoing conflict with Russia. At the same... 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-20T12:17+0000

2022-03-20T12:17+0000

2022-03-20T12:17+0000

uk

viral

boris johnson

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/14/1094029255_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_b54461268968935cbe85bfa101999a8e.jpg

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has found himself in hot water after a recent speech at the Conservative Spring Conference in Blackpool, where he happened to compare Ukraine's resistance to the special Russian military operation in the country to the Brexit vote in 2016.The "recent example" did not appear to resonate with many critics, among them former European Council President Donald Tusk, senior backbench Tory Tobias Ellwood, and even several French diplomats.Political director at the French Foreign Ministry Philippe Errera weighed in on Johnson's remarks, followed by French Ambassador to the UK Catherine Colonna. "As the French Ambassador in the UK, I will not either", Colonna said after Errera said he would not "comment on Twitter".Ex-chief of staff at Number 10 Lord Barwell, commenting on Johnson's comparison, said that "voting in a free and fair referendum isn't in any way comparable with risking your life to defend your country against invasion".Others, however, weighed in to defend the prime minister's remarks. Among them was Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who said he did not think "the prime minister was saying that they [the Ukrainian crisis and the Brexit vote] were directly analogous". He also said that people "will draw their own conclusions".Boris Johnson himself has not yet addressed the backlash that followed his comments.The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in 2016, with Brexit officially occurring on the night from 31 January to 1 February 2020. Britons voted to leave the EU by 52% to 48%, according to the BBC.The conflict in Ukraine, for its part, has been underway since 24 February, when Russia launched a special military operation to "demilitarise and de-Nazify" Ukraine. The Kremlin said it does not plan to occupy the country, nor are Russian troops targeting civilians, focusing exclusively on Ukrainian military infrastructure, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. Nations in the West - among them the United Kingdom - have condemned the operation and imposed harsh anti-Russian sanctions.Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

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https://sputniknews.com/20220320/brit-squaddie-in-queens-guard-faces-jail-after-awol-volunteer-trip-to-ukraine-1094030643.html

Brit Squaddie in Queens Guard Faces Jail After AWOL 'Volunteer' Trip to Ukraine

Brit Squaddie in Queens Guard Faces Jail After AWOL 'Volunteer' Trip to Ukraine

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the chief the British armed forces, has warned serving soldiers could be court-martialled if they desert their posts to fight for the... 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-20T15:45+0000

2022-03-20T15:45+0000

2022-03-20T15:45+0000

uk

ukraine

britain

great britain

queen elizabeth ii

situation in ukraine

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A teenage soldier in the UK's royal guards has been questioned by officers after returning from Ukraine, where he went to fight against Russian forces.The un-named 19-year-old went absent without leave (AWOL) from the elite Coldstream Guards regiment barracks in Windsor to join the Ukrainian "Foreign Legion" two weeks ago.British newspaper The Sun on Sunday reported he had returned to the UK via Poland after contacting senior officers from Ukraine.He was in touch with his chain of command, who told him that he had to return," the source added. He knew he would be in trouble but was also told in no uncertain terms that it would be worse the longer he stayed out there.The squaddie was taken in for questioning by military police on arrival, but was not detained and has been allowed to go home to his family in the north of England. But the Sun reported that he is now likely to face a court-martial trial.UK Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin recently warned it is unlawful for serving troops to go and fight in another country's army. The Sun also claimed the chiefs of staff are worried that if British soldiers are taken prisoner, Russia could claim the UK is intervening directly in the conflict.But early in the conflict Foreign Secretary Liz Truss encouraged Brits to go and fight against the Russian "de-Nazification" campaign in Ukraine. But it also emerged that the young soldier had been one of some 1,000 foreign recruits at the NATO-built training training camp at Yavorov, 12 miles from the Polish border, that was destroyed in a Russian long-range missile strike last week.Kiev admitted to only 35 Ukrainian troops killed in the attack, but the Russian Ministry of Defence claims 180 "foreign mercenaries" died  and some informal sources say the toll has since risen higher.A British ex-serviceman who also joined the Ukrainian foreign legion said he met the teenage soldier at Yavorov."The Coldstream Guard was very open about the fact he was still serving," he said. He said he had been to the Falklands for six months, but was bored in the UK and wanted to see some action and use his training.""At first, he had no intention of returning to the UK but people told him he should and that he was in trouble as going AWOL is a serious offence," the older volunteer related."I dont know if he told them he was leaving, but I think he had help from people over there to travel back over the Polish border. Myself and other British people told him he should return, so in the end he has obviously listened."Several former British servicemen are known to have signed up to fight in Ukraine  for wages of just 7,000 hryvnia (180) per month  including Ben Grant, a former Royal Marine and son of Conservative MP for Maidstone and The Weald Helen Grant.

https://sputniknews.com/20220320/mod-over-100-ukrainian-covert-op-troops-and-foreign-mercenaries-eliminated-west-of-kiev-1094024119.html

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uk, ukraine, britain, great britain, queen elizabeth ii
https://sputniknews.com/20220320/egypt-faces-food-security-challenge-as-ukrainian-conflict-enters-fourth-week-1094026325.html

Egypt Faces Food Security Challenge as Ukrainian Conflict Enters Fourth Week

Egypt Faces Food Security Challenge as Ukrainian Conflict Enters Fourth Week

Prices on wheat in the North African country, that relies on Russian and Ukrainian crops, have gone up since the beginning of hostilities on 24 February. In a bid to stabilise the market Cairo decided to boost local production, but it turned out that domestic supply cannot meet public demand.

2022-03-20T09:38+0000

2022-03-20T09:38+0000

2022-03-20T09:39+0000

egypt

middle east

africa

wheat

food

food crisis

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Egypt, the world's biggest wheat importer, has already started feeling the impact of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine that began on 24 February.Skyrocketing PricesOver the past month, the price tag for bread has gone up and currently stands at 1.50 Egyptian pounds (roughly one dollar) per loaf, commonly known in Egypt as eish baladi. Costs for wheat products have additionally registered a spike and experts have already warned that another increase is just around the corner.For Egypt, where a third of its population lives below the poverty line, this is a serious blow, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already advised Cairo to focus on its food security issues.To gauge how serious the situation is, Sputnik approached Egypt's Ministry of Supply and Trade for a comment, and a source within the establishment, who preferred not to disclose their name, confirmed that the "dependency on Russian and Ukrainian supplies is felt on every level".Cairo might not have enough money to afford these additional costs. Even before the beginning of hostilities, the North African country was struggling to stabilise its economy - dealt a severe blow by the coronavirus pandemic. The military operation in Ukraine has aggravated the situation even further by disrupting the Egyptian tourism industry, one of the nation's main sources of income. And that prompted Cairo to take action.Recently, it was reported that Cairo was holding talks with the IMF over a potential loan but even if the international body agrees to unlock the necessary funds to aid the North African country, Egypt still faces yet another challenge  the disruption of wheat supplies.Headache for AuthoritiesSince the beginning of Moscow's military operation, Ukrainian ports have been largely inactive. Russian wheat has also been struggling to reach the Egyptian market. In a bid to tackle this obstacle, Egypt decided to focus on the production of local wheat.The government banned all exports of local wheat-related products for the next three months. It is currently contemplating purchasing more than six million metric tonnes (MMT) of Egyptian produce; and it is expanding the country's storage areas to accommodate that domestic supply.The problem is that it is far from being sufficient. According to official estimates, Egypt with its more than 100 million people consume some 21 million metric tonnes of wheat per year. The supply of six MMT will leave the country starving for the remaining 15.The Egyptian official Sputnik spoke with acknowledged that that deficit coupled with the soaring prices on wheat present a serious headache for local authorities.In Egypt, many still remember the infamous 1977 bread riots that were triggered by wheat deficits and Cairo is determined to avoid similar events.To calm down the masses, 88 percent of whom are registered for the bread rationing system, Cairo has already allocated $3.3 billion in its 2021/2022 budget for bread subsidies, a ten percent increase from the previous year.The government is also studying an option to establish fixed prices for unsubsidised bread in a bid to stabilise the market. But as the hostilities in Ukraine continue, the official warns that Egypt might soon be running out of solutions.Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

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https://sputniknews.com/20220320/former-nsa-john-bolton-claims-refusal-to-send-us-troops-to-ukraine-big-mistake-1094021562.html

Former NSA John Bolton Claims Refusal to Send US Troops to Ukraine 'Big Mistake'

Former NSA John Bolton Claims Refusal to Send US Troops to Ukraine 'Big Mistake'

"If Biden hadn't said anything about the possible deployment of Western troops in the past few months, it would have been better, for the security of Ukraine and for world peace", Bolton reportedly told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland.

2022-03-20T04:24+0000

2022-03-20T04:24+0000

2022-03-20T04:24+0000

situation in ukraine

john bolton

ukraine

donald trump

joe biden

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Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton raised eyebrows this week by telling a German publication that NATO and the US  under President Joe Biden  made a "big mistake" when they "repeatedly emphasised that there will be no intervention of any kind by Western troops in Ukraine".Bolton was US ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, and served as national security adviser to former President Donald Trump. His tenure as national security adviser was cut short in September 2019 when he was unceremoniously fired in a Twitter post in which Trump wrote that he'd "informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House".Within months, Bolton was making appearances on political talk shows publicising his then-upcoming "tell-all" book in which he accused President Trump of wanting to "continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens".The claim played a key role in the first of President Trump's two impeachments, because it appeared to validate some of the still-unproven allegations of impropriety surrounding weapons shipments which Democrats in Congress wanted the president to send to the Ukrainian regime.President Trump's response was immediate. The then-president promptly took to Twitter to allege that Bolton "begged" him for a job and that "frankly", if he had "listened to [Bolton], we would be in World War Six by now".Bolton's longstanding antipathy towards perceived enemy governments wasn't limited to the Russian leadership. "The president was angered by Bolton's opposition" to President Trump's proposed Afghanistan peace deal, PBS wrote at the time of Bolton's dismissal, and it reportedly wasn't the first time the two men clashed over Bolton's apparent refusal to cooperate with the White House's geopolitical vision. It wasn't just the Trump crowd  Bolton's reputation for bellicosity earned him the ire of anti-intervention conservatives and liberals alike.Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

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john bolton, ukraine, donald trump, joe biden
https://sputniknews.com/20220320/four-disney-employees-retired-judge-among-108-arrested-in-human-child-trafficking-campaign-1094020505.html

Four Disney Employees, Retired Judge Among 108 Arrested in Human, Child Trafficking Campaign

Four Disney Employees, Retired Judge Among 108 Arrested in Human, Child Trafficking Campaign

On Thursday, the Polk County Sheriffs Office Vice Unit in Florida, United States arrested 108 people suspected of child trafficking and soliciting women to... 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-20T01:17+0000

2022-03-20T01:17+0000

2022-03-20T02:18+0000

us

sex trafficking

child predator

florida

child trafficking

disney

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During the operation, called "March Sadness 2", undercover police officers reached out to prostitutes who posted online ads on various websites and social media. Detectives also identified adults they believed were conspicuously interacting with children, according to a statement from the police.Police identified four Disney employees among those arrested. One of them, Xavier Jackson, 27, is accused of sending sexual photos of himself and messages to an undercover agent who posed as a 14-year-old girl. According to Sheriff Grady Judd, Jackson worked as a lifeguard at a Polynesian resort owned by the company and was bragging about that. He was charged with three counts of transmitting harmful material to a minor and one count of unlawful communication.Three suspected child predators were also among the arrested.Wilkason Fidele, 24, who worked at the Cosmic Restaurant at Walt Disney World's Tomorrowland, Shubham Malave, 27, a software developer, and Ralph Leese, 45, an IT employee were all Disney employees arrested in the operation. The police also arrested former judge Daniel Peters, 66, who had moved to Florida after his retirement. He told investigators that he had worked as a judge in the Cook County 4th Sub Circuit Court and as a special legal assistant at the Cook County Sheriff's Office in Illinois.All of them are suspected of seeking prostitution services.He added that the so-called johns, who pay for prostitution services, fuel the trafficking and victimization. Where there is prostitution, there is exploitation, disease, dysfunction, and broken families.

https://sputniknews.com/20211203/revealed-cia-staffers-involved-in-child-sex-abuse-crimes-dodged-prosecution-despite-evidence-1091224597.html

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us, sex trafficking, child predator, florida, child trafficking, disney
https://sputniknews.com/20220320/israeli-prime-minister-to-pay-first-visit-to-india-on-2-april-at-modis-invitation-1094028860.html

Israeli Prime Minister to Pay First Visit to India on 2 April at Modi's Invitation

Israeli Prime Minister to Pay First Visit to India on 2 April at Modi's Invitation

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will pay his first official visit to India to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Bennett's office said.

2022-03-20T11:41+0000

2022-03-20T11:41+0000

2022-03-20T11:41+0000

middle east

india

israel

naftali bennett

narendra modi

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During the visit, Bennett will meet with Modi, as well as other senior Indian government officials. The leaders are expected to discuss expanding bilateral ties and strengthening cooperation in innovation, economics, research and development, agriculture and other areas. Bennett is also scheduled to visit the Jewish community in India.The Israeli prime minister stressed Modi's contribution to the development of ties between the two countries and noted that IndianIsraeli relations rely on "deep appreciation and meaningful collaborations."Modi invited Bennett to visit the country on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) that took place in Glasgow last October.

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middle east, india, israel, naftali bennett, narendra modi
https://sputniknews.com/20220320/italian-tourist-bleeds-to-death-after-shark-attack-near-caribbean-island-1094037599.html

Italian Tourist Bleeds to Death After Shark Attack Near Caribbean Island

Italian Tourist Bleeds to Death After Shark Attack Near Caribbean Island

The 56-year-old victim was snorkeling off the coast of San Andres, a coral island in the Caribbean Sea that is politically part of Colombia. The island is a... 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-20T22:34+0000

2022-03-20T22:34+0000

2022-03-21T03:32+0000

latin america

shark attack

colombia

caribbean sea

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An Italian tourist died in hospital from critical blood loss after being attacked by a tiger shark near the coast of San Andres on Friday.The man, who is reported to be from the central Italian town of Roseto degli Abruzzi, was attacked in a popular snorkeling area called La Piscinita.According to government officials, it is the first shark attack ever reported in San Andres.The coral island is 470 miles north of the Colombian mainland. Its primary industry is tourism and the businesses that support it, such as hotels, hospitality, and diving.

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latin america, shark attack, colombia, caribbean sea
 Flash

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng on Saturday called on countries in the Asia-Pacific to cherish peace, work together in unity and pursue a win-win future for the region.

"The Ukraine crisis keeps the world on edge. It also provides a mirror for us to observe the situation in the Asia-Pacific," Le said at the Fourth International Forum on Security and Strategy.

The Asia-Pacific is an anchor for world peace and stability, an engine for global growth and a new pace-setter in international cooperation, he said. "Such a promising situation has not come easily and should be cherished by all sides."

Le called on all countries in the region to cherish peace and not undermine regional tranquility; respect each other and not wantonly interfere in others' internal affairs; promote unity and cooperation and not create division and confrontation; and pursue independence and self-strength and not let others decide our future.

"China stands ready to work with all countries in the Asia-Pacific under the banner of true multilateralism to promote enduring peace, common development and open regionalism, and jointly open up brighter prospects for the Asia-Pacific community with a shared future," Le said.




https://sputniknews.com/20220320/ketanji-brown-jackson-gop-senator-urges-scrutiny-into-bidens-scotus-pick-over-child-porn-rulings-1094033959.html

Ketanji Brown Jackson: GOP Senator Urges Scrutiny Into Biden's SCOTUS Pick Over Child Porn Rulings

Ketanji Brown Jackson: GOP Senator Urges Scrutiny Into Biden's SCOTUS Pick Over Child Porn Rulings

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been nominated by the Biden administration to become the first black woman on the Supreme Court bench. However, some Republican... 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-20T18:50+0000

2022-03-20T18:50+0000

2022-03-20T18:50+0000

us

supreme court

ketanji brown jackson

sex offenders

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Republican Senator Chuck Grassley urged the US Sentencing Commission to release records of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson related to her tenure there, as concerns are on the rise in the GOP that Jackson - a nominee for the US Supreme Court - was too soft when it came to sentencing child sex offenders.The senator noted that the records are being withheld because "somebody somewhere doesnt want us to see that information". The request for Jackson's Sentencing Commission records was made on 10 March, and Grassley noted at the time that it "falls squarely within the committees normal practices", calling for a "thorough review" of her records.The call for the Sentencing Commission to release Jackson's documents was made before the GOP became increasingly concerned about her record on child porn offenders. The first one to raise the issue was Republican Senator Josh Hawley, who rolled out an extensive Twitter thread claiming that Jackson "has a pattern of letting child porn offenders off the hook for their appalling crimes, both as a judge and as a policymaker".He referred to outtakes from Jackson's hearings and examples of her sentences in several child sex offender cases.The senator's Twitter thread sparked buzz among conservatives, with many calling for a deeper look into Jackson's record and demanding "clear answers" from her ahead of the Supreme Court confirmation hearing scheduled for next week.However, Hawley's research was dismissed by the White House, with Press Secretary Jen Psaki calling his claims "a last-ditch, eve-of-hearing desperation attack on her record on sentencing in sexual offense cases". White House spokesperson Andrew Bates in a Saturday statement to Fox News Digital took a dig at both Hawley and Grassley.Several media outlets have rolled out fact-checks on Hawley's claims, saying that his concerns are based on statements by Jackson that were taken out of context. For example, according to a fact-check by The Washington Post, some of the quotes that Hawley said were Jackson's personal opinions turned out to be her repeating statements made by witnesses. Additionally, the outlet said that Hawley had made it look like Jackson's push for "drastic change in how the law treats sex offenders by eliminating the existing mandatory minimum sentences for child porn" was her own initiative - while in fact, the recommendations the GOP Senator criticised were bipartisan and unanimous.Hawley was quick to respond to the outlet. According to the WaPo, he took to Twitter to debunk its fact-check before it was even published. The request for additional records of Jackson was dismissed by the White House's spokesperson, with Andrew Bates saying that her work at the Sentencing Commission "is almost entirely in the public record, and Judge Jackson has already provided thousands of documents on top of that".Still, Jackson's record regarding child porn offenders continues to trouble Republicans. On Sunday, Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse told Fox News that there are parts of Jackson's record "that are troubling".President Biden's Supreme Court nominee has not commented on the allegations. Her confirmation hearing is to begin on Monday. The American Bar Association has unanimously rated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as Well Qualified, which is the highest possible rating.

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us, supreme court, ketanji brown jackson, sex offenders
https://sputniknews.com/20220320/kim-dotcom-cites-oliver-stone-movie-about-2014-coup-in-ukraine-as-he-slams-us-meddling-in-conflict-1094026925.html

Kim Dotcom Cites Oliver Stone Movie About 2014 Coup in Ukraine as He Slams US Meddling in Conflict

Kim Dotcom Cites Oliver Stone Movie About 2014 Coup in Ukraine as He Slams US Meddling in Conflict

Directed by Igor Lopatonok, the 2016 movie "Ukraine on Fire" features Oliver Stone as an executive producer, who also interviews figures like Russian President... 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-20T10:29+0000

2022-03-20T10:29+0000

2022-03-20T10:29+0000

viral

kim dotcom

oliver stone

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/03/14/1094027101_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_994c74f2a9ebec408e02b5109b9004a9.jpg

Internet enterpreneur Kim Dotcom has taken to Twitter to recommend all those tweeting about Ukraine to first watch the documentary "Ukraine on Fire" that covers the tumultuous events that occurred in Ukraine in 2014, such as the Maidan revolution and the Donbass war.He posted a Rumble link to the movie, featuring Oliver Stone interviewing figures like Russian President Vladimir Putin and ex-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich about the 2014 revolution in the Eastern European country.In separate tweets, Dotcom appeared to have shown what some of his followers deemed veiled support of Moscow in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In one particular tweet, the blogger rolled out his own statement regarding the crisis.Dotcom additionally slammed the calls by Washington to charge Russia with war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) - "the same Court the US Govt legislated against to stop its war crimes from being prosecuted", as he put it.Released in 2016, "Ukraine on Fire" was labelled on YouTube (although it remains accessible) after the platform deemed that it breached its policy on violent content, so the film was uploaded on Rumble for free. Featuring director Oliver Stone, the movie details the development of Ukrainian nationalism. The movie takes a particular look into the events of 2014, when Kiev was rattled by the violent Maidan coup - the event that triggered Crimea's reunification with Russia, the war in Donbass, and contributed to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.Since 24 February, Moscow has been carrying out a special military operation that was launched by the Kremlin to "demilitarise and de-Nazify" Ukraine. Moscow said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine, underlining that Russian troops are exclusively targeting military infrastructure there and pose no threat to civilians. The West has condemned the Russian operation, imposing a slew of sanctions targeting Russia's economy, media, culture, businesses, and politicians.Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

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https://sputniknews.com/20220320/north-korea-reportedly-fires-four-shots-from-rocket-launch-systems-into-yellow-sea-1094022689.html

North Korea Reportedly Fires Four Shots From Rocket Launch Systems Into Yellow Sea

North Korea Reportedly Fires Four Shots From Rocket Launch Systems Into Yellow Sea

North Korea has allegedly fired four shots from multiple rocket launch systems into the western waters of the Yellow Sea, the Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday, citing South Korean military officials.

2022-03-20T05:49+0000

2022-03-20T05:49+0000

2022-03-20T05:57+0000

democratic republic of north korea (dprk)

north korea

south korea

missile

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Acording to the news agency, four projectiles fell into the sea within the hour from 7:20 a.m. local time on Sunday (22:00 GMT on Saturday). The South Korean National Security Council reportedly convened an emergency meeting to discuss the incident.In addition, the official reportedly stressed that Seoul was monitoring developments in the region and maintaining the country's defence preparedness.Since the end of 2017, Pyongyang had maintained a voluntary moratorium on nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) systems. However, in January, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un decided to consider the resumption of "all temporarily suspended activities" due to what he described as hostile policy on the part of the United States. A number of media and experts regarded this statement as Pyongyang's intention to stop complying with the moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests amid the stalled dialogue with Washington.On 27 February and 5 March, North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles as part of a reconnaissance satellite project. On Wednesday, the media reported that Pyongyang had fired another alleged projectile, but the launch had ended in failure.Seoul and Washington accused Pyongyang of having tested the new Hwasong-17 ICBM under the pretext of developing satellite systems. The South Korean National Security Council regarded the launches as violation of UN Security Council resolutions and condemned Pyongyang for raising tensions in the region.Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

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democratic republic of north korea (dprk), north korea, south korea, missile
https://sputniknews.com/20220320/republican-senators-eye-probes-into-dr-fauci-and-hunter-biden-if-gop-wins-midterms-1094033073.html

Republican Senators Eye Probes Into Dr Fauci and Hunter Biden if GOP Wins Midterms

Republican Senators Eye Probes Into Dr Fauci and Hunter Biden if GOP Wins Midterms

According to local media, the Republicans could also use their potential victory in the midterm elections to pursue other investigations, including the migrant crisis at the US southern border with Mexico and the Biden administrations botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.

2022-03-20T15:44+0000

2022-03-20T15:44+0000

2022-03-20T15:44+0000

us

anthony fauci

hunter biden

joe biden

midterm elections

us senate

us house of representatives

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Republican senators are planning to conduct probes into the countrys top disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci and the second son of US President Biden, Hunter. Senator from Wisconsin Ron Johnson and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul both expressed their desire to launch investigations into the two men.When asked what overlooked issues he would want to look at if the GOP wins the midterms and he is appointed chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees permanent subcommittee on investigations, Johnson replied with the following:Earlier this year, Rand Paul promised to go "after every one of [Fauci's] records" if he becomes chairman of the Senates Health, Education, Labour and Pensions (HELP) Committee.Anthony Fauci, who has been at the helm of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984, is the head of the US response team to the coronavirus pandemic.The COVID-19 safety regulations has become a topic of contentious debate between the Democrats and the Republicans, while Fauci, who is not a member of any political party, has come under intense criticism from the GOP.One issue that has caused discontent among senators is the mandate on wearing masks and vaccines, which many Republicans view as an infringement on freedom. The second one is media reports that NIAID partnered with the Chinese institute to study diseases, including coronaviruses in bats. Rand Paul has insisted that the COVID-19 pandemic started as a result of a lab leak in China and that NIAID was allegedly responsible for it. Dr Fauci has denied the accusations, saying it was "molecularly impossible" for the novel coronavirus to have originated from the US-funded research. As for Hunter Biden, the second son of Joe Biden, he came into media spotlight last October when a New York Post article claimed that documents from his alleged laptop appeared to show that he had used his fathers name to benefit while doing business overseas and that Joe Biden was involved in those agreements, something the newspaper said amounts to a conflict of interest.The Democrats dismissed the article as Russian disinformation. Recently, however, The New York Times wrote that documents from Hunters computer, which he allegedly took to an IT store for repairs but never returned to collect, had been authenticated by individuals familiar with the ongoing investigation into the president's son.

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https://sputniknews.com/20220320/russian-coop-agency-chief-primakov-western-media-promoted-nonsense-to-justify-us-invasion-of-iraq-1094029520.html

Western Media Promoted Nonsense to Justify US Invasion of Iraq - Russian Coop Agency Chief Primakov

Western Media Promoted Nonsense to Justify US Invasion of Iraq - Russian Coop Agency Chief Primakov

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Western media prepared the ground to justify the US-led international intervention in Iraq under the pretext of search for weapons of mass... 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

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russia

rossotrudnichestvo

yevgeny primakov

iraq

saddam hussein

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The war in Iraq violated international law and was launched outside the sphere of responsibility of the UN Security Council and without Security Council resolutions, Primakov noted.The US invaded Iraq in 2003 on the pretext of looking for weapons of mass destruction, which were never found. The military operation resulted in the capture and trial of Saddam Hussein. The former Iraqi leader was executed for crimes against humanity on 30 December 2006.*Al-Qaeda - a terrorist group banned in many countries

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https://sputniknews.com/20220320/trump-pledges-2024-return-to-white-house-at-florida-rally-1094036501.html

Trump Pledges 2024 Return to White House at Florida Rally

Trump Pledges 2024 Return to White House at Florida Rally

Donald Trump has dropped several heavy hints in recent months that he is planning a third presidential run in 2024  while speaking at a series of rallies... 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-20T21:00+0000

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donald trump

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joe biden

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Donald Trump has promised supporters a triumphant return to the White House in 2024.The former president pleased the crowd in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Saturday night, the latest stop on his American Freedom Tour. "With the support of everyone in this room, we will take back the House, we will take back the Senate and we will take back our country," Trump told the crowd. "And then most importantly in 2024, we are going to take back our beautiful White House."Trump stressed that he still did not accept the official result of the 2020 election, in which Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner, pointing to new revelations of ballot irregularities from several states.During his series of political campaign-style rallies, Trump has repeatedly hinted at a third presidential run in 2024, seizing on widespread dissatisfaction with Biden's administration over the chaotic retreat from Afghanistan and soaring energy and fuel prices  caused by its sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

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donald trump, us, white house, joe biden
https://sputniknews.com/20220320/trump-says-biden-fails-to-stop-ukraine-crisis-because-he-fears-nuclear-russia-1094026568.html

Trump Says Biden Fails to Stop Ukraine Crisis Because He Fears 'Nuclear' Russia

Trump Says Biden Fails to Stop Ukraine Crisis Because He Fears 'Nuclear' Russia

Last week, Donald Trump argued that the Ukraine conflict could escalate even further, purportedly because under the Biden administration, the White House does... 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

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2022-03-20T09:54+0000

us

russia

ukraine

vladimir putin

donald trump

joe biden

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crisis

sanctions

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Ex-POTUS Donald Trump has accused US President Joe Biden of failing to tackle Russia's special military operation in Ukraine due to Washington's concern over Moscow's nuclear potential.He pointed the finger at Biden, arguing that POTUS is now afraid of attacking a "nuclear power", in an apparent reference to Russia. Trump also asserted that under his presidency, the Ukraine crisis would have never taken place, claiming that Moscow's special operation came after Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly saw Washington's "weakness".Additionally, Trump alleged that it was he, who initiated the beginning of US arms deliveries to Ukraine, including "hundreds" of Javelin portable anti-tank missile systems.The remarks followed the former POTUS telling his supporters at a rally in Florence, South Carolina, last week that "despite all of Biden's weakness, cowardice, and incompetence, there is still a path for him to end this tragedy in Ukraine, without getting Americans snared in a gruesome and very bloody war".This followed Biden saying in late February that he does not believe Americans have reason to be concerned about a nuclear war amid tensions with Russia over its special operation in Ukraine. Earlier that month, Putin said he had ordered "the deterrence forces of the Russian Army to a special mode of combat duty", due to "aggressive statements" by NATO leaders.Russia's Special Op in Ukraine Moscow's special operation, which has been underway since 24 February, was launched after the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against Kiev's forces. Russia said that the aim of the operation is to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine and that only the nation's military infrastructure is being targeted.The Kremlin has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. According to President Putin, the operation's goal is to protect the people of Donbass, "who have been subjected to abuse, genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years".In response, Western countries have rolled out a full-blown sanctions campaign against Moscow, which includes airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media, and financial institutions.Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus*Daesh (ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.

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https://sputniknews.com/20220320/uk-police-arrest-boyfriend-suspected-of-murdering-teen-city-university-student-1094035576.html

UK Police Arrest Boyfriend Suspected of Murdering Teen City University Student

UK Police Arrest Boyfriend Suspected of Murdering Teen City University Student

19-year-old British national Sabita Thanwani was found dead at Arbour House, Clerkenwell, with severe neck injuries. She was a student at City University. 20.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-20T19:02+0000

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student

murder

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The UK Metropolitan Police have arrested a 22-year-old man named Maher Maaroufe on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend and assault on police.According to an official statement, he remains in police custody. Maaroufe is suspected of having murdered Sabita Thanwani, who was found dead with severe neck wounds. The family of the 19-year-old victim was informed of the arrest of the suspect.I would like to thank everyone for publicising and sharing our appeal to trace Maaroufe," said Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley, who leads the investigation. "Sabita's family have been updated with this development and continue to be supported by specially trained officers. Our deepest condolences are with them."Sabita's body was discovered in the student accommodation on Sebastian Street, Clerkenwell. She was pronounced dead at the scene.The suspect, according to the Daily Mail, was not a student and was known to travel, having links across London and Cambridgeshire. Formal identification is yet to take place.Police have asked to respect the privacy of the victim's family "at this indescribably devastating time for them as they come to terms with Sabitas murder."

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Every Day Nationalists Kill From 80 to 235 Innocent Citizens Who Try to Leave Mariupol - Russian MoD

"There is a terrible humanitarian catastrophe in Mariupol as a result of the lawlessness brought about by Ukrainian nationalists. Desperate and mindless bandits, realizing the impossibility of receiving any assistance from Kiev, terrorize those neighborhoods of the city that are still under their control," the head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, Mikhail Mizintsev, said.

Russia receives reliable information showing terrible atrocities committed by the militants, who are at the end of their rope, he noted.

"It has been established that from 80 to 235 innocent citizens die every day at the hands of the Nazis, this is a terrible statistic for the last three days only. These are the people that are trying to leave the city on their own, the militants simply shoot them," Mizintsev said.

He called on the Mariupol authorities to make a "historic choice" and stand up against the bandits in their city and not go to the war tribunal with them.
A St. Patricks Day budget presentation for Culpeper County Public Schools proved lucky as the division chief detailed a golden pot of state and federal funding that continues to flow in the waning days of the two-year COVID-19 pandemic.

Superintendent Tony Brads donned a green leprechauns hat at the start and end of the hourlong March 17 meeting, in which he detailed the school divisions proposed $112 million operating budget for fiscal 2023. The spending plan would be a 13 percent increase over this fiscal year.

Enrollment is over 8,200 students, spanning six elementary, two middle and three high schools, Dr. Brads said.

Im looking for that pot of gold, luck of the Irish perhaps or maybe green being the color of moneyany of those works, Brads said, stepping to the podium.

Supervisors Tom Underwood and Brad Rosenberger were absent. Several School Board members were in the audience.

Re-benchmarking occurs this year, Brads said of the Composite Index comparing the wealth of the commonwealth to the wealth of each of its localities. Culpeper Countys number slipped to 0.3594 compared to 0.3741 the last benchmark year, meaning its public schools have slightly less ability to pay. That means $860,000 more in state funding, he said.

All told, Culpeper County will receive $10.5 million more from the state in fiscal 2023, including $3.8 million for school construction projects.

We never had that before, Brads said, noting that statewide, Virginia is setting aside a half-billion dollars for school projects. Its an anomaly. That is an unusual year.

The additional money allocated by the General Assembly addresses the fact that 51 percent of Virginias public schools were built between the 1800s and 1969, Brads said.

Theyre going in the right direction to make up some of that, but will not make it all up, he said.

In Culpeper, most of the state school-construction monies will be used to replace the roof at Culpeper Middle School, costing $2.2 million. Other projects that made the list are new gym bleachers at Culpeper County High School and converting four common areas at Eastern View High School into academic areas.

From the federal government, Culpeper County Public Schools will receive a $2.2 million increase in fiscal 2023, largely in continuing CARES Act funds for coronavirus relief. It will be used for operationsnew staff, materials, driver incentives, contracted services, field trips, Girls on the Run and after-school programs.

Personnel health insurance through Anthem (with a 67 percent participation rate in Culpeper Public Schools) will increase 4 percent and so will the annual employer contribution to employee health savings accountsfrom $500 to $1,000.

Culpeper teacher pay continues to be in the mid-range for the region. Culpeper schools budget proposal includes a 5 percent raise, plus a step on the salary scale. A starting teachers salary would go from $45,729 to $48,015.

Eight new teachers (two elementary, two secondary and four English as a Second Language) are in the fiscal 2023 plan, for 15 total new personnel (costing $1.1 million), including a speech language pathologist, a social worker and a teacher mentor. Another $467,000 will raise stipends for support staff.

The school system will also hike employee tuition assistance, with 90 percent coverage for up to three classes, compared to 75 percent for two classes, currently.

The school system will see a $150,000 increase in annual rent it pays for its new administrative office on James Madison Highway, after managers moved out of the Central Office on Radio Lane so renovations there could add eight classrooms, another federally funded project.

A new administration building, projected to cost $4 million, will save the school system $250,000 annually in rent payments for facilities that include its Family Resource Center and an office in the Willow Shade center on State Route 229.

With the additional state and federal money, the schools are asking for $418,000, or 1.26 percent, more in local funds. Brads said that is pretty amazing considering that the state will provide 18 percent more and the feds 37 percent more than in this fiscal years budget.

Such increases wont be sustainable in the future, he added, noting that there are very few recurring costs from the schools fiscal 2023 windfall.

We have a robust spending plan and believe its meets our needs, Brads said.

The superintendent gave kudos to the state for its enhanced support.

Its hard for me to say that, but I want to give some recognition, Brads said. The state wants to keep some of the burden off the localities.

He said it was the biggest state increase for public schools he had seen.

Frankly, its about time, Brads said.

Overall, Culpeper County government will benefit from the state and federal windfall for fiscal 2023, County Adminstrator John Egertson told the Board of Supervisors in brief remarks after Brads presentation.

The countys $211.4 million budget, including debt and capital improvements plan, is a nearly 21 percent increase over the current fiscal year, largely due to all the extra school money.

It also includes $1.7 million over fiscal 2022 in state and federal Department of Homeland Security funding and $4 million in general-fund support for general government.

The county general fund grew that much due to increased local revenue, Egerston said.

It means the county property-tax rate will remain level in fiscal 2023, including real estate at 55cents per every $100 of assessed valuation. Culpeper recently did away with its transient occupancy tax on lodging, as well as its $20 vehicle fee.

A public hearing on the county budget and tax rate will be held April 19, with budget adoption slated for May 4.

I think were in really good shape, Egertson said. He did not wear a leprechauns hat.

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All four crew members of a U.S. Marine Corps aircraft, which crashed in northern Norway Friday night, were killed, the Norwegian Armed Forces confirmed on Saturday.

"The police in Nordland County now confirm that the crew of four have died. As far as the police know, the four are of American nationality," said a press release from the Norwegian Armed Forces.

"Apart from the crew, there were no other people on board the Osprey," it said, referring to the aircraft Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey which crashed on a training mission in the ongoing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercise dubbed "Cold Response" scheduled from March 10 to April 10.

The circumstances of the accident have yet to be clarified. According to the Norwegian Armed Forces, the Cold Response exercise will go on as planned.

"It has now sadly been confirmed that the crew on board the American aircraft died in the accident," said Norwegian Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen in the press release.

Cold Response, dubbed the largest Norwegian-led military exercise since the Cold War, involves 30,000 military personnel, 220 aircraft, and over 50 vessels from NATO countries.




When Marylander Chris Haley drives south to visit family in the Carolinas and Georgia, he always finds himself thinking of other relatives as he transits Virginia on Interstate 95.

He remembers his uncle Alex, and the story he brought to light about their ancestor, Kunta Kinte, a man abducted in Gambia, Africa, taken to Annapolis, Md., and enslaved in Spotsylvania County, Va. Haley shared those memories in an interview Friday.

On Tuesday, in a virtual discussion hosted by Germanna Community College, hell share more about his famous uncle, whose novel Roots and resulting TV miniseries prompted millions to research their own family histories and discuss the tough stuff of American history, including slavery.

The free conversation at 6:30 p.m. March 22 is open to all; registration at germanna.edu is required. Also on the panel will be Dr. Charles L. Chavis Jr., director of African and African American Studies at George Mason University. Dr. Scott Ackerman, a history professor at Germanna, will moderate.

Roots was a revelation, which people have been talking about ever since, Haley said. Before it, this history was shunted aside. Thats why what my uncle did was so amazing.

Alex Haley, who also wrote The Autobiography of Malcolm X, was credited by The New York Times in 2021 with no less than having taught America about race.

His nephew, Chris, is the Maryland State Archives research director for the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland project. He was a teen when Roots hit the airwaves in 1977, but its powerful impression on him is still fresh. Like millions, Haley stayed up for eight nights watching the drama on ABC about seven generations of a single African American familyhis own.

For me, watching it was an out-of-body experience. ... This was based on my ancestors, Haley recalled. ... It was like watching a cinematic version of an aspect of your life.

The next day, everywhere, Roots was peoples water-cooler chatter. It became huge, all of a sudden, he said.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Haley now lives in Prince Georges County, Md.

He said Roots changed peoples perception that having kin who were enslaved, or being of mixed race, were things to be ashamed of.

Accept your heritage, Haley said. Do not let it diminish you. Use it as a springboard to whatever direction you want to go, to empower you. Roots sparked a real shift in that thinking.

Roots showed you can be proud of your background, just by surviving it and pursuing joy in everyday life with your friends, children, community and fellowship.

At its heart, his uncles book was a family story about a boy trying to become a man, trying to make his father and grandparents proud, he said.

Everyone can relate to that, regardless of what family you were born into or the challenges you face, he said.

Roots promoted the idea that the way you share that history is by talking about it, speaking about your story to your spouse or younger child, talking about who your father or grandparents were, so that can be passed along, he said.

He urged talking with family members at holiday meals, reunions or funerals, and asking for letters or photos that include them. Talk about that person and what they meant to you, he said. Thats how that person stays alive.

Roots ended up helping everyone think this is worth doing, for people to know who came before them, regardless of your ethnic background, national origin, religious affiliation or what have you, Haley said. It is a universal story of people who have fathers, mothers, grandparents, uncles and cousins.

After acting on Broadway and at Universal Studios in Orlando, Haley sought to learn historical research methods and landed at the Maryland State Archives. Haley and his team have spent years building Marylands slavery database, opening windows into the past for thousands of people.

Haley is aware some have speculated Kunta Kinte was a fictional character, but he is confident the story is real, centered on his ancestors life in Africa and on the Waller plantation in Spotsylvania.

About 20 years ago, he visited the plantations site with two researchers, exploring what they believed was the Waller familys slave cemetery where Kinte is buried. Alex Haley and LeVar Burton, the actor who portrayed Kinte in Roots, visited the graveyard in the 1970s.

Several years ago, a member of the Waller family contacted him to inquire about holding a Haley and Waller family reunion, he said. The idea didnt go anywhere.

It wasnt for me to decide, he said. Haley deferred the proposal to his father and uncle George, the family patriarchs, and Alexs children. His father died 10 years ago, George in 2015.

Haley and his kin post items regularly on Facebooks Alex Haley Family page.

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Here we are, the last day of what is for many St. Patricks week. It is the highlight of what each U.S. president since 1991 has proclaimed Irish American Heritage Month.

For centuries, Irish Americans have played a crucial role in helping define the soul of this nation. Nationally, nearly one in 10 Americans proudly trace their roots back to the Emerald Isle. With hope and faith in their hearts, the first immigrants from Ireland crossed the Atlantic in search of liberty and opportunity. Locally, 12% of the people claimed Irish heritage in the latest census.

In Ireland St. Patricks is a national holiday, celebrating the bringing of the gospel to Ireland and the subsequent conversion of the people for over 1,000 years. On this day Ireland looks inwards and outwards, celebrating Irish identity and communicating it to other peoples. The holiday is a powerful symbol of Irelands religious traditions and of contemporary society.

It also has a remarkable outreach to the Irish abroad, to their host societies and to the wider world. In recent years these dimensions have been projected even more strongly by a growing internationalization of Irelands economic, cultural and political life. This is fully reflected today in the spread of ministerial involvement with Irish communities abroadand in the rapid flow of world politics to the European Union. The Taoiseach, (Prime Minister) traditionally meets with the U.S. president in the White House during this time, as well as other Irish dignitaries.

But what about here? Why is St. Patricks such a big deal to the Irish in America? Without going into the history of such times as Cromwells genocide, the genocide by starvation of the 19th century, the Irish have an eight-centuries-long history of ill treatment and enslavement in the their own land. For the most part they came here in exile, either by force or later by choicebut exile nevertheless, seeking a better life.

Unfortunately, many of them were not treated well here either. The Scots-Irish were relegated to the outlands and the hills while others were left to serve masters. They brought the traditions from these conditions with them to help cope.

One such of these is the wearing of the green on St. Patricks Day. This was a symbol of national unity in Ireland that was banned by British law, along with their language, their religion and their customs. Those living in Colonial America brought the wearing of the green here to display that national pride in somewhat more freedom.

As their number grew in the colonies, they sought to demonstrate that although now American, they still had a heart for the national identity and began to celebrate and have parades, such as the one in New York City, beginning in 1762.

The Irish overcame much tribulation, discrimination and violence here in the U.S., but have stuck it out and prevailed, becoming one of the strongest groups to build this country, to fight for it and to die for it. In all this they never lost sight of their identity, and this month, especially on St. Patricks Day, that identity is celebrated.

We can all, during tumultuous times, look to Irish Americans as a group that through it all, held onto their own identity, celebrated their culture together and with others, while honoring those of other cultures at the same time. The term Irish-American is accurate because they remain completely Irish and completely American at the same time.

War in Europe has hopefully helped us see what really matters, and whatever group or groups we belong to, we should know that we can be completely that, and completely united as Americans at the same time.

Tim Cotton lives in Orange County and is the National Political Director of the Alliance Party. The views he expresses are his own, and not necessarily the opinion of the Alliance Party.
As meat prices continue to soar in the US, Goshen County residents Mark and Erin Estes and Erins parents, Dale and Trenda Weisshaar decided to step in and help local consumers a chance at getting meat at comparable prices with opening of Off the Hook meat facility.

Mark and Dale are working partners, and Trenda is a CPA in Torrington who is providing the business with her accounting expertise and Erin is a teacher at Lingle-Fort Laramie School but helps in the business as needed and has attended many trainings. Dale, a retired electrical journeyman lineman, is ready for this new adventure. Mark is a Goshen County native who believes in the sustainability of local food systems and has a background in fabrication.

Our region produces some of the best livestock in the nation, so we are very proud to make it available to local consumers for a fair price, said Estes. We have lists of local producers as well as people looking to purchase shares of animals  we would love to add your name to either of those lists and help residents get in touch with the right people.

Goshen County Economic Development helped the family get their start in finding an appropriate place for their business, the build was completed December 2021.

We started out this process with Cold Springs Industrial Business Park and they helped us secure the property, Estes commented. It is a perfect piece of land because the location is out of town  providing enough room for trucks and trailers to pull through our corrals to off-load animals. We slaughter all our animals in our building but, having live animals outside of town makes the process easier.

We would not be open today if it werent for the help of Goshen County Economic Development, he added. They have helped us with our business plan, securing land, providing grant money, and answering questions along the way.

Off the Hook is a licensed custom exempt facility and will work with state inspection once they get their feet under them in beginning the business.

We offer slaughtering and processing of domestic livestock including beef, pork, lamb and goats, Estes said. The State Department of Agriculture oversees butcher shops, and the division of Consumer Health Services has been tremendously helpful in providing resources, training, and information as we have designed our facility and worked to meet the rigorous inspection protocols that are inherent in a butcher shop, he added.

The construction of the meat plant took about 12 months. The owners had to deal with several delays due to shortages of materials and supply chain issues, mostly because they started construction mid-pandemic.

Ken Farrier with Goshen County Construction is the general contractor, and the team appreciated his efforts hiring local contractors.

Mark and Dale spent a great deal of time touring butcher shops and talking to processors to design a building that would meet budget and processing objectives. The layout of the building was designed to prevent bottlenecks and create a product flow that is as efficient as possible. Another large consideration that was important is the cleaning work areas is a major daily task, so finding materials that were smooth, durable, and cleanable was a high priority for the owners.

Besides Mark and Dale, Off the Hook employs two others, Nate Bunning and Danny Brewer.

We are looking to hire more team members and as we grow, Estes said. One of our employees has many years of slaughtering experience that he is bringing to the team. We are excited about a few new potential employees who already have experience to offer. We have been to trainings at the University of Wyoming Meat Lab in Laramie as well as at another local processing plant, Bear Mountain Beef in LaGrange. Both Mark and Erin have attended training with the Department of Agriculture in food safety and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) Systems.

For now, Off the Hook is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. As the owners look to expand the business this summer to an on-site retail counter, it will have different hours with added employees.

We are very excited to expand our business this summer to an on-site retail counter that will showcase local livestock, Estes said. Right now, we are slaughtering and processing under a custom-exempt license, which means that we are fabricating a product for people who own shares of an animal.

The contact information for Off the Hook is 307-228-5067, online at www.offthehook307.com. You can also visit thier facility at 402 Cold Springs Ave. in Torrington.
The Scottsbluff High School diesel tech program began as a pilot program a year ago and is seeing growth in its second semester.

Cheyanne Marcy, community partner coordinator with Aulick Industries, told the Star-Herald that the program coordinates local diesel industry businesses that collaborate to offer training opportunities for a combined 20 SHS students. The six businesses, which usually are in competition with one another but partner for the SHS program, are: Aulick Industries, 21st Century Equipment, Floyds Truck Center, Inland Truck Parts Company, Murphy Tractor and Equipment Co. and Nebraska Machinery Company.

SHS Principal Justin Shaddick said the program was initiated when several business and industry partners expressed concern over the local labor shortage in the diesel technology industry.

As an educational institution that is proud of our community relationships and seeking to provide student opportunities, we began discussing how we could design a program to increase student interest and skill to create a steady stream of students entering the diesel technology labor market, he said.

The program has evolved into sessions lead by representatives of the community partners and concludes with roundtable interviews. Students are given a tour of the collaborating business before beginning their learning in the Derek Deaver Diesel shop or Triple Ds shop at Aulick Industries.

This is a space donated by Aulick Industries in recognition of Mr. Deaver ... for his efforts as a loyal SHS teacher to bring back skilled trades career pathways, Marcy said.

Marcy explained the students began the semester learning the importance of shop safety with Trevor Neumann of 21st Century Equipment and moved on to building wet kits with James Miller and Rory Schanaman of Aulick Industries. Tony Brown with Murphy Tractor expounded on the concept of hydraulic pumps and diesel engine components. Students are currently in the process of learning basic electrical systems lead by Travis Hedman of Inland Truck Parts. The final session will involve precision diagnostics of tractors and implements with power take-off activation lead by 21st Centurys James Hintergardt.

We go through an interview process at the end of the year to kind of get the kids warmed up to what its going to be like to go through an actual interview process, Neumann said.

Bob Sorok with Nebraska Machinery Company said the interview is in a roundtable format with representatives from each business partner in the diesel tech program.

I was completely blown away with how well some of these students did, he said. I mean, they were sharp with their resumes, they asked me questions and I asked them questions that they answered correctly. They were very well prepared and it was a really neat thing to see.

The building block program has established internships at partnering businesses for students to advance their knowledge. Both Neumann and Sorok said they have been impressed with the dedication and work ethic of the interns at their respective businesses. Both 21st Century and Nebraska Machinery Company have sponsorships available for students to their technical education programs. The SHS program is a segue for participating students to earn sponsorships from the six business partners or transition to the diesel tech program offered at WNCC in an effort to build the workforce in the Panhandle community.

Juniors from SHS working on basic electric systems in the Triple D shop Friday afternoon agreed the best part of the program was the no text books, hands-on learning aspect.

Kaden Carlson said the program gives amazing opportunities for our future in these companies. You can get a job right out of high school with (the partnering companies) doing things like this.

Christian Fees said that deciding what he liked most was a hard question.

Its all hands-on with no textbooks ... I am absolutely looking forward to next year.

Grace Hurd said she was really looking forward to the technology portion from 21st Century Equipment that will end the hands-on portion of the semester.

With 21st Century John Deere as well as NMC Cat, its not just turning wrenches and getting greasy and oily, Neumann said. There is a lot of computer work. What we do now on the technology side of things is incredible.

Both Neumann and Sorok described the work that Aulick Industries has done to advocate for the program and to donate their space and time as absolutely amazing.

I am extremely grateful to our business partners who took on roles providing instruction, equipment and facilities for our students to gain real-world experience that correlates to high-wage, high-demand occupations, Shaddick said. This has provided an amazing opportunity for our students and in turn, I hope it yields a productive workforce that will benefit our community and employers.

Nicole Heldt is a reporter with the Star-Herald, covering agriculture. She can be reached at 308-632-9044 or by email at nheldt@starherald.com.

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LINCOLN  Between Feb. 17 and March 2, Nebraska high school students competed across the state during regional Envirothon competitions demonstrating natural resources knowledge by identifying trees and animal tracks, calculating the number of steers on rangeland, and determining soil structure.

The winning teams from each Envirothon region as well as eight wildcards  selected based on their competition scores  qualify to compete at state. Out of the 75 teams that competed, this years state qualifiers include:

Regional winners: Southeast - Norris 2, Mid-Plains - Dawson County Envirothon Club, Central - St. Paul 1, Metro - Concordia 1 (Omaha), Western - Chadron, Northeast - Burwell.

Wildcard winners: Milford 1, Omaha Hoenry Doorly Zoo Academy (AMP), Tri-County 1, Loup City 1, Loup City 2, Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo Academy (Children of the Corn), Tri-County 2, St. Paul 2.

Traditionally, Nebraskas six regional Envirothon competitions are hosted in conjunction with district agriculture education contests. High school students compete on five-member teams in seven environmental areas including: soils, aquatics, forestry, wildlife, range, policy and a current environmental issue.

Qualifying teams will compete at the State Envirothon on April 27, at Camp Comeca near Cozad. During the state competition, teams compete in hands-on environmental testing stations as well as prepare and deliver an oral problem-solving presentation focusing on Waste to Resources.

The Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) Foundation awards cash prizes to the top three teams at the state competition: first place - $1,500, second place: $1,000, and third place: $500.

Learn more about the Nebraska Envirothon at www.nrdnet.org/nebraska-envirothon.

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As a freshman in college, Robert Gleim began to pursue a career path in education, but he soon realized teaching was not for him. That led him to a career as a police officer where he gets to engage with the public and youth.

Gleim, who grew up in Brighton, Colorado, had moved to Greeley to complete his undergraduate studies when one of his friends had been attending a citizens police academy hosted by a local police department. He asked Gleim if he wanted to come and it resulted in him changing his career plans.

I said, Ill try it and see how it goes, he said of the academy. I went and I invited my dad. Both of us attended the citizens police academy in Evans and after that, I just fell in love with the job and everything it entailed.

Gleim returned to the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, declaring a new major in criminal justice. As part of the program, Gleim completed an internship with the Evans Police Department for six months. He went on ride alongs and worked the three different shifts  morning, day and night to better understand the responsibilities.

During his internship, Gleim said he thought, 'This is a sweet job. I cant wait to get into this field.'

Following graduation, Gleim moved to Gering to join the Gering Police Department and completed the states police academy. Most Nebraska departments pay officers to attend the academy and their wages while they are at the academy. Officers in Colorado had to pay between $16,000 to $20,000 to attend the academy while also not receiving a paycheck during that time. That difference drove Gleim to choose Nebraska to launch his career.

As an officer, one challenge Gleim regularly faces is the difference in attitude toward police officers versus teachers. While teachers are usually liked, that is not the general consensus toward cops. Initially, he entered the workforce as a patrol officer with the Gering Police Department in 2014, eager to make a difference.

During his field training officer (FTO) period, he experienced his first drunken driving arrest.

That was a big first for me. We had our first driving pursuit, our first foot pursuit. I had a lot of firsts in my FTO and they were big eye openers like Im really a cop at this point.

After gaining a grasp on his job as a patrol officer, Gleim traveled to Lincoln to complete a two weeks-long School Resource Officer (SRO) training program where he learned the applicable laws governing an SROs actions.

Gleim serves as an SRO for Gering Public Schools, spending the majority of his time at Gering High School. However, he does occasionally make trips to Northfield Elementary, during lockdown drills and when needed. As an SRO, Gleim said his goal is to build relationships and a repertoire with the students.

It makes my job easier, the more students I have on my side, he said. Theyre willing to talk to me and tell me stuff.

When he first began working in the schools, Gleim said it was a challenge not knowing any of the students. With no trust yet established, he learned of criminal violations after the fact, which made his job of obtaining information in investigations harder. Now, the students respect him and offer insights to potential situations, allowing Gleim to be more proactive than reactive.

Ive met so many more people as an SRO than as just a patrol officer, he said. Me, not being from here, I pretty much just met the people who I arrested. Now, Ive met all of the teachers and a lot more relationships have been built.

Since first putting on a badge, his approach to situations has changed from being more black and white to more gray.

Ive learned there are many ways to use your officer discretion. Theres not just handcuffing and arresting suspects and taking them to jail, Gleim said. There are other options.

In addition to his roles as a patrol officer and SRO, Gleim is the departments emergency vehicle operations instructor, so he conducts the pursuit driving and day-to-day driving training as well as going through policy with the departments officer and setting up a driving course roughly every few months.

The only thing Id say you struggle with in setting up the course is the cones, Gleim said. My courses are usually 400 to 500 cones and you have to move all of the cones to each spot and you have to have each cone a certain width apart.

The course must also contain various obstacles like stop-and-go sections and reverse serpentine into a backing garage sections, which he enjoys. However, developing a new course gets harder over time as he tries to not duplicate a previous one.

They say half of all accidents are when people are backing up, so I always have a reverse section as well.

When school is out for the summer or on a break, Gleim fulfills his duties as a patrol officer.

Its like the perfect job because you have three to four months at a time where youre just strictly a SRO and then you have random school days where the school days have off, so I can go do traffic stops, he said. The SRO position is a pretty good all around position.

Gleim will celebrate his eighth year with Gering PD on July 7 and looks forward to fostering more relationships with students and the community.

If anyone wants to talk with me at any time of the day, Id be more than happy to talk to them, Gleim said. Im a cop, but Im a normal person as well.

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When Jim Lawson was a child in Mitchell, he had two dreams he wanted to accomplish. He wanted to become a Scotts Bluff County deputy sheriff and he wanted to become a firefighter. Over the course of his life, hes been able to achieve both of his dreams and watch his family follow in his footsteps.

Jim joined the Gering Fire Department almost 51 years ago. He had recently gotten married and moved to the city, where he had been working at a department store there. A delivery driver to the store sponsored his department application. Jim was officially voted in as a firefighter on May 11, 1971.

During his years of firefighting, Jim has served as a first responder in several other positions. He worked as a dispatcher for six years, a deputy sheriff for eight, and a criminal investigator for a dozen. He was a drug investigator for two more years. He is most known as a former sheriff of Scotts Bluff County, serving for three terms.

All here at the place I wanted to work  working both of your dreams simultaneously? Oh, Ive been blessed, he said.

Jim isnt the only firefighter in the Lawson family. His son, Jamy Lawson, and grandson, Andrew Lawson, also joined. Jamy has been with the Gering department for 27 years.

I grew up around it. I remember coming down here all the time when I was a kid. Back then, kids were around here all the time  I figured that was probably what I was going to do, Jamy said.

Andrew, meanwhile, never volunteered in Gering. He was with the Scottsbluff Rural Fire Department for two years. Now that he has moved to Kimball, he is working to become a firefighter there.

Neither Jim nor Jamy particularly pushed for their sons to become firefighters; it was just something that happened. Both of the younger Lawsons have other first responder positions as well. Jamy works as a county dispatcher and his father said he always felt comfortable knowing he was on the other end of the line. Andrew serves as a police officer in Kimball.

There are around 30 to 40 firefighters at the Gering station, a similar number as there were back when his father joined, according to Jamy.

We have some really well-trained firefighters, Jamy said. Probably some of the best in the state, in my opinion.

Since the 1950s, six Gering firefighters have served as the president of the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighters Association  including Jim Lawson during the 1990s.

I used to be the first one up the ladder, first one out of the door with a pack on, first one with an axe, first one to drive the truck. But thats 50 years ago and I can feel the 50 years, so to speak, he said.

Still, Jim does what he can now such as cooking food for the firefighters, cleaning the station, maintaining the trucks. Theres always something to do, he said. Hee likes to support the newer recruits as best he can.

Jamy said he wants to at least get to 30 years with the department. Father and son were both recognized a few years ago for a combined 75 years of service. Recently, the department honored Jim with a special golden axe in honor of his 50 years; he had it installed in his office this week.

Over the years, the elder Lawsons have had their share of memorable experiences. Jim said one of the first fires he faced occurred at the Minatare lumber yard. He remembers he had to learn how to operate the fire engine as he drove over there to combat it. One of Jamys first structure fires was actually at Andrews grandparents house, long before Andrew had been born. The pair can list off fires theyve fought over the years like they just happened recently.

Listening to his father and grandfather talk about their experiences helped Andrew determine what careers he wanted to follow.

I figured those were some pretty interesting or pretty cool stories, he said, and someday, when I have kids, I want to be able to tell them some stories of my own.

He said that while fires are extremely dangerous, fighting them with other people makes for tight bonds and long-lasting memories.

Things have changed significantly in the years since Jim and Jamy joined the department. New technology has been introduced, as have new protocols.

The old saying was Put the wet stuff on the red stuff, but now theres so many different levels, Jim said.

Different certification levels and command structures make things complicated, but they also increase the ability for mutual aid between various departments.

Early in his firefighting career, for example, new certifications were unrolled to teach firefighters advanced emergency medical training. Jim was among 10 Gering firefighters who signed up to take the training; he was license number six across the entire state of Nebraska. Of all the firefighters he served alongside at the beginning of his career, hes now the only one still working as a volunteer.

He said he holds his fellow volunteers in high regard.

Guys like that didnt set the bar, they were the bar, he said.

Firefighting is a tight-knit community, Andrew said. Everybody knows what everybody else has gone through, and theres never any reason not to stop training.

Thank goodness theres people out there who want to volunteer, Jim added. If theres anything I wouldve changed, I think I wouldve fibbed about my age so I could join sooner.

The Lawsons are not the only family of firefighters in Gering. There are fathers and sons, grandfathers and granddaughters, even members whose firefighting history goes back generations longer. As Jim, Jamy and Andrew all say, firefighting takes a commitment.

Even once youve got to 50 years  theres always a reason to go out and try to better yourself each time because it makes your community a little safer, Andrew said.  It is definitely what I would call a family because its about helping each other through everything that we can.

Jim said another one of his grandsons wants to be a firefighter when he grows up, too. For some families, their dedication runs deep.

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As war rages on the doorsteps of our NATO allies, the United States is weighing the best path forward to provide additional support to Ukraine and hold Vladimir Putin accountable. The destruction and bloodshed in Ukraine are tragic, and I was moved by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys joint address to Congress earlier this week. I was pleased when the House took action on a bill for which Ive been advocating to revoke Russias trade privileges, a vote which President Biden and Democrats in Congress needlessly delayed. The world needs strong, decisive leadership from the United States, and President Zelenskyy has made it clear time is of the essence.

With my support, Congress has answered President Zelenskyys calls for additional humanitarian and security assistance by passing legislation to provide $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine. That same measure also provided additional resources to support our national security, increasing defense investments by roughly 6 percent.

While Europes most significant conflict in more than 75 years continues, security concerns around the globe remain as Americas adversaries in other parts of the world continue to look for vulnerabilities as well. As the free world rallies in support of Ukraine, other aggressors have taken the opportunity to escalate their postures.

In March, China announced a 7.1% increase in its military budget. This increase outpaces Chinas 2022 GDP growth rate target and continues Chinas aggressive trend of increased military investments, nearly tripling their military spending over the last decade. The Chinese Communist Partys denial of the independence of Taiwan is rightly another concern as China continues to seek any advantage it can toward reclaiming the island territory.

North Korea has fired or attempted to fire 14 missiles during ten rounds of launch tests in 2022 alone. Despite the failure of the most recent launch, North Koreas ambition to develop missiles capable of reaching the U.S. is a serious threat and should be treated as such.

On March 13th, an Iranian missile barrage hit near the U.S. consulate in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Thankfully, there were no American casualties, and the consulate itself was not struck, but the attack is clearly an attempt by Iran to test our country and our leaders.

The Iranian missile strike also raises more concerns about the trajectory of the Biden administrations ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran. Reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has been one of President Bidens most misguided foreign policy priorities. Iran is negotiating while continuing its malign practices. Congress should rigorously utilize our oversight capabilities to ensure we are not further empowering our adversaries.

As the world grows more dangerous, we must provide our military and defense experts the resources they need to ensure America has a strong defense posture at home and abroad. The interests of freedom are being tested, and America must stand firm against those who challenge us and our allies.
Better education gives wings to children in Xinjiang's remote areas

Xinhua) 09:09, March 20, 2022

* After a six-hour journey, a yellow school bus took 11-year-old Ayizmal Mirzjan and her friends to their boarding school in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

* Easy as it seems today, the 250-km trip used to take several days on a horse or camel.

* In 2008, Taxkorgan adopted a school policy whereby all the students enjoy free education for up to 15 years from kindergarten to high school. The development of education in the county epitomizes that in Xinjiang as a whole.

URUMQI, March 19 (Xinhua) -- One day ahead of the spring semester, 11-year-old Ayizmal Mirzjan and her friends left their home village deep in the mountains of the Pamir Plateau for school.

It was the first time that the students boarded a standard yellow school bus, the same as the ones they saw in movies. After a six-hour journey, the bus took the little passengers to their boarding school at the county seat.

Easy as it seems today, the 250-km trip used to take several days on a horse, camel or motorcycle.

Students receive body temperature checks and get masks before taking a school bus in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

Upon the departure, Ayizmal Mirzjan's cousin Zyatm Mayir took a selfie by the school bus and posted the picture on social media. "If only I could be as young as Ayizmal Mirzjan and go to school by such a comfortable school bus," she wrote on her WeChat account.

SCHOOL ON HORSEBACK

Ayizmal Mirzjan's village Reskam, which means "land with ores" in the Tajik language, is a border village located in the southwesternmost part of the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

At an altitude of over 3,000 meters, with several major rivers and mountains stretching through, the village used to see its residents' settlements scattered in a dozen of relatively inhabitable valleys.

The complex landscape had restrained the accessibility to education for the children of Reskam for generations, including elder members of Ayizmal Mirzjan's family.

Aerial photo shows a school bus running on the mountain road in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

Jamlhan Yantonghan is a retired teacher in Reskam. Having worked in the village for over 30 years, Jamlhan Yantonghan called himself a mobile "primary school on horseback."

There was a time when he had to travel on a horse all across the vast pasture, visited the scattered households from door to door, found as many students as he could, and gathered them for class. Their classroom could be in a yurt, on a grassland, or even by a cliff.

It was not until the 1980s that the village established a proper school with classrooms and dormitories, Jamlhan Yantonghan recalled.

The school ignited a passion for education among Reskam's students. However, it soon occurred to the villagers that access to quality and modern education still seemed out of reach in such a remote village.

In 2008, Taxkorgan adopted a school policy whereby all the students enjoy free education for up to 15 years from kindergarten to high school, and students from fourth to sixth grade can attend the boarding school in the county seat.

Aerial photo shows a school bus running on a bridge in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

PAVING A WAY TO SCHOOL

However, the road to school has always been challenging for Reskam's students.

Over 20 years ago, Ayizmal Mirzjan's father attended the school in Reskam, which only gave lessons up to sixth grade. Like most of his peers, he did not continue with his education afterward.

Even five years ago, as Chen Jingquan, an officer at a police station along the route to the county seat recalled, once when a snow disaster struck, the students had to get out of the car and trekked 18 km across the snow-capped mountain peak, and then got in another car waiting for them at the other side.

Having escorted thousands of students over the past eight years, Chen knows all too well the difficulties: students had to navigate a perilous journey -- two 5,000-meter-high mountain peaks, a single-lane way built on the cliff right along the roaring Yarkand River, and snowfields -- before making their way to school.

Thanks to a construction project with an investment of 1 billion yuan (about 157.7 million U.S. dollars) in 2019, the road to and from the county seat has been renovated, while a tunnel that bypasses the two mountain peaks is scheduled to open to traffic by the end of this year.

Children prepare to leave their home for a boarding school, in Reskam village of the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Feb. 24, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

Now, with 14 school buses put into operation this year, students in Taxkorgan can enjoy safe and comfortable journeys free of charge, which their past generations could hardly imagine.

OUT OF THE MOUNTAINS, AND BEYOND

In the past eight years, the county has invested more than 200 million yuan to improve school conditions. The enrollment rate of primary and secondary schools in Taxkorgan has increased from 75 percent in 2006 to 100 percent at present, and the university admission rate surged from 48 percent to 100 percent in 2021.

In addition to free schooling and dining, the 2,669 students in Ayizmal Mirzjan's boarding primary school can now have classes simultaneously with students from developed places of the country via a distance education system.

The development of education in Reskam epitomizes that in Xinjiang as a whole. The vast region has numerous towns and villages just like Reskam, where daily commutes between home and school would be very difficult for some students.

Therefore, attending a boarding school has become a common practice for students, and it is up to students' parents to decide whether to board or not. This education system not only ensures the quality of education but also eases the burdens on parents.

"Now, there are more ways out for children, and their ideas and horizons have been greatly broadened," Jamlhan Yantonghan said. "The saying that knowledge can change your fate will never go out of date."

Apart from free transportation and schooling, local education authorities also organize free vacation activities to broaden the students' horizons. Each year, 70 to 100 students from Taxkorgan, especially its remote villages, are taken on a summer camp to Shenzhen, a metropolis in south China, according to Molahabifu, deputy director of Taxkorgan's education bureau.

The children have become more confident and outgoing, said Molahabifu, adding that some are still in touch with their peers in Shenzhen years after the summer camp.

Aerial photo shows the Taxkorgan Airport under construction in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Feb. 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

In June this year, the construction of the Taxkorgan Airport, the highest-altitude airport in Xinjiang, is scheduled to complete, connecting the students to an even wider world.

Wang Lu, who has been teaching in Taxkorgan for 10 years, has noticed that with better education and more opportunities, students in Taxkorgan now dare to dream bigger.

"Ten years ago, most of the children would only think about being a shepherd or getting married and starting a family when talking about future. Now, their dreams have become as colorful as being an athlete, a model, even an astronaut," said Wang.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Bianji)
Moscow, March 20 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed on Saturday "the unacceptable nature of the military-biological activities of the United States in Ukraine" in a phone conversation with Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, the Kremlin said in a statement.



Such activities pose a huge danger to both Russia and the whole Europe, Putin was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.



The two leaders discussed Russia's military operation in Ukraine, and Putin noted the missile attacks by the Ukrainian security forces on cities in Donbass, said the statement.



Bettel said that "we must put an end to" the conflict, and "no one stands to gain from these clashes; not Russia, not Europe and certainly not Ukraine," according to a statement on the official website of the Luxembourg government.



Bettel briefed Putin on contacts with leaders of Ukraine and other countries, and Putin outlined his assessments of the Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, the statement added.



The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday asked Washington to provide all information on the activities of the alleged US-linked biological laboratories in Ukraine.



Last week, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland testified before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Ukraine, admitting "Ukraine has biological research facilities."
When Brittany Lovely, 31, of Kelso met an adviser her first year at college, the recently incarcerated felon said she opened up for the first time since prison about life before her enrollment into Lower Columbia College.

The adviser took notes on what Lovely said  not about what she had done before joining the Longview college, but about who she is: The words resilient, resourceful, determined filled the advisers page.

The interaction was the first time Lovely said someone looked beyond her questionable past, and saw the person she struggled to see herself.

At school, I found a community who supported and believed in me before I believed in myself, Lovely said.

For seven years, the Lower Columbia College Foundation and The Daily News have raised emergency grant funds for students like Lovely who are at higher risk of dropping out due to financial hardships. Lovely said she used her grant to pay for her first college classes and books when she enrolled after leaving prison just months earlier.

Sunday through May 1, people can contribute to the Students in Need campaign to ensure more students like Lovely receive a second chance through education. The 2022 donation goal is $35,000.

Last year we set a $25,000 goal and you, our generous community, shattered it by donating over $34,000, said The Daily News Regional President Dave Cuddihy. This year, we think we can beat that again. We are thrilled to partner with the LCC Foundation for our annual Students in Need fundraiser. Each year, we look forward to doing our part so no student is prevented from bettering themselves because of the cost of fuel, books or any other obstacle.

2022 Students in Need What: This annual fundraiser supports emergency grants for Lower Columbia College students most at-risk for leaving higher education because of a lack of finances. Goal: $35,000 in donations. How to donate: Visit www.tdn.com/students.

Key to reentry

Today, Lovely works for a state policy reform center in Olympia. She has a bachelors degree from Washington State University Vancouver, and previously worked for the Washington State House of Representatives.

About eight years earlier, life was a stark contrast for the Kelso High School graduate. Lovely was sentenced to roughly 1.5 years in prison for a felony drug charge. Addiction and trauma consumed her life as a young adult, Lovely said. Classes werent a priority for her in high school.

When she left prison after about a year, a volunteer instructor with the Washington State Department of Corrections drove Lovely to Lower Columbia College to meet an adviser. The act of kindness propelled Lovely on an educational path she said changed her life  and also defied DOC rules.

As a coordinator for the Washington Statewide Reentry Council  created by the Legislature in 2016 to help people reenter communities after incarceration  Lovely said she works to change such rules and close gaps she experienced.

That soft hand off to the community is key to reentry, she said.

Change your life

Lovely still lives in her hometown of Kelso and works remotely. Lower Columbia College students tend to stay close to home. The school reports more than half the students enrolled in the 2020-21 school year lived at least within an hour of campus.

Like Lovely, most Lower Columbia College students do not enroll immediately after high school. The average student age is 30, according to a report from the 2020-21 school year. The school says 44% of students enrolled last school year were considered economically disadvantaged.

The Daily News Regional President Cuddihy said he recognizes the schools local impact, and need for the Students in Need campaign.

LCC plays such a critical role in educating and training a skilled workforce here in our community, Cuddihy said. This is one fundraiser we all can come together and help ensure the needs of the students are met.

Unlike typical scholarships, the money provided through Students in Need doesnt just cover academic expenses. Students can pay for emergency housing, child care and transportation fees. The Lower Columbia College Foundation was founded in 1976 to make up where public funds fall short.

Lovely found support from an LCC office called TRiO that offers tutoring and counseling for low-income, disabled or first-generation college students. The federal government funds this office, where Lovely also worked while studying public affairs and justice in Vancouver after her LCC graduation in 2017. She graduated in the top of her WSU class in 2020.

This year, Lovely was one of six people recognized by the board of Washingtons 30 community and technical colleges for her transformation after pursuing higher education. The woman who said she once felt her past would prevent her from fitting in on a college campus, encourages others to take the first step toward their envisioned life by focusing on education.

If anyone is hesitant about their ability to attend a community or technical college, push that doubt away, Lovely wrote in a piece about her journey. There is always a place for you with someone to meet you where youre at and cheer you on as you succeed. Education can and will change your life.

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The Port of Longview has received an additional $2.5 million in federal funding for its rail expansion project.

The money for the Industrial Rail Corridor Expansion comes from the federal omnibus spending bill signed by President Biden on Tuesday.

Sen. Maria Cantwell helped shepherd the money for the port project into place as congressionally directed spending. Cantwell toured the Port of Longview in August to discuss the importance of the project for the area.

Solving our supply chain challenges demands new infrastructure to move freight efficiently. Thats why the Port of Longviews rail expansion project will deliver new on-dock rail capacity, Cantwell stated in a press release earlier this week.

The rail corridor expansion adds two new rail tracks and extends the two current tracks going through the port. The project will provide significant increase to the ports train capacity, which could help attract new tenants and more business.

The total cost for the expansion is estimated to be around $85 million and would be concluded in 2027. The Port of Longview received $16.5 million in November from a federal infrastructure grant.

Port communications director Dale Lewis said $10 million of the ports money already has been spent on the project. Lewis said the port plans to keep pushing for additional funds from the state Legislature and members of Congress to support the project.

We can apply to (Sen. Patty) Murray or (Rep. Jaime) Herrera Beutler for more Congressionally directed money later, and we will be, Lewis said.

Congressionally directed spending is the new version of earmarking, where members of Congress can choose the specific projects in their district that will see federal benefits. The earmarking process has been absent from Congress since the late 2000s before it returned this year in a modified form.

The port expansion was the largest of three projects in Longview to receive funding through the federal omnibus bill. The bill also directed $292,000 to the Longview Police Department to hire mental health staff for its crisis intervention team and $200,000 to conduct a feasibility study to expand or improve Longviews turning basin on the Columbia River.

A count of projects by Cantwells office shows that $14 million was provided to Southwest Washington by the omnibus spending bill. In total, Washington received $51.7 million for 40 projects.

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NASA has no more shuttles to send. But SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin do.

Russia insists that its going to bring the U.S. astronaut home. The rest is just warmongering rumor. Mark Vande Hei, whos about to break the American record for longest time in orbit, will depart the International Space Station as scheduled on aboard a Soyuz spacecraft on March 30 and land in Kazakhstan, whence NASA will fly him to U.S. soil.

Lets assume this is true. Lets believe Dimitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, who now says he was only joking when he posted a video suggesting that Vande Hei would be left behind.(1) Lets assume that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has not recently shown the slightest respect for international law, will behave sensibly in this instance. Even if Vande Hei returns safely, the volume of space travel is growing. Sooner or later, someone will wind up stranded.

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If that happens, theres a better chance than ever that humankind can mount a successful rescue.

First things first: To refuse to help a stranded astronaut would constitute a grave violation of international law  more specifically, of the law of outer space. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the 1968 Rescue and Return Agreement obligate parties to treat each others astronauts not as foreign nationals but as envoys of mankind. Parties, which include the U.S. and Russia, must assist those facing emergencies and facilitate their safe return to their own countries. And if parties must help in emergencies, they certainly cant cause the emergency in the first place, as would happen if the Soyuz refused to let Vande Hei board. Nevertheless, with regular flights to the ISS, and space tourism growing, the issue of someone being left behind in space isnt going to disappear.

In fact, the likelihood is growing. In a few years, NASA will stop periodically boosting the ISS to maintain its orbit and allow it to burn up in the atmosphere. In its place, several private companies (along with India and China) expect to build space stations. NASA plans to use them as jumping-off points to send piloted missions to the Moon and Mars.

And perhaps beyond.

In short, between the commercial tourists, the space station crews, and, before too long, the private mining teams, there will soon be an awful lot of people up there. If a group gets stuck, we Earthlings will have to go get them.

The prospect of a mission to recover stranded space travelers evokes the can-do glitter of hard science fiction. Yet if the prospect is sci-fi, its less The Martian  a team of brilliant government scientists firing off government rockets  than it is The Man Who Sold the Moon  Robert Heinleins prescient 1950 novella about space travel developed by private industry rather than government.

Why? Because the last space shuttle retired in 2011. Even if NASA possesses the capacity to launch a rescue vehicle, NASA possesses no vehicle to launch.

On the other hand, in addition to the Russian Soyuz and a few other government-owned spacecraft, there exist private vehicles galore. Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and Space-X all made flights to outer space last year. Boeing is pressing ahead with its Starliner program, although nobody can quite say when the much-delayed capsule will be ready. Plenty of other companies plan to get into the business. (Not, alas, Pan Am.) In short, should anyone wind up stranded, whether by accident or on purpose, more options exist today than ever before.

Critics complain that space tourism is only for the uber-rich and is bad for the environment. Maybe so. But its not the fault of private industry that the U.S. is on the verge of abandoning space. And if were going to keep sending people up there  and I hope we are  more rescue options are better than fewer.

Again, consider the current moment. When Rogozin posted his video suggesting that Vande Hei might be left on the ISS, Elon Musk responded that the Dragon Crew vehicle used by Space-X could swiftly be ready to go. When the U.S. announced plans to sanction Roscosmos, the ever-chatty Rogozin was swift to troll President Biden on Twitter: If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from uncontrolled deorbiting and falling into the United States or Europe? The answer to Rogozins mocking question is: anybody who docks there. A spacecraft from any private vendor bringing people or supplies could easily carry enough extra fuel to give the space station a boost as needed.

Ive long worried that weve lost our ability to gaze at the cosmos and lose ourselves in wonder. Our addiction to screens trains us to look down rather than up. If not for the war, I suspect that few Americans would even be aware of the record Vande Hei is about to break. His heroism in the cause of science and exploration, if noticed at all, would have been swiftly forgotten.

We shouldnt wait for tragedy to celebrate the joy of exploration. And although it feels strange to type these words, as the government retreats from regular space travel Im grateful that private industry is filling the gap.

(1) When Rogozin responded to international sanctions by promising that his agency would walk away from commitments to launch European vehicles from Equitorial Guinea, he turned out not to be joking.

Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of law at Yale University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His novels include The Emperor of Ocean Park, and his latest nonfiction book is Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster.
US regulators are toughening their stance on Chinese makers of spy cameras and other hardware.

US regulators are toughening their stance on Chinese makers of spy cameras and other hardware. By turning to an old playbook, though, Washington is diverting focus from the future and diminishing Americas ability to remain a global technology leader.

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday proposed a ban on use of certain telecommunications products and other electronics made by Chinese companies, including one of the worlds largest makers of surveillance cameras, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., and Dahua Technology Co. The order, which cites alleged national security risks, also seeks to forbid future U.S. sales and could revoke prior authorizations for the equipment. Hikvision said it strongly opposes the FCC's measure while Dahua called it unwarranted.

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Attempting to rid the U.S. of existing equipment and electronic cameras  on street corners, in schoolyards and at local government facilities  will be more disruptive than proactive. For one thing, there arent many better alternatives, and looking for new products or phasing out old ones will be a long process that wouldnt necessarily undo any alleged damage to privacy or security  if there's been any at all. In some cases, such technology has been seen as a benefit. In 2018, the Memphis Police Department, which had bought hundreds of Hikvision cameras in the preceding decade, said the devices helped it make up to 100 arrests a year, according to a Wall Street Journal report at the time.

Over the past few years, various U.S. government departments have tried to shut out Chinese companies through similar restrictions. Rather than waiting around for narrow paths of overseas revenue to open up, these firms have simply moved on. Now, theyre progressing in other areas like robotics, intelligent vehicle systems and detector technologies, and widely implementing their so-called multidimensional perception technologies, which would improve artificial intelligence capabilities for industrial and other uses.

Hikvision has found support domestically, and has beefed up its research and development efforts. In its latest annual report, it noted that R&D spending was 6.38 billion yuan (around $1 billion), or 10.04% of its total operating income, with expenses up 16%. The company also noted it had over 20,000 personnel focused on this area and other technical services. Operating income from innovative businesses grew almost 40% last year, compared with around 8% for older technologies and equipment.

Meanwhile, Huawei Technologies Co. is bolstering its dominant position and expanding in other parts of the world, such as Africa. It has made cloud services a strategic priority and last year, amid the pandemic, revenue from this line grew 168%.

At this point, sinking time, money and effort into unraveling the past, or any anxieties it may harbor, is all but futile. While the U.S. sets the global technology standard, its still catching up in areas like fifth-generation networks and equipment. Meanwhile, Chinas state planners are well on their way to creating wide 5G infrastructure, importing machines from Japan and constructing tens of thousands of base stations  the nuts and bolts of building out the next generation in telecommunication. It has now become a central part of Chinas industrial policy for the next five years.

The real risk for the U.S. is that Chinese companies develop yet another new technology at massive scale that American manufacturers will have to chase. Looking in the rear-view mirror wont help the U.S. get ahead.

Anjani Trivedi is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Asia. She previously worked for the Wall Street Journal.
Step outside on a clear, spring night and listen closely  you might hear some faint, intermittent tsip, zeep or zzt notes overhead.

Most people arent even aware that these sounds exist. These are, in fact, the flight calls of birds migrating overhead.

Every spring and fall, hundreds of North American bird species embark on the long and arduous journey between their nesting grounds in the northern United States and Canada and their wintering grounds in Central and South America.

Many birds migrate at night, including warblers, sparrows, vireos, cuckoos, flycatchers and even some waterbirds such as herons and rails.

In fact, flying at night has a host of advantages compared to a diurnal journey. The stars are thought to help in navigation, and a generally more stable atmosphere at night reduces additional energy expenditures. It also provides an escape from many daytime predators. There are numerous theories for why birds call while migrating at night, including helping flocks stay together and warning of potential dangers ahead.

These nocturnal flight calls, referred to as NFCs by ornithologists, are a method by which nocturnal bird migration can be readily studied through implementing a semi-automated monitoring station.

To the unaided human ear, many of these call notes are indistinguishable. The zeep flight call of one species may sound nearly identical to the tsip flight call of another. Fortunately, the use of spectrograms and software programs helps make this a solvable problem.

Many birds that migrate over or around the Gulf of Mexico end up passing through coastal and east Texas on their way north to their breeding grounds in the northern U.S. and Canada.

As part of a renewed focus on volunteer engagement and scientific outreach, the Rio Brazos Audubon Society is implementing an NFC monitoring station in College Station this spring and fall.

A remote recording device will be deployed on land owned by Texas A&M University and will be programmed to record nightly. Trained volunteers will subsequently analyze the data with an audio processing software program and identify any recorded calls to species.

Why is it important to monitor nocturnal migration here in College Station?

Many species that are frequently detected by call notes at night are reclusive and seldom seen during the day, such as Le Contes sparrows. By monitoring nocturnal migration, we can gain a much better understanding of the timing and migratory routes of these species.

This project has the potential to provide additional scientific knowledge about the number and diversity of migrant birds passing over our immediate area on their way to and from their nesting grounds further north.

If youre interested in learning more about this project and bird migration in the Bryan-College Station area, contact the Rio Brazos Audubon Society at riobrazosaudubon@gmail.com or explore its website at riobrazosaudubon.org.

To learn more about the factors that influence bird migration and migratory routes, check out BirdCast, a large-scale project and free resource developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Michael McCloy is a Ph.D. candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Texas A&M University, where he studies how songbird communities respond to weather and climate change. He has traveled to 49 states and nearly 30 countries in his pursuit of seeing as many of the worlds bird species as possible. He leads several projects with the Rio Brazos Audubon Society, including the nocturnal flight calls project and the Audubon Climate Watch Squares program.
The Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra is honoring Music Director Marcelo Bussiki after 25 years with the symphony with a Latin flavor concert, featuring his favorite compositions.

The concert will take place at 5 p.m. March 27 in Rudder Auditorium on the Texas A&M campus.

Bussiki was born in Cuiaba, the capital of the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil, and where he started studying music. He moved to Rio de Janeiro at age 14 to complete high school, and later went to college in a larger metropolitan center.

Since a very young age I felt that there was something captivating about orchestra music. It was not uncommon for me to be conducting an imaginary orchestra listening to the music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky among others, Bussiki said. After my second year in college, I decided that what I really wanted was to be a musician. I started taking some private conducting lessons with a small group of very dedicated and passionate students. Since we didnt have an orchestra available to us, we used to trade places some of us playing our instruments while others were conducting and vice versa.

He continued his conducting studies under Maestro Roberto Duarte at Rio de Janeiro Federal University. After graduation, he was named music director of the orchestra of the Federal University of Mato Grosso for six years. Bussiki was awarded knighthood in the Ordem de Merito de Mato Grosso in recognition of his pioneering work in cultural expansion and musical education.

He came to the United States in 1992 under a scholarship from the Brazilian government and studied at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. From 1994-1996, he directed the universitys New Music Ensemble, and later received a doctorate of musical arts in conducting from the university in 1998. In 2011, he became a U.S. citizen and the 25-year Bryan resident recently moved to Downtown Bryan to be closer to local attractions and the art scene.

On a very deep personal level, I love this community for its kindness, love and support which it has given me over the years. This community has allowed me to further develop my strengths as a builder of organizational structures and institutions, Bussiki said. It is also unsettling, but paradoxically comforting, to live in a community that sets very high standards for artistic and intellectual expectations. It forces me to innovate and stick to a continued change and improvement for myself and for the symphony.

Matt Prochaska, president of the BVSO Symphony Board and the Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation, said celebrating Bussiki during the BVSOs 40th anniversary couldnt have come at a better time.

He selected some of his favorite music with us and that makes this really special. We hope and believe we will have Marcelo here for a long time, Prochaska said. He is just an amazing talent, amazing leadership, and we are so grateful to have him in the Brazos Valley. It is important for us to celebrate him and what he has done to celebrate the arts for our community all of these years.

After moving to Aggieland, Bussiki also was offered a part-time faculty position at Texas A&M and later taught at Blinn College on a part-time basis.

When an administrative Fine Arts Division Chair position opened at Blinn, I decided to apply for it and was selected. Over the years I was promoted as Fine Arts Dean for the entire district, and in 2018 I was named Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the Blinn College District, he said. That position is responsible for all academic transfer programs in six divisions, all transfer articulations for the college, all distance-learning teaching or programs and the office of Student Success.

During his tenure with the BVSO, he has conducted several concerts at the International Festival Institute in Round Top. He was conductor for the first International Guitar Festival from 2005-2007 and again in 2016. Bussiki also was honored as Artist of the Year by the Arts Council of Brazos Valley in 2014.

Mary Koeninger, the executive director of the BVSO, said the symphony is happy to honor Bussiki.

This is a major achievement for Marcelo and for the symphony and we just couldnt be more excited, she said. We are happy to celebrate this wonderful anniversary with him.

Bussiki said because of his Latin American roots and because he loves that music, he felt this is a good opportunity to celebrate with the community by performing a repertoire that is outside of the mainstream, delightful and celebratory in nature.

To purchase tickets, visit bvso.org/concerts or call 845-1234. Tickets are $55 for adults, $30 for students and $20 for children 18 years and younger.

The BVSO also will hold an Abba concert at 5 p.m. April 24 at Rudder Auditorium.

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The Texas Department of Transportation is encouraging drivers to think of themselves as part of a community to help curb the number of deadly crashes on Texas roads.

According to data collected by TxDOT, 2021 was the second-deadliest year on Texas roadways since the agency began tracking fatalities in 1940. In a press release, TxDOT stated 551,939 traffic wrecks on Texas roads resulted in 4,484 fatalities in 2021. The deadliest year on record remains 1981 when there were 4,701 fatalities. Another 19,442 people were seriously injured in wrecks during 2021.

TxDOT noted that the last day there were no deaths on Texas roadways was more than 21 years ago, on Nov. 7, 2000.

Part of the message from TxDOT to drivers, the press release stated, was that each of those deaths is sad and absolutely unacceptable, saying people cannot become numb to the increasing number of tragedies occurring on Texas roads.

The agency stated all drivers must understand they have a responsibility to keep each other safe.

The person driving next to you is just like you  a mother, father, daughter, son, etc., the press release stated.

Better decisions could have saved 2,741 lives, TxDOT said, noting of the 4,484 people killed in wrecks throughout Texas in 2021, speeding and not wearing a seat belt were two of the biggest contributing factors. State statistics showed 1,522 were killed due to speeding and 1,219 died because they were not wearing a seat belt.

Texas is not the only state experiencing an increase in deaths on roads; it is a trend nationwide, the agency stated. In the first half of 2021, an estimated 20,160 people died in vehicle crashes throughout the country, representing an 18.4% increase from 2020. In Texas, the rate increased 15%.

Another contributing factor to the increase in deaths, the agency said, is the use of alcohol with 22.9% of the total traffic fatalities in 2021 connected to DUI incidents specifically involving alcohol, labeled as DUI-alcohol.

TxDOT noted there were 25,199 DUI-alcohol related traffic crashes in 2021, which resulted in the deaths of 1,029 people and leaving 2,522 seriously injured. The data showed this was a 4.6% increase from 2020.

It amounts to one reportable DUI-alcohol related crash every 21 minutes and one person in the state dying every 8 hours, 31 minutes due to a DUI-alcohol related wreck.

In TxDOTs 10-county Bryan district, there were 9,095 traffic crashes in 2021, resulting in 112 fatalities and 456 serious injuries, according to Bob Colwell, public information officer for the Bryan district.

Of those wrecks, Colwell said, 1,637 occurred in Bryan and caused five fatalities and 46 serious injuries.

During the spring break time period of 2021 specifically, Bryan saw two DUI-alcohol related wrecks, neither resulting in a fatality or serious injury. In the broader district, there were 23 DUI-alcohol related wrecks during that holiday time period, resulting in two serious injuries and no fatalities.

Colwell did not have statistics about crashes that occurred in College Station.

Across the state, TxDOT reported 872 DUI-alcohol related wrecks during spring break 2021, resulting in 30 fatalities and 107 serious injuries. More than half of those  482 of the total crashes during spring break 2021 involved drivers between the ages of 17 and 30. Those 482 wrecks resulted in 21 fatalities and 70 serious injuries, with 71% of the fatalities being people between the ages of 17 and 30.

These are disturbing numbers, especially as all of these crashes are preventable, TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said in a press release. Whether its transit, rideshare companies or a designated sober friend, there are several options for students to find a sober ride.

To help students understand the importance of being safe and smart on Texas roadways during spring break, TxDOT launched a campaign called Drive Sober. No Regrets. The campaign included outreach events at spring break locations where students could watch video testimonials from Texans who have had to face the consequences of drunk driving. The stories and drunk driving statistics are also shared at SoberRides.org.

The campaign is part of TxDOTs broader #EndTheStreakTX social media campaign to reduce the number of preventable deaths on Texas roads.

A press release about the Drive Sober, No Regrets campaign noted that drinking and driving is 100% preventable and has long-lasting serious physical, emotional and financial consequences for drivers and victims.

In addition to social media campaigns to encourage drivers to do their part, the press release stated TxDOT is also working with researchers to study new roadway design features that can save lives, as well as using crash data to identify areas where drivers are more prone to crashes and make improvements to help prevent those wrecks.

Transportation Commissioner Laura Ryan said it is up to everyone  drivers, TxDOT, traffic engineers and law enforcement officers  to do their part to make Texas roads safe.

Driver behavior is one of the causes, but also one of the most important solutions, Ryan said in a TxDOT press release. This is not blame. These are facts. We all have a role. TxDOT can do more, and we accept that responsibility. The driving public can do more.

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Members of Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa met Jan. 19 at Third City Christian Church.

Epsilon member Sherri Klentz presented a program about the Kids Power program conducted by Klentz at Central Nebraska Council on Alcoholism and Addictions Inc. in Grand Island. The program is for a small group of children who are dealing with an addicted person in their lives.

Epsilon Chapter met Feb. 16 at the Central Nebraska Council on Addictions and Alcoholism office in Grand Island.

Dr. Kent Mann presented the program where he shared what he learned during his travels to Africa and about education in Uganda. He gave highlights of places he visited including universities and a high school in the city of Mbale. His slide show enhanced the presentation.

An upcoming event is the Nebraska State Convention on April 9 in Gering. Raffle tickets for the altruism basket raffle at the convention are available to purchase, six for $5.

The group also met for a meeting and dinner March 17 at Peace Lutheran Church.

The program was a Sisters Celebration of 25, 50, and 60 year memberships. Jackie Bigley and Mary Kaskie were honored for 25 years of membership, Robbie Wilke for 50 years and Bessie Frith, posthumously, for 60 years.

Alpha Delta Kappa is an organization for outstanding women educators emphasizing educational excellence, altruistic projects and world understanding.

For more information, call President Cyndee Mann at 308-390-6912.
OMAHA  Christopher St. John, a 47-year-old Hastings man, was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Omaha for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced St. John to 126 months (10 years) in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, St. John will begin a five-year term of supervised release.

On May 30, 2019, a Nebraska State Patrol trooper encountered St. John, whose truck was broken down on the highway south of Wood River. Three grams of methamphetamine were found in the truck. Troopers then located St. Johns companion, Richard Naslund, at a nearby gas station. He was found to be in possession of an additional 40 grams of methamphetamine and admitted to distributing methamphetamine for St. John.

St. John had distributed a quarter-ounce of methamphetamine a month earlier to a cooperating individual. When interviewed after his arrest, St. John admitted to dealing methamphetamine in central Nebraska since 2018, estimating that he had delivered up to 7 pounds.

Richard Naslund was sentenced on Feb. 9, 2021, to 77 months imprisonment and five years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Tri-Cities Drug Enforcement Team, which includes the FBI, the State Patrol, the Sheriffs Offices of Hall, Adams and Buffalo counties, and the police departments of Grand Island, Hastings and Kearney.
Paris, TX (75460)

Today

Thunderstorms likely in the morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 73F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 54F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Corydon Dominic Vine

Oct. 16, 1995 - March 12, 2022

CARBONDALE  Corydon (Cory) Dominic Vine, 26, died on March 12, 2022, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital after a heroic 17-month battle with gastric cancer.

He was born October 16, 1995, in Clarksville, TN. Corydon was the son of Carrie Sinclair Vine (Curt Wilson) and Christopher Vine (Shannon Gering).

Cory was the fiance of Laney McCrary. They had been best friends for a very long time and been together since December of 2019. They were closing on a house soon and had a wedding date planned. They were each other's darling and it was obvious to anyone around them that they believed in each other. Laney cared for Cory at home and was by his side through it all. Much of Cory's strength came from the love they shared.

Corydon spent most of his childhood in El Paso, TX, where his father was stationed with the US Army. He spent many summers vacations in Tennessee and Missouri with his maternal Grandparents. In the summer of 2009 Cory's family moved to Carbondale, IL. Corydon made friends quickly and graduated from Carbondale Community High School in 2014. He worked for Neuro Restorative while attending John A College and then went on to SIU while working at the Neighborhood Co-op in the deli. He graduated from SIU in May of 2020, with a Bachelor's Degree of Arts in Radio, Television, and Digital Media and a Minor in Video Game Design. Cory was very active in the AdLab and participated in the Big Muddy Film Festival.

For hobbies, Corydon played D&D and designed full games for multiple players. He frequently went to the local game shops and built community and made friends. Cory was extremely active in the online gaming community and was ranked in the top players for his giving spirit and helpful nature. He appreciated music and loved to travel. Corydon was also first to help people move or pick up items for people in need with his awesome truck.

Corydon was the eldest of four children. He was referred to as "Bubbo" by the two youngest and went to many musicals, talent shows, and band concerts in support. He was the kind of big brother everyone should grow up with. He gave great advice and was wise beyond his years. His smile was comforting and radiated warmth to all that crossed his path.

In addition to his great-grandparents, he was predeceased by his grandfather, Dennis Sinclair and aunt, Nisa Rodriguez.

Surviving in addition to his parents and fiancee, are Cory's siblings: Connor Vine, Cal Vine, and Skylar Wilson, all of Carbondale, IL; grandparents, Judy Sinclair of Troy, MO, Shellie Struble of Ogden, UT, Richard Vine of Roy, UT, and Gloria Hathaway of Tremonton, UT; aunts and uncles: Kimberly Sinclair Easley (Matthew) of Troy, MO, Michelle Vine Berrett (Frank) of Roy, UT, Melody Flitton (James) of Layton, UT, Krystal Piersen (David) of Roy, UT, Angelique Vine of Roy, UT, and Ariel Vine of Roy, UT. Cousins to Corydon include: Hannah Easley, Kyle Berrett (Shelly), Shawn Lyle, Madeline Easley, Erin Lyle, and Hailee Parlet. Other surviving family without specific titles include: Jim and Sandy Wilson, Don and Sue Gering, Craig Wilson, Amina Wilson, and Sarah Inboden.

In alignment with his giving nature, Corydon chose to donate his body to Washington University to further the study of Gastric Cancer, since his case was unusual and severe. His corneas were also donated to help someone see.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Bell Hill Mansion in Cobden on April 30, 2022. It was the venue Cory and Laney had chosen for their wedding. It is a majestic place, and we are grateful we will be able to celebrate Cory's impactful life at this location as well. Gathering will begin at 3:00 p.m., with a formal service to start promptly at 4:00 p.m. A potluck reception with drinks and music will follow at 6:00 p.m.. Everyone who loved Cory is welcome to come for either the formal service, just the reception, or stay for the entirety of the celebration. The Facebook event will have more details as well at https://fb.me/e/1Ussvrolq. We ask that a "going" reply is given on the event page so we may properly plan for drinks, food, and seating.

Flowers and plants may be sent to Bell Hill at 333 Bell Hill Road, Cobden, IL 62920 on Friday, the 29th, but monetary donations may also be made to the family (Carrie Vine) to fund a Memorial Tree and/or bench on SIU campus with a plaque in Corydon's honor. Those may be sent to 29 View Valley Dr., Carbondale, IL 62903.
Womens History Month is a particularly good time to acknowledge female scientists who have enriched our world and enabled significant progress in diagnosing and treating disease. Due to space limitations, I can only give a shoutout to three, but countless others deserve recognition. Here are my March sheroes:

Mary-Claire King

A good place to start is with Mary-Claire King and the advances she enabled in the detection of breast cancer. Breast cancer accounts for 23 percent of all invasive cancers in women. The likelihood of a woman developing breast cancer is 13 percent  one of the highest of all cancers.

The importance of early detection cannot be overstated, which is why Kings work is so significant. Evaluating more than 170 genetic markers, Kings team identified two genes most commonly linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer  BRCA1 and BRCA2. This enabled genetic testing of high-risk individuals, leading to proactive disease management.

What led King to consider the link between genetic patterns and breast cancer, especially when she was surrounded by naysayers who believed her approach was overly simplistic for understanding complex diseases? King had earlier compared humans to chimpanzees, and she found the two were 99 percent identical at the genetic level. It was a few small genetic differences that led to large variations. This finding encouraged her to study large populations at the molecular level.

King used these same tools to address human rights abuses. When children were reported missing in Argentina  abducted by a military dictatorship  King was able to use genomics to connect the children to their biological families, where they were eventually returned.

Beth Stevens

In 1989, then-President George H.W. Bush declared the 1990s to be the Decade of the Brain. Researcher Beth Stevens would have been precisely the kind of scientist the president had in mind when he made his announcement.

Situated in her laboratory at MIT, Stevens is focused on understanding synapse function as it relates to the development and maintenance of a healthy brain. Synapses provide the junction between nerve cells, serving as an instant messenger to facilitate communication.

Stevens and her team discovered that a healthy adolescent brain achieves a steady state between the creation of new synapses with the loss of old ones. Through a process termed synaptic pruning, specialized cells  called glia  trim away unhealthy and unwanted synapses by eating them. Synaptic pruning occurs from infancy through early adulthood but is particularly concentrated during ages 2 through 10.

Stevens research has highlighted the problems occurring within the central nervous system when there is faulty synaptic pruning. It is thought that schizophrenic brains suffer from being over-pruned, with fewer synapses in the prefrontal region. Similarly, for people with autism, there is under-pruning, where an oversupply of synapses overwhelms the brain.

Stevens contributions have opened new pathways to understanding central nervous system disorders. While the work is early on, new treatments are expected to emerge to address some mental disorders in fundamentally new ways.

Helen Brooke Taussig

Helen Brooke Taussig is no longer living, but her contributions will continue indefinitely. Born in 1898 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Taussig is considered the founder of pediatric cardiology.

Taussig pioneered the use of X-rays and fluoroscopy to examine a babys heart and lungs and took on the challenge of treating blue baby syndrome  a condition where babies have blue skin due to low oxygen levels. There are many reasons this can occur, but one prominent reason is the Tetralogy of Fallot," where there are four congenital heart defects.

Taussig conceived of an open-heart surgical procedure to repair a babys heart with this condition. Two of Taussigs surgical colleagues at Johns Hopkins successfully implemented Taussigs idea. Predictably, parents worldwide began flying to Baltimore to have their blue babies treated.

While Taussig was brilliant and determined, she also had significant personal struggles to overcome. Her mother died of tuberculosis when she was 11. Taussig herself had severe dyslexia and was partly deaf, which she compensated for by lip-reading. Her dedicated father tutored her throughout her early years.

While Taussig had hoped to attend Harvard Medical School, women were not accepted until 1945. Instead, she went to Johns Hopkins, one of the few universities admitting women, and distinguished herself.

Mary Claire-King, Beth Stevens and Helen Brooke Taussig have been sterling examples of one persons ability to change the world  in this case through science. Upon their shoulders may generations of female scientists follow.

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Minnie Singletary is a sharp, vivacious individual who has proven that age is just a number.

With her sparkly jewelry, polished nails, color-coordinated outfits and big flowers in her hair, she is just as spunky as ever after 100 years of life.

Singletary reached her milestone birthday on March 15. She celebrated her special day at The Oaks, complete with the company of her family, including cousins, grandchildren and her only child, Hyrett Hamilton of Orangeburg.

"We had a nice time. Everything was nice," said Singletary, the grandmother of two and the great-grandmother of seven.

Her birthday gifts included money, blankets and her special request for "fancy clothes and high heel shoes."

She was one of 10 children born to the late June and Lillian Curry in Lone Star. Her father lived until the age of 98, while her mother lived until the ripe old age of 105.

Singletary said she doesn't feel any different after turning 100.

"I don' t feel no different. Ain't no difference in the feeling. I just say if I was a little younger and I see a fella, I would take him, but I'm too old," Singletary said, laughing heartily.

Why did God let her live so long? She doesn't know, but is grateful he did.

"Well, I believe in prayer. I was praying ever since I knew myself. I got nine sisters and brothers, all of them gone. The Lord leave me here. Now the reason? I don't know, but I feel good about it, and I still thank him," Singletary said.

"I don't only thank the Lord, I thank the doctors and the nurses. The Lord sets the time. The doctor tell the nurse what he think, but the nurse got to give me the medicine, or what the doctor recommend and what the Lord says. So I thank them all, and I've been doing that since I know myself," she said.

Singletary said her family was church-going people.

"We were born and raised going to church. That's all I know -- calling on the Lord for everything," she said.

Singletary recalled her childhood in Lone Star.

"I was born and raised right around there. ... I went to school there, but I graduated from Wilkinson High in Orangeburg. Everything was nice," she said.

Hamilton said Singletary had also attended then-South Carolina State College before leaving to take care of her mother.

Hamilton said her mother worked as a professional seamstress who could sew just about anything.

"She was always the entrepreneurial type individual. She always wanted to have her own business and was very outgoing. She can sew anything without a pattern. You just give her a picture and your measurements, and she can make it," she said.

Hamilton continued, "She's sewed for (S.C.) State College and some of their staff. She's actually in the archives in Columbia. They did a short documentary on her about the history of Lone Star, South Carolina. So she has a documentary that she did a long time ago."

Singletary said she worked at New York's famed Apollo Theatre for more than 30 years.

"My life was pretty good and nice. All my life I can't complain. I used to work at the Apollo Theatre. I worked there 38 years teaching the girls and things how to sew, ... fixing the girls and things up for the stage. Not only the girls, but the boys, too," she said.

Singletary recalled her mother's old foot pedal sewing machine and the eventual purchase of her first electric one.

"When I was growing up, my mama had the pedal machine. Mama made all of our clothes. So when I got big enough and old enough to get my own machine, I bought an electric machine. My mama used the foot, but I bought one that went, 'zoom!'" she said.

Singletary continued, "Anything you wanted made, I could make it. All you got to do is give me a picture and your size. I've been sewing all my life."

Hamilton said she was grateful that her mother was still alive and has admired her tenacity.

"It's really great because she is the historian. She tells me stories from before radio and television and how she got started in business. She bought her own home at about 20. She was a very outgoing and entrepreneurial person. She had a fashion show at the Oyster Bay (restaurant) in Jersey City," Hamilton said.

Singletary said, "I had my own business making clothes for people. Everything was nice, and the Lord was pleased with what I was doing because he got me here. All my brothers and sisters gone, but I know exactly where they're buried at. I don't know where they're going, but I know where I put them."

The 100-year-old said she eats "some of everything" and lives relatively stress-free, something which she said has contributed to her longevity.

"God is good to me. Drinking and thing, I ain't never did that. My life was pretty nice, thanks to the good Lord and the doctors and nurses," she said.

Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow "Good News with Gleaton" on Twitter at @DionneTandD

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Orangeburg County School District's sole charter school is ending its 10-year affiliation with the district effective June 30.

The High School for Health Professions, which was founded as a charter school in 2012, has chosen not to submit a charter renewal application with the OCSD, opting to renew its charter sponsorship with newly formed Columbia-based Limestone Charter Association (LCA).

Charter school and HSHP officials say the transition will have no impact on students currently participating in interscholastic afternoon activities with the OCSD such as band and ROTC.

The change will also have no impact on academic offerings, workforce training and dual-credit attainment, according to LCA officials.

"LCA will work with HSHP to foster school autonomy and academic success for all students while providing comprehensive oversight and support that aligns with the school's goals and objectives," LCA Superintendent Angel Malone said about the new charter sponsorship. Malone was the founding principal of the HSHP a decade ago.

The HSHP, which is located at 130 Howard Hill Drive behind the Orangeburg County Department of Social Services, contacted LCA for sponsorship as the school was approaching the end of its 10-year term with the OCSD at the close of the academic year, Malone said.

Malone said the the school applied for renewal with LCA and was unanimously approved on Jan. 27 by the LCA Board of Directors.

"The board recognizes the success of the school and their ability to foster the successful transition of all of their students into various post-secondary opportunities," Malone said. "The board was pleased to hear about the over 130 students who are currently enrolled in high school while also taking dual-credit courses with their long-standing partner Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College."

"Additionally, the board was impressed with their ability to also provide certification opportunities within the health care industry to immediately supply qualified students into the local workforce of Orangeburg," Malone said.

"As the instructional visionary and trusted leader of the Orangeburg High School for Health Professions, I am elated to work with an organization that brings a wealth of knowledge about charter schools," HSHP Principal Derwin Farr said. "With this change comes great excitement and anticipation of continued success as HSHP embarks upon authorization by Limestone Charter Association."

"The Limestone Charter Association holds school autonomy as a high priority, which is important for HSHP to thrive," Farr said. "I only foresee greatness and continued success in our future with Limestone."

For students, the process is expected to be seamless.

"All programs that the school has with OCSD are interscholastic activities held after school," Malone said. "All activities are supported by the HSHP faculty and staff along with the community."

"The charter law makes provisions for all students to participate without impediment without regard to their chosen authorizer for any interscholastic opportunity not offered at the school," Malone said.

Malone also said the change in charter sponsor will also have no impact on academics.

"All charter schools follow the state graduation requirements and are held to the same standards as any traditional school," Malone said. "Charter schools are public schools and must adhere to all graduation requirements."

"The school has a long-standing reputation of exceeding the county and state averages, as well as being ranked nationally," Malone said. "This helps students who attend HSHP to be globally competitive and foster successful transition into a variety of post-secondary opportunities."

Under the LCA, the HSHP will be funded using the state formula based on a cost-per-pupil basis as it has always been.

The OCSD says the district will not be losing any money as a result of the transition.

"Those funds passed through our district and were disbursed to HSHP," the OCSD said.

Under the new charter, the HSHP will allocate about 2% or $60,000 of state funding to the LCA.

The LCA would also be responsible for providing students with transportation, food and nutrition services.

The handling of the termination of the charter school agreement with the OCSD did not sit well with some district school board trustees, who said they were kept in the dark about the school board's discussions with HSHP officials. Some said the matter was handled "unethically."

OCSD Chair Ruby Edwards said she and the board's vice chair, Dr. Debora Brunson, as well as OCSD Superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster met with HSHP chair and another HSHP board member last year.

"We met on that day with them; we asked what they wanted," Edwards said during the district's regularly scheduled March 8 board meeting. "They said they would like to have their own autonomy and do what they want to do and they said they probably would not want to come back with us."

Trustees Mary Ulmer and Dr. Sylvia Bruce-Stephens noted a Sept. 23, 2021, letter in which the charter school board asked to meet with the entire OCSD board to discuss the matter.

That meeting with the entire board never happened.

"The letter I have on the 23rd, they were asking the two boards to meet so that we could discuss the matter and that opportunity was never allowed, extended," Ulmer said.

Ulmer also noted the meeting of the chair and vice chair with the HSHP "was not authorized by this board."

Bruce-Stephens echoed Ulmer's concerns.

"What happened?" Bruce-Stephens said. "High School for Health Professions is such a wonderful school. Tell me why did they want to get out?"

Bruce-Stephens said the paper trail shows the charter school asked to meet with the board back in September.

"Now board members are not one person, two people, three people, but it is nine members," Bruce-Stephens said. "Now they are going to Limestone. They have an excellent record. That is how we lose excellent teachers because of things we do."

"We have to be for real up in here," Bruce-Stephens said. "We talk about we want the kids and we love the children but then we are losing our children to other people."

Edwards defended her meeting with the HSHP officials.

"This was the same process that was used when the other superintendent was here," Edwards said, referring to former superintendent Dr. Darrell Johnson.

"Just because it happened once does not make it right," Ulmer said. "It was ethically wrong."

Former Board chair Peggy James-Tyler said she and then board vice chair Betty Pelzer, and former superintendent Johnson, did meet with the the HSHP officials.

"At that time it was a question about we could not find a charter," James-Tyler said. "Did we ever locate one, Dr. Foster?

"No ma'am," Foster said.

Bruce-Stephens took exception to James-Tyler's comment.

"You could not find a charter and you all sit there for a year," she said. "That is the excuse, because if you are running a business and, this is a business, you need to do what is right to find a charter. You don't sit there and make excuses."

"This is 2022," Bruce-Stephens continued. "I am so sick of sitting up here and letting people make excuses and people doing things they are not being authorized to do."

"The vice chair has never been authorized to go nowhere and the chairman has one vote and she has no right to carry who she wants anytime she feels like it," Bruce-Stephens said. "Dr. Foster, you can meet with them, that is up to you, but they are not meeting for the whole board. They can only meet for themselves. They cannot sit there and tell you what the entire board wants when they have not talked to the board. They are not talking to us."

"So why are you listening ... Let me hush," Bruce-Stephens said. "I am about to get pissed off. Let me leave that alone."

Trustee Idella Carson questioned why trustees who sat on the former Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 were not consulted or asked to meet with the charter school since the charter school originated in District 5.

Edwards said the meeting she, Brunson and Foster had with HSHP was brought to the entire school board in closed session.

Following the discussion, a divided OCSD board voted 5-4 to give Foster the authority help facilitate and terminate the relationship between the OCSD board, district and HSHP.

Foster's responsibilities will be to ensure the transition is seamless and will include the proper transfer of student records, student enrollment, special education obligations, auditing and financial books.

Voting in favor of the action were trustees Edwards, Brunson, James-Tyler, Pelzer and R.L. "Poppy" Brown.

Voting against were Bruce-Stephens, Dr. William O'Quinn, Carson and Ulmer.

"I have no problem with the charter school going to Limestone but the manner in which this board unethically represented us, this board, within the charter school board," Ulmer said.

Halligan, Mahoney and Williams attorney John M. Reagle, who is representing the school district in the matter, said the most challenging aspect of the transfer will most likely be with regards to the handling of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER Fund) the district received due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"The charter school audit is included in the district's audit each year," Reagle said. "Come this November the charter school would move on and you will have no leverage over it and how it accounts for an audit and property."

"Some of that property may continue to be property you are accountable for," Reagle said. "That is something we have our eye on trying to work with the State Department and getting a clarification on that."

"We know we will audited regarding them (ESSER) funds so we want to be careful on how we are spending them and accounting for them," Reagle said.

Reagle said typically a transfer of charters would go through a memorandum of understanding but an attempt on the part of the school district to meet with the charter school and the state Department of Education to iron out some details has yet to be successful.

Reagal said the entire process has been "bumpy."

The HSPH charter school was initially located in the Orangeburg Technology Center on Magnolia Street with seven classrooms and 73 students. The school transitioned to the Nix Elementary building on Stilton Road for several years.

The health science-focused school on Howard Hill Drive houses 22 classrooms, an administrative suite and cafeteria. The school serves students in grades 9-12.

LCA is an entity of Columbia-based Limestone University.

Currently, the LCA has about nine schools in its association. These include: East Link Academy Charter School in Greenville, The Palmetto School in Rock Hill, Charleston Advancement Academy High School (Charleston), Coastal Leadership Academy (Myrtle Beach), Gates School (North Charleston), Horse Creek Academy (Aiken), Legion Collegiate Academy (Rock Hill), and Oceanside Collegiate Academy (Mt. Pleasant).

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Habitat for Humanity has started work on the Fogle familys new Orangeburg home.

It feels good, homeowner Raven Fogle said. I thank them (Habitat for Humanity) and appreciate it. This will be a big impact.

The group held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Fogles new Kings Road home on Thursday.

Edisto Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Jessica Burgoyne spoke of the efforts of the sponsors and volunteers who contribute to the cause of building new homes for families.

I just feel extremely blessed to be able to do this. Were grateful to all our community and sponsors for helping our community support the right for everyone to have a decent place to live, Burgoyne said.

We are elated to provide a new home for the Fogle family, Burgoyne said.

Two of the sponsors helping with the effort are Allied Air and Wells Fargo, which are supplying volunteers and contributions.

Allied Air installs the HVAC units for all the houses that are built by the foundation. Wells Fargo donated $7.75 million to Habitat for Humanity.

Were a contributor to the build today and we actually have a pretty strong relationship with Habitat for Humanity. We have a philanthropic financial focus on affordable housing in our communities. Im really excited to be in our local community supporting it, said Christine DuBose, regional banking senior manager of Wells Fargo.

Wanda Waring, Wells Fargo branch manager, said she appreciates being able to help someone and know that we have a hand in building a home for a family and helping make a big difference in their lives.

Burgoyne said, Allied Air has been a community partner of Edisto Habitat for Humanity for a long time. They have been providing HVAC units to every single home.

Their partnership has provided volunteers and many other types of support throughout the years. They see extreme value in the work we do in the community, and we are grateful for their community impact.

Allied Air worker John King said, Allied Air is more than pleased to not only help build this home, but many others. This is more than big. We are an HVAC builder, we are more than happy to be here, and we really enjoy working with the community.

Habitat for Humanity homeowners must put sweat equity toward the building of their own and other Habitat homes.

Their monthly mortgage payments are recycled through a revolving fund, which Habitat uses to support its programs, including building more houses.

Burgoyne said, We want to send heartfelt gratitude to all of our Edisto Habitat family. We appreciate your time, your energy and your love.

With your support, we can and will continue to contribute and advocate for positive change in the housing world, supporting our community and beyond.

For more information on EHFH, or to make a contribution, call the office at 803-536-2300 or visit www.edistohabitatforhumanity.org.

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The Pee Dee region of South Carolina has in recent years enjoyed tremendous influence in the S.C. General Assembly. With long-serving Sen. Hugh Leatherman the power in the Senate and Jay Lucas the speaker of the House, the legislative agenda was largely in their control.

But things change. Sen. Leatherman died in 2021, giving a different dynamic to the upper chamber. And now Lucas announced, as filing for the June primaries began, that he would not be seeking re-election. He is stepping aside as speaker after eight years, reminding all that he favored legislation that limited the speaker to eight years in the position. The time limit ultimately was set at 10 years.

Give Lucas credit, he could have held on to his considerable power for two more years but said that would be disingenuous.

Of note, the Orangeburg area also has lawmakers that have long service in the General Assembly, where seniority can translate into influence. But the states longest-serving representatives, Gilda Cobb-Hunter and Jerry Govan, are Democrats, as is Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto. In the minority, they do not control the agenda as do Republicans in the majority leadership positions.

That agenda includes redrawing legislative districts, which the majority party does every 10 years with an eye toward retaining the majority. As they do so, changes that negatively impact the minority party, in this case Democrats, are inevitable. And though the maps can be challenged, they in most cases will stand.

The new districts for South Carolina do not do justice to a significant micropolitan area such as Orangeburg, which will now be essentially divided in half and likely without a lawmaker from the city. We have stated our problems with the new districts for Orangeburg, Calhoun and Bamberg but today focus instead on what happens going forward.

The relevance of the U.S. Census in the reapportionment process cannot be overstated. The census found that Orangeburg and Bamberg counties had lost population, meaning lines were going to be impacted as lawmakers looked to set up districts with proportionate populations.

People here must understand that being counted is vital. Not only does population impact political influence on the state level, it plays an essential role in deciding on federal and other funding in myriad instances.

Which brings us to a recently released U.S. Census Bureau survey that points out why in places like Orangeburg and Calhoun, there likely was an undercount of people.

The report said the bureau needs millions more in funding to encourage participation and produce more accurate and timely results.

Increasing funding for the annual American Community Survey would be "a huge return on investment for the nation," enabling the Census Bureau to enlarge the pool of respondents, be more nimble in adding or removing timely questions and speed up the results, according to The Census Project, a nonpartisan coalition of researchers, advocates and former Census Bureau staffers.

The American Community Survey's budget was $226 million in 2021. The Census Project report recommends spending $100 million to $300 million more in a combination of a one-time infusion and recurring funding.

Money is no guarantee of solving problems. But as long as the every-10-year count of Americans is so important in determining political leadership and more, funding the census fully is a priority. It certainly is for a place such as Orangeburg, which will feel pain from the 2020 count for a decade.

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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.
Sau khi giam nhe trong phien giao dich au tien sau ky nghi le 30/4 - 1/5, ty gia trung tam USD ngay 5/5 co phien giam sau toi 10 ong moi USD. Trong khi o, ty gia USD tai mot so ngan hang thuong mai lai co xu huong tang, hoac ung gia so voi ngay hom truoc.
BAGHDAD, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Iraq on Sunday condemned the latest attacks that targeted energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry "reiterated its stance calling for the adoption of dialogue to end these actions between the parties to the conflict, as the dialogue ensures mechanisms for all parties to avoid more losses," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, Yemen's Houthi militia claimed responsibility for its overnight attacks targeting vital energy facilities, including Aramco oil facilities, in several cities in Saudi Arabia.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of the northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the following year to support the Yemeni government. 
Monday support meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous: 8:30 a.m., 500 S. Wolcott; noon, 500 S. Wolcott; 2 p.m, 917 N. Beech; 5:30 p.m., 508 Wyoming Blvd.; 6 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott; 7 p.m., 1868 S. Poplar. Douglas: 7:30 p.m., 628 E. Richards (upstairs in back).

Alcoholics Anonymous A Sufficient Substitute: 6 p.m., 500 S. Wolcott. Info: 266-2969.

Al-Anon: Noon, 701 S. Wolcott, St. Marks Church, enter at the back of the church across from parking lot.

Narcotics Anonymous: Noon, 500 S. Wolcott, 12-24 Club; 7 p.m., 302 E. 2nd, Methodist Church; Web site: urmrna.org.

Teen Addiction Anonymous: 3:30-4:30 p.m., Boys & Girls Club Teen Center. Info: 258-7439.

Adult Children of Alcoholics: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 12-24 Club, 500 S. Wolcott St., Suite 200.

Display at senior center

Ruth Doyle, president of the Casper Antiques/Collectibles Collectors Club has a nostalgic display of vintage cups and saucers, featuring Irish, Russian, Portuguese, French and Japanese porcelain and Bone China. This beautiful display may be viewed from now through March at the Central Wyoming Senior Center 1831 4th St. Call 265-4678 for information.

Shop at Methodist Thrift

Mark your calendars! The big seasonal turnaround is right around the corner, along with the huge sales to clear the racks for Spring and Summer. Wyoming is famous for unpredictable weather, so take the opportunity to hit our cant-miss-it-sale.

The largest selections are available right now. March 21-26, you can fill our bags for $8.

March 28-April 2, fill our bags for $5. There will be a special selection of jewelry pieces, one to a customer. The Thrift Shop will be closed April 3-8 to fill the store with new seasonal treasures and open with everything new on Saturday, April 9!

Tell your family, friends, and neighbors to head to 2111 East 12th, in the Beverly Plaza Shopping Center, near Big Lots and the Dollar Store. Youll find us open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 10-4, and Saturday from 10-2. This is an all volunteer mission, and all proceeds benefit Holy Cross and Interfaith.

Like us on Facebook at United Methodist Thrift Shop for photos and updates.

We gladly accept new and gently worn clean clothes, linens, household treasures, books, and games during open hours. Help your neighbors with this local mission .

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PINEDALE  An aggravated vehicular homicide charge filed against a Colorado man after a fatal collision on July 14, 2020, has been reduced to a misdemeanor and returned to Sublette County Circuit Court.

That day, Alex W. Smiths white Ford 150 pickup crossed Highway 191s center line near the Hoback Rim and collided with a blue 2006 Ford Mustang, killing its driver Gerald I. Fagerhaug of Castlerock, Colorado.

Smith was life-flighted after the collision; no one took any blood samples, focusing instead on saving his life, according to court records. That meant Smiths suspected blood-alcohol concentration could not be proven at trial.

A search of Smiths truck had found an open bottle of whiskey within reach, according to Wyoming Highway Patrol affidavit.

Smith initially faced two charges  aggravated vehicular homicide under the influence of alcohol and aggravated vehicular homicide with reckless driving.

He was arrested in late April 2021 and brought to Sublette County, where he pleaded not guilty and was released on $250,000 surety bond. Later, Sublette County Attorney Mike Crosson requested dismissal of the reckless driving charge, which 9th District Judge Marv Tyler allowed.

But on March 10, Crosson filed a motion to amend the felony charge against Smith to the misdemeanor of homicide by vehicle, saying Smith agreed to plead guilty to the reduced charge of driving in a criminally negligent manner.

Smiths arraignment in Circuit Court is set for April 6.

Maximum penalties are one year in jail and $2,000 fine.

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Jackson Pollock is a giant of the art world  a household name credited with toppling traditional rules of visual arts with his abstract expressionist drip paintings.

He is commonly associated with the global art hub of New York City, where he established himself in the 1930s and 1940s. What is not as well known is his connection to Cody, where he was born Jan. 28, 1912.

Cody doesnt overtly advertise this. There arent streets or museums named after him, nor do billboards trumpet the towns ties to the world-famous figure.

That could change. A Michigan artist has applied to the United States Board on Geographic Names to christen an unnamed red-rock promontory as Mount Jackson Pollock. The 6,621-foot feature is roughly 18 miles from Cody.

With the recent endorsement of the Park County Commission, the proposal appears primed for approval. Dewey Vanderhoff grew up in Cody and welcomes the effort, which he said is overdue.

Any little town out in the middle of the Kansas prairie, if somebody famous was born there, even if they never came back, there will be a museum, there will be a cafe named after them, there will be something, Vanderhoff said. Cody, Wyoming, home to the birthplace of the most famous artist of the 20th century, has nothing. Weve got Buffalo Bill up the yin yang. We got nothing on Jackson Pollock.

But amid a cultural moment of reckoning and reflection on the nations history of naming landmarks, not everyone is behind the idea  including figures in the towns art scene.

Gregory Constantine is an artist, author and scholar who spent 43 years teaching at Andrews University in Michigan. At 84, he is retired, but retains a studio and office at the university as a senior research professor.

In 2016, he was traveling near Cody while visiting Wyoming with family when a bluff caught his attention.

I said, hold it, he recalled. I just looked to the right and I saw this red rock stratified feature, and we stopped and I took two or three pictures of it  very quick. And then we moved on.

It wasnt until he returned to his studio and reviewed those images that the landform sunk hooks into him  the way the stratification appeared to arc mesmerized him, he said. Constantine began painting interpretations of the bluff. Soon the promontory dominated his imagination; he felt obsessed.

I didnt care if anybody liked them, or if anybody bought them or if they were marketable, he said. I just had to do them.

He made dozens of paintings, nicknaming the peak my mountain. Somewhere along the line, he reached out to a Casper College professor to find out more about the promontory and discovered it was unnamed.

I said, well what do I have to do to name it? he recalled.

In a first idea that Constantine now admits was naive, he decided to apply to name the peak after, well, himself. He abandoned that effort after realizing naming criteria requires that a person be deceased at least five years before a landmark be named for them. He found a sixth century pope named Gregory, but the naming board also considers local connections to the individual. The board swiftly rejected his subsequent application for the name Mont Saint Gregoire.

Constantine went back to the drawing board, this time landing on a figure who had definitive Cody ties: Jackson Pollock.

He revised his application, resubmitted it and this time, the naming board didnt balk.

Instead, the board reached out to the Park County Commission. The naming board only makes decisions on proposals after considering local opinion, according to BGN correspondence Commission Chair Dossie Overfield shared during a March 8 meeting.

Before the BGN votes on the proposal to make this name official for federal use, the BGN would like to know if your office supports or does not support the proposal, she read from a letter.

Commissioner Joseph Tilden spoke first. When he first heard the proposal, he said, his knee-jerk reaction was not no, but hell no. If a landmark were to be named, his thinking went, it should be for an individual like a settler with more enduring ties to the area. (After living in Cody for several years, Pollocks family moved away before he was a year old.)

But then, Tilden said, somebody told me I should take an art lesson.

So I did, and I did a little research on this gentleman, and even though he was only in Cody for a very short period of time, he brought a lot of awareness to the West through his painting  And I wouldnt be opposed to [approval].

Commissioners Lloyd Theil and Lee Livingston were disinclined, arguing that Pollock did not have a meaningful enough connection to the region. Tilden countered that approval would be an anodyne gesture that could translate into a boon for Cody as an art destination. Commissioner Scott Mangold agreed, saying he watched his own hometown of Great Falls, Montana, benefit from touting its ties to artist Charlie Russell.

The commission ultimately approved its support, with Overfield breaking a 2-2 vote to pass the motion.

Mission accomplished, Vanderhoff, the lone member of the public to speak on the matter, said after the vote.

Vanderhoff has been hoping to see Cody embrace Pollocks legacy in a more meaningful way for decades, he said. The town has established itself as a stronghold of Western art with the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum and other galleries  this could only expand that reputation, he said.

He turned out to be one of the top artists of an entire century, created a whole new genre, and the whole art world tilted off its axis because of him and yet, youd have never known that in Cody, Wyoming in the 1970s and 80s, Vanderhoff said. Were an art town. Weve got the Smithsonian of the West here [Yet] not one thing of Jackson Pollock could be found.

Vanderhoff doesnt even particularly like Pollocks work, he said.

But you cannot ignore the 10-ton elephant in the room of what he did, who he was, where he came from and the effect he had on the art world, he said. It just comes down to merit. The guy was incredibly globally famous and he was born here. What more do you need to know?

Not everyone is convinced Cody should dub the bluff Mount Jackson Pollock, especially as the nation is in the midst of reconsidering historical namings and commemorative gestures. The Interior Department, for example, is spearheading an effort to rename more than 600 landmarks across the county that carry the derogatory word squaw. Its list identifying locations includes more than 40 Wyoming landmarks.

Sue Simpson Gallagher, who owns a Cody art gallery, felt enough reluctance about Mount Jackson Pollock that she called a commissioner to express her opposition before the vote, she said.

Its not that Simpson Gallagher doesnt want Cody to embrace its Pollock connection, she said.

I am so excited that someone would run with this to commemorate the fact that Cody, Wyoming, is the birthplace of Jackson Pollock, she said. I have always been proud of the fact Jackson Pollock was born here and thought it was a shame that we had never marketed or you know, played on that.

Her hesitation instead stems from wanting to first clear the idea with all parties  including Native communities that may already know the bluff by another name.

I just had a reaction to [naming a] place that I thought might have been named already by Native Americans, she said, and I was taken aback because I wasnt so sure Jackson Pollock appreciated the fact he was from this place.

Simpson isnt asking anyone to rescind the decision, she said, and she doesnt want to cause a ruckus. But she would like to consider instead commemorating Pollock, a city dweller, with urban features  like a sign, mural or building. That feels more appropriate, she said.

Simpson also grew up in Cody, and believes the bluff is a special regional landmark worth thoughtful consideration. Shes always been OK with it not having a formal name, she said.

Regardless of the BGNs final decision, its clear the naming would mean different things to different people.

For Constantine the applicant, its partly a personal accomplishment.

Its just I had to shake my head and stop to think: How many people do you know who have named a mountain? Nobody, he said.

Hes holding back on fully celebrating until its final, but said the naming also stands to benefit the Wyoming region.

He was the most significant, influential and important American artist of the 20th century, said Constantine, who wrote a paper on Pollock in graduate school. I think theyll be some art obsessives or art devotees practicing their religion of going to Cody now to visit where Pollock came from.

WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.

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Your citizen legislature convened in mid-February with a mountain of priorities to deliver in a finite amount of time. This was no ordinary Budget Session. Redistricting, the biennial budget, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocations, local government funding and capital construction project planning were just a few of the complex topics the Wyoming Legislature heard over a compressed 20-day schedule. As presiding officers, we are pleased to say the Wyoming Legislature fulfilled its responsibilities and completed the work it set out to do over the 66th budget session.

After months of interim meetings hosted all over the state, the pre-legislative session efforts culminated into 20 short days to work 279 total bills and resolutions. In a budget session like this one, it requires a two-thirds majority vote to introduce a bill, which is a high bar. The primary budget bill and the redistricting bill are constitutionally exempted from this super majority vote for introduction. At times, debate on the bills was robust but that is expected and welcomed as each legislator represents their local communities and constituencies across the state.

While unique perspectives from every corner of the state are weighed in the Legislature, the priorities of a lean balanced budget are shared. In the 2023-2024 budget, the Legislature delivered a conservative, general fund budget of approximately $2.873 billion which provides for essential, core services in Wyoming communities and includes $227 million of appropriations for direct, long-term savings. In terms of the generally funded operations of the government, this is the lowest budget passed in more than ten years.

As the budget reflects a vision of efficient and responsive government services being provided to Wyoming residents today, the strategic investments the Governor and the Legislature are making with ARPA dollars position Wyoming for the future. More than $385 million in one-time ARPA funds focus on top-line priorities. These one-time dollars were directed toward workforce development initiatives which will fund education institutions throughout the state to better equip Wyoming workers with the skills they need and businesses with the talent required to prosper. Further, within the workforce category, special focus was placed on healthcare workforce retention and developing future generations of health care practitioners. Another area of concentration for one-time ARPA dollars was repairing and building Wyomings infrastructure. Grant programs for cities, towns, counties, special districts, and tribal governments will be developed to address infrastructure needs like broadband connectivity, and for repair or new water and sewer projects and other initiatives.

Additionally, the Governor and the Legislature allocated federal APRA dollars for purposes of revenue replacement, as permitted by federal guidance. This allowed the Legislature to resolve long-standing issues previously not possible to undertake due to funding shortfalls like making the firefighters Firemen A pension plan whole, which was slated to go bankrupt in 2027, one-time capital construction, supplemental water development in the form of dam construction and rehabilitation, energy research, and the aforementioned long-term savings.

Thoughtful investments for Wyomings future were the guiding principle of the key brick and mortar construction projects funded under the Legislatures investment in capital construction. These projects are critical to Wyomings school districts, communities, and the state. In total, the Legislature allocated $343 million for the improvement and construction of state and school district facilities. This includes maintenance of the Capitol building, appropriations for the Wyoming National Guards Camp Guernsey, the Veterans Home, the Territorial Prison, the Riverton Fire Academy, and school district facilities throughout the state.

Further strengthening Wyomings communities are key local government funding bills. These measures fund municipalities and counties in our state. Nearly $250 million was appropriated, in total, from the standard budget, ARPA one-time dollars, and from several individual bills that set aside money specifically for county and local governments projects. These local governments know how to spend this money to best benefit their residents.

Ensuring the voices of Wyomings cities, towns and communities are heard and carried to the halls of the Capitol demonstrates why the issue of redistricting has been a major area of focus. The final plan was the result of months of meetings in nearly every county of the state to gather feedback, close consultation with Wyomings county clerks, robust debate and discussion, and multiple conference committee meetings. The completed mapmaking product resulted in 62 representatives and 31 senators, an increase of three total seats. The map developed preserves rural perspectives and keeps communities whole while maintaining equitable representation.

We are indeed privileged as the good work continues. We encourage you to discuss the efforts of the 66th budget session with your representative and senator as they return home to their districts.

Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, is the Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives. Dan Dockstader, R-Afton, is the President of the Wyoming Senate.

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After two weeks of war and a bipartisan push in Congress, President Biden finally banned imports of Russian oil, natural gas, and coal. The idea was simple: an energy superpower like America should not fund Putins killing machine.

This is a good start, but it is not enough. As this editorial page argued last weekend, we must address Americas dependence on Russian uranium. If Joe Biden is serious about defunding Putins invasion, then he must also ban imports of Russian uranium.

The United States has vast uranium resources, including here in Wyoming. Currently, more than 90% of the uranium we use in America is imported.

Rather than letting our uranium sit in the ground, we ought to use it.

Ive been in the trenches of this fight for years. In 2020, I successfully fought to limit the amount of Russian uranium authorized to be imported into the United States.

Now we need to take the next step. Thats why Ive introduced a bill in Congress to completely end our dependence on Russia for nuclear fuel.

Banning Russian uranium will help re-establish the United States as the global leader in nuclear energy.

My bill presents a unique opportunity to revitalize our domestic supply chain.

A ban on Russian uranium would spur production here at home, strengthen our national security, and cut off another critical source of Putins energy revenue.

Nuclear power is the largest source of American carbon-free energy. It is also key to our national security.

In 2020, I secured funding to establish a U.S. strategic uranium reserve. Two years later, the Biden administration has been slow to act. The president needs to take immediate action on this long overdue program. This reserve will increase demand for Wyoming uranium and ensure America will always have the fuel it needs to power our nuclear reactors.

A stable nuclear fuel supply chain is also critical for the high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) needed to power advanced nuclear reactors, like TerraPowers future Natrium reactor in Kemmerer. There are currently only two sources of HALEU  Russia and the U.S. Department of Energy.

America needs to be able to enrich HALEU ourselves. Until we can, the U.S. Department of Energy needs to make its existing stockpiles of enriched uranium available to advanced reactor developers. I am currently finalizing legislation to provide the U.S. Department of Energy with the direction and resources necessary to take this two-pronged approach.

The nuclear fuel supply chain should begin with American uranium and end with American fuel. We cannot leave Americas energy security and national security reliant on fuel supplies from Vladimir Putin or our other enemies.

John Barrasso, a Republican senator from Wyoming, is ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

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Editor:

According to articles and editorials in the Casper Star-Tribune and other newspapers around the State of Wyoming, the majority of Wyomingites are people who care about people.

 We support Medicaid expansion so those less fortunate can afford to see healthcare providers and live longer, healthier lives.

 We dont choose to interfere in between a woman and her healthcare provider. We do not want more woman dying because their doctor cannot prescribe lifesaving medication.

 We love our LBTQ children, friends, and neighbors. We want them to stay close AND be safe.

 We want our children to have an education that includes American History, both the bad and the good.

When I watch the Wyoming Legislature, I am surprised that so many seem to have gone to medical school, studied epidemiology, and are experts in social work and education.

I am disappointed that they do not represent our Wyoming values.

So why do we vote for legislators who bring bills and pass laws that go against the beliefs and self-interest of most of our citizens?

The question arises -- is Wyoming better off than it was 10 years ago? Has our population grown? Are our children better educated, our infrastructure better? Have you driven on some our streets or two-lane highways lately?

It is time to make your voice heard. Talk to candidates in your district. Vote in the primary election for the best candidate. Vote in the general election for the person who represents your values.

I am a Wyoming native. My great grandparents homesteaded out near the Hole in the Wall. My grandparents homesteaded near Casper. I grew up here, attended Wyoming schools and the University of Wyoming. I love the beauty of this State and I love the people who live here.

Lets elect legislators who care about Wyoming people and support the values of the majority of her people.

VICKIE GOODWIN, Douglas

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The Point is to Change the World, a collection of writings by Guyanese political activist Andaiye, was in the spotlight on Thursday, the first day of the 2022 Bocas Lit Fest, which kicked off with a series of virtual events.

Thursdays conversation centred on Andaiyes writings and legacy.

Journalist Sunity Maharaj said while Andaiye left a legacy through her work, she also used her platform to be open and honest about every aspect of her life, including her battle with cancer.
...on the day he was removed as AG, Al-Rawi wrote CJ Archie, requesting that his right hand legal man be suspended for insubordination, breach of his duty to cooperate, and breach of duty to maintain trust and confidence
SANAA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi militia on Sunday claimed responsibility for its overnight attacks targeting vital energy facilities, including Aramco oil facilities, in several cities in Saudi Arabia.

"A barrage of ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones targeted Aramco oil facilities in the Saudi capital Riyadh and other Saudi cities," the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV quoted a statement from the Houthi military spokesman Yehya Sarea as saying.

"Another barrage of missiles and drones targeted vital energy plants in the Saudi cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, Yanbu, Samtah and Dhahran Al-Janub," he added.

The Houthi spokesman vowed that his group would launch more attacks if the blockade on Sanaa airport and Hodeidah port city was not lifted.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV reported a statement by the coalition as saying that the Houthi attacks targeted a distribution oil facility of the Aramco company in Jazan, a power station in Dhahran Al-Janub, a liquified natural gas plant in Khamis Mushait and the water desalination plant in Yanbu.

"The attacks caused material damage to the facilities and neighboring residential buildings and there were no casualties," the coalition said, adding that "this escalation represents the Houthis' rejection to the peace efforts."

On Wednesday, the Houthi group announced its readiness for peace talks.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of the northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the following year to support the Yemeni government. 
A Barrackpore woman returned to her house in the early hours of last Saturday and found an i
The issue of school violence has resurfaced with such an intensity that it has the nations 
    "TIME" -       
          
Emin Yogurtcuoglu, a 35-year-old bird watcher, works at Lake Mogan in Ankara, Turkey, on March 18, 2022. Emin Yogurtcuoglu, a Turkish self-proclaimed "bird detective," is constantly seeking new bird species around the world, and he wants to make his next trip to China, land of many species and home to abundant wildlife. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Emin Yogurtcuoglu, a Turkish self-proclaimed "bird detective," is constantly seeking new bird species around the world, and he wants to make his next trip to China, land of many species and home to abundant wildlife.

Started his bird observation at the age of 12, the 35-year-old bird watcher has traveled to almost every region of Turkey, and became famous in his country and abroad on social media through the vibrant pictures he took during his travels.

"Among all animals, birds are the most accessible ones. They are the closest to humans. Birds are full of colors, they can fly, change countries and migrate," he told Xinhua in an interview on the shores of Lake Mogan, located 20 km of Turkey's capital Ankara.

"You can see hundreds, thousands of different species of birds in all corners of the world. They pushed me to travel to different zones of the globe," the man said.

Beyond Turkey, Yogurtcuoglu has stepped foot on no fewer than six of the world's seven continents, including Antarctica, and seen 40 percent of the 10,000 bird species known to exist on the planet.

The wildlife expert wishes now to travel to China.

"I have extensively studied China's bird population, and there are over 1,300 species and I would like to go there, especially Sichuan and Yunnan provinces harboring endemic species," he said.

Yogurtcuoglu applauded China's push for animal conservation and scientific research.

"When I go to China, I would like to learn on this issue from my counterparts and see what lessons we can pass on to my country. China has made very serious efforts on wildlife protection. They make considerable (scientific) studies on bird populations," he said. 

Emin Yogurtcuoglu, a 35-year-old bird watcher, takes photos at Lake Mogan in Ankara, Turkey, on March 18, 2022. Emin Yogurtcuoglu, a Turkish self-proclaimed "bird detective," is constantly seeking new bird species around the world, and he wants to make his next trip to China, land of many species and home to abundant wildlife. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Emin Yogurtcuoglu, a 35-year-old bird watcher, watches birds at Lake Mogan in Ankara, Turkey, on March 18, 2022. Emin Yogurtcuoglu, a Turkish self-proclaimed "bird detective," is constantly seeking new bird species around the world, and he wants to make his next trip to China, land of many species and home to abundant wildlife. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
PHOENIX  Arizona voters may get one more chance to decide if they would like to have a lieutenant governor.

Yes, its true that voters have rejected the idea twice in the past, in 1994 and again in 2010.

But Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, one of the prime sponsors of the proposal, insists this is a new and improved version. And he is telling colleagues that if they put it on the November ballot, it has a much better chance of approval.

So far, most lawmakers from both parties appear to like the plan.

It cleared the Senate on a 23-5 vote. And only Rep. Judy Burges, R-Skull Valley, voted against it this past week when it was approved by the House Government Committee.

That leaves only a final House vote. And as a measure referred to the ballot, it does not need the blessing of Gov. Doug Ducey.

At the heart of the issue is the line of succession.

If a governor dies in office, quits to take another job, gets criminally indicted, or is impeached and convicted  all of which has happened in Arizona  the next in line is the secretary of state.

Only thing is, the person in that office got there by being elected on his or her own. And Mesnard said voters generally make a choice based not on the idea the secretary of state is the governor-in-waiting but on the particular skill set for that office whose duties, from running elections to filing certain business records, are more administrative than policy.

And it has happened more than once that the secretary of state is not of the same party.

What all that means, Mesnard said, is that the policy decisions made by voters in choosing a governor can suddenly be turned on their head by his or her successor.

That most recently occurred in 2009 when Democrat Janet Napolitano quit less than two years into her second term to take a job in the newly elected Obama administration. That put Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer into the top job.

Certainly, the Republican Party benefited when Gov. Napolitano went to D.C., said Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills.

But I dont think the voters did, he continued. I think that really was a shame.

It also has gone the other way: Democrat Rose Mofford became governor in 1988 after the Legislature impeached and convicted Republican Evan Mecham.

The parallel proposals awaiting a House vote, SB 1255 and SCR 1024, would set up a system where whoever won each partys gubernatorial primary would, within 60 days, choose a running mate whose name also would be on the ballot. Thats very close to the current national situation where presidential nominees select who they want for vice president.

One of the reasons there has been prior opposition was the concern of simply increasing government by creating a do-nothing position. This plan, however, spells out that whoever becomes lieutenant governor would serve as the director of a state agency.

Sen. Sean Bowie, D-Phoenix, the other sponsor of the plan, said this actually could save money.

Most agency chiefs easily make six-digit salaries. But the pay for elected officials is set by the legislature. And so far they have concluded that the maximum anyone other than judges should make is the $95,000 a year paid to the governor.

Bowie also pointed out that Arizona is one of just five states that does not have a lieutenant governor. He acknowledged, though, that the position is different in various states, with some running as a slate with the governor, as is proposed here, and others having this second-in-line run on his or her own.

House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding, D-Laveen, said he kind of likes that second option.

He figures that whoever is the running mate of the gubernatorial hopefuls wont get the same attention  and same public scrutiny  as the person at the top of the ticket. By contrast, Bolding said, a separate race forces candidates to run on his or her own ideas and record.

And as to continuity of policy if the governor leaves office, he pointed out that nothing in the proposal actually requires that the running mate be from the same party.

Mesnard conceded the point.

But he said he presumes that the political parties will do everything they can to make sure the public is aware of the qualifications of the lieutenant governor. In fact, Mesnard said, its in their interest to do so, just the same as now happens at the national level.

Presumably, presidential nominees choose a VP thats going to enhance the ticket, he said.

I think that same phenomenon would play out if the governor is selecting a lieutenant governor whose resume is thin or doesnt have a lot of qualifications, Mesnard said. Certainly, it would be part of the debate or conversation going into the November election.

Anyway, he pointed out, that persons name is on the ballot, along with the gubernatorial hopeful.

Everyone knows who it is and its not a secret, Mesnard said.

The proposal would allow the governor to name a new lieutenant governor if that person dies or otherwise leaves office.

But that doesnt mean being able to choose just anyone who would be first in line. The governors pick would have to be approved by a majority of both the House and Senate.

The measure, if approved in November, would not take effect until the 2026 election. That means whoever is elected governor this year will have to choose a running mate if he or she wants a second term.

It also means that whoever is elected secretary of state will remain first in the line of succession through 2026.

After that, assuming voters approve the plan, the secretary of state falls to second, followed by the attorney general, the state treasurer and the superintendent of public instruction.

Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on Twitter at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com .

Gubernatorial succession 1948  Dan Garvey becomes governor on death of Sidney Osborn. 1977  Raul Castro resigns to become ambassador to Argentina, making Wesley Bolin the governor. 1978  Attorney General Bruce Babbitt becomes governor on Bolin's death; Secretary of State Rose Mofford could not take the post because she had been appointed to replace Bolin as secretary of state. As an appointed  not elected  secretary of state, she was constitutionally ineligible to become governor, putting the attorney general next in line. 1988  Mofford, who subsequently won election as secretary of state, becomes governor after impeachment and removal of Evan Mecham. 1997  Jane Hull becomes governor after Fife Symington quits following felony conviction. 2009  Janet Napolitano quits to become Homeland Security chief in the Obama administration, making Jan Brewer the governor.

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Louise Foucar was not well when she arrived in Tucson on Dec. 30, 1898.

Much of her life had revolved around health concerns and doctors visits, and she prayed Tucsons arid climate might resolve some of her debilitating conditions.

Born in Boston on May 31, 1864, Louise was the daughter of well-to-do parents. She traveled extensively, and by the time she arrived in Arizona, she had already lived in several European countries and Mexico. She had acquired an international education, spoke several languages and was a talented artist.

At age 34 she was teaching languages at the University of Denver when she developed heart problems and tuberculosis. Forced to find a less inclement environment, she headed for Tucson.

Louise took classes at the University of Arizona as a graduate student. On the recommendation of one of her instructors, she was hired by the school to teach French, Latin, English, plane geometry and botany. In 1901, she was appointed professor of ancient languages and literature. Louise was the first woman instructor at the university.

Louise also began investing in land and property near the campus, buying up parcels considered too far out of town to be lucrative. But she had no doubt the land would be worth a substantial sum in the ensuing years.

In 1903, Louise resigned from the university to concentrate on her real estate ventures.

While still teaching at the university, Louise met student Tom Marshall who paid his way through school by working as one of the groundskeepers. Their mutual interest in botany drew them together and in 1904, the couple married in El Paso. They were both charter members of the Arizona Audubon Society that was founded in 1908.

Tom and Louise worked together on their growing real estate ventures, although Louise retained financial control of her investments as she felt Tom did not have a practical understanding of money matters. Initially content with this arrangement, Tom developed a keen photographers eye and eventually became involved in local politics.

Louise purchased her initial investments with an inheritance from her parents but within a short time, her real estate holdings produced enough income to support her endeavors.

By the 1920s, the Marshalls owned dozens of commercial developments, homes, and rental properties. Completely furnishing her apartments, Louise advertised them as coming with everything except linen and silver. In 1922, she built a block of businesses across from the universitys main entrance that was touted as Tucsons first suburban shopping center.

Louises wealthy family had instilled in her the need to give back to the community. As her properties continued to generate substantial income, she created a scholarship fund for university students.

In 1930 Louise established the Marshall Charitable Foundation, the first private, nonprofit organization in Arizona. The initial objectives of the foundation were to provide scholarships for deserving female students as well as offer financial assistance within the community.

According to Patricia Stephenson in her biography of Louise, she was a hardheaded business woman, but with a strong desire to help others less fortunate. Her ultimate goal was the establishment of a foundation, which, in her words was to carry on our work when we are gone.

By the fall of 1930, Louise was violently ill and suspected she was being poisoned by her husband who she believed was having an affair with their housekeeper.

From that time until he left the house, Louise said, I kept a large knife at my bedside to defend myself in case of attack.

On April 27, 1931, Louise shot Tom Marshall. Taken to the hospital, Tom was operated on twice, but the bullets could not be located. X-rays showed where the bullets should be, but the pictures were read backwards leading doctors to areas of his body where there were no injuries.

On May 17, Tom was was transported to a Los Angeles hospital for further surgery. He died three days later.

On the day Tom died, Louise was charged with first-degree murder. She spent the month of June in jail before being released on July 1.

With a change of venue granted, trial commenced in Nogales, Arizona, on Sept. 14. Louises defense team argued that Tom did not die from his bullet wounds but from the deficient care he received afterward. They persuaded Louise to plead guilty by reason of temporary insanity, a rarely used defense at that time. It was also determined that she did have poison in her system.

The trial lasted 10 days before the jury was sequestered. It took the 12-man jury 21 minutes to return a verdict of not guilty.

Exonerated, Louise led a quiet existence the rest of her life although she continued to run her business ventures and the Marshall Foundation (the word Charitable was deleted from the Foundations name in 1942).

She financed numerous new companies coming into Tucson, supported the YMCA, YWCA, the Arizona Childrens Orphanage, and the Salvation Army among other institutions. During World War II, she loaned one of her storefronts to the Red Cross for its workplace.

Louise, however, always had her eyes on the bottom line. She took on the city of Tucson after the Marshall Foundation bought land and built a facility establishing the Yaqui Community Center that provided recreational, educational, and medical facilities. Louise argued that the city should pay for the electricity, water and phone services used at the center since it was the central gathering place for the Yaqui to discuss community issues. The city agreed to pay the electric bill.

In 1944, Louise turned over all her Pima County property to the Marshall Foundation with the understanding that the income and principal from her properties would be used for educational, charitable and social welfare purposes.

Defying all the odds of her ill health through the years, Louise died at the age of 92 on July 10, 1956.

Today, the Marshall Foundation continues to donate millions of dollars to nonprofit organizations in Tucson and Pima County.

Jan Cleere is the author of several historical nonfiction books about the early people of the Southwest. Email her at Jan@JanCleere.com. Website: www.JanCleere.com.

Sources Acme Building Work is Begun. Arizona Daily Star. June 5, 1938. Foundation Organizer Succumbs. Arizona Daily Star. July 11, 1956. Louise Marshall (1864-1956). Arizona Womens Hall of Fame. Marshall Foundation. Accessed at marshallfoundation.com/. Mayor Favors Request from Marshall School. Tucson Daily Citizen. August 15, 1944. Red Cross is Active in City. Arizona Daily Star. July 28, 1940. Stephenson, Patricia. Trial and Triumph: The Life and Accomplishments of Louise Foucar Marshall, Her First 67 Years. Tucson: Self Published, 2008.

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Thankful Biden confronts Putin

The world is in a crisis now, but thank God we have President Joseph R. Biden in charge. He has assembled a global band of brothers in standing up to the Russian dictator President Vladimir Putin. One can only imagine the horror we would have now, if the apologist failed former President Donald Trump was in charge. Always remember that disgraced Trump called Putin a best friend and a genius. Trumps weakness is now on full display for all.

David Keating

Northeast side

Electric cars and Russia

However you feel about Russias invasion of Ukraine, preserving good relations is essential in transitioning to electric vehicles. In addition to oil, Russia has enormous reserves of magnesium, vanadium and nickel.

A thought experiment might help achieve a little more understanding, if not sympathy for Russias decision to invade Ukraine. If you were an American president watching the steady buildup of Mexican military capability by an alliance of foreign powers, a buildup which you had cautioned for more than 30 years could not be tolerated, what would you do? Throw in the expenditure of more than $5 billion to promote democracy and a violent coup detat that overthrew a democratically elected government and replaced it with one bent on reclaiming the territory it lost in the Mexican-American War and ridding itself of U.S. citizens living in Canada.

Best not to mix geopolitics and business. There are no saints in either profession.

Steven Lesh

East side

Nuclear war or nuclear ban?

Re: the March 13 article Is Tucson still a nuke target?

Thanks to David Teter for reminding us that however unthinkable, we should not stop thinking about Tucson as a nuclear target. Left unsaid in this article is that not only would nuclear war destroy the nations transportation, communication, power, water and manufacturing capabilities, but it would overwhelm health care, public safety and emergency response as well. Just a handful of nuclear blasts could also create a nuclear winter. The radioactive ash from burning cities like Tucson will poison the rain and dim the sunshine for years, wreaking global havoc with food production.

But it is not hopeless. Its a long shot, but the majority of the nations on earth have already blazed the trail by adopting and ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Now its our job in the nine nuclear nations to delegitimize these weapons and demand our governments join this treaty.

Jack Cohen-Joppa

Midtown

Manchin should move to Russia

Just read where Sen. Joe Manchin said, I dont want to have to be standing in line waiting for a battery regarding electric vehicles. Joe, if life were only that difficult! Because you refuse to back any version of Build Back Better, many Americans are standing in line for basic needs. The nation is waiting on much-needed climate change legislation, and I just recently heard you will oppose the presidents candidate for the Fed on climate issues. Perhaps, Joe, you should move to Russia. People there, who place themselves above all others, can become president. I mean, Vladimir Putin is older than you, and he needs a successor. I am not a radical liberal progressive. But, I know that one senator cant place himself above the majority needs; yet you consistently do. Can I donate to your ticket to Russia?

Norman Patten

Midtown

Who will fight for freedom?I wonder if Russia invaded the U.S. would Americans come together and fight for our precious democracy like the brave Ukrainians, or would some welcome Vladimir Putin with flowers and open arms?

N.C. Arnold

Green Valley

Connections to Ukraine

I have two connections to Ukraine. Three of my grandparents were born there, and came to the USA as children. My fathers mother lost most or all of her family in the 1940s, when the Nazis brutally killed entire Jewish towns. I was only 3 when she died so did not get any details. In 1996, when I still lived in Atlanta, I volunteered with the Ukrainian Paralympic Team. I am very concerned about them and their families. Life is awful for most Ukrainians now; how much worse would it be for people who cannot walk long distances to escape?

Debbi Golden-Davis

East side

Trump was right on energy issues

Donald Trump enacted pro-oil and natural gas drilling and exportation policies like Keystone and ANWR. The results were lower energy costs for Americans. I believe Trump did not want America to be dependent on dictator countries like Russia for our fuel supplies and saw energy independence as a national security issue. He publicly criticized Germanys Angela Merkel for doing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline deal with Russia, saying it could lead to energy blackmail and enrich Russia. Trump placed sanctions on that pipeline, which Biden lifted. There is already a Nord Stream 1 pipeline still carrying oil and gas from Russia to Europe! Trump condemned NATO countries for their decades of not spending pledged amounts of GDP on military defense. He was successful in getting NATO to increase their defense budgets. However, it is only now, after Russia invaded Ukraine that NATO has awakened to the need of spending more. Meanwhile, reports are that leaders in Saudi Arabia and UAE rejected phone calls from Biden pleading for higher oil production. Brilliant, Joe!

Mike Wayne

Midtown

GOP betrays its own values

I remember once Bill Maher said he would be a Republican if only they were. Once they were for a strong defense, not sucking up to tyrants. Fox News and Donald Trump both have voiced pro-Putin views, hes a genius, etc. Supposedly they wanted a balanced budget, which last happened under Bill Clinton, and for a smaller government, which grew greatly under Trump and George W. Bush. They passed tax breaks for the rich. I think trickle-down economics contributed to the deficit that benefited only the wealthy. And lastly a government that isnt involved in citizens lives, if only that were so.

Craig Miller

Northwest side

Disheartening division in US

Todays America has become divided and it is disheartening. To me, our two-party system has made this possible. We elect representatives based on our party affiliation even if the representative is not worthy of the honor we are bestowing on them. My vision would be for all of us to ask to change our voter registration to other. That would tell these politicians that they serve us, we do not serve them. They would actually have to tell us what they believe in and what they would do if elected instead of telling us how awful the other party is.

In Arizona, you can still vote in the primaries if you dont declare a party affiliation. When you ask for a ballot, you can choose a party at that time.

I never want to hear a president say they want my people to sit at attention like they do for another authoritarian leader. We are not their people, they are our representatives.

Donna Pierce

Northeast side

More anti-wolf legislation in AZ

The Arizona House passed HB 2181 prohibiting state authorities from stopping anyone from killing a wolf who feels threatened by one. Its a confusing bill, given that Mexican gray wolf numbers were decimated for decades, resulting in current federal protections under the Endangered Species Act.

This legislation is anti-wolf, similar to other state bills that have been in direct conflict with the Endangered Species Act and ignore the science of extensive wolf research, which indicates wolves are sentient, socially oriented animals that thrive as a family unit. Killing an alpha wolf rips apart the cohesion of a family and destroys its continuity.

Wolves successfully balance ecosystems by preventing overgrazing of ungulates through predation. Wolves have been baited, trapped, poisoned, tortured, gassed, shot and killed since European settlers arrived.

For decades our government set up bounties and almost exterminated wolves. Arizona legislators cause confusion and sanction wolf killings when they support anti-wolf bills. Tell your legislators to protect Arizona wolves.

Linda Dugan

Midtown

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The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

Citizen ballot initiatives take a lot of time, money and effort, which is why they are undertaken only when enough voters believe legislators have failed to protect the common good  either by passing a bad law or by not passing a necessary law.

One such successful ballot initiative became law in 2000, when Arizonans disgusted with political gerrymandering united to pass Proposition 106, which transferred responsibility for redrawing voting districts from the majority party in the state Legislature to a five-person Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC). This action put Arizona in the forefront of states working for fair elections.

Another successful citizen ballot initiative occurred in November 2020 with the passage of Proposition 208, which increased funding for public education. It is hard to imagine education being a partisan issue since parents from both parties want their children to be well-educated and most are aware that Arizona ranks 49th among the 50 states in per-pupil spending and funding for public education and 50th in median teacher pay.

But the Republican-controlled Legislature did not see it that way. Their first effort to block Prop. 208 was to go to court, claiming it deprived them of their constitutional funding authority  ironic because it was the Legislatures failure to fund education appropriately that prompted voters to enact Prop 208. When their case was dismissed, Republicans crafted a different workaround. They passed new legislation to reimburse Arizonans subject to the Prop. 208 surtax (mostly wealthier taxpayers) using funds appropriated for other purposes. This law passed on a straight party-line vote. It not only nullified Prop. 208, but it also served as a slap in the face and a warning to all the citizens who worked so hard to get it passed.

What are Arizona voters to conclude from how Republican legislators respond to these and other citizen ballot initiatives? They seem to be saying, Who do you think you are? We make the laws here. You citizens need to stay in your own lane. My question to Arizona voters is: What is our lane?

I fear we may not have a lane if we continue to support candidates preoccupied with silencing the peoples voices and maintaining power at all costs. And suppression may get even easier. Bills to restrict citizen ballot initiatives are now under consideration in the Arizona Legislature. One proposes raising the percentage of votes needed to pass a ballot initiative from a simple majority to 60%. (If a simple majority is enough for legislators to enact laws, shouldnt it be enough for citizens to do so?)

Another 2022 bill, sponsored by Republican House member Vince Leach, would make it possible for laws enacted by citizen initiative to be amended or overturned if the state or federal Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional. On the surface, that might sound reasonable  but not if you consider changes made to the Arizona Supreme Court. In 2016, after losing court cases involving redistricting and education funding, Republicans passed legislation to expand the Arizona Supreme Court from five to seven members  on a straight party-line vote and against the advice of all five sitting justices. Gov. Doug Ducey signed that bill and has now appointed five justices, all conservatives. There is no longer a single progressive voice on the Arizona Supreme Court.

I suspect Republicans would cry foul if Democrats had taken such action  and I would not blame them. It underscores that strategies are only as good as the motives of people who use them. Citizen ballot initiatives have provided a useful redress for legislative inaction in the past, but they cannot resolve the underlying problem. Arizona voters should not have to do the work we elect representatives to do! The long-term solution is to be more careful about whom we elect to represent us.

The reason many bills supported by a majority of Arizona voters do not get passed is that dogmatic, divisive and controlling Republicans oppose such bills and anyone who supports them, including reasonable Republicans.

Republicans hold only a one-seat majority in both houses of the Arizona Legislature, which means many bills popular with the voting public could pass if just a few principled and collaborative Republicans would support them. Sadly, they rarely do so. Many believe this is because they fear being primaried by extremists in their party. I believe primaries can be used in the service of democracy as well as autocracy. We should remember that right-wing Republicans do not have a voting majority in this country, or arguably not even in Arizona. They cannot control election outcomes without help, so lets stop helping them.

The strategy for unseating deceitful and divisive Republicans is twofold. First, they must be opposed in primary elections by ethical, competent, persuasive Republican candidates so voters have a viable choice. Second, moderate Republicans must encourage independents to vote in the Republican primary. They are eligible and need only request a Republican primary ballot when they receive the August primary election notice. By combining forces, willing Republicans and independents can rid Arizona of legislators who would destroy our democracy.

The benefits of this strategy are many. For Republicans, it could be the first step in reclaiming what used to be known as the Grand Old Party (GOP). For independents, it could provide a much needed and deserved voice.

This strategy transcends partisanship. Its goals are to nominate ethical candidates from both major parties, let them share their vision for America and their strategies for realizing that vision, and then give all voters a voice in selecting the candidates who will best represent their views.

Lynne Hudson is an elected Democratic precinct committee person in Precinct 149 in Tucson. She is a state Democratic Party committee person and Professor Emerita of Educational Psychology. She is a retired teacher, educator and author. She lives in Tucson.

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The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

In September 2002, through Rotary International, I traveled as part of a team of three, through Eastern Europe to Ukraine to deliver medical equipment to the first minimally invasive surgical clinic in the city of Ternopil, near Lviv, in western Ukraine. I spent time in Ternopil and Lviv, meeting with physicians, teachers, business owners and local elected officials.

While in Ukraine in 2002, a young surgeon and his family gave us their beds to sleep in (despite our protests!). Thats the kind of country it was, and still is. He and his family have remained close friends with our team ever since.

Until last week, this surgeon, now 20 years older, worked in Kyiv. For the first few days of the war, he and his family, including 6-year-old twin daughters, hunkered down in the basement of their home in Bucha. But last week, when bombs destroyed nearby apartment buildings, the risk to his children became too great, and the family fled west, experiencing attacks by Russian soldiers on their column of cars.

It took them 23 harrowing hours to reach Ternopil. His wife and daughter are now safe, for the moment, with friends in Poland, and my physician friend has returned to Ukraine to care for the wounded.

Rotary Internationals Four Way Test of what we think, say or do begins by asking: Is it the truth? Ive been fascinated throughout my life with the nature of truth. As a teacher, I looked back in history and found many salient quotations. These two particularly inspired me:

In war, truth is the first casualty, Aeschylus, a Greek playwright, around 500 BCE.

One word of truth outweighs the whole world, Aleksander Solzhenitsyn, in his 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature speech.

Now I find myself compelled to tell the truth, as best I can, about what I know of Ukraine.

Twenty years ago, I wrote the following in my trip journal:

Ukraine is a laboratory for democracy whose citizens dare to dream grand, outrageous dreams of freedom, and are working harder than I have ever worked to make their dreams come true. They look West, turning their backs on Russia and the past. They look to Poland, who sends them financial help; to the Czech Republic, a model of freedom and free enterprise, roaring ahead into the 21st century, to Germany, and to America. They believe that their future  their grand dreams of freedom which they dare to dream, their laboratory for democracy depends, above all, on peace  .

Last week my surgeon friend wrote me, via Facebook:

Today I met in Lviv my 72-year-old mother-in-law, who on the third day of the evacuation attempt finally broke out of the occupation (in Mariopul). Lost weight, deathly tired of 15-day survival in the epicenter of battles without light, heat and water, terrified by the shouts of armed zondercommanders breaking into houses, beating windows, breaking doors. But she couldnt resist asking, What are you looking for here, why did you come to our land and shoot people?! To which she received the answer of a Russian officer: If I do not complete the task, I will be imprisoned for 15 years.

Perhaps for the first time in human history, the entire world is now bearing witness, moment by moment, to the truth that war is always hell. There are no lasting winners or losers. Throughout history, the public relied on the art and craft of foreign correspondents, playwrights, artists, poets and novelists to illustrate this truth for us. Now we can all see it for ourselves.

We who live in the Sonoran Desert, whose ancestors for the last 500 years have seen more than enough war, must not fall into denial of the truth that war is hell.

The United States at its best can still be a laboratory for democracy. I call on all our elected officials at every level to face this hell head on, and to shout out to Putin and all the warlike leaders of our world, Basta! Enough is enough! Wage peace, not war, so that we and our children may live.

Stephen Brown is a retired teacher and public health/human rights community organizer. He lives in Tucson.

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CANBERRA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Australia's national science agency has made a commitment to help reduce the country's plastic waste by 80 percent over 10 years.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) on Sunday announced a further investment in its Ending Plastic Waste Mission.

The initiative will receive 50 million Australian dollars (37.1 million U.S. dollars) in funding from the CSIRO, industry, governments and universities to develop cutting-edge innovations for how Australia makes, uses, recycles and disposes of plastics.

Australians currently use 1 million tonnes of single use plastic every year, only 12 percent of which is recycled.

Larry Marshall, chief executive of the CSIRO, said that without significant action the plastic waste problem would continue to grow.

"The Ending Plastic Waste Mission will bring together the whole innovation system, from government, industry and academia to turn science into solutions that will benefit the environment and create economic opportunities for Australia," he said in a media release.

"By turning plastic waste into a renewable resource, the Mission will deliver collaborative scientific and manufacturing capabilities to drive new technologies across the entire plastics supply chain and grow Australia's circular economy."

The CSIRO launched its "Team Australia" missions project in August 2020 with an aim of using major scientific and collaborative research initiatives to solve the country's biggest challenges including plastic waste, climate change uncertainty, pandemics and natural disasters. 
Q: I purchased two airline tickets from GotoGate for my wife and son in late 2020. The tickets were for a one-way trip with SriLankan Airlines from Guangzhou, China, to Kigali, Rwanda. Sadly, the airline canceled the flight. I bought new tickets with Qatar Airways for my family to return to Kigali.

I asked for a refund. Its been eight months and I havent received my money back yet. I contacted SriLankan Airlines and a representative asked me to contact GotoGate, my travel agency. But it appears both GotoGate and SriLankan Airlines are not keen on the refund. I would appreciate your help in getting my $2,718 refunded. Thank you so much.  Joseph Obiora Ezezue, Maiduguri, Nigeria

A: This shouldnt be that complicated. When an airline cancels your flight, the refund should be automatic. You shouldnt have to chase down your money, even if its in the middle of a pandemic.

SriLankan Airlines should have immediately refunded your money to your travel agent, GotoGate. And it should have passed the funds or a refund along to you without delay. As Ive noted before, you might have expected a brief delay during the initial outbreak, but this happened at the end of 2020. Planes were flying. Online agencies were accepting reservations. Theres no excuse.

So, what happened? Well, it looks like you made your booking through a third party, a German online agency called MyTrip. It appears the agency then contracted with GotoGate for your tickets, which then made the reservation through SriLankan Airlines. Thats a lot of parties involved but not uncommon.

I get a lot of emails from readers asking why people bother dealing with third parties. Why not book directly through an airline? In your case, that would have vastly simplified the refund process. But others might want to work with a trusted travel advisor or access special deals that an online agency might have.

You kept a comprehensive paper trail. You have an email from MyTrip verifying that SriLankan Airlines processed the refund in December. Thats a key piece of evidence, and all my team and I needed to crack this case.

Question is, could you have done it yourself? I think so. You could have appealed to an executive at GotoGate (we publish the names, numbers and email addresses of GotoGates customer service managers on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org).

You might have also considered contacting your credit card issuer to initiate a dispute. The Central Bank of Nigeria allows for credit card chargebacks under certain circumstances, and you might have been able to secure a full refund even without the cooperation of the airline or online agent.

It took a while, but GotoGate finally responded directly to you and sent the full refund.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. You can read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org, or email him at chris@elliott.org
Correction: Photo captions with this story originally misstated the operational status of Genesis Testing Labs in Broken Arrow. The expanded facility will be launching soon.

Oklahoma is producing so much medical marijuana, it likely exceeds the capacity of the states patients to consume it, a cannabis testing professional says.

The glut of product likely also means only about half of manufacturers are testing the cannabis per state regulations, says Tony Brixey, president of Genesis Testing Labs.

Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority has 29 labs licensed to test cannabis for the states growers, which total about 8,100. Joe Lantz, Genesis vice president, points out the numbers dont add up, especially considering the volume (of cannabis) out there.

The labs would have to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all through the weekend, and itd be nuts. Youd have to actually add more labs, Lantz says of a scenario where all growers were testing.

Until about a year and a half ago, only about 15% of medical marijuana manufacturers were found to be getting their products tested, Brixey said.

There is such an opportunity in this state ... to have the best in the nation. The whole nation is watching to see how this Oklahoma experiment is going, and its not going really well right now, says James Rhudy, chief science officer for Genesis.

Lee Rhoades is lab oversight director for OMMA. He says his teams focus is heavily on getting all of the labs on the same page, having results that the public can believe in and have confidence in.

To do that, the state in 2019 contracted a quality assurance laboratory, Metis, to kind of act as a backstop for all the commercial labs, compare results and facilitate ideas we can develop as best practices, Rhoades says.

He touted a program, started early in 2021, in which Metis tests reserve samples of specimens already analyzed by private labs for consistency in results.

We invited all the labs in for a technical roundtable and presented that information to them to say where do we go from here, according to Rhoades, who said the group has come up with some action steps to foster consistency.

Brixey said beyond providing detailed feedback from Metis work, OMMA could do even more for labs by educating patients. If fewer shopped at dispensaries judging only by THC potency, it could eliminate so-called lab shopping for higher numbers.

Really having your commodity (price) based upon your (THC) content does provide for that unethical behavior, Rhudy says.

According to Rhoades, several private labs have reached out to OMMA for consultation with technical staff at Metis.

In fact one lab was really struggling with potency, and our QA lab visited with them, reviewed their processes, and now that lab has shown a great deal of improvement in their THC values that theyre reporting, Rhoades says. So that kind of consultation, not too unusually, will get a lab asking about a result were not too sure, just want to check.

One issue OMMA and Genesis are working together to help mitigate: Some potentially hazardous compounds in medical marijuana arent being tested for. At least not per regulations; some labs go the extra mile to find anything, even beyond the illegal list, that could endanger patients.

An example is the THC analogue that had OMMA sending out a wide warning earlier this year.

Rhoades said when THC-O-acetate is added to marijuana, it can produce a stronger effect, and if youre not expecting it, then your side effects could be a little bit worse. If youre not a seasoned user etc. and its not on the package so you might not even know its there. So thats part of the puzzle we still have to figure out (why its there) and again we do have the ability to start surveilling.

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Officials with Ascension St. John didnt need a global pandemic to tell them that their ICU needed to grow.

But COVID-19, which has continued to put a strain on hospital ICUs, definitely underscored the point.

Wed been studying it for some time and recognized that when you look at the numbers, when you look at the regional draw for our health system, we were already short ICU capacity, said Jeff Nowlin, St. John CEO.

But certainly, the pandemic helped validate and shine a light on the need.

To meet that need, officials recently announced a $27 million plan to expand the adult ICU at Ascension St. John Medical Center, 1923 S. Utica Ave.

The project, which will get underway this spring and be completed in 2024, will add 36 beds to the current 60.

While it could help relieve the well-publicized strain on state ICUs, Nowlin emphasized the expansion is not primarily about the pandemic.

Even if tomorrow the pandemic disappeared, we dont see the need for ICU capacity going away, Nowlin said.

What we see here and in northeast Oklahoma is a demographic who fight a variety of illnesses, and (for whom) intensive care is a need.

The expansion, located in the hospitals J.A. Chapman Tower, will have two phases: The first will add 18 cardiovascular ICU beds, the second 18 surgical ICU beds.

Once the project is finished, it will position the health system at the forefront of regional, critical care access, officials said.

As previously reported, to create the space, St. John is closing, effective April 30, its pediatric ICU and general pediatric inpatient unit. Saint Francis Health System officials, who are working with St. John to accommodate any needed transfers, have stated that they are more than capable of picking up the slack at The Childrens Hospital at Saint Francis.

Adult ICU, Nowlin said, was just a bigger need for us and we have a provider that does (pediatric intensive care) well in the market.

He said the situation is similar to how the two health systems worked together previously to address kidney transplants.

A few years ago, we had two kidney transplant programs in the community. And when you looked at the numbers and the needs, that really probably wasnt needed, Nowlin said.

Saint Francis made the decision to get out of kidney transplant service. So they worked with us, we worked with them. They said you guys do it well, youve got all the services. So now weve got one kidney transplant program in our community.

St. John currently has seven pediatric ICU beds compared to Saint Francis 20.

While the numbers rise in the winter with flu and RSV cases, the St. Johns unit on average serves only two patients a day.

Saint Francis has the capacity, along with the depth and breadth of specialties that support the sickest of children, Nowlin said, adding that the move for St. John just made sense.

St. Johns pediatric ambulatory and surgical services and neonatal intensive care will all continue uninterrupted.

None of that changes, Nowlin said.

The expansion complements the recently announced bed expansions at St. John hospitals in Owasso and Broken Arrow, along with the establishment at the Tulsa hospital of the Ascension St. John Womens and Childrens Surgical Unit, which will offer 26 beds and focus on the post-operative care of women and children.

St. John officials will also break ground in March on a 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation facility in Owasso, a $24 million joint venture with Encompass Health.

All told, the planned expansions reflect a $67 million capital investment, Nowlin said.

Its really exciting the investments that were making, both here in Tulsa and where we have hospitals on the ground in fast-growing communities like Owasso and Broken Arrow. These are all big investments in communities that need the services and were just excited to be able to provide that.

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After nearly four decades in the business of reporting on politics, foreign policy and national security, David E. Sanger knows all too well its a fools business to make predictions about how an international crisis might play out.

That is especially true of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, about which Sanger has been reporting for the New York Times since before the first shots were fired.

Sanger is the chief White House and national security correspondent for the Times, who has been a member of teams that have earned the newspaper three of its Pulitzer Prizes, most recently in 2017.

Hes also the author of several books, including The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage and Fear in the Cyber Age, which examine the emergence of cyberconflict and its role in changing the nature of global power (the book was later adapted into an HBO documentary).

Sanger was scheduled to be in Tulsa on Tuesday to present the University of Tulsa Presidential Lecture, a free event sponsored by the Darcy OBrien Endowed Chair. However, Sanger was assigned to cover President Joe Biden at the upcoming NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday.

Officials with the University of Tulsa are working to arrange a new date for Sanger to speak in Tulsa. But even then, exactly what Sanger might say in the course of his talk  like the potential outcome of the Russia invasion of Ukraine  is anyones guess.

By the time I get out to Tulsa, the world may look a little bit different than it does right now, Sanger said in a recent phone conversation. I did a talk a few days ago, which was the first time Ive spoken to a live audience in a couple of years, so Im sort of experimenting with what to say.

Sanger said that in the days and weeks as Russian forces began to amass along the Ukraine borders, the U.S. government did a series of table-top exercises to project how this crisis might play out.

I sat through a lot of these, he said, and one thing that was something of a constant was the idea that the conflict would open with a series of cyber attacks, such as shutting down electric power and communication systems. That did not happen in reality.

Why we got that wrong is a hard question to answer, Sanger said. One possibility is that we thought Russia would win fast, and they did not. Its likely the Russians thought they would very quickly become an occupying army, and they did not want to bring down systems they would need to bring back up once they were settled in.

While Sanger isnt about to predict what may happen in Ukraine, he said certain factors would give a good indication of where the conflict may go.

If you see China showing signs publicly that it is not too thrilled to have signed up with a country the rest of the world hates, that would be significant, he said. When the UN resolution to condemn Russia for invading Ukraine came up, China abstained. It could have voted no, as Russia did. So if China tries to bail Russia out, that would be telling. If they dont try, that would be even more telling.

Another indicator would be if countries such as Poland and Sweden move to join the NATO alliance, Sanger said, which would show that Russian President Vladimir Putins actions are driving more countries to do what he is trying to stop.

If protests against the war continue in Russia, that would be significant, because it shows that Putin has created more opposition than he had anticipated, Sanger said.

And if after three weeks the Russian army has not taken Kyiv, then that shows this war is not going to plan, Sanger said. They thought they could sweep in and take over the country in three days. Even in the Iraq war, and the Persian Gulf war, which went about as well as such things could, it took the U.S. three weeks to get to Baghdad, and our troops did not face the sort of resistance the Russians are getting from the Ukrainian people.

Sanger thinks the reasons there has not been an escalation in cyber warfare since the invasion of Ukraine are that the Russian military is too pinned down by the unexpected and forceful resilience of the Ukraine people and that the U.S. and its allies are more effective at employing countermeasures, such as sanctions.

You have to remember what cyber is good for, he said. Its best as a gray war weapon. Cyber lives and thrives in the space between war and peace.

We have an outright war underway. Sometimes its significantly more effective to bomb a TV tower than to do a careful cyber attack to disable it.

However, Sanger said, it is possible that Russia may employ cyber warfare in retaliation against the U.S. and its allies.

We have a lot of ways to turn off the Russian economy, Sanger said. We own the worlds currency reserves; the U.S. is where the gold reserves are stored; and we have the biggest banking system to settle international transactions. The Russians cant do to us what we can do to them.

So if they decide to retaliate, their only weapon is cyber, he said.

While Russia is a nuclear power, and as NATO countries are warning that if so much as the toe of a Russian soldiers boot crosses the border into a NATO country, that will be seen as an act of war, Sanger said he does not think World War III is inevitable.

If there is a third world war, it will not be deliberate, he said. We will escalate ourselves into it. I dont think Vladimir Putin believes such a war would be in his best interests. So Im not too worried about that.

However, I do think that, when you have this many forces operating so close to each other, you can get into trouble, Sanger said. It would be like the Cuban missile crisis  the opportunity to make a big mistake is huge.

Tulsa World Scene: New Frankoma Pottery to open in Glenpool

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The states shift to reporting COVID-19 data weekly rather than daily is receiving a mixed response in its first couple of weeks.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health billed it as beginning its move toward the endemic phase of the pandemic, but there isnt a guarantee that COVID will become an endemic disease in 2022. Instead of weekday reports of COVID case counts, hospitalizations and deaths, OSDH is releasing data once a week on Thursdays.

Dr. Mary Clarke, president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, said the public health response is slowed by reducing information feeds and data gathering. Clarke said weekly data reporting isnt appropriate for a pandemic in which the infectious disease can double in five to seven days.

Were getting data late and dealing with it a week or two later, Clarke said. In this case, we need to know where the spots are running up so we can get in front of it. You cant get in front of it unless you have information in real time.

Dr. Dale Bratzler, the University of Oklahomas chief COVID officer, noted that quite a few states have stepped down reporting to weekly or three times a week.

I have been assured that they will keep track of data daily and will revisit (the frequency of data releases) if cases go up again, Bratzler said.

Monica Rogers, the Tulsa Health Departments division chief of data and technology, said she doesnt think the states shift to weekly reporting from daily is a major concern at this point.

Rogers noted that the State Health Department made its change around the time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched a weekly metric  COVID-19 Community Levels  governing mask-wearing guidance that is built on COVID case and hospital admission rates, along with the percentage of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID patients.

She said she thinks the hospital data are far more important than daily case numbers.

Rogers added that she might hope to see the state return to daily reporting if there is a sustained increase in COVID hospitalizations that has Tulsa County near or in the CDCs high community level metric.

Thats when you could be at risk of having that data-lag become a real problem, because your data is looking at seven days and wont come out for another seven, Rogers said. By the time you get the new data and youre able to make decisions, you could be in a very problematic time because the window to make decisions is closing or not ideal.

Rogers said another scenario that should prompt consideration of restoring daily reporting would be if a new variant emerges in which vaccinated immunity isnt as effective as in the past. In that instance, she said, daily case counts take on added importance because the situation would be similar to earlier in the pandemic when vaccines were unavailable or limited.

So cases were the best way to understand spread in the community and furthermore the risk in the community at that time, Rogers said.

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Horn-ing in: While Republicans are likely to get most of the attention during this years U.S. Senate races, voters may have noticed an unusual coincidence on the Democratic side.

Two women with the same last name are running, one in each of Oklahomas two Senate races.

Kendra Horn and Madison Horn are not sisters. They are not cousins, mother and daughter, or aunt and niece.

In short, they are not related.

Kendra Horn, 45, is a former 5th District congresswoman who worked for then-Congressman (now University of Tulsa President) Brad Carson in the early 2000s, ran Democrat Joe Dormans 2014 gubernatorial campaign and has been a lobbyist and policy consultant for the aerospace industry. She grew up in Chickasha and has degrees from the University of Tulsa and Southern Methodist University.

Kendra Horn is a candidate for the Senate seat being given up by Republican Jim Inhofe.

Madison Horn, 32, grew up in Stilwell, moved to Georgia not long after finishing high school, and wound up with a Washington, D.C., cybersecurity company. She now lives in Oklahoma City. Although she is not related to Kendra Horn, she said she is a distant cousin of fellow Adair County native U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin  a Republican who could be matched against Kendra Horn in the general election.

Madison Horn is one of at least three Democrats planning to enter the primary for the other U.S. Senate seat, which is being defended by Republican James Lankford.

Aside from being Democrats, the Horns have at least one thing in common  both have worked with nonprofit youth organizations. Kendra Horn has been involved with the Girl Scouts, while Madison Horn worked for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeastern Arkansas right out of high school.

It should be noted that the Horns arent the only Democrats running for U.S. Senate.

Jason Bollinger, a young Oklahoma City attorney who claims Kendra Horn as a friend, and Tulsan Jo Glenn, a teacher and former city of Tulsa public prosecutor who has been a leader in Tulsa County Democratic Party politics, are up against Madison Horn in the June 28 Democratic primary for the Lankford seat.

Election lawsuit: Oral arguments in Enid attorney Stephen Jones suit to stop the special election for Inhofes seat in the Senate will begin at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday before the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

In an unusual move, the arguments will be livestreamed on the courts website, oscn.net.

Jones is arguing that Inhofes successor cannot be chosen until the office is actually vacant, which as things stand now wont occur until the end of the current Congress early next year.

A decision in Jones favor would mean Inhofe would have to retire this year for there to be a special election in 2022. If he remains until early next year, the governor would appoint a temporary replacement to serve until after a special election could be held in 2024.

Under the dome: Expect some long days and maybe nights in the Oklahoma House and Senate this week ahead of Thursdays floor deadline. Bills not passed by their chamber of origin by then will be considered dead for the remainder of the session.

About 750 bills remain on general order, meaning theyve been voted out of committee but have not been heard on the floor. About 440 of those are in the House, the remainder in the Senate. Its not inconceivable that others could magically appear on agendas before the week is out.

State Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Roger Thompson, R-Okemah, continued preaching caution on spending and tax cuts despite record revenue.

Gov. Kevin Stitt signed six bills last week, the first of the 2022 session. All were relatively minor items dealing with taxes and state expenditures.

The state Senate maintained the Legislatures sudden push for hydrogen power by passing a couple of related incentives, one for hydrogen-powered motor vehicles and another for education costs connected to development of hydrogen power.

The Senate last week passed and sent to the House legislation to repeal a number of court fees and replace the revenue with general fund appropriations.

The Oklahoma Democratic Party blasted away at what it called Republicans anti-expert movement, which it says is jeopardizing the public health of all Oklahomans by turning the Health Department into a political arm of the Governors Office.

Trump train: With Oklahoma Republicans crawling over each other to get the blessing of former President Donald Trump in this years competitive Republican primaries, Stitt actually received an endorsement.

Kevin Stitt has done a fantastic job as Governor of Oklahoma, Trump said in a written statement. He is a champion for our America First agenda, a fearless defender of the Second Amendment, and a supporter of our great Military and Vets.

Stitt does have a primary this year but is expected to win without difficulty.

Stitt has not explicitly embraced Trumps America First slogan, which is controversial in some circles because it is borrowed from a group of 1930s isolationists and Nazi sympathizers.

The slogan was previously used by both Republican and Democratic politicians, mostly to signal isolationist and anti-immigration leanings.

Campaigns and elections: The 2nd Congressional District field continued to grow last week with the addition of Muskogee Police Chief Johnny Teehee.

A Cherokee Nation citizen, Teehee grew up in Vian and has spent the last 35 years with the Muskogee Police Department. He said he is particularly concerned about the influx of illegal drugs across the southern U.S. border.

Teehee received national attention last year when he attended the funeral of a 17-year-old Nebraska girl who was killed in a shootout with Muskogee police. He had been invited by the girls father.

Teehee is the fifth candidate to enter the June 28 Republican primary for what will be an open seat.

No non-Republican has announced a candidacy.

Tulsa County Democratic Party Chairwoman Amanda Swope announced that she will be a Democratic candidate in state House District 71. The seat is currently held by Democrat Denise Brewer, who is not seeking reelection.

As newly configured, HD 71 runs from the Interstate 244 bridge over the Arkansas River and the south side of the Inner Dispersal Loop to 81st Street on the east side of the river, then east to Lewis Avenue, except for an irregular boundary north of 31st Street.

Lankfords campaign includes weekly call-in prayer meetings.

Lankfords primary opponent, Jackson Lahmeyer, is telling supporters he can help bring Trump back before the 2024 election by throwing Biden out of office. This would involve Republicans winning control of the Congress this year, installing Trump as speaker of the House, declaring Biden mentally incompetent and impeaching Vice President Kamala Harris.

Alex Gray, a Republican candidate for the seat being surrendered by Inhofe, was endorsed by former Trump Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller and retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg.

Miller served as defense secretary for the final two months of Trumps term; Kellogg was national security advisor to Vice President Mike Pence and, briefly, acting national security adviser.

Gray was an aide in the Trump White House and has previously been endorsed by several people with ties to the Trump administration.

Devon Energy founder Larry Nichols and his wife, Polly, one of Oklahoma Citys most powerful power couples, are hosting a March 28 fundraiser for Oklahoma Attorney General John OConnor. Also listed as hosts are Jeff and Sally Starling. Jeff Starling is an officer with Lagoon Water Midstream, a company that disposes of oil and gas production wastewater.

Republican Penny James of Durant said shes a candidate in southeastern Oklahomas state House District 21. GOP incumbent Dustin Roberts is term-limited.

Meetings and events: April school board elections will be on the menu for the Tulsa County Democratic Partys gathering at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Freeway Cafe West, 5849 S. 49th West Ave.

AARP Oklahoma will have a telephone town hall on efforts to expand access to high-speed internet in the state. The town hall begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday. See AARP Oklahomas Facebook page for details.

Bottom lines: The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority contracted with NCS Analytics to establish a statewide data platform to monitor and regulate commercial license operations.  Koch Energys Enid fertilizer plant was the only Oklahoma facility to earn the Environmental Protection Agencys Energy Star certification for 2021.

 Randy Krehbiel Tulsa World

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Several weeks ago, a Tulsa World column provided for sorry reading to anyone who cares about the future of Oklahoma  and especially for those who were graduated from Oklahomas public schools.

The piece from writer Bob Doucette (Public educations 30-year neglect needs a real cure, not half-measure treatments, Feb. 13) called out the states woeful and depressing underperformance in education.

The column detailed Oklahomas staggering failure in educating our most valuable resource  the states children. We sit at the bottom of all measures for educational attainment.

In the same edition, there was an op-ed from Margaret Kobos of Oklahoma United for Progress (Oklahomas political middle could gain a voice with open primaries) providing a potential curative to address the continued distressing state of our public schools.

While Gov. Kevin Stitt aspires for the state to break into the Top Ten, we are not likely to achieve this anytime soon. We are so far from being at the top that only sleight-of-hand, wishful thinking and obfuscation can convince anyone this is an attainable goal in the near term.

While it is a politicians job to lead constituents to success and engage in boosterism for the state, our elected leadership is another example of politicians offering platitudes while failing to lead. They are misleading Oklahomans on our abject failure at encouraging higher student achievement.

Their rhetoric is designed to make Oklahomans believe the unbelievable  that we can go from the bottom to the top if only they get reelected.

A recent proposal to give every parent a piece of the public education budget to use as he or she pleases in the form of vouchers is another way of destroying public education.

Stitt would be well-served to admit our failures  the result of many years of Oklahomas failing to set education as a top priority  and set realistic goals to move us incrementally forward.

As the canard goes, Rome was not built in a day, and Oklahomas pitiful educational system will not be transformed by magical thinking. Stitt would rather spend time arguing with American Indian tribes about sovereignty and cutting taxes for those not needing any further tax cuts.

Stitt could take a lesson from a previous Republican administration. The last effort to improve educational attainment was when Gov. Henry Bellmon and the Legislature passed HB 1017.

Unfortunately, fear of success led to an attempt to repeal it the following year. That attempt failed, but most of the reforms demanded in the legislation  increased teacher salaries, decreased class sizes, new infrastructure, enhanced teacher training, and many others  never took hold.

These pesky reforms were simply too much for the bureaucracy to swallow or find the funds to undertake. Why worry with reforms and make the effort to offer quality education when 47th is good enough?

A potential solution to this longtime political failure is Senate Bill 1754. Sponsored by Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Chickasha, it would provide for open primary voting in Oklahoma. It has been referred to the Rules Committee, likely to be forgotten.

If this bill were to move forward, it would allow Oklahomans to avoid the partisan ghettos leading us into niche policy decisions that benefit the few at the expense of the many. Hopefully, a similar bill will be introduced in the next Legislature.

Oklahomans might find better leadership by expanding our ability to pick good candidates for office regardless of party affiliation.

When we refuse to allow nearly 20% of our voting population (independents) to vote in open primaries, we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to pick the best person for the job  people who could get the job done in areas like education reform.

The move of Joy Hofmeister from the Republican to the Democrat Party is an example of our current systems dysfunction. She left because her partys base would not elect her in the primary for governor.

In an open primary, she would not have needed to change affiliation. I believe many Republicans want high-quality public schools, but not enough of them are in the Legislature.

If we want to tackle the great public problems of our time, we need pragmatic, idealistic elected officials. These public servants would be less beholden to the extremes on either side of the political spectrum.

A way to get there is by allowing citizens to vote for the candidate they regard as the best fit for the task at hand, regardless of the voters party affiliation.

By correcting a system that allows hyper-partisan politicians to take control and drive an extremist agenda, we can get to the pressing needs that can make Oklahoma the great state our current leadership says it wants  but fails to deliver.

Ross Swimmer, an attorney, is former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and former assistant secretary of the interior for Indian affairs. He lives in Tulsa and is a member of the Tulsa World Community Advisory Board.

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DHAKA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- At least four bodies were retrieved after a ferry capsized in the Shitalakkhya river in Narayanganj on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Sunday afternoon, a local police official said.

Moniruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Narayanganj River Police, told journalists that "the bodies of three women and a man have so far been retrieved."

He said the ferry carrying at least 25 passengers sank in the river after it was hit by a cargo vessel at around 2:15 p.m. local time.

Some of the passengers were able to swim ashore after the incident, but some are still missing, said Babu Lal Baidya, deputy director of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) in Narayanganj, the boat's destination.

The official feared the death toll would rise, as more bodies are likely to be retrieved with the search and rescue operation still underway. 
Oklahoma has an opportunity to put a priority on victims and survivors of human trafficking by using taxpayer dollars to build a tool for their safety.

Some myths surround the states human trafficking problem. Victims are subject to abduction, cruelty and degradations beyond imagination at the hands of their abusers. Its nothing short of modern-day slavery, and its purely and entirely evil.

A trafficker is typically someone the victim knows. Then that person uses force, fraud or coercion to control their victim to engage in commercial sex acts or labor against the victims will.

Often when people hear the term human trafficking, thoughts go to movie storylines of girls being abducted in foreign countries. Or Oklahomans may think about girls being transported across the nation, such as along the Interstate 35 and Interstate 40 corridors.

While those scenarios exist, they arent representative of the majority of trafficking cases in our state. The sad truth is that trafficking is, for the most part, a home-grown issue affecting Oklahomans.

Data show that victims here are overwhelmingly people who were born and raised in Oklahoma. Theyre being trafficked by family members, romantic partners or people well-known to them. And victims are being trafficked to Oklahomans.

This is happening in our cities. It could be happening to a child in your local elementary school or the person behind you in the grocery store checkout line.

Its unfortunately something my family has been personally affected by, and Ive witnessed the lasting toll this vicious crime takes on the survivor.

Last year, the Oklahoma Legislature took steps to address this issue.

We created the Advisory Task Force on Prevention of Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation, which asked two questions: How do we protect victims? How do we more effectively identify and deal with human traffickers in our state?

The group met several times last year and saw an immediate need for streamlined communication and collaboration between law enforcement, state agencies and victim advocacy groups.

In January, I filed House Bill 4210 to form the Human Trafficking Response Unit within the Office of the Attorney General. Among other duties, the unit would create and maintain a database so all law enforcement and victim services groups have a coherent system to share information while still protecting confidential identifying information.

In many instances, victims are moved around frequently. If law enforcement, state agencies and victim services groups dont have a consistent way to track and communicate information about victims and the criminals who control them, it becomes nearly impossible to identify and help them.

HB 4210 seeks to change that. Establishing this unit within the Attorney Generals Office is a huge step toward a solution to end human trafficking within our state for good.

Im incredibly grateful that the bill received enormous support in the House. Its now available for consideration in the Senate, where its carried by Sen. Darrell Weaver, R-Moore.

As a state, we must commit to fighting this reprehensible form of modern-day slavery. We must commit to finding these vulnerable people and getting survivors the help they need. We must commit to identifying and imprisoning their preparators permanently.

And we must commit to funding the Human Trafficking Response Unit for those things to happen. Every dollar is an investment in the lives of each victim and survivor of human trafficking. Oklahoma cannot eliminate human trafficking without this investment.

Supporting and investing in the Human Trafficking Response Unit tells victims, survivors, Oklahomans and the nation that this degradation of human life has no place in our state.

To report trafficking, call 1-888-373-7888, text HELP to 233733 or chat online at humantraffickinghotline.org/chat.

Rep. Jeff Boatman, R-Tulsa, represents House District 67.

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There isnt one specific weather event that changed my life and made me want to be a meteorologist. It was just the love of the science.

Over the past decade, I have worked as a meteorologist all over the country, including here in Oklahoma for the past six years. After months of preparation, I am happy to be the first meteorologist in the Tulsa Worlds 116-year history.

I was born and raised in San Antonio. I knew at an early age that being a meteorologist was something I wanted to explore. I used to spend evenings shadowing the chief meteorologist at the NBC station in San Antonio, watching and admiring what she did. I was hooked.

After graduating from high school, I started asking myself all those questions that most young adults do. What do I want to do with my life? What are my next steps? Well, at the time, my next steps took me to Baylor University, where I studied journalism and communication. I always loved to write. I was on the yearbook staff as a student, so I thought I would explore that avenue.

I interned at numerous media outlets, including local news stations and magazines. By my senior year at Baylor, I heard about a program that would allow me to move to New York City for a semester and work there  so I had to take it. I spent four months interning and writing for the producers of Good Morning America. It was an experience unlike any other.

After my time in New York, it was time to go home and graduate. At the time, I was working for a meteorologist in Waco, Texas, who pushed me to continue my studies in meteorology. He knew and I knew thats where my heart was.

So I enrolled as a post-baccalaureate student at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio to study meteorology and math. After a couple of years, I graduated and landed my first job as a meteorologist. I was finally living my dream.

My work as a broadcast meteorologist has taken me from Victoria, Texas, to Knoxville, Tennessee. I then traveled from the Smoky Mountains to the Rocky Mountains and settled in Denver. While working in Denver, I met my husband. He then followed me to Tulsa.

I worked for five years as a broadcast meteorologist in Tulsa before I started a family and took a step back for a bit. While I loved being a stay-at-home mom to my two beautiful children, I missed the daily grind of forecasting the weather.

Thankfully, this new opportunity came up at the Tulsa World and allowed me to combine two of my passions  meteorology and writing. So often people will ask me why certain weather events take place. This job at the Tulsa World will allow me to bring that to you.

Lee Enterprises, which owns the Tulsa World, has meteorologists serving its readers in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Virginia and now Oklahoma. Together we will collaborate and share content about the most relevant weather topics.

I think its safe to say weather is something that brings us all together. It is something that affects each of us on a daily basis, and the desire to be informed, especially in Oklahoma, is there.

My hope is not only to give you your daily forecast but also to dive deeper into those bigger questions. You can find my daily video forecast each morning on tulsaworld.com and in our daily weather email newsletter, as well as on the Tulsa Worlds and my social media.

I want to answer your weather questions, so call me, email me or message me on social media. I will answer those questions on Sundays in print and online.

I will also write a column each week dubbed Weather Wednesdays in print and online. We have a number of special reports I will do that look at how Oklahoma weather keeps changing and what that effects.

I will be live on tulsaworld.com and on the Tulsa Worlds Facebook and Twitter pages when severe weather pops up.

I look forward to being there for you when it comes to weather and provide a chance for us to have a relationship where you know you have a meteorologist who is here to answer your questions and help you better understand the weather around you.

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A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Saturday to commence works on the third Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park in the southern Vietnamese province of Binh Duong Province, referred to as VSIP III Binh Duong.

The ceremony was witnessed by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and many leaders of Binh Duong Province and ministries.

The VSIP III Binh Duong industrial park, covering 1,000 hectares in Binh Duongs Tan Uyen Town and Bac Tan Uyen District, costs a total of VND6.4 trillion (US$279.9 million) .

This is the 11th project of VSIP, a leading industrial park developer, in Vietnam and its third in Binh Duong.

Construction of the VSIP projects started across Vietnam more than 25 years ago.

Besides Binh Duong, Bac Ninh Province, Hai Phong City, Quang Ngai Province, Hai Duong Province, Nghe An Province, and Binh Dinh Province are the localities that house the VSIP projects, which provide production infrastructure for 880 companies from 30 countries and territories with a total investment of $17 billion and have created jobs for more than 295,000 workers.

Provincial leaders grant investment certificates to company representatives at the groundbreaking ceremony of the VSIP III Binh Duong industrial park project in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam, March 19, 2022. Photo: T.L. / Tuoi Tre

The VSIP IIIs groundbreaking follows the recent presentation of the investment permit to its developer during Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phucs state visit to Singapore in February.

The project is designed to incorporate smart technology across the parks operations, from its energy, water and waste use, to traffic and security management, with a focus on sustainable development.

It also includes a 50-hectare onsite solar farm offering grid reliability and sustainability benefits to large industrial tenants.

At Saturdays ceremony, Binh Duong authorities granted investment certificates to many foreign companies, including Danish toymaker Lego, which plans to build a $1-billion factory on an area of 44 hectares at the park.

After the event, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended another groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of an additional 20,000 apartments at a social housing project for factory workers in Binh Duongs Thu Dau Mot City.

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Many kindergarten teachers in the mountainous Muong Lat District of Thanh Hoa Province in north-central Vietnam are facing financial obstacles as they have not been paid for nearly three months, although they still have been at work since the beginning of this year.

These teachers have written to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper saying that they work as contract teachers following the provincial chairmans and the prime ministers decision dated October 26, 2011.

By December 31 last year, all of the teachers subject to this employment mechanism had their contracts suspended and they have no longer received wages and monthly allowances like before.

As a result, they have got into financial difficulties for the past three months.

Some teachers have had to borrow money from relatives to cover their childrens tuition fees and other daily expenses.

Therefore, they proposed the local authorities pay their wages of the first three months of 2022, so that they can feel secured to continue working.

Im a single mom of two, with one being an eighth grader and the other in second grade," Ngan Thi Hanh, a contract teacher for many years at the Pu Nhi kindergarten in Muong Lat, told Tuoi Tre.

Every day, I commute around eight kilometers by motorcycle to the school to teach and take care of the kindergarteners.

"Im doing my job well.

Kids play at the Pu Nhi kindergarten in Muong Lat District, Thanh Hoa Province, north-central Vietnam. Photo: Ha Dong / Tuoi Tre

However, she has not received monthly wages and allowances over the past three months, which has put her life and her children into trouble and forced her to borrow money to pay their tuition fees.

Besides Hanh, many other kindergarten teachers at Pu Nhi and other schools in the district are encountering the same fate, though they still go to work daily.

Tong Thi An, principal of the Pu Nhi kindergarten, said the preschool has nine contract teachers that have done unpaid work for months and are facing financial woes.

The school could do nothing but encourage them to continue their work and wait for local authorities to address the issue.

Nguyen Van Binh, chairman of Muong Lat, admitted that 58 contract kindergarten teachers in the district have not been paid since January this year.

Their labor contracts were terminated from December 31 last year as the prime ministers Decision 60 expired.

The provincial chairman has assigned relevant agencies to map out measures to address payment issues facing contract teachers across this north-central province, including the 58 kindergarten teachers in Muong Lat.

By the end of this month, the government of Muong Lat will send a proposal to the districts Peoples Council on tapping the local backup budget to support each of the affected contract kindergarten teachers with VND3-3.5 million (US$131-153) per month, Binh added.

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Here are todays leading news stories:

COVID-19 Updates

-- Vietnams Ministry of Health documented 150,618 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, raising the national tally to 7,791,841, with 3,991,393 recoveries and 41,817 deaths.

Society

-- Many residents in Hanoi are once again dumping their garbage along local streets, resulting in environmental pollution and making it difficult for garbage collectors to do their job.

-- One person died after a group of six construction workers accidentally ate poisonous leaves during their meals in northern Bac Kan Province on Friday evening, an official confirmed on Saturday.

-- Two nine graders drowned after a group of high school students had a swim at Giang Thom Pit in central Quang Nam Province on Saturday afternoon.

-- The traffic police division under the Ministry of Public Security confirmed on Saturday they had booked 9,879 drunk driving offenses across Vietnam in the past 20 days, as part of their campaign to deal with the traffic violation.

-- Police in northern Hai Phong City confirmed are investigating a case where a 22-year-old man fell into a critical condition after being attacked by his father with a hammer over a conflict on Saturday.

-- Public workers in Vietnam will be given a total of seven days off for the upcoming Hung Kings Commemoration Day, which falls on April 10 this year, Reunification Day (April 30), and International Workers Day (May 1).

Business

-- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh initiated on Saturday the construction of the Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) III, which covers an area of 1,000 hectares in southern Binh Duong Province.

-- Vietnam occupied over 10 percent of share in the world footwear market for the first time last year, the Vietnam News Agency quoted the World Footwear Yearbook 2021 as showing.

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Many beaches in Ha Tinh Province, north-central Vietnam are still filled with trash and shows no signs of post-pandemic recovery even though the summer tourist season is around the corner.

Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters arrived at Xuan Hai Beach in Loc Ha Town on Saturday and noticed that the location was covered in rubbish, while nearby seafood restaurants had been degraded.

After being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic for two years, most of these restaurants have had to shut down due to ailing business.

Restaurants are abandoned at Xuan Hai Beach in Loc Ha District, Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, March 19, 2022. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre

A similar situation was recorded at Thien Cam Beach in Cam Xuyen District, about 30 kilometers away from Xuan Hai Beach.

The beach was riddled with trash, most of which had been washed up ashore.

Some garbage was also left behind by local fishermen.

Restaurants are abandoned at Xuan Hai Beach in Loc Ha District, Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, March 19, 2022. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre

At the Thien Cam tourist area, a project worth hundreds of billions of dong (VND100 billion = US$4.3 million) has been halted, while it remains unclear when the construction will resume.

Nearby shops, eateries, and hotels were also degraded and have yet to be renovated.

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected tourism activities in the locality, said Hoang Xuan Huong, head of the management board of the Thien Cam tourist area.

Decorative iron columns have been removed from Xuan Hai Beach in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, March 19, 2022. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre

Some of the garbage has been washed up ashore, while some was discarded by local residents, Huong continued.

The management board will coordinate with competent authorities to clean up and renovate the beach to get ready for the upcoming summer tourist season, he added.

Trash is seen at Thien Cam Beach in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, March 19, 2022. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre

Rubbish is washed up ashore at Thien Cam Beach in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, March 19, 2022. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre

Rubbish is washed up ashore at Thien Cam Beach in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, March 19, 2022. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre

Thien Cam Beach is filled with rubbish in Cam Xuyen District, Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, March 19, 2022. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre

A suspended project at the Thien Cam tourist area in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, March 19, 2022. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre

A suspended project at the Thien Cam tourist area in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam, March 19, 2022. Photo: Le Minh / Tuoi Tre

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Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed the Ministry of Health to speed up the purchase of vaccines for children aged five to under 12 while considering plans for the vaccination of children aged three to under five.

In a dispatch released by the Government Office on Saturday, PM Chinh told the health ministry to mull over administering fourth COVID-19 vaccine doses to adults and third shots to children aged 12-17, speed up the purchase of vaccines for children aged five to under 12, and prepare plans to inoculate small children from three to under five years old.

A day earlier, the government chief asked the ministry to clarify the tardiness in buying vaccines for kids from five to under 12 years old and take disciplinary actions against organizations and individuals responsible for such lateness.

Previously, PM Chinh had three times directed the Ministry of Health to make reviews and inspections related to the delay, but the ministry has yet to able to buy vaccines for children in this age group.

In a recent report to the National Steering Board for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the ministry explained it had proactively accessed vaccine resources for children under 12 years old.

The ministry affirmed it had reached all initial agreements with Pfizer to sign a contract to purchase vaccines from this supplier.

However, the ministry said it was waiting for an official response from the U.S. regarding its potential donation of vaccines for children before sourcing shots from Pfizer.

If the ministry did not get any response by March 15, it would proceed with purchasing vaccines from Pfizer, the ministry said in the report.

Such a wait resulted in a delay in negotiating for a purchase deal with Pfizer, the ministry expounded.

On February 5, the government issued a resolution on the buying of 21.9 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children from five to under 12 years old.

Currently, 100 percent of Vietnams adult population has received their first COVID-19 vaccine doses, while 47 among the countrys 63 cities and provinces have reached a second-jab rate of more than 95 percent.

Health workers had administered 184,509,503 COVID-19 vaccine doses to the nations adult population, including 70,938,226 first shots, 67,872,903 second jabs, and the rest for additional primary doses and boosters since vaccination was rolled out in March 2020, the ministry reported.

The number of Pfizer-BioNTech doses given to children aged 12 to 17 nationwide had reached 17,056,957, including 8,751,910 first shots and 8,305,047 second jabs.

Since the pandemic hit Vietnam in early 2020, the Southeast Asian country had documented 7,791,841 COVID-19 infections, with 3,991,393 recoveries and 41,817 fatalities, the ministrys data shows.

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The return of AFL has given Seven a boost to its ratings performance.

Seven won Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. That pushed it to a win in 3 cities and within striking distance of Nine overall. If not for the low numbers of SAS Australia it might have nabbed the week.

But Nine prevailed thanks to its Q1 success story Married at First Sight.

The SA election also pushed ABC up on Saturday, with 10 yet to grab third place so far in a survey week.

Network:

Nine: 30.5

Seven: 29.3

ABC: 16.3

10: 15.7

SBS: 8.1

Primary channel:

Nine: 22.8

Seven: 20.2

ABC: 11.0

10: 9.8

SBS: 4.5

Multichannels:

7TWO: 3.7

7mate: 3.5

ABC News: 2.8

10 BOLD: 2.7

10 Peach: 2.6

9GO!: 2.2

9GEM / 9 Life / ABC Kids TV Plus: 2.1

7flix: 1.9

9RUSH: 1.3

SBS Food / SBS VICELAND: 1.2

SBS World Movies: 1.0

10 Shake: 0.7

ABC ME: 0.4

NITV: 0.2

Nine won Sunday  Wednesday, Seven scored Thursday  Saturday. ABC bettered 10 on Friday & Saturday.

Seven was victorious in Melbourne, Adelaide & Perth. Nine won Sydney & Brisbane.

Best brands last week were:

Nine: Married at First Sight (Sun: 1.08m), Nine News (Sun: 826,000), A Current Affair (642,000) and 60 Minutes (620,000).

Seven: Seven News (901,000), AFL (Wed: 548,000), Dancing with the Stars: All Stars (517,000) and The Chase (475,000).

ABC: ABC News (600,000), Australian Story (540,000), Four Corners (512,000) and Death in Paradise (506,000).

10: Australian Survivor (502,000), Gogglebox (401,000), The Dog House (444,000) and First Dates (377,000).

SBS: Scotland: Escape to the Wilderness (179,000), SBS World News (164,000), Royal Historys Myths & Secrets (163,000) and Acropolis: the Ancient Builders (154,000).

Including this week there are 3 more weeks before Easter non-ratings.
Tyler, TX (75702)

Today

Strong thunderstorms likely. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 77F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 58F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
JAKARTA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of parliamentary members across the world have gathered in Indonesia's resort island of Bali, as the 144th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly and related meetings kicked off on Sunday.

The assembly meeting was opened by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, and welcoming speeches were presented by IPU President Duarte Pacheco, a parliament member from Portugal, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

In his speech, Widodo addressed the issue of climate change, calling all world's parliament members to support and invest in new and renewable energy as well as strengthen energy transfer.

"From coal-based energy, we have been committed to moving to renewable energy. It looks easy to say, but in practice, it is not that easy," Widodo said.

Around 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries attended the IPU opening ceremony, according to Indonesia's House of Representatives' Speaker Puan Maharani. 
The Edge Apartments and Townhomes are among one of the most coveted residential communities in Blacksburg due to their proximity to campus and downtown, as well as their spacious layout and access to amenities such as the pool and gym. However, these perks come with a price  specifically, a hefty $800 a month in rent.
Browsers and buyers packed Spice Village to the brim Friday, visitors stopping at the novelty shop downtown during a wild weekend in Waco that tied a bow around a stellar spring break for local attractions.

Its been like this all week, Spice Village proprietor Jennifer Wilson said, surveying the hectic scene during a pause in the action.

Wilson said this was the first time in three years the collection of shops in River Square Center, Second Street and University Parks Drive, could enjoy spring break. Last year, a pipe that burst during the February ice storm placed operations in limbo weeks later. Previously, COVID-19 restrictions took a toll.

On Friday, Waco was enjoying the preferable strain of spring fever, the gorgeous weather combining with a loaded events calendar to create an atmosphere replete with dollar signs. Lines were long at Silos Baking Co. and Magnolia Press. McLennan County deputies all week directed traffic, including parents pushing strollers, near the Cameron Park Zoo entrance. The Ferrell Center parking lot came close to filling Friday afternoon, when the Baylor University women swamped the University of Hawaii in the first round of March Madness.

Carla Pendergraft, who markets the Waco Convention Center, said a typically 5-minute drive became a 20-minute journey Friday, when she delivered items to the Mayborn Museum on University Parks Drive.

There was a wonderful amount of traffic coming into Waco. The parking lots were packed at River Square, City Hall and the Convention Center, Pendergraft said. It looked like a return to the pre-pandemic days, in terms of traffic and tourists.  Magnolia, the Dr Pepper Museum, Cameron Park Zoo, they all contributed to what weve been seeing.

It was all hands on deck at Cameron Park Zoo, and the Waco Convention Center loaned the attraction four staffers in a pinch, Pendergraft said.

New hotels continue to open locally, meaning occupancy rates may go down even as Waco strives to maintain its reputation as a tourist destination. But those rates are not going down without a fight, Pendergraft said.

Hotel rooms dont fill up as quickly, but our occupancy rate in February was 68.4%, third behind only El Paso and McAllen, she said. Cities in the top five always jockey for position. Staying in the top five is very respectable.

Putting recent crowds in context, Pendergraft said six local hotels reported full houses March 8, the Tuesday before Spring at the Silos.

Yes, sir, were experiencing high occupancy during the last two weeks with all the spring breakers, said Justin Edwards, area general manager for the Waco Hilton and Courtyard Downtown, in an email response to questions.

It has been exciting to have the feeling of pre-COVID times in the hotel, he said. Where are they coming from? Everywhere, and they are not just staying one night, but three plus. When they check in, we give them TravelHost magazine that is owned and edited locally and they are surprised to see how much there is to do in Waco. When they check out, many say they will be back because they ran out of time but not stuff to do.

Waco has a lot going on and high-five to (City Manager) Bradley Ford and his team, said Edwards, who is also chair of the Waco Tourism Public Improvement District.

Karli Fletcher, who manages TownPlace Suites Waco South, echoed Edwards assessment. Fletcher, also president of the local lodging association, said the number of spring break travelers this year is dwarfing that of last year.

My hotel specifically has sold out just about every night, she said. We do an average run anywhere from 60% to 80% per night, but the difference is all spring break travelers. As we check guests in we always ask what brings them to Waco. Its nice to hear many are just tourists in town for spring break.

Its nice to feel a glimpse of what our pre-COVID days were like.

Magnolia spokesperson John Marsicano said the crowd at last weekends Spring at the Silos certainly resembled pre-pandemic numbers.

Christine Boyce, from Rockford, Illinois, joined other family members in treating their mother, Sue Halloran, of Paris, Illinois, to an 80th birthday trip to Waco. Boyce researched where to go and what to do, the journey to include stops at Magnolia, Balcones Distilling and Homestead Heritage for a meal.

We took a tour, and were very impressed with the old buildings, the old homes, Halloran said.

Family members said they were fans of Fixer Upper, the reality show that launched Chip and Joanna Gaines on their path to stardom.

Without it, we wouldnt have known this existed, Boyce said.

Despite gasoline prices hovering around $4 a gallon for regular unleaded, Jayme Smith and her daughter, Reeyse Smith, traveled to Waco on Friday from Dallas, visiting Spice Village as they do every three or four months.

What do we buy? Stuff we dont need, said Jayme Smith, smiling before listing favorites that include candles and baby items. She said she enjoys the Spice Village experience, and her husband grew up here.

Perusing her records, Wilson said about 800 people have crowded into Spice Village most weekdays during spring break. Weekends bring out more.

Were seeing day-trippers, people from the Panhandle, Amarillo and Abilene. Weve noticed a trend of people from outside Texas flying into Dallas-Fort Worth, then driving to Waco, Austin and San Antonio, trying to get a better feel for the Texas experience, said Wilson, who chats often with shoppers.

She said weekends typically bring travelers from outside Texas.

Missouri, Minnesota, weve seen a ton from Minnesota, which is odd, Wilson said. I talked with a woman who said she came to Texas to get warm. It was 19 degrees back home, about 40 degrees here that day. I guess 40 feels better than what she left.

Dennis Phipps owns Junque in the Trunk, an antique and custom furniture emporium on La Salle Avenue. He said business is good but unpredictable, including during spring break, and estimated out-of-state customers account for 75% to 80% of sales. An example walked through his door Friday, when a man from Mobile, Alabama, ordered a work bench and kitchen island.

Folks have seen me on Fixer Upper, and I have 90,000 followers on Facebook, Phipps said. Two groups of women stopped by, said their friends were here before and told them they had to stop by. Im sending a table to Wisconsin next week, a hutch to Oregon. This week weve made two tables, a bookcase and custom shutters for a home here in Waco.

He said four employees perform manual labor, while he runs the place.

Without a doubt, without a doubt, Phipps said when asked if trade surged following Magnolias entry and growing popularity.

But I dont really work a day, Im having so much fun, he said.

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Online searches for oligarchy have increased exponentially in the last month, according to Google Trends. With good reason. The phrase Russian oligarchs is now a handy conversational shortcut for explaining Putins invasion of Ukraine. But as our Google searches betray, oligarchy remains poorly understood and imprecisely defined.

On an episode of Netflixs Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, comedian Jerry Seinfeld admitted he had no idea what oligarchy meant: To me it sounds like a butter, he said. Imitating the formal voice of a TV pitchman, Try oligarchy on your toast. It has less saturated fat.

Seinfeld isnt alone. In public conversations oligarchy is applied smoothly to wealthy Russians with names like Roman Abramovich, Boris Berezovsky, Alexander Smolensky and more recently Andrey Muraviev but less so to Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Charles Koch. Donald Trump is a billionaire. Viktor Vekselberg is an oligarch. Whats the difference? Understanding Putins Russia, along with the troubling parts of our own economic and political system, can be aided by exploring oligarchy  in Russia and beyond.

The etymology of oligarchy comes from the Greek meaning rule of the few. But left unexplained is how oligarchy differs from other political systems that also concentrate rule of the few, such as plutocracy, autocracy and monarchy.

Allow me to highlight four distinguishing features of oligarchy.

First, oligarchy implies exclusivity. It assumes not everyone is qualified to deliberate, participate and legislate. As a result, oligarchy describes a specific approach to governance oriented toward defending the political and economic power of the wealthy by acquiring the consent of everyone else.

Second, understanding oligarchy today requires drawing a distinction between wealth and income. Income explains the ability to purchase day-to-day necessities, like the cost of jet fuel or crown molding in a London apartment. By contrast, wealth is more readily deployed for political influence. Paraphrasing American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, oligarchs are different than you and me, but not just because they have more money. What matters is the political influence such wealth leverages.

Many Russians have a lot of income, for example. They are not all oligarchs. Oligarchs are different because they use that money to bridge the economic-political chasm in a way the rest of us cannot. And not all oligarchs are high-income. For example, Amazon paid Jeff Bezos a base salary of $81,840 in 2019 and 2020. But that income does not inform his political influence. Or consider Donald Trump, who boasted during his 2016 presidential campaign that his wealth ensured politicians always called him back. Thats why I give, he said. Yet he went bankrupt six times. And according to a New York Times investigation, between 1985 and 1995 Trump lost $1.17 billion. Tax records also show Trump lost more money than almost any other American during these years  double the nearest taxpayer. Almost every American had more income than Trump during these years.

Did that financial loss quell Trumps political influence? He still got Bill and Hillary Clinton to sit in the front row at his third wedding. The Clintons didnt attend my wedding, even though I lost a lot less money.

Third, oligarchy today is understated and subtle, especially when compared to tyrannical dictators and kleptocratic feudal lords of the past. Oligarchy functions by enticing rather than commanding citizens. Oligarchy maintains what seems like an absence from political authority  an absence highlighting oligarchys subtle advantages. Oligarchs can use what looks like the absence of authority to cover indirect political actions. Oligarchs cannot be voted out of office.

There are exceptions. Vladimir Putin has crossed the chasm between economic and political power. But the U.S. Congress is also the wealthiest in American history, and the political-economic chasm has been crossed by ultra-rich individuals such as Nelson Rockefeller, Michael Bloomberg and Donald Trump. But the rationale for their formal position of power only illustrates the subtle exercise of oligarchic power. Putin and Trump may be very rich, but they do not justify their positions of power based on their own self-interest. They lead as an act of public service.

Fourth, oligarchs fear no legal reckoning because oligarchy is not illegal. Street criminals fear the police and kleptocrats fear the International Criminal Court. Oligarchs can rest easy because they are legally protected. In the United States, oligarchs recruit and fund political candidates, influence the media, and punish states and local governments considering stronger regulation by threatening to relocate operations and jobs. The rent-seeking efforts of the oligarchic are also built atop a firm foundation of campaign contributions and political lobbying. And lobbying and campaign contributions are legal. The First Amendment guarantees the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. But lobbying and campaign contributions also reflect how the government advances the discrete interests of the ultra-rich by helping to siphon resources away from productive economic investments for the many to zero-sum political victories benefiting a tiny slice of wealthy Americans. Uber drivers cannot afford lobbying services. Koch Industries can.

And heres where the relationship between Russian oligarchy and Putins invasion of Ukraine points to valuable lessons for us all. In 1990, Russia had one of the lowest observable levels of income inequality, and there were no Russian billionaires. By 2000, Russia was one of the most inegalitarian countries in the world, and today, Russia is more unequal than during the reign of the tsars. Russia claims the worlds highest ratio of billionaires relative to the size of the economy. Moscow has more billionaires than New York and nearly twice as many as London.

This new collection of Russian billionaires demonstrated no particular competence; their newfound wealth cannot be explained by inventing an innovative fracking technology or the iPhone. These men are oligarchs because they leveraged their status as Kremlin insiders and party apparatchiks for economic gain. As Russia transitioned from a communist state to a capitalist constitutional republic, the politically well-connected took possession of the states resources, including millions of vouchers designed to spread Russian assets across the country and a loan-for-shares program that amounted to a giant natural resource giveaway to Kremlin insiders. With their newfound wealth, Vladimir Putin and his Russian oligarchs did not just buy lavish London apartments or giant yachts; they used their wealth to bridge the economic-political chasm in a way that left them detached and unaccountable.

To be sure, oligarchy and inequality are not the same thing, but like smoke and fire they often appear together. For anyone interested in understanding the deeper social conditions beneath Putins invasion of Ukraine  along with a set of ominous warning signs for the rest of us  understanding oligarchy as the blending together of economic and political power offers an essential contribution to our public conversations.

Luke Winslow, assistant professor of communication at Baylor University, is author of American Catastrophe: Fundamentalism, Climate Change, Gun Rights and the Rhetoric of Donald J. Trump, which explores how catastrophic appeals are employed to unite Americans across religious, cultural, ecological and political spheres. The column above is excerpted from his book in progress on global oligarchy.
Victor Goebel, director of transportation planning and development for the Texas Department of Transportations Waco District, used a phrase at Thursdays Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting that caught my eye.

Some of the funding issues were dealing with right now are actually funding windfalls, Goebel said in the Tribs story about the meeting.

Funding windfall? For highway construction? Not something one hears  well, ever.

He was speaking about how TxDOT was planning to use allocations from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed by Congress and signed by President Biden last November. Texas will receive about $35 billion from that program, $26 billion of which will be spent on highways.

The infusion of funds comes at an opportune time for Waco, as the $341 million rebuild of Interstate 35 from North Loop 340 to 12th Street in Waco begins to wind down. TxDOT has said the project will be finished by the end of 2022, but at the rate Webber LLC is working, a summer or early fall completion isnt unrealistic  about a year ahead of schedule.

When the current project does finish, all of I-35 through the Waco District will be rebuilt, except one stretch  from 12th Street to South Loop 340 near Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center. Affectionately known as 4C, the last leg of the 10-year, $2 billion rebuild of I-35 through Central Texas didnt make the funding cut in 2018. TxDOT and MPO officials in Waco made the difficult decision to break the Waco project into two pieces  4B, which is what were seeing built now, and 4C, the aforementioned last leg.

The reason were doing 4B now is the road is falling apart. Its beyond its useful life, TxDOT district engineer Stan Swiatek told the Trib in 2019. If you drive 4C, its not in bad shape. Look at the pavement  its not cracked, its not potholing, its not blowing up. And because it was redone in the 1990s, we have a projected service life that should easily get us into the 2030 time frame.

TxDOT quoted the price for the 4C project at $230 million back in 2019. At Thursdays MPO meeting, where the 4C project took center stage, the estimated cost had risen to $262 million  a 12% increase.

President Bidens infrastructure windfall represents Wacos best chance to fund project 4C and finally finish rebuilding I-35 here. It is the Waco MPOs top priority, and should be. Wacos economic expansion along I-35 in the 4C footprint is well underway. Extending Gateway Boulevard from Bagby Avenue to I-35 south of the 4C footprint will usher in a new round of development that will eventually fill in all the way to Lorena on both sides of the interstate.

Finishing I-35 is critical to this development. Right now, the project is slated to begin in 2027, but it could be funded at any time, according to Vogel. MPO officials signaled this week they are ready, or will be, when the checks get cut from the infrastructure bill.

Theyd better be. When the money starts getting handed out, things will get complicated. Politicians who didnt support the infrastructure plan will nonetheless try to divert funds into their home districts. Priorities get misplaced when politics get involved. It would be a shame to see the 4C project go unfunded  or underfunded  in a free-for-all money grab among politicians who didnt vote for it in the first place.

Wacos political leadership cannot let that happen.

Steve Boggs is a native of Leflore, Okla., and has been editor of the Tribune-Herald since 2014.

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WATERLOO  Teen mental health is an important topic for the Waterloo Youth City Council.

The group of nearly 30 students from Columbus Catholic High School, East High School, Expo Alternative Learning Center and West High School has been learning about mental health issues for at least two years.

Last year, they met with Ryan Nesbit of the suicide awareness organization Alive and Running. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 90% of people ages 10 to 24 who died by suicide had an underlying mental illness.

As a council, we underwent suicide prevention training, said Shane Edwards, an East junior.

Later, they connected with a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from Waterloo who is passionate about the issue.

We started meeting with Timi Brown-Powers, said Adrianna Gallen, a Columbus senior who serves at the councils mayor. She is a big advocate for teen mental health.

She told students about House File 2294, a bill that had been introduced in the Legislature. It would require public schools that issue identification cards to include the Your Life Iowa crisis telephone and text numbers on either side.

We decided to adopt it as our agenda for the year, said Gallen. Youth council members, working on different committees, developed ideas for how the contact information could be displayed on cards.

At a meeting earlier this month, students talked about using a QR code to link to the phone, text and chat options. Their design would also place phrases around the code to further draw attention to its purpose. Those include being bullied, mental health, thoughts of suicide and sexual abuse.

The student group plans to travel to the Capitol in Des Moines on March 30 to advocate for the bill, their design ideas and educate lawmakers on the mental health issues faced by teenagers. Theyre hosting an event in a meeting room and have meetings set up with groups of lawmakers.

Were going to have a tri-fold when we go to the Capitol, said Marysofi Gutierrez, a Columbus senior. It will include information on mental health awareness and the Waterloo Youth City Council.

Im working on an invitation for the representatives, said Emma Riordan, a West senior. Brown-Powers is delivering them to her legislative colleagues.

The bill didnt receive the required approvals before a deadline Friday that keeps legislation alive. Carol Luce, one of the youth councils advisers, said there is still an option to bring it back as part of another bill, like the education budget. She said students plan to advocate for such an amendment to keep the bill moving forward.

In the meantime, the students are collecting items to contribute to a Black Hawk Grundy Mental Health Center drive next month. They are looking for such things as stress balls, fidget toys, journals, pill calendars and coloring books that can be given to patients.

Students have also found ways to get the word out about teen mental health needs. Some are posting items on social media, including Tik-Tok. Others have developed public service announcements about mental health that are being played on NRG Media radio stations.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.  The Leader in Me program in Black Hawk County and expansion of the airport in Independence are among the projects Northeast Iowas congresswoman has finally secured funding for this year.

President Joe Biden last week signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, a $1.5 trillion spending bill that will fund the federal government through the rest of the fiscal year.

U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson successfully included 10 projects totaling more than $53 million for Eastern Iowa through representatives Community Project Funding. The projects were initially proposed in June, but stalled while other larger bills took precedence.

This legislation includes targeted investments I fought for that will have a transformational impact on our district, security assistance to Ukraine as they battle (Russian president Vladimir) Putin, and a modernization of the Violence Against Womens Act, Hinson, a Republican, said in a release after the vote.

Hinson said her office received several hundred requests, and she will consider some that didnt make the cut for future funding.

The smallest of the 10 projects was $50,000 to add the Leader in Me program to two new schools in Black Hawk County. The Independence Municipal Airport will receive $1 million to expand, Linn County will get $5 million to construct the Tower Terrace Road Corridor, and the vast majority  $45.1 million  will modernize the lock-and-dam system along the Upper Mississippi River.

As a mom with school-aged kids myself, I want to make sure that Iowa students have the best opportunities available to them, Hinson said. I see it as just a critical investment in our students and that next-gen workforce in Black Hawk County also.

Leader Valley, the program providing access to more than 11,000 Black Hawk County students to Leader in Me, is excited about this critical investment in our next generation, according to director Melissa Reade.

Through Leader in Me, we are making an investment in our future talent pool by equipping students with the leadership and employability skills they need to be prepared for career, college and citizenship, Reade said.

Previously called earmarks, Community Project Funding projects are still derided as wasteful by some. Iowas two senators rebuked them last summer. However, both Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst ultimately voted in favor of the appropriations bill. Hinson said the process has been reformed.

It provides the transparency that many people were critical of last time around, Hinson said. (House) Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi is going to spend the money anyway, so I want to make sure that we are being targeted in getting those investments back home, and thats exactly what we did.

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CEDAR FALLS  The City Council will meet with representatives from the University of Northern Iowa on Monday evening to discuss ways to further cooperation between the two.

At 5:10 p.m. inside the Community Center, UNI Finance and Operations Senior Vice President Michael Hager and Chief of Staff Andrew Morse will be present for a discussion on collaborative opportunities between the city and UNI.

Councilor Kelly Dunn requested the work session in December after noting how the council had not met directly with one of its most important community stakeholders since she took office in August 2020.

Councilors also have time dedicated to discussions about future changes to the newly adopted downtown zoning code with Planning & Community Services Manager Karen Howard.

The 7 p.m. meeting will include a second reading on an ordinance increasing the parking ratios for residential mixed-use and multi-unit buildings in the Downtown Character District to .75 parking spaces per bedroom, but not less than one per unit.

In addition, a first reading will be held for an ordinance amending the city code dealing with the discharge of stormwater or groundwater into the citys sanitary sewer system.

State licensing board suspends former Union, Cedar Falls teachers for misconduct at school Charges alleged inappropriate emails with students by the Union Middle School science teacher and drunkness at work by the Peet Junior High art teacher.

Up for approval will be a number of resolutions:

Appointment of Captain Mark Howard as its acting police chief while Craig Berte serves in the interim public safety director role after Jeff Olson retired earlier this month.

A three-year, $134,989 agreement with IP Pathways LLC, relative to providing data backup and disaster recovery services as protection from ransomware and cyberattacks.

A HOME Investment Partnership Program Consortium Cooperation Agreement with the city of Waterloo for FY2023-2025 to allow Cedar Falls and Waterloo to receive additional funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Three service/product agreements, with Twin Cities Tree Service, Wapsi Pines/Affordable Tree Service and Owens Property Service, to remove hazardous trees on private property.

Certificate of completion for Peterson Contractors Inc. for the reconstruction project involving West 12th Street from Tremont to College Street and Walnut Street from 11th to 12th Street.

$3.2 million contract and bond of Peterson Contractors Inc. for a 2022 street construction project involving the full removal and replacement of two city streets, pavement restoration on three streets, and a significant water main replacement and patch on another street.

Acceptance of the low bid of $286,395 by Municipal Pipe Tool Company, for a 2022 Community Development Block Grant sanitary sewer rehabilitation project.

Revised owner purchase agreement, and acceptance of a Warranty Deed, in conjunction with an Olive St. Box Culvert Project. The plan is to remove and replace the existing 2 span slab bridge at Olive Street with a twin box culvert. The existing bridge will be replaced with a box culvert extending from the existing College Street culvert to the east side of Olive Street, downstream channel improvements will be incorporated, sidewalk improvements for walkability to the College Hill corridor, and placement of a new road above the culvert.

Scheduling April 4 as the date of a public hearing on the proposed plans and estimated cost ($150,252) for the College Hill parking lot improvements.

Scheduling April 4 as the date of a public hearing on a proposed zoning amendment to the city code, changing principal permitted uses in the M-1 Light Industrial District in order to allow for the expansion of the Community United Child Care Center on Nordic Drive.

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CEDAR RAPIDS (AP)  After four years of impeccable salesmanship, a four-legged business associate is getting recognition.

Frank, the black cat who works Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Next Page Books in NewBo, now has his own line of cat-themed books, cards, coffee mugs and more: Franks Corner.

Hes become the face of the bookstore, said Bart Carithers, who bought Next Page Books in December 2015. Hes a fixture here.

For the small bookstore that has lived through the continual rise of Amazon, the collapse of bookstore chains and the pandemic  through which Carithers resisted the move to a website for his store  Frank has become the epitome of the in-person retail experience. That experience, based on personal connections, is where the part-time associate, a 5-year-old cat, shines.

In a world of inundating literature, Frank gets customers to slow down and be open to an experience of whimsy and intrigue. Most browsers, Carithers said, dont know what theyre looking for when they enter.

This was about an experience, Carithers told the Cedar Rapids Gazette, as opposed to sitting in front of a screen or a phone.

Now with a cat-themed selection added to that experience, the owner said the opening weekend for Franks Corner has proved Franks value. With almost $500 raised for the Iowa Humane Alliance  a combination of 10% of net sales and donations put into a jar by the cash register  Carithers said a typical Saturday this time of year would have only had a fraction of the sales from last weekend.

After a rough couple of years in daily news that never seems to get lighter, he wanted to do something lighthearted and fun  something that could mirror the reprieve from life that books provide. Next Page Books has been no exception to soaring book sales nationwide since the pandemic started. The habit that started in quarantines and lockdown has stuck, it seems.

Carithers, who does not have internet or cable service at home by design, said reading has provided an escape from extra screen time caused by working from home for many since 2020.

Frank has many job functions: marketing, advertising, social media mascot among them. But his biggest function as a sales cat is as a liaison, starting the conversations that humans cant.

Most people will immediately stop and pause and either talk to him or try to pet him. People are attracted to animals in general, Carithers said. It helps create an inviting atmosphere. For people who have never been in before, its a conversation starter.

Through a friendly feline, customers have opened up to Carithers in ways they might not otherwise engage. Thanks to some fur and whiskers, the man with no prior business experience is privileged to hear the personal stories of customers that are not in print.

As a valued employee, Frank has full benefits. His routine includes eating any treat put in front of him, climbing up the book shelf ladder for a nap and watching birds from the window. His favorite toys are crumpled pieces of paper and his blue stuffed mouse.

He rarely takes a personal day, always eager to get into his carrier for the commute to work three times a week. His biggest professional vulnerability is stealing Carithers chair for naps, though he does not knock over the myriad items that would be all too tempting for most cats.

Carithers, 64, was a student affairs administrator at universities around the country for 30 years. After visits to Next Page became a regular part of his routine while taking time off at home in Cedar Rapids, the opportunity to purchase the bookstore in 2015 was a dream come true.

In the early 1960s and 70s, he would occasionally help his mother, who managed the book department at Sanfords in downtown Cedar Rapids.

I fell in love with being around books. By the time I graduated from college, it became more of a dream because places like Borders and Waldenbooks took over, he said. There werent a lot of independent bookstores around, so I shelved it and never gave it another thought.

Frank, a feral kitten found at about 4 weeks old, was introduced to Carithers by a customer four years ago. At about 4 months old, Frank started coming into the store.

Now, some customers wont stick around unless they know Frank is there.

Well into his career, Frank has helped Carithers navigate the steep learning curve of owning a business for the first time. The biggest lesson he has imparted is stress management.

People ask arent you stressed? Carithers said in the shop where he works seven days per week, with no desire to retire.

Not really, he replies, because I dont know what to be stressed about.

Im having the time of my life here, he added. Im enjoying this so much.

Frank doesnt talk much, but he seems to agree.

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WATERLOO  Iowa Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deidre DeJear made a stop in Black Hawk County on Saturday evening to meet the people she hopes to soon call her constituents and to put her campaign strategy into action.

DeJear held a meet-and-greet at Absalom Lounge, 320 E. Fourth St. in downtown Waterloo, where she shook hands and spoke with anyone willing to stop in.

A small business owner, DeJear started Caleo Enterprises as a student at Drake University, and said the opportunities afforded to her to succeed have narrowed for others in recent years, prompting her to run. DeJear says she hopes to enact reforms in the education system and bolster access to essential services like child care and health care. Having also started the Back 2 School Iowa nonprofit, she said education is at the forefront of her priorities.

Education is a catalyst for change, and when we see our state facing great economic challenges  we have a workforce shortage, we have a skills, gap, were having challenges getting people into jobs because they cant access health care  these are all things that can be resolved through education, DeJear said, but with also an invested interest in economic development.

But in order to implement these changes, DeJear must first win election against incumbent Gov. Kim Reynolds. Reynolds currently leads in the polls, and 2022 is expected to be a red wave year for Republicans. Still, DeJear says theres a path to victory, and it can be found by focusing on Democratic-leaning communities in Iowa, including Black Hawk County.

Weve spent a lot of time focusing on the other side, but were re-empowering each other and getting people excited about the process, DeJear said. Were also connecting with those disadvantaged voters, hard-to-reach populations. And were doing that soon.

DeJear said she knows firsthand the potential that Waterloo and Black Hawk County hold for Democrats, having organized for the Obama campaign in the community in 2012. She added that Democrats have learned lessons from disappointing turnouts in 2018 and are looking to apply those lessons now.

If we can do the hard work to reach those populations, then everything else will follow suit, DeJear said. And Black Hawk County is one of those counties where weve got to do a stronger job of turning people out, and we will do a much better job than we have in the past.

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